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Eight Finalists Remain as Sonny Franco Targets Eighth WSOP Circuit Ring
If a poll had been made before the start about the eventual winner of the 2026 €1,500 World Series of Poker Circuit Aix-en-Provence Main Event, it’s very likely that Sonny Franco would have been one of the names to receive the most votes.
Over the years, Franco has built a reputation as one of the best French players on the circuit, even more so in WSOP Circuit events. During his career, he has already won seven rings, including two WSOP Circuit Main Events in both Marrakech and Cannes.
Winning a new piece of jewelry in Aix-en-Provence would be a first for him, but he has never been closer, as the “Little Prince of Marrakech” has qualified among the 8 remaining players for tomorrow’s final table.
Out of a field of 782 entries for a total prize pool of €1,014,768, Franco will return fourth in chips with 4,740,000 after a day where “everything went smoothly.” He pointed to a hand where he hit a set with jacks to eliminate Mitchell Johnson (16th - €8,650). But even before that, he tripled up with queens, later with aces, won quite a few flips, and even hit quads. “I was good in all-ins preflop,” he joked.
“If I can run as good tomorrow as I did today,” he added, hoping to continue his run after already winning a €600 FPO Main Event for €40,500 in March and finishing in 22nd place in the WSOP Europe Main Event a few weeks ago for another €60,000. A new success tomorrow would surely please his sponsor and host of the event, the Pasino Grand Partouche.
2026 €1,500 WSOP Circuit Aix-en-Provence Main Event Final Table
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Apicella | France | 3,325,000 | 42 |
| 2 | Matthieu Cartillier | France | 7,230,000 | 90 |
| 3 | Sonny Franco | France | 4,740,000 | 59 |
| 4 | Michel Leibgorin | France | 7,180,000 | 90 |
| 5 | Alexis Tremblay | Switzerland | 1,865,000 | 23 |
| 6 | Onni Huttunen | Finland | 6,310,000 | 79 |
| 7 | Houssem Meftahi | Tunisia | 4,590,000 | 57 |
| 8 | Georgios Skarparis | Cyprus | 3,830,000 | 48 |
If all eyes will be on Franco, strong opponents are still in contention, starting with the chip leader Matthieu Cartillier. He didn’t have a big stack at the two-table redraw, but two doubles propelled him to the top of the counts. He first found kings against Michel Leibgorin’s ace-king, then picked up aces against kings ten minutes later to eventually bag 7,230,000.
Leibgorin, however, held the chip lead from the first break almost all the way until the end, finishing the day with 7,180,000. He eliminated Suwei Yang (23rd - €7,300) to take a commanding lead, but struggled to send more players to the rail afterwards, instead seeing several opponents double up through him. Richard Msika was one of them and gave him a hard time, while Onni Huttunen also doubled through Leibgorin with kings and bagged the third-largest stack with 6,310,000.
Houssem Meftahi experienced highs and lows on Day 2 but finished on a very high note by doubling up with kings during the final hands of the day. This proved fatal for Omar Lakhdari, who held ace-king and was eliminated in 10th place for €12,500 moments later with just a few blinds left.
Slowly but surely, 2024 WSOP Mini Main Event champion Georgios Skarparis was among the short stacks for most of the day but navigated his way through the field to secure a 3,830,000-chip stack for the final table. On his path, he eliminated the last qualifier of the tournament, François Rognon, in 19th place for €7,300.
He plays regularly in Aix-en-Provence and Marrakech and wins titles quite often: Anthony Apicella’s profile seems pretty similar to Franco’s, except that Apicella won his second WSOP Circuit ring last year in Aix in the €750 Superstack. This time in the Main Event, Apicella started the day as the chip leader but said he was pretty frustrated after he lost all-in hands in situations where he should have won. A bit of extra luck eventually came his way and he bagged 3,325,000.
Only Alexis Tremblay has a lower stack with 1,865,000. The Swiss player scored a double elimination during the early levels, but ultimately arrived at the final table second-to-last in chips. Despite this short stack, he took his chance by calling Olivier Arnault de Guenyveau’s shove and eliminating him in 9th place to secure a seat at the official final table.
The final table of the WSOP Circuit Aix-en-Provence begins this Monday, April 20 at 1 p.m. local time, with just a few minutes remaining in Level 25, featuring blinds of 40,000/80,000 and a 80,000 big blind ante. Play will then continue through 60-minute levels until a winner is crowned.
The eight finalists secured a minimum cash prize of €19,100, but only one of them will take home €150,000, the WSOP Circuit gold ring, and a $5,000 package for the next WSOP Paradise. All the action will be to follow on stream with a 30-minute delay.
Remaining payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €150,000 |
| 2 | €107,000 |
| 3 | €78,000 |
| 4 | €57,368 |
| 5 | €42,500 |
| 6 | €32,900 |
| 7 | €24,400 |
| 8 | €19,100 |
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews to make sure you don’t miss any hand until the name of the new WSOP Circuit Aix-en-Provence Main Event champion is known!