button in Safari€1,500 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2026 WSOP Circuit Aix-en-Provence
€1,500 Main Event
Day: 1a
Players Left 125 / 241
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Chip Counts
Level 17
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
With a massive WSOP Circuit ring hanging from the ceiling of the main room, all the players in the 2026 World Series of Poker Circuit Aix-en-Provence all have their sights set on their goal: to capture this WSOP Circuit gold ring in the €1,500 Main Event.
This Thursday, 127 players jumped into the action at the Pasino Grand Partouche and registered for Day 1a. But by the end of the day, only 17 remained.
Julien Sitbon held the chip lead for most of the night and looked set to carry it through to the end. But the French player found himself caught between Eric Sfez and Suwei Yang, both armed with big stacks and unafraid to put them to use.
The approach paid off early for Sfez, who cracked aces, among other hands, to build his stack. However, the next hands didn’t go as well, also with Mathias Bounous (416,000) doubling up through him, and Sfez was left to bag just 108,000.
Meanwhile, Yang’s stack kept growing, even though he was just one card away from elimination after late registration closed. He spiked a two-outer on the river to stay alive and eventually bagged the chip lead with 894,000. Sitbon wasn’t far behind, but after doubling up Jean Patrac (122,000) on the bubble, he ended the day with 755,000.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suwei Yang | Hong Kong | 894,000 | 75 |
| 2 | Julien Sitbon | France | 755,000 | 63 |
| 3 | Luis Sequeira | Argentina | 724,000 | 60 |
| 4 | Jean-Paul Pasqualini | France | 488,000 | 41 |
| 5 | Matthieu Cartillier | France | 486,000 | 41 |
| 6 | Mo Xu | China | 446,000 | 37 |
| 7 | Mathias Bounous | Switzerland | 416,000 | 35 |
| 8 | Gregory Hawes | United Kingdom | 382,000 | 32 |
| 9 | Cedric Chevalme | France | 364,000 | 30 |
| 10 | Tahar Said | France | 352,000 | 29 |
By bursting the bubble and claiming Nicolas Zammataro’s stack, Luis Sequeira is third in chips with 724,000, while Jean-Paul Pasqualini sits in fourth, but twenty big blinds behind (488,000).
Mo Xu eliminated fellow countryman Yuhan Wang during the final level of the night to bag 446,000. He is followed by Gregory Hawes (382,000), who won one of the very first hands of the day, and local players Cédric Chevalme (364,000) and Tahar Said (352,000).
Gregory Teboul (282,000) also qualified for Day 2 and is the only WSOP bracelet winner to do so, alongside PMU PLAY Team Pro Antoine Berruel, who doubled up with aces to finish with 165,000.
Virgile Turchi, who already had a short stack, was unfortunate to run into those aces. He still managed to double up in the following hand but bagged just 60,000, slightly above the starting stack.
After this first flight, the tournament continues on Friday, April 17 at 12:30 p.m. local time with Day 1b. It will follow the exact same structure as Day 1a, with a 50,000 starting stack, 40-minute levels, and 12 levels of late registration available to enter or re-enter the tournament.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow to follow this Main Event all the way until the end!
Level 17
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
894,000
181,000
|
181,000 |
|
||
|
755,000
48,000
|
48,000 |
|
||
|
724,000 | |
|
488,000
178,000
|
178,000 |
|
486,000
33,000
|
33,000 |
|
446,000
26,000
|
26,000 |
|
416,000
66,000
|
66,000 |
|
382,000
37,000
|
37,000 |
|
364,000
81,000
|
81,000 |
|
352,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
|
348,000
163,000
|
163,000 |
|
282,000
48,000
|
48,000 |
|
|
||
|
165,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
|
|
122,000 | |
|
108,000
62,000
|
62,000 |
|
|
105,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
60,000
51,000
|
51,000 |
Level 17
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
The 17 remaining players are currently waging their chips after they qualified for Day 2 and secured a spot in the money.
Stay tuned as PokerNews provides you chip counts and a recap of today's action!
Level 17
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Luis Sequeira opened from the cutoff, Nicolas Zammataro on the button three-bet all-in for 51,000 and Sequeira called.
Nicolas Zammataro: J♠J♥ 
Luis Sequeira: K♠Q♠
Sequeira flopped top pair on 7♦8♦K♣2♣9♠ so Zammataro was eliminated. The 17 remaining players are now qualified for Day 2 and in the money.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
724,000
249,000
|
249,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 17
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Julien Sitbon opened to 24,000 from early position. Jean Patrac in the hijack three-bet all-in for 46,000 and Sitbon said he had no choice but to call.
Jean Patrac: A♦10♦
Julien Sitbon: K♠6♥
Patrac flopped top pair and hit a runner-runner flush on 9♠A♠2♦7♦J♦ to double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
803,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
122,000
4,000
|
4,000 |
Level 17
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
The 18 remaining players for 17 places in the money, the clock was stopped to start the hand for hand procedure.
Level 17
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Mo Xu opened from the cutoff and was called by Yuhan Wang in the big blind.
The dealer fanned a flop of 4♥Q♥6♥ and Wang directly moved all-in for 74,000. Xu called.
Yuhan Wang: 8♣7♥
Mo Xu: K♠K♥
Wang found no improvement with the 5♠8♥ runout and was eliminated.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
420,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
Level: 17
Blinds: 6,000/12,000
Ante: 12,000
Level 16
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Eric Sfez open from under the gun and was called three times. Mathias Bounous in the small blind moved all-in for 201,000, Sfez called and made the other players fold.
Mathias Bounous: J♦J♥
Eric Sfez: 9♦9♣
Bounous flopped a set on J♣6♥Q♦, but Sfez found a straight draw with the 10♦ turn. The 7♥ river however changed nothing and Bounous doubled up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
482,000
207,000
|
207,000 |
|
|
170,000
228,000
|
228,000 |
