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€1,500 Main Event
Day 1b Completed
2026 WSOP Circuit Aix-en-Provence
€1,500 Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
2026 WSOP Circuit Aix-en-Provence
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1b
Buy-in
€1,500
Prize Pool
€1,014,768
Total Entries
783
Level
32
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
400,000
Entries
231
Players Left
31
Players Left 1 / 783
Filter
Level 17
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
After 17 players out of 127 entries qualified for Day 2 through Day 1a, Day 1b of the €1,500 World Series of Poker Circuit Aix-en-Provence Main Event was expected to double those numbers.
That’s almost exactly what happened with a total of 231 entrants in the second out of four flights of the tournament at the Pasino Grand Partouche, with only 31 players successfully making it to Day 2.
Day 1a chip leader Suwei Yang bagged 894,000. Frank Debus did even better this Friday by ending the day with 1,025,000 chips. He already had a pretty good run during the day but extended his lead even more on the bubble by applying pressure on his opponents.
Karim Kaladjou, however, had a different strategy. He also had a big stack during the last levels of the day, but wasn’t afraid to lose it all if needed. That’s what happened when he moved all-in on the turn against another chip leader, Valentin Messina. Messina folded and finished the day with 637,000, but thanks to this pot, Kaladjou was propelled just under the million chip mark (955,000).
The 2024 $1,000 WSOP Mini Main Event champion Georgios Skarparis sits third in chips with 835,000. Two other WSOP bracelet winners, Axel Bayout (576,000) and Giovanni Rosadoni (283,000), also advanced to Day 2.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frank Debus | Germany | 1,025,000 | 85 |
| 2 | Karim Kaladjou | France | 955,000 | 80 |
| 3 | Georgios Skarparis | Cyprus | 835,000 | 70 |
| 4 | Onni Huttunen | Finland | 683,000 | 57 |
| 5 | Valentin Messina | France | 637,000 | 53 |
| 6 | Michel Leibgorin | France | 579,000 | 48 |
| 7 | Axel Bayout | France | 576,000 | 48 |
| 8 | Vahe Martirosyan | Armenia | 543,000 | 45 |
| 9 | Hervé Gouzil | France | 486,000 | 41 |
| 10 | François Rognon | France | 425,000 | 35 |
Michel Leibgorin (579,000) spent his day among the chip leaders as well, while Hervé Gouzil won a key hand with kings against jacks to reach 486,000.
Following Ivan Chegusov (392,000), Aurélien Six (340,000), Louis Schoumaker (325,000) and Ivan Angelov (294,000), Aurelie Reard eliminated Elie Nakache with full over full and was about to finish with around 450,000. However, Jacques Der Megreditchian (206,000) doubled up through her during the final hands, leaving her to bag 274,000.
Michael O’Neill survived on the bubble thanks to a split and qualified with 196,000 alongside Koen de Visscher (191,000), Michael Birchler (189,000), Hugo Menant (186,000), Cecile Ticherfatine (171,000), Rabah Ait Abdelmalek (115,000) and, last in chips, Thibaut Moussa (104,000).
The final flights are scheduled for Saturday, April 18, starting with Day 1c at 12:30 p.m. local time. This flight will follow the same structure as Day 1a and Day 1b, featuring a 50,000 starting stack and 40-minute levels.
Day 1d Turbo, however, kicks off at 8 p.m. with 20-minute levels. In each flight, the remaining 13.5% of the field will qualify for Day 2 and make the money.
The PokerNews 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
Level 17
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
The 31 remaining players are qualified for Sunday's Day 2 and secured a spot in the money. They are currently bagging their chips.
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
Frederic Ouziel in the cutoff jammed for 79,900 and Malek Grabsi in the small blind raised all-in for 101,000.
Frederic Ouziel: K♣Q♦ 
Malek Grabsi: J♦J♥
Ouziel was playing a flip to survive but he found no help on 5♦4♠9♦9♠10♦ and was eliminated.
Level 17
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Frank Debus raised to 26,000 from middle position, Micheal O'Neill on the button three-bet all-in for 180,000 and Debus called.
Micheal O'Neill: A♥Q♠
Frank Debus: A♦Q♥
Both players had the same hand in this first all-in and call situation so they split the pot on 2♣10♥J♦7♣8♥.
Level 17
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Heads-up on a flop of 6♥8♠5♠ with already 250,000 in the pot, Karim Kaladjou in the small blind bet 110,000 and Valentin Messina in middle position made the call.
The turn card was the 10♥ and Kaladjou directly moved all-in for 463,000.
Messina went deep into the tank while the rest of the field was waiting for him to make a decision. He eventually opted to fold.
Level: 17
Blinds: 6,000/12,000
Ante: 12,000
Level 16
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
With 32 remaining players for 31 places in the money, the clock was stopped to start the hand for hand procedure.
Level 16
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
The action was picked up on a flop of 10♠7♠4♥ with Arnaud Peyroles betting 100,000 from the blinds. Frank Debus in middle position raised all-in and Peyroles called.
Arnaud Peyroles: K♠5♠
Frank Debus: A♠9♠
Peyroles ran into a better flush draw and the 7♥3♥ runout didn't help him so he was eliminated.
Meanwhile, Djamel Ouaret was sent to the rail by Axel Bayout.
