Pier D'Ancona fired 20,000 on the river with the board showing Q♥K♥4♠3♦J♠, while his opponent in the big blind took his time to think it through.
After a brief pause, the big blind tossed in a chip to make the call. D'Ancona turned over J♦Q♣ for two pair, queens and jacks, while his opponent tabled K♠10♣.
D'Ancona dragged a pot worth more than 60,000 chips, allowing him to close the day with a stack north of 100,000.
The tournament director has stopped the clock and announced that the final three hands of the day will now be played.
From under the gun, Viktor Bensemcha opened to 7,000. The player to his immediate right responded with a three-bet to 20,000 and another player in the hijack moved all in for 65,000.
Action folded back to Bensemcha, who reshoved for 65,500. The original three-bettor made a few gestures of frustration before committing the call, covering both opponents.
Hijack: Q♣Q♥ 
Viktor Bensemcha: A♣A♥
Middle Position: A♠Q♦
The final hand of the €550 Main Event delivered a three way all-in showdown. The dealer spread 2♥2♦7♠, followed by the K♥ turn and 7♣ river. Bensemcha's aces held in the massive pot, earning him close to a triple up and a stack approaching 250,000 chips to end the day in style.
Play has concluded for the day at Casino Admiral Sevilla, with 19 players advancing to Day 2. Stay tuned for the final chip counts and a full recap of the day's action.
Day 1a of the €550 CNP Winamax Sevilla Main Event kicked off the 2025 season in strong fashion, as the numbers from the opening flight were not far off last year's mark, when 66 players turned out on this very same stage.
Today, a total of 61 entries were recorded inside Casino Admiral Sevilla for Day 1a, with Mexico's Mario Lozada bagging the largest stack of the night. Lozada ended the day with an impressive 295,000 chips, good for 142 big blinds heading into Day 2 and plenty of ammunition to keep applying pressure.
Lozada, who has been based in Spain for more than 20 years and works in the restaurant industry, enjoyed a spectacular day. He doubled up early in the session and never looked back from there. Later, he flopped quad fours against María López Cubero, the only female player in the field today, who also managed to bag a healthy 159,000 chips by the end of the night.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Lozada | Mexico | 295,000 | 148 |
| 2 | William Bortz | United States | 283,000 | 142 |
| 3 | Mikoto Eihata | Japan | 283,000 | 142 |
| 4 | Moisés Chaves | Spain | 257,000 | 129 |
| 5 | Viktor Bensemcha | France | 256,000 | 128 |
| 6 | Adrián López | Spain | 234,000 | 117 |
| 7 | Antonio Subire | Spain | 181,000 | 91 |
| 8 | Antonio Leal | Spain | 166,000 | 83 |
| 9 | Fernando Ferrero | Spain | 166,000 | 83 |
| 10 | Mohamed Ali Bardei | Morocco | 165,000 | 83 |
However, no Spanish player cracked the top three at the end of the day. William Bortz, who bagged 283,000 chips, made the trip from the United States, while Mikoto Eihata sits in third place with the same stack, representing Japan.
The highest-ranked Spanish player is Moisés Chaves, who occupies fourth place with 257,000 chips. A special mention also goes to Viktor Bensemcha, currently fifth in chips, who tripled up in the final hand of the night with pocket aces in a dramatic three-way-all-in that proved to be a classic cooler.
We also caught a glimpse today of former futsal star Ricardo Braga, better known as "Ricardinho", who was in attendance as a Winamax WIP. Although he managed to build his stack to over 120,000 chips early in the day, he ultimately bagged just under 90,000 by the close of play.
Braga is no newcomer to the two-card game. He has already notched several notable online tournament wins, and little by little, he has been making more frequent appearances on the live circuit, including here today. He will certainly be one to keep an eye on heading into Day 2.
| Day | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1b | February 12 | 4 p.m. |
| Day 1c (Low Cost) | February 12th | 8 p.m. |
| Day 1d | February 13 | 4 p.m. |
| Day 1e | February 14 | 11 a.m. |
| Day 2 | February 14 | 5 p.m. |
| Day 3 | February 15 | 12 p.m. |
Day 1b of the €550 CNP Winamax Main Event will get underway on Thursday at the same starting time as Day 1a, 4 p.m. local time, with an identical structure. Players will contest 11 levels of 45 minutes each, beginning with 50,000 in starting chips. Blinds will once again start at 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante.
Registration will remain open through the early stages of Day 2, allowing latecomers the opportunity to enter as late as Saturday.
Be sure to follow PokerNews for continued live coverage from Casino Admiral Sevilla, as the €550 CNP Winamax Main Event looks to surpass last year's numbers.
€550 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
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