2026 Winamax Poker Open Aix-les-Bains

€500 Main Event
Day: 3
1a1b1cd23
Event Info
2026 Winamax Poker Open Aix-les-Bains
Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
k♣7♣
Prize
€150,000
Event Info
Buy-in
€500
Prize Pool
€1,185,974
Total Entries
2,873
Places Paid
475
Level Info
Level
51
Blinds
1,000,000 / 2,000,000
Ante
2,000,000
Players Info - Day 3
Entries
17
Players Left
1
Players Left 1 / 2,873
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Archeny Bluffs Goudard

Maxime Taldir
Maxime Taldir
Level 43 : Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante

Benjamin Goudard in the hijack opened to 1,000,000 with 6♠6♣, and was only called by Lucas Archeny on the button with K♣Q♣.

The dealer fanned a flop of 3♥9♣3♦ and after Goudard checked, Archeny bet 1,050,000. Goudard called.

Goudard checked the A♠ turn, but folded when Archeny fired a second barrel to 4,025,000.

Tags: Benjamin GoudardLucas Archeny

Seat 7 - Benjamin Goudard, 23 ans, Puy-en-Velay (17,900,000)

Maxime Taldir
Maxime Taldir
Level 43 : Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Benjamin Goudard
Benjamin Goudard

After five years of studying, Benjamin Goudard is about to take the competitive exam to become a medical resident. The exam is a year away, but he needs to start focusing now. So this WPO Aix-les-Bains is something of a last hurrah. "Tomorrow, I'm deleting all my accounts and I'm not playing at all anymore. This is my last tournament before I lock myself away and work like crazy for a year."

The player who managed to win his WPO package on Winamax for €10 is living out his final tournament like a dream. "Yesterday was absolutely crazy. It all started with an Ace-Ten against my opponent's Ace-Jack, and I hit a backdoor flush. From there, everything went my way. From that moment on, I told myself everything else was just a bonus. I'm so happy to make the final table before not touching a single poker chip for a year. I'm just enjoying every second of it!"

After making a huge bluff early in the day against Quentin Le Dissez (which didn't work), Benjamin Goudard won't be afraid to try anything. One last thrill before putting on the white coat...

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Tags: Benjamin GoudardLe DissezQuentin Le Dissez

Seat 6 - Nicolas Ehrath, 35 ans, Mulhouse (13,975,000)

Maxime Taldir
Maxime Taldir
Level 43 : Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Nicolas Ehrath
Nicolas Ehrath

Wrongly identified as Swiss because of his Hendon Mob flag, Nicolas Ehrath is actually from Mulhouse in East of France and describes himself as a "wanderer," moving "wherever work takes me" as a seasonal hospitality worker. That's how he ended up with a few Swiss flags on his Hendon Mob record, including a victory in a BPT event in Montreux, where he was staying for work.

A live-only player for around 15 years, Nicolas fondly remembers his first €10 cash games in basements, where he notably "ran into a Gaëlle Baumann who wasn't part of Team Winamax yet."

Along with his best friend, who is also a seasonal worker, Nicolas was looking for a festival to play after the summer season. That's how he ended up in Aix-les-Bains for his first Winamax event.

The dream he shared with us at the beginning of Day 2? Not necessarily winning. What he really wanted was simply to make it to the TV table. He had to wait until only nine players remained for his wish to come true.

Starting Day 2 with just seven big blinds, Nicolas Ehrath won the best climber's jersey yesterday, scaling a veritable mountain with plenty of skill and a little bit of luck. He then secured his place at the final table with solid and disciplined poker. "When I had it for value, they paid me; when I was bluffing, they folded. I had an amazing day yesterday."

Even though he admits that he is aiming for the win, Nicolas isn't the type to get carried away. A victory wouldn't change his habits. What he enjoys is the grind. "Whatever the stakes, as long as you get the thrill of playing against good players!"

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Tags: Big BlindsGaëlle BaumannNicolas EhrathTeam Winamax

Seat 5 - Timothée D'Anfray, 30, Paris (36,625,000)

Maxime Taldir
Maxime Taldir
Level 43 : Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Timothée D'Anfray
Timothée D'Anfray

Timothée D'Anfray is here on vacation. Opener, Sprint, Déglingo and even the Beer Pong Open: success eluded him for most of the week. "I was eliminated in the first round of the Beer Pong because of my partner. I made eight cups, he made one. I think that's the end of our partnership!"

Away from the MTT and Beer Pong tables, Timothée's specialty is something completely different: Expresso, which he played full-time for eight years. These days, the Parisian works in a chemistry research laboratory, but he hasn't completely said goodbye to poker. Two years ago, he won a Winamax Series title and still doesn't mind playing the occasional satellite.

Timothée arrived in Aix-les-Bains with two tickets won online, then had to add two bullets out of his own pocket once he got there. "My Day 1s were horrible, not much happened. Everything accelerated midway through Day 2, when my stack took off."

So much so that Timothée has reached the final table as chip leader in his second WPO. And among his six remaining opponents, there is one he knows better than the others.

"I kind of came here with Etienne. He's a friend of a friend." But there are no friends at the poker table, and the chip leader won't be giving any gifts to Sam Jakubowicz's protégé.

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Tags: Sam Jakubowicz'sTimothée D'Anfray

Seat 4 - Mathieu Pontin, 29, Deauville (14,325,000)

Maxime Taldir
Maxime Taldir
Level 43 : Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Mathieu Pontin
Mathieu Pontin

The pro and coach from Normandy is the only finalist who already had a certain level of notoriety before reaching the WPO Aix-les-Bains final table, his first major final table in a Winamax event. Having played poker since he was 18 and professionally for the past few years, "lapoooonte" has become an ever-present figure on the French-speaking poker scene, with a YouTube channel packed with educational content, regular streams of his sessions, and a constant flow of Instagram stories.

"I feel like I've crossed over to the other side of the mirror," he told us today. "In 2016, when I played my first SISMIX, I was asking Davidi Kitai for selfies. This week, I must have taken around 60 selfies with guys who watch me on stream!"

With this community showing up in force in the TV table chat, Matthieu feels indebted to them.

"The support is incredible. It helps during bad runs. And when I started, I consumed a lot of content, like Dans la Tête d'un Pro. I believe in doing good and helping others, which is why all my content is free. I share the advice I wish someone had given me when I was starting out."

The holder of five Winamax Series titles, plus one Pokus, Mathieu Pontin will now be looking to claim the biggest victory of his career. His financial high score of €17,300, earned by winning the High Roller of the Road to PSPC in Gujan-Mestras in 2022, will be surpassed whatever happens today.

Primarily an online pro, he carefully picks his live appearances, but has always enjoyed the atmosphere at Winamax events. "It would be great to win one after farming them for so long!"

Profile provided by Winamax

Tags: Davidi KitaiMathieu Pontin

Seat 3 - Etienne De Soultrait, 26, Chambéry (27,000,000)

Maxime Taldir
Maxime Taldir
Level 43 : Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Etienne De Soultrait
Etienne De Soultrait

Etienne De Soultrait is entering his fourth year playing poker. A trained engineer, the Savoyard describes himself as a "regular online player for the past two years." He learned from a good teacher: his first Texas Hold'em coach was none other than Sam Jakubowicz, winner of the Winamax Team Pro Experience in 2025. "I learned with him. Today, we're each doing our own thing and have reached our own level, but we're still very close."

Because of his work commitments, Etienne prefers short sessions, mostly online, and Winamax's Trident tournaments are a perfect fit. "It allows me to keep putting in a good volume without taking up too much time. I start playing tables after a day at work: it's the perfect format to avoid those marathon sessions."

After blanking his first two tournaments of the week, the Battle Royale and Opener Mystery, Etienne started his live deep run in Day 1b of the Main Event. "I had already had something of a result in a tournament in Canada for around $3,000. But this is a whole different story. I feel very comfortable at the table and confident heading into this final table. I know what I have to do."

Now he'll try to follow in the footsteps of his cousin Xavier De Soultrait, who won the Dakar Rally in 2024.

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Tags: De SoultraitEtienne De SoultraitSam JakubowiczXavier De Soultrait

Seat 2 - Lucas Archeny, 23, Péronnas (24,375,000)

Maxime Taldir
Maxime Taldir
Level 43 : Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Lucas Archeny
Lucas Archeny

After discovering poker at a very young age, Lucas Archeny joined two clubs close to home as soon as he turned 18: Bourg Hold'em Poker and ABC Poker of Saint-Denis-lès-Bourg. Two clubs where he would sharpen his game and build up solid live experience. A great way, incidentally, to pick up a few tickets to Winamax events. Tickets that proved unsuccessful... until this magical week in Aix-les-Bains.

Working temporary jobs in accounting, Lucas needed just one bullet in Day 1c to record his first cash in a Winamax Main Event. But it was especially on Day 2 that he impressed us, thanks to a daring ace-high hero call, motivated by the "sizing tells" he picked up from his opponent.

"I've always been very comfortable at the table, and that helps me a lot in these fields, which are made up of many online players playing live for the first time."

At just 23 years old, Lucas already displays the maturity of top regs, the kind of players who know that the next opportunity will always come along. For now, however, his focus is on the final table, which he enters with the third-largest stack, supported by several friends from his club who came along from nearby.

A solid player capable of putting in a lot of volume online, Lucas long considered himself "not very good," but still managed to get results. The breakthrough came when he started looking for online content to improve. YouTube, Twitch: the aspiring young pro devoured everything he could find before, last December, taking out his credit card to buy the Kill Tilt Masterclass. A pivotal decision.

If he wins the WPO tonight, Lucas has no intention of completely changing his playing habits.

"It will just be more comfortable. If I fancy playing a €1,500 event, maybe I'll go and play it, but I'm not going to change my €10 ABI. I just want to keep learning and become a better player."

Profile provided by Winamax

Tags: Lucas Archeny

Seat 1 - Quentin Le Dissez, 30, Saint-Malo (9,500,000)

Maxime Taldir
Maxime Taldir
Level 43 : Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Quentin Le Dissez
Quentin Le Dissez

Quentin Le Dissez is someone who is (very) well surrounded. For two years, the Breton took a break from the working world to focus on learning poker alongside his best friend, none other than Raphaël Davidou, who reached the final table of the last SISMIX.

“Thanks to him, I was able to meet the Team Bird [Timothée Rey, Abel Pruchon…]. They are the ones who prepared me for Day 3.”

This is not Quentin's first Day 3, as we met him on the third day of the Estoril Poker Fest, where he recorded his first major live deep run with a 14th-place finish. In addition to his Portuguese experience, Quentin already has cashes in three other Main Events: the 2023 and 2024 WiPT Grand Finals, as well as SISMIX in the same year.

After four bullets and qualifying through Day 1c, the data scientist at La Française des Jeux has already gone further than in all his previous experiences. “I prefer not to look too far ahead because then I do stupid things.”

After a turbulent start to the day, including a huge river call for his tournament life, Quentin will now be able to rely on the valuable advice of his rail: ICM spots, three-bet spots, profiling his opponents... Nothing has been left to chance before he takes his seat at the first live final table of his career.

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Tags: La FrançaiseLe DissezQuentin Le DissezRaphaël DavidouTeam Bird