Thibaut Garcia Breaks the Million-Chip Barrier to Lead Day 1d
Day 1d of the 2026 Winamax Poker Tour Grand Finale at the Pasino Grand Partouche Aix-en-Provence was expected to be big, and it didn’t disappoint with a massive field of 946 entries recorded in this fourth flight. Combined with the 161 entries from the Day 1e Turbo, the total field has now reached 1,753 entries ahead of the final two flights, which are expected to nearly double that number.
On Day 1d, 157 players made it through to Day 2. While some were feeling the pressure on the bubble with short stacks, Thibaut Garcia was cruising with a massive stack of 1,174,000. Already the chip leader at the dinner break, he went on to double his stack afterward. “I lost a lot of chips after dinner and was down to around 250,000–300,000, but then I won a big pot with aces against jacks and managed things well with ICM,” he explained.
Amin Benfalami had a very different path, needing to wait until the final hands of the day to win a huge pot and nearly double up to 982,000. He is followed by Tristan Berrod (877,000) and Winamax Team Pro Bruno Lopes, the only member of his team to make it through Day 1d, bagging 873,000.
Day 1d Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thibaut Garcia | France | 1,174,000 | 84 |
| 2 | Amin Benfalami | France | 982,000 | 70 |
| 3 | Tristan Berrod | France | 877,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Bruno Lopes | France | 873,000 | 62 |
| 5 | Andy Colmuto | France | 848,000 | 61 |
| 6 | Julien Gadanho | France | 841,000 | 60 |
| 7 | Damien Mecheri | France | 839,000 | 60 |
| 8 | Fabien Graziani | France | 837,000 | 60 |
| 9 | Arthur Tullou | France | 835,000 | 60 |
| 10 | Nicolas Bareil | France | 722,000 | 52 |
Behind Julien Gadanho (841,000), Bastien Legret (712,000), and Antoine De Pechpeyrou (710,000), who both won key pots on the bubble to build big stacks. Samuel Fournier (675,000) was also pleased to bag a big stack, while Nicolas Burtin had hoped to finish the day with a million chips but ended up at 628,000 after a player doubled up with kings against his fours.
Aurelie Reard bagged 550,000 alongside last year’s finalists Jean-Yves Lestrade (508,000) and Florian Vachez (408,000). The defending champion Yoann Kaminisky, however, will have to return tomorrow after an unsuccessful bullet today.
Other qualifiers for Day 2 include Julien Mariani (414,000), Alban Beysson (198,000), WSOP bracelet winner Mourad Amokrane (154,000), and French streamers Jean “Juaniitoooo” Salaun (191,000), Hadrien “zChance44” Gallois (73,000), and Willy “Skyyart” Dias (66,000).
TV and radio host Erika Moulet thought she might be eliminated on the bubble but folded her big blind and secured a Day 2 seat with 54,000. She’s not even last in chips, a spot held by Phal-Vichit Soum with 29,000.
On Day 1e Turbo, Lithuania’s Titas Gancierius finished as the chip leader with 856,000 in a flight that also saw Sebastien Seguin (409,000), Winamax Team Pro Davidi Kitai (292,000), Partouche ambassador Antonin Teisseire (170,000), and Marvin Ben Haim (146,000) qualify for Day 2. A total of 27 players advanced through this flight.
All qualified players will be joined by a new wave of contenders who will advance through tomorrow’s Day 1f and Day 1g, the final two flights of the tournament. Day 1f starts at noon local time and follows the same structure as Day 1d, while Day 1g is a Turbo flight.
Will this Winamax Poker Tour Grand Finale reach 4,000 entries? PokerNews will be on the floor in Aix-en-Provence to find out!