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€500 La Finale
Day 1fg Completed
2026 Winamax Poker Tour Grande Finale
€500 La Finale
Day: 1fg
Event Info
2026 Winamax Poker Tour Grande Finale
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1fg
Buy-in
€500
Prize Pool
€1,524,864
Total Entries
3,610
Level
52
Blinds
1,200,000 / 2,500,000
Ante
2,500,000
Entries
1,858
Players Left
309
Players Left 1 / 3,610
Filter
Level 24
: Blinds 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
Numbers are now official. After seven starting flights, the 2026 Winamax Poker Tour Grand Finale recorded a total of 3,610 entries, breaking last year’s mark of 3,503 at the Pasino Grand Partouche Aix-en-Provence.
Reaching that figure required a big Day 1f, and a massive one there was with 1,100 runners at the start and 1,456 entries recorded by the end of late registration.
From this field, only 242 players advanced to Day 2 after 23 levels of play. And at the top of the counts, the battle for the chip lead was tight between a few players.
But thanks to a magical flop that allowed him to crack aces on the bubble, Valentin Pallix bagged the biggest stack with 1,367,000 chips. The 28-year-old from Normandy not only leads the field but also qualified for the event almost for free after winning his local club league. A prize that he already converted into a min-cash, hoping for more.
Pallix is closely followed by Ruben Bellaiche, who ended the day with 1,200,000. “I only had 25,000 when I came back from dinner,” he explained. “Then it was luck, luck, luck,” he added, noting that a rivered full house against a straight was one of the key hands that propelled him among the chip leaders.
Nihat Bektas also crossed the million mark with 1,000,400, ahead of John Thao (962,000), Paul Dupin (954,000), and Patricia Almeras (932,000), who also bagged a big stack.
Day 1f Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valentin Pallix | France | 1,306,000 | 82 |
| 2 | Ruben Bellaiche | France | 1,200,000 | 75 |
| 3 | Nihat Bektas | France | 1,000,400 | 63 |
| 4 | Kevin Dupland | France | 996,000 | 62 |
| 5 | John Thao | France | 962,000 | 60 |
| 6 | Paul Dupin | France | 954,000 | 60 |
| 7 | Patricia Almeras | France | 932,000 | 58 |
| 8 | Adrian Marcone | France | 925,000 | 58 |
| 9 | Romain Lewis | France | 867,000 | 54 |
| 10 | Corentin Viaud | France | 821,000 | 51 |
Winamax Team Pro Romain Lewis was also in contention for the chip lead until the final break of the night. However, after peaking at around a million chips, he slipped slightly to end the day with 867,000. Still, it was an overall very positive day for him: “It’s an amazing tournament. I had 400,000 when I was moved to the feature table and ran it up to 1,100,000, and I still have 70 big blinds for tomorrow,” he said. Lewis is the only member of his team to qualify through today’s main flight.
In a corner of the room, Sacha Cohen built a stack of 675,000 and will be looking to follow in his father’s footsteps after Claude Cohen won a side event in Marrakech just a few hours ago.
With almost the same stack, Alexandre Pinto (672,000) spent the day seated next to Virgile Turchi (505,000). Hugues “Chotec” Mazerolle however moved a few times and even had to double up earlier to stay alive but eventually bagged 564,000, while Eric Nakache finished close behind with 538,000.
The 2023 SISMIX runner-up Christophe Beyer (309,000) also made his way to Day 2, along with last year’s finalists Pierre-Louis Quandalle (230,000) and Jérémy Cauchard (185,000), who is still hoping to win a second WiPT sword. The 2015 champion Olivier Decamps is chasing the same dream but had a rollercoaster day. After dropping to just 1,000 chips at one point, he doubled up many times to bag 169,000.
Olympic biathlete Florent Claude (257,000), Philippe Ktorza (155,000), Florian Decamps (153,000), Arnaud Peyroles (120,000) and EPT champion Simon Wiciak (66,000) also advanced to Day 2. The same goes for Marion Bocher, who thought she would be eliminated on the bubble but managed to survive with 19,000 chips.
Finally, 402 entries were recorded in Day 1g Turbo, the final flight of the tournament. From that field, 67 players advanced to Day 2, led by Kevin Dupland (996,000), Corentin Viaud (821,000), and Lucas Charpenne (819,000).
This last flight also allowed players like the €750 Battle Royale winner Hervé Gouzil (745,000) to build a solid stack, while defending champion Yoann Kaminisky (336,000) keeps his hopes alive for a back-to-back title.
Ugo Taurines (406,000), Timothée Rey (373,000), Anthony Dasbourg (303,000), Ariel Sebban (253,000), Clément Michaud (78,000), and Ludovic Amblard (30,000) are among the other players to secure their seats for Day 2.
A total of 601 players have qualified for tomorrow’s Day 2 and will return at noon local time to play 40-minute levels, starting with blinds at 7,000/14,000 with a 14,000 big blind ante.
All the remaining players are in the money and have secured a minimum cash prize of €1,000, with the full payouts set to be revealed at the restart.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates straight from the tournament floor as we continue coverage of the Winamax Poker Tour Grand Finale!
Level 24
: Blinds 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
For the complete seat draw to this and all Winamax Poker Tour Grande Finale events, be sure to get the Winamax Live App.
WiPT Grande Finale seat draws can also be found online on the Texapoker website and at this link.
Level 24
: Blinds 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
996,000
996,000
|
996,000 |
|
||
|
|
821,000
821,000
|
821,000 |
|
|
819,000
819,000
|
819,000 |
|
|
801,000
801,000
|
801,000 |
|
745,000
745,000
|
745,000 |
|
|
649,000
649,000
|
649,000 |
|
591,000
591,000
|
591,000 |
|
|
589,000
589,000
|
589,000 |
|
|
566,000
566,000
|
566,000 |
|
|
499,000
499,000
|
499,000 |
|
|
480,000
480,000
|
480,000 |
|
470,000
470,000
|
470,000 |
|
455,000
455,000
|
455,000 |
|
|
452,000
452,000
|
452,000 |
|
|
440,000
440,000
|
440,000 |
|
|
432,000
432,000
|
432,000 |
|
|
420,000
420,000
|
420,000 |
|
|
413,000
413,000
|
413,000 |
|
|
412,000
412,000
|
412,000 |
|
|
410,000
410,000
|
410,000 |
|
|
406,000
406,000
|
406,000 |
|
|
382,000
382,000
|
382,000 |
|
373,000
373,000
|
373,000 |
|
|
358,000
358,000
|
358,000 |
|
336,000
336,000
|
336,000 |
|
||
Level 24
: Blinds 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,306,000 | |
|
||
|
|
1,200,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
1,000,400
325,400
|
325,400 |
|
|
962,000 | |
|
|
954,000
184,000
|
184,000 |
|
932,000
637,000
|
637,000 |
|
|
925,000
925,000
|
925,000 |
|
867,000
49,000
|
49,000 |
|
||
|
|
809,000
384,000
|
384,000 |
|
|
776,000
66,000
|
66,000 |
|
|
746,000
746,000
|
746,000 |
|
|
731,000
731,000
|
731,000 |
|
|
728,000
728,000
|
728,000 |
|
|
702,000
58,000
|
58,000 |
|
|
698,000
698,000
|
698,000 |
|
675,000
105,000
|
105,000 |
|
||
|
|
672,000
62,000
|
62,000 |
|
672,000
118,000
|
118,000 |
|
668,000
668,000
|
668,000 |
|
653,000
653,000
|
653,000 |
|
|
652,000
652,000
|
652,000 |
|
|
651,000
226,000
|
226,000 |
|
|
633,000
13,000
|
13,000 |
|
|
612,000
342,000
|
342,000 |
|
|
609,000
609,000
|
609,000 |
Level 24
: 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
Three eliminations were needed to end the day, and they occurred simultaneously, meaning that the remaining 242 players have qualified for tomorrow’s Day 2 and are in the money.
Stay tuned as PokerNews provides you chip counts and a recap of today's action!
Level 24
: 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
Moments after the beginning of the hand-for-hand procedure, three players were all-in and at risk at three different tables.
The first player was Camille Rospars under the gun with 105,000 against Teddy Ramat in the hijack.
Camille Rospars: K♦Q♦ 
Teddy Ramat: K♥K♠
The board of 10♠5♣2♥5♦7♦ changed nothing and Rospars was eliminated.
At another table, Mayeul Toulemont moved all-in for 91,000 from middle position and the chip leader Valentin Pallix called from the big blind.
Mayeul Toulemont: A♦A♠
Valentin Pallix: K♣10♦
Toulemont was on his way to double up with aces, but a cruel A♦J♥Q♣ dashed his hopes. The K♥7♦ completed the board and he was eliminated as well.
Finally, Pablo Garcia Alba in middle position fired two barrels on 2♠2♥5♣K♣ and was called by John Thao in the big blind who jammed on the Q♣ river.
With 255,000 behind, Garcia Alba called with K♠7♠ but ran into Thao's nut flush with A♣10♣ and was eliminated as well.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,306,000
271,000
|
271,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
962,000
866,000
|
866,000 |
|
|
491,000
491,000
|
491,000 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
Level: 24
Blinds: 8,000/16,000
Ante: 16,000
Level 23
: Blinds 7,000/14,000, 14,000 ante
With now 245 remaining players for 242 places in the money, the clock was stopped to start the hand for hand procedure.
Level 23
: Blinds 7,000/14,000, 14,000 ante
Jérémy Guillard jammed for 46,000 from the cutoff. The small blind went deep into the tank but folded but Davy Mollet in the big blind snap-called.
Jérémy Guillard: 5♥5♠
Davy Mollet: K♣Q♦
Guillard's fives held on 10♠4♣7♣10♣8♦ and he doubled up just 12 places away from the money.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
620,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
|
|
105,000 |
