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1,500 CHF Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2026 WSOP Circuit Liechtenstein
1,500 CHF Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
2026 WSOP Circuit Liechtenstein
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
Buy-in
1,500 CHF
Prize Pool
1,071,792 CHF
Total Entries
827
Level
33
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
109
Players Left
17
Players Left 1 / 827
Filter
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
The opening flight of the CHF1,500 Main Event at the 2026 WSOP Circuit Liechtenstein wrapped up, drawing 109 entries to kick off the festival’s most anticipated tournament. After fourteen 40-minute levels, the field was trimmed down to 17 players, all of whom successfully bagged up their chips and secured a min-cash heading into Day 2.
Sitting at the top of the counts is Austria’s Samuel Klocker, who amassed a stack of 796,000 when the dust settled, and is the only player to have breached the 700,000-chip barrier. Klocker entered around the dinner break and got off to a good start by picking off Marc Wetzold's triple barrel bluff, then sent Tobias Zobrist to the rail as the Day 1a bubble boy to close out the night.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Klocker | Austria | 796,000 | 133 |
| 2 | Martin Hoertnagl | Austria | 627,000 | 105 |
| 3 | Florian Gehbauer | Germany | 504,000 | 84 |
| 4 | Angelo Arossi | Switzerland | 504,000 | 84 |
| 5 | Adrian Strobel | Germany | 448,000 | 75 |
| 6 | Eric Wasylenko | Canada | 362,000 | 60 |
| 7 | Walter Blaettler | Switzerland | 322,000 | 54 |
| 8 | Christoph Spoerri | Switzerland | 292,000 | 49 |
| 9 | Nuri Acar | Switzerland | 289,000 | 48 |
| 10 | Frédéric Delval | France | 269,000 | 45 |
Klocker's closest competitor was fellow Austrian Martin Hoertnagl, who ended the day on 627,000, while Germany’s Florian Gehbauer and Switzerland's Angelo Arossi sit tied in third place with 504,000, having had a successful day inside the Grand Casino Liechtenstein.
Gehbauer was seated from the first shuffle and got off to a great start by getting paid with trips. Arossi joined much later in the day, but quickly got involved after flopping the second nut straight, only to have Marek Tatar overbet jam a flush draw into him on the turn. Arossi faded the bad beat to surge up the counts, then later found himself on the right end of a cooler to bust Yannik Hofmann during the final level of the night.
Hand-for-hand play didn't take long, as after just three hands, Zobrist jammed for about ten big blinds under the gun holding pocket queens, and Klocker made the call with ace-jack out of the blinds. A safe flop fell for Zobrist's ladies, but an ace on the turn for Klocker was enough to cement Zobrist as the first bubble boy of the Main Event, while helping Klocker lock up the chip lead for the day.
Some other players who made it through the day included Eric Wasylenko (362,000), and France’s Frédéric Delval (269,000), helped by picking off a bluff from Arossi in the penultimate level of the night. They will also be joined by Vivian Saliba (202,000), who max late registered and stands as the only WSOP bracelet winner to bag a stack in Day 1a. Kevin Abecassis (98,000), and Alexander Huber (74,000) sit toward the bottom of the counts and will be looking for a bit of a spin up when cards go back in the air on Day 2.
Focus now shifts to Day 1b and Day 1c on Friday, March 6. Day 1b follows the exact same structure as the opening flight but begins earlier at 12 p.m., while Day 1c will run with a faster-paced 20-minute blind structure and gets underway at 8 p.m. The surviving players from all flights will combine on Sunday, March 8, to play out Day 2 of this five-day affair.
Remaining CHF1,500 Main Event Schedule
| Day | Date | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1b | March 6 | 12 p.m. | 40 minutes |
| Day 1c | March 6 | 8 p.m. | 20 minutes |
| Day 1d | March 7 | 12 p.m. | 40 minutes |
| Day 1e | March 7 | 8 p.m. | 20 minutes |
| Day 2 | March 8 | 1 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| Day 3 | March 9 | 1 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| Final Day | March 10 | 1 p.m. | 60 minutes |
Stay locked into PokerNews for continuing coverage of the CHF1,000,000 guaranteed Main Event, with updates, chip counts, and drama as the remaining starting flights play out.
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Play has concluded for Day 1a, stay tuned for a full recap of the day's action.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
796,000 | |
|
||
|
627,000
47,000
|
47,000 |
|
504,000
224,000
|
224,000 |
|
504,000
124,000
|
124,000 |
|
||
|
448,000
58,000
|
58,000 |
|
362,000
33,000
|
33,000 |
|
322,000
28,000
|
28,000 |
|
292,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
289,000
79,000
|
79,000 |
|
269,000
29,000
|
29,000 |
|
221,000
39,000
|
39,000 |
|
202,000
2,000
|
2,000 |
|
||
|
197,000
52,000
|
52,000 |
|
140,000 | |
|
107,000
12,000
|
12,000 |
|
98,000
77,000
|
77,000 |
|
74,000
139,000
|
139,000 |
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
From under the gun, Tobias Zobrist jammed for 63,000 and Samuel Klocker made the call from the small blind. Once the other tables completed their action, the cards were flipped over.
Tobias Zobrist: Q♦Q♠ 
Samuel Klocker: A♥J♦
Zobrist was in a good spot with pocket queens to double up on the bubble if he could dodge an ace on the runout.
A flop of 10♥8♦3♠ kept Zobrist's ladies in the lead. However, an A♣ arrived on the turn to give Klocker the best hand, leaving Zobrist on the brink of elimination.
A 10♦ rolled off on the river and Zobrist was the bubble boy for Day 1a of the Main Event.
The remaining 17 players began to bag up their chips and will return for Day 2 on Sunday, March 8.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
796,000
106,000
|
106,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
With the elimination of Marco Weidner, there are now 18 players remaining with 17 spots available on Day 2.
The tournament has entered the hand-for-hand stage.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted |
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
690,000
330,000
|
330,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
580,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
|
395,000
21,000
|
21,000 |
|
|
390,000
113,000
|
113,000 |
|
|
200,000
150,000
|
150,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
145,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
|
140,000
119,000
|
119,000 |
|
|
95,000
11,000
|
11,000 |
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Josef Vogel raised to 12,000 in the hijack and Pascal Pflock defended from the big blind.
Once Pflock checked on the 4♥J♥5♣ flop, Vogel placed out a bet of 7,000. Pflock continued with a call.
Pflock checked again on the 8♥ turn, and Vogel jammed. The bet was for Pflock's remaining 26,000, and after giving it some thought, Pflock folded.
Pflock was left with just a few big blinds and was eliminated a few hands later. Mathieu Choffardet was seen talking to himself and leaving the tournament area, meaning the event is just two more eliminations from finishing for the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
260,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
On a flop of 6♠8♥3♣, Jurgen Berthold got all-in with Mathieu Choffardet being the player trying to send him home, and push everyone else closer to bagging for the night.
Jurgen Berthold: 7♣7♥
Mathieu Choffardet: 10♠7♠
Berthold was ahead with the overpair versus Choffardet's gutshot.
A 2♠ on the turn gave Choffardet even more outs in the form of a flush draw, and the 9♥ on the river upgraded Choffardet to the nuts.
Berthold was out, and now just 21 players remained.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
295,000
123,000
|
123,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Angelo Arossi raised from the hijack and Frédéric Delval defended from the big blind.
Delval check-called a bet of 11,000 from Arossi on the K♣J♠A♥ flop.
Check, check came after the K♠ turn to see the 4♣ arrive on the river. Delval checked again before facing a bet of 25,000 from Arossi. Delval called, and Arossi mucked his cards, prompting Delval to turn over A♣3♦ for a pair of aces.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
380,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
240,000
32,000
|
32,000 |
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted |
