1,500 CHF Main Event
Day 1de Completed
1,500 CHF Main Event
Day 1de Completed
Action continued in the CHF1,500 Main Event at the 2026 WSOP Circuit Liechtenstein inside the Grand Casino Liechtenstein, with Day 1d attracting 379 entries to the festival’s flagship tournament.
After more than thirteen hours of play, the field was whittled down to 57 players, all of whom bagged up their chips and secured a min-cash heading into Day 2.
Leading the way from the penultimate starting flight was Lulei Hu, who finished with 1,162,000, the largest stack seen so far in the tournament. Germany’s Semih Retzep also crossed the million chip mark, bagging 1,110,000, while Switzerland’s Mathias Muehlebach rounds out the top three with 858,000.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lulei Hu | Italy | 1,162,000 | 97 |
| 2 | Semih Retzep | Germany | 1,110,000 | 93 |
| 3 | Mathias Muehlebach | Switzerland | 858,000 | 72 |
| 4 | Marcel Maubach | Germany | 786,000 | 66 |
| 5 | Adrian Liechti | Switzerland | 655,000 | 55 |
| 6 | Samuel Jager | Austria | 546,000 | 46 |
| 7 | Benjamin Hammann | France | 544,000 | 45 |
| 8 | Riccardo Gubser | Switzerland | 544,000 | 45 |
| 9 | Frank Pelster | Germany | 534,000 | 45 |
| 10 | Faris Kanaan | Germany | 529,000 | 44 |
The biggest of all five opening flights was action-packed from the get-go. Muehlebach raced to the top of the counts early on by spiking a two-outer on the river to crack his opponents' aces. Later on, Faris Kanaan, who finished just inside the top ten, flopped aces-up and managed to get Andrei Chiriliuc to stack off with just one pair.
Just before late registration closed, Fabian Bartuschk scored a double knockout with pocket jacks, and looked poised to bring a decent stack through to Day 2. However, this was not the case. As the bubble approached and the action slowed, the floor staff announced the start of hand-for-hand two away from the money. Louis Peren was first to go when his two Broadway cards remained unimproved.
Then, after over an hour of bubble play, Bartuschk was forced all-in from the big blind for his last few chips. Jonas Heuser called from the small blind and found himself behind with jack-nine to the queen-eight of Bartuschk. The flop and turn were safe for Bartuschk, but a devilish jack on the river earned him the title of bubble boy for Day 1d.
Some other notables who will return to the baize for Day 2 include Karlen Aladzjan (483,000), Paul-Adrian Covaciu (360,000), who is the only player to cash twice, and therefore will forfeit his smallest stack for a min-cash. Also joining them is Claudio Di Giacomo (346,000), thanks to a runner-runner straight, and bracelet winner Weiran Pu (220,000).
While Day 1d has concluded, Day 1e, the turbo flight, is still underway. With late registration now closed, the final flight added 107 entries, bringing the total field size to 827 entries for the Main Event.
All survivors from the opening flights will combine for Day 2 on Sunday, March 8, at 1 p.m., where the official prize pool and payouts will be announced shortly after cards get in the air. The plan for Day 2 is to play down until 24 players remain. Play will resume at Level 15, with 38 minutes remaining on the clock, at blinds of 4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 big blind ante.
| Day | Date | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 CHF1,500 WSOPC Liechtenstein Main Event, as the field combines for the first time.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
746,000
746,000
|
746,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
700,000
700,000
|
700,000 |
|
|
609,000
609,000
|
609,000 |
|
|
480,000
480,000
|
480,000 |
|
|
384,000
384,000
|
384,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
365,000
365,000
|
365,000 |
|
|
283,000
283,000
|
283,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
273,000
273,000
|
273,000 |
|
|
235,000
235,000
|
235,000 |
|
|
220,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
|
209,000
209,000
|
209,000 |
|
|
177,000
177,000
|
177,000 |
|
|
174,000
96,000
|
96,000 |
|
|
171,000
171,000
|
171,000 |
|
|
129,000
129,000
|
129,000 |
|
|
111,000
111,000
|
111,000 |
|
|
86,000
86,000
|
86,000 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,162,000
1,162,000
|
1,162,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,110,000
129,000
|
129,000 |
|
|
858,000
158,000
|
158,000 |
|
|
786,000
786,000
|
786,000 |
|
|
655,000
155,000
|
155,000 |
|
|
546,000
21,000
|
21,000 |
|
|
544,000
253,000
|
253,000 |
|
|
544,000
124,000
|
124,000 |
|
|
534,000
148,000
|
148,000 |
|
|
529,000
184,000
|
184,000 |
|
|
516,000
316,000
|
316,000 |
|
|
483,000
18,000
|
18,000 |
|
|
474,000
374,000
|
374,000 |
|
|
465,000
56,000
|
56,000 |
|
|
464,000
164,000
|
164,000 |
|
|
458,000
81,000
|
81,000 |
|
|
434,000
337,800
|
337,800 |
|
|
432,000
217,000
|
217,000 |
|
|
381,000
289,000
|
289,000 |
|
|
376,000
376,000
|
376,000 |
|
|
363,000
218,000
|
218,000 |
|
|
360,000
26,000
|
26,000 |
|
|
351,000
351,000
|
351,000 |
|
|
351,000
105,000
|
105,000 |
|
|
346,000
254,000
|
254,000 |
Play has concluded for Day 1d. Stay tuned for chip counts and a full recap of the day's action.
With Fabian Bartuschk forced all-in from the big blind, Jonas Heuser called from the small blind. After the rest of the tables finished their action, the cards were turned over with Bartuschk at risk of bubbling.
Fabian Bartuschk: Q♥8♠
Jonas Heuser: J♦9♣
Bartuschk was the shortest stack remaining for the day and needed to win this to give himself another orbit to survive and make it to Day 2.
The flop of 5♠3♠4♦ was safe for Bartuschk, and he remained ahead with queen-high.
Some chop opportunities became available on the 6♣ turn, but the J♣ on the river was a disaster for Bartuschk as he Heuser spiked a pair.
Bartuschk headed to the rail as the bubble boy for Day 1d, and the remaining 57 players rejoiced and bagged up their chips for the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
225,000
119,000
|
119,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Samuel Jager limped the cutoff before Symeon Alexandridis made it 61,000 from the small blind. Jager called to see the J♠Q♥7♥ flop.
Alexandridis led out for 45,000, which Jager called, and the Q♣ arrived on the turn.
Alexandridis slowed down and checked, which allowed Jager to fire for 50,000. Alexandridis snap-folded and Jager won the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
525,000
215,000
|
215,000 |
|
|
300,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
Louis Peren raised to 33,000 from the cutoff and Benjamin Hammann put him all in from the big blind. Peren called for his last 5,000 and cards were revealed.
Louis Peren: K♦Q♠
Benjamin Hammann: A♥9♥
Peren needed to connect with the board to beat the ace-nine of Hammann.
The flop of 7♥6♥8♠ gave Hammann a flush draw and took away some of Peren's outs. Peren was drawing dead when Hammann paired his ace on the A♦ turn.
The 6♠ completed the board, and Peren hit the rail, meaning the tournament was officially on the bubble.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
420,000
420,000
|
420,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Marc Klinger shoved the button for 79,000 and Claudio Di Giacomo gave him a spin from the big blind.
Marc Klinger: Q♦Q♥
Claudio Di Giacomo: J♥10♠
Klinger had woken up with a premium pocket pair on the soft bubble and just had to fade an unfortunate runout to double.
Klinger had Di Giacomo drawing dead by the turn on the 4♦6♥K♠4♠2♣ runout, and he doubled at the expense of Di Giacomo.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
600,000
152,000
|
152,000 |
|
|
175,000
134,000
|
134,000 |
With 59 players remaining and only 57 spots available on Day 2, the floor staff has decided to start hand-for-hand.