button in SafariHugo Ouazana and Philippe Souki Bag Over One Million Chips Each After Day 1b
A few days after Day 1a, the €1,500 World Series of Poker Circuit Paris Main Event continued this Thursday with Day 1b. This second flight drew 197 entries at Partouche Pasino Club, slightly more than Day 1a (172), bringing the overall total to 369 entrants so far. The prize pool also climbed close to the half-million mark, which will be reached with the early entries on Day 1c.
It took a long time to burst the bubble and allow the 30 remaining players to find a bag, but they eventually did so, led by a duo. First, Philippe Souki held the chip lead during the last break and ultimately finished with 1,029,000. But Hugo Ouazana took the lead during the last level to end the day with 1,121,000.
"I gave a player a proper hard time," the Frenchman explained, adding that he took almost all of this player's 500,000 chips, notably thanks to a flopped set. "Then I three-bet a lot and applied pressure on the bubble," he added.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hugo Ouazana | France | 1,121,000 | 112 |
| 2 | Philippe Souki | United Kingdom | 1,029,000 | 103 |
| 3 | Sam Sztarkman | France | 925,000 | 93 |
| 4 | Leiqi Chen | France | 597,000 | 60 |
| 5 | Zheng Yang | Netherlands | 539,000 | 54 |
| 6 | Youenn Andre | France | 510,000 | 51 |
| 7 | Ankit Ahuja | India | 497,000 | 50 |
| 8 | Stephane Gabarre | France | 481,000 | 48 |
| 9 | Antony Saadoun | France | 465,000 | 47 |
| 10 | Lucas Segall | France | 345,000 | 35 |
Sam Sztarkman (925,000) is third in chips, 30 big blinds ahead of Leiqi Chen (597,000) and the rest of the pack, which includes players like Ankit Ahuja (497,000), Stephane Gabarre (481,000), who was among the chip leaders all night long, and Antony Saadoun (465,000), who secured a big double-up with kings through Ahuja after late registration closed.
Hervé Gouzil (248,000), Smain Mamouni (243,000), Luca Bernardi (236,000), and this summer's WSOP event finalist François Scapula (202,000) also advanced to Day 2.
After winning the WSOP Circuit Marrakech Main Event at the beginning of the year, Sandro Carucci hopes to win another WSOP-C ring this week. To do so, he'll have a 155,000-chip stack on Day 2.
The day was rough for Gabriel Nahum (105,000), who only had five big blinds on the bubble but still managed to burst it. David Foucault, however, had a strong start, quickly climbing to the top of the counts. But he failed to maintain his big stack and only bagged 71,000, slightly more than the starting stack.
While these 30 players will enjoy a day off this Friday, September 11, those who haven't qualified yet are expected to join Day 1c, which starts at 1 p.m. local time.
This third flight will follow the same structure as 1a and 1b, with a 50,000 starting stack and 40-minute levels. Late registration will remain open for the first 12 levels (until 11 p.m.), and play will conclude once 15% of the field remains.
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates until a winner is crowned!