39 survivors and a strong field on Final Day

The 403 players who entered Day 2 at 2 p.m. on Saturday have now been whittled down to 39 for Sunday's Day 3, which gets underway at 2 p.m. in blinds 50,000 - 100,000 (100,000). Pierre Neuville, Vincent Gabel, Gil Thierry and Mathias Moutaoukil all made it to the Final Day!

It took 13 40-minute levels to skim this field of 1,783 entrants. After 3 hours of poker, the last 255 players in the field began to share out a prizepool of almost €515,000. The 39 qualifiers for the Final Day secured €1,575, and on Sunday they will battle it out for the €75,010 first prize, 6 CPS Main Event tickets at €2,200 and glory, as the final will be televised as usual at the Circus Casino Resort in Namur.

Mihai Stinca will return with the Yellow Jersey and 65 blinds to work with. His closest pursuer, Laroussi Nazoumi, will have 50 blinds to continue his deep-run. He is ahead of two other Belgians who have impressed since the start of the tournament, if Jelle Jonckheere (46bb - above) and Bregt Winters (39bb). 

Note the good position of Gil Thierry (38bb) and Mathias Moutaoukil (32bb)... but with an average of 23 blinds there's not much room for error in preflop moves. 

Regulars Abedin Omerovic (35bb), Francesco Pillitteri (27bb) have chips and are still on target for the €75,010 first prize, a ticket that has motivated Farukh Tach (22b) and legend Pierre Neuville (21bb) to hang on. 

Rens Buijs (19bb - below) and Sam Gelle (19bb) have not said their last word in a tournament where Harrie Snijders (17bb) and Vincent Gabel (16bb) are hoping to come from behind. The last woman in the running, Natascha Siepmann, demonstrated her shortstacking skills to reach Day 3... watch out for the remontada!  

With 9 players under 11 blinds and the big money still to come, things should be moving fast at the start of Day 3. Watch out for Mischa Wietten if he manages to get out of this red zone... Don't miss the start of our coverage on Sunday at 2 p.m. 

For players, the Sunday Special starts at 3.30pm, and registration is also open until 2.30pm for the €600 High Roller...


Chipcount complete Day 3
Mihai Stinca 6,555,000
Laroussi Nazoume 5,030,000
Jelle Jonckheere 4,665,000
Bregt Winters 3,920,000
Fabien Ayadi 3,910,000
Gil Thierry 3,785,000
Fernando Pedrosa 3,775,000
Abedin Omerovic 3,540,000
Mathias Moutaoukil 3,275,000
Boris Dino 3,200,000

Guillaume Pannier 3,000,070
Cyril Olivier $2,870,000
Francesco Pillitteri $2,670,000
Dragan Buden 2,640,000
Tanguy Petitjean $2,550,000
Timm Slowinski $2,440,000
Farukh Tach 2,185,000
Pierre Neuville $2,140,000
Rens Buijs 1,935,000
Sam Gelle 1,875,000

Sem Peeters 1,855,000
Leon Fischer 1,810,000
Michiho Onizuka 1,780,000
Andreas Peschel 1,770,000
Buke 1,700,000
Harrie Snijders 1,685,000
Natascha Siepmann 1,600,000
Vincent Gabel 1,580,000
Christopher Charneux 1,500,000
Christophe Chalons $1,150,000

Jeff Kirsch 1,000,040
Mischa Wietten 965,000
Tony Monnet 955,000
Jan Teunis 925,000
Thomas Jansen 880,000
Riccardo Rubeis 680,000
gael Peres 675,000
Antonius Roberts 600,000
Thomas Daix 400,000

Day 2 started with 403 players, and for two hours the average was one outgoing player per minute. This pace proved fatal to Anne Trebitsch, Pascal Honai, Gaetano Moreci, Dominique Sertin, Romain Becker, Djamal Boutaleb, Gregory Biermans and Ingo Paulus. 

The bubble lasted half an hour, despite the fact that it only took two hand-to-hand deals for Gerhard Brimmers (right - below) to jump to the worst place with the Aces, eliminated by Dovidio Monaco. 

It took 4 hours of poker for the field to drop to 170 players, with 105 still in the running at the dinner break. Three hours and 20 minutes later, only 39 players were left...

For seatdraw, chipcount and tournament standings, please see the document below...

4 minutes 3 outs

Play resumed with 39 players on blinds 50,000 - 100,000 (100,000) and there was damage from the first deal.

Despite 16 blinds on the restart and a dozen players behind on the chipcount, Vincent Gabel jumped straight in, victimized by Tanguy PetitJean. The Belgian collected €1,575 for his deep-run, and was joined on the rail by Thomas Daix and Dutchman Jan Teunis. 

Half an hour, one level

There were 8 exits in the first half-hour of this Final Day. Despite levels extended to 50 minutes, the shorts had to move... 9 players resumed with less than 11 blinds.

After the exit of the first trio, there were no further casualties for around ten minutes. Christopher Charneux (below) was next in line. The phoenix doesn't always live again, and his 3-bet shove for 12 blinds with King Jack was to be his last. After opening late, Mathias Moutaoukil calls with Ace Valet to stay ahead one board later. Heading for a stack of 4 million. 

Later, Jeff Kirsch lost preflop to Ace 8 fromAndreas Peschel and joins the rail in 35th place, for €1,575. Riccardo de Rubeis failed to get back into the game after starting the day with 7 blinds. 

Finito also for Mischa Wietten (above) who 3-bet shove 9 blinds of bb with King 9 suited after an open of Tanguy Petitjean to the button. The Frenchman calls Ace Valet and confirms his good start to the day to reach 5 million a board later. 

Dragan Ruben's exit in 32nd place means that the 30-minute survivors are guaranteed a win of €1,805. This is the Leon Fischer who did the work to climb to 3.8 million...

There are 8 minutes left on 50,000 - 100,000 (100,000) with 31 players and an average of 2.9 million. 

They collect €1,575
32nd - Dragan Buden (below)
33rd - Mischa Wieten
34th - Riccardo de Rubeis
35th - Jeff Kirsch
36th - Christopher Charneux
37th - Jan Teunis
38th - Thomas Daix
39th - Vincent Gabel

New Level

The game is being played over 60,000 - 120,000 (120,000), still with 30 players guaranteed a €1,805 payout. The average is 2.9 million chips after this first hour of play...

Guillaume Pannier has just left the game in 31st position, the Frenchman has 3-bet shove 7 blinds with King 8 from the big blind. After opening early with Ace Valet, Tony Monnet called to hit a Jack on the flop. Despite a late straight draw, Pannier is still waiting for his 7...

Monnet climbs to 4.6 million chips, with 89 outstanding in this Carnival Festival Main Event...

Farukh Tach doubled up with Ace Jack against King 9 Suit at Jelle Bonckheere's preflop all-in. Back to 1.5 million for the Namur Classic's winner, Jelle falls back to 3.8 million chips. 

Slowpay

Tim Slowinski (right in photo) will be wondering for a long time what happened. The German limps to the cutoff and raises to 1.2 million chips when Fernando Pedrosa bets 400,000 big blind chips.

Pedrosa mucks 3.2 million and Slowinski snaps with the Aces. The Portuguese returns Ace King of Hearts and hits a 4 Ten 9 8 7 board with a heart on the flop, a heart on the turn and a heart river to move to 6.5 million. In infinite whine mode in German, Tim slips to 900,000 chips after this unorthodox move...

8 minutes left to play on 60,000 - 120,000 (120,000) with still 30 players, a break will start at the end of this level... 

Fireworks before the break

After a big half-hour without elimination, 5 players jumped in 8 minutes just before the break. There are 26 players guaranteed a €2,080 payout... with €304,000 left in the Carnival Main Event prizepool.

Play resumes on 75,000 - 150,000 (150,000) with an average of 3.4 million chips.

Christophe Chalons was the last to give up, in a 3-way. Chalons went all-in for 1.2 million under the gun, Tim Solowski reshoved over just to his left for 1 million and in the small blind Abdul El Kharrazi went all-in for 1.8 million with Ace King. Christophe turned over King Queen of clubs and Tim a pair of 8s which hit three of a kind right away. 

Solowski is back on track at €3.2 million, the average, Chalons joins the rail for €1,805 and Abdul is in danger of a recovery at just under a million... 

Just before, Rens Buijs tried a big bluff on Leon Fischer... the German didn't crack to call this big 3-barrel and raise to 3.4 million. "Not my best day today", confided Rens as he rejoined the rail a few minutes later...

Harrie Snijders and the last woman on the final level are also out, with 9 Belgians left out of the final 26 competitors in this field of 1,783 entrants. 


They collect €1,805
27th - Christophe Chalons
28th - Rens Buijs
29th - Harrie Snijders
30th - Natascha Siepmann (below)
31st - Guillaume Pannier 

No Bingo

Boris Bino joins the rail with the best hand in 25th position. On the heels of a reraise to 75,000 - 150,000 (150,000), Boris pushes 1.1 million to the button with Ace 9 mismatched... Thomas Jansen calls in the big blind with King-Queen and takes out his opponent on a Jack 2 King 5 Ten board. Crucial move for Thomas Jansen, who climbs to 2.4 million...

At this table are Pierre Neuville (3.5 million), Sem Peeters (1.9 million), Farukh Tach (2.1 million) and Jelle Jonckheere (3.2 million), while the average is 3.7 million for 24 players as Gael Peres (26th) has jumped in the meantime... We play one last hand and remove the last three tables! 

Redraw

As Boris left the game, a huge pot pitted Jelle Jonckheere against Thomas Jansen. Thomas opened and snapped with two Kings when Jelle 3-bet shove over 3 million. Jonckheere was caught red-handed with his ace-sucked 6... an ace-turn gave him over 6 million at the last three tables!

In the wake of the 3-table grouping, Fabien Ayadi went all in with 4s to crack Francesco Pillitteri's Aces! Antonius Roberts 3-bet shove after an open and call, then showed the queens after a general fold to get back to 2 million chips, having started the day at 6 blinds.

24 players and 25 minutes left to play on blinds 75,000 - 150,000 (150,000)... average at 3.7 million...

Table 1 (in seating order)
Andreas Peschel 2 million
Pierre Neuville 3.6 million
Gil Thierry 3.6 million
Laroussi Nazoume 4.4 million
Jelle Jonckheere 6.5 million
Thierry Monnet 3?4 million
Sam Gelle 5.3 million
Leon Fischer 5.5 million

Table 2 (in order of seats)
Michiho Onizuka 1.5 million
Bregt Winters 3.2 million
Farukh Tach 1.8 million
Abedin Omerovic 2 million
Tanguy Petitjean 4.9 million
Mihai Stinca 5.5 million
Abdul Buke 2,9 million
Antonius Roberts 2 million

Table 3 (in order of seats)
Francesco Pillitteri 2.1 million
Cyril Olivier 7.7 million
Sem Peeters 1.7 million
Tim Solowski 2.8 million
Mathias Moutaoukil 5.5 million
Thomas Jansen 1.3 million
Humberto Pedrosa 6.2 million
Fabien Ayadi 2.7 million

No Monnet

Tony Monnet is out of the game, losing not so far from the big money, and he'll probably have some regrets...

Tony discovers Ace-King after an open and 3-bets to 750,000 chips with a stack in excess of 4.4 million... he pays when Andreas Peschel cold 4-bets all-in. The German returns Ace-Queen and hits a King-Jack-10 flop to soar to 5.4 million chips.

Monnet slips to 800,000 chips and goes all in with a straight draw on both ends of the flop... only to be impaled on Sam Gelle's max three of a kind. Sam is now at 8.2 million and leading the tournament.

Meanwhile, Bregt Winters also joins the rail. Winters 3-bet shove for 1.3 million after an Antonius Roberts open call with ace-queen. Bregt returned King Ten and was defeated by a board of As 3 6 5 3. Having arrived with 6 blinds at the start of the day, Antonius Roberts now has 5.5 million in chips! 

End of course for Francesco Pillitteri (above). "I got carried away," admits Francesco, whose tournament was played with Aces against Ayadi a few minutes earlier. Fabien will finish Francesco off to climb to 6.2 million chips...

The blinds have just climbed to 100,000 - 200,000 (200,000) with an average of 21 blinds for 21 players. 42 minutes to go before the second break of Day 3...

They've joined the railways

22nd - Francesco Pillitteri €2400
23rd - Tony Monnet €2400
24th - Bregt Winters €2080
25th - Boris Bino €2080
26th - Gael Peres €2080

Big Gil

Fist clenched, big "yeah" once the river falls, Gil Thierry is back. The Belgian has kept a low profile over the last few months, and this is his chance to get back in the spotlight. 

Open d'Andreas Peschel (above) to 400,000 on lowjack, the German pays Gil's 1.1 million 3-bet from the cutoff. On the Belgian's 850,000-chip continuation bet on a 9 8 5 flop, Peschel places a huge chek-shove... it's paid by Gil Thierry who turns over the queens. 

With Roi 9 suité Peschel is in a bad position, the double of 8 and the Dame river send him into the rail. Gil Thierry climbs to 13 million of the tournament's 89 chips. Chipleader papa! 

There are 20 players left for an average of 4.4 million and 22 minutes to play on 100,000 - 200,000 (200,000) before a break...

Neuville and Tach miss out on the final

Pierre Neuville lost in 19th place in the Carnival 2024 Main Event. He fell to Leon Fischer, who had just won a pot against Gil Thierry (11 million).

Leon opens on the button and pays the WSOP Main Event fiesta's 3-bet shove with 9 and ten of hearts. Pierre Neuville turns over a pair of 6s for 1.8 million chips... and hits three of a kind on the flop, but Fischer hits two hearts as well. A king of hearts on the turn puts an end to Neuville's run, who doesn't make full river...

Leon Fischer climbs to 10.7 million, in the wake of Gil Thierry... Meanwhile, Farukh Tach has surrendered, also for €2,745.

18 players remain for an average of 4.9 million. In 14 minutes, the second break of Day 3 begins...

Un Belge de Moins

The game is on hold until 6 p.m. with a 125,000 - 250,000 (250,000) restart without Thomas Jansen. They will be 17 to resume with an average of 5.2 million since the man behind the Pure Poker project with Gathy, Boivin and co has given up the ghost.

Thomas Jansen first doubled up with Ace 6 against Roi 7 at Mathias Moutaoukil's, dropping the Moroccan to 3.1 million at the break. Up to 2.8 million, Thomas Jansen missed the break after 3-bet shove. 

Sem Peeters had opened with Jacks under the gun, and he paid for this cutoff shove to discover Ace Dame in front. The flip goes to Peeters, who returns from the break with 6.5 million...

There's still €282,000 to go in the prizepool, a figure that doesn't include the 6 €2,200 CPS Main Event tickets for the last 6 players in the running...

They collected €2,745
18th - Thomas jansen
19th - Pierre Neuville 
20th - Farukh Tach

Redraw

Abedin Omerovic misses out on the semi-finals. The Belgian lost in 17th place and missed the redraw... they are 16 with an average of 5.5 million, 35 minutes left to play on 125,000 - 250,000 (250,000)...

Table 15 (in seating order)
Fernando Pedrosa
Leon Fischer
Cyril Olivier
Jelle Jonckheere
Laroussi Nazoume
Gil Thierry 
Abdul Buke 
Sem Peeters

Table 14 (in seat order)
Tim Slowinski 
Michiho Onizuka
Sam Gelle
Tanguy Petitjean
Fabien Ayadi
Antonius Roberts
Mihai Stinca
Mathias Moutaoukil

Sem Cartonne

Two victims in two minutes for Sem Peeters, who is now at the top of the leaderboard after first eliminating Abdul Turk (below). Very short-stacked, Turk open-shoved in the small blind with 9 and 2 suited... Sem Peeters called Ace 2 to climb to 9 million chips. 

A few hands later, the Dutchman opened Ace Dame and called the 3-bet shove at nearly 2 million. Cyril Olivier. The Frenchman unveiled a mismatched As 6, heading for the rail...

Sem Peeters has 11 million chips, while the average is 6.3 million. 20 minutes left to play on 125,000 - 250,000 (250,000)... 

Finito
15th - Cyril Olivier €3,800
16th - Abdul Turk €3,180
17th - Abedin Omerovic €3,180

New Level

There are 13 players left with an average of 6.8 million... with five minutes to go before 150,000 - 300,000 (300,000). Despite the 50-minute levels, the inexorable rise of the blinds stings!

Laroussi Nazoume joined the €3,800 richer rail and the next eliminated player will take home €4,570. Mathias Moutaoukil is hoping for more after his near-miss.

Mathias 3-bets shove 3.2 million small blind after an open-ended hand from Tanguy Petitjean, who ends up calling ace-valet. The duo drive back to France, Tanguy assuring himself with a smile that his buddy will be waiting for him in case of a bust.

In a good atmosphere, Mathias unveils a mismatched Queen Ten and doubles in-extremis after a Valet Ten 6 Ace King board. "Let's make it 10% instead," laughs Mathias as he reraises to 6.5 million while his opponent slips to 5.3 million.

At the next table, Gil Thierry is down to 9 million after a late open defended by Humberto Pedrosa in the big blind. Pedrosa called twice before betting 1.2 million on the river of a 3 4 Queen Jack 7 board with two spades on the flop. Humberto climbs to 11 million after the Belgian folds...

The remaining payout (€268,835 out of €514,930)
Champion - €75,010
Runner Up - €48,220
3rd- €34,355
4th - €26,500
5th - 20,405€
6th - 15,680€
7th - 12,055€
8th - 9,280€
9th - 7,150€
10th - 5,520€
11th - 5,520€
12th - 4,570€
13th - 4,570€

* The last 6 players in the running also take a €2,200 CPS Main Event ticket.

Offset

There are 35 minutes left to play on 150,000 - 300,000 (300,000) and there's supposed to be a break at the end of this level... The game will continue until the final 9 is reached, at least for one more level at first.

With an average of 22.5 blinds, there's plenty of action, and Michiho Onizuka came close to busting out, dropping to 3 blinds before tripling up with King 2 against a pair of 3s and then splitting with 9 and 7 against Queen 7... so that he's now up to 12 blinds.

Mihai Stinca is also yo-yoing, having first lost a flip hijack against button with Ace Jack against 7s at Tim Slowinski's. The German is up to 5.8 million at the end of the move, while Mihai is down to 2.7 million...

A sum he commits on the very next move with a shove under the gun... He's called by Sam Gelle, who pays with 8s for 40 percent of his stack and drops to 4.5 million after a 4 3 9 9 2 board. Mihai Stinca, with his tens, is back up to 6.1 million chips. 

Nobody wants to bust

They're 12 after Sam Gelle's exit. Busted by his 20-80 loss to Mihai Stinca, the Luxembourger opened with Ace 4 suited to find two pair flopped and all in on the turn... just as Tanguy Petitjean hit the straight. A river brick later, Tanguy climbs to 12.8 million as there's one more victim in the rail.

Tanguy keeps his distance from Leon Fischer, who dominates the other table and has 18 million of the tournament's 89 outstanding chips...

10 minutes to go before the blinds rise to 200,000 - 400,000 (400,000). With an average of 7.4 million chips, if things don't change before then this will be the first time the average has fallen below 20 blinds at this Carnival Festival... 

Ca s'Emballe

It took 20 minutes of play on the 7th 50-minute level of the day to get things moving. The average had fallen below 20 blinds and the all-in shots were rolling in. 

Mathias Moutaoukil found a triple-up with As Roi. From the button, the Moroccan reshoved after an open-shove under the barrel of Tanguy Petitjean followed by a shove from his neighbor on the left, Antonius Roberts. 

The Dutchman flips queens and falls to 3 million one board 4 Aces 9 2 4 later. Mathias triples to 10.6 million, while Tanguy and his pair of 3s fall to 5.3 million. 

Antonius Roberts would never recover from this move, falling a little later after sending his shortstack with Jack 3 suit. Tim Slowinksi paid with 8s to bring about the ultimate reunification at the end of a King Ace Queen 2 5 board. 

Seconds before, it's Jelle Jonckheere who had joined the rail in 11th position. The Belgian put in just over 10 blinds with Ace 9 to impale himself on Gil Thierry's Jacks. Gil had opened and called to climb to nearly 15 million just before dinner and the final!

A 12th-place finish for Humberto Pedrosa (below). All three eliminations took place in 5 minutes. The Portuguese player tank-called 7 big blinds with Ten and 8 suit after a small blind open-shove from Sem Peeters. Peeters reveals the queens and holds to launch the sprint to the final and €75,000 for the winner! 

En Finale

The game is on break, with only 9 players left guaranteed a €7,150 prize... Streaming of the Final Table begins at 9.20pm, with 35 minutes to play on blinds 200,000 - 400,000 (400,000)...

The finalists are on dinner break, and will be playing for another €248,655 and 6 CPS Main Event tickets at €2,200 an entry. The champion will pocket almost €75,000! 

The Final Table (in seating order)
Fabien Ayadi 10,825,000
Michiho Onizuka $2,400,000
Sem Peeters 8,900,000
Mathias Moutaoukil 11,100,000
Gil Thierry 14,800,000
Tanguy Petitjean 5,075,000
Tim Slowinski 8,700,000
Mihai Stinca 6,675,000
Leon Fischer 20,625,000 (chipleader)


Remaining payout (€268,835 out of €514,930)
Champion - €75,010
Runner Up - €48,220
3e- 34 355€
4e - 26 500€
5e - 20 405€
6e - 15 680€ 
7e - 12 055€
8e - 9 280€
9e - 7 150€

10th - Antponius Roberts €5,520
11th - Jelle Jonckheere €5,520
12th - Humberto Fernando Pedrosa €4,570
13th - Sam Gelle €4,570
14th - Laroussi Nazoume €3,800

* The last 6 players in the running also take a €2,200 CPS Main Event ticket.

Streaming

The game resumed on 200,000 - 400,000 (400,000) with 9 players, with a quarter-hour delay...

In Bed 

A final hand for Michiho Onizuka, who pushes his stack of 2 million in the big blind with King 8 of spades. As soon as the hand resumes, Fabien Ayadi bets 800,000 chips in the small blind and of course pays with his mismatched Ace 2. 

One board 5 Dame 5 9 3 later, the Belgian Onizuka finds himself in the richer rail of €7,850. Fabien is up to 13 millons in chips. 

The average is 11.1 million...

ICM Fold

Since Onizuka's exit, the gaps have narrowed with a chipleader at 17 million and 34 blinds on blinds 250,000 - 500,000 (500,000). Fabien Ayadi and Mihai Stinca are tied at the front with a third player at 28 blinds. Shortstack Gil Thierry has 7 million and 14 blinds... more or less one shot away from becoming a potential winner. The players are in tight mode.

We saw Tim Slowinski open UTG 1 for 1 million and fold his Ace Jack after Sem Peeters' button shove for 6.7 million with a pair of 10s... The same Sem Peeters opened to Hijack with 7s and could only fold when Tanguy Petitjean sent in 6.3 million and went all-in with Ace Valet!

The man who came out on top was Mihai Stinca, who took a ton out of Gil Thierry by making a straight with 87 on 5 3 4 6 4... Gil had Queen 7 and paid over 2 million river...

Since then, the players have gone on break, and Stinca is now in the lead with a nice lead over his pursuers. They'll resume on 300,000 - 600,000 (600,000)... Streaming restarts at midnight 8.

The Final Table (in seating order)
Fabien Ayadi 11,825,000
Sem Peeters 8,500,000
Mathias Moutaoukil 8,100,000
Gil Thierry 7,800,000
Tanguy Petitjean 7,075,000
Tim Slowinski 10,700,000
Mihai Stinca 20,675,000 (chipleader)
Leon Fischer 12,825,000 

Gil joins the Rail

As soon as the 300,000 - 600,000 (600,000) restart, Gil Thierry goes all-in with Ace Ten of Hearts against a pair of 9s from Leon Fischer. 

The run goes to the German, who immediately hits a 9 7 King flop to confirm his advantage. A 7 for the Full House on the turn and a 5 river for form, heading for 22 million chips and almost pole position for Fischer. 

Gil Thierry pockets €9,280... all 7 players still in the running secure a 5-figure €12,055 prize. It's now the €2,200 CPS ticket bubble, as the next outgoing player will be the only survivor from this field of 1,783 entrants to leave without the precious ticket to the Main Event, which will take place at the end of 2024...

Big Fold

The blinds are 300,000 - 600,000 (600,000) and Fabien Ayadi has just made a nice fold. He pays from the button with Ace 9 following an open from Leon Fischer at the cutoff... and raises to 3.6 million on the German's 1.2 million continuation bet of 6 4 9.

Leon Fischer sends in his stack with kings and Fabien eventually finds a fold. A stack of 22 million for Fischer!

No Ticket for Moutaoukil

7th in the CPS Cup in December, Mathias Moutouakil is back with a big field, this time finishing 7th in the €350 Carnival Main Event, which attracted 1,783 entrants.

After a min-raise from chipleader Leon Fischer at the start of the hand, Mathias Moutaoukil sent 7.7 million from the button with Ace Queen.

Leon calmly calls Ace King and eliminates the Moroccan after a King 6 6 5 Ace table, he's up to 39 million in chips, well ahead on the 300,000 - 600,000 blinds (600,000)...

The last 6 players in the running secured a €2,200 CPS Main Event ticket and a €15,680 payout.

The Final Table (in seating order)
Fabien Ayadi 6.9 million
Sem Peeters 6.9 million
Tanguy Petitjean 4.9 million
Tim Slowinski 14 million
Mihai Stinca 18 million
Leon Fischer 39 million (chipleader)

Sem Peeters won't go all in (€15,680)

After laying down the blind and ante, Sem Peeters found himself with 4.6 million on blinds 500,000 - 1,000,000 (1,000,000)... so he paid for his stack with 7s and 8s of clubs after Tanguy Petitjean's open shove under the gun.

With 10 blinds, Tanguy was all in with 8s and stayed ahead one board later. Sem Peeters wins €15,680 and his €2,200 CPS Main Event ticket, with the survivors guaranteed €20,405!

Chipcount
Leon Fischer 34 million
Tanguy Petitjean 17 million
Tim Slowinski 16 million
Mihai Stinca 14 million
Fabien Ayadi 9 million 

Remaining payout (204,000€ out of 514,930€)
Champion - 75,010€
Runner Up - 48,220€
3rd- 34,355€
4th - 26,500€
5th - 20,405€
6th - Sem Peeters 15,680€
7th - Mathias Moutaoukil 12,055€
8th - Gil Thierry 9,280€
9th - Michiho Onizuka 7,150€

10th - Antonius Roberts €5,520
11th - Jelle Jonckheere €5,520
12th - Humberto Fernando Pedrosa €4,570
13th - Sam Gelle €4,570
14th - Laroussi Nazoume €3,800

Tim Slowinski cashes €20,405

Tim Slowinski's run came to an end, as he pocketed €20,405 and a CPS Main Event ticket worth €2,200. The German player bet 11 blinds and went all-in from the button... Mihai Stinca woke up in the small blind with Ace-King for a rather easy all-in isolation.

Tim joins the rai at the end of a Jack Ten 2 9 Ten board, Mihai Stinca reraises to 24 million just before the break. Tanguy then doubles up to reposition himself!

The game resumes on 600,000 - 1,200,000 (1,200,000), which should talk deal at the break...

Chipcount
Leon Fischer 35 million
Mihai Stinca 21 million
Tanguy Petitjean 20 million
Fabien Ayadi 13 million 

Deal or no deal

The blinds are still 600,000 - 1,200,000 (1,200,000) and the multiple discussions of financial arrangements are still going nowhere.

Fabien Ayadi just doubled up to balance things out and probably open up another discussion... Fabien 3-bets shove 7.8 million from the small blind after a 2.5 million open from the button by Leon Fischer.

The German snaps with Jack Ten of clubs... and it's a flip as Fabien has 9 and 8 mismatched! After a table of 4 7 9 3 3, it's back to the drawing board.

Chipcount
Leon Feischer 31 millions (25bb)
Mihai Stinca 25 millions (20bb)
Fabien Ayadi 18 millions (15bb)
Tanguy Petitjean 16 millions (13bb)

Tanguy denied a podium finish

Tanguy Petitjean finished in 4th place, denied a podium finish after two preflop all-in losses.

Up to 20 million, Tanguy opens on the button for 2.5 million on 600,000 - 1,200,000 chips and pays when Mihai Stinca pushes all-in, covered with nothing. Tanguy's pair of Jacks lost out to Mihai's Ace-Queen and Petitjean slipped to 1.7 million.

Tanguy commits this sum under the gun and gets paid by everyone. On the 2 3 7 flop, Fabien Ayadi goes all-in to scare everyone away... and reveals 4 and 5 for the showdown. In a good position to move up with his pair of tens, Tanguy is once again crucified by an Ace turn!

He will console himself with his best performance and €26,500 accompanied by a CPS Main Event ticket at €2,200 per entry.

Chipcount
Mihai Stinca 44 million
Fabien Ayadi 23 million
Leon Fischer 22 million

Leon Fischer pockets €34,355

Leon Fischer finishes in 3rd place, having been in the lead for a long time before the blinds began to mount.

Fabien Ayadi was more aggressive after refusing to deal, entering the final duel with 48 million to Mihai Stinca's 41 million.

The final duel was decided on a 3-way. At the button, Fabien limps Dame 9 of diamonds, Mihai Stinca completes with a mismatched Ace Ten and Leon checks with Jack 3 of diamonds.

The dealer unlocks a King Queen 4 flop with two diamonds and Fabien's 2.5 million bet provokes a Mihai fold and a 14 million reshove from Leon.

Ayadi pays quickly to find an opponent almost drawing dead. The 6 of hearts on the turn and the 9 of spades on the river confirm Fabien's advantage.

Leon Fischer consoled himself with a first visit to Namur, winning a €2,200 CPS Main Event ticket and €34,355 in cash.

The head's up participants secured €48,220, with the champion pocketing €75,010!

Mihai Stinca runner-up (€48,220)

The head's up was rushed with two players running out of time despite no deal.

The last hand began with a limp from Mihai Stinca with King Ten mismatched. Fabien Ayadi raises to 3.7 million in the big blind and Mihai pays to discover a 6 4 3 flop with two hearts... which doesn't provoke any action.

On the Jack of Hearts turn, Fabien bets 5.5 million with Queen Eight of Hearts... and pays at the speed of light when Mihai goes all-in over the top for a total of 37 million.

Covered, Mihai flips the King of Hearts for 7 outs to go ahead. The 2 of spades on the river ends the tournament... Fabien takes down the €75,010 no-deal prize!

Mihai Stinca pockets €48,220 and a €2,200 CPS Main Event ticket like the last 6 players!

Carnival 2024 Main Event Final Table 
Champion - Fabien Ayadi €75,010
Runner Up - Mihai Stinca €48,220
3rd- Leon Fischer €34,355
4th - Tanguy Petitjean €26,500
5th - Tim Slowinksi €20,405
6th - Sem Peeters €15,680 
7th - Mathias Moutaoukil €12,055
8th - Gil Thierry €9,280
9th - Michiho Onizuka €7,150

*CPS ticket 2200€ for the last 6 players out of 1783 entrants

Fabien Ayadi shaves Carnival (€75,010)

At the top of the leaderboard since entering the money and the second half of Day 2, Fabien Ayadi was discreet but effective on Day 3. He turned down a ready-made deal at 4 left when he was last in class...

The Frenchman then doubled up and passed the second hand to wrap up the tournament in a quarter of an hour and pocket €75,010 plus a CPS Main Event ticket worth €2,200. A real achievement for this amateur, who signed his first result at poker!

In the end, Fabien came out ahead of a Namur veteran, Mihai Stinca. Long-time chipleader of this Final Day, Leon Fischer finally lost out in 3rd place for a hefty 5 figures. This was the German's first visit to Namur.

The last 7 players in the tournament turned their €350 buy-in into over €10,000. A success for the Circus Casino Resort in Namur, which attracted 1,783 entrants over the course of a week to redistribute a prizepool of almost €515,000.! 

Already 7th in the CPS Cup, Mathias Moutaoukil follows up with 7th place in this Carnival Main Event. The Moroccan bubbles over the CPS ticket, but can console himself with the presence of his buddy Tanguy Petitjean in the final. For his first performance, Petitjean finished at the foot of the podium to win €26,500!

Premieer sortant de la finale Michiho Onizuka held a hand, Gil Thierry resisted for over an hour before reaching the rail, the former Poker One player could do nothing... 

Carnival 2024 Main Event Final Table 
Champion - Fabien Ayadi €75,010
Runner Up - Mihai Stinca €48,220
3rd- Leon Fischer €34,355
4th - Tanguy Petitjean €26,500
5th - Tim Slowinksi €20,405
6th - Sem Peeters €15,680 
7th - Mathias Moutaoukil €12,055
8th - Gil Thierry €9,280
9th - Michiho Onizuka €7,150

*CPS ticket 2200€ for the last 6 players out of 1783 entrants

The Final Day of the Carnival Main Event lasted almost 13 hours. The first half-hour was very lively, with 7 eliminations, including Vincent Gabel's on the first hand. Mischa Wietten was eliminated in 33rd place, and it took a full hour of play for Guillaume Pannier to give up in 31st place.

The last three tables were redrawn after two hours of play at poker, when Rens Buijs (28th) and Natascha Siepmann (30th) stopped playing. An hour later, only 20 players were left in the running, Farukh Tach and Pierre Neuville having given up all hope of claiming the trophy.

It took six and a half levels of 50 minutes to reach the Final Table, after a great deal of resistance from the protagonists at the last reunification bubble. It was finally at 9pm that the final began.

It took Fabien Ayadi almost 5 hours to triumph!

Selection of players for Day 3
10th - Antonius Roberts €5,520
11th - Jelle Jonckheere €5,520
17th - Abedin Omerovic €3,180
18th - Thomas Jansen €2,745
19th - Pierre Neuville €2,745
20th - Farukh Tach €2,745
22nd - Francesco Pillitteri €2,400
28th - Rens Buijs €1,805
30th - Natascha Siepmann €1,805
3çe - Vincent Gabel €1,575