Day 1C of the Circus Namur French Open kicks off at 4 p.m.

Let's Start Again

Day 1C has kicked off at the Circus Casino Resort in Namur. 35 players are already seated at the tables for this third starting session of the Circus Namur French Open, and will be trying to join the 68 qualifiers for Day 2 on Saturday September 9th... 

Day 1C features 12 levels of poker , with 9 30-minute levels and 3 40-minute levels... registrations/re-entries are permitted until the first hand of level 10, at around 10.15pm. 

The 75-minute dinner break will take place at the end of level 8, between 8:30 and 9:45 pm... 

First Quarter

15 minutes of play and half of the tournament's one and only no-ante level is already behind us. With no outs since the start, the counter now reads 40 players at the tables of the Circus Casino Resort in Namur.

Overall attendance is now flirting with 300 entries, just in time to clear the tournament's €200,000 guarantee.

Among the players present, Yves Seghers, Fouad El Mouhmouh and Rosario Agosta try their luck again. David Botty, Mike Niegho and Yannick Ansenne, on the other hand, made their first blunders.

First attempt for Fabien Perrot too, the Frenchman having concentrated on side tournaments since his arrival in Namur, he twice reached the final and the deal in the Warm-up, then the silver medal in the 5-card PLO. 

They're coming

The antes have appeared, Level 2 is underway with 54 players in the running for 54 entrants...

The game is being played on blinds 100 - 300 (300), with Agim Altindag making an appearance. Wim Verhaegen is here too, as are David Maso and Reynaldo Gaone. 

No Sortant

45 minutes of play and no elimination, the counter for Day 1C of the Circus Namur French Open now shows 62 players in contention for 62 entrants...

The table of Yannick Ansenne, Fabien Perrot and Wim Verhaegen is not lacking in action, however.

On a 900 open from Verhaegen to the cutoff, Harrie Snijders raises the stakes to 2,200 chips just to his left. It's paid and the duo discover a Queen 5 9 flop.

Harrie bets 2,200 chips and gets chek-raised to 6,600 chips, it's paid. On turn 5, Wim checks and gives up his cards in a second when Harrie sends in 12,000...

Snijders then turns over a mismatched King 2. "I could see it on Ace King," he laughs with his stack of 60,000 chips as his neighbor on the left opens to 700 on the button.

It's call by Yannick in the small blind and by the big blind. This trio uncovers a Queen 7 8 flop which doesn't provoke any action.

On turn 3, Yannick bets 1,200 chips and only the big blind completes. On the 8 river double up, Yannick bets another 1,200, gets paid and reveals Ace 8 of hearts to trip and take the pot. Heading for 78,000 chips for Yannick. 

Quiet

75 minutes of play and 73 players battling it out over blinds 200 - 400 (400)... Still no outs!

Djamal Boutaleb has just arrived at Mike Niegho's table. Serial performer in Namur, the Frenchman deep-runned the EPT Barcelona Main Event last week!

Djamal sat down in the big blind and watched his neighbor on the left limp in. The small blind joined the party and Djamal paid a 500-chip bet on King Ten 4 before checking-fold on a second bet on a brick turn...

SuperSide WaSOP finalist Andrei Turcanu also joined the party for a 5-figure win. Morgan Poisson, Daniel Pirlot and Francesco Pilliteri also arrived... 

Shoo

It took an hour and 28 minutes to get the first outgoing player in this third starting session.

Dirk Weidmann went all in with 12,000 and all in after an open under the gun three-pay. Angelo Mancuso went all-in over UTG with Ace-King to shut everyone out and Dirk was unable to turn over anything better than Ace-Queen.

A King doorcard ended Dirk's comeback hopes, the German finding no help on a King 6 5 3 9 board... Angelo took advantage of the situation to move up to 61,000 chips.

The blinds rise to 200 - 500 (500) and Baptiste Da Cunha and Pierre Thomée join the rail too.

So there are 74 players in the running for 77 entrants on level 4 of this Circus Namur French Open...

A break will take place at the end of this level.

Strike

With 16 minutes left to play in the 200 - 500 blinds (500), there are just 72 players left in the field for 78 entrants. Joachim Demoulin has done the job!

Joachim finds the Kings at the Cutoff and opens to 1,000 chips. It's a call from the button but Claude Mathieu raises to 12,000 and goes all-in in the small blind.

In the big blind, Philippe Caboni raises to 52,000. Joachim doesn't back down and pushes his 68,000 chips for a 3-way.

The small blind returns the Jacks, Philippe Caboni the 9s and the Queen 2 2 4 3 board confirms Joachim's initial advantage and he takes command of the tournament with 135,000 chips.

An easy game! 

Break

A half-hour break after two hours of poker and there are still 71 entrants. The table shows 82 entries and Joachim Demoulin is still ahead.

Chips
Joachim Demoulin 144,000
Wim Verhaegen 129,000
Arnaud Debaille 112,000
Stéphane Buki 106,000
Kristof Verhoeven 104,000
Daniel Domb 95,000
Karim Khandid 79,000
Céline Prevot 77 000
Yves Seghers 67 000
Yannick Ansenne 58 000
Djamal Boutaleb 55 000
Damien Hupe 51 000
Morgan Poisson 50 000
Fabien Perrot 50 000
Agim Gizmo 48 000
Daniel Pirlot 39 000
Mike Niegho 20 000

Resuming

Play resumes at blinds 300 - 600 (600) with 79 players in the running for 90 entrants.

The TV Table will start in a few minutes, with Fabien Perrot, Damien Hupé and Djamal Boutaleb at the table...

The game continues with an average of 57,000 chips. 

CLEAR

Not much action since the resumption, with 10 minutes left in this level 5, which is being contested on blinds 300 - 600 (600)...

The table shows 80 players in the running for 92 entries and an average of 57,000 chips. Arne Noel and Dang Nguyen have arrived, as have Nathalie Zeep and Cédric Schumacher... 

The 100 Bar

There are 7 minutes left to play on 400 - 800 (800), and the players aren't getting carried away.

There are 84 players left for 100 entries, and there have only been 6 eliminations since the resumption at 6.30pm... 

Re-Entry

"What's he touching Damien?" laughed Djamal Boutaleb as he left the TV table area. A regular performer at Marrakech, Djamal took advantage of his time at the TV table to admire the Poker One boss making squares and flipping premiums.

Djamal went all-in for 11 blinds with Ace 3 following an open from Damien. Hupé called with King Queen to hit two Queens and finish with trips.

On to the cashier to re-enter for Djamal, who hasn't said his last word on this €330 Circus Namur French Open.

The 75-minute dinner break starts in ten minutes or so, and the table shows 75 players for 108 entrants...

The 600 - 1200 (1200) level is almost over...

Dinner Break

75 minutes of dinner-break action on Day 1C of the Circus Namur French Open and 71 players went into the break.

The counter showed 109 entrants and Daniel Pirlot took control, discreetly arriving at the break with more than 6 times the starting stack. Adrien Di Grande also won a big pot a few seconds before taking a break...

Resumes at 9.45pm.

Chips
Daniel Pirlot 306,000
Morgan Poisson 232,000
Adrien Di Grande 200,000
Daniel Domb 130,000
Stéphane Buki 115,000
Hicham Makrache 114,000
Arnaud Debaille 109,000
Céline Prevot 108,000
Wilhelm Crolla 102 000
Yannick Loodo 96 000
Raphael Muller 86 000
Rudy Francis 86 000
Christophe Debaene 86 000
Norbert Jansen 86 000
joachim Demoulin 80 000
Ismael Joly 69 000
Antonino Mura 56 000
Glenn Laureyx 55 000
Yves Seghers 49 000

Reprise

A quarter of an hour since the resumption on blinds 1000 - 1500 (1500), at the end of this level the registrations will be closed for this Day 1C. 

68 players compete for 113 entrants, with an average of 83,000 chips. 

From the next increase in blinds, the levels will rise from half an hour to 40 minutes. 

114 entrants on Day 1C

Level 10 has begun, and registration is now closed for this third starting session. Provisional attendance has climbed to 360 entrants, with 68 players having validated a ticket for Day 2, which kicks off on Saturday September 9 at 2pm.

Thierry Even will have to try his luck again to get in, as he had the bad idea of putting it all in after three limps on the button. Down to 18,000 on blinds 1000 - 2000 (2000), Thierry went all in with Ace Ten.

In the big blind, Fouad Serrar decided to go all-in for almost 65,000 chips and scared everyone away, then turned over 8 and 6 of hearts and hit an 8 river to eliminate his opponent.

All this took place in front of Mike Niegho and his 40,000 chips... the table was broken in the wake of this move and Fouad left with 90,000 chips.

A fine fortune, given that the average is 95,000 chips or 45 blinds. 

General Daniel

Daniel Pirlot tells us all about his rise to fame. Daniel earns respect at his table, scares people with 335,000 chips in front of him and, before our very eyes, sends 7,500 big blind chips after a limp from his neighbor on the right... who promptly gives back his cards.

When asked how he built up his fortune, Daniel mentions "several moves". His neighbor then tells him that he's made four of a kind.

"I didn't need to," laughs Daniel, before recounting the deal that changed everything. "A player opens, I pay with the 8s at the end of the floor, a player overplays his hands in the blinds and there are three of us on the flop," begins the chipleader.

The trio discover an Ace 9 8 flop with a flush draw and Daniel continues. "He makes 4,000 and I just call, there's danger but it's clear he's got the Ace," he points out before mentioning an 18,000 check-raise from the blind.

"It's paid by the opener and I finally raise. All in for 110,000 chips, opener also pays covered," says Pirlot, who pays with his three of a kind.

"There's ace-ten of hearts in the opener's hand and ace-queen in the other's, no flushes and I make the river 8," finishes Daniel, confident but ending by adding that "nothing's done".

Winner of a Big Tuesday in June and the Circus Open at the end of August, Daniel knows the recipe for deep-running when he's got the chips!

Bustos

The blinds have just been raised to 1000 - 2500 (2500), and level 11 has begun on Day 1C of the Circus Namur French Open. 

There are 57 contenders with an average of 101,000 chips, but Antonino Mura, Karl Rogiers, Dang Nguyen, Dirk Weidmann, Joao Faria and Doang Nguyen will have to pass through another flight to have any hope of reaching Day 2 on Saturday... 

Joly Coup

With 10 minutes left to play on level 11, there are 44 players in the running after the exit of Céline Prevot. The player directly sends 54,000 chips at the start of the hand... Ismael Joly goes all-in just to her left for 50 blinds.

Céline unveils King Jack of Spades at showdown, and is dominated by Ismael's Ace King, who finally hits a one-card flush on a 3 8 4 6 Queen board. This brings the total to 145,000 chips.

At the neighboring tables, Jensen Bernard (205,000), Yves Terrier (230,000) and Karen Harutyunyan (240,000) have all moved on...

Glenn Laureys fared better on his second flop, coming in at 125,000 chips, the average...

Last Level

Last blinds increase, 41 players now compete on 1500 - 3000 (3000). 

The average is 135,000 chips for the final level of Day 1C... Anthony Igot, Rosario Agosta, Mike Niegho or Joachim Demoulin will have to try their luck again on another starting session to validate a ticket for Day 2. 

Big Table

Yves Seghers is in the money with 270,000 chips with 16 minutes to go. He's quiet at his table, while Daniel Pirlot is still ahead with 355,000 chips... but at a table where there are chips.

Will Jensen Bernard (225,000), Mario Adel (219,000) and Christophe Debaene (240,000) have time to form a big pot and take the lead in-extremis? Further back, Octavian Ripan sets about closing the gap.

Octavian opens early, Daniel Pirlot completes, followed by Mario Adel in the big blind. The trio discover an Ace 6 9 flop which provokes a continuation bet of 6,000.

Daniel is the only one to pay and the duo check a turn 6 which opens the diamonds. On the river King which doesn't bring in the flush, Octavian bets 8,500 chips. "As King?" asks Daniel. "I call," he adds, sending in the chips and then mucking as he discovers King 3 mismatched in the Romanian.

"Unexpected, but it wins," laughs Daniel as he concedes the pot, allowing Ripan to climb back just above the thirty blinds...

With 38 players left, the floor announces the last 5 hands of the evening... 

Setup(s) to finish

As the clock ticked down and the players quietly made their way to Day 2, two encounters altered the top of the leaderboard. 

First, Rudy Francis opened shove 154,000 or 51 blinds in MPs while standing up and doing the show. Rudy had the kings and was looking for a customer, Arne Noel woke up in the big blind with a stack of almost the same size and the Aces!

Despite a Ten Queen Jack flop, Arne (pictured) stayed ahead to eliminate his opponent and bag 321,000 pawns. 



At the next table, we witnessed the same confrontation between Guido Kinna and Yves Terrier. Both men also had a block of around 30 blinds, and Terrier's Aces held up again, allowing him to bag up 336,000 chips. 

Two big stacks to finish hot on the heels of Daniel Pirlot, Day 1C chipleader with 364,000 chips. 

Daniel Pirlot at the top of Day 1C

The third of eight starting sessions at the €330 Circus Namur French Open attracted 114 entrants, bringing the tournament's provisional attendance to 370. 

The 68 qualifiers from the first two opening days were joined by 35 players on Tuesday's Day 1C. This means that 103 players have booked their tickets for Day 2 on Saturday, September 9, a day starting at 2pm with blinds 2000 - 4000 (4000). 



With 364,000 chips and 40-minute levels, Daniel Pirlot will have plenty of time to see what's coming. The Belgian edged out Yves Terrier and Arne Noel, who enjoyed an Ace-As-King-King encounter just before packing their chips to propel themselves onto the podium. 

Adrien Di Grande, Morgan Poisson, Damien Hupé, Fabien Perrot, Fouad El Mouhmouh, Andrei Turcan, Kristof Verhoeven and Glenn Laureys, Walter Buss and Yves Seghers are also on board. 

Partial Chipcount Day 1C (35 qualifiers for 114 entrants)
Daniel Pirlot 365,000
Yves Terrier 336,000
Arne Noel 321,000
Yves Seghers 288,000
Mario Adel 248,000
Adrien Di Grande 235,000
Kristof Verhoeven 231,000
Octavian Ripan 204,000
Karim Boutaleb 190,000
Karen Harutyunyan 189,000
Stephane Buki 188,000
Arnaud Debaille 187,000
Jensen Bernard 180,000
Fouad El Mouhmouh 177,000
Glenn Laureys 158,000
Morgan Poisson 148,000
Karim Khandid 145,000
Wim Verhaegen 129,000
Damien Hupe 115,000
Ismael Joly 95,000
Walter Buss 84,000
Fabien Perrot 74,000


The full chipcount in the document below as soon as possible...