Heading for Day 2

The fourth of eight starting sessions in the €330 Circus Namur French Open gets underway at 4pm for the tournament's only ante-free level. 

The first 9 levels of the event are played over 30-minute rounds, and once registration is closed players will compete over 40-minute levels. 

After Day 2 on Saturday, September 9, on 40-minute levels, the Final Day on Sunday, September 10, will be held on 50-minute levels. Time to play in Namur. 

See you at 4 p.m. for the kick-off of Day 1D... 

Shuffle Up & Deal

Day 1D of the Circus Namur French Open kicked off at 4pm with 36 players taking part. 

The game starts with no ante and 50,000 chips for each participant. The day's program includes 9 30-minute levels, with unlimited re-entry. Levels then increase to 40 minutes for the last 3 levels of the day. 

Scheduled to finish at around 1am... players will enjoy a 75-minute dinner break at the end of level 8, at around 8.30pm. 

Du Soleil et du Beau Monde

20 minutes of play on Day 1D and the table now shows 51 players in the running for 51 entrants. Competition from the sun is fierce in the Walloon capital...

Steven Rothheut returns to try his luck, Guillaume Gillet is here, as are Cédric Huysmans, Giovanni Ventura, David Opdebeeck, Robin Cornet, Somsong Intharanop and Agim Gizmo... 

First Blood

Dove Monaco was the first to give up. He distributed chips to just about everyone at his table, with Dutchman Dang Nguyen taking the majority to start his conquest with 65,000 chips.

With barely enough time to complete this level, Dove is already back on track... The table shows 52 players in the running for 53 entrants after 23 minutes of play on Day 1D...

Antes

The antes are in, and the second level of the Circus Namur French Open is underway.

After 50 minutes on poker, the table now shows 67 players in contention for 69 entrants... The game is now played on 100 - 300 (300).

Roger Edain, Giuseppe Genco, Dieu Lam, Davy Maes, Viorel Merisan, Mihai Stinca, Marielle Soumoy and Jorden Verbraeken have all tried their luck...

New Level

The game is being played on blinds 200 - 400 (400) with an average of 54,000 chips. Players continue to arrive, with the table now showing 70 players seated at the tables for 75 entranrs... 

Jean Yip, Nikolas Wicquart, David Olurebi, Jochen Maes, Yannick Loddo and François Louis Vlassis are now in the running... 

New Players

The final stretch before the first break has begun. Level 4 is underway, 72 players are seated at the tables of the Circus Casino Resort in Namur and the table shows 82 entrants.

Antonino Manganao, who was eliminated at the foot of the podium on Big Tuesday last night, is here, as are Fabio D'Annolfo and Serge Coppens. Theo Gerritsen and Abdessamad Ayyad have also joined the game...

There will be a half-hour break at the end of this level, to take stock of the participants' stacks...

4-Bet

With 10 minutes to go before the break, it's the end of the road on Day 1D for Steven Rothheut. Steven opens with ace-valet suit at the end of the hand and sees Milan Moutiaux 3-bet to 3,000 chips at the cutoff.

Fabio d'Annolfo pays on the button, imitated by both players in the blinds. Steven decides to re-raise all in for 13,000 chips and we have a head's up against Milan. 

Steven sends a continuation bet on Dame 9 9 with his color draw, and Milan asks for his tournament. It's paid by Steven, who discovers Ace-Queen in front. 

An ace on the turn doesn't change anything, and neither does a river brick. Milan Moutiaux is now up to 110,000 chips, just a stone's throw from the break...

Guillaume Gillet and Gaetano Moreci have just arrived, and the table shows 72 players in the running for 86 entrants... 

Break

Play resumes at 6:30 p.m. after a well-deserved half-hour break.

70 players go on break for 87 entrants after 4 levels, and as you'll see the game got off to a great start for some.

Chips

Vincent Guirles 205 000
Roberto Mauro 134 000
Theo Gerritsen 132 000
yacine Beztout 108 000
Nikolas Wicquart 107 000
François-Louis Vlassis 103 000
Nicolas Caselva 94 000
Jessy Desonay 85 000
Seeiar Noran 84 000
Mihai Stinca 69 000
Milan Moutiaux 61 000
Jean Yip 51 000
David Opdebeeck 40 000
Giovanni Ventura 40 000
Guillaume Gillet 30 000
Fabio d'Annolfo 26 000

The 100-entry barrier

Level 6 began with 99 entrants, and the 100-entry barrier has been passed on Day 1D of the Circus Namur French Open.

With 15 minutes left to play in blinds 400 - 800 (800), the table now shows 78 players seated for 103 entries...

With the 370 entries from the first three sessions, the provisional attendance climbs to 473 entries... 103 players have already validated their tickets for Day 2 on Saturday September 9. Who will join them this Wednesday?

River

73 players are on track for Day 1D of the Circus Namur French Open, with the leaderboard now showing 112 entries as Level 8 gets underway.

Players are battling it out in blinds 600 - 1200 (1200) with an average of 76,000 chips, and David Opdebeeck has given himself some breathing space with a life-saving river.

Short, David defends 6 and 5 in the big blind on a cutoff opening. He check-raises from 1,500 to 5,000 chips after a continuation bet on an 8 7 3 flop and gets a call.

On turn 7, David has a logical shove for 15,000 and it's paid by the raiser who returns Ace-King and thus has to avoid 14 outs. The GGpoker player finds help on river 9... almost back to the starting stack...

Dinner Break

Resumption at 9:50 p.m. on blinds 1000 - 1500 (1500) with an average of 88,000 chips. At the moment the table shows 66 players in the running for 116 entrants... registration is still open 40 minutes after the restart... 



The top players took advantage of the first 4 hours of poker to multiply their starting stacks by 4... It's Saint Nicholas Day in September! 

Chips

Nicolas Armand 204,000
Nikolas Wicquart 203,000
David Janssen 199,000
Ralph Puls 194,000
Seriel Verstraeten 193,000
Olivier Carosella 183,000
Seeiar Noran 168,000
Dan Nguyen 167,000
Michael Waschler 153,000
Agim Gizmo 151,000
Johannes Maas 124,000
Theo Milioni 123,000
Vincent Guirles 117,000
Eric Goffin 117,000
Jean Cruccas 116,000
Jorden Verbraeken 111,000
Christian Herten 109,000
Yacine Beztout 103,000
Jessy de Sonay 102,000
Guillaume Gillet 101,000
Theo Gerritsen 96,000
Filip Debaets 92,000
Davy Maes 91,000
Mihaita Georgita 64,000

Reprise

Play resumed on blinds 1000 - 1500 (1500) with 70 players for 120 entrants. Level 9 is the last one to register or re-enter... 

Family Call

As level 9 drew to a close, Iryna Tsikhanskaya opened-shove 17,000 chips or 11 big blinds, rather early in the round. She is paid by her neighbor on the left, Antonino Mangano, and by the player on the button.

Antonino and his opponent with chips will play quietly all along a Jack 9 3 Ace 2 board, and Antonino's Ace 7 will allow him to dominate the button's Queen Ten and the player's King Queen Suit, which joins the rail. 

4th on Big Tuesday, Antonino climbs to 115,000 chips after this move. There are still 63 players in the running for 121 entries on Day 1D...

The average is 98,000 chips with only a few minutes left to register. 

123 entries on Day 1D, 493 entrants at halfway stage

With the Mystery Bounty in full swing, registration is now closed for the fourth starting day of the festival's Main Event.

The Circus Casino Resort in Namur recorded 123 entries on Day 1D, bringing the provisional tournament attendance to 493. This was a respectable score, which raised the prize pool to almost €140,000. With two big flights and two Turbos on Thursday and Friday, the €200,000 guarantee will be comfortably wiped out...

How many players will join the 103 qualifiers for Day 2 at 2 p.m. on Saturday... the answer in two hours' time! 

Busto(s)

Finito for David Opdebeeck, who had hoped for a comeback after falling to 3,000 chips.

The GGpoker player opened the Jacks at the end of the floor with twenty blinds. The small blind 3-bet and the big blind hesitated for a long time before going all-in with a stack equivalent to David's.

When the floor came back to him, David went all-in. The small blind called with the 3s and the big blind turned over King Ten to hit a Ten Ten 2 flop, then nothing changed...

Down to 3,000 at the end of this move, David went all-in with King Ten... paid 4 times he made a straight to get back to 16,000 chips. "I squeezed all-in twice without getting paid, got back up to 30,000... I finally sent in 20 blinds after two limps to take advantage of fold equity, the first limper was waiting for me with Kings," explains Opdebeeck after his pair of 2s pushed him into the rail.

As Level 10 draws to a close, just under 60 players remain on track for Saturday's Day 2... Ludovic Ruperto, Abdessamad Ayyad and Gaetano Moreci will also have to try their luck again on another flight if they want to be part of the weekend.

To Packaging

There are two 40-minute levels left to play, and 53 players are now battling it out over blinds 1000 - 2500 (2500). 

The average was 116,000 chips, and players like Serge Coppens and Fred Simonis joined the rail in the final minutes... 

A Fond La Forme

Antonino Mangano finished 4th on Big Tuesday, and he's in good form. This time he opened under the gun at 7,500 chips and got a call from Jorden Verbraeken at the Hijack. 

At the cutoff, Guillaume Gillet raises the stakes to 25,000. Mangano pays, but Jorden goes all-in for 187,000 chips. 

It doesn't take long for Gillet to go all-in for 130,000 chips... and then it's back to Antonino, who hesitates before also going all-in with 9s!

Jorden flips Queens, Guillaume reveals Ace-King and the dealer unlocks a 7 4 5 flop that changes nothing. A King turn gives Guillaume the advantage, but the 9 river sends a pot of 385,000 chips and the chiplead to Antonino Mangano! 

Guillaume Gillet falls to 12,000 chips in disgust. Jorden slips to 68,000 chips... and finds himself involved on the next hand. 



Open from his neighbor on the right, Jorden calls lowjack. In the big blind Antonino defends before donking 12,000 on a King 8 7 flop with two diamonds. The opener calls, but Jorden sends in 55,000 and goes all-in. 

Fold from Mangano and call from opener who returns Ace King... With King Ten of diamonds Jorden plays cards and if the Jack on the turn doesn't change anything, the river Ten allows him to raise to 130,000 pawns. A decent stack with ten minutes to go before the final blind raise of Day 1D. 

Play continues on blinds 1000 - 2500 (2500) with an average of 135,000 chips. There are still 48 players with ambitions for Day 2... 

Last Level

43 players start the final round of the fourth starting session of the €330 Circus Namur French Open Main Event.

The game continues on 1500 - 3000 (3000) and it's all over for Tanguy Latinne, David Olurebi, Jean Cruccas and David Janssen... 

Last hands

The floor has just announced the last 5 hands, with 36 still in the running as final packaging gets underway.

Fabio d'Annolfo, Roberto Mauro and Jean Yip have all given up and will have to try again. For the time being, Olivier Carosella is leading the way with just over 400,000 in chips, but a host of other players have between 200 and 300,000, giving them the chance to emerge at the last minute!

The Big Meeting To End

Just as two tables had finished and the third was starting to pack up its chips, the final deal began at table 24, home of chipleader Olivier Carosella. 

Open from Olivier, call just to his left from Mihaita Georgita on the hijack and late call from Roger Edain. In the big blind, Jessy Desonay completes with a blind behind. 

The dealer unwraps a 7 2 King flop on which Jessy pushes the rest and everyone calls. The Queen turn sees Olivier and Mihaita check... Roger Edain pushes his stack of 74,000 chips. 

It's paid by Olivier Carosella. Mihaita thinks it over and calls all-in for 234,000 chips. Olivier enters the tank. 

One minute passes, then two, then three... Mihaita finally calls Time. The floor is occupied on another table and time passes.

A minute later, the 30-second countdown passes... and Olivier finally throws down a pair of face-up 2s. 

Mihaita reveals 7s for a superior three of a kind, enough to eliminate Roger Edain and his Queen 9 as well as Jessy who had hit a 7 on the flop with his merguez. 



Olivier drops back to 351,000 chips, while Mihaita finishes at 407,000, right at the top of the leaderboard. 


32 players finally bagged chips, 135 players validated a ticket for Day 2 after 4 of the eight starting days. Provisional attendance stands at 493... 

See you soon for a full chipcount...

135 qualifiers for Day 2 at the halfway stage, Mihaita Georgita patron of 1D in-extremis

A three-against-three-against-three encounter led to an unexpected change of boss on Day 1D of the Circus Namur French Open Main Event. Olivier Carosella found a superb fold but lost a few feathers and Mihaita Georgita overtook him on the rail to bag up 407,000 chips. 



A block of 100 blinds for Saturday's resumption at 2 p.m. in blinds 2000 - 4000 (4000). The Romanian takes a further 31 qualifiers to the weekend, so 135 players have so far booked a ticket for Day 2. 

With 32 survivors on Day 1D and 123 more entries, the organization is well on schedule to exceed the €200,000 guarantee. Provisional attendance stands at 493 entries ahead of the traditional big start days on Thursday and Friday... 


Mihaita Georgita ended up ahead of Davy Maes (374,000) and Olivier (351,000). It was also a good day for Antonino Mangano, Agim Gizmo, Mihai Stinca, Eric Goffin, Dang Nguyen, Nikolas Wicquart and Jorden Verbraeken, who will all be returning with at least 40 blinds for the rest of the tournament. 

Guillaume Gillet jumped at the end, and will have to try his luck again, unlike Theo Gerritsen, Robin Cornet and Cedric Huysmans...

See you on Thursday from 4 p.m. for Day 1E and the rest of the show. Mystery Bounty including Day 1 ends in a few minutes... 


Partial Chipcount Day 1D
Mihaita Georgita 407,000
Davy Maes 374,000
Olivier Carosella 351,000
Antonino Mangano 313,000
Agim Gizmo 312,000
Jose Deliege 290,000
Dang Nguyen 288,000
Setiel Verstraeten 257,000
Mathieu Ozkucuk 242,000
Dan Santkin 221,000
Eric Goffin 219,000
Mihai Stinca 218,000
Nikolas Wicquart 208,000
Jorden Verbraeken 169,000
Theo Gerritsen 141,000
Cedric Huysmans 141,000
Robin Cornet 68,000

As soon as possible the complete 1D chipcount in the document below