Big Day

The final day of qualifying for the €550 Circus Cup kicked off at 2pm at the Circus Casino Resort in Namur. Day 1E is underway, with 175 players already seated at the tables in blinds 100 - 200 (200)... while Day 1F Turbo kicks off at 9pm!

The fifth of six qualifying days for the opening event of the CPS will be the best-attended day of the tournament, which is now approaching 1,000 entries. 

This comes close to the score of 1,380 entrants in the first edition, which enabled Romanian Iulian Calagiu to turn an eggplant into €93,000! 

200

A quarter of an hour of play, no outs and now over 200 players seated at the tables on Day 1E, the penultimate starting day of the Circus Cup guaranteeing a half-million prizepool... the room is full, but there are still seats available! 

A Day Without End

Starting day, normal day... participants will play twelve levels like everyone else on the preliminaries of this opening tournament of the Circus Poker Series 2024 festival. 

A total of 8 hours of poker were scheduled for the day, with participants receiving 40,000 chips... and players continuing to arrive, with 212 players in the running for 212 entries. Who will crack first? 

The crowds will mean that the lunch break will be split into two groups, with details to be given by the organizers after the first traditional half-hour break, between 4 and 4.30 p.m., just for a snack! 

First Blood

On the gong of the first round, the first "seat open" of the day sounded. Raphael Istas jumped with the Arrows from the front.

An open, Giuseppe Pitruzzella paid in position with 8 and 4 of spades... Raphael then places a big 3-bet that won't scare anyone. So it's 3 on a Ten 4 3 flop and Istas' 5,000-chip cinderblock doesn't send Pitruzella packing, as he finds a flush draw in addition to his last pair on the board at the turn.

Second barrel, let's go all in and a 4 river seals Raphael Istas' fate. Giuseppe Pitruzzella, a German as his surname suggests, takes off at 76,000, leading the way as the blinds climb to 100 - 300 (300).

The field grows to 210 players for 212 entrants as another "seat open" rings out at the other end of the room in the seconds following Raphael Istas' fatal river... 

Encore du Monde

After a short lull, the players start arriving again. As the second level draws to a close, and we've been playing for a good hour, the counter now reads 242 players in the running for 251 entries on Day 1E!

The tournament is approaching the 1,000-entry mark, so who will join the 162 players qualified over the first four sessions at the end of this 5th and penultimate chance to go through to Day 2?

A huge turnout means a lot of familiar faces... In the field on Day 1E are Yannick Ansenne, Mathieu Choffardet, Mercedes Osti, Stéphane Monaco, Taner Ayhan, Jospeh Bardakji, Samuel Bovy, Djamal Boutaleb, Cyril Fabre, Dennie Crodromp, Remco Verbakel, Jean Yip, Patrick Zallum, the duo Jan and Jorden Verbraeken... everyone's here!

Keep Growing

A quarter of an hour before the end of the third level of Day 1E and the first break of the day, the field is now close to 300 entrants. The table shows 275 players on track for 298 entries on the fifth starting day of the Circus Cup, which guarantees a €500,000 prizepool. 

That's enough to boost the prize pool to €430,000... there probably won't be any overlay on this ambitious opening tournament of the 2024 SPC! 

Egemen Orhan is here, as are Samir Akhoullou, Guillaume Navaro, Yann Nasser, Rene Franck, Antonius Roberts, Patrick Schuhl and many others!

Big Break

The first break is over... there were around ten additional entries during this break. The table now shows 288 players in the running for 320 entrants, while the game is now being played on blinds 200 - 500 (500).

The average is 44,000 chips and nobody seems to have got off to a flying start, with four times the starting stack already! 

Chipcount
Moreno Barone 130 000
Joseph Bardakji 122 000
Najam Ghulam 110 000
Gaele Koning 95 000
Luc Ta 89 000
Danny Ummels 85 000
Diomedes Rimon 85 000
Yoann nigro 84 000
Regis Oliveira 82 000
Julien Pincemaille 80 000

Kjell de Meulemeester 76 000
David Debue 73 000
Mercedes Osti 68 000
Morgan Poisson 66 000
Jean Yip 62 000
Johannes Boeren 60 000
Giuseppe Pitruzella 52 000
Tony Kiorpes 50 000
Michele Galatola 49 000
Marc Hansens 46 000

Egemen Ohran 43 000
Yann Nasser 40 000
Samir Akhoullou 40 000
Iryna Tsikhanskaya 40 000
Lionel Hamelryck 39 000
Abdel Chenoufi 37 000
Aliosha Staes 34 000
Samuel Bovy 31 000
Davy Huyst 27 000
Mitch Vulperhorst 19 000

4-digit attendance

455,000 in the prizepool, the 1,000-entry mark is passed with 350 entries on Day 1E of the Circus Cup.

With 2 minutes left to play on blinds 200 - 500 (500), 298 players are seated at the Circus Casino Resort de Namur tables... blinds will climb to 300 - 600 (600) and there will be a 20-minute break at the end of this 5th level.

Participants in this penultimate starting day will then return to play two more levels, heading for the dinner break. The dinner break will last 75 minutes after the end of level 7, between 7.15 and 8.30 p.m.

After dinner, survivors will play two more levels before a short break. Registration is open until the start of level 10 following this break, at 10.10 p.m.

End of the day just after midnight, a short night for the qualifiers who will compete on Day 2, Saturday from 2 p.m., still on 40-minute levels...

Reprise

A quarter-hour break has just ended, and 311 players return for two 40-minute levels, heading for the 75-minute dinner break.

The table shows 399 entries for this 5th fight, where late registrations are possible until 10.10 p.m.!

The game is now played on 400 - 800 (800) with players everywhere and some new faces. Jean-Michel Texier, Gregory Fournier, Redouan Abed and Morten Faas are all in the game... 

Chipcount
Danny Ummels 200 000
Salvatore Mirabella 155 000
Sebastien Bodson 103 000
Jean-Pierre Vieilletoile 73 000
Mercedes Osti 72 000
Claudio Guadagnino 66 000
Cyril Fabre 66 000
Marc Hansens 60 000
Morten Faas 58 000
Iryna Tsikhanskaya 51 000
Abdel Chenoufi 50 000
Dalil Masaud 47 000
Djamal Boutaleb 46 000
Tony Kiorpes 45 000
Yannick Ansenne 45 000
Andreas Van Deyck 42 000
Jorden Verbreaken 41 000
Greg Fournier 37 000
Stephane Meo 30 000
Aliosha Staes 24 000
Yann Nasser 20 000
Samuel Bovy 8 600

Streaming

20 minutes since resumption... with just over an hour to go before the 75-minute dinner ause at the end of the 7th of 12 levels on Day 1E.

The table shows 311 players in the running for 411 entrants and an average of 53,000 chips on blinds 400 - 800 (800)... the guarantee will be close since the players have so far generated a prizepool of €484,000. No overlay in Namur!

Table TV got underway at the start of the second half, and the feed era will soon be accessible as there is a delay for security reasons. The cards have been revealed, with Stéphane Meo and Audrey Tugendhaft in the spotlight... 

Mid-term

Level 6 comes to an end, and the blinds climb to 500 - 1000 (1000). Half of the day's 12 40-minute levels are behind the players...

There are still 303 players in the running for 426 entries on Day 1E, with registration open until the end of Level 9 at 10:10pm!

The average is 56,000 chips, with two players missing under unknown circumstances. Yann Nasser and Greg Fournier are no longer at their paces, so it's likely that the duo will have to make a dumpling again. 

Otherwise, Bryan de Riddere arrived a little late, but things are going well, with the young man already holding 65,000 pawns. Jean-Michel Texier (photo) can believe it, but with 23,000 chips he's going to have to start finding spots!

Gaetan Lheureux (50,000), Jean Yip (60,000) and Thomas Jansen (50,000) are under less pressure, whileAliosha Staes (15,000) is already in danger. On Day 1C, in a 4-bet pot, the WPO Bratislava winner had his Aces cracked by King Jack for a big pot at the end of the day!

Samir Akhoullou (35,000) is well in place...

Warranty Deleted

With registration open until 10.10pm on Day 1E and 13 minutes to go before the dinner break, and Day 1F Turbo starting at 9pm, the €500,000 Circus Cup guarantee has been reached.

299 players remain on the penultimate flight, with 450 entries so far... boosting the provisional field to 1,112 entrants! There's now €500,388 in the prize pool for the winners to share. We're in the money! 

Dinner break

The action resumes at 8:30 p.m. in blinds 500 - 1500 (1500), with 281 players and 454 entrants, bringing the total prize pool to €504,000!

Registration will be open for two levels and a break after the dinner-break, so there's plenty of time to enter or re-enter until 10.10pm!

Jean-Michel Texier was out of his seat a few minutes before dinner, but will probably be back afterwards, as will Andreas Van Deyck and Iryna Tsikhanskaya, eliminated just before the break... 

Chipcount

Danny Ummels 245 000
Dejan Brajo 205 000
Niko Heggelmann 180 000
Marc Hansens 142 000
Naja Ghulam 137 000
Cyril Fabre 130 000
Sigfried Bund 104 000
David Debue 100 000
Robert Auer 94 000
Dominique Woiry 92 000
Salvatore Mirabella 89 000

Mathieu Gallois 87 000
Samir Akhoullou 85 000
Mercedes Osti 83 000
Thomas Jansen 70 000
Nicolas Plantin 65 000
Bryan de Riddere 60 000
Yann Nasser 50 000
Jorden Verbraeken 45 000
Abdel Chenoufi 45 000
Antoine Vranken 44 000

Lionel Hamelryck 43 000
Mitch Vulperhorst 40 000
Taner Ahyan 38 000
Dalil Masaud 37 000
Lukas Trzcinski 35 000
Samuel Bovy 29 000
Morgan Poisson 25 000
Ken Claessens 21 000
Aliosha Staes 19 000

Already €525,000 in the kitty

One hour left to register for Day 1E of the Circus Cup, with 270 players competing for 473 entries! Provisional attendance has exceeded 1,150 entrants and prizepol stands at €525, 182.


Level 8 ended on 500 - 1500 (1500) with an average of 70,000... without Salvatore Sablone, who lost with trips against Flush Draw height 4. A player opened early with 2 and 4 suiter to put it all in on 9 3 9 with two clubs. Salvatore had paid in MP with 9 and 7 off, heading for the door on a King of Clubs turn and a river 2.

Salvatore can still re-enter... or go for Day 1F Turbo, which will take place over 12 levels of 20 minutes. A quarter of an hour ago, some 30 registrants were waiting for the 9 p.m. shuffle up & deal... 

Streaming

Follow Day 1E all the way to the end with a revealed cards stream... Lukas Trzcinski strikes as soon as the game resumes, with commentary by Will Lion and Mathias Moutaoukil. 

There are 25 minutes left to play on level 9, the last level of the late registrations. The game runs from 1000 to 1500 (1500), then there's a short break, and the game starts without a break at 22:10. 

236 players are still in the running for 484 entries. There are 544,000€ in the kitty. 

Break

A break is underway, and when the 1000 - 2000 (2000) resumes, registration will be closed for Day 1E, the penultimate starting day of the Circus Cup.

215 players have broken for 490 entries, with just a few minutes to go before the end of the late reg. There will then be three 40-minute levels, leading up to Day 2 at 2pm on Saturday.

The average is 90,000 chips or 45 blinds... former WaSOP champion David Debue seems to have taken control. 

Chipcount
David Debue 293,000
Johannes Boeren 270,000
Jhonn Lienard 230,000
Hoa Nguyen 225,000
Regis Oliveira 205,000
Danny Ummels 205,000
Fred Borgmans 201,000
Bernd Roeser 180,000
Guillaume Navaro $175,000
Maxime Robin 172,000
Lu Ta 170,000
Cedric Roblain 146,000
Jean Bironneau 120,000
Kevin Mad Max 117,000
Tony Kiorpes 85,000
Cyril Fabre 80,000
Yann Nasser 68,000
Davy Huyst 68,000
Morgan Poisson 18,000

491 entries on Day 1E

The figure has not been officially confirmed, but play has resumed on 1000 - 2000 (2000) with 216 players for 491 on the board. The prizepool climbs to €562,000 as entries are open until midnight 20 on Day 1F, the sixth and final starting day of the €550 Circus Cup. 

Top 200

Another 20 minutes of play on 1000 - 2000 (2000) with 200 players in contention and an average of 100,000 chips... meanwhile with Day 1F the prize pool has also climbed to €570,000!

On the Day 1E tables, Lorenzo Furia has just doubled up in a blind battle. Lorenzo hits the straight in position after a check-check flop and river and sees his opponent bet-call his stack to 150,000. This is happening at the table of David Debue (250,000) Samir Akhoullou (240,000), Romain Becker (90,000) and Rui Da Costa (100,000).

Right next door, Kader Slila (200,000) is at his peak "after yo-yoing" as he puts it. Djamal Boutaleb is also up (140,000) after winning Big Tuesday earlier in the week. Lionel Hamelryck (140,000) is also one of the players sailing at the right tempo.

Mercedes osti is still there, unlike Farukh Tach, Morgan Poisson, Pieter Coomans, Jorden Verbraeken and Ali Nafaoui, who have no choice but to turbocharge to reach Day 2... 

Top 175

Selection continues to be made from the rear, Siegfried Bund looks ahead. This German player continues to pile up the chips, laughing, and reaches 385,000 chips as Cyril Fabre... 

With 175 players left and 25 minutes remaining in Level 11, which is being run on blinds 1000 - 2500 (2500), there's still an hour to go at poker before we reach Day 2. For Christos Triantaphyllou, Frank Richter, Louis Vial, Sami Khaled, Redouane Abed or Mohamed Razab Sekh who joined the rai ld in the last few minutes, you'll have to go through 1F to access it... 

Final Rush

There are 20 minutes left to play on 1500 - 3000 (3000) with 150 players still in contention from the 491 entries on Day 1E of the Circus Cup. The average is 131,000 chips and while Yann Nasser has raised 200,000 chips, Bryan de Riddere and Thomas Jansen have given up the ghost.

Thomas jumped under unknown circumstances, while Bryan jumped with top pair against straight draw from both ends on the flop. The river 8 gave the straight to his tormentor in this 28 blind pot...

Entries are still open for another 20 minutes on Day 1F and the prize pool is now approaching €591,000 as the 1,300 mark has been reached! Taner Ahyan, Greg Fournier, Ludovic Poullain, Dalil Masaud, Christophe Colantoni and Raf Ielegems can still jump in this final qualifying session... 

185 entries on Day 1F

Registration for the tournament is now closed. There are still just over a hundred players in the running on Day 1F of the Circus Cup, the final qualifying day of this €550 buy-in tournament.

With just over an hour left to play on this flight, there will be just over €602,000 up for grabs for the winners! On Day 1E, 129 players appear to have cleared the hurdle, bringing the provisional number of qualifiers for Day 2 to 291. 

73 qualifiers... 364 players on Day 2

After 12 20-minute levels, it was Frenchman Yannis Bidard (pictured) who took the chiplead and 311,000 chips on Day 1F, the final qualifying day of the €550 Circus Cup. 

With 186 additional entries on Day 6, the opening tournament of the CPS 2024 attracted 1,334 entrants for a prize pool of €602,701!

A total of 353 players bagged up chips for Day 2 at 2pm on Saturday. Rami Awad, Dominique Potenza, Greg Fournier, Miro Alilovic, Stephane Meo, Dennie Cordromp or Egemen Ohran validated their ticket for the rest of the competition on this last chance flight...

Partial Chipcount Day 1F
Yannis Bidard 311 000
Dennie Cordromp 245 000
cardenia 186 000
Marco Valente 155 000
Cees van den Griendt 153 000
Sami Agel 148 000
Ken Claessens 144 000
Egemen Ohran 124 000
Rami Awad 123 000
Raphael Istas 114 000
Gianni Lodi 108 000
Michael Becker 93 000
Thomas Jansen 86 000
Badre Luca Toni 81 000
Dominique Potenza 72 000
Miro Alilovic 71 000
Taner Ayhan 53 000
Yves Sergeant 45 000
Stephane Meo 38 000

129 qualifiers on a massive Day 1E

The fifth and penultimate starting day of the Circus Cup finally brought together 491 entrants, taking the prizepool to over €602,000 and tournament attendance to 1,334. Another great score for Namu!

At the end of the 12 40-minute levels and 8 effective hours of poker, 129 players had bagged chips. 291 players have validated a stack for Day 2, which kicks off on Saturday at 2pm on blinds 2000 - 4000 (4000). Around a hundred players are still hoping to join them at the end of Day 1F, on which there's still just over an hour to play... 

It was Germany's Siegfried Bund (photo) who bagged up 390,000 chips and finished top of the leaderboard on Day 1E... a far cry from the bosses of previous days. The German had a great time, and he told me that he spewed a huge chiplead in Aachen a few days ago...

Bund narrowly edged out Arno Coene (384,000), while Guillaume Navaro, Djamal Boutaleb, Claudio Guadagnino, Rene Franck, Yann Nasser and other regulars cleared the hurdle. Omar Lakhdari finished with 150,000 chips in the nick of time, doubling up Ace Jack against King Queen of Diamonds preflop. The dealer unpacked a Ten 8 2 flop with two diamonds before laying two bricks on the felt...

The BPC 2023 champion can still dream of one more big deep-run in Namur. Rui Dias Da Costa (353,000) finished strongly, taking out David Debue with three hands to go. Rui shook with preflop Jacks against 5s and 4s of diamonds from the 2015 WaSOP champion, who hit a flop with two diamonds, a 7 and an 8...

Partial chipcount 1E
Siegfried Bund 390,000
Arno Coene 384,000
Rui Dias Da Costa 353,000
Djamal Boutaleb 338,000
Luc Ta 291,000
Rene Franck 270,000
Karim Guelaz 266 000
Danny Ummels 265 000
Regis Oliveira 257 000
Claudio Guadagnino 236 000

Yann Nasser 225 000
Guillaum Navaro 221 000
Daniel Veloson 221 000
Lorenzo Furia 184 000
Omar Lakhdari 164 000
Andreas Gondrom 158 000
Steve Peeters 151 000
Luc Gillard 150 000
Samir Akhoullou 149 000
Lukas Trzcinski 122 000

Sebastien Bodson 129 000
Lionel Hamelryck 115 000
Abdel Chenoufi 112 000
Chris Rubbini 91 000
Gaetano Morecci 88 000
Cyril Fabre 40 000

Complete Chipcount 1E in the document belowbelow as soon as possible