De Doncker takes 42 players to Day 2, €35,240 to win on Sunday



After 6 effective hours of poker and 12 30-minute levels, 43 of the 165 entrants to Event #40 of the €1,100 CPS have qualified for Day 2, which begins at 1pm on Sunday. 

Play resumes at blinds 1500 - 3000 (3000), with the aim of reaching 23 paid places and taking a share of the €156,750 prize pool. With 326,000 chips and the only stack above 100 blinds among the survivors, Loïc de Doncker will start from pole position. 

Romain le Dantec, Mathias Moutaoukil, Mohamed Taabouni, Philippe Bara, Pierre Neuville and Kader Slila have all booked their tickets for Day 2, which is set to get off to a Fast & Furious start! 

See you all Sunday afternoon for the rest of the competition... 

Chipcount Day 1
Loic de Doncker 326,000
Philippe Bara 225,000
Jan Bobbaers 200,000
Mathias Moutaoukil 195,000
Robin Fore 187,000
Dylan Royer 176,000
Brendan Leetz 168,500 
Romain le Dantec 168,000
Piotr Nurzynski 156,000
Mohamed Taabouni 144,500 

Badre Al Ghouch 140,000
Quentin Thavisouk 139,500
Alexis Lucarini 137,500
Hoa Nguyen 135,000
Benjamin Celaudoux 134,500
Nicolas Faure 131,000
Jeremy Gaisne 131,000
Kader Slila 130,000
Iurii Brechalov 126,500
Wim Verhaegen 118,000

Damien Hupé 116,000
Octavian Ripan 115,000
Axel Bevers 104,000
Toyser 104,000
Duc Tran 99,500
Dovidio Monaco 99,000
Matthias de Meulder 89,500
Mark Roovers 88,000
Cornelis van Gent 86,500
Ken Claessens 83,500

Bernardus van Horssen 83,000
Thijs Hilberts 82,500
Pierre Neuville 75,500
Serafim Kovalevskiy 73,000
Kevin Fluegel 62,500
Mustafa Wardak 60,000
Fred Hebette 52,500
Anne Trebitsch 49,500
Fabian Bartuschk 48,500
Franck Kalfon 43,500

Samuel Bovy 41,000
Lars Vogel 39,500
Maxim Bevers 17,000

Payout Event #40 6-Max des CPS (165 entrants - 156 750€ prizepool)
Winner - 35 240€
Runner Up - 22 895€
3rd - 16 370€
4th - 12 580€
5th - 9 675€
6th - 7 440€

7th - 6 050€
8th - 5 040€
9th - 4 250€

10th and 11th 3 690€
12th and 13th - 3 205€
14th and 15th - 2 805€
16th and 17th - 2 485€
18th to 20th - 2 205€
21st to 23rd - 2 020€

Bulle en Approche

The selection was made on the first 90 minutes of this Final Day of the CPS 6-Max Event #40. The field has been whittled down to 28 players for 23 paid seats and a €2020 min-cash.

Among the big stacks at the start of the day, Alexis Lucarini was the first to give up after half an hour.

In the first level of Day 2, still on 30-minute levels, Damien Hupé bowed out. On to Prague for the winner of the €5,300 Seat EPT offered by Circus Casino Resort at the end of a mega draw.

Franck Kalfon skipped two 8s against two 9s at the start of the second level on Day 2. The same was true of Germany's Fabian Bartuschk and Dovidio Monaco, who was also well placed at the start of the day. 

Kader Slila, Pierre Neuville, Wim Verhaegen and Cornelis van Gent surrendered their weapons as the 164-strong field approached the paid positions. 

There were 43 players at the start of Day 2... the blinds are 2000 - 5000 (5000). 

Main Par Main

The average is 40 blinds in the 2000 - 5000 blinds (5000), but the pace has quickened and the big stacks are stepping up the pressure. 

Nicolas Faure, Octavian Ripan, Lars Vogel and Robin Fore jumped up in just 15 minutes to bring the game to the bubble. With 5 minutes left to play on this level, hand-for-hand play begins on 4 tables. 

Two minutes per hand will be deducted for this bubble of Event #40 of the CPS.



Checkpoint
Mohamed Taabouni 455,000
Brandon Leetz 440,000
Mark Roovers 400,000
Philippe Bara 360,000
Ken Claessens 306,000
Mathias de Meulder 260,000
Romain le Dantec 200,000
Loïc de Doncker 200,000
Samuel Bovy 180,000
Benjamin Celadon 180,000
Quentin Thavisouk 100,000
Piotr Nurzynski 95,000
Anne Trebitsch 70,000

Behind the scenes of the bubble


Brandon Leetz tried to use his 80 blinds to manipulate the bubble, with success on the first hand-by-hand deal. 

Romain le Dantec 3-bet him to almost 100,000 small-blind chips on the second deal, Brandon will consider his options before saving his half-million for a better opportunity. Romain raises to 260,000, heading for the money. 

Quentin Thavisouk tries to open on the button with 20 blinds... Mohamed Taabouni and his big stack respond by going all-in from the small blind. Quentin quickly folds and the Dutchman stacks more chips. 



On the third hand-by-hand deal, the blinds increase to 3000 - 6000 (6000). Brandon Leetz (above) puts the pressure on once again, this time on compatriot Thijs Hilberts. The board reads Ten Queen King 3 5 and Thijs checks river from the small blind. From the lowjack, Leetz pushes him all-in. Tank infinity and fold... only to be shown 7 and 8 mismatched by Leetz! 

At the next table, Piotr Nurzynski (below) plays a block of 20 blinds and opens on the button to see Philippe Bara defend. Bara check-calls flop and donk river before showing 2 and 3, laughing when he sees the ace-nine of diamonds from the Pole, who has a good run on 7 8 2 Ten Jack for a straight to raise him to 25 blinds. 

Loic De Doncker will slide into the shorts camp after an exchange with Ken Claessens that saw him call in position and force a river fold on a tablea Qame 4 Dix Dix 5 where the chipleader at the end of Day 1 had two-barrels. 



It's on the 9th deal of the hand-by-hand that the players are set free. But before the popcorn, Mohamed Taabouni had time to bet 58,000 river against Dylan Roger on 2 8 King 8 3 with a flush draw river. Dylan checks-call-mucks against the Dutchman's Ace 4 of hearts, who raises to 550,000 and heads off to watch the big move developing at the next table.

Bubble Time ! The action begins with a cutoff opening from Piotr Nurzynski. The EPT Barcelona 2018 winner hesitates for a long moment when Mathias Moutaoukil 3-bets to 42,000 from the blinds. 

It's finally paid off and the dealer unlocks a 6 2 6 flop on which Mathias takes a long time to bet 20,000 chips. Tank from Piotr, who eventually responds with a 51,000-chip raise, advancing two stacks of 20 1,000-chip stacks, one stack of 20 500-chip stacks and two more 500-chip stacks. 



Mathias' reflexion pays off in the end. The hand has already been going on for almost 4 minutes, and Mark Roovers stands up and mutters "it's hand for hand, we don't lose any time, but it's long". 

The dealer reveals a 6 which opens a diamond draw on the turn. Moutaoukil takes a minute to check, Nurzynski takes a minute to push his 60,000 chips... and Mathias takes a second to pay before turning over the Aces. 



Piotr flips the Jacks, two outs and a river to make the bubble of this Event #40. The Queen river brings a €2020 min-cash for the 23 survivors! 

Mathias Moutaoukil climbs to 370,000, Piotr Nurzynski leaves the tournament empty-handed. 

There are 16 minutes left on level 3000 - 6000 (6000), a break will take place at the end of this level, it's going to jump! 

Anne Trébuche

A paid position at this CPS festival for Anne Trebitsch. Anne waited quietly for the mistake before entering the money. She finished 23rd for €2,020 after starting out in front. 

The Belgian opens-shoves 4 blinds to the cutoff with Ace Valet and Mathias de Meulder pays in the big blind with King Ten to hit a Ten on the turn. There are no more women in the tournament and the twin is up to 300,000 chips. 

Pop-Corn

A quarter of an hour of play remains on blinds 4000 - 8000 (8000), 20 players had returned after the break but it's already jumping...

The average is 281,000 chips, still above the 30 blinds, and the last 17 players are guaranteed a €2,485 payout...

End of Stay

Three tournaments, three places paid, three rather positive but also frustrating deep-runs for Mathias Moutaoukil, who finished 7th in the Cup, 27th in the Mystery Bounty and 16th in this €1,100 Event #40 contested in 6-Max. 

After bursting the bubble, Mathias entered the fray for the top prize of €35,240... but he soon exploded in mid-air. 



Two close calls sent him into the ravine. The first jab came from Maxim Bevers... the Belgian opened and 3-bet all-in after his continuation bet was check-raised by Mathias. 

Mathias Moutaoukil pays with Ten and 8 of diamonds on Jack 4 8 with two diamonds to form a pot of almost 400,000 chips. Bevers is covered but returns Ace Queen of Diamonds and hits a diamond straight on the turn. 

Moutaoukil drops to 15 blinds and a few minutes later pushes from the small blind with 9's. Romain le Dantec had opened with Ace-King and logically pays. 

An Ace on the flop puts the WSOP winner in the driver's seat at 400,000 chips, while the blinds are now 5,000 - 10,000 (10,000). 

The end of the CPS festival for Mathias, who will logically be back at the Winter Festival at the end of January 2024...

Thijs Hilberts finished in 17th place just before, also for €2,485. 

This pair of 9...

... It stays ahead for Mark Roovers. Historians of the Belgian Poker and Gaston "Justice" Onana's deep-run on the Partouche Poker Tour know that with a pair of 9s, going all-in is automatic. 



So, after opening at the Cutoff, Mark Roovers can only call Samuel Bovy's 10-blind 3-bet shove from the button. 

The Belgian returns Ace 5 even and the Dutchman's pair will stay in front one board later. 



Iurii Brechalov was then defeated at the final two tables. While Bovy saved his festival with a paid seat, the Russian went on to play in some of the finest tournaments at the CPS. 

39th in the Main Event, 10th in the Mystery Bounty, and 66th in the Circus Cup, Brechalov didn't leave empty-handed and put in a compact performance in this event. 

There are 12 players left in the final 5000 - 10,000 (10,000) level, with an average of 280,000 chips and a guaranteed payout of €3,205.

Semi-finals

There are 6 Belgians, two Frenchmen and 4 Dutchmen left in this €1,100 Event #40 of the Circus Poker Series... The blinds are now 6,000 - 12,000 (12,000).

Table 40 (In order of seating)
Matthias de Meulder
Jan Bobbaers
Mark Roovers
Brandon Leetz
Loic de Doncker
Benjamin Celaudoux


Table 41 (In order of seating)
Philippe Bara
Maxim Bevers 
Mustafa Wardak 
Ken Claessens 
Romain le Dantec
Mohamed Taabouni

Checkpoint

A quarter of an hour to play before a break and the field quickly falls with now a table of 4 and a table of 5... last reunification at 7 players.

The game is played on 8000 - 16 000 (16 000)...

Payout Event #40 6-Max des CPS (165 entrants - €156,750 prizepool)
Winner - €35,240
Runner Up - €22,895
3rd - €16,370
4th - €12,580
5th - 9 675€
6th - 7 440€

7th - 6 050€
8th - 5 040€
9th - 4 250€

10th - Jan Bobbaers 3 690€
11th - Philippe Bara 3 690€
12th - Ken Claessen 3 205€
13th - Iurii Brechalov 3 205€
14th - Samuel Bovy 2 805€
15th - Dylan Roger 2 805€
16th - Mathias Moutaoukil 2 485€
17th - Thijs Hilberts 2 485€
18th - Jeremy Gaisne €2,205
19th - Axel Bevers €2,205
20th - Hoa Nguyen €2,205
21st - Serafim kovalevskiy €2,020
22nd - Quentin Thavisouk €2,020
23rd - Anne Trebitsch €2,020

Romain won't be Caesar

No final table for Romain le Dantec, who tried the hero-call. The Frenchman opened 32,000 on the button and Maxim Bevers defended in the big blind before checking-calling 30,000 on a 4 2 7 flop. 

On turn 3, which doesn't open a color draw, the Belgian donk to 55,000 chips and Romain pays. The dealer unlocks an Ace, jynx card for the Frenchman who holds Ace 4 of hearts in his hands. 

Here, however, a headache looms as Bevers pushes his stack to 550,000. There's nearly 250,000 in the pot and Romain plays another 300,000... he's not going to find the fold button. 

After the call, Bevers turbo-flops a pair of 5s for a river-found straight. Towards a million chips! 

4,250 to console the WSOP champion for 9th place... 3 minutes to go before the break.

Reprise

Play continues on 10,000 - 20,000 (20,000) with 4 players per table... The next player out will miss the final reunification. 

We're off again for 4 30-minute levels before the dinner break... 

Table 40 (in seating order)
Maxim Bevers $1,275,000
Mustafa Wardak 450,000
Loic de Doncker 1,050,000
Mohamed Taabouni 590,000



Table 41 (in seating order)
Matthias de Meulder 318,000
Mark Roovers 145,000
Brandon Leetz $315,000
Benjamin Celaudoux 820,000

Roovers in vacuum cleaner mode, De Meulder misses out on the final

Mark Roovers had lost some of his superb form after entering the money, notably with a big 66 against As Roi at Benjamin Celaudoux on As Roi 6 4 Roi! The Dutchman didn't give up and it paid off. 

First, he takes advantage of Benjamin's pressure mode. The Frenchman pushes straight to the button, covering Matthias de Meulder (300,000) in the small blind and Marx (145,000) in the big blind. Rovers snaps with Ace-King when the call comes and Benjamin reveals Ace-7. 

The Queen Queen 3 Ace Ten board brings the bubble-boy High Roller up to 325,000... and Roovers will cause the final 5 minutes later. 

Mark Roovers 3-bet to 100,000 chips after an open gun from Matthias de Meulder. The Belgian thinks for a few seconds before going all-in and is snapped up by Roovers, who reveals the Jacks. 

With 9s Matthias needs help, which won't come on a King-Queen-6-Ten-Kings board. Roovers is back under a million and at 50 blinds just before the TF, Matthias cashes €5,040 for his run. 

They are 7 with 14 minutes left to play on 10,000 - 20,000 (20,000) and an average of 707,000 chips. The finalists are guaranteed a €6,500 prize... 

Final kick-off

5 minutes to go in the 10,000 - 20,000 blinds (20,000), with an average of 707,000 chips... 

One Frenchman, two Belgians and four Dutchmen remain in the final of the €1,100 CPS Event #40. The tournament brought together 165 entrants for 23 paid places, with 42 in contention at the start at 1pm on Sunday. 



TF in seating order
Mark Roovers 950,000
Max Bevers 1,450,000
Mustafa Wardak 485,000
Mohamed Taabouni 580,000
Benjamin Celadoux 470,000
Loic De Doncker 830,000
Brandon Leetz $150,000

Payout Event #40 6-Max des CPS (165 entrants - €156,750 prizepool)
Winner - €35,240
Runner Up - €22,895
3e - 16 370€
4e - 12 580€
5e - 9 675€
6e - 7 440€
7e - 6 050€

Taabouni in the Rail

Mohamed Taabouni went down post-flop in a color-for-color encounter. The Dutchman had ten blinds left when he struck, but was unpleasantly surprised to discover that he was down to Roovers! 

Mark was down to 10 blinds with 9 players, and now has 1,325,000 chips with 15 minutes to go on 10,000 - 25,000 (25,000). 6-Max goes fast! 

The average is 825,000 chips and there are 6 players guaranteed a prize of €7,440...



Payout Event #40 6-Max des CPS (165 entrants - €156,750 prizepool)
Winner - €35,240
Runner Up - €22,895
3e - 16 370€
4e - 12 580€
5e - 9 675€
6e - 7 440€

7th - Mohamed Taabouni €6,050
8th - Matthias de Meulder €5,040
9th - Romain le Dantec €4,250
10th - Jan Bobbaers €3,690
11th - Philippe Bara €3,690
12th - Ken Claessen €3,205
13th - Iurii Brechalov €3,205
14th - Samuel Bovy €2,805
15th - Dylan Roger €2,805
16th - Mathias Moutaoukil €2,485
17th - Thijs Hilberts €2,485
18th - Jeremy Gaisne €2,205
19th - Axel Bevers €2,205
20th - Hoa Nguyen €2,205
21st - Serafim kovalevskiy €2,020
22nd - Quentin Thavisouk €2,020
23rd - Anne Trebitsch €2,020

It's the Douche Froide

Benjamin Celaudoux joins the rail in 6th position of this €1,100 6-Max, "happy with (his) game" on the festival where he had, for example, doubled up at the Main Event bubble to secure the money, without fear or regret.

The Frenchman opened before going all-in 18 blinds following a 3-bet from Brandon Leetz in the big blind. From the small blind, Benjamin turned over Ace Jack and found no miracle when he was paid by Ace King.

The Dutchman climbed back up to the million-chip mark as the blinds now stood at 15,000 - 30,000 (30,000) with 5 players and an average at 33bb.

With a smile on his face, Benjamin collected €7,440 for his deep-run in this field of 165 entrants... 

Le Flip de trop

A button versus small blind confrontation got the better of Loic de Doncker. Chipleader at the start of this Final Day of Event #40 of the CPS, Loic didn't touch with Ace Valet against the 5s, heading for the richer rail of €9,675.

5-figure payout approaching, but 13 minutes to dinner-break... The average is 1.2 million chips, and the stacks are balanced. 




Payout Event #40 6-Max des CPS (165 entrants - €156,750 prizepool)
Winner - €35,240
Runner Up - €22,895
3e - 16 370€
4e - 12 580€
5th - Loic de Doncker €9,675
6th - Benjamin Celaudoux €7,440

7th - Mohamed Taabouni €6,050
8th - Matthias de Meulder €5,040
9th - Romain le Dantec €4,250
10th - Jan Bobbaers €3,690
11th - Philippe Bara €3,690
12th - Ken Claessen €3,205
13th - Iurii Brechalov €3,205
14th - Samuel Bovy €2,805
15th - Dylan Roger €2,805
16th - Mathias Moutaoukil €2,485
17th - Thijs Hilberts €2,485
18th - Jeremy Gaisne €2,205
19th - Axel Bevers €2,205
20th - Hoa Nguyen €2,205
21st - Serafim kovalevskiy €2,020
22nd - Quentin Thavisouk €2,020
23rd - Anne Trebitsch €2,020

Dutch Threesome

They're down to 3, so you don't want to be late for the restart at blinds 25,000 - 50,000 (50,000). 

As soon as the players returned, Mustafa Wardak took charge of the last Belgian in the race. Maxim Bevers joined his brother Axel in the rail, the duo scoring a double ITM. 

5-figure winnings at €12,580 for Maxim, who had started the day in the pack, while Axel held out until the ITM after starting as the red lantern with 6 blinds. 

Chips
Mark Roovers 1,500,000 (seat 1)
Mustafa Wardak 2,185,000 (seat 2)
Brandon Leetz 490,000(seat 3)

Podium for Mustafa (€16,370)

Chipleader at the 4-left restart, Mustafa Wardak had Brandon Leetz doubled up for the first time, but he also lost the revival to bow out in 3rd place in this tournament which brought together 165 entrants. 

As the players exchanged 3-bet shoves and 4-bet shoves without being paid for ten short minutes, Brandon opened again at the button, this time for 125,000 chips. 

Mustafa goes all-in for 790,000 and on reflection Brandon pays with a mismatched King-Queen. There are the 4s in front and the dealer unlocks a Queen 5 5 9 5 board to provoke head's up. 

16,370€ in the bag for Mustafa, while the participants in the last duel secured 22,895€. The champion will receive a trophy, a photo and a first prize of €35,240. 

The final duel kicks off with 21 minutes to play on 30,000 - 60,000 (60,000) and two players with almost 2.5 million chips each.  



Payout Event #40 6-Max des CPS (165 entrants - €156,750 prizepool)
Winner - €35,240
Runner Up - €22,895
3rd - Mustafa Wardak €16,370
4th - Maxim Bevers €12,580
5th - Loic de Doncker €9,675
6th - Benjamin Celaudoux €7,440

7th - Mohamed Taabouni €6,050
8th - Matthias de Meulder €5,040
9th - Romain le Dantec €4,250
10th - Jan Bobbaers €3,690
11th - Philippe Bara €3,690
12th - Ken Claessen €3,205
13th - Iurii Brechalov €3,205
14th - Samuel Bovy €2,805
15th - Dylan Roger €2,805
16th - Mathias Moutaoukil €2,485
17th - Thijs Hilberts €2,485
18th - Jeremy Gaisne €2,205
19th - Axel Bevers €2,205
20th - Hoa Nguyen €2,205
21st - Serafim kovalevskiy €2,020
22nd - Quentin Thavisouk €2,020
23rd - Anne Trebitsch €2,020

Mark Roovers Runner Up (22.895€)

The last duel lasted 15 minutes and ended in a flip, with no deal. Very aggressive, Brandon Leetz took the lead and then won a move that put him clearly in the lead. 

He paid preflop then checked-call 75,000 on the flop and 250,000 on the turn before Mark cheked-back on a 4 King 9 2 8 board. Roovers showed high Aces, insufficient against Leetz's 5 and 5 off. 

At the end of this move, Brandon had 3.6 million out of the 5 in circulation for blinds at 30,000 - 60,000 (60,000)... and all was soon gone. 

120 seconds later, Mark Roovers limped-shove after Banrdon Leetz's 240,000-pawn big blind isolation. After 25 seconds of reflection, Brandon paid with King-Queen mismatch to discover a pair of 4s in front. 

A table of 8 5 5 Jack 3 brought the tournament to a close. Bubble-boy of the High-Roller on a Hero-call attempt, Roovers walked away with €22,895 and a profit on the CPS festival...

Hall Of Fame CPS - The winners of the Circus Poker Series


Click on the event description for full results and live coverage from the CPS.

Brandon Leetz triumphs on the 6-Max (35.240€)



As an aspiring professional, Brandon Leetz is taking up coaching to try and make a living from his game. Winner of a side event at the MCOP Amsterdam for €38,471 a few days ago, he followed this up by winning Event #40 NLH 6-Max €1,100 over two days of the Circus Poker Series. 

"It's going well," confirmed Brandon after winning €35,240, his second biggest career win. Aggressive at the bubble, he passed a nice bluff, Brandon was not far from going off course at 4 left but he doubled when he had to and was even more aggressive afterwards. 

He dominated the final head's up to claim his second victory in 17 days, and will be one to watch in Prague at the European Poker Tour festival... 



The tournament brought together 165 entrants over two days with 30-minute levels. There were still 42 in the running for Day 2, which was spread over just over 8 hours of poker. 

EPT winner Piotre Nurzynski made the bubble, while Pierre Neuville, Franck Kalfon, Nicolas Faure and a few others had jumped before the money and the 23 paid places. 

WSOP winner Romain le Dantec and Belgian Matthias de Meulder fell just before the final, while Day 1 chipleader Loic de Doncker bowed out in 5th place. Maxim Bevers made the money with his brother Axel (19th) before being the last Belgian to go out, at the foot of the podium. 

The Dutch then fought it out amongst themselves for the trophy and the big bucks. 



Payout Event #40 6-Max des CPS (165 entrants - €156,750 prizepool)
Winner - Brandon Leetz €35,240
Runner Up - Mark Roovers €22,895
3rd - Mustafa Wardak €16,370
4th - Maxim Bevers €12,580
5th - Loic de Doncker €9,675
6th - Benjamin Celaudoux €7,440

7th - Mohamed Taabouni €6,050
8th - Matthias de Meulder €5,040
9th - Romain le Dantec €4,250
10th - Jan Bobbaers €3,690
11th - Philippe Bara €3,690
12th - Ken Claessen €3,205
13th - Iurii Brechalov €3,205
14th - Samuel Bovy €2,805
15th - Dylan Roger €2,805
16th - Mathias Moutaoukil €2,485
17th - Thijs Hilberts €2,485
18th - Jeremy Gaisne €2,205
19th - Axel Bevers €2,205
20th - Hoa Nguyen €2,205
21st - Serafim kovalevskiy €2,020
22nd - Quentin Thavisouk €2,020
23rd - Anne Trebitsch €2,020