Start of the Main Event

After a weekend devoted to the Warm-Up and a German success, it's time for the main tournament of the Namur Classics festival. Event #10 Main Event guarantees €250,000 and the buy-in is increasing slightly. At the 2023 event, the buy-in was €330, now it's €350.

Participants receive 50,000 chips and compete in 40-minute levels. On Day 1a, 12 levels will be contested, with the day ending at around 1.30am. Registration is open for 8 levels, from around 11pm.

Just over 90 players are present at the start of 100 - 200, the final level of the Main Event without ante. Adrien di Grande's succession is open... last year, the Belgian triumphed after a 3-way deal in which the protagonists shared more than €141,000.

Adrien took home the trophy and €54,203 after success in a field of 1,538 entrants. He captured most of the €427,564 prizepool for this traditional Easter tournament in Namur! 

First Round

Play gets underway at blinds 100 - 300 (300), and things get serious. The tournament, which features 7 starting days, four days of competition and a televised final, is already packed with regulars.

Warm-Up semi-finalist Angelo Aliberto is already here, as is Taner Ayhan and Carnival Festival winner Fabien Ayadi, who pocketed €75,000 after turning down the deal. Sabrina Senden and Ludovic Ruperto also started early, as did Bart van Heugten andQuentin Thavisouk.


Dalil Masaud, Roberto Maraschiello, Morgan Poisson, Patrice Libert, Gilles Magny, Fabius Lari, Pascal Honai, Giuseppe Genco, Robin Fore and Maxence Melin are also seated at the tables of the Circus Casino Resort in Namur. 

Second Round


After 70 minutes of play, the counter now reads 119 players seated at the tables for 124 entrants.

David Ramillon, Philippe Riminucci, Jan Verbraeken, Laura Wautelet, Vincent Robaye, Carloine van Gorp or Warm-Up winner Lukas Trzcinski have arrived. Fedele Ricotta, Thierry Penders, Michael Passy, Dorian Liegeois and Ahmed Jirjees are also competing on Day 1a of the Namur Classics Main Event.

Romain Becker, Rico Chevalot and Warm-Up runner-up (9th) Alain Buisson, as well as Marc Hansens and Aziz Kendel, are all in the game - they came, they're all here!

In a few minutes, the blinds rise to 200 - 400 (400), a straw for a starting stack of 50,000 chips...

Toujours du Beau Monde in Namur

The blinds are still 200 - 400 (400) and there's still a 40-minute level behind before the first break. The first 2 heres 40-minute block of poker will end with the traditional half-hour break at the Circus Casino Resort in Namur. The dinner break is scheduled at the end of level 7, from 9pm to 10.10pm. 

On the gaming side, there are now 125 contenders for 131 entrants... no one's getting too excited, and everyone's enjoying the structure. Schakeri Aghajan arrived from Germany, the French Laurent Brach comes from less far away. Jordan Englebert, Rodolphe Coulon, Jean Gessis, Joa Faria or Eric Goffin are seated at the tables. 

Heidi Croonenborghs is here too, as is Bjorn Frings, Jean Cruccas or last year's runner-up, Renaud Hennesbelow left after a 3-way deal for €141,203. 

Streaming

Day 1a of the Main Event will be streamed from level 5. Shortly after the start of play, at around 7.15pm, a table from the opening day of the Namur Classics Main Event will be accessible on the casino's networks with the cards revealed. The table featuring Bart van Heugten, Roberto Maraschiello and Alain Buisson is likely to be moved to a TV table. 

Pause on approach

The first 4 40-minute levels are almost over, with 127 players competing in blinds 300 - 600 (600), averaging 58,000 chips. 

Frederic Simon seems to have got off to the best possible start at a table featuring Rico Chevalot. With around 200,000 chips, Fred has multiplied his stack by 4 since the start at 4pm - quite a pace. 

Rendezvous during the break, which will only last 20 minutes, for a first look at the situation with a few stacks...

Checkpoint

The first break is over, and play resumes with 129 players for 152 entrants and an average of 59,000 chips in blinds 400 - 800 (800).

Renaud Hennes got off to a great start. "I won a lot of small pots, I disgusted everyone," laughs the runner-up of the previous edition as he reaches 113,000 chips at the break. "First hand, it raises to my right, I pay, 3-bet from Renaud, 4-bet from the neighbor, I go all-in and everyone passes... they had Kings and Queens," laughs Taner Ayhan, at the same table with 54,000 chips despite this shove right from the start.

As forDavid Ramillon, he has 193,000 in chips after a hero-call on Caroline van Gorp, who was caught red-handed with a straight and a failed flush draw with clubs on a board where another suit was possible with three diamonds. 

Chipcount
Mathias Henin 203,000
David Ramillon 193,000
Frederic Simon 162,000
Alaatitn Sulan $160,000
Kobe Vandepitte 120,000
Laurent Torbick 119,000
Michael Altena 114,000
Renaud Hennes 113,000
Giuseppe Genco 111,000
Rico Chevalot 108,000
Ahmed Jirjees 99,000
Mohamed Mehinbasic 94,000
Aziz Kendel 60,000
Morgan Poisson 59,000
Takahiro Kanai 54,000
Taner Ayhan 54,000
Lukas Trzcinski 35,000 
Romain Becker 32,000
Laura Wautelet 22,000

New Level 

The blinds have just climbed to 500 - 1000 (1000), so latecomers or those who make another dumpling start again with 50 blinds! 

Level 6 is therefore taking place with 127 players in the running for 164 entrants. Fred Davidts has arrived, as has Olivier Carosella and quite a few foreign players. German can be heard today around the tables at the Circus Casino Resort in Namur. 

Still players in Namur

The 7th level of the day kicked off on the first day of the €350 Namur Classics 2024 Main Event. The blinds have risen to 500 - 1500 (1500) with now 114 players in contention for 171 entrants!

The average is 75,000 chips with half an hour to go before the 70-minute dinner break... 

Soon the Soup


From the small blind,Karim Nabile defends with an open late in the hand before checking-calling 3500 chips on a Queen 4 Jack flop with a heart draw. No action on turn 5, but Karim's 7,000-chip bet on the Valet river provokes an instant reaction from the opener. "You've got three of a kind? I don't even have enough to check, you've still got it all," he says before giving up the pot. Nabile is content with that and moves up to 200,000 chips with 15 minutes to go before the dinner break.

The board shows 109 players for 173 entrants and Axel Bevers is now looking back. On a Jack Ace King 4 board with a diamond draw on the flop, Axel puts pressure in position on his right-hand neighbor. Maxime Fontaine checks and Axel pushes him all-in with 35,000 chips. It's snap or almost by Maxime, who returns ace-queen... in front of Axel's 4 and 5 of diamonds, which blank on a 2 of hearts river. Fontaine climbs to 70,000 chips while Aexel falls to 22,000 after this harmless river...

Things are going better at the table just behind for Eric Goffin (100,000 - l. below) and Frederic Simon (135,000 - r. below), who are in deep discussion. Last year's runner-up, Renaud Hennes, has slipped back after a good start, and is now down to 69,000 in chips... still better than Taner Ayhan 's disappearance from this table... 

Dinner break

Resuming at 10.10pm for the 8th level of the opening day of the Namur Classics Main Event, registration will close just before 11pm, at the end of this level contested on blinds 1000 - 1500 (1500).

The average is 86,000 chips and Patrick Prijot has made a great start. Patrick gave us his biggest smile to celebrate!

Chips
Pierre Axer 282 000
Kobe Vandepitte 245 000
Patrick Prijot 235 000
Rodolphe Coulon 202 000
Mathias Henin 202 000
Frederic Simon 187 000
Ahmed Jirjees 180 000
Armando Frassi 175 000
David Ramillon 162 000
Salvatore Sablone 151 000
Sabri Philipps 150 000
Farid Azarkan 150 000
Julien Brulet 138 000
Alaatitn Sulan 133 000
Fabrice Damamme 133 000
Giuseppe Genco 128 000
Sven Collaerts 127 000
Laurent Torbick 125 000
Michal Skowronek 117 000
Xavier James 110 000
Stefan Bitger 104 000
Freddy Godel 104 000
Dorian Liegeois 103 000
Rico Chevalot 100 000
Marc Hansens 90 000
Dalil Masaud 62 000
Eric Goffin 42 000

Top 100

The field has just fallen below 100 players on Day 1a of the €350 Namur Classics Main Event. The countdown clock shows 183 entrants with just over half an hour to go before the first of the event's 7 starting days.

The game is being played in blinds 1000 - 1500 (1500), with an average of 93,000 chips... 

Keep Grinding


The end of the Late Reg's is imminent, as blinds move up to 1000 - 2000 (2000) with 93 players for 185 entrants to Day 1a of the Namur Classics Main Event. Patrice Libert resists with 25,000!

Things are looking up for Steven Wright and Pierre Axer, with the duo sailing around the 300,000 chip mark. Axer with Gilles Magny (60,000) just to his left and also Alain Buisson (190,000) at his table. Quentin Thavisouk is just below the 95,000 chip average, while Fred Davidts is just above (120,000).

Farid Azarkan is up to 200,000 chips. From the button on 8 6 Ten Jack Ace, Farid sends 35,000 into 30,000. The small blind pays him with Jack 8, the MP foldes and Farid shows King Queen to stay above 100 blinds at the end of late registration...

189 entrants on opening day

Registration is closed for Day 1a of the €350 Namur Classics Main Event. The Circus Casino Resort in Namur recorded 189 entries for the first of seven starting days on the event's schedule.

With a quarter of an hour left to play in the 1000 - 2000 blinds (2000), there are just 84 players left in the field. Michael Altena, Levi Mulders, Eddy Meyfroot, Joao Faria, Fabien Ayadi, David Sabet, Patrice Libert and Lars Klitzsch will have to try their luck on another starting day, perhaps this Easter Monday from 3pm.

Hello

Winner ofSaturday's Warm-Up for just over €16,000, Lukas Trzcinski has just taken off on Day 1a of the Main Event. Just as the blinds went up to 1,000 - 2,500 (2,500) for the 10th level, he found a big spot against a compatriot.

Limp at the start of the hand, a German player bet 12,000 and got paid once on the button. A dream spot, Lukas wakes up with kings in the small blind and sends in 33,000 chips. The limper disappears, but not the insulator, who goes all-in for 200,000. Fold from the button, snap from Lukas to discover two Queens in front and hold to climb to 275,000 chips.

The run makes Lukas laugh, aware that he's in a good cycle and now at the top of the leaderboard on Day 1a!

Tour de Tables

With 72 players and twenty minutes to go before the final break of Day 1a, Steven Wright continues his ballad with 430,000 chips in front of him.

Before my very eyes, he has just bet 8500 small blind chips on Queen 9 8 7 Ace in a duel against the Cutoff and, when the latter raised to 24,500 chips, he advanced a big stack of 5000 chips to put his opponent all-in. One fold later, by popular demand, Steven turned over a card and showed an Ace... Wright leads the Level 10 debate, at a table where things are going well for Schakeri Aghajan (230,000), while Fred Davidts struggles with 75,000 chips. Finished by Wright, Eric Goffin has just been definitively cancelled for today. 

Sabrina Senden has also just given up the ghost Quentin Thavisouk was successful. Quentin had just doubled up a mismatched Ace 9 against an all-in Ace Ten of Hearts preflop. A 9 on the flop and the player from Hauts de France is up to 65,000 chips. Not out of the woods yet on 1000 - 2500 (2500) but alive. 

Bubble-boy in the Warm-Up final (10th), Takahiro Kanai has just checked-raised Ace Ace 5 in a duel to climb to 140,000 chips. Alain Buisson had raised preflop and made a continuation bet before folding the queens face-up to keep 85,000 chips at a table where it's always Pierre Axer who dominates with 240,000 chips.

Pascal Honai (120,000), Fedele Ricotta (40,000), Sabri Philips (210,000), Patrick Prijot (220,000), Morgan Poisson (80,000), Aziz Kendel (200,000), Angelo Aliberto (100,000) and Franklin Nurmohamed (210,000) all have high hopes of finishing the day in the best possible way. 

For Renaud Hennes (photo) it's all over for Day 1a. The runner-up of the 2023 edition bowed out with Ace Valet against a pair of 9s to climb back up to 85,000 chips. Despite a draw for a belly flop, Renaud will bow out to join the rail... not sure he'll be able to free himself up this week to play again... 

Last Break

65 players return to blinds 1500 - 3000 (3000) with an average of 145,000 chips. With 398,000 tokens, Steven Wright dominates with two levels of 40 minutes to go.


Ippolito Rocchetti is on a roll and took on two opponents in the last three minutes before the break. The first victim limp-rejammed 65,000 chips from the hijack after a 7,000 button isolation from Fedele Ricotta and a 27,500-chip 3-bet from Ippolito. Fedele discarded, Ippolito called with ace-queen to eliminate his opponent on a 9 5 6 queen 7 board. Barely time to put his chips away, Ippolito took out Quentin Thavisouk holding with 9 against Ace 5 suit. With 380,000 chips, Ippolito went into the break on the heels of the chipleader. 

Chipcount
Steven Wright 398,000
Ippolito Rocchetti 380,000
Aziz Kendel 350,000
Lukas Trzcinski 300,000
Sébastien Lecomte 285,000
Pierre Axer 280,000
Torsten Klingels 260,000
Kjell de Meulemeester 255,000
Franklin Nurmohamed 235,000
Rodolphe Coulon 227,000
Tadeusz Pietrzak 220,000
Atama Okuklu 220,000
Ahmed Jirjees 210,000
Marc Hansens 160,000
Morgan Poisson 75,000
Fred Davidts 73,000

Sprint

There are 25 minutes left to play on the opening day of the Namur Classics Main Event, which brought together 189 participants. There are now just 51 players in the 2000 - 4000 blinds (4000), with an average of 185,000 chips...

Frederic Simon (below), Kobe Vandepitte, Pascal Honai, Fedele Ricotta, Armando Frassi, Dalil Masaud, Alain Buisson, Laurent Torbick, David Ramillon, Karim Nabile and Michael Passy gave up the ghost in the last quarter of an hour... 

43 Qualifiers on the opening day, with Frenchman Steven Wright at the helm

A dream day for Steven Wright, a Frenchman with Scottish roots who lives in Carvin (62). The chipleader at the end of the 10 40-minute levels of Day 1a of the €350 Namur Classics Main Event tells us about his day.

"I squeezed all-in Ace-King paid three times by Jacks, Queen-Tens, 7s & 5s and took it all to climb to almost 300,000 chips. Then I eliminated two players with Kings and another with Aces", sums up the Frenchman, who will be back on Friday for Day 2 with 652,500 chips on blinds 2500 - 5000 (5000).

A crazy run for Steven, Aziz Kendel was also varnished until a few minutes from the end when he lost a pot of 200,000 chips with the Jacks against Aces 5 sweat at Marc Hansens. Aziz nevertheless finished with 270,000, still more than his buddy Corentin Barbosa, who bagged up 211,000 chips.

Morgan Poisson (200,000), Patrick Prijot (307,000), Ippolito Carpe Diem (238,000), Ahmed Jirjees (191,000), Sébastien Lecomte (211,000) and Pierre Axer (411,000) also got in on the action. All of them will be back on Friday April 5 at 2pm for 50-minute levels...

Partial Chipcount Day 1A Main (189 entrants - 43 qualifiers)
Steven Wright 652,500
Pierre Axer 411,000
Patrick Prijot 307,000
Aziz Kendel 270,000
Ippolito Carpe Diem 238,000
Julien Brulet 236,000
Corentin Barbosa 211,000
Sebastien Lecomte 211 000
Patrick Henin 208 000
Marc Hansens 202 000
Morgan Poisson 200 000
Lukas Trzcinski 196 000
Ahmed Jirjees 191 000
Shayan Schakeri 162 000
Fred Davidts 72 000


The complete chipcount in the document belowbelow