Toujours Beau in Namur

As the storm rages across Europe, 41 players are on track for the first level of Day 1D at the €350 entry fee Oktoberfest. 96 players have already secured their tickets for Saturday's Day 2, and participants on the fourth opening day will have to pass 13 levels to join them...

The game starts on 100 - 200 (200) with zero outs over the first 25 minutes of play... on the Day 1D program 10 half-hour levels and 3 40-minute levels before bagging. The session begins with 5 30-minute levels followed by a half-hour break. Then back for two hours of poker and a dinner break between 9 and 10.15pm.

The end of the first post-dinner level marks the end of late registration, at around 10.45pm. At that point, levels will increase to 40 minutes, with another two hours of poker... Shuffle up and deal! 

Rainless Wednesday

Players are avoiding the gloomy weather in the comfort of Namur's Circus Casino Resort... almost 40 minutes of play on the fourth of eight opening days and the field is now 51 entrants. Still no outs while blinds are now 100 - 300 (300).

Sabrina Senden, Thierry Bay, Somsong Intharanop, Alain Caliber, Jimmy Bord, Carlos Lopes, Alfred Bacquelaine, Tim Verheyen, Philippe Riminucci and Audrey Petitjean are already in the game... 

In the Gas

50 minutes of play from the start and another ten minutes before the switch to level 3 on blinds 200 - 400 (400)... and we've got the first outgoing player of Day 1D.

It could have been Alain Caliber, but the Belgian was loaded when he put his last 17,000 chips in the middle with Ace-King. The player under the gun raised-call Ace-Queen and didn't muck...

Marius Nistor went all-in for 18,000 in 30,000 on a 9 3 7 King Ten board with two spades on the flop, one on the turn and one on the river... Billy Tuaiva asked for a count before folding and being shown a 9 of clubs... Nothing to see here.

The decision was made at the next table with a preflop war between Antonio Gazziano and Johann Berger. The duo build up a pot of 22,000 chips before discovering a Jack-King-3 flop... Gazziano bets 15,000 big blind chips and is quickly called by Berger from the button.

On turn 7, which opens a flush draw, Antonio moves all-in 23,000 chips very quickly and gets paid even faster. Johann narrowly covers his opponent and turns over the kings just as Antonio reveals the aces!

No saving river and only 57 players remain for 58 entries on Day 1D, for which registration is open until 10.45pm. Berger (below) is up to 102,000 chips, enough to see him through the first 7 hours of poker. 

Grind

55 minutes to go before the first break of Day 1D of the Oktoberfest... 68 players are seated at the tables of the Circus Casino Resort in Namur, with 72 entrants so far.

Play is 200 - 500 (500) with Philippe Riminucci and Audrey Petitjean at 70,000 chips for an average of 53,000. No big upsets yet on this fourth opening day, which will see the number of entrants pass the 500 mark in just a few minutes. 

Tojours du Monde in Namur

Day 1D attendance continues to grow, with 83 entrants with 20 minutes to go before the first break... Play has been going on for 130 minutes on this fourth opening day of the Okteberfest, and there are still 75 players in the running at the Circus Casino Resort in Namur. 

Reprise

Play resumes on blinds 400 - 800 (800) after a half-hour break. The 72 players in contention will compete over 4 half-hour levels, heading for the 75-minute dinner break.

The average is 60,000 chips, and it's Jérôme Lubet who seems to have got off to the best possible start, with his stack tripled in 2 hours 30 of poker at the start of Day D Oktoberfest. 

Chipcount
Jerome Lubet 147 000
Marco Steltman 131 000
Marco Schmidt 128 000
Salvatore Ciccarelli 128 000
Franclim Da Silva 126 000
Constantin Ifrim 115 000
Jimmy Bord 108 000
Johann Berger 104 000
Nicolas Noel 92 000
Dimitri Calonnec 92 000
Khalid Sektani 91 000
Sven Hurschmann 87 000
Peter Coomans 83 000
Alain Theisen 81 000
Jordan Englebert 79 000
Gabriel Radu 73 000
Philippe Riminucci 72 000 (photo)
Danny de Graaf 67 000
Marc Thumelaire 65 000
Jean-Michel Moyenne 60,000
Audrey Petitjean 58,000
David Gaillard 37,000

Big Tuesday: Orhan Serbes wins at the end of the night after a 7-way deal

Big Tuesday at the Oktoberfest festival recorded 158 entries and it took until 4 a.m. to find a winner! The last 7 players in contention dealt at the ICM at 3.30am with an average of 8 blinds... there was still €2,100 to be shared, and the final trio finally agreed on a new split at the ICM just a few minutes before closing time. 

Leading at the time of the last deal, Orhan Serbes took €1,010 and the trophy on the last deal for a final win of €2,976. Sylvere Paillot finished runner-up after taking €1,850 on the first split and another €705 behind. Second in stack at the time of the 7-player deal, Romain Becker completed the podium for a total of €2,400.

Chipleader at the time of the first deal, Noah Alem finally fell at the foot of the podium for €2,200. Last in the class at the time of the 7-player deal, Louison Dury guaranteed himself €1,640 at the ICM before dropping to 5th place... a few minutes before the gong.

Dany Philippe had bubbled into 24th place at 1.40am, all the others then took a share of a prizepool of almost €22,000...

Event #5 Big Tuesday Oktobefest €170 (158 entries - €21,804 prizepool)

Champion - Ohran Serbes 2 976€*
Runner Up - Sylvere Paillot 2 550€*
3rd - Romain Becker 2 400€*
4th - Noah Alem 2200€*
5th - Louison Dury 1 650€*
6th - Laurent El Hasnaoui1 700€*
7th - Yacine Elmernissi 1 690€*
8th - NC 685€
9th - Antonio Cabanas 570€

10th - Gaetano Moreci 495€
11th - Salvatore Allatta 495€* Salvatore Allatta 495€
12th - Tyme Bleyaert
13th - Stef NC 430€
14th - Julien Gramlich 375€
15th - Freddy Savat 375€
16th Sajjad Miah 325€
17th - NC 325€
18th - Morgan Poisson 285€
19th - Mark Heirman 285€
20th - Oualid Rizki 285€
21st - Baptiste Evrard 245€
22nd - Mathieu Regent 245€
23rd - NC 245€

*7-way ICM deal, then the remaining €2,100 at ICM is shared between the last three players

76 per 100

Level 6 is well underway, with only 9 minutes left to play on blinds 400 - 800 (800). The entry counter has just climbed to 100, bringing the provisional attendance to 525...

There are still 76 players in the running on Day 1D, vying to join the already 96 qualifiers from the first three starting sessions of the €350 Oktoberfest... 

They arrive

Nadir Guendouze, Djamal Boutaleb and Fabien Perrot have arrived on or just before 500 - 1000 (1000). There are still 20 minutes to play on this level and the last two are starting with a block of 50 blinds.

Nadir has lost some feathers and is down to 26,000 chips... "I lost the tens to the jacks, and my opponent was kind enough not to take it all from me", began the young man, before adding that he was "going back into the ring".

Richard van Bommel didn't have to wait until level 7 to buy-in, and he racked up chips to top the leaderboard at 208,000. Sabrina Senden (60,000), Somsong Intharanop (55,000), Audrey Petitjean (60,000) and Salvatore Alessi (60,000) have a long way to go to join him at the front of the pack. With 145,000 ahead of him, Pietro Amoruso also got off to a good start in this fourth opening session...

Approach dinner

Franclim Da Silva has taken the lead on Day 1D of the Oktoberfest with 255,000 chips with 15 minutes left to play on blinds 600 - 1200 (1200), the penultimate level before the dinner break.

Of the 111 entrants to the fourth flight of this €350 Mystery Bounty tournament, 73 players remain. With an average of 75,000 chips, Da Silva is well ahead of the field! 

Dinner Break

Dinner break underway, resuming at 10.15pm on blinds 1000 - 2000 (2000) for the final half-hour level. At the end of this 10th level, there will be three 40-minute levels and two hours of poker left before the chips are packed for the survivors.

Registration will also be closed at the start of the 11th of 13 levels on Day 1D, the fourth of eight starting days for the €350 Oktoberfest Mystery Bounty. So far, 65 players have taken a dinner break, with 114 entrants and a provisional average of 87,000 chips.

Franclim Da Silva (left) continues his harvest, while it's a little more complicated for his neighbor Djamal Boutaleb... 

Chipcount
Franclim Da Silva 290 000
Richard van Bommel 208 000
Jimmy Bord 200 000
Benoit Tombeur 197 000
Yohann Dihebold 193 000
Shandy Wong 191 000
Yannick Dams 190 000
Sajjad Miah 176 000
Jerome Lubert 169 000
Branco Steltman 157 000

Dimitri Calonnec 153 000
Sabrina Senden 138 000
Emmanuel Cardella 138 000
Jordan Englebert 117 000
Hervé Decker 115 000
Tim Verheyen 115 000
Khalid Sektani 104 000
Pietro Amoruso 97 000
Johann Berger 89 000
Constantin Ifrim 87 000

Ibrahim Aslan 85 000
Luc Boeckx 66 000
Tonio Ruggiu 65 000
Gabriel Radu 64 000
Danny De Graaf 48 000
Michel Galatola 44 000
Fabien Perrot 41 000
Djamal Boutaleb 39 000
Peter Coomans 38 000

123 entries on Day 1D

Sabrina Senden will have to try her luck again on another flight, while Hervé Decker (260,000) and Jordan Englebert (245,000) continue to perform well.

The 11th level of the fourth opening day has begun, with 55 players remaining in the field out of 123 entrants. Play is on blinds 1,000 - 2,500 (2,500) and levels are now 40 minutes long.

The tournament has registered 425 entries over the first three starting sessions, with 96 players having already booked their ticket for Saturday's Day 2...

Extensions

Level 12 is imminent, with 48 players about to enter the final two levels of Day 1D. The blinds are now 1500 - 3000 (3000), with Hervé Decker (325,000) still going strong. Noah Alem, who entered the dinner table, is also on the pace, with three times the starting... 

LoL

Danny de Graaf, Alain Theisen, Tim Verheyen, Luc Boeckx, Salvatore Ciccarelli will have to try their luck again if they want to take part in Day 2... 

Blindes 1500 - 3000 (3000) for another 25 minutes, one hour to go on the fourth of eight opening days of the Oktoberfest. 43 players are still in the running after the exit of Pim van Wierengen, who had the misfortune to find the Kings when Marco Schmidt held the Aces. The German is heading for 260,000, while the average is 143,000 chips (48 blinds).

Less success for Djamal Boutaleb, who 3-bet 23,000 chips from the button after a twice-paid MP open. The opener pushes 100,000 chips and all-in, fold, fold and snap for 160,000 from Djamal, who flips the Aces. There's the same hand in the opener's hand and it's split!

Boutaleb has the mask but JS Denissa calls him out. "I just jumped like that in the 250€ Knockout, you should be happy," he begins before elaborating. "3-bet, I 4-bet the Ten, 5-bet all-in, pot at three times the average, I pay he has the Ten.... Clover, clover, clover, clover and he's got the clover," he finishes with a burst of laughter.

Sprint

37 players begin the final 40-minute level of Day 1D of the Oktoberfest. The blinds are 2000 - 4000 (4000) with an average of 40bb and Hervé Decker is ahead with 320,000 chips.

Shandy Wong, for example, eliminated a short on a flip, his 6s holding up against his opponent's 7s and 8s. Wong climbed to 280,000 on this move, and even though she lost a few chips, she's not far from the lead.

Emmanuel Cardella, Noah Alem and Constantin Ifrim are on the rail... 

Last quarter of an hour

15 minutes of play remain on 2000 - 4000 (4000) before the survivors pack up their chips for Saturday. 34 players remain after the elimination of Johan Berger and Johannes Maas. Hervé Decker still in the hunt - until the end? 

5 Last Hands

The last 5 hands saw Jérôme Lubet (above) take out Patrick Boernicke and win a final pot to finish on the podium of the fourth opening day... Just before, Franclim Da Silva and Benoit Tombeur had given up the ghost by going all-in on their opponent's kings. Fabien Perrot took a nasty blow against Jimmy Bord... 

30 qualifiers on Day 1D, Hervé Decker the boss

The 7 hours of poker on the fourth of eight starting days of the €350 Oktoberfest Main Event went to Hervé Decker. The Frenchman finally beat his compatriot Jérôme Lubet to the chipcount at the end of Day 1D.

"It's been a tough day," said the chipleader as he left the play area. "It's not bad times eight," conceded Hervé Decker as he walked away. With 408,000 chips and a block of 80 blinds on Saturday, Day 2 at 2 p.m., Hervé will have plenty of time... What a Frenchman! 

The day's 123 entries brought the total number of players to 548 at the halfway stage, despite the fact that the Thursday and Friday starting days are usually very busy. 124 players have so far booked a ticket for Day 2, which will be played over 40-minute levels...

Tonio Ruggiu, Michele Galatola, Djamal Boutaleb, Shandy Wong and Fabien Perrot will also have chips. With the starting stack, and 10 blinds, Fabien won't have the right to make a mistake, and won't have too much time to recover! 

Chipcount complete Day 1D
Hervé Decker 408 000
Jérôme Lubet 373 00
Sajjad Miah 325 000
Yannick Beuay 308 500
Erik Beyer 289 000
Khalid Sektani 257 000
Marcel van Welsum 249 000
Tonio Ruggiu 239 500
Michel Galatola 238 000

Shandy Wong 237 000
Marco Schmidt 235 000
Jordan Englebert 227 000
Yohan Diebold 219 000
Djamal Boutaleb 215 000
Branco Steltman 213 000
Geert Latet 199 000
Richard van Bommel 187 000
Yannick Dams 183 000
George Steltman 183 000
Ibrahim Aslan 175 500

Jimmy Bord 165 000
Dimitri Calonnec 161,000
Alain Caliber 158,000
Dejan Versic 143,000
Nicolas Noel 114,500
Kin Luu 111,000
Hans Zarfl 110,000
Philippe Cocquyt 108,000
Benoit Mahoux 92,000
Fabien Perrot 42,000