New Era... 

... but the DNA remains the same. Welcome to the Circus Casino Resort in Namur for the PokerStars Open, a series of European festivals launched in 2025 and organized by our long-standing partner, operator PokerStars.

The month of May in Wallonia is traditionally the €1,100 Belgian Poker Challenge... the BPC is disappearing, but not its spirit, with a main event featuring a crazy guarantee (7 figures, you chickens!) and a structure as incredible as ever. But before that, it's time to warm up with a €400 Cup offering a €200,000 guarantee.

The sun continued to shine in Namur, and a few players set off to discover the ancient citadel, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The cruise along the Meuse will come later, so let's turn our attention to this opening event, which offers 4 starting days and three days of competition.

Participants compete at the gateway to the Ardennes with 30,000 chips and 30-minute levels. The opening days are scheduled for 14 levels and 7 hours of poker, with open-strike entries on 10 levels... but we'll come back to that later.

The game started with around 30 players at the tables, and by the end of the first round there were already almost 60... 

Key dates for the PSO Namur Festival (May 28-June 9, 2025)

Numerous satellites take place at the Resort during the festival. The program and online registration are just a click away.

• PokerStars Open Cup: June 1 - €400 (€200,000 GTD)
• PokerStars Open Main Event: May 31 - June 8 - €1,100 (€1,000,000GTD)
• PokerStars Open Super High Roller: June 2 and 3 - €5,000
• PokerStars Open High Roller: June 6 and 7 - €2,200 (€100,000 GTD)
• PokerStars Open Mystery Bounty: June 7 and 8 - €800 (€100,000 GTD)
  
  
  
  
  
  

Next Level

The blinds are now on 100 - 300 (300) and the first hour of play ends on Day 1A of the €400 PokerStars Open Namur 2025 Cup.

The day of 14 levels and 7 hours of poker is built in three sessions, with twice 5 levels in a row, then 4 levels and two hours of poker to finish the day at around 10.40 pm for the survivors.

The first thirty-minute break takes place between 4.30 and 5 p.m., followed by 2 hours 30 of poker before a 70-minute dinner break between 7.30 and 8.40 p.m.

At the post-dinner resumption on 1000 - 1500 (1500), registration will be closed with 20 blinds for those who try their luck in-extremis!

TLDR: late registration 8 p.m., start level 11

Hundreds on the way

Already the fourth level on Day 1A of the €400 Cup... blinds are now 200 - 500 (500) with 82 players in the running for 94 entrants. The average has risen to 35,000 and many regulars are trying their luck.

In the field, we could spot BPC finalist Jérôme Balthazar, France's Sampaio, Belgians Tino de Zutter, Alfred Bacquelaine and Xavier Coutereel, serial-player Nando D'Alessio and Raphael Canta or Rens Buijs, recent finalist at the Classic's (below during his Easter deep-run). 

Nicolas Destercq, the German who impressed Konstantin Faerber at the CPS 2024, and the French Reda Belkou, Olivier Hegy, Alexis Houspie, Heni Mokni and Alain Fleurent are also here for this festival opening.

Pascal Honai, Eddy Meyfroot, Pierre Neuville, Daniel Pirlot, Viorel Merisan, Mihaita Georgita, Claude Frisque and Roger Edain are aiming to do better than just take part, and have set their sights on this Cup, which promises to be very busy if the occupancy rate of the Resort hotel over the next few days is anything to go by... The Cup is already well attended, if the track record of the players already at the tablles is anything to go by!

At the heart of the action

Emblematic player of the German community, Martin Schneiders organizes its festival at the Circus Casino Resort in Namur at the end of June... PokerStars player xxflixx couldn't miss this premiere of the PSO Namur in Wallonia! 

Martin came along with his GRND poker tour team and is sitting down at the tables for this Day 1A... eager to share his journey as usual. Follow the table of this particular CUP competitor live on Twitch on the grndontour channel right now ! 

And there's plenty to do, as Level 5 has begun with 83 players in the running for 104 entrants and an average of 36,000 chips in the 200 - 500 blinds (500). After these two and a half hours of poker, it's time to enjoy the bar and the view for half an hour! 

Second Session

Level 6 is underway after a half-hour break... play is now running on blinds 400 - 800 (800) with registration still open until 8:45pm and the first deal of Level 11.

The table shows 85 players in iste for 117 entrants and an average of 42,000 chips. Pierre Neuville's tournament came to an end, as he took a short break before returning this evening for Day 1B, which starts at 2pm on Thursday.

Fabice Somers is still here, having re-entered and doubled up with Ace 3 against 8 and 4... His opponent made trips but Fabrice flush-raised to 15,000 chips. The action quickly resumed in the middle of a table also featuring Patrick Prijot, Rainer Emde and Rens Buijs.

BPT finalist Guillaume Navarro is also in the mix on the opening day of the PokerStars Open Namur festival. Mihai Stinca, Damien Di Pasquale, Giuseppe Pollina, Rami Awad, Emile Custinne, Steven de Brackenier, Joeri Debauve, Eddy Sebastianutti or Yves Senterre and Walter van Camberg also made their entries!

Dinner break at the end of level 10, from 7.35 p.m. for 70 minutes... 

Checkpoint

Level 8 begins with 77 players in the running for 134 entries and an average of 52,000 chips... The blinds are now 500 - 1000 (1000), so there's no time to dawdle with half-hour levels!

In form in Marrakech, where he deep-run on a side, Younes Akbal has just jumped in two stages... down to 8900 chips he doubled up with Ace 2 suite against Ace Jack at Damien Hupé... before exiting with King 8 suite against Ace Ten at Roger Edain. Hupé was down to 12,000 chips, while Roger and his traditional orange sweater climbed to seventy-five thousand!

At the next table, Daniel Pirlot calls-mucks for 9500 chips, almost the pot, on a 6 7 5 3 5 board... Jackie Hu returns a pair of 7s, and the Dutchman climbs to 83,000 chips. In the right pack, but not at the top!

Far from the top is Fabrice Somers. But Fabrice gets some action... as on this shot where he shoves into position after two checks on 7 3 2 with a diamond draw. Somers reveals 4 and 5 of spades when it's crazy and apostrophizes Walter van Camberg to maintain the mood: "you had better than height 5?"

WcV can laugh, he had better, especially chipwise, but it was Viorel Merisan who got off to the best start with more than 5 times the starting!




Chipcount
Viorel merisan 160 000
Mathias van der Perre 160 000
Abslam Elkahlaoui 141 000
Walter van Camberg 140 000
Italo Railo 135 000
Mohamed Hamine 134 000
Eddy Meyfroot 131 000
Reda Belkou 125 000
Aubada Taljo 108 000
Raphael Canta 81 000
Eddy Sebastianutti 81 000
Roger Edain 75 000
Pascal Honai 70 000
Mihaita Georgita 62 000
Mehidi Sahli 53 000
Rens Buijs 49 000
Martin Schneiders 49 000
Alain Fleurent 48 000
Rainer Emde 46 000
Daniel Pirlot 43 000
Patrick Prijot 39 000
Nicolas Destercq 31 000
Rami Awad 30 000
Heni Mokni 24 000
Mihai Stinca 24 000
Konstantin Faerber 22 000
Fabrice Somers 22 000
Tino de Zutter 13 000
Damien Hupé 12 000

Caipirinha 

Level 10 has begun, and it's time for an aperitif, as the survivors will take a 70-minute break at the end of this level.

The game is now played on 600 - 1200 (1200) and Aurélie Sampaio can breathe easy. The Frenchwoman won a side at SISMIX last week, and is now back home at Circus Casino Resort. 

The beginning of the day was complicated as the player twice fell at 10,000Jetons, but Aurélie is back... She tripled up by sending Jack Ten suit into the big blind after two limps, and held out against two 8s and 4 & 5 suit! Since then, Aurélie has grinded her way up to 47,000 chips , with 68 players in the running for 147 entries.

The average is 65,000 chips for this latest level of late registration... registration for this Day 1A of the Cup will close at the post-dinner resumption, at 8.45pm. It will then be time to switch to Tripick! 

Dinner break

Already ten levels out of the 14 on the program for the opening day of the €400 Cup, guaranteeing a €200,000 prizepool... Registration closes when the action resumes at 8.40pm on blinds 1000 - 1500 (1500), so there's still time to show up at the Circus Casino Resort in Namur! 

There are currently 61 entries for 152 with an average chip count of 75,000... the bosses have gone times 5 so far. 

Chipcount
Mathias van Der Perre 163,000
Mario Theophanous 162,000
Eddy Sebastianutti 161,000
Mohamed Hamine 161,000
Abselam Elkahlaoui 153,000
Raphael Canta 149,000
Walter van Camberg 144,000
Rainer Emde 134,000
Jackie Hu 120,000
Viorel Merisan 114,000

Steven de Braeckenier 98,000 000
Alain Fleurent 97 000
Taljo Aubada 93 000
Nathanael Mizrahi 87 000
Martin Schneiders 75 000
Mihaita Georgita 73 000
Tino de Zutter 73 000
Nando d'Alessio 69 000
Rami Awad 67 000
Heni Mokni 63 000

Alexis Houspie 57 000
Aurelie Sampaio 47 000
Emile Custinne 35 000
Mihai Stinca 22 000

154 players 1 Cup

Registration is closed for Day 1A of the Cup opening the PokerStars Open de Namur. The first of four opening days of this €400 tournament guaranteeing a €200,000 prizepool brought together 154 entrants, a good start.

Play is on 1000 - 1500 (1500) and therefore 20 blinds for latecomers, with 63 still in contention for Saturday's Day 2... for that, they'll have to hold out for almost 4 more half-hour levels...

The average is 74,000 chips - and climbing! 

30 survivors on Day 1A of the Cup

After 14 levels and 7 hours of poker, it was a Frenchman who wrapped up the chiplead on the opening day of the €400 PokerStars Open de Namur Cup. With 154 entrants (including 50 re-entries), it's a good start for this tournament guaranteeing a €200,000 prizepool with three more days to go...

30 players cleared the hurdle and qualified for Saturday's Day 2, which will resume on blinds 2000 - 4000 (4000) with 40-minute levels. Mohamed Hamine moved all in for 11 times and 341,000 to take the lead from Dutchman Jackie Hu. Jackie struck Damien Hupé and Germany's Martin Schneiders after dinner to take off and finish with 276,000. Jonathan Bonnin from France completed the podium... 

Cypriot Marios Theophanous got his festival off to a good start, as did Viorel Merisan (below), Heni Mokni, Walter van Camberg, Raphael Canta, Joeri Debauve and Eddy Meyfroot. Steven Braeckenier, Alain Fleurent, Aurélie Sampaio, Reda Belkou and Rami Awad also got in on the action... and the Egyptian finished with his favorite stack, 69,000 chips, to get you excited right from the start of the weekend!

See you on Thursday from 2pm for Day 1B of this Cup... 

Full Chipcount Day 1
Mohamed Hamine 341,000
Jackie Hu 276,000
Jonathan Bonnin 257,00
Marios Theophanous 246,000
Rainer Emde 225,000
Tino de Zutter 215,000
Heni Mokni 209,000
Viorel Merisan 182,000
Walter van Camberg 179,000
Matthias van Der Perre (below) 179,000

Raphael Canta 174,000
Joeri Debauve 173,000
Eddy Meyfroot 169,000
Italo Raillo 160,000
Steven de Braeckenier 146,000
Alain Fleurent 146,000
Claudiu Dubles 143,000
Abslam Elkahlaoui 126,000
Aurelie Sampaio 113,000
Michele Zangardi 105,000

Calin Nelu Pop 104,000
Adriano Esposito 99,000
Roberto Agus 97,000
Reda Belkou 97,000
Alexis Houspie 80,000
Peter de Backer 77,000
Rami Awad (below) 69,000
Michel Doyen 69,000
Manuel Romariz 65,000
Jonas Dejaeger 43,000