Day 1B Wednesday from 4 p.m.

Live Report Day 1A

Shuffle up & deal

It's off to Namur for the second day of the €250 Spirit Fest. Just under 50 players start play on blinds 100 - 200 (200)... there's a big crowd at the entrance to the Circus Casino Resort in Namur and at the registration desk, and it's sure to swell quickly.

Participants on Day 1B of the Spirit receive 50,000 tokens and set off for 13 30-minute levels. First break for half an hour after 4 levels and two hours at poker. The survivors will then play another two hours of poker, heading for the 75-minute dinner break between 8.30 and 9.45 pm.

When the break resumes, there will be one hour left to register. Late registrations are permitted until the end of level 10... the final 15-minute break will take place at the end of level 11, with another hour to play and two levels to go before the chips are packed for the qualifiers.

At the end of the first two sessions (there was an Extra Day at Spa last Saturday, editor's note), 40 players secured their ticket for Day 2 on Saturday November 2, a day to be contested over 40-minute levels...

182 entries were accumulated before this Wednesday session... which also includes two satellites and the kick-off of the two-day €400 Mystery Bounty, starting at 7pm... 

Almost Perfect

79 players for 80 entrants start level 2 of Day 1B of the Spirit Fest. Fabien Garcia plays sergeant and leads Day 1B with almost 100,000 chips... the Frenchman took the first victim of the day almost on the first level gong.

Harrie Snijders (pictured) is likely to be back in the pot as the blinds are now 100 - 300 (300)...

Sick Run

Salvatore Ciccarelli (pictured) leads Day 1B of the Spirit after 50 minutes of play with 130,000 chips... he skipped three players in the final minutes. First, he found a Kings versus Aces showdown... it all went down the middle on a 3-heart flop and a 4th heart gave him the win with his Charles. Ouste Loubna Aggoun.

Next, Salavatore limped-call an iso with 5 and 2 before checking in the dark... his opponent also checked without seeing to flop flush with 7 and 3 of hearts. The duo got excited on the turn, with Salvatore paying and hitting a 2 river to escape!

Time to recover from this magical string and Salvatore paid on the button with Queen 8 after an open and a call. Opener Erwin Sprooten sends in 12,000 and goes all-in on 100 - 300 (300) and a Queen Ten 4 flop... after a fold, Salvatore pays to discover a pair of 3s in front. Exit Erwin!

The action takes place before the eyes ofYves Seghers, who observes that "it lasts 13 levels, it's a marathon"... just to say that there's still a long way to go. Salvatore Ciccarelli is ahead of the game in the first hour! 

Big Day

The 100-entry mark is reached with 14 minutes left to play in blinds 200 - 400 (400). The average is 53,000 chips with 94 players in the running on the third level of Day 1B of the €250 Spirit Fest. 

Mihai Stinca, Dylan Grenier, Lorenzo Furia, Mihaita Georgita, Raphael Canta, Lucky Luciano, Ali Bilgin, Francois Dutry, Claude Frisque and Guillaume Gillet are all in the running. Dana Kolatka, Ekin Kandemir, Milan Moutiaux, Dieu Lam, David Poncin, Sabri Philips, Harrie Snijders, Dominique Woiry or Ruben Tack also have chips on the table on Day 1B...

Next Level

The blinds are now 300 - 600 (600) for the final level of play before the first break of Day 1B of the €250 Spirit Fest. The table shows 97 players seated at the Circus Casino Resort Namur tables for 104 entrants...

The average is 53,000 chips, with Jan Vos, Walter van Camberg, Laurent van den Eyde, Gert Swolfs and Quentin Peeters all in attendance. 

Break

Resumption at 6.30pm on blinds 400 - 800 (800) after two hours of poker and the traditional first half-hour break... 96 players went on break for 109 entrants, with an average of 57,000 chips. 

Chipcount
Salvatore Ciccarelli 188 000
Mihai Stinca 136 000
Dylan Grenier 127 000
Jeremy Benthami 119 000
Walter van Camberg 108 000
Fabien Garcia 101 000
Sabri Philips 97 000
Cem Muhtar 92 000
ANdreas Michalopoulos 92 000
Angelo Mantegna 83 000
Mihaita Georgita 82 000
Laurent van den Eynde 80 000
Milan Moutiaux 77 000
Stefaan Skippers 66 000
Luc Boeckx 27 000
Quentin Peeters 26 000

They're still coming

The counter shows 120 entries with 10 minutes left to play on 400 - 800 (800)... 12 players are seated at the tables of the Circus Casino Resort in Namur on Day 1B of the €250 Spirit, and a few players have waited until the level following the first break to make their entry.

Pierre Neuville, Pascal Masset, Anne Trebitsch and Flora Ghanizadeh are now also in the game... 

Top 100

With 23 minutes left to play in blinds 500 - 1000 (1000), only 100 players remain on Day 1B of the €250 Spirit Fest. The average is 61,000 chips as the counter now shows 122 entrants. 

Bust & Re-entry

Still more or less 100 players in the running... but the entry counter is climbing. 97 players remain for 133 entries with 22 minutes to play on blinds 600 - 1200 (1200).

It's the 7th of 13 30-minute levels on Day 1B of the €200,000 prizepool-guaranteed Spirit Fest, and Pierre Neuville has the VPIP of a young man barely of age. The WSOP Main Event finalist stands at 70,000 chips, just above the average of 68,000...

Morgan Poisson arrived in late reg' as the Mystery Bounty kicked off with around 40 players... Tetiana Kovalchuk and Sandro Pitzanti are also in the Main Event. 

A Day Without End

The counter has remained close to 100 players for the past hour, while the entry counter continues to climb, as players seem to re-enter and bust... or vice versa.

97 players are on track with 22 minutes to go before the 75-minute dinner break, for a total of 144 entries. This is the Spirit Fest's biggest starting day after Spa's Extra Day and Tuesday's Day 1A...

The average is 74,000 chips, with Claude Frisque already at 100,000. Things are also going well for Wilhelmus Vosters, probably in the lead with 180,000 chips, as Carlo Ciccarelli has only the starting stack left.

At the table of the early leader, Harrie Snijders has the most chips with 170,000... 

Dinner Break

91 players went on dinner break for 75 minutes a few moments ago... the table shows 147 entrants for an average of 80,000 chips with a restart on 1000 - 2000 (2000) and still another hour to register. Salvatore Ciccarelli didn't reach the break, Harrie Snijders took the lead!

Resumption at 9.45pm...

Chipcount
Harrie Snijders 244,000
Dustin van Weerdenburg 224,000
Wilhelmus Vosters 181,000
Mihai Stinca 174,000
Arnaud Danes 171,000
Jean-Paul Peiffer $160,000
Gerald van Trigt 152,000
Jan Vos 148,000
Fabien Garcia 141,000
Philippe Merckx 141,000
Sabri Philips 137,000
Abderrazak Lanzina 127,000
Claude Frisque 122,000
Raphael Canta 120,000
Walter van Camberg 118,000
Stijn van der Meersschau 115,000
Stelvio Lovine 109,000
Zakaria Ben Omar 107,000
Mihaita Georgita 105,000
Quentin Peeters 95,000
Ruben Tack 92,000
Mathjis Jansen 77,000
Cem Muhtar 64,000
Pierre Neuville 62,000
Anne Treitsch 54,000
Flora Ghanizadeh 43,000

Digestion

Twenty minutes into the dinner break, the field had shrunk to 90 players for 152 entrants. The average chip count has climbed to 84,000 on blinds 1000 - 2000 (2000). Mihai Stinca has just passed the 200,000 mark, i.e. 4 times the starting stack.

Sandro Pitzanti has just re-entered, a new start for the WPT DeepStacks champion... the end of late registration is not far off. Anne Trebitsch has just jumped, heading for the Mystery Bounty?

Zone 85


The final level of registration begins, with blinds increasing to 1,000 - 2,500 (2,500) and 85 players for 155 entrants. Only 30 minutes left to take advantage of late registration on Day 1B of the Spirit Fest guaranteeing a €200,000 prizepool. 

Guillaume Gillet has just doubled... the former footballer checks-calls a Queen Ten Ace flop with two diamonds in a duel against Ruben Tack. On turn 9, which also opens spades, the Poker One check-raises all-in for 37,000 chips and is snapped by mismatched Ace 9. Guillaume returns Jack 8, the daddy straight to climb to 95,000 chips. 

Just average, but more complicated for Morgan Poisson (60,000) to the Raphael Canta (170 000). Tetiana Kovalchuk (140,000) is out of position on Sabri Philips (145,000) but in the right tempo too.

David Sabet-Nia has also put himself on the right track. In a five-way pot, only the small blind is not on this multi-colored Valet 9 2 flop, his neighbor on the right is all-in with 45,000 chips. David goes all-in with the equivalent and says Niet when his opponent returns Ace Valet. The 9s for Sabet-Nia, who flies to 175,000 chips after a turn 8 and a river 3. 

 

Gong

Only a few minutes left to rebuy on Day 1B of the Spirit Fes, as level 11 is about to get underway... an opportunity to take a look around the room before the last three levels of the day.

Harrie Snijders (270,000) is still on top. Basile Leleu (230,000), David Poncin (240,000), Urim Sabani (250,000) and Thomas Garnier (210,000) are holding their own with just a few minutes to go before registration closes. So far, Day 1B attendance stands at 156 entrants... with 79 players in the running.

Sandro Pitzanti (130,000) has been doing the job since his re-entry... we'll report back in a few minutes. 

157 entries on Day 1B

The books are in for the second Namur flight of the €250 Spirit Fest. After the Spa Extra Dray and the end of late registration on Day 1B,provisional attendance climbs to 339 entrants with 157 buy-ins on this session. Who will join the 40 packaged qualifiers at the end of Wednesday's 13 levels?

The final break of Day 1b will take place in a quarter of an hour, and there are still 75 contenders to qualify for Day 2 on Saturday, November 2... The game is played on 1500 - 3000 (3000)...

65 players set their sights on Day 2

The final break ends, and play resumes for two half-hour levels. The blinds are 2000 - 4000 (4000) with 65 players aiming to qualify for Saturday's Day 2.

The average is 120,000 and no one has escaped far ahead, although Gerhard Brimmers (photo) has taken the lead with just under six times the starting... Milan Moutiaux was down to 9,000 chips an hour ago, and now he's back up to 190,000!

Chipcount
Gerhard Bimmers 285 000
Sandro Pitzanti 257 000
Nicolaas Baars 245 000
Harrie Snijders 242 000
Shafte Bekale 241 000
Jan Vos 223 000
Mian Moutiaux 190 000
Walter van Camberg 188 000
Gerald van Trigt 185 000
Raphael Canta 183 000

Nicolas Laselva 177 000
Basile Leleu 176 000
Jeep Paridaans 170 000
Urim Sabani 166 000
Quentin Peeters 166 000
Philip van Heeshoecht 141 000
Mathijs Jansen 140 000
Andreas Michalopoulos 140 000
Fabien Gaillard 137 000
Sebastien Hebette 117 000

Mihai Stinca 112 000
Martin van den Abeele 110 000
Tetiana Kovalchuk 105 000
Flora Ghanizadeh 85 000
Sabri Philips 82 000
Yves Seghers 80 000
Guillaume Gillet 60 000
Morgan Poisson 46 000

A Tantôt 

There are 60 players left, but no Ruben Tack or Olivier Dosin. Like this duo, Luc Boeckx, Jeremy Benthami, Fred Borgmans and Wilhelmus Vosters have jumped since the end of late registration...

With 18 minutes left to play in the penultimate level of the evening, the game is being played on 2000 - 4000 (4000) with 33 blinds average... 

Last Level

Another 30 minutes of poker before Day 2 for the 52 players still in the running on Day 1B of the Spirit Fest. Blinds are at 2,000 - 5,000 (5,000) for the last of the 13 levels on the seven-day schedule of this €200,000 prizepool Main Event. 

Dominique Woiry, Lorenzo Furia, Dylan Grenier, Nicolas Laselva, Dana Kolatka and Jordan Pouille are out of the game... 

Top 50

With 16 minutes left on the clock for Day 1B of the Spirit Fest, we head into the final hands of the evening with 50 players in the running. Finito for Leopold Fournier or Matthias van Weyenbergh who will have to retry their luck on one of the four remaining flights. The average is 31 blinds for these final minutes of poker at the Circus Casino Resort in Namur... 

41 players pass Day 1B

Day 1B of the €250 Spirit Fest brought together 157 entrants and 41 players bagged chips at the end of the 13 30-minute levels on the third day of play. The chiplead was played out at the end, with a huge pot on the last three deals.

As everyone was packing up the chips, Harrie Snijders embarked on a big bluff on Ace Ten brick Ten brick... his river stack was snapped by Eleftherios Korexenidis (pictured) who had a full house with Ace Ten. Harrie reached the rail in-extremis as Korexinidis bagged up 558,000 chips. Chipleader of the tournament before the last 4 qualifying sessions.

So far, 81 players have qualified for Saturday's 2 p.m. Day 2, which will be played over 40-minute levels... Wednesday's qualifiers include Raphael Canta, Louis Medelmans and Pierre Neuville.

Basile Leleu, Tetiana Kovalchuk, Morgan Poisson or Mihaita Georgita and Mihai Stinca also qualify. Walter van Camberg, eliminated at the last minute, will have to try his luck again... 

Chipcount Complete Day 1B
Eleftherios Korexinidis 558 000
Gerhard Brimmers 375 000
Urim Sabani 359 000
Jan Vos 350 000
Erwin Sprooten 329 000
Gert Swolfs 282 000
Shaft Bekele 269 000
Louis Medelmans 251 000
Dustin Weerdenburg 244 000
Tetiana Kovalchuk 238 000

Mihai Stinca 218 00
Philippe Merckx 217 000
David Sabet Nia 217 000
Sandro Pitzenti 217 000
Sparla Ferry 211 000
Laurent van den Eyde 204 000
Martin van den Abeele 190 000
Basile Leleu 186 000
Gerald van Trigt 186 000
Antonio Gazziano 182 000

Raphael Canta 176 000
Nicolaas Baars 166 000
Mathijs Janssen 165 000
Sebastien Hebette 155 000
NC 154 000
Thomas Garnier 150 000
Philippe van Helshoecht 144 000
Fabien Gaillard 143 000
Pierre Neuville 136 00
Quentin Peeters 134 000

Kevin Recous 120 000
Alexander Robertus 120 000
Salvatre Ciccarelli 118 000
Sabri Philips 102 000
Tom Content 101 000
Antonio Scalisi 89 000
Morgan Poisson 86 000
Flora Ghanizadeh 80 000
Yves Seghers 66 000

Mihaita Georgita 58 000