Day 1C of the Winter Festival Main Event kicks off at 4pm on Tuesday, January 30.

Participants will have 15 half-hour levels to play, leading up to Saturday's 2 p.m. Day 1, which will feature 40-minute levels and a repeat of the 5,000 - 10,000 (10,000).

Provisional attendance is currently 862, and the 1,000 mark should be cleared on this third opening day...

Big Tuesday begins at 7.30pm (25,000 chips - 20 minutes), with a €5,000 guarantee set to shatter!


Live
Coverage of Day 1B (XXX qualifiers for 256 entrants)
Coverage of Day 1A (101 qualifiers for 606 entrants)

Shuffle up & Deal ! 

Play begins at blinds 100 - 200 for the one and only no-ante level of the tournament. 81 players are in the running to kick off the third day of the €250 Winter Festival Main Event. 

150 players qualified for Saturday's Day 2 (restart at 2pm on 5000 - 10,000 [10,000]), each after 15 30-minute levels.

You'll have to hold out for an effective 7 and a half hours at poker before you can even think about capturing a share of the massive prizepool. The €250,000 guarantee is on course to be smashed, with 862 entrants already in the first two sessions!

Registration is open until the end of the 9th level, around 10:15 p.m... otherwise this Tuesday there's also Big Tuesday (25,000 chips - 20 min.) starting at 7:30 p.m.... 

Approaching players

The 100-entry mark was passed just before the end of the first level, and they're now on 100 - 300 (300) with 110 players in contention for 111 entries. Greg Bolognini re-entered after a quick exit - everyone's here! 

Name Dropping

With just a few minutes to go before the start of the third level of Day 1C, the first hour of play is almost over. 

The blinds will be increased to 200 - 400 (400) and the table now shows 118 players for 120 entrants on this third of the eight starting days on the program. 



Fedele Ricotta (above) tries his luck again, as do François Louis Vlassis, Agim Gizmo and Arnaud Danes. 

Reda Haidar, Carina Voncken, Eric Goffin, Alain Graf, the third Avalanche Fred BlehautTony Kiorpes, Lukas Trzcinski, Aziz Kendel and Emile Custine. 

Nicolas Destercq, Xavier Paesen, Constantin Ifrim (the big winner of the Avalanche premiums, where he drew nearly €17,000 in premiums before finishing 7thRico Roumen, Yves Seghers and Arnaud Servais are also in the game. 

Premier Patron

Giuseppe Pollina is in the lead with 151,000 chips already in front of him, and has just taken the initiative unsuccessfully preflop.

After 3 limps to 400 chips, Giuseppe tries to put the pressure on in the small blind with a raise to 3,200 chips. 

The big blind sticks and so do two limpers. They're 4 on the King 2 Jack flop with two clubs and the last limper takes over the hijack initiative for 6,000 chips. 

The big blind is the only one to hold this bet before checking-fold on a 15,000 second barrel from Arber Morina on turn 6 of clubs. 

Cooler

The registration table shows 156 players in contention for 165 entrants with 2 minutes left before the start of level 4 and the switch to blinds 300 - 600 (600). With the farmers' protests and blockades, some players will probably be arriving in dribs and drabs for many more minutes...

New players such as Jorden Verbraeken, Morten Faas, Mihai Stinca, David Opdebeek, Sébastien Matrige, Francesco Pillitteri and Cheryl de Paron have joined the team...



There will be a half-hour break at the end of level 4, between 6 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. At the moment, the players are hungrier for action than pizza... as on this 3-bet pot where they found themselves 3-up until the turn.

Here, the bets multiplied and Salvatore Virgilio and Ethan Lisbet put everything in the middle. With Ace King of diamonds over King Ten 2 8 and three diamonds, Salvatore still had to dodge a few bullets as Ethan turned over the tens. A river 9 of clubs gave Virgilio 108,000 chips. Ethan heads to the cashier to re-enter... 

Ouch

Djamal Boutaleb is also taking a beating in Namur. Having put in several fine performances at Circus Casino Resort in recent months, the Frenchman has just cashed in a 2-out... heading for the cashier for re-entry. 

With just a few minutes to go before the end of level 4 and the start of the first break, Murat Yoldas open to 2,000 chips on 300 - 600 (600), he is paid once and Djamal also pays with a pair of tens before another player raises the stakes to 7,200 pawns. 

This 3-bet doesn't scare anyone away, and 4 of them discover a Ten 5 6 flop... on which Murat takes the initiative for 9,000 chips. With his three of a kind, Djamal is the only one to pay. 

The dealer unlocks a King on which Murat goes all-in, paid by Djamal who discovers the Jacks opposite. A Jack river sends the 85,000-chip pot to Yoldas, while Frenchman Boutaleb heads to the cashier for re-entry! 

170 players remain for 181 entrants as the break begins... 

Reprise

After a half-hour break, play resumed on 400 - 800 (800) with 173 players for 194 entrants and an average of 56,000 chips. Eric Goffin took control of Day 1C... 



Chips
Eric Goffin 171,000
Salvatore Virgilio 143,000
Gokhan Pinar 142,000
Florian Diez 138,000
Guy Goossens 133,000
Patrick Nowak 124,000
Rui Da Costa 121,000
Giuseppe Pollina 117,000
Salvatore Sablone 116,000
Gurbuz Yildiz 114,000
Amer Wahieri 107,000
Canio Pietrapertosa 107,000
Pieter Merlier 105,000
Bjorn Frings 98,000
Yannick Ansenne 94,000
Fabian Daheim 92,000
Quentin Hupliez 90,000
Murat Yoldas 84,000
Carina Voncken 83,000
Gilles Magny 54,000
Djamal Boutaleb $50,000

4-digit attendance

There are 5 minutes left before the blinds are raised to 500 - 1000 (1000) with an average of 59,000 chips. 

The entry counter for Day 1C now shows 181 players in the running for 215 entries... bringing the provisional attendance to 1,077. 

Registration is open until the end of level 9 on each start day, around 10.15 pm. 

L'Heure de l'Apéro

The blinds have just gone up, and Level 7 begins, with 170 players in the running at blinds 600 - 1200 (1,200). There's still an hour to go before the dinner break. 

The average is 69,000 chips, as the Circus Casino Resort in Namur has recorded 234 entries so far on Day 1C. Jorden Verbraeken, Antoine Vincendez, Isabelle and Michael Verjans and Nikolas Wicquart have all entered this €250 Winter Festival Main Event...

Dinner break

The game is on break until 9:45 p.m. with a resumption on blinds 1000 - 2000 (2000). The resumption level will be the last one to re-enter or register... 

147 players have reached the dinner break, and the registration counter currently shows 259 entries, which is already more than the previous number. 256 entries for Day 1B... 

Chipcount to come during the break...

Checkpoint

The average will be 45 blinds at the resumption on 1000 - 2000 (2000), Emile Custinne or Sébastien Matrige have more and are looking ahead... Ivo Schoofs and Rui Da Costa take the lead as the 9th level gets underway at 9.45pm.

Chips
Rui Da Costa 269 000
Ivo Schoofs 255 000
Emile Custinne 225 000
Yacine Beztout 224 000
Mohamed Razkou Allah 209 000
Agim Gizmo 201 000
Guy Goossens 201 000
Sébastien Matrige 185 000
Sebastien Carme 181,000
Alessandro Buzon 171,000
Christian Staar 170,000
Roger Franssen 167,000
Francesco Biribao 165,000
Eric Goffin 163,000
Michael Ibba 154,000
Florian Person 153,000
Giuseppe Pollina 152,000
Joseph Lippolis 151 000
Florian Diez 145 000
Quentin Hupliez 145 000
Stanislas Khegay 138 000
Carla Verbeek 133 000
Bora Uludaj 133 000
Dominique Sertin 130 000
Gregory Garcia 128 000
Canio Pietrapertosa 126 000
Jorden Verbraeken 121 000
Ashnin Hinssen 115 000
Pieter Merlier 113 000
David Maso 112 000
Wilhelm Isaak 97 000
Kristof Vanhove 90 000
Mike Niegho 72 000
Abdel Lamrani 65 000
Tony Kiorpes 46 000

270 entries on Day 1C

The Winter Festival 2024 Main Event drew 1,132 entries at the end of the third of its eight starting days. 270 entries were counted on Day 1C, which sees its 10th level almost come to an end. 

150 players have already validated their ticket for Saturday's Day 2, but how many will pack in the chips at the end of the 15 regulation levels? Just under 150 players are in the running with a third of the day still to go. 

Finito

Level 11 has just begun, the blinds have increased to 1500 - 3000 (3000) and there will be a break at the end of this level. 

There are 120 players left, with 271 entrants and an average of 114,000 chips... so it's back to the drawing board for Yannick Ansenne, François-Louis Vlassis, Thierry Bay, Rui Da Costa, Nicolas Bokowski, Alain Graff, Morten Faas, Patrick Nowak and Michael Verjans...

Bustos

As the final break of Day 1C draws to a close, the casualties are multiplying. David Opdebeeck, Gael Gillard, Alessandro Buzon, Xavier Paesen, Rino Lippolis and Wilhelm Isaak have all given up the ghost. 

Identical verdict for Thomas Schaeven, Hervé Decker and Jonathan Leveque... 

Reprise

End of the final break of Day 1C.

Play resumes on blinds 2000 - 4000 (4000) with 104 players in contention for an average of 131,000 chips. Guy Goossens goes all in with two hours and levels to go before wrapping up! 



Chips
Guy Goossens 640,000
Stanislas Khegay 340,000
Emile Custinne 340,000
Ludovic Lehaire 315,000
Sébastien Matrige 313,000
Jorden Verbraeken 300,000
Gregory Garcia 290,000
Ivo Schoofs 282,000
Salvatore Virgilio 280,000
Giuseppe Pollina 265,000
Nicolas Laselva 245,000
Mohamed Razkou Allah 237,000
Francesco Biribao 230,000
Romain Dussart 215,000
Thomas Daix 215,000
Maxime Brescich 210,000
Carina Voncken 204,000
Eric Goffin 198,000
Djamal Boutaleb 180,000
Bora Ulutag 162,000
Steven Lempoel 145,000
Reda Haidar (photo) 135,000

Strike

Clément Mafille in the rail with Saloumeh Hosseini... and the field drops to 95 players. Clément opens in MP and sees Bora Uludag complete in the small blind and Saloumeh pay in the big blind. 

The blinds check the King 5 4 flop with two spades and Clément bets 12,000 chips. He is greeted by an all-in check-raise from Bora Uludag.

Covered, Saloumeh pays... also covered, Clément pays with ace-king and ace-of-spades. Saloumeh returns 9 and 4 of spades, and Bora reveals a pair of 4s for a trio that will hold up to take him up to 410,000 chips. At the very top of this flight's leaderboard.

Abdel Lamrani, Fedele Ricotta, Tony Kiorpes, Fred Blehaut, Andy Cremmer, and Lukas Trzcinski jumped in the final minutes...

On The River

A quarter of an hour remains to be played on blinds 2000 - 5000 (5000) with 86 players in contention for an average of 156,000 chips. Stnaislas Khegay continues to pile up the chips (410,000) while Thirry Aqua (80,000) suffers just to his right. 

Carina Voncken went all-in for 65,000 chips on the river of an 8 King 6 9 Ace board. In a duel, the Dutchwoman obtained a check-fold from her opponent to return to the mean. 



For his part, Florian Wathieu has just chatted with the Aces. Out of position in a duel, he check-calls covered on Roi 5 8 Dix... and discovers that his opponent has Roi Dix in his hand. The dealer unravels an 8 river to send the 200,000-chip pot to Florian, while his opponent drops to 1 blind to buster on the next hand...

Murat Yoldas and Eric Denizart also joined the rail a few minutes ago... 

Last Hour

Level 14 got underway with 71 players in the running, averaging 190,000 chips in blinds 3000 - 6000 (6000). Anthony Rodrigues has just left the game, and will be back on Saturday for the €550 Black Track High Roller (6pm). 

It's also over for Olivier Carosella, Christian Staar, Rolf Nees, Pascal Barth, Tom Parmentier and Mike Niegho... 

Le Vent En Poupe (or not)

Ten minutes to go before the final blinds go up and a few players start to break away. Giuseppe Pollina (below) has just taken another victim to raise to 580,000 with Kings, Roger Franssen has been sent to the dressing room...



Guy Goossens is still in the lead with 690,000 in chips, but Belgium's Stanislas Khegay has closed the gap with 615,000 now in front of him. 

Things are also going well for Jorden Verbraeken (below), now at the head of 480,000 chips. Jorden found two pair on the turn after making middle-pair on the flop. Djamal Boutaleb lost a few feathers after making Top Pair on the flop... 

Boutaleb has just dropped back to 160,000 chips after losing Ace King to Ace 2 suit at Francesco Biribao's house. Biribao bet 90,000 in the middle and Djamal woke up in the big blind with an easy call...

The Frenchman then saw his opponent hit a club on the turn and one on the river to prevent him from climbing to 350,000. Biribao got a new lease of life with 200,000 chips for an average of 218,000.

Cheryl de Paron, Mihai Stinca, Canio Pietrapiertosa, Thomas Daix and Yoann Alliot will have to try their luck again... 

6 Last Hands

The clock has been paused and the last six hands of the evening are played on 3000 - 6000 (6000)... There are still 53 players in the running, and Florian Wathieu has moved into second place since being saved by a river double up. Wathieu is up to 740,000 chips, probably in the lead. 

Guy Goossens is at 700,000 for this final package, while Stanislas Khegay (700,000) can still hope to snatch the Yellow Jersey in extremis. With almost 600,000 pawns, Giuseppe Pollina is also just one move away from winning.

We meet again very soon for the conclusion of this third opening day, without Isabelle Verjans who has just jumped in front of Sebastien Matrige at a table where Dustin Matusschek is not far from 600,000...

Stanislas Khegay boss of Day 1C, already 197 qualifiers for Day 2

The third of eight starting days for the Winter Festival Main Event brought the provisional attendance to 1,132. After 15 half-hour levels and 7 and a half effective hours at poker, 47 additional players have booked their ticket for Saturday's 2 p.m. Day 2 (replay on 5,000 - 10,000 [10,000]). 



There were 270 players on Day 1C, and it was Stnaislas Khegay (above) who came out on top with almost 15 times the starting stack. The Belgian steadily sucked in chips to bag up 739,000.

Khegay overtook Guy Goossens (697,000), who had held the lead for over 13 levels. Guy (below) also saw Florian Wathieu overtake him in extremis. Wathieu chatted a river with the Aces to survive, then was well varnished to finally go from 100,000 to 727,000 in 90 minutes! 



Emile Custinne, Sebastien Matrige, Dimitri d'Ortonna, Dustin Matuschek, Reda Haidar, Rico Rumen and Djamal Boutaleb also passed the hurdle and qualified for the rest of the tournament. 

See you on Wednesday for Day 1D of the Main Event and a PKO at 7.30pm! 

Partial Chipcount Day 1C
Stanislas Khegay 739 000
Florian Wathieu 727 000
Guy Goossens 697 000
Dustin Matuschek 629 000
Ludovic Lehaire 628 000
Sebastien Matrige 485 000
Ivo Schoofs 474 000
Giuseppe Pollina 468 000
Bora Uludag 465 000
Bjorn Frings 420 000

Antoine Gillet 397 000
Jorden Verbraeken 373 000
Salvatore Virgilio 368 000
Reda Haidar 351 000
Emile Custinne 316 000
Nicolas Laselva 300 000
Rico Roumen 300 000
Quentin Hupliez 256 000
Daniel Dodet 197 000
Dimitri D'Ortonna 194 000

Arnaud Danes 190 000
Florian Person 158 000
Agim Gizmo 139 000
Carina Voncken 129 000
Nicolas Destercq 101 000