Opener | Gold for Esteban (€25,300)

Two Belgians on the podium and Esteban Devresse wins on home soil at Circus Casino Resort. The first edition of the Opener was a great success, despite the difficult weather conditions!


"It's a real pleasure, that's why we're playing," dreamed Esteban Devresse a few minutes after his benchmark success. The young Belgian scored his first live success at the inaugural Opener, which attracted 1,602 entrants... he turned €175 into a €25,300 ticket and a €2,200 sesame for the CPS Main Event!



Qualifying with ease on his opening day, Esteban has always sailed with a big stack in this tournament, taking advantage of his lead to manage and apply pressure. Straight to the top of the leaderboard for the Final Day. On Sunday, the Belgian quickly took control without taking too many risks... and by hurting the boss at the start of Day 3, his compatriot Attilio Mucciaccio. Devresse then managed to stay in control and show patience at the start of the final, finishing the last duel in ten minutes.

"Tournament play is my favourite format, but I'm a cash-game player, so I do the Main Event because it's still a pleasure... my first live win makes me super happy," said the champion as he collected his trophy at the Circus Casino Resort in Namur. "You don't mess with a winning team, so I'm going to continue with the cash," said the man who played a perfect round.

Day 3 of the Opener brought together 19 players and it took 150 minutes to compose the final. There were 10 Belgians on the starting line for this Final Day, but there were only three left in the final... against 4 Dutch players! Daniel Pirlot, a regular at Namur and probably the most experienced player in the final, reached the podium for a 5-figure score, whileAmaury François came in 8th place for a big deep-run...

Runner - Up for €20,000 in cash, Tim Hendriks (left below) was the smartest of the Dutch, eliminating Pirlot to briefly take the chiplead and make a deal with the eventual winner... He did better than the best woman in the tournament, Daniella Hollanders. She scored a 5-figure win after being trapped by the eventual winner at the foot of the podium.

Of particular note was the comeback of Dang Nguyen, who was last in the class at the start of Sunday and among the big stacks at the start of the final. Dang drove his opponents crazy to finish just outside 5 figures...

See you in 12 days' time for the Winter, which looks set to be huge. There's also a great series at Spa for enthusiasts!

*HU deal with €5,300 left and the trophy

Replay of the end of the final