Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
2026 PokerStars EPT Paris
€5,300 Main Event
Day: 1a
Players Left 464 / 1,411
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Chip Counts
Chip Counts
€5,300 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Day 1a of the 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris €5,300 Main Event is in the books. The return of the EPT to the French capital attracted 573 entries to Le Palais des Congrès on the first of two starting days, only a few dozen shy of the record-setting edition of 2024. Including the entries of Day 1b and Day 2, €3,470,400 has already been collected in the prize pool.
At the end Day 1a, 180 players remained, with French native Thomas Cazayous topping the counts. Cazayou recorded his first EPT cash since 2016 earlier this week in the PokerStars Open Cup and is looking to continue his form with a deep Main Event run.
Cazayou entered the final break of the night with a slightly above-average stack, but nearly quadrupled it during the final two levels to end up with 385,000 chips, good for more than 250 big blinds at the start of Day 2. Eduard Litskan and Yaman Nakdali complete the international top three with stacks of 315,000 and 295,000 respectively, while EPT regulars Natan Chauskin, Adrian State, and Nikita Kuznetsov also secured a spot in the top ten.
End of Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Cazayous | France | 385,000 | 257 |
| 2 | Eduard Litskan | Ukraine | 315,000 | 210 |
| 3 | Yaman Nakdali | Spain | 295,000 | 197 |
| 4 | Natan Chauskin | Belarus | 281,000 | 187 |
| 5 | Adrian State | Romania | 262,500 | 175 |
| 6 | Nikita Kuznetsov | Russian Federation | 253,000 | 169 |
| 7 | Carlos Rocha | Brazil | 244,000 | 163 |
| 8 | Vincent Lavollee | France | 238,000 | 159 |
| 9 | Adnan Dahic | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 210,000 | 140 |
| 10 | Lucas Scafini | Brazil | 208,000 | 139 |
EPT champions Oliver Weis (89,000), Thomas Eychenne (86,000), Derk van Luijk (56,000), and Simon Wiciak (25,500) all found a bag at the end of the night, but none of them could eclipse the average stack of 95,000 in their hunt for their second title. Similarly, Hall of Famer Erik Seidel survived Day 1a with a stack of 42,000, while Julien Dupre, the only remaining representative of Team PokerStars when Day 1a concluded, made it through with a stack of 57,500.
Boatman's Title Defense Ends on Day 1a
Barny Boatman captured the EPT Paris Main Event trophy in 2024, but he will not be crowned back-to-back champion. Boatman fired both of his allowed bullets on Day 1a without success, meaning his Main Event has already come to an end. First-ever two-time EPT champion Victoria Coren Mitchell made a rare appearance on Day 1a, but fell just short of making it to the end. Having only entered once, though, she still has another shot at claiming a historic third title.
Other EPT champions who were sent to the rail include Adrian Mateos, Mike Watson, Tomasz Brzezinski, Artur Martirosian, Hossein Ensan, and Stephen Song, while PokerStars Ambassadors Sebastian Huber, Maria Konnikova, and Kenny Hallaert were also eliminated on Day 1a. Like Coren Mitchell, they all only spent one of their two allowed bullets and will likely try again on Day 1b or Day 2.
Day 1b will be the next and final starting flight, kicking off Tuesday, February 24, at noon local time. It will follow the same structure as Day 1a, with ten 60-minute levels being played. Late registration will remain open until the start of Day 2, and each player is allowed two entries in total across the entire tournament.
PokerNews will be back on the floor at the start of Day 1b. A big turnout is expected, so tune back in then for another full day of live poker action from Paris.
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
385,000
283,700
|
283,700 |
|
||
|
315,000
315,000
|
315,000 |
|
295,000
160,000
|
160,000 |
|
281,000
14,000
|
14,000 |
|
262,500
37,500
|
37,500 |
|
253,000
74,000
|
74,000 |
|
244,000
32,000
|
32,000 |
|
238,000
14,000
|
14,000 |
|
210,000
210,000
|
210,000 |
|
208,000
208,000
|
208,000 |
|
207,000
32,000
|
32,000 |
|
203,500
203,500
|
203,500 |
|
202,000
9,000
|
9,000 |
|
201,500
201,500
|
201,500 |
|
188,500
131,500
|
131,500 |
|
184,500
79,500
|
79,500 |
|
183,500
183,500
|
183,500 |
|
182,500
8,500
|
8,500 |
|
181,500
181,500
|
181,500 |
|
177,000
125,400
|
125,400 |
|
175,500
134,100
|
134,100 |
|
174,500
174,500
|
174,500 |
|
173,500
173,500
|
173,500 |
|
172,000
172,000
|
172,000 |
|
171,500
82,600
|
82,600 |
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
All remaining 180 players are bagging up or have already done so, meaning Day 1 of the 2026 EPT Paris Main Event has come to an end.
Stay tuned for full chip counts and a recap of the day.
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Petar Kalapish raised to 2,500 in the cutoff, seeing Georgios Tsouloftas three-bet to 7,500 on the button. Kalapish responded by four-betting to 20,500, which Tsouloftas quickly called.
The 9♣7♦10♠ flop slowed down Kalapish as he checked it over to Tsouloftas. Tsouloftas nearly instantly fired a bet of 8,000, enough to win the pot as Kalapish let go of his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
160,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
147,000 |
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Catching the tail end of a pot between Oliver Weis and Alessio Bisci, Weis bet 10,500 into a pot of 35,000 from the hijack on a completed board of 3♦2♥J♥2♣9♠.
Bisci responded with an all-in raise. Weis sighed as he looked at his cards, but decided he could not fold and called for 34,800 in total.
Bisci showed a low pair with his A♥3♥, doubling up Weis when the latter tabled K♦K♣.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
105,000
3,000
|
3,000 |
|
||
|
|
105,000
63,000
|
63,000 |
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
The floor has announced that each table will play five more hands before Day 1a reaches its conclusion.
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
With around 50,000 in the pot on a completed board of 3♣3♠9♠Q♣J♥, Mykhailo Ostash checked from the big blind to Adrian State in middle position. State then moved all in, putting Ostash at risk for 53,000.
Ostash spent some time in the tank before he stood up and slammed in a call. State quickly tabled 10♣8♣ for a rivered straight, which meant Ostash had to say goodbye with his J♦9♣ for two pair.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
225,000
166,000
|
166,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Lorenzo Arduini raised to 2,500 in the hijack. Orpen Kisacikoglu upped the ante to 10,000 on the button, and Arduini called once it had folded back to him.
Arduini check-called Kisacikoglu's bet of 6,500 on the 2♦A♠2♠ flop, but quickly check-folded when the Turkish high roller sized up to 30,000 on the 4♥ turn, forfeiting the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
162,500
17,300
|
17,300 |
|
83,000
17,000
|
17,000 |
