Quentin Girardet Bags the Overall Lead; Simon Wiciak in the Hunt in Aix-les-Bains Main Event
Days 1c and 1b of the France Poker Series Aix-les-Bains Main Event proved to be the biggest yet, with an additional 398 entrants between both flights making their way into Casino Grand Cercle to take their shot at poker glory. In total, the main event drew 660 entrants across four starting flights. Exact prize pool details and payouts will be announced and posted at the start of Day 2.
By the time the last hand was dealt, it was Quentin Girardet who emerged as the overall chip leader after bagging 420,000 in chips. Just behind him is French poker pro Adel Naoun, who experienced a late-night surge to claim the second spot overall with 418,000.
Overall Top Ten Chip Counts From Day 1c and 1d
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip count | Big blinds |
| 1 | Quentin Girardet | France | 420,000 | 105 |
| 2 | Adel Naoun | France | 418,000 | 105 |
| 3 | Seyed Moussavi Nameghi | France | 380,000 | 95 |
| 4 | Jason Metz | France | 293,000 | 73 |
| 5 | Charles Revil | France | 276,000 | 69 |
| 6 | Abel Pruchon | France | 268,000 | 67 |
| 7 | Patrick Afonso | France | 252,000 | 63 |
| 8 | Alexis Nicolai | France | 242,000 | 61 |
| 9 | Angel Insua | Spain | 242,000 | 61 |
| 10 | Simon Wiciak | France | 237,000 | 59 |
Day 1c got underway with 121 players eager to put their chips to work, as at least two eliminations occurred on the very first level. The first victim of the day was Christian Bombled, who ran pocket queens into Nicolas Payet's pocket kings in one of the first hands of the day. Shortly after, Fabio Calo flopped a set of tens against another player's bottom two pair to claim a starting stack.
PokerStars ambassador Simon Wiciak got off to a hot start after cracking Mickael Freydier's set of nines early in the day and mostly continued to build his stack from that point on. Wiciak, who won the EPT Main Event in Barcelona last year, managed to end with a top-ten stack worth 237,000 in chips.
Other notables to bag into Day 2 include French streamer Pierre-Alexis Bizot, also known as "Domingo" (50,000), Fabian Rolli (160,000), biathlete Florent Claude (210,000), and WSOP bracelet winner Shai Zurr, who ended the day with a very respectable 217,000.
Among the less fortunate who were unable to make it to Day 2 include Karo Nuri, Joseph Carlino, Souleiman Ben Sta, and Michel Molenaar, who lost a flip against Loris Corbelli late in the day after Corbelli hit a runner-runner straight.
Jean-Noel Thorel, who is currently France's top tournament earner with over $20 million in cashes, joined the field late in the day but was unable to gain any real momentum. Thorel also ended up busting after running his pocket tens into Jason Metz's aces and failing to improve.
The final 152 players will reconvene at 1 p.m. local time on Saturday, October 5 for Day 2. Play will resume on Level 15, which features 2,000/4,000 blinds with a 4,000 big-blind ante. Levels will be increased to 50 minutes in length each and scheduled breaks will be determined by tournament staff after play has begun.
Approximately 15 percent of the total field (660) will make the money, but the exact payouts will be announced later during Day 2.
Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to bring you all the action leading to the money bubble and beyond in the Aix-les-Bain Main Event!