Ruben Padovani Surges Late to Secure Day 1b Chip Lead
Today, Thursday, September 12, was another day to get closer to the French Championship title. After 44 players qualified on Day 1a, 118 more players out of a field of 297 entrants made their way to Day 2 on Day 1b of the €1,000 Main Event, here at the Pasino Grand in Aix-en-Provence.
Frédéric Delval held the chip lead during the last level of the day, but in the final minutes, Ruben Padovani cameback to finish in first place with 506,500 chips.
€1,000 French Championship Main Event Day 1b Top 10
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ruben Padovani | France | 506,500 | 338 |
| 2 | Frédéric Delval | France | 472,500 | 315 |
| 3 | Quentin Roussey | France | 375,000 | 250 |
| 4 | Cecile Ticherfatine | France | 360,000 | 240 |
| 5 | Karim Abdelmoumene | France | 302,000 | 201 |
| 6 | Erwan Verger | France | 298,000 | 199 |
| 7 | Alexandre Mebs | France | 278,500 | 186 |
| 8 | Guy Lebreton | France | 258,000 | 172 |
| 9 | Nicolas Malbrec | France | 256,500 | 171 |
| 10 | Simon Cuq | France | 245,000 | 123 |
"I had a rush during the last hands, winning a big pot against aces, for example," Padovani explained while bagging his chips. Earlier, he had already scooped a pot by moving all-in on the turn. Second in chips is the former chip leader Delval, who built his stack by eliminating Samy Boujmala.
Quentin Roussey (375,000) and Cecile Ticherfatine (360,000) also had their names on top of the chip counts at least once today, and finished with big stacks. Rachid El Yaacoubi (241,000), Idir Haiche (204,000), and former PMU Team Pro Erwann Pecheux (191,000) bagged chips at the end of the day, along with Adrien Guyon (187,500), Sonny Franco (167,000), Samuel Bifarella (141,000), and Florian Ribouchon (98,000).
WSOP bracelet winners Antonin Teisseire (119,000) and Jonathan Pastore (94,500) finished with average stacks, while Benoit Grobocopatel (30,000) and Francis Hatchikian (30,000) ended with less than the starting stack.
An hour after Day 1b was done, Day 1c came to an end with 26 remaining players out of 55 entrants. With 246,000 chips, Adem Agoudjil holds the biggest stack, followed by Michael Rodrigues (237,000) and Johann Greboval (186,500), who complete the podium.
€1,000 French Championship Main Event Day 1c Top 10
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adem Agoudjil | France | 246,500 | 123 |
| 2 | Michael Rodrigues | Portugal | 237,000 | 119 |
| 3 | Johann Greboval | France | 186,500 | 93 |
| 4 | Teo Vincent | France | 183,000 | 92 |
| 5 | Yassine Baqal | France | 151,500 | 76 |
| 6 | Pierre Basile | France | 144,000 | 72 |
| 7 | Arnaud Brunet | France | 140,000 | 70 |
| 8 | Gregory Grech | France | 140,000 | 70 |
| 9 | Jeremy Surinach | France | 136,500 | 68 |
| 10 | Cedric Chevalme | France | 135,000 | 68 |
Yassine Baqal (151,500), PMU Team Pro Jeremy Surinach (136,500), Cedric Chevalme (135,000), Mathieu Di Meglio (120,000), 2024 Omaha French champion Jeremy Palvini (83,000), and Giuseppe Zarbo (62,000) also secured spots on Day 2 thanks to the third and final flight of the tournament.
Leonard Truche bagged only 61,000 chips on Day 1c, but the defending champion is still in the race for a back-to-back victory. Finally, Elie Nakache will need to double up quickly, as he sits with just 15,000 chips.
Everyone remaining will combine into one field for Day 2 at 1 p.m. local time tomorrow, with late registration still open for two 60-minute levels, starting with blinds of 1,000/2,000/2,000.
Stay tuned as PokerNews returns tomorrow for all the action!