Pierre Chevalier Wins Record-Breaking WSOP Circuit Paris Main Event for €260K

Pierre Chevalier captured the €1,500 Main Event title at the 2026 WSOP Circuit Paris, defeating a record field of 1,282 entries to collect €260,000 at the Partouche Pasino Club.

The Main Event generated a €1,661,472 prize pool and became the largest WSOP Circuit Main Event ever held in Europe by field size. Chevalier defeated Hervé Gouzil heads-up, with Gouzil receiving €175,000 as the runner-up.

The victory also earned Chevalier a WSOP Circuit ring and a $5,000 package to WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas, a package awarded to each of the 13 ring winners during the Paris festival.

The 2026 WSOP Circuit Paris concluded on September 14 after two weeks of competition at Partouche Pasino Club on Avenue de la Grande-Armée, close to the Arc de Triomphe.

The venue opened in May 2026 and hosted its first major poker series with the Circuit stop. Partouche Pasino Club is a five-floor gaming complex covering nearly 5,000 square metres across four levels, with dining areas and a dedicated poker room.

Texapoker and PMU Play co-organised the series alongside Partouche. The WSOP Circuit had previously visited Paris in 2024, when a €1,200 Main Event at Stade Jean-Bouin attracted 1,056 entries. 

The move to Partouche Pasino Club, together with the increase to a €1,500 Main Event buy-in, resulted in a 21 percent increase in entries and a 56 percent increase in the prize pool.

Chevalier entered the final day as one of 11 remaining players. The field still included several established names, including Belgian three-time WSOP bracelet winner Davidi Kitai, Luca Bernardi and Natasha Mercier. Bernardi had won the Unibet Open Paris at the same venue in May.

Maxime Doki-Thonon was eliminated in 11th place after his ace-queen ran into ace-jack, while Ankit Ahuja exited in 10th to set the nine-handed final table.

Hervé Gouzil gained momentum early at the final table after his pocket jacks cracked pocket aces, 

giving him a double-up and the chip lead.

Mercier became the first finalist eliminated. Her river bet ran into Chevalier's full house, sending her out in ninth place for €20,500.

Kitai then became Chevalier's next elimination. Kitai's pocket queens went up against Chevalier's ace-king, with Chevalier pairing his ace on the flop. Kitai collected €63,000 for fifth place.

Chevalier continued by eliminating Mathieu Selides in fourth for €87,000 before sending Bernardi out in third place for €123,000. 

Bernardi's third-place finish ended his attempt to win consecutive major tournaments at the Partouche Pasino Club.

Gouzil entered heads-up play with a slight chip advantage over Chevalier. Chevalier recovered the deficit and moved into a commanding lead after making a flush during a major double-barrel pot.

The tournament ended soon afterwards. A king on the river gave Chevalier two pair in the final hand, securing the WSOP Circuit ring and €260,000 first prize. 

Gouzil finished runner-up for €175,000. The €1,500 Main Event attracted 1,282 entries and generated a total prize pool of €1,661,472.

Chevalier's victory marked his first tournament title despite a limited live poker schedule. A former professional handball player, Chevalier plays poker only once or twice a year. Before the Paris festival, he had 16 recorded live cashes worth a combined $191,942 and was ranked 803rd on France's all-time money list.

His previous biggest recorded cash was $40,834 for finishing 14th in the 2015 WSOP Europe Main Event in Berlin. His other recorded results included cashes in European Poker Tour Main Events in Monte Carlo and Malta.

Chevalier had also indicated that he had played only around 15 or 16 tournaments and had cashed in most of them without previously winning a title.

The €260,000 victory more than doubled his previous recorded lifetime tournament earnings. Chevalier had changed his train home in order to play the final day and said after winning that he planned to step away from poker and spend more time with his young family.

While Chevalier claimed the Main Event, Omar Lakhdari was the only player to win two rings during the Paris series.

Lakhdari first won the €500 WSOP Circuit Mystery Bounty, collecting €119,340 in total prize money. He later won the €2,500 High Roller for another €110,000.

The Algerian player, who was born in Algeria and is based in Morocco, has competed extensively on the French poker circuit since at least 2009.

The report lists Lakhdari with $4,319,675 in recorded live tournament earnings across 269 cashes, placing him first on Algeria's all-time money list and 688th globally.

His biggest individual tournament cash remains the €206,000 he earned for winning the Belgian Poker Challenge Main Event in Namur in May 2023.

Lakhdari also won the Unibet Open Paris in November 2019 for €89,070 and the WPT DeepStacks Brussels Main Event in February 2020 for €92,000.

The festival began on September 1 with the €500 Mini Main Event, which attracted 1,118 entries. Emmanuel Barre won the tournament for €76,000.

Juliane Papazian won the €550 Seniors event for €28,000, while Thibaut Picard took down the €300 Colossus for €53,000. 

The Colossus was played across seven starting flights from September 3 to September 10.

Margaux Ponnelle won the €300 Ladies event for €7,350, Kamel Atoui claimed the €500 Omaha for €25,500, and David Guetta won the €750 Knockout for €20,300.

Carledj Boudaoud won the €1,000 Deepstack for €75,500, while Brazil's Felipe Gonsalves claimed the €3,500 Super High Roller for €58,500.

Yves Hallague won the €500 Bigstack for €34,500, while Raphaël Bsiri captured the €250 PMU Play online ring event for €19,373.

Buy-ins across the ring schedule ranged from €250 for the PMU Play online event to €3,500 for the Super High Roller. Every ring winner also received a $5,000 WSOP Paradise package.