Sebastien Matrige

Sebastien Matrige captured his first live tournament title in May 2023 by winning the €330 Belgian Poker Challenge Cup at Circus Casino Resort in Namur, Belgium. The event drew 843 entries, generating a prize pool of €234,354. Matrige entered the final table as chip leader and eventually agreed to a four-way deal with Raf Ielegems, Kevin Schaefer, and François Gauthier, securing a top prize of €31,827. The victory also earned him his first five-figure cash.

The final table payouts (with deal adjustments) were:

• 1st: Sebastien Matrige (Belgium) – €31,827
• 2nd: Raf Ielegems (Belgium) – €21,827
• 3rd: Kevin Schaefer (Netherlands) – €21,827
• 4th: François Gauthier (Canada) – €21,827
• 5th: Sabri Philips (Netherlands) – €10,710
• 6th: Jean Yip (Belgium) – €8,240
• 7th: Christophe Colantoni (France) – €6,340
• 8th: Yannick Ansenne (Belgium) – €4,870
• 9th: Schayan Aghajan Schakeri (Germany) – €3,754

Matrige's win came after a long Day 2 that started with 188 players, with 127 cashing. The bubble burst after nearly three hours. The final table was streamed live. After the four-way deal, Francois Gauthier was eliminated, and the remaining three players made another deal, leaving Matrige as the official winner. He also received a €2,220 ticket for the Circus Poker Series.