2026 Greek Poker Odyssea

A total of 20 players successfully drank at the last chance saloon in Day 1d, and Lulei Hu of Italy (967,000) had a storming performance, taking the overall chip lead despite the flight containing the smallest numbers.

Hu has almost $1.6 million in recorded earnings, and is in good form, fresh off a final table at the PokerStars Open in Namur, Belgium last week.

Position	Player	Country	Chip Count	Blinds
1	Lulei Hu	Italy	967,000	121
2	Alexandros Tasoulis	Greece	639,000	79
3	Vangelis Lazaridis	Greece	485,000	61
4	Thodoros Asmanidis	Greece	451,000	56
5	Roberto Palmieri	Italy	423,000	53
6	Giannis Topalidis	Greece	407,000	51
7	Nikos Kavazidis	Greece	357,000	45
8	Vahe Martirosyan	Armenia	350,000	44
9	Fabian Bartuschk	Germany	324,000	40
10	Panagiotis Arkeles	Greece	258,000	32
11	Valeri Savov	Bulgaria	250,000	31
12	Polyvios Klimathianakis	Greece	219,000	27
13	Cesare Raso	Italy	219,000	27
14	I.A.	Greece	201,000	25
15	Ioannis Georgopoulos	Greece	194,000	24
16	Leonidas Georgopoulos	Greece	170,000	21
17	Ilias Zografos	Greece	149,000	19
18	Borislav Yosifov	Bulgaria	136,000	17
19	Vangelis Tsairis	Greece	129,000	16
20	Aris Kotanidis	Greece	88,000	11

It was another day of frantic poker action at The Vergina Theatro at Regency Casino, Thessaloniki, as chips flew back and forth in the final starting flights of the 2026 Novibet Greek Poker Odyssea €1,000 Main Event.

At the time of writing Day 1d is yet to conclude, while Yordan Dinchev of Bulgaria (869,000) rose to the top of the standings in Day 1c, leading 36 qualifiers from 140 entrants.

A total of 64 entrants in Day 1d gives final totals for the event of 414 runners, creating a huge €372,600 prize pool, with Day 2 scheduled for 3 p.m. local time on June 17.

Dinchev went on a late charge to surge up the leaderboard in Day 1c, and he leads from Greek duo Kosmas Barakos (830,000) and Dimitris Sarris (750,000), although he did not quite manage to catch overall chip leader Traianos-Alexandros Ntavoutis (955,000).

Dinchev boasts recorded career earnings of almost $225,000, with a career-best score of $29,729, and will be hoping to go a good deal further than his 59th-place finish in this event last year.

Barakos’ had an even deeper run in 2025, just missing out on a final table appearance after busting in 12th for a $3,752 payday, his biggest result to date.

Sarris résumé includes numerous results at Regency Casino, including finishing 17th in the Novibet Poker Championship Main Event in January for $3,060, with a career-best score of $31,303 for victory in the Greek Poker Championship back in 2011.

Position	Player	Country	Chip Count	Blinds
1	Yordan Dichev	Bulgaria	869,000	108
2	Kosmas Barakos	Greece	830,000	103
3	Dimitris Sarris	Greece	750,000	93
4	Manolis Livanos	Greece	737,000	92
5	Giannis Atzaris	Greece	548,000	68
6	Manolis Zacharakis	Greece	541,000	67
7	Giorgos Mavroulias	Greece	503,000	62
8	Giorgos Tzelis	Greece	499,000	62
9	Alexis Messalas	Greece	496,000	62
10	Jason Tsourounakis	Greece	470,000	58
11	Aiguo Xu	Italy	444,000	55
12	Panagiotis Stergiou	Greece	443,000	55
13	Dimitris Zosimidis	Greece	432,000	54
14	Vasilis Zisis	Greece	418,000	52
15	Haris Siakaras	Greece	414,000	51
16	Stefanos Kechagias	Greece	375,000	46
17	Kosmas Maroudas	Greece	373,000	46
18	Andreas Vlachos	Greece	366,000	45
19	Dimitrios Giannopoulos	Greece	359,000	44
20	Dimitris Zournatzidis	Greece	347,000	43
21	Paschalis Papadopoulos	Greece	326,000	40
22	Georgios Rozakos	Greece	326,000	40
23	Ioannis Koulopoulos	Greece	318,000	39
24	Giorgos Karakousis	Greece	299,000	37
25	Giorgos Mylonas	Greece	294,000	36
26	Dimitris Chalasa	Greece	284,000	35
27	Mateusz Dabkowski	Poland	274,000	34
28	Giorgos Zisimopoulos	Greece	242,000	30
29	Manolis Asgoudakis	Greece	240,000	30
30	Robert McAdam	United Kingdom	222,000	27
31	Ivelin Yonchev	Bulgaria	207,000	25
32	Manolis Zografakis	Greece	205,000	25
33	Kiril Bakalov	Bulgaria	202,000	25
34	Panagiotis Gavriilidis	Greece	128,000	16
35	Vasilis Tzavos	Greece	116,000	14
36	Angel Dimitrov	Bulgaria	105,000	13

Chip counts for the Day 1d qualifiers, the Day 2 seating draw, and payouts will be confirmed in due course.

At present, 91 players have booked their spots for Day 2, and they will return at 3 p.m on June 17, where the clock will be increased to 60-minute levels, while Days 3-4 will feature 75-minute levels.

The full remaining festival schedule is set out below, with the €2,000 High Roller the primary side-event for June 17, while the Ladies Event is also on the menu, with Novibet adding €2,000 to the prize pool.

poker.pro will be on the floor from the start of Day 2 at 3 p.m., so stay tuned for your coverage of what is sure to be day of poker thrills and spills, as we move towards the bubble, and players seek to maneuver into position for a tilt at the 2026 Novibet Greek Poker Odyssea Main Event title.

Play has now concluded in Day 1c, with 36 Day 2 qualifiers joining the 55 players already through from Days 1a-1b.

Late registration is still open in Day 1d, with Level 10 about to conclude shortly, and late registration closing before the start of Level 12, so it is edging towards last chance saloon time for players hoping to qualify for Day 2.

Stay tuned for updated chip counts from Day 1c. Full counts for Day 1d will be provided tomorrow, along with the Day 2 seating draw, but that concludes our substantive coverage for today.

Day 2 kicks off at 3 p.m. on June 17, and poker.pro will be on the floor from the start of play to ensure you do not miss a moment of the action.

On a flop of 9♥5♥2♣, Refael Yona check-jammed for 140,000 versus a bet of 13,000 from Yordan Dichev, who made the call after a reasonable period of thought.

Refael Yona: A♦10♥
Yordan Dichev: Q♥2♥

Yona had got out of line with ace-ten high at an inopportune time, running into bottom pair and a flush draw.

The K♦ turn was a brick, and the J♥ hit on the river to give Dichev the flush, who has made a late charge up the standings.

Yordan Dichev – 869,000
Refael Yona – 0

There was an open from middle position, before Terje Bremseth three-bet jammed for 195,000 from the button. Dimitrios Sarris rejammed from the big blind, and the opener folded.

Bremseth had pocket fours versus his opponent’s ace-queen, but the board ran out ace-high, sending Bremseth to the rail in one of the last hands of the day.

Dimitrios Sarris – 750,000
Terje Bremseth – 0

With around 125,000 in the middle on a completed board of 10♥9♦8♠Q♥3♦, Paschalis Papadopoulos checked from the hijack to Kosmas Barakos on the button, as the final five hands in Day 1c were called.

Barakos fired out a bet of 130,000, sending Papadopoulos into a world of pain. He spent at least two minutes in contemplation, his hands fixed firmly behind his head, periodically looking to the sky for inspiration.

Eventually he folded, and Barakos proudly windmilled 2♦2♥ into the middle of the table.

Kosmas Barakos – 785,000
Paschalis Papadopoulos – 341,000

Refael Yona was all-in for 76,000 and at risk against Dimitrios Siantikos, who just covered his opponent.

Refael Yona: A♦10♥
Dimitrios Siantikos: A♥9♠

Yona had Siantikos pipped, and he found second pair, and dodged a wrap draw, on the J♣10♣8♠6♣8♥ runout.

Siantikos was left with 2,000, and busted shortly after.

Refael Yona – 172,000
Dimitrios Siantikos – 0

Valeri Savov opened to 16,000 from the button, and Yordan Dichev defended in the big blind.

On the J♥10♣6♣ flop, Dichev check-called versus a continuation bet of 29,000 from Savov.

The same pattern followed on the 4♦ turn, this time in respect of a bet of 65,000 from Savov.

The 2♠ river was checked through, and Savov mucked when Dichev tabled J♣7♦ for top pair.

Yordan Dichev – 510,000
Valeri Savov – 140,000

Stefanos Kechagias limped from early position, and somewhat reluctantly called an all-in from Mateusz Dabkowski of 96,000 from middle position.

Mateusz Dabkowski: 7♥7♠
Stefanos Kechagias: A♥4♥

Dabkowski was in good shape versus a solitary overcard, and he held across the J♣8♣5♣J♥Q♠ runout.

Mateusz Dabkowski – 212,000
Stefanos Kechagias – 715,000

Panagiotis Oikonomidis, Antonios Bavas, Sokratis Papavramidis, Konstantinos Chionidis and Borislav Yosifov have all been sent to the rail late in Day 1c.

Ivelin Yonchev opened to 12,000 under the gun, and Lulei Hu got his final 4,000 into the middle. Kosmas Barakos also came along for the ride in the small blind.

On the K♣J♥2♣ flop, Barakos check-called a bet of 11,000 from Yonchev.

The 3♣ turn and Q♣ river were checked through.

Hu tabled 5♦4♥, Barakos had Q♥9♠ for second pair, but Yonchev took the pot with A♥K♦.

Ivelin Yonchev – 355,000
Kosmas Barakos – 273,000
Lulei Hu – 0

Terje Bremseth opened to 16,000 under the gun, and received calls from Emmanouil Livanos on the button, and Stefanos Kechagias in the small blind.

On the 10♣7♦6♣ flop, action was checked to Livanos, who fired out a bet of 22,000.

Both opponents called to see the 5♠ turn, where action was checked to Livanos once more. He fired out a bet of 55,000, and forced both foes to fold.

Emmanouil Livanos – 900,000
Stefanos Kechagias – 660,000
Terje Bremseth – 275,000

Late registration has now closed in Day 1c, with the ticker stopping at 140 entries.

Emmanouil Livanos still tops the standings, with the biggest stacks as follows:-

Emmanouil Livanos – 770,000
Stefanos Kechigas – 765,000
Emmanouil Zacharakis – 680,000
Georgios Tzelis – 535,000
Panagiotis Stergiou – 480,000

Late registration remains open in Day 1d, which is currently in Level 8, with late registration closing before the start of Level 12, and 30-minute blind levels in play.

Ippokratis Aslanoglou, Nikolaos Sofiolakis, and Ioannis Georgopoulos have all been sent to the rail.

The players are about to head on their final break of the day in Day 1c, with late registration closing before the start of Level 12.

Late registration remains open until the start of Level 12 in Day 1d, which has just headed into Level 7, with 30-minute levels in play.

Pantelis Pavlis was getting up out of his chair looking slightly stunned, as his A♥9♦ came off worst against Borislav Yosifov’s Q♥10♥.

Pavlis had flopped top pair, and Yosifov second pair, but the Bulgarian went runner-runner for the flush, the board reading A♣Q♦3♥6♥7♥.

Borislav Yosifov – 260,000
Pantelis Pavlis – 0

On a king-high board, Terje Bremseth got three streets of value with king-ten against Valeri Savov, who busted shortly after.

Terje Bremseth – 280,000
Valeri Savov – 0

Mateusz Dabkowski was all-in for 65,000 and at risk against Valeri Savov.

Mateusz Dabkowski: 6♥6♦
Valeri Savov: A♦J♦

It was off to the races, and Dabkowski held across the K♥4♥2♣K♠2♠ runout.

Mateusz Dabkowski – 143,000
Valeri Savov – 170,000

Around 120,000 had made its way into the middle in a button versus big blind spot between Ioannis Atzaris and Panagiotis Oikonomidis, with the board reading J♦8♠3♥Q♣5♣.

Oikonomidis checked, and Atzaris fired out a bet of 65,000.

After a good spell in the tank, Oikonomidis called. Atzaris tabled A♦Q♥ for top-top, and Oikonomidis smiled wryly and flashed Q♠ as he mucked.

Ioannis Atzaris – 560,000
Panagiotis Oikonomidis – 132,000

The players are just about to return from their dinner break, with 32 hopefuls seated from a total of 42 entrants.

Late registration remains open until the start of Level 12, with 30-minute levels in play.

Theodoros Ampelikitios has dusted off a third bullet in Day 1c, and Borislav Yosifov and Vahe Martirosyan have also hit the rail.

Kosmas Barakos was counting out a bill of 30,000 to Lulei Hu, after his Q♥J♥ came off worst against Hu’s Q♣Q♦, the board reading A♣4♦2♦6♠4♠.

Lulei Hu – 70,000
Kosmas Barakos – 382,000

Evaggelos Bechrakis was all-in for 84,000 and at risk against Vasileios Zisis.

Evaggelos Bechrakis: A♣9♣
Vasileios Zisis: A♠Q♦

Becharakis was dominated, and there was no escape on the 10♠5♦4♥10♣Q♠ runout.

Vasileios Zisis – 460,000
Evaggelos Bechrakis – 0

Sokratis Papavramidis opened to 8,000, and received a call from Refael Yona, before Kosmas Barakos produced a three-bet to 24,000 from the big blind.

Papavramidis took some time for thought, before four-betting to 57,000. Yona folded, but Barakos five-bet jammed for his total stack of 200,000, and Papavrimidis called with the covering stack.

Kosmas Barakos: A♠K♠
Sokratis Papavramidis: J♣J♥

It was a flip, but Barakos hit the front on the flop, and made two pair on the river, on the A♦3♣2♣3♥K♥ runout.

Kosmas Barakos – 418,000
Sokratis Papavramdidis – 155,000

Mateusz Dabkowski, Stavros Passias, Vahe Martirosyan, and Dimitrios Amoiridis have all hit the rail after the dinner break.

Yordan Dichev opened to 6,000 from the hijack, and received a call from Isaias Sidirokastritis in the cutoff.

Dichev continued with a bet of 7,000 on the K♠Q♠2♣, which failed to shake off his opponent.

The 9♣ hit on the turn, and Dichev fired again with a bet of 25,000, leading to a fold from his foe.

Yordan Dichev – 365,000
Isaias Sidirokastritis – 70,000

Panagiotis Leontios opened to 6,000, and called an all-in from Dimitrios Apostolidis in the big blind for 24,000.

Dimitrios Apostolidis: 4♣4♥
Panagiotis Leontios: 6♠3♣

Apostolidis could barely have asked to be in a better spot, but the 6♦6♥2♦ flop left him with two outs, which did not arrive on the 10♥J♣ turn or river.

Leontios offered his apologies as Apostolidis headed for the exits.

Panagiotis Leontios – 270,000
Dimitrios Apostolidis – 0

Emmanouil Livanos still tops the standings as the players return from dinner break, with the top counts as follows:-

Emmanouil Livanos – 460,000
Ioannis Atzaris – 420,000
Emmanouil Asgoudakis – 405,000
Ivelin Yonchev – 400,000
Emmanouil Zacharakis – 380,000

The players have been sent on a 40-minute dinner break, with play due to resume at 8.40 p.m. local time.

Vel Krol was getting up out of his chair, and his roughly 110,000 stack was being passed to Leonidas Georgopoulos, after Krol’s A♣Q♠ came unstuck against Georgopoulos’ 10♠10♦ on the J♦10♥9♠Q♣3♥ runout.

Leonidas Georgopoulos – 235,000
Vel Krol – 0

With around 36,000 in the middle on a completed board of Q♣8♣6♥7♣4♠, Grigorios Pougaridis checked to Theodoros Ampelikiotis, who fired out an overbet 100,000.

After a brief spell in the tank, Pougaridis tapped the table and folded.

Theodoros Ampelikitois – 160,000
Grigorios Pougaridis – 40,000

Refael Yona was all-in for 26,500 and at risk against Boris Yosifov.

Refael Yona: J♦J♣
Boris Yosifov: K♦Q♦

It was a fair fight, and Yona held across the 7♣6♦4♠8♠4♥ runout.

Refael Yona – 59,500
Boris Yosifov – 205,000

Day 1d, the final starting flight, has just got underway, with 12 players seated.

The clock is set to 30-minute levels, and late registration is open until the start of Level 12.

Vasileios Pantazis limped from early position, before Alexios Messalas raised to 7,000 in the cutoff.

Kosmas Maroudas called on the button, before Vasilis Tzavos produced a three-bet to 26,000 from the small blind.

Pantazis called, before Messalas four-bet jammed for around 145,000. Maroudas and Tzavos folded, but Pantazis shrugged his shoulders and ripped his total stack of roughly 90,000 into the middle.

Vasileios Pantazis: 8♠5♠
Alexios Messalas: A♦A♣

Pantazis needed some help, and he bricked the Q♣9♦2♥3♠3♣ runout. Messalas could barely believe his luck.

Alexios Messalas – 265,000
Vasileios Pantazis – 0

Kosmas Maroudas was raking in a big pot of around 120,000, after his Q♦Q♣ was good on the 9♦5♥2♦6♣8♠ board, his opponent’s cards having already been swept away.

Kosmas Maroudas – 315,000

Aiguo Xu opened to 4,000 from middle position, and received calls from the button and small blind, before Ivelin Yonchev produced a three-bet to 19,500 from the big blind.

Xu took a brief period of time for thought, before four-bet jamming his roughly 100,000 stack. Yonchev snap-called.

Aiguo Xu: K♥K♠
Ivelin Yonchev: A♠A♦

It was the cooler of all coolers, and there was no two-outer for Xu on the J♥3♣2♠4♠10♣ runout.

Ivelin Yonchev – 260,000
Aiguo Xu – 0

Time has run out for Michail Bonis, David Grealis, Gerasimos Arabatzis, Lulei Hu, Rafael Yona and Savio Drobaj in Day 1c.

Georgios Tzelis was raking in a full double-up, after his final 65,000 hit the middle on the river on a board of A♣4♦3♣2♦A♦, and he was looked up by Stefanos Kechagias.

Tzelis had 8♦3♦ for the flush, and Kechagias had been unfortunate to make trip aces on the river with A♠J♠.

Georgios Tzelis – 160,000
Stefanos Kechagias – 127,000

Kosmas Barakas opened to 3,500 under the gun, and received a call from Evaggelos Lazaridis in the next seat, before Ivelin Yonchev three-bet to 12,500 from the next seat.

Only Barakas called to see the 6♦5♥2♥ flop, where Barakas checked to his opponent. Yonchev slid out a bet of 12,500.

Barakas’ hands were shaking as he check-raised to 31,000, and Yonchev took no time at all before sending his cards to the muck.

Kosmas Barakas – 280,000
Ivelin Yonchev – 155,000
Evaggelos Lazaridis – 195,000

The following players appear to be sitting on the biggest stacks after a quick perusal of the room:-

Emmanouil Livanos – 378,000
Panagiotis Oikonomidis – 276,000
Dimitrios Zosimidis – 255,000
Valeri Savov – 247,000
Kosmas Barakos – 245,000

Cristopher Lamb, Saimir Bixheku, Dmitri Dudakov, Theodoros Ampelikiotis and Stefanos Kechagias will all have to stump up another entry to attempt to progress to Day 2.

The players have been sent on their second 20-minute break of the day.

A big pot of at least 110,000 had developed by the river with the board reading A♣8♣3♠7♦K♥, in a hand between Dimitrios Mitroudis and Valeri Savov.

Mitroudis checked and Savov jammed with the covering stack, sending Mitroudis into the tank, with around 45,000 behind.

He eventually folded, sending a big pot to Savov, and putting him over the 300,000 mark.

Valeri Savov – 300,000
Dimitrios Mitroudis – 45,000

Konstantinos Chionidis opened to 2,500 from early position, and was met with a three-bet to 5,400 from Alexey Shilov in middle position.

Nikolaos Giannopoulos cold-called in the small blind, and Chionidis also called.

The 9♠8♥6♦ flop was checked to the K♦ turn, where action was checked to Shilov, who fired out a bet of 7,000.

Giannopoulos called, before Chionidis check-raised to 26,000. Shilov folded and Giannopoulos called.

The J♠ hit on the turn and was checked through. Giannopoulos tabled 10♣10♥, and that was sufficient to force Chionidis to muck.

Nikolaos Giannopoulos – 220,000
Konstantinos Chionidis – 118,000
Alexey Shilov – 100,000

Ippokratis Aslanoglou, Kiril Balakov, Alexandros Tasoulis and Alexios Messalas will all have to fire another bullet if they wish to progress to Day 2.

Charalabos Kapernopoulos opened to 2,000 from the hijack, and received a call from Kosmas Barakos in the cutoff, before Evaggelos Lazaridis produced a three-bet to 6,500 from the button.

Both of his opponents called to see the J♦5♥4♣ flop, where Kapernopoulos led out with a bet of 6,000, which failed to shake off either opponent.

The 8♥ hit on the turn, and action was checked to Lazaridis. He fired out a bet of 21,000, forcing folds from both of his opponents.

Lazaridis flashed the A♥ as he raked in the pot.

Evaggelos Lazaridis – 120,000
Kosmas Barakos – 198,000
Charalabos Kapernopoulos – 70,000

There was around 40,000 in the middle on a flop of 7♥6♣2♠, and Emmanouil Zacharakis fired out a bet of 18,000 from under the gun.

Ioannis Pavlidis called, before Marios Markos three-bet jammed for 68,000. Zacharkis spent a good deal of time in the tank before calling for his 67,000 total stack, while Pavlidis folded.

Emmanouil Zacharakis: 8♥8♣
Marios Markos: A♠A♦

Zacharakis was in trouble, and the 6♥ turn altered nothing, before the 8♠ rolled off on the river to give Zacharakis a full house.

Markos threw his hands up in disgust, and busted shortly after.

Emmanouil Zacharakis – 195,000
Marios Markos – 0

With 32,000 in the middle on a flop of A♦J♠6♣, Borislav Yosifov, Evaggelos Lazaridis and Ivelin Yonchev all checked their option.

The 6♠ landed on the turn, and Yosifov led out with a bet of 8,000, which only Lazaridis called.

The 5♥ river was checked through. Yosifov tabled A♠3♠ for a pair of aces, and that was sufficient to force Lazaridis to muck.

Borislav Yosifov – 139,000
Ivelin Yonchev – 141,000
Evaggelos Lazaridis – 77,000

Alexey Shilov opened to 2,000 from middle position, and received a call from Dimitrios Manekas in the small blind, before Konstantinos Chionidis produced a three-bet to 15,000 from the big blind.

Both of his opponents called to see the K♣5♣4♠ flop, where Chionidis led out with a bet of 10,000.

Only Manekas called, and the Q♣ turn and 5♠ river were checked through.

Manekas tabled 3♠3♣, but Chionidis had 8♥8♦. Shilov gave the table a whack in frustration when he saw his opponents holdings.

Konstantinos Chionidis – 120,000
Alexey Shilov – 112,000
Dimitrios Manekas – 85,000

Alexandros Tasoulis opened to 1,600 from early position, and was met with a three-bet to 5,000 from Nikolaos Sofiolakis on the button.

Tasoulis called to see the 7♣4♥3♠ flop, where he check-called in the face of a rapid bet of 10,000 from Sofiolakis.

The 6♥ turn and 3♣ river were checked through.

Tasoulis confidently tabled 8♦8♣, but Sofiolakis had Q♣Q♥.

The players have been sent on their first 20-minute break of the day.

Nikolaos Sofiolakis – 127,000
Alexandros Tasoulis – 36,000

With around 75,000 in the middle on a completed board of A♦9♠5♣J♥7♣, Evaggelos Bechrakis was all-in for 72,000, and Leonidas Georgopoulos was in the tank.

After around a minute, Georgopoulos folded, and Bechrakis showed 9♣3♣ for third pair.

Evaggelos Bechrakis – 147,000
Leonidas Georgopoulos – 35,000

There was a limp from early position, and Stefanios Kechagias followed suit from the hijack, before Emmanouil Giannakakis raised to 2,800 from the cutoff.

Aleksandar Georgiev called on the button, the original limper folded, and Kechagias called.

On the K♣3♠2♥ flop, action was checked to Giannakakis, who fired out a bet of 4,000, which only Kechagias called.

The 4♣ hit on the turn, and Kechagias checked once more. Giannakakis slid out a bet of 10,000, and called off for his final 10,000 versus a check-raise to 20,000 from Kechagias.

Emmanouil Giannakakis: A♦10♥
Stefanios Kechagias: A♠5♣

Giannakakis was drawing to a chop, and the 2♠ river confirmed his exit.

Stefanios Kechagias – 138,000
Emmanouil Giannakakis – 0

With around 40,000 in the middle on a completed board of A♥10♦4♦7♥8♥, Ivelin Yonchev fired out a bet of 25,000, and was looked up by Gerasimos Arabatzis.

Yonchev tabled 10♠10♥ for a set of tens, and Arabatzis looked stunned, shaking his head and taking at least 30 seconds before mucking his hand.

Ivelin Yonchev – 152,000
Gerasimos Arabatzis – 56,400

With 12,000 in the middle on a board of K♣8♥7♥2♦, Grigorios Pougaridis fired out a bet of 6,000 from the small blind, which failed to shake off Georgios Tzelis in the cutoff.

The 4♦ river was checked through, and Tzelis’ A♠10♣ for ace-ten high was good versus Pougaridis’ A♦5♠.

Georgios Tzelis – 120,000
Grigorios Pougaridis – 59,200

With around 39,000 in the middle on a board of J♣J♦5♥, Emmanouil Giannakakis called a bet of 15,000 from his opponent.

The 4♠ hit on the turn, and Giannakakis’ opponent fired out a bet of 80,000, more than covering Giannakakis’ remaining 25,000.

After a spell in the tank, and a fair bit of chatter in Greek, Giannakakis folded, and his opponent flashed J♠

Emmanoil Giannakakis – 25,000
Opponent – 155,000

Fationa Vangjeli opened to 1,200 from the button, and Dimitrios Giannopoulos defended the big blind.

The 10♣2♠2♣ flop was checked to the 4♦ turn, where Giannopoulos led out with a bet of 1,100, leading to a swift fold from Vangjeli.

Dimitrios Giannopoulos – 102,000
Fationa Vangjeli – 96,000

With around 15,000 in the middle on a completed board of 6♠3♦2♦10♦10♠, Rafael Yona slid out a bet of 5,000, and received a call from Konstantinos Chionidis.

Yona showed 10♥7♥ for trip tens, and Chionidis smiled and mucked.

Rafael Yona – 72,000
Konstantinos Chionidis – 76,000

There was a bit of a kerfuffle at Table 5, which required the intervention of the floor.

With 18,000 in the middle on a completed board of J♥J♦2♣10♠6♠, Georgios Karakousis had somehow managed to bet 6,500 out of turn, despite having both Ioannis Georgopoulos and Alexandros Tasoulis still to act in the blinds.

The floor was called, and of course ruled the bet would stand if there was no aggressive action from the blinds.

The blinds checked and Karakousis’ bet stood. Georgopoulos folded but Tasoulis called, and mucked when Karakousis tabled 6♦6♥ for the rivered full house.

Georgios Karakousis – 125,000
Ioannis Georgopoulos – 95,000
Alexandros Tasoulis – 88,000

With 5,000 in the middle on a completed board of 10♥10♣5♠7♣6♦, Dimitri Chatsios checked from the big blind to Alexey Shilov on the button.

Shilov slid out a bet of 3,100, and was met with a check-raise to 21,000 from Chatsios.

Shilov quickly called, and mucked just as rapidly when Chatsios tabled 6♥6♣ for the rivered full house.

Dimitri Chatsios – 110,000
Alexey Shilov – 77,000

Pantelis Pavlis opened to 1,100 from the cutoff, and Ioannis Georgopoulos defended the big blind.

On the 10♥5♥4♣ flop, Georgopoulos check-called in the face of a bet of 1,000 from his opponent.

The 4♥ rolled off on the turn, pairing the board and bringing flush possibilities, and Georgopoulos led out with a bet of 2,600.

Pavlis spent some time in the tank before folding, and Georgopoulos showed J♠6♥.

Ioannis Georgopoulos – 102,100
Pantelis Pavlis – 97,900

Play is underway in Day 1c of the Novibet Greek Poker Odyssea, with 33 early birds already seated.

Stay tuned to poker.pro for all your coverage of the action.

The Vergina Theatro at Regency Casino, Thessaloniki, is again expected to be packed to the rafters today, June 16, as players seek to take advantage of the final opportunities to qualify for Day 2 of the 2026 Novibet Greek Poker Odyssea €1,000 Main Event.

The first two starting flights attracted a total of 210 entrants, with hometown hero Traianos-Alexandros Ntavoutis (955,000) leading 55 players who bagged and tagged for Day 2. The prize pool currently stands at €216,900 and is expected to swell significantly.

Ntavoutis is closely followed by seasoned professionals Lorenzo Arduini of Italy (922,000) and Fotios Ntamaris of Greece (919,000), while Greek Vaggelis Kaimakamis (796,000) and Bulgarian Martin Tsvetanov (756,000) make it a heavyweight top five, boasting combined recorded earnings of almost $3 million.

Position	Player	Country	Chip Count	Blinds
1	Traianos-Alexandros Ntavoutis	Greece	955,000	119
2	Lorenzo Arduini	Italy	922,000	115
3	Fotios Ntamaris	Greece	919,000	114
4	Vaggelis Kaimakamis	Greece	796,000	99
5	Martin Tsvetanov	Bulgaria	756,000	94
6	Anastasios Vardalis	Greece	677,000	84
7	Vasyl Vorynka	Russia	657,000	82
8	Pierros Pantos	Greece	629,000	78
9	Dimitar Toshev	Bulgaria	593,000	74
10	Alexandros Michas	Greece	587,000	73

Day 1c kicks off at 2 p.m. local time. Players will receive a starting stack of 100,000 at blind level 300/500/500, with the clock set to 40-minute levels, and unlimited reentries permitted. Day 1d, starting at 7 p.m. follows the same structure, except with 30-minute levels in play.

Late registration remains open until the end of Level 11 in each starting flight, with play scheduled to conclude at the end of Level 13.

Day 2 qualifiers will return at 3 p.m on June 17 for Day 2, where the clock will be increased to 60-minute levels, while Days 3-4 will feature 75-minute levels.

The full remaining festival schedule is set out below.