The Belgian Poker Challenge (BPC) is a tournament sponsored by PokerStars with the winner becoming the Belgian Poker Champion.
History
The Belgian Poker Challenge originated in 2013, when the tournament was held at Casino Middelkerke. The first BPC Main Event had a buy-in of €800, and 381 participants. It was won by Team Pro PokerStars Matthias de Meulder after 7 tournaments, earning €53,459.[1]
Throughout the following years, the series was held alternately between Casino de Spa and Circus Casino Resort Namur.[1] In 2023, the tournament schedule expanded considerably and the number of players also increased. The BPC Main Event in 2023 had 1,332 entries and generated a total prize pool of €1,266,388. It was won by Algerian Omar Lakhdari, earning €206,000.[2]
The 2024 edition of BPC was held in May 2024 at Circo Casino Resort Namur, with a €1,100 buy-in and €1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.[3]
Results
| Date | Event / City | Players | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 8-20 May |
 BPC NAMUR 2024 €1,100€1,000,000 Guaranteed Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia |
1,259
|
€1,266,388 |  Rayane Benounnane[4]
|
€200,000 | [1] |
| 2023 11-21 May |
BPC NAMUR 2023 €1,100 €1,000,000 Guaranteed Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia |
1,332
|
€1,266,388 |  Omar Lakhdari[2]
|
€206,000 | [2] |
| 2022 27 May-6 June |
BPC NAMUR 2022 €1,100 €500,000 Guaranteed Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia |
785
|
€752,813 | Samy Barka[5]
|
€122,762 | [3] |
| 2021 9-19 December |
BPC NAMUR 2021 €1,100 Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia |
CANCELED due Covid-19 restrictions[6][7][8] | ||||
| 2020 25 November -7 December |
BPC NAMUR 2020 €1,100 Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia |
CANCELED due Covid-19 restrictions | ||||
| 2019 29 November -8 December |
BPC NAMUR 2019 €1,100 €500,000 Guaranteed Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia |
743
|
€708,822 | Nicolas Ribeiro[9]
|
€115,000 | [4] |
| 2018 23 November -2 December |
BPC NAMUR 2018 €1,100 €500,000 Guaranteed Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia |
686
|
€657,874 |  Marcin Puczylowski[10]
|
€126,252 | [5] |
| 2018 29 May-3 June |
 BPC SPA €800Casino de Spa, Liège, Wallonia |
686
|
€151,373 | Ahmed Ibrahimi[11]
|
€24,555 | [6] |
| 2017 24 November -3 December |
BPC NAMUR 2017 €1,100 €600,000 Guaranteed Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia |
645
|
€619,200 | Julien Baldassarre[12]
|
€84,728 | [7] |
| 2017 16-21 May |
BPC SPA €800 Casino de Spa, Liège, Wallonia |
208
|
€147,000 |  Yves Sergeant[13]
|
€31,000 | [8] |
| 2016 25 November -4 December |
BPC NAMUR 2016 €1,100 Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia |
600
|
€576,000 |  Vlad-Victor Darie[14]
|
€90,602 | [9] |
| 2016 31 May-5 June |
BPC SPA €800 Casino de Spa, Liège, Wallonia |
234
|
€165,153 | Luc Ta[15]
|
€29,069 | [10] |
| 2015 27 November -6 December |
BPC NAMUR 2015 €1,100 Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia |
680
|
€652,800 | Arne Coulier[16]
|
€101,075 | [11] |
| 2015 6-10 May |
BPC SPA €800 Casino de Spa, Liège, Wallonia |
289
|
€202,242 |  Marius Pospiech[17]
|
€37,346 | [12] |
| 2014 28 November -7 December |
BPC NAMUR 2014 €1,100 Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia |
683
|
€654,309 | Arne Coulier[18]
|
€113,820 | [13] |
| 2014 3-7 September |
BPC SPA €800 Casino de Spa, Liège, Wallonia |
260
|
€181,948 | Cheng-Wei Yin[19]
|
€45,026 | [14] |
| 2013 22 November -1 December |
BPC NAMUR 2013 €1,500 Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia |
470
|
€608,180 | Laurens De Smet[20]
|
€97,304 | [15] |
| 2013 9-15 September |
BPC SPA €800 Casino de Spa, Liège, Wallonia |
369
|
€258,654 | Julien Lannoy[21]
|
€42,595 | [16][17] |
| 2013 8-14 April |
 BPC MIDDELKERKE €800Casino Middelkerke, West Flanders, Flanders |
381
|
€267,015 | Matthias De Meulder[22]
|
€53,459 | [18] |
References
- ^ a b Pokeren - "Belgian Poker Challenge" (in Dutch). pokeren.nl. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ a b Poker Listings - Schroen, Melvin (March 29, 2023). "Omar Lakhdari Wins Belgian Poker Challenge 2023 Main Event in Namur". pokerlistings.com. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ The Hendom Mob - Belgian Poker Challenge 2024 Results
- ^ PokerNews France - Jaudon, Gaelle (May 20, 2024). "Rayane Mokhtar Benounnane Sacré Champion du Belgian Poker Challenge 2024" (in French). fr.pokernews.com. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
- ^ PokerNews France - "Le Français Samy Barka remporte le Belgian Poker Challenge (122.762€)" (in French). fr.pokernews.com. June 6, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ Cards Chat - Smyth, Daniel (November 30, 2021). "Belgian Poker Challenge Cancelled, Fresh COVID Restrictions Sweep Across Europe". cardschat.com. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ Poker Strategy - Carter, Barry (December 1, 2021). "The Belgian Poker Challenge is postponed". pokerstrategy.com. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ APN News - "New Covid-19 Restrictions Lead to the Postponement of Belgian Poker Challenge". apnnews.com. December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ PokerNews France - "BPC Namur: Deal à 3 et la gagne pour Nicolas Ribeiro (115.000€)" (in French). fr.pokernews.com. December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ Club Poker - "BELGIAN POKER CHALLENGE : LE MAIN EVENT POUR MARCIN PUCZYLOWSKI" (in French). clubpoker.net. December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ Poker City - Salet, Pieter (June 4, 2018). "BPC Spa: Ahmed Ibrahimi wint Main Event, Ryanne en 'Sikkes side events!" (in Dutch). pokercity.nl. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ Poker City - van Winden, Milko (December 3, 2017). "BPC Namur: Julien Baldassarré te sterk voor Berende en Lybaert" (in Dutch). pokercity.nl. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ Live Poker - "TOURNOI BELGIAN POKER CHALLENGE - 800 € MAIN EVENT" (in French). livepoker.fr. May 22, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ PokerNews France - Sustrac, Matthieu (December 5, 2016). "Belgian Poker Championship : Vlad Darie s'impose à Namur, le High Roller pour Kalidou Sow" (in French). fr.pokernews.com. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ The Hendom Mob - "€ 730 + 70 No Limit Hold'em Main Event 4 Results". thehendonmob.com. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ The Rounder - "Arne Coulier remporte le BPC Namur Main Event back to back !! (€90.075 + €11.000)" (in French). the-rounder.net. December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ The Rounder - "Marius POSPIECH sort victorieux du heads-up final et est notre champion du BPC Spa MAIN EVENT" (in French). the-rounder.net. May 10, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ PokerNews France - "Arne Coulier champion Belgian Poker Challenge Namur 2014 (113.820€)" (in French). fr.pokernews.com. December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ Poker City - Salet, Pieter (September 8, 2014). "Cheng-Wei Yin wint BPC Main Event" (in Dutch). pokercity.nl. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ HLN Belgium - "Laurens De Smet wint officieus BK poker" (in Flemish). hln.be. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ HLN Belgium - "Julien Lannoy wint eerste grote titel op Belgian Poker Challenge in Spa" (in Flemish). hln.be. September 17, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- '^ 7Sur7 - "Le vainqueur du Belgian Poker Challenge est Matthias de Meulder" (in French). 7sur7.be. April 17, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2023.