Lucas Archeny, a 23-year-old French accountant from Bourg-en-Bresse with under $2,000 in career live earnings, defeated Etienne de Soultrait heads-up on Saturday to win the 2026 Winamax Poker Open Aix-les-Bains €500 Main Event for €150,000.
The tournament drew 2,873 entries to the Casino Grand Cercle and generated a €1,185,974 prize pool, making it Europe’s biggest live 6-max tournament, according to Winamax.
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Who Is Lucas Archeny?
Lucas Archeny is a 23-year-old accountant from Bourg-en-Bresse in the Ain department of eastern France. He learned the game at his local clubs, Bourg Hold’em Poker and ABC Poker de Saint-Denis-lès-Bourg, starting out on freerolls at age 18.
Before this week, his recorded live tournament history included two cashes: a win in an €80 bounty event at the TexaPoker Series in Annecy in May 2024 for €1,440, and a fourth-place finish for €300 at the Christmas Riviera Poker Festival in December 2025. Total career live earnings: $1,899, per The Hendon Mob.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Archeny told PokerNews’ Maxime Taldir after the win. “I’ve just multiplied my biggest score by 15.” On next steps, he was measured. “I’m definitely putting it into my bankroll and putting some aside. I’m not going to go crazy and start playing huge live tournaments straight away.”
Lucas Archeny Path to Victory in the 2026 Winamax Poker Open Aix-les-Bains Main Event
The Winamax Poker Open returned to the Casino Grand Cercle in Aix-les-Bains, a spa town in the Savoie on the shores of Lac du Bourget, for its second edition September 22-27. The €500 Main Event ran in 6-max format across four starting flights before a Final Day crowded all the action into one room. When seven players came back to the felt on Saturday, every flag at the table was French.
Quentin le Dissez was the first to go, running into Archeny’s aces. Benjamin Goudard followed when his jacks lost to queens, and Nicolas Ehrath exited in fifth when ace-queen got there against ace-deuce. That set up a four-handed battle dominated early by Timothee d’Anfray, who had bagged the biggest stack on Day 3.
His day unraveled in the cruelest fashion. With 8♠8♣ on a board of 2♥Q♦6♦, d’Anfray faced a check-raise shove from Mathieu Pontin, who had flopped two pair with 8♦6♥. The turn and river brought running diamonds, completing a backdoor flush and transferring a massive pot to Pontin. D’Anfray never recovered, eventually losing queen-ten to de Soultrait’s pocket queens to exit in fourth for €51,500.
Pontin, a well-known French poker streamer, had recovered from 10 big blinds on Day 2 to reach the final three with the chip lead. Three-handed, he limp-reraised all-in with Q♣10♣ and ran into Archeny’s A♥J♣, and sent Pontin to the rail in third for €74,000. “It’s like I won,” Pontin said, according to the Winamax live blog. “I only lack the trophy.”
Archeny took a 3:1 chip lead into heads-up against de Soultrait. The Chambery engineer, playing his first major final table, did not fade. The pivotal moment of the heads-up took a twist when Archeny ran a three-barrel bluff with 8♦2♦ on a board of 10♥A♣4♠K♣9♦. De Soultrait called it off with 10♣5♦ for third pair, a read that briefly swung the chip lead his way. The momentum did not last. Archeny steadied, rebuilt his advantage, and in the final hand de Soultrait moved in with 10♠9♦. Archeny called with K♣7♣. The runout 6♥3♠4♣A♥5♦ made a straight, and Archeny had his title.
2026 Winamax Poker Open Aix-les-Bains €500 Main Event Final Table Results
€500 buy-in | 2,873 entries | €1,185,974 prize pool
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lucas Archeny | France | €150,000 |
| 2 | Etienne de Soultrait | France | €105,000 |
| 3 | Mathieu Pontin | France | €74,000 |
| 4 | Timothee d’Anfray | France | €51,500 |
| 5 | Nicolas Ehrath | France | €36,000 |
| 6 | Benjamin Goudard | France | €25,500 |
| 7 | Quentin le Dissez | France | €18,500 |
