Belgian Poker Challenge

Last updated
Belgian Poker Challenge
Belgian Poker Challenge 2020.png
Sport Texas Hold 'em
Founded2013
CountryFlag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Most recent
champion(s)
Flag of France.svg Jean-Vincent Lehut (2025)
Official website pokerstarslive.com

The Belgian Poker Challenge (BPC) is a tournament sponsored by PokerStars with the winner becoming the Belgian Poker Champion.

Contents

History

The Belgian Poker Challenge (BPC) 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 Belgian Poker Challenge was held in May 2024 at Circo Casino Resort Namur, with a €1,100 buy-in and €1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool. [3]

In 2025 the Belgian Poker Challenge has been given a new look and will continue as the PokerStars Open Namur, continuing in Circus Casino Resort and with a €1,100 buy-in and €1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool. [4]

Results

DateEvent / CityPlayersPrize PoolWinnerPrizeResults
2025
28 May-9 June
Flag of Namur.svg PokerStars Open Namur €1,100
€1,000,000 Guaranteed
Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia
1,572
€1,493,400 Flag of France.svg Jean-Vincent Lehut [5] €238,000
2024
8-20 May
Flag of Namur.svg BPC NAMUR 2024€1,100
€1,000,000 Guaranteed
Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia
1,259
€1,183,791 Flag of France.svg Rayane Benounnane [6] €200,000
2023
11-21 May
Flag of Namur.svg BPC NAMUR 2023€1,100
€1,000,000 Guaranteed
Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia
1,332
€1,266,388 Flag of Algeria.svg Omar Lakhdari [2] €206,000
2022
27 May-6 June
Flag of Namur.svg BPC NAMUR 2022€1,100
€500,000 Guaranteed
Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia
785
€752,813 Flag of France.svg Samy Barka [7] €122,762
2021
9-19 December
Flag of Namur.svg BPC NAMUR 2021€1,100
Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia
CANCELED due Covid-19 restrictions [8] [9] [10]
2020
25 November
-7 December
Flag of Namur.svg BPC NAMUR 2020€1,100
Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia
CANCELED due Covid-19 restrictions
2019
29 November
-8 December
Flag of Namur.svg BPC NAMUR 2019€1,100
€500,000 Guaranteed
Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia
743
€708,822 Flag of France.svg Nicolas Ribeiro [11] €115,000
2018
23 November
-2 December
Flag of Namur.svg BPC NAMUR 2018€1,100
€500,000 Guaranteed
Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia
686
€657,874 Flag of Poland.svg Marcin Puczylowski [12] €126,252
2018
29 May-3 June
Flag of Spa.svg BPC SPA €800
Casino de Spa, Liège, Wallonia
686
€151,373 Flag of France.svg Ahmed Ibrahimi [13] €24,555
2017
24 November
-3 December
Flag of Namur.svg BPC NAMUR 2017€1,100
€600,000 Guaranteed
Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia
645
€619,200 Flag of France.svg Julien Baldassarre [14] €84,728
2017
16-21 May
Flag of Spa.svg BPC SPA €800
Casino de Spa, Liège, Wallonia
208
€147,000 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Yves Sergeant [15] €31,000
2016
25 November
-4 December
Flag of Namur.svg BPC NAMUR 2016€1,100
Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia
600
€576,000 Flag of Romania.svg Vlad-Victor Darie [16] €90,602
2016
31 May-5 June
Flag of Spa.svg BPC SPA €800
Casino de Spa, Liège, Wallonia
234
€165,153 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Luc Ta [17] €29,069
2015
27 November
-6 December
Flag of Namur.svg BPC NAMUR 2015€1,100
Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia
680
€652,800 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Arne Coulier [18] €101,075
2015
6-10 May
Flag of Spa.svg BPC SPA €800
Casino de Spa, Liège, Wallonia
289
€202,242 Flag of Germany.svg Marius Pospiech [19] €37,346
2014
28 November
-7 December
Flag of Namur.svg BPC NAMUR 2014€1,100
Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia
683
€654,309 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Arne Coulier [20] €113,820
2014
3-7 September
Flag of Spa.svg BPC SPA €800
Casino de Spa, Liège, Wallonia
260
€181,948 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Cheng-Wei Yin [21] €45,026
2013
22 November
-1 December
Flag of Namur.svg BPC NAMUR 2013€1,500
Circus Casino Resort Namur, Namur, Wallonia
470
€608,180 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Laurens De Smet [22] €97,304
2013
9-15 September
Flag of Spa.svg BPC SPA €800
Casino de Spa, Liège, Wallonia
369
€258,654 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Julien Lannoy [23] €42,595
2013
8-14 April
Middelkerke vlag.svg BPC MIDDELKERKE €800
Casino Middelkerke, West Flanders, Flanders
381
€267,015 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Matthias De Meulder [24] €53,459

References

  1. 1 2 Pokeren - "Belgian Poker Challenge" (in Dutch). pokeren.nl. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Poker Listings - Schroen, Melvin (March 29, 2023). "Omar Lakhdari Wins Belgian Poker Challenge 2023 Main Event in Namur". pokerlistings.com. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  3. The Hendom Mob - Belgian Poker Challenge 2024 Results
  4. PokerCity - Kingma, Martijn (April 9, 2025). "Pokerstars Open 2025 volgt BPC op in Namur (28 mei – 9 juni): Spectaculair schema met groot Main Event" (in Dutch). pokercity.nl. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  5. Hayes, Richard (June 8, 2025). "Jean-Vincent Lehut Dominates PokerStars Open Namur Final Table to Seal Career-Best Score (€238,000)". pokernews.com. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Cards Chat - Smyth, Daniel (November 30, 2021). "Belgian Poker Challenge Cancelled, Fresh COVID Restrictions Sweep Across Europe". cardschat.com. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  9. Poker Strategy - Carter, Barry (December 1, 2021). "The Belgian Poker Challenge is postponed". pokerstrategy.com. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  10. APN News - "New Covid-19 Restrictions Lead to the Postponement of Belgian Poker Challenge". apnnews.com. December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  11. 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.
  12. Club Poker - "BELGIAN POKER CHALLENGE : LE MAIN EVENT POUR MARCIN PUCZYLOWSKI" (in French). clubpoker.net. December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. Live Poker - "TOURNOI BELGIAN POKER CHALLENGE - 800 € MAIN EVENT" (in French). livepoker.fr. May 22, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  16. 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.
  17. The Hendom Mob - "€ 730 + 70 No Limit Hold'em Main Event 4 Results". thehendonmob.com. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
  20. PokerNews France - "Arne Coulier champion Belgian Poker Challenge Namur 2014 (113.820€)" (in French). fr.pokernews.com. December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  21. Poker City - Salet, Pieter (September 8, 2014). "Cheng-Wei Yin wint BPC Main Event" (in Dutch). pokercity.nl. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  22. HLN Belgium - "Laurens De Smet wint officieus BK poker" (in Flemish). hln.be. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  23. 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.
  24. 7Sur7' - "Le vainqueur du Belgian Poker Challenge est Matthias de Meulder" (in French). 7sur7.be. April 17, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2023.