Fahd Boudaouine wins the €500 6-max for €50,000

Fahd Boudaouine claims his first French championship title

Fahd Boudaouine has made a breakthrough in Aix-en-Provence, winning the €500 6-max event at the 2026 French Poker Championships and collecting €50,000 after three days of play. For the Toulon-area player, this was more than a nice score: it was a first major title on a prestigious national stage.

The event, hosted at Pasino Grand d’Aix-en-Provence, drew 715 entries and generated a €302,016 prize pool. With 107 players paid, the tournament offered both depth and pressure, making every decision on the way to the final table matter.

Why a 6-max title carries extra weight

A 6-max event is a very different challenge from a full-ring tournament. Fewer players means wider opening ranges, more aggressive preflop battles, and a much greater emphasis on postflop execution.

That is why winning a 6-max title is such a strong indicator of skill. You need to handle constant pressure, identify profitable spots quickly, and be comfortable playing for stacks in marginal but well-chosen situations.

If you want to sharpen your fundamentals for this kind of tournament, our poker school is a good place to start. And if you are looking for venues to put those skills into practice, explore our guide to poker rooms.

The final table run: pressure, timing, and big pots

Jordan Blanc entered the final table as the chip leader, while Boudaouine came in with the third-largest stack. That meant he was not in control from the start, but he had enough chips to apply pressure once the right spots appeared.

From there, he started building momentum and turning small advantages into a title run:

• he eliminated Sarah Jarry in 7th place for €5,250;
• then sent Paul Dupin out in 6th for €6,600;
• one of the key hands saw his pocket aces hold against an opponent’s queens;
• after that, Maxence Benoulha and Cyrille Lacogne also fell;
• in heads-up play, Boudaouine got past Sandro Carucci and Jordan Blanc.

That pocket-aces hand was pivotal. In tournament poker, one hold in a high-variance spot can completely reshape the final table and give a player the leverage needed to finish the job.

Expert analysis: what this win really tells us

Boudaouine’s victory is a textbook example of how live tournament success is built. He did not simply wait for premium hands; he kept applying pressure and used his stack intelligently to force opponents into uncomfortable decisions.

There are a few strategic lessons worth highlighting:

• 6-max rewards aggression and range awareness more than passive survival;
• a third-place stack at the final table is still a very playable stack if used well;
• late-stage tournament poker is often decided by who converts fold equity into actual chip accumulation;
• major scores usually come from a chain of disciplined decisions, not one lucky all-in.

From an industry perspective, results like this help strengthen the appeal of live poker series. They also keep interest high in poker clubs, where many players build the experience needed to compete in larger fields, while promotions & bonuses can make regular tournament play more accessible.

Final table payouts and finishing positions

Here is how the final table paid out:

• Fahd Boudaouine — €50,000
• Jordan Blanc — €31,000
• Sandro Carucci — €19,250
• Cyrille Lacogne — €12,416
• Maxence Benoulha — €8,700
• Paul Dupin — €6,600
• Sarah Jarry — €5,250

Boudaouine had already won the KTPS in Mandelieu-la-Napoule in August 2025, so this was not his first headline result. Still, a French championship title is a different kind of achievement — one that carries more prestige and tends to resonate much longer in a player’s career.

Bottom line: a title that can change a player’s trajectory

This €500 6-max victory is about more than the €50,000 top prize. It is a strong statement about Boudaouine’s live-game ability, his composure under pressure, and his capacity to close out a tough field.

For tournament players, the lesson is clear: success comes from combining technical skill, patience, and the courage to seize the right spots. And for those following the broader poker ecosystem, it is also a reminder that the right environment — from poker rooms to poker clubs — can shape the path from regular grinder to champion.

FAQ