🇮🇹 Davide Ceglia takes down 🔶 BPC - Balcan Poker Circuit Main Event!

2 days ago7 min read

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The €100,000 GTD Main Event of the BPC Balkan Poker Circuit has just wrapped up, drawing a total of 214 entries and, as always, ending with just one name on top. That name is Davide Ceglia, a familiar face around the Perla Resort, who pulls off back-to-back success after his recent victory at the Perla Poker Festival. This time, he takes home the Eurorounders trophy in another €100K guaranteed event.

It was a battle that culminated in a heads-up duel lasting over an hour against Eros Scognamiglio, following a three-handed phase where Ceglia and Davide Cojaniz (the chip leader at the time) agreed on an ICM deal.

At the moment of the deal, Ceglia held the second-biggest stack and locked up €13,000, while Cojaniz secured €14,000 and Scognamiglio took €11,500. The trio then played on to crown the official winner and award the additional €1,500 along with the trophy.

Before diving into the hand-by-hand breakdown of the final table, let’s hear from the man of the moment himself, who shared his thoughts in a quick post-win interview.

Post-win interview with Davide Ceglia

Speaking after the win, Ceglia revealed that his intention from the start was clear: he came to the Balcan Poker Circuit Main Event to win. After a strong Day 1A, where he bagged a massive stack, he returned for Day 2 with over 400 big blinds. “When you finish Day 1 with a big stack and the structure speeds up, you know you’ve got a shot,” he said. “It’s never easy — some hands go your way, others don’t, just like in any tournament — but I felt this could be my moment.”

The final table brought its own set of challenges, especially in the early stages, which were dominated by the Serbian player Alija, who scored several early knockouts. “That’s when I realized I had a real shot,” Ceglia said. “Once we got down to three, I thought: ‘I’m 1-to-2 in chips, but I can win this.’”

A pivotal clash came against Davide Cojaniz, a tight and calculated player. “He wasn’t putting chips in randomly — it was hard to get anything through him,” Ceglia explained. “Against someone aggressive, you can take some shots in the dark. With him, you had to pick your spots carefully.”

Prior to Cojaniz’s elimination, the final three had agreed on a deal: €14,000 to Cojaniz (who was chip leader at the time), €13,000 to Ceglia, and €11,500 to Eros Scognamiglio. They left €1,500 and the trophy to play for.

“I told them straight up — I want the trophy,” Ceglia said with a smile. “The money is what it is. A thousand euros more or less doesn’t change anything. But the trophy… that, I really wanted.”

1. 🇸🇮 Alija Besirevic – 2,735,000

2. 🇮🇹 Dario Massara – 1,910,000

3. 🇮🇹 Davide Ceglia – 1,155,000

4. 🇮🇹 Davide Cojaniz – 1,155,000

5. 🇮🇹 Massimo Pierluigi – 1,065,000

6. 🇭🇷 Jordan Srebrenic – 760,000

7. 🇮🇹 Francesco Perruppato – 660,000

8. 🇮🇹 Eros Scognamiglio – 505,000

9. 🇮🇹 Andrea Michelotto – 490,000

10. 🇮🇹 Mauro Vianello – 270,000

You can catch up on all the action from this weekend on our live blog by clicking THIS LINK. Now… let’s rewind the tape and relive the highlights of the Final Table.

Mauro Vianello eliminated in the 10th position!

We have our first elimination at the final table, and it’s Mauro Vianello who hits the rail. Short-stacked, he finds himself in the big blind facing an open from Alija Besirevic. Holding K-Q offsuit, Vianello shoves directly, and the chip leader snap-calls with K-K.

The flop runs dry, the turn gives a glimpse of hope with a Queen, but the river doesn’t complete any outs — Vianello is eliminated in 10th place, earning €2,000.

Andrea Michelotto out in 9th place!

Open shove from Eros Scognamiglio, holding A♠ K♥, and he gets a snap-call from Andrea Michelotto, who tables A♦ Q♠.

The board runs out: 9♦ 4♠ 6♣ 3♥ A♣.

There was no help for Michelotto, and Eros’ kicker plays. Andrea Michelotto was eliminated in ninth place, earning €2,300.

Jordan Srebrenic is the 8th-place finisher!

We’re down to eight, and the action starts Under the Gun with Davide Cojaniz, who opens to 80,000 holding A♣ 9♦. Blinds are at 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante.

From Seat 3, Jordan Srebrenic moves all-in with 8♠ 8♦.

The flop comes 10♥ 9♥ 4♥ — three hearts on the board, and Cojaniz holds the A♥, giving him a flush draw to go with his pair of nines.

However, the turn and river both brick, and Cojaniz’s nine hold up against the eights.

Jordan Srebrenic is eliminated in 8th place, taking home €2,600.

Dario Massara out in 7th place!

A surprise elimination hits the table as Dario Massara is sent to the rail. After tightening up slightly during the final table, he faces a direct shove from the cutoff by Alija Besirevic, holding A♠ 4♦.

Massara calls with a dominating A♣ K♠, but a lucky 4 hits the board, crushing the Italian’s hopes of getting his chips back. Neither the turn nor the river bring any help.

Alija doubles up in a rather fortunate fashion and returns to the top of the chip count with a stack of over 3 million chips.

Dario Massara exits in 7th place, collecting €3,100.

Massimo Pierluigi ends in 6th place!

Eliminations are coming one after another at the final table of the BPC, Balcan Poker Circuit Main Event — and this time, it’s Massimo Pierluigi who hits the rail.

Down to a relatively short stack, he moves all-in with 8♥ 9♥, but Alija Besirevic, sitting in the big blind, wakes up with Q♦ Q♠ and instantly puts the chips in.

The board runs out clean, no surprises, and Alija continues her unstoppable rise in the chip count.

We’re now down to five players remaining, and Massimo Pierluigi, who finished sixth, took home €3,700.

Francesco Perrupato finishes in 5th place!

Another elimination — and things are getting wild here at the Perla Resort. Francesco Perrupato sees his run come to an end in 5th place, earning €5,000.

Once again, the executioner is Slovenia’s Alija Besirevic, who open-shoves with A♦ 2♣. In the big blind, Perrupato looks down at 7♠ 7♥ and, after some thought, puts a chip in the middle and makes the call.

The board comes K♠ A♦ 8♦ 6♦ J♣, giving Alija another 30-70 win — hitting the ace and sending Perrupato to the rail.

Alija Besirevic eliminated in 4th place

Eros Scognamiglio opens from the cutoff — we’re down to the final four. Alija, on the button, moves all-in. The blinds fold, and Scognamiglio calls with K♥ K♠ against Alicia’s 5♥ 5♥.

The board runs out 4♥ 3♠ 9♥ 4♠ 3♥, giving no help to Alija and allowing Scognamiglio to double up, leaving Alija with just a single big blind.

Miraculously, in the following hand, Alicia finds a triple-up that keeps her hopes alive — but only momentarily. Shortly after, she moves all-in with 7-7 for about three big blinds and gets called by both Davide Ceglia and Eros Scognamiglio. Scognamiglio holds 8-7 and hits trip eights on the board, sealing Alicia’s fate.

After spending much of the four-handed stage near the top of the chip counts, Alija is eliminated in 4th place, leaving the final three: Davide Ceglia, Davide Cojaniz, and Eros Scognamiglio.

ICM deal for the 3 finalists!

The final three players had agreed to an ICM deal before Cojaniz’s elimination:

• €14,000 to Davide Cojaniz, chip leader at the time of the deal

• €13,000 to Davide Ceglia

• €11,500 to Eros Scognamiglio

They left €1,500 and the trophy to play for, ensuring a fairer prize distribution.

Davide Cojaniz out in 3rd place!

Davide Cojaniz ends his run in third place after two key hands played against Davide Ceglia, who takes control of the chip lead with over 80% of the chips in play.

Here’s how it unfolded.

In the first hand, after an open limp, Cojaniz puts in an isolation raise, followed by a three-bet from Davide Ceglia holding A-Q suited. Cojaniz flats with T-9 suited, and they go to a flop: K-Q-4. Ceglia fires a continuation bet, Cojaniz calls. The turn is a T, completing no flush draws but giving Cojaniz a pair. The action goes check-check. The river brings a J, giving Cojaniz a low-end straight to the nine. He leads out for 600,000—about one-third of the pot. Ceglia responds with a click-raise, and Cojaniz quickly folds.

Just a few hands later comes the final confrontation, again against Davide Ceglia. After Ceglia opens to 110,000, Cojaniz three-bets from the big blind to 500,000 holding A-K. Ceglia moves all-in, Scognamiglio folds, and Cojaniz calls.

No ace or king shows up on the board, and Ceglia wins a massive pot of nearly 100 big blinds, setting up a heads-up play against Eros Scognamiglio with a huge advantage.

Davide Ceglia wins BPC Main Event, Scognamiglio runner-up!

After about an hour of heads-up battle, the final chapter unfolds at Perla Resort, where Davide Ceglia lifts the Eurohunters trophy, claiming victory in the Balkan Poker Circuit Main Event. Thanks to a three-way deal, Ceglia secures €13,000, plus an additional €1,500 reserved for the winner.

The final hand sees him open from the button with J♠ T♠. His opponent responds with a 3-bet shove holding A♦ Q♦, and Ceglia calls with a commanding chip lead.

The board runs out J-2-3-5-3, giving Ceglia top pair and sealing his win.

Eros Scognamiglio finishes as runner-up, taking home €11,500 and the satisfaction of a deep run in the BPC Main Event.