Here we are: the PokerStars Open Campione 2026 has officially kicked off! On Friday, January 23rd, the programming for the anticipated festival began, with two events on the schedule, including an interesting KO.
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PokerStars Open Campione 2026: Pirro wins the KO
The first day of PokerStars Open 2026 featured the classic ice-breaker event. It was a €220 buy-in NL Hold’em Knockout, with €100 of which went as a bounty on each player’s head. 66 players responded to the call, for a payout that awarded the top 9 players. The victory ultimately went to the Swiss player Fabio Pirro, ahead of the Italian Mario Gritti. Here is the overall tournament payout:
| FINAL POSITION | PLAYER | NATION | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabio Pirro | Switzerland | €1,822 |
| 2 | Mario Francesco Gritti | Italy | €1,180 |
| 3 | Alexandro Amadeo Moccetti Mazuelos | Swaziland | €840 |
| 4 | Andreas Putz | Germany | €650 |
| 5 | Alin-Gabriel Grasu | Romania | €500 |
| 6 | Michele Zullo | Italy | €380 |
| 7 | Lin Huang | China | €290 |
| 8 | Ettore Ricci | Italy | €230 |
| 9 | Riccardo Roberto Campana | Switzerland | €180 |
First live qualifiers for the Main Event
In the evening, the first live satellite for the €1,100 Main Event of the PokerStars Open Campione 2026 also took place, which, as a reminder, will kick off on January 28th.
Out of 67 participants, 6 grabbed the coveted ticket. Here they are:
- Cristian Bosina
- Andrea Passerini
- Stefano Massi
- Thales Anis Salomao Filho
- Ali Mohsen
- Ulf Steringer
PokerStars Open Campione 2026, today’s schedule: the Warm Up begins!
Today, things get serious at the PokerStars Live Room in Campione d’Italia. The PokerStars Open Warm Up begins, with Day 1A at 1 PM and Day 1B at 7 PM. The buy-in remains €275, but the level duration differs, with 30 minutes for Day 1A and 20 minutes for Day 1B. In the evening, the live satellite for the Main Event begins, with the now-classic “win your seat” format, meaning you get the ticket upon reaching a stack of 100,000 chips. Here are the details:
| DATE AND TIME | EVENT | BUY-IN | LATE REGISTRATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/24/2026 2:00 PM | Event #3 – Flip Out Qualifier to PokerStars Open Warm Up | €30 | Until 7:00 PM |
| 01/24/2026 1:00 PM | Event #4 – PokerStars Open Warm Up Day 1/A – 30 min levels | €275 | Until 7:10 PM |
| 01/24/2026 7:00 PM | Event #4 – PokerStars Open Warm Up Day 1/B – 20 min levels | €275 | Until 10:40 PM |
| 01/24/2026 9:00 PM | Event #5 – Qualifier to Main Event – Win Your Seat @ 100K chips | €125 | Until 11:55 PM |
Cover image: the Campione d’Italia Casino (Manuel Kovsca & RHL)
Club del Poker Freerolls
On January 25th, starting at 9:30 PM on PokerStars, the last of three freeroll tournaments will be played, each offering 1 ticket for the Main Event worth €1,100, for a total of 3 seats. It’s a “winner takes all” tournament: the winner of each tournament will secure entry to the prestigious Campione tournament, which will take place starting January 28th.
To participate, simply:
- have an account on PokerStars
- be registered for the Club del Poker, by entering your email in the form you will find on the page.
- know the password, which arrives via email on the day of the tournament.
On the same page, you will find the Club del Poker freeroll schedule.
| Date and time | Prize |
|---|---|
| January 25th at 9:30 PM | 1 entry for the PokerStars Open Main Event |
Interview with Luca Pataro, winner of the first Club del Poker freeroll for the PokerStars Open ticket:
