Sacha Cohen Wins the 2026 Winamax Poker Tour Grande Finale Sword
Sacha Cohen had the chip lead, a packed rail behind him, and a lifetime of poker running through his veins. On March 31 at the Pasino Grand Partouche in Aix-en-Provence, he converted all of it into a sword — the iconic trophy awarded to France’s Champion de Poker.
A Record-Breaking Winamax Grande Finale
The 2026 Winamax Poker Tour (WiPT) Grande Finale drew 3,610 entries — a new record for the event and a jump on the 3,503-entry field that set the previous benchmark in 2025. The total prize pool reached €1,524,864, with nine players earning a share.
As we covered ahead of the final day, the WiPT’s model is unusual for a national tour: a significant chunk of the field qualified for free through regional freerolls and online satellites, meaning the record field isn’t just a number — it’s a reflection of genuine grassroots reach across France.
Sacha Cohen Carries His Father’s Legacy to Victory
Cohen, 27, known online as “PyroSC,” didn’t arrive at the final table as an unknown. He built his competitive instincts first as a professional esports player and commentator on the Call of Duty circuit before poker took over.
The switch paid off steadily. Cohen had already collected smaller titles on the French circuit, but the big one kept eluding him. He finished as runner-up twice in 2025 alone, including in a World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit ring event.
The weight of that near-miss history made the win in Aix-en-Provence all the sweeter. Cohen was visibly emotional after securing the title, saying he was elated and struggling to process what he had just achieved.
What he was processing, in particular, was a legacy. Cohen’s father, Claude Cohen, won the second-ever French WSOP bracelet back in 1997 — and earlier this week, Claude won a tournament in Marrakech. Father and son, winning in the same week.
“My dad is in my head, in my heart today,” Sacha said after lifting the sword for the first time. The message his father sent him that morning, he revealed, was simply that the Cohen name would now be associated with a new first name. It’s the kind of detail that gives real weight to a tournament result like this.
2026 Winamax Poker Tour Grand Finale Results
How Cohen Won the Sword
The final table was nine-handed with average stacks running 20-25 big blinds, meaning all-in decisions came early and often. Samuel Bifarella was the first to fall in 9th, followed by Guillaume Anthonioz in 8th, and Nicolas Antouard in 7th — all within the first hour.
Bertrand Vizioz busted in 6th after Quentin Pauly doubled through him, leaving him on fumes. Forced all-in from the blinds on the next hand, he couldn’t survive with four-deuce.
Cohen then eliminated Pauly himself, hitting a straight on the turn to send him out in 5th. Herve Gouzil — who had already won the WiPT Battle Royale side event earlier in the week — ran his pocket fours into jacks and exited in 4th.
Three-handed play between Cohen, Lucien Cervettaz, and Samuel Fournier was tight until Fournier called off his stack with top pair against Cervettaz’s two pair, finishing 3rd for €95,000.
Heads-up is where the drama peaked. Cervettaz caught Cohen bluffing repeatedly — including a memorable hero call with king-high, and momentum swung hard. Cohen tightened up, picked his spot, and landed a massive double-up after shoving preflop with A♦️2♥️; Cervettaz tanked before calling with Q♦️J♦️, and the A♠️ on the flop reduced him to five big blinds.
Cervettaz doubled twice more to stay alive, but couldn’t complete the comeback, busting on his third all-in attempt when his Q♥️7♣️ ran into Cohen’s K♥️3♠️. Neither player improved, and this time it was Cohen’s king-high that made him a sword-bearing champion.
France’s Poker Pipeline Produces a Champion
Every player at the final table carried a French flag — an all-French final table at France’s flagship live tour. That reflects just how deeply the WiPT has embedded itself into the domestic poker culture over 14 years of grassroots development.
Cohen’s win also puts a recognizable face on the culture. As head coach of the Queens Squad — a French women’s poker team created by Cécile Ticherfatine — and a member of the Winamax Stream Gang, he’s already a prominent voice in the community. A national title only amplifies that platform.
For recreational players, the WiPT’s freeroll structure makes this victory feel accessible in a way that major international tour wins often don’t. The message it sends is straightforward: if you play your regional freerolls and run well, you can end up at the same final table as the champion.
What’s Next for Sacha Cohen
Cohen isn’t stopping to celebrate for long. His sights are set on Las Vegas this summer, where he’ll be hunting a WSOP bracelet to sit alongside his sword. With the WSOP Main Event returning to ESPN this year for a live prime-time finale, the stage couldn’t be bigger.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Cohen make a deep run. Three years ago, he came within reach of a WSOP final table, and he arrives in Vegas this summer as a national champion with momentum behind him.
The 2027 WiPT Grande Finale will return to the Pasino Grand Partouche Aix-en-Provence, with the freeroll qualifying circuit the only remaining piece yet to be announced. Given the record fields of the last two editions, the bar will be high again.