Main Event
Day 1b Started
WPT Marrakech presented by Chilipoker
Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
WPT Marrakech presented by Chilipoker
Buy-in
€4,250
Entries
222
Level
27
Blinds
25,000 / 50,000
Ante
5,000
Day 1b on the Horizon
Welcome back to beautiful Marrakech, Morocco, where sunny skies greeted us this morning for our walk back over to the Casino de Marrakech for today's Day 1b of the WPT Marrakech Main Event presented by Chilipoker.
Yesterday saw 137 players turn out for the first of the two Day Ones, with only 51 of those surviving to return on Monday. Sebastian Homann of Germany ended with the most chips when play concluded late last night, the only one of the group to cross the 300,000-chip mark.
Expectations are we should be seeing a few more familiar faces in the field today. Among those expected to join the fray are David Benyamine, Carlos Mortensen, Ludovic Lacay, and Arnaud Mattern. We'll see if any of those or any of our other Day 1b combatants come close to challenging Homann for the overall Day 1 chip lead.
The plan today will once again be to play 11 one-hour levels, with the dinner break coming after Level 6. The first hands are scheduled to be dealt about a half-hour from now. See you back here then!
Play Delayed
There is a short delay before the start of Day 1b. The cards should be in the air within the hour.
Level: 1
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
Who's Here?
Out of the 68 players registered for Day 1b thus far, we've spotted Liz Lieu, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Ludovic Lacay, Antony Lellouche, Arnaud Mattern, Thomas Bichon, Guillaume de la Gorce, Sam Chartier, and Roger Hairabedian at the tables.
Nosy Neighbors
![[user140525]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
We've noticed a few interesting table pairings in the field. With only eight tables going at the moment, no one is very far from each other, but we have to wonder how Alexia Portal feels about being directly to Antony Lellouche's left. Certainly she's happier than she'd be on his right. Portal and Guillaume De La Gorce left Team Winamax last month, while Lellouche remains the team's headliner. Interestingly, Portal is sporting a Full Tilt patch this afternoon.
A few tables over, it's team-on-team action, as Thomas Bichon has position on fellow PokerStars Team Pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier.
Lellouche Wins Round One Against Portal
With about 2,500 in the pot and the board reading 
, Antony Lellouche's river bet of 1,700 was called by Alexia Portal. Lellouche tabled 
and it was good, taking down the early pot.
Lellouche: Up to about 33,000
Portal: Down to roughly 26,000
Baby Cards, Baby Steps
It is shaping up to be a small but strong field for today's Day 1b. No tables appear bereft of tough players. Table 4 provides but one example, at which we find seated Thomas Bichon, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, and Davidi Katai. The latter two were just involved in a hand against one another.
Kitai had just opened a hand with a raise to 300 from early position, then a reraise behind forced him to fold. On the next hand, Kitai was raising to 300 again, this time from under the gun, and Grospellier called from the button. The big blind called as well, and the flop brought three baby cards -- 
. It checked to ElkY who bet 625, and only Kitai called. The 
made for an interesting turn card, the sight of which causing both players to check.
The river was the 
. This time Kitai led out with a bet of 700, and Grospellier considered for a moment before raising to 2,700. Kitai shuffled his chips, then pushed his cards away.
Grospellier moves to 33,000, while Kitai sits with 27,500.
Mortensen Sits Down, Sets to Work
As we near the end of the first level, Carlos "The Matador" Mortensen has arrived and taken his seat. And he has wasted little time becoming active.
Just now came a hand in which Mortensen and one opponent had reached the turn with the board showing 
and 1,000 in the middle. Mortensen, in the small blind, fired a bet of 750, and his opponent quickly called. The river then brought the 
and another bet from Mortensen, this time 1,450. His opponent called again, and Mortensen quickly tabled the bad news -- 
-- a flopped straight, his opponent mucking his hand in response.
Mortensen swiftly moves up to 35,500.
Start Not to Lacay's Liking
Ludovic Lacay has had a busy first level today, though so far all of that work has only resulted in successive small hits to his starting stack.
Just now, Lacay was open-raising once again, this time to 300 from middle position, and received two callers from the blinds. The flop came 
. It checked to Lacay who bet 500, and only the small blind stuck around.
The turn then brought the , creating a board that uncannily resembled the one from that Grospellier-Kitai hand from a short while ago. Both players checked.
The river brought the , and when the small blind bet 1,500 Lacay instantly folded. His opponent showed his hand -- 
for the six-high straight -- as he scooped the chips.
At the end of the first level, Lacay has lost about a third of his starting stack. He now sits with 20,500.