Will the WSOP Circuit Marrakech Main Event Break Attendance Records Again?

Matthew Pitt Senior Editor

Dec 23, 2025 4 min read

2026 WSOPC Marrakech Full Schedule
2025 WSOPC Marrakech Ring Event Results

One of the first international legs of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit is almost upon us, with the tour heading to the Casino de Marrakech in Morocco between January 16-25. Twelve WSOPC ring-awarding events are on the busy schedule, complemented by several side events.

In January 2025, the WSOPC Marrakech Main Event's attendance was record-breaking. By the time late registration slammed shut on the tournament's final flight, some 1,523 entries had been processed and a 19,421,500 MAD ($1,943,001) prize pool created.

Seasoned grinders, including Maria Lampropulos, Sonny Franco, Leo Worthington-Leese, Mehdi Chaoui, Guillaume Darcourt, Dinesh Alt, and Paul Tedeschi, cashed in the WSOPC Marrakech Main Event, but the tournament belonged to Hong Kong's Justin Tsui. The champion padded his bankroll with the equivalent of $270,118, a career-best score.

PokerNews' live reporting team was on the ground through this year's WSOPC Marrakech Main Event, and will be on hand for the 2026 edition from January 22. With the WSOP in Las Vegas seeing several record-breaking fields, there's every chance that the WSOPC Marrakech Main Event will continue the trend and surpass this year's record.

2026 WSOPC Marrakech Full Schedule

The 2026 WSOPC Marrakech festival begins on the afternoon of January 16 with the first of three flights in the WSOPC Opener. The 2025 edition of this WSOPC ring-awarding event drew in 904 entrants. Andrew Hawkins outlasted them all and returned home with $48,483.

In addition to the WSOPC Opener, players from far and wide will battle it out at the luxurious Casino de Marrakech in the WSOPC High Roller, the WSOPC Super High Roller, the WSOPC Mini Main Event, and more.

On January 21, two tournaments are kicking off simultaneously, each with a unique twist. The WSOPC Veterans is open only to players aged 50 or older, while the WSOP Young Blood is open only to players under 50. The champions from both events will face off on January 22 in the WSOP Generational Clash to decide which age group reigns supreme in Morocco.

Of course, the festival's flagship tournament is the WSOPC Marrakech Main Event. Commanding an MAD 16,000 ($1,700) buy-in, the Main Event has a trio of starting flights. Day 1a starts on January 22, with Day 1b and the turbo-structured Day 1c scheduled to shuffle up and deal on January 23. The second day's action runs throughout January 24, with the final day and the crowning of the champion taking place on January 25, as the curtain comes down on the 2026 WSOPC Marrakech festivities.

WSOPC Marrakech Main Event Updates

Live updates From Jan. 22

Date	Time	Event	Buy-in (MAD)	Buy-in (USD)
Fri 16 Jan	4:00 p.m.	WSOPC Opener Day 1a	4,500	$500
	9:00 p.m.	Satellite Last Chance Opener	700	$75
Sat 17 Jan	2:00 p.m.	WSOPC Opener Day 1b	4,500	$500
	6:00 p.m.	Flip & Go to Day 1c of WSOPC Opener	600	$65
	9:00 p.m.	WSOPC Opener Day 1c Turbo	4,500	$500
Sun 18 Jan	2:00 p.m.	WSOPC NLHE 8-Handed	5,000	$550
	4:00 p.m.	WSOPC Opener Day 2
	6:00 p.m.	NL Hold'em KO	2,500	$270
	9:00 p.m.	Satellite WSOPC High Roller	3,300	$350
Mon 19 Jan	12:00 p.m.	WSOPC Mini Main Day 1a	7,000	$750
	5:00 p.m.	Satellite for 10,000 MAD	1,500	$160
	9:00 p.m.	WSOPC Mini Main Day 1b Turbo	7,000	$750
Tue 20 Jan	1:00 p.m.	WSOPC Mini Main Day 2
	2:00 p.m.	Turbo Satellite to WSOPC High Roller	3,500	$380
	3:00 p.m.	WSOPC High Roller	25,000	$2,700
	5:00 p.m.	Satellite to WSOPC Main Event	2,000	$210
	9:00 p.m.	NL Hold'em KO	2,500	$270
Wed 21 Jan	1:00 p.m.	WSOPC Veteran	6,500	$700
	1:00 p.m.	WSOPC Young Blood	6,500	$700
	2:00 p.m.	WSOPC High Roller Day 2
	4:00 p.m.	WSOPC Pot Limit Omaha	6,000	$650
	4:00 p.m.	WSOPC Ladies Event	5,000	$540
	5:00 p.m.	Satellite to WSOPC Main Event	1,800	$190
	9:00 p.m.	Classic DeepStack	2,500	$270
Thu 22 Jan	12:00 p.m.	Turbo Satellite to WSOPC Main Event	2,000	$210
	12:00 p.m.	WSOPC Main Event Day 1a	16,000	$1,700
	2:00 p.m.	WSOPC Generational Clash
	3:00 p.m.	WSOPC High Roller Final Table
	6:00 p.m.	Progressive KO	2,300	$250
	9:00 p.m.	Satellite Last Chance to WSOPC Main Event	2,000	$210
Fri 23 Jan	12:00 p.m.	WSOPC Main Event Day 1b	16,000	$1,700
	4:00 p.m.	WSOPC NLHE Freezeout	5,000	$540
	9:00 p.m.	WSOPC Main Event Day 1c Turbo	16,000	$1,700
	9:30 p.m.	Mystery Bounty	3,000	$310
Sat 24 Jan	1:00 p.m.	WSOPC Main Event Day 2
	2:00 p.m.	WSOPC Monsterstack	6,000	$650
	6:00 p.m.	WSOPC Progressive KO High Roller	10,000	$1,100
	9:00 p.m.	Turbo Satellite to WSOPC Super High Roller	2,000	$210
Sun 25 Jan	1:00 p.m.	WSOPC Turbo	5,000	$540
	1:00 p.m.	WSOPC Main Event Final
	2:00 p.m.	WSOPC Super High Roller	30,000	$3,200
	2:00 p.m.	WSOPC Monsterstack Day 2
	5:00 p.m.	The Closer Turbo Deepstack	2,500	$270

_{US Dollar amounts are approximations to give some guidance to the buy-in}

2025 WSOPC Marrakech Ring Event Results

Justin Tsui is the reigning WSOPC Marrakech Main Event champion. As mentioned earlier, Tsui came out on top of a 1,523-strong field to win his first gold WSOPC ring and a career-best $270,118. Tsui only decided to play the tournament two days before the event's first flight; it turned out to be an incredible decision.

Several other players returned home with WSOPC rings and sizeable scores to their name. Anthony Apicella became $130,971 richer courtesy of triumphing in the WSOPC High Roller, while Rafik Zoughi won the WSOPC Mini Main Event for $80,794.

Event	Entrants	Prize Pool	Champion	Prize (USD)
NLHE WSOPC Main Event	1,523	$1,943,001	Justin Tsui	$270,118
NLHE WSOPC High Roller	419	$717,622	Anthony Apicella	$130,971
NLHE WSOPC Mini Main	1,010	$520,213	Rafik Zouaghi	$80,794
NLHE WSOP Opener	904	$311,067	Andrew Hawkins	$48,483
NLHE WSOPC Monsterstack	527	$272,309	Hamid Sahraoui	$41,036
NLHE WSOPC Short Handed	305	$156,432	Sandro Fortunato	$31,175
NLHE 8-Handed	381	$130,826	Chadi Akremi	$24,743
Pot-Limit Omaha	189	$96,947	Anonymous	$21,119
NLHE WSOPC Freezeout	188	$80,362	Lies Mostefa	$17,098
NLHE WSOPC PKO High Roller	199	$90,736	Hassn Nashar	$15,199
NLHE WSOPC Turbo	212	$92,690	Ronald Steinmet	$13,374
NLHE WSOPC Ladies	36	$15,387	Emmanuelle Allory	$5,128

Stay tuned to PokerNews' live reporting pages throughout the 2026 WSOPC Marrakech Main Event for all the updates and photographs you can handle.

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Matthew Pitt Senior Editor

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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