Sandro Carucci’s Wins WSOP Circuit Marrakech Main Event (3,000,000 MAD)
The outcome of the 2026 WSOP Circuit Marrakech Main Event remained uncertain all the way until the crowning of the champion. Throughout the final day, the chip lead changed hands several times, moving from Raul (4th – 1,285,000 MAD) to Turlough McHugh (3rd – 1,700,000 MAD) to Malcolm Franchi (2nd – 2,300,000 MAD).
But out of a record-breaking field of 1,694 entries, which generated a total prize pool of 23,039,000 MAD, Sandro Carucci ultimately had luck on his side and claimed victory and take home 3,000,000 MAD (approximately €279,000), his first-ever WSOP Circuit gold ring, and the €5,000 package for the next WSOP Paradise.
2026 WSOP Circuit Marrakech Main Event Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (in MAD) | Prize (in EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sandro Carucci | Switzerland | 3,000,000 MAD | €279,000 |
| 2 | Malcolm Franchi | France | 2,300,000 MAD | €213,900 |
| 3 | Turlough Mchugh | Ireland | 1,700,000 MAD | €158,100 |
| 4 | Raul | Spain | 1,285,000 MAD | €119,505 |
| 5 | Salim Sefiat | France | 940,000 MAD | €87,420 |
| 6 | Aitor Cruz | Spain | 700,000 MAD | €65,100 |
| 7 | Alexandre Bermon | France | 515,000 MAD | €47,895 |
| 8 | Luc Ramos | Switzerland | 385,000 MAD | €35,805 |
| 9 | Mehdi Chaoui | Morocco | 300,000 MAD | €27,931 |
Winner's reaction
"How do you win a tournament? By being f****** lucky,” Carucci joked, wiping away the few tears in his eyes after his victory.
Those tears carried several meanings for him. First, they were a reward for a career choice that hadn’t gone as expected at the beginning. “I started playing poker almost full-time three years ago, but it didn’t really work out at first. I came close to good results many times, and now it finally happens — I can’t believe it,” explained Carucci, who is also a high school teacher. “You always think about these things, but when it happens… whoa! At the beginning of the final table, just thinking about winning, I was almost about to cry. And I don’t cry often.”
The tears also celebrated an impressive comeback, from starting the final table second-to-last in chips to the title. “I just played very snug; I didn’t do anything special. I was card dead for a long period, I just played my hands and won the all-ins. I didn’t have many hard decisions at the final table,” explained the 36-year-old, who still managed to double up multiple times, like most of the other finalists.
One key decision, however, shifted the course of his tournament. With seven-four of spades and a flush against Mchugh, who moved all-in, he took nearly five minutes to make the call, ultimately catching his opponent bluffing with the ace of spades. A massive pot that propelled him to the chip lead with three players remaining.
“Did it really take five minutes?” he asked, surprised. “That’s insane. I knew after ten seconds I was going to call, but my good friend Andreas told me to take my time because it was the biggest spot of my life. In theory, it wasn’t a hard call, but I just wanted to be sure.”
The Andreas he referred to is Andreas Froehli, winner of the Opener at the start of the festival. “The fact that he won the first one and I won the last one is so crazy. You’ll remember that for the rest of your life,” he reflected.
The two friends often travel to events together, and Carucci already has his schedule planned “until May,” including stops in Campione, Aix-les-Bains, and several other locations around Switzerland. And Marrakech, where he was playing for the first time? “I guess I have to come back!”
Final Day Action
The final day of the Main Event began with 24 remaining players. A few short stacks managed to double up early, such as Malcolm Franchi who was saved by a river, while others weren’t as fortunate, including Anthony Apicella (24th – 95,000 MAD) who became the first player eliminated of the day.
He was followed at the payout desk by Moroccans Yasser Loudagh and Kassimi Bouchaib, as well as Mohamed Mehalleg, Christopher Chaudey, and Fabio Rodrigues who ran into kings. Bela Toth and Day 1a chip leader Amine Moussallaoui were also eliminated, almost simultaneously, leaving just 15 players across the last two tables by the first break.
Shortly after the restart, Raul hit a full house to eliminate former EPT champion Tomasz Brzezinski and climb to the top of the counts; a position he never left until the start of the final table. Meanwhile, Aguanteeldiego experienced the opposite trajectory, starting the day as chip leader but being eliminated in 13th place.
Another elimination reduced the field to the last 11 players, who moved to the feature tables. Bruno David didn’t last long, falling to Aitor Cruz’s sixes. One more elimination was needed to complete the final table, and Joe Z thought he would be that player after losing a massive pot to Franchi.
Left with less than a big blind, Joe Z found queen-jack and went all-in. However, the hand was light compared to Mehdi Chaoui’s queens and Franchi’s kings when all three players moved all-in. Franchi scored a double elimination, taking the chip lead heading into the dinner break and the start of the final table.
After dinner, Luc Ramos (8th – 385,000 MAD) was the first to leave the table after running into kings with ace-king. Four double-ups followed until Alexandre Bermon lost a flip to Franchi. Clearly living the dream on this final table, Bermon earned 515,000 MAD for his 7th-place finish.
Third place in last year’s Main Event and winner of the Mini Main Event a few days ago, Aitor Cruz was the next to fall. The Spanish player called on the river with kings but ran into a straight, taking sixth place.
Turlough Mchugh then began to build momentum, doubling his stack with a flopped flush and later by bluffing to make the best hand fold.
He kept his run going by eliminating Salim Sefiat (5th – 940,000 MAD), but Franchi caught a lucky river and followed it with another big double-up to retake the chip lead. Meanwhile, Carucci also doubled up, but Raul failed to do so, finishing in 4th place with 1,285,000 MAD.
Carucci then doubled up again before one of the hands of the tournament, where he called Mchugh’s all-in with a flush to secure another double-up.
Left on fumes after that hand, Mchugh tried to survive but was ultimately eliminated in third place, taking home 1,700,000 MAD.
It then took only two hands for Carucci to play his first match point, holding ace-six against Franchi’s ace-nine. A six on the flop sealed the tournament for Carucci, crowning him the new WSOP Circuit Marrakech champion.
This concludes PokerNews’ coverage of the 2026 WSOP Circuit Marrakech Main Event. The next stop on the WSOP Circuit tour will take place from February 26 to March 10 in Liechtenstein. Poker action will also return to Marrakech soon with a new edition of the Marrakech Poker Open, running from March 24 to 29. PokerNews will once again be on site to provide live coverage of the Main Event.
