button in SafariSpecial One Leads the Way After a Marathon First Flight of Irish Open Main Event Marrakech
The Irish Open Main Event Marrakech is officially underway at Casino de Marrakech in the exotic Es Saad Resort. Of the 42 entrants, only six secured a stack and ITM status for Day 2. Of those progressing, the nicknamed Special One currently holds the chip lead, having bagged a whopping 699,000 after a 13-hour stint at the tables on the debut of the Irish Open Marrakech. Here is a look at some of the action from the opening flight.
End of Day 1A Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Special One | France | 699,000 | 70 |
| 2 | Adrien Lacabe | France | 565,000 | 57 |
| 3 | Roger Tondeur | Switzerland | 272,000 | 27 |
| 4 | Rene | Spain | 207,000 | 21 |
| 5 | Pedro Silva | Brazil | 184,000 | 18 |
| 6 | Jason Barton | United Kingdom | 179,000 | 18 |
Flight 1A Highlights
Special One accumulated chips early. He battled compatriot Thomas Saminadin throughout the opening frames, eventually claiming all of his stack. It appeared to be his day when Saminadin jammed a dominating king in a blind v blind confrontation, only for Special One to river trip sixes.
He eventually laid claim to Saminadin's stack when he picked off a bluff in another blind v blind confrontation between the French duo.
Special One's ascension to the top of the counts was aided when he coolered Andrei Cherkasin with Queens against the latter's Jacks with only nine players left. He also had the number of Brazil's Pedro Silva, who looked unstoppable at several points throughout today's play.
He caught Silva speeding as the bubble loomed, making a nice call with a rivered eight for two pair.
Silva had an up-and-down day, but he was chip-leading for a solid portion of the opening flights' play. His decline came in the latter stages, with Adrien Lacabe calling another attempted bluff from Silva.
Lacabe finished a clear runner-up, with a decent gap between him and the third-placed Roger Tondeur. Lacabe wrapped up play for the day by coolering a short-stacked Stuart Kerridge with ace-three offsuit against the former's ace-king suited.
Among the notables that fired a bullet or two unsuccessfully was the newly crowned The Hendon Mob Championship Winner Kaapo Tapio and former EPT Main Event Champion Lucien Cohen.
Play resumes with Flight 1B, which will be underway from noon local time. The same structure will apply to this flight, with the field playing down to 15%, two entries per flight, and 40-minute blind levels.
We're just getting started here in Marrakech; stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage of the Irish Open Main Event. That's all for now, folks.