button in Safari
MAD 12,500 Main Event
Day 1c Completed
2026 Irish Open Marrakech
MAD 12,500 Main Event
Day: 1c
Players Left 9 / 517
Filter
Final Table
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Players from around the world descended upon the plush Casino de Marrakech in the luxurious Es Saad Resort in Morocco. After fourteen and a half hours of play and 242 total entrants, only one could emerge as the chipleader. That accolade went to home team representative Imad Barka, who bagged the biggest stack of the 32 players progressing to Day 2.
Flights 1A through 1C attracted 371 total entrants. This number will grow once the results of the 1D Turbo Flight are in.
The bulk of Barka's cashes have come here in Marrakech, including his career-best cash in the 4,000 MAD 8-Handed Ring Event at the WSOP-C in 2023, where he won the event for 205,000 MAD, roughly $20,000. He was involved in some monster hands throughout the day, mainly in the second half after the dinner break.
Flight 1C Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Imad Barka | Morocco | 1,308,000 | 131 |
| 2 | Alberto | 1,175,000 | 118 | |
| 3 | Douglas Weymeersch | Belgium | 826,000 | 83 |
| 4 | Daniel Bedson | United Kingdom | 701,000 | 70 |
| 5 | Magnus Kristensen | 651,000 | 65 | |
| 6 | Mountacer Talla | France | 606,000 | 61 |
| 7 | Niklas Grafton | France | 568,000 | 57 |
| 8 | Simon Wiciak | France | 538,000 | 54 |
| 9 | Abdelghani Bagas | Morocco | 425,000 | 43 |
| 10 | Jllp | 390,000 | 39 |
It could have been a different story for Barka. With play heading towards the bubble, Barka benefited from a risk-averse, ICM-influenced fold from Abdelghani Bagas.
He folded ace-king suited preflop, having flat a three-bet from Barka. Barka three-bet an under-the-gun open before Ahdnane Boutayeb moved all-in from the big blind. Earlier in the session, Bagas scooped a big multiway pot, cracking Barka's kings and fading a nut-flush draw in the process to propel himself up the counts.
2023 EPT Barcelona €5,300 Main Event Champion Simon Wiciak will be looking to add an Irish Open Main Event title to his resume come Sunday, and he has a decent stack to work with come the start of Day 2.
Reigning Irish Open Dublin Main Event Champion Narcis Nedelcu fired two bullets into 1C to no avail, and he won't become the first player to win the Irish Open Main Event twice in one year and on two different continents. Norwegian all-rounder Jon Kyte, newly crowned Irish Open Marrakech Ladies Champion Lisa Roberts and Irish Open Main Event Dublin 2026 11th-placed finisher Cristian Ivanus are just a finger short of a handful of names that will not be playing on Day 2.
Day 2 will begin at 1 p.m. local time. Play for the day will stop when the final table is reached or at the end of Level 26, whichever comes first. Blind levels will run for 40 minutes apiece.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for coverage of the final flights. We will be bringing you all the action until a champion is crowned on Sunday. That's all for now, folks.
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Stay tuned for the counts and the recap of today's action.
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Action was picked up with Alberto moving all in on the turn of 6♥8♦9♥K♣. Darcourt went deep into the tank, as expected on the stone bubble.
"Call?" said Alberto. Eventually, Darcourt sent a chip airborne and into the middle.
Darcourt: K♠Q♣
Alberto: K♦9♦
No lady was found on the 2♦ river, and Darcourt was eliminated.
"Hallelujah!" exclaimed Ionel Serbu, and shouts of "bag!" rang around the tournament area at Casino de Marrakech.
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Action was picked up with Magnus Kristensen over-bet jamming the river of Q♦7♣8♦7♦5♠ to put Rayane Bouibeb all in and to the test.
Bouibeb was deep in the tank, giving an intense showdown to his opponent. After an extended period in the tank, the clock was called. He folded with a few seconds left.
Kristensen then tabled A♥4♥ for a stone cold bluff on the stone cold bubble.
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Sebastian Bader was all in for around 135,000. Abdelhadi Kondah called from the cutoff.
Sebastian Bader: A♠10♥
Abdelhadi Kondah: Q♣Q♦
"Good time to use the one-time," said Bader as the 4♣8♠5♣ flop was dealt. "Six," said Bader as the 4♠ turn was dealt. "Close enough," he added. His elimination was confirmed on the 7♥ river.
Hand-for-hand play begins.
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Issam Benhaddou opened from under the gun. Imad raised from early position to 60,000. Abdelghani Bagas called from middle position before Ahdnane Boutayeb moved all-in for about 285,000.
Imad went into the tank before calling. Bagas then went into the tank before folding A♥K♥.
Ahdnane Boutayeb: 3♠3♦
Imad: Q♣Q♥
"Close your eyes," said Sebastian Bader to Bagas as the J♥6♥2♠ flop was dealt. Boutayeb was drawing dead on the Q♠ turn, and the 7♥ would have given Bagas even more chips. However, the pot went to Imad with top set.
Bader sympathised with Bagas, saying, "I probably would have folded too."
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Play will cease when three more players are eliminated. Stay tuned to see who progresses through to tomorrow's Day 2.
Level: 17
Blinds: 5,000/10,000
Ante: 10,000