At 1 p.m. local time, cards will be back in the air for the second and — presumably — bigger starting day of the 2023 Marrakech Poker Open Main Event. Yesterday saw 14 out of 70 players make their way through, including Rosalie Petit and Sabry Ferhaoui. The current chipleader is Franck Eburderie, who bagged the overnight lead with an impressive 423,000.
Many familiar faces are excepted today, including French TV host and Survivor contestant Moundir Zoughari who just won the €2,000 High Roller a few hours earlier for MAD 600,000 (€54,000), after defeating Dinesh Alt heads-up at the latest hours of the night to claim the biggest victory on the live circuit of his career.
Like the first day, Day 1b will feature twelve levels of 45 minutes each, with a 20-minute break after every three levels. A 60-minute dinner break will be held after level eight, approximately 8.30 pm and players can enter and reenter up until the start of level ten. Players will get 30,000 in chips to work with to try and capture the ultimate trophy.
PokerNews will cover the event in the stunning Es Saadi Resort start to finish so don't go anywhere as we get closer to crowning a new champion!
After some back-and-forth betting, Anas Tadini, who just entered the event, and Gilles Gouhier got all their chips in the middle before the flop, with both players being around the starting stack:
Anas Tadini:
Gilles Gouhier:
Gouhier had the dominating hand and was in great shape for an early double up, but the board revealed to give Tadini a set of nines while Gouhier crumbled down to only 600 chips left and busted a few minutes later.
The flop was in a pot with more than 10,000 in the middle. Henri Dupont bet 5,800 and faced a raise worth 17,200 from Isabel Baltazar, with only one 5,000-chip left behind. Dupont raised and Baltazar called with her last chip:
Isabel Baltazar:
Henri Dupont:
Baltazar had hit two pair and took down the pot and the double up after the rest of the board brought .
The action was caught on a board with around 27,000 already in the middle.
Lucia Navarro thought about her move for a minute and tossed a pile of 5,000-chip in front of her, putting Leandro Dirlewanger at risk with a lower stack.
Dirlewanger considered it for some time before eventually folding.
After an open from Leandro Dirlewanger and a call from Fabrice Bigot in the small blind, Lucia Navarro three-bet to 11,500 in the big blind. After some thinking, both Dirlewanger and Bigot called.
The flop revealed and Bigot checked to Navarro who continued for 12,000. Dirlewanger made the call and Bigot considered it for a minute before folding.
A hit the turn and this time both players checked.
When the appeared on the river, Navarro chose to check and Dirlewanger thought about his move before firing 52,000 into the pot. Navarro went deep into the tank and eventually called, but quickly mucked her hand when Dirlewanger showed for a pair of aces.
In the early hours of Friday, March 17, the long battle at the final table of the €2,000 buy-in High Roller of the Marrakech Poker Open finally came to an end with the crowning of a well-known French figure, Moundir Zoughari, who took home the biggest trophy of his career as well as the €55,000 first-place prize.
With 124 entries recorded, the event created a prize pool of 2,157,900 MAD (€195,200). This was by far the biggest cash of Moundir's career according to his Hendon Mob profile and his first significant victory on the live circuit against a strong field.
With four players left, the famous Survivor contestant even managed to eliminate all his competitors, not the least of which was recent EPT finalist Fabrice Bigot, cash game grinder Samiyel Duzgun and finally Swiss pro and multiple SCOOP winner Dinesh Alt in the final heads-up.
MPO 2023 High Roller Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize (In MAD)
Euros
1
Moundir Zoughari
600,000MAD
€54,000
2
Dinesh Alt
400,000MAD
36 000
3
Samiyel Duzgun
258,000MAD
€23,200
4
Fabrice Bigot
188,000MAD
€17,000
5
Tristan Forge
138,000MAD
€12,200
6
Kamal
108,00MAD
€10,000
7
Karo Nuri
88,500MAD
€8,000
8
Mohamed Mamouni
73,000MAD
€6,500
9
Anas Tadini
60,000MAD
€5,400
Aggressive play, perseverance, and immense joy
Aware of the high level of his opponents, Moundir nevertheless did not give up and continued to play an aggressive game that paid off, until the very last hand, and also as it should be sometimes, a little help from variance.
On the final hand, Moundir four-bet shoved for about 30 big blinds with the and found himself snap-called by Alt with a better hand, . The flop came and a on the turn giving Moundir more hope. The river gave him a straight and the win.
"There are emotions that can't be explained. I never normally cry, but I couldn't help it, it was too intense"
.
"What I'm feeling are the emotions of 10 years, 10 years of looking for that big win in a high roller, 10 years of investment in the professional and amateur poker scene, and days spent studying the game with those close to me," he told PokerNews the day after his win.
"Winning in Marrakech has a special significance too, I got married here, I know all the family of the casino, and the field was difficult, it is enjoyable. There are emotions that can not be explained. I never normally cry, but I couldn't help it, it was too intense," he added.
Zoughari indeed had to face a tough final and go through many ups and downs. "I fell to seven big blinds, made some good calls, folded the queens when I could have easily been eliminated, and I was also helped by the cards sometimes, moments like that are unforgettable. I was aware that I was the fish at my table, which makes this win even more beautiful. "
The Winamax Team member lets Alt take comfort with 400,000 MAD (€36,000) while Duzgun completed the podium in third place for 258,000 MAD (€23,000).
10 years of evolution and most of all of fun
"During all these years, where I have learned the most is in listening, perseverance, and discipline in continuity. Yesterday I met players who were stronger than me and I finally got to know their weaknesses, it was a real pleasure. I train about two hours a day, because I also have a busy family life!"
"I always give it my all, keeping my zest for life. And I'm happy to democratize poker and make it visible to the general public."
And what's next for the man who's always teeming with projects?
"Of course there is the promised land of every poker player, the WSOP in Las Vegas. I'm going to do everything I can to win a bracelet and I'm going to start preparing for this summer. I'm going to stay there for at least 18 days, work on my with several pros I know and maybe extend depending on my bankroll and my results."
He added: "But before that, head to the Sismix with Winamax in May, which is looking huge!"
To review the table with commentary from Ronan Monfort and Quentin Lecomte, check out the video below.
The streaming of the Main Event will also be on the program today.
Hafid Kinany Alaoui started the action by raising before Thierry Gogniat three-bet to 11,000 in late position. Ali Habbad shoved in the big blind for 39,800 and after some thinking, both his opponents called.
The flop came and Alaoui bet 30,000, which was enough to get a fold from Gogniat and the two remaining players tabled their cards:
Ali Habbad:
Hafid Kinany Alaoui:
Habbad was in desperate shape for a triple up, and couldn't find any help on the turn and river to be eliminated from the event while the big pot was sent to Alaoui.