Javier Tsunamy Crests the Field on Day 2 of the Marrakech Poker Open Main Event
Javier Tsunamy's chip stack on Day 2 of the 12,500 MAD Marrakech Poker Open Main Event lived up to his name, as it continued to rise until threatening to drown the rest of the field.
Tsunamy takes the chip lead into tomorrow’s final table after bagging up 1,965,000. The Spaniard went on a late flurry of eliminations, taking out Jonathan Khalifa in 23rd when he made running trips on the river. Tsunamy then turned a flush to bust Isabel Baltazar in 20th. He kept on running over the table from there, making two pair to send out Victor Rerolle in 18th before finally taking out Mohammed Drissaoui in 14th when he rivered a pair of kings. Tsunamy won another big pot right at the end of the night when he turned the nut flush against Luigi Macaluso.
Macaluso ended up in second place with 1,230,000, but his day was not without some controversy. After Omar Lakhdari had raised all but one 5,000 chip and Macaluso called, the two players checked down the board and Macaluso took the pot with a pair of jacks. Tsunamy accused the two players of collusion, and Macaluso was given a one-round penalty.
Final Table chip counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pablo Redrado | Spain | 315,000 | 16 |
| 2 | Tristan Forge | France | 740,000 | 37 |
| 3 | Alejandro Ganivet | Spain | 855,000 | 43 |
| 4 | Eric Rabut | France | 400,000 | 20 |
| 5 | Luigi Macaluso | France | 1,230,000 | 62 |
| 6 | Bogdan Vulcan | Romania | 1,115,000 | 56 |
| 7 | Javier Tsunamy | Spain | 1,965,000 | 98 |
| 8 | Mounir Tajiou | Sweden | 895,000 | 45 |
| 9 | Valentin Havasy | Switzerland | 500,000 | 25 |
Bogdan Vulcan rounds out the top three with 1,115,000 after picking up aces to bust Said El Yousfi in 11th. Tristan Forge (740,000) brought the night to an end after winning a coin flip with two jacks to bust Marius Conan in 10th on the final table bubble. Mounir Tajiou (895,000), start-of-day chip leader Alejandro Ganivet (855,000), Valentin Havasy (500,000), Eric Rabut (400,000), and Pablo Redrado (315,000) complete the lineup of nine players who return tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. to play down to a champion.
Day 2 began with 68 players returning to the Es Saadi Marrakech Resort out of a starting field of 229. Only the top 31 players would finish in the money, and Benjamin Hammann, defending champion Orey Canarinho, Rachid El Yaacoubi, and Hugues Girard were among those to fall short of the bubble.
Baltazar took care of the bubble when she scored a double knockout of Aysaan Bashir and Alexandra Muller by spiking the nut straight on the river. Adrien Sanz, the 2023 champion, fell in 30th, while Georgios Skarparis (24th), Lucia Navarro (21st), and Samiyel Duzgun (19th) were also sent to the payout desk.
The action at the final table picks up with 15 minutes remaining in Level 22 with blinds of 10,000-20,000 and a 20,000 big blind ante. Levels at the final table will be increased to 60 minutes. The nine finalists are all guaranteed 55,000 MAD (€5,240) for making it this far, while the champion walks away with 500,000 MAD (€47,645).
PokerNews will be back tomorrow following all the action from sunny Morocco until a new champion is crowned.