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12,500 MAD Main Event
Day 1ab Completed
2025 Marrakech Poker Open
12,500 MAD Main Event
Day: 1ab
Event Info
2025 Marrakech Poker Open
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1ab
Buy-in
12,500 MAD
Prize Pool
2,434,000 MAD
Total Entries
229
Level
28
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
80,000
Entries
228
Players Left
68
Players Left 1 / 229
Filter
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
A total of 182 players journeyed out of the scorching Moroccan sun and took their seats in the opening flight of the MAD 12,500 (€1,200) 2025 Marrakesh Poker Open Main Event, and it was Alejandro Ganivet who proved to be just as hot today.
Ganivet ended up as the massive chip leader over the remaining 45 players, bagging up 549,000 at the end of 14 40-minute levels inside the Es Saadi Marrakech Resort and more than 200,000 ahead of his closest challenger. Ganivet punctuated his spectacular day in style, flopping quad kings to take a big pot on one of the last hands of the night.
He’s followed on the leaderboard by Mohammed "Kriw" Drissaoui (345,000), Javier Tsunamy (300,000), the unpredictable Anas Tadini (254,000), and “Picachu” (232,000). Other top stacks include Mounir Tajiou (232,000), Hugues Girard (203,000), Ken Lennaard (167,000), and 2023 champion Adrien Sanz (159,000). Ramon Sol scored a triple knockout, spiking top pair with ace-king, as he became the first player to crack 200,000 midway through the day before ending up with 178,000.
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alejandro Ganivet | Spain | 549,000 | 137 |
| 2 | Mohammed Drissaoui | Morocco | 345,000 | 86 |
| 3 | Javier Tsunamy | Spain | 300,000 | 75 |
| 4 | Anas Tadini | Morocco | 254,000 | 64 |
| 5 | Picachu | Spain | 232,000 | 58 |
| 6 | Mounir Tajiou | Sweden | 232,000 | 58 |
| 7 | Victor Rerolle | France | 231,000 | 58 |
| 8 | Eduardo Saavedra | Spain | 226,000 | 57 |
| 9 | Said El Yousefi | France | 210,000 | 53 |
| 10 | Hugues Girard | France | 203,000 | 51 |
Kuljinder Sidhu (153,000), Omar Lakhdari (115,000), who is fresh off winning a WPT event in Cyprus a few weeks ago, Javier Tazon (111,000), Isabel Baltazar (72,000), and past EPT Monte Carlo finalist Bernard Guigon (66,000) will also return tomorrow for Day 2. Those who weren’t as fortunate included defending champion Orey Canarinho, last year’s runner-up Aitor Cruz, as well as Guillaume Darcourt, Jonathan Khalifa, Christopher Dowling, Rachid El Yaacoubi, Lucia Navarro, WSOP bracelet winner Georgios Skarparis, and Patrick Clarke.
The remaining players will be joined by the survivors from the turbo Day 1b flight when action resumes tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. local time. Blinds pick up on Level 15 at 2,000-4,000 with a 4,000 big blind ante, and levels will be extended to 50 minutes on Day 2. The total field ended up at 229 entries, and the official prize pool should be announced early tomorrow.
PokerNews will be back for Day 2 as the race to the money bubble and the final table begins.
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Day 1a has ended with 45 players remaining out of 182 entries.
Stay tuned for full chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Alejandro Ganivet was already sitting on one of the biggest stacks in the room before tangling in a pot with Paulo Dos Santos.
Ganivet and Dos Santos went heads-up to the river on a board of K♥K♠4♦A♥6♣ when Ganivet bet 40,000 from the button. Dos Santos gave the decision some thought but eventually called in middle position.
"Nuts," Ganivet said, turning over K♦K♠ for quads to win the pot and climb up past 400,000.
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Tournament officials announced that Day 1a will end once each table plays three more hands.
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
There was around 50,000 in the middle as Javier Tsunamy and Ken Lennaard went to the turn on a board of 6♥10♠9♣9♠. Tsunamy then bet 27,500 from the small blind and Lennaard moved all in for 126,000 on the button.
Tsunamy tanked for a minute until calling with 9♦5♦ for trips, but Lennaard had him dominated holding K♦9♥. Lennaard was poised to take the massive pot near the end of the night, but the 10♦ river gave both players a full house and chopped the pot.
"Wow, wow, wow, Javier," tablemate Isabel Baltazar said to Tsunamy, who clasped his hands in prayer and gave the dealer a bow as he took back his chips.
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
With around 45,000 in the pot on a board of 8♠J♣2♠10♦, "Saav" bet 25,000 from the cutoff and Pierre Thonnerieux called in the big blind. Omar Lakhdari then moved all in from under the gun, "Saav" called for 55,000, while Thonnerieux also stuck in his last 70,000.
Thonnerieux showed J♥9♣ for top pair, Lakhdari had A♥J♠ for top pair, ace-kicker, but they were both behind "Saav"'s set with 8♥8♦. The river was the 2♣ and "Saav" scooped the pot to triple up, while Lakhdari took the small side pot to send Thonnerieux to the rail.
Fabrice Body, Giuseppe Mirra, and Ringo Stimac were also recently eliminated.
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Late registration in the turbo Day 1b flight has ended with 47 total entries, creating a total field of 229.
The official prize pool should be confirmed shortly.
