Francesco Pillitteri Gets Late Triple Up to Bag Day 1b Chip Lead
Day 1b of the Marrakech Poker Open Main Event, running at the Es Saadi Resort, has now reached its conclusion after 13 full levels of play. A total of 164 entries were made to the flight and, of those, 33 players bagged to return for Day 2.
Francesco Pillitteri topped the pack and bagged as the chip leader with an incredible 694,000, which also gives him the overall chip lead heading into Day 2. Pillitteri was sitting on a fairly average stack right up until the end of the flight, when he found a massive triple up with a set of queens to bring him to the top.
WSOP bracelet winner Jonathan Stoeber, all the way from the USA, bagged in second place after a late double up with ace-king against his opponent's ace-ten gave him the momentum he needed. Stoeber bagged 582,000 chips.
Farmer Boy demonstrated a steady performance, maintaining a stack that he'd built early as did fellow Spanish player Yussuke. For Guillaume Darcourt, it was the opposite. The prolific French player was on a massive heater early on and was chip lead for much of the day before slowly burning off some chips and bagging in fifth place.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francesco Pillitteri | Italy | 694,000 | 174 |
| 2 | Jonathan Stoeber | United States | 582,000 | 146 |
| 3 | Farmer Boy | Spain | 474,000 | 119 |
| 4 | Yussuke | Spain | 428,000 | 107 |
| 5 | Guillaume Darcourt | France | 426,000 | 107 |
| 6 | Pietro Palomba | Italy | 421,000 | 105 |
| 7 | Rene | Spain | 416,000 | 104 |
| 8 | Richi | Spain | 377,000 | 94 |
| 9 | Nuno | Portugal | 322,000 | 81 |
| 10 | Hassan Bady | France | 310,000 | 78 |
Also in the mix and heading into Day 2 is last year's champion, Tristan Forge (259,000), who now has a shot at defending his title and making it two in a row.
Last year's runner up Javier Tsunamy didn't make it, and neither did Idir Haiche, Imad Derwiche, or Hassan Dahmani, all of who busted their final bullets late on during the day.
Day 1c also wrapped up at a similar time, with six players out of the 28 entries bagging and tagging for Day 2.
Streaming will start tomorrow, the bubble will burst, and play will reach the business end as players compete for their share of the €330,000 prize pool. So, there's lots to look forward to for players and readers alike.
Day 2 resumes at 12 p.m. local time and will start at Level 13 with blinds on 2,000/3,000/3,000, still with 45-minute levels.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates straight from the tournament floor as we continue coverage of the MPO Main Event.