Francesco Pillitteri Chip Leads and Reigning Champion Returns for Day 2 of Marrakech Poker Open Main Event
Three starting flights attracted 279 entries to the Marrakech Poker Open Main Event and 57 players made it through to return to the Es Saadi Resort and battle it out for a share of the approximately €300,000 prize pool. Day 2 starts at 12 p.m. local time today and will play deep into the money.
Francesco Pillitteri of Italy starts the day as the outright chip leader with 694,000, nearly 100,000 chips clear of second place "EV", who returns with 599,000. Jonathan Stoeber, a WSOP bracelet winner from the USA, starts in third place, a touch above Anas Tadini and "Farmer Boy".
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francesco Pillitteri | Italy | 694,000 |
| 2 | EV | Spain | 599,000 |
| 3 | Jonathan Stoeber | United States | 582,000 |
| 4 | Anas Tadini | Morocco | 577,000 |
| 5 | Farmer Boy | Spain | 474,000 |
| 6 | Shahin Norouzian | Canada | 436,000 |
| 7 | Yussuke | Spain | 428,000 |
| 8 | Guillaume Darcourt | France | 426,000 |
| 9 | Pietro Palomba | Italy | 421,000 |
| 10 | Rene | Spain | 416,000 |
French pro Guillaume Darcourt is also within the top ten, while last year's champion Tristan Forge is still in the running with 259,000 chips. Other hopefuls who are returning for Day 2 include Isabel Baltazar (180,000), Jonathan Khalifa (174,000) and Bernard Guigon (155,000).
Day 2 kicks off at blind level 13 at 2,000/3,000/3,000. The official prize pool and payouts will be confirmed shortly after play resumes. The action will also be streamed later tonight. Viewers can tune in from 6 p.m. local time.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates straight from the tournament floor.