Final Table Set and 700,000 MAD Top Prize Up for Grabs as Yussuke Bags End-of-Day 2 Chip Lead
Of the 279 entries made, 57 players returned for Day 2 of the Marrakech Poker Open Main Event, taking place at the beautiful Es Saadi Resort. The field has now been whittled down to a final table of nine hopefuls who are looking to claim the 700,000 MAD (€65,000) top prize from the 3,557,000 MAD prize pool.
Yussuke bagged as the end-of-day 2 chip leader with 2,200,000 chips. He doubled up late in the day with ace-king, eliminating Pietro Palomba in the process. He also managed to force Andrei Cherkashin off pocket kings and continued to chip up late into the night on the feature table.
It's tight at the top, though, as second place "EV" sits close behind with 2,030,000. EV was the Day 1a chip leader and has had an incredible run to maintain his position at the top all the way to the final table. He added to his stack late in the day when he got his ace-queen in good to eliminate Shahin Norouzian.
"Truquens" sits in third place, bagging only slightly less than EV with 2,000,000 chips, a few hundred thousand more than fourth-place finisher Alain Dery, who finished Day 2 with 1,725,000.
Jean-Pierre Grand-Moursel, Ivan Govorov, "Richi", Patrick Bornicke, and Jonathan Stoeber also made the cut for the final table.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yussuke | Spain | 2,200,000 | 55 |
| 2 | EV | Spain | 2,030,000 | 51 |
| 3 | Truquens | 2,000,000 | 50 | |
| 4 | Alain Dery | France | 1,725,000 | 43 |
| 5 | Jean-Pierre Grand-Moursel | France | 1,405,000 | 35 |
| 6 | Ivan Govorov | Russian Federation | 1,390,000 | 35 |
| 7 | Richi | Spain | 1,295,000 | 32 |
| 8 | Patrick Bornicke | Germany | 1,185,000 | 30 |
| 9 | Jonathan Stoeber | United States | 720,000 | 18 |
Sylvia Fosso was the last player eliminated before the final table when she got her chips in ahead with pocket tens, only to bust when Ivan Govorov made trips. Others who fell short include local reg Anas Tadini (13th place), French pro Guillaume Darcourt (17th place), and Day 1b chip leader Francesco Pillitteri (19th place).
Earlier on in the day, last year's champion Tristan Forge was knocked out on the stone bubble when his pocket kings were cracked by Pillitteri's set of nines, securing a min-cash for the remaining 39 players.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Prize (MAD) | Place | Prize (MAD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 700,000 | 6 | 149,000 |
| 2 | 520,000 | 7 | 115,000 |
| 3 | 370,000 | 8 | 93,000 |
| 4 | 270,000 | 9 | 75,000 |
| 5 | 200,000 |
The Final Day of the MPO Main Event will commence at 1 p.m. local time, when players will return to compete for the lion's share of the prize pool. Blinds will resume on Level 23 at 20,000/40,000/40,000 for a few more minutes, and the event will play down to a winner.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates straight from the tournament floor.