button in SafariAmazing Story! Freeroll Qualifier Reda Achnit Has a Top 10 Stack in the $25k
There's a lovely story developing in today's $25k 8-Handed, in the shape of Moroccan player Reda Achnit.
Achnit won a freeroll tournament to qualify for a seat here at Triton Jeju and is a 24-year old computer engineering graduate when he's not battling the best in the world on the felt.
The Triton newbie, who until now has just played microstakes online, told Triton media he was watching the stream at home in Morocco when he spotted the competition offering the trip of a lifetime to Jeju and entry to today's $25,000 tournament.
Achnit told Triton, "I was alone, at my parents' house, playing on my laptop. When it was over I sat there for a while genuinely not understanding what had just happened — I was thrilled, but my brain hadn't caught up. I went and told my brother, and he was amazed, but we didn't run around the house screaming."
Achnit isn't here to make up the numbers, though. Far from it.
He also told Triton media, "I'm treating it as a professional opportunity, not a holiday. My honest goal is to perform well — to reach the money at minimum, and to win it if the cards allow. I'm not going there hoping to survive an hour and take a photo."
Well, he's doing all that and more today with a top 10 stack on Day 1 and is currently playing against Stephen Chidwick, Eelis Parssinen, and Mike Watson - just the 11 Triton titles and over $60 million in Triton earnings between them. Absolutely incredible.