2023 Unibet DeepStack Open Marrakech

UDSO Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info

2023 Unibet DeepStack Open Marrakech

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a8
Prize
625,000 MAD
Event Info
Buy-in
6,000 MAD
Prize Pool
3,835,200 MAD
Entries
752
Level Info
Level
34
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Players Info - Day 3
Entries
16
Players Left
1

UDSO Main Event

Day 3 Completed

Alexandre Le Vaillant Triumphs in 2023 Unibet DeepStack Open Marrakech Main Event (MAD 625,000/€57,926)

Level 34 : Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Alexandre Le Vaillant
Alexandre Le Vaillant

After a heads-up battle that lasted just over an hour, Alexandre Le Vaillant has emerged victorious in the 2023 Unibet DeepStack Open Marrakech Main Event at the majestic Es Saadi Resort. Le Vaillant defeated Tristan Forge in an exciting heads-up battle that saw the chip lead exchange several times before Le Vaillant seized the victory to collect the first place prize of 625,000 Moroccan Dirhams (€57,926).

PlacePlayerCountryPrize (in MAD)Prize (In EUR)
1Alexandre Le VaillantFrance625,000€ 57,926
2Tristan ForgeFrance420,000€ 38,926
3Henri DupontFrance290,000€ 26,877
4Julien VecchioliFrance210,000€ 19,463
5Soufiane MessadekBelgium160,000€ 14,829
6KaddourFrance126,700€ 11,742
7Alexandre HobamFrance103,000€ 9,546
8Jeremie CanettiFrance85,500€ 7,924
9Adrien AmorellaFrance70,000€ 6,487

Le Vaillant began the day as the chip leader and was firmly in the driver's seat for the early stages of the day as the field dwindled from 16 players down to the nine-handed final table. Le Vaillant did fall to the middle of the pack a few times during the final table but always managed to surge back up to the top of the chip counts each time. The French Pro has just over $500,000 in career tournament earnings with tonight's win being his second-biggest career cash.

Winner's Reaction

Le Vaillant mentioned that he almost didn't make the trip to Marrakech for this event, and that he decided to come at the last minute after a suggestion from DeepStack Open founder Alexandre Henry.

"It wasn't all planned. It was actually Alexandre Henry who suggested I come at the last minute. In truth, I had already been to Marrakech twice this year and with the earthquake I thought it would dissuade me a little. But it's true that Marrakech is a superb destination and all of this last minute planning for this event is thanks to Alex. So thank you, Alex".

When asked what the win means to him, Le Vaillant mentioned he has already had many close encounters in big-field events and that it is nice to finally book a win in Morocco.

"I have already been runner-up twice in main events, once third in Divonne, once sixth. It’s really nice that it’s happening here in Morocco where we’re always well received. There was a big field and ultimately a very good turnout."

"It went well in the end and I haven't had the misfortune of having bad encounters. And obviously in multi-table tournaments, you need some luck. But there is this structure which allows for quite extraordinary stack management on this type of buy-in. I'm used to playing them and I know how to adapt to the different types of players there are."

When asked about the long, hard-fought heads-up match against Tristan Forge, Le Vaillant was complimentary of his opponent.

"Tristan Forge? I get along very well with Tristan. But there was no arrangement, we played it straight. He's a player who is very competent but more cash-oriented, so I thought I could have a little edge on him. I didn't know what it was worth in heads-up. I missed the first big all in, it frustrated me a little, but I stayed focused, I gained the upper hand and he had a bit of a tight strategy, I took advantage of it a little and I I had some play too."

Final Day Action

Yoan Blanc became the first casualty of the day, getting his last chips in with pocket-eights only to run into the pocket-tens of Soufiane Messadek. He was followed shortly out the door by Azzedine Smie, who turned an open-ended straight draw to go along with his top pair only to fall to Forge who had flopped a set.

Salem Sahed and Mathieu Di Meglio were next to be eliminated in 14th and 13th place respectively. The former lost a flip preflop with ace-jack versus the pocket sevens of Henri Dupont while the latter would also lose a flip against pocket sevens, this time holding king-ten offsuit and being up against Le Vaillant.

The most prolific player remaining in the field to start Day 3, Guillaume Darcourt, fell in 11th place after running into the pocket-aces of Samuel Baruk. Play would then remain 10-handed for over an hour before Baruk himself would be the next to go out after making a move against Forge at the wrong time after Forge had turned the nut-straight. Baruk's elimination would mark the beginning of the nine-hande final table.

Final Table
Final Table

Adrien Amorella came into the final table with the short stack and would be the first to be eliminated from the final table after losing a flip with ace-king against the pocket fives of Julien Vecchioli. He was followed by Jeremie Canetti who went out in eighth. Canetti had a roller coaster final day that included several big wins and big losses that saw him moving up and down the chip counts throughout the day. His run finally came to an end when he ran ace-six preflop into Vecchioli's ace-queen. Alexandre Hobam was next to fall after losing a flip with pocket jacks against the ace-king of Soufiane Messadek.

Messadek had an excellent run today that saw him among the chip leaders for much of the early stages of the final table. He would end up losing a few big pots at the final five before moving in with a low suited ace and running into the pocket jacks of Le Vaillant to bow out in fifth place.

Vecchioli was perhaps the most aggressive player at the final table today, and it served him well on several occasions where he was able to get his opponent to fold the better hand. In a reversal of fortune he would end up getting his last chips in very good with top-pair against the pocket sevens of Le Vaillant on a nine-high flop, only for Le Vaillant to drill a seven on the turn to send Vecchioli packing.

Dupont would be next eliminated in 3rd place after running king-ten into Le Vaillant's ace-king to mark the start of heads up play. Le Vaillant came into heads up play with nearly a 2:1 chip advantage over Tristan Forge, and during the first several hands it seemed like everything was going his way and he was connecting with every board. That all changed when Forge moved all in with a double-gutshot straight draw against Le Vaillant's top pair and turned the straight to bring the two players nearly even in chips.

From there, the grueling heads-up battle lasted over an hour and saw the chip lead exchange several more times. Le Vaillant finally got the best of his opponent in a very similar hand to the one where he originally lost the chip lead in during heads up play. Le Vaillant had a strong made hand, this time two pair, and once again Le Vaillant called when Forge moved in with a double-gutshot straight draw. This time Le Vaillant held to win the tournament while Forge had to settle for second place.

That fully wraps up PokerNews coverage from the 2023 Unibet DeepStack Open Marrakech Main Event at the Casino de Marrakech.

Tags: Adrien AmorellaAlexandre HenryAlexandre HobamAlexandre Le VaillantAzzedine SmieGuillaume DarcourtHenri DupontJeremie CanettiJulien VecchioliMathieu Di MeglioSalem SahedSamuel BarukSoufiane MessadekTristan ForgeYoan Blanc

Tristan Forge Eliminated in 2nd Place (MAD 420,000/€38,926)

Level 34 : Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Tristan Forge
Tristan Forge

Tristan Forge opened to 1,200,000 from the button with QJ and Alexandre Le Vaillant defended from the big blind with A8.

The flop came A810. Le Vaillant checked, Forge bet 800,000, Le Vaillant raised to 4,100,000 and Forge moved all in for just over 18,000,000. Le Vaillant, who covered Forge only be 800,000, made the call.

Tristan Forge: QJ
Alexandre Le Vaillant: A8

In a very similar situation to an earlier all-in hand during heads up play, Le Vaillant had a strong made hand and had to fade the double-gutshot straight draw of Forge to win the tournament. Unlike the first time, Le Vaillant's two pair held when the rest of the board ran out 10Q. Forge became the final elimination of the tournament after missing his draw and Le Vaillant became the latest Unibet DeepStack Open Main Event Champion.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Alexandre Le Vaillant fr
Alexandre Le Vaillant
37,600,000
20,000,000
20,000,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Tristan Forge fr
Tristan Forge
Busted

Tags: Alexandre Le VaillantTristan Forge

Players Continue to Exchange Chip Lead

Level 34 : Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante

Tristan Forge raised to 1,000,000 from the button with K4 and Alexandre Le Vaillant defended from the big blind with 75.

The flop came KK2 and Le Vaillant check-called a 500,000 continuation bet from Forge.

Le Vaillant check-called another bet from Forge on the 6 turn this time for 1,800,000.

On the A river Le Vaillant changed gears, leading out with a bet of 4,300,000. The bluff was ill timed as Forge made the call with trip kings to the pot as and the chip lead.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Tristan Forge fr
Tristan Forge
21,000,000
6,400,000
6,400,000
Profile photo of Alexandre Le Vaillant fr
Alexandre Le Vaillant
17,600,000
-5,400,000
-5,400,000
Day 2 Chip Leader

Tags: Alexandre Le VaillantTristan Forge

Le Vaillant Reclaims Chip Lead

Level 34 : Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante

Alexandre Le Vaillant limped in from the button with K5 and Tristan Forge checked with A3 in the big blind.

The flop came K54 and Forge check-called a 500,000 bet from Le Vaillant.

Both players checked the A turn leading to the 6 river. Forge bet 1,400,000 with his ace and Le Vaillant called with two pair to take down a decent pot.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Alexandre Le Vaillant fr
Alexandre Le Vaillant
23,000,000
5,000,000
5,000,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Tristan Forge fr
Tristan Forge
14,600,000
-5,000,000
-5,000,000

Tags: Tristan ForgeAlexandre Le Vaillant

Forge Doubles Through Le Vaillant to Take Chip Lead

Level 34 : Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante

After winning a few small pots from his opponent, Tristan Forge checked on a flop of AQ8 from the big blind and Alexandre Le Vaillant bet 800,000 from the button. Forge moved all in for 8,400,000 and Le Vaillant made the call with a covering stack.

Tristan Forge: J10
Alexandre Le Vaillant: A3

Both players caught a piece of the board with Le Vaillant making top pair and Forge having a double-gutshot straight draw. The K came in on the turn giving Forge the nut-straight and the 2 river was inconsequential. Forge collected a massive double up to take the chip lead but Alexandre Le Vaillant is very close to Forge in chips. It is anyone's game to win from this point.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Tristan Forge fr
Tristan Forge
19,600,000
13,000,000
13,000,000
Profile photo of Alexandre Le Vaillant fr
Alexandre Le Vaillant
18,000,000
-13,000,000
-13,000,000
Day 2 Chip Leader

Tags: Alexandre Le VaillantTristan Forge

Level: 34

Blinds: 250,000/500,000

Ante: 500,000

Forge Getting Short

Level 33 : Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante

Tristan Forge limped in from the small blind with 10x7x and Alexandre Le Vaillant checked from the big blind with Kx10x.

Both players checked the flop and turn leading to a final board of 410QQ8. Le Vaillant bet 700,000, Forge raised to 2,100,000 and Le Vaillant called with the better ten to take another pot from Forge.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Alexandre Le Vaillant fr
Alexandre Le Vaillant
31,000,000
4,000,000
4,000,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Tristan Forge fr
Tristan Forge
6,600,000
-4,000,000
-4,000,000

Tags: Tristan ForgeAlexandre Le Vaillant

Le Vaillant Extends Lead

Level 33 : Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante

Alexandre Le Vaillant limped in from the button with 99 and Tristan Forge raised to 1,400,000 from the big blind with QJ. Le Vaillent moved all in with a covering stack forcing a fold from his opponent.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Alexandre Le Vaillant fr
Alexandre Le Vaillant
27,000,000
1,400,000
1,400,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Tristan Forge fr
Tristan Forge
10,600,000
-1,400,000
-1,400,000

Tags: Alexandre Le VaillantTristan Forge