UDSO Main Event
Day 3 Completed
2023 Unibet DeepStack Open Marrakech
UDSO Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2023 Unibet DeepStack Open Marrakech
Buy-in
6,000 MAD
Prize Pool
3,835,200 MAD
Entries
752
Level
34
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
16
Players Left
1
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
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).
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (in MAD) | Prize (In EUR) |
| 1 | Alexandre Le Vaillant | France | 625,000 | € 57,926 |
| 2 | Tristan Forge | France | 420,000 | € 38,926 |
| 3 | Henri Dupont | France | 290,000 | € 26,877 |
| 4 | Julien Vecchioli | France | 210,000 | € 19,463 |
| 5 | Soufiane Messadek | Belgium | 160,000 | € 14,829 |
| 6 | Kaddour | France | 126,700 | € 11,742 |
| 7 | Alexandre Hobam | France | 103,000 | € 9,546 |
| 8 | Jeremie Canetti | France | 85,500 | € 7,924 |
| 9 | Adrien Amorella | France | 70,000 | € 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.
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.
Alexandre Le Vaillant Wins the 2023 Unibet DeepStack Open Marrakech Main Event for MAD 625,000
Level 34
: Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Alexandre Le Vaillant has been crowned the champion of the 2023 Unibet DeepStack Open Marrakech Main Event.
Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's events including the winner's reaction that will follow shortly.
Tristan Forge Eliminated in 2nd Place (MAD 420,000/€38,926)
Level 34
: Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Tristan Forge opened to 1,200,000 from the button with Q♦J♦ and Alexandre Le Vaillant defended from the big blind with A♦8♣.
The flop came A♠8♦10♥. 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: Q♦J♦
Alexandre Le Vaillant: A♦8♣
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 10♠Q♣. 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 |
|---|---|---|
|
37,600,000 | 20,000,000 |
|
Busted |
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 K♠4♠ and Alexandre Le Vaillant defended from the big blind with 7♥5♥.
The flop came K♣K♥2♥ 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 |
|---|---|---|
|
|
21,000,000 | 6,400,000 |
|
|
17,600,000 | -5,400,000 |
Le Vaillant Reclaims Chip Lead
Level 34
: Blinds 250,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Alexandre Le Vaillant limped in from the button with K♥5♦ and Tristan Forge checked with A♦3♣ in the big blind.
The flop came K♦5♥4♠ 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 |
|---|---|---|
|
|
23,000,000 | 5,000,000 |
|
|
14,600,000 | -5,000,000 |
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 A♦Q♦8♠ 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: J♣10♠
Alexandre Le Vaillant: A♥3♦
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
|
19,600,000 | 13,000,000 |
|
|
18,000,000 | -13,000,000 |
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 4♣10♥Q♦Q♠8♥. 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 |
|---|---|---|
|
|
31,000,000 | 4,000,000 |
|
|
6,600,000 | -4,000,000 |
Le Vaillant Extends Lead
Level 33
: Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
Alexandre Le Vaillant limped in from the button with 9♥9♦ and Tristan Forge raised to 1,400,000 from the big blind with Q♦J♣. Le Vaillent moved all in with a covering stack forcing a fold from his opponent.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
27,000,000 | 1,400,000 |
|
|
10,600,000 | -1,400,000 |