The third of four starting starting flights kicks off at 1 p.m. local time here at the Casino de Marrakech for the 2024 Unibet Deepstack Open Marrakech. Yesterday's flight saw 257 players take their seats with just 65 surviving to Day 2.
There is also an additional turbo fourth flight this evening. It starts at 9 p.m. and features 15-minute levels. However, the same 25% of entries will earn their way into Saturday's Day 2.
Leading the way from yesterday was Laurent Cruchon. He won a few big pots late in the day to secure a bag of 559,000. Coming up just short in second place was Quentin Laugt, who bagged 539,000 with the help of a massive pot in a boat over boat scenario. Rounding out the podium in third with 515,500 is JJ.
End of Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Laurent Cruchon
France
559,000
2
Quentin Laugt
France
539,000
3
JJ
Spain
515,500
4
Boubekeur Benhalima
Algeria
418,000
5
Adrien Sanz
France
339,500
6
Mehdi Hsissen
Morocco
332,500
7
Jerome Arnaud
France
314,000
8
Abdelhadi Kondah
Morocco
300,500
9
Christophe Goyard
France
299,500
10
Daragh Davey
Ireland
298,000
Players will begin today with 50,000 in tournament chips. Levels last 50 minutes with a 15 minute break every two levels, and a 60-minute dinner break after Level 8. Registration remains open through to the end of Level 9 with unlimited re-entries allowed. The blinds will begin at 100/300 with a 300 big blind ante. Play continues until 25% of the field remains.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we follow action throughout the day and continue coverage through to the end of the event.
Alexandre Reard opened to 3,500 from early position before "Reda" three-bet to 11,000 from the cutoff, and Reard called.
On the 7♠3♠2♥ flop, Reard checked to Reda who continued for 13,000 and Reard called.
The turn brought the 4♦. Reard checked again and Reda moved all-in as the covering stack which was snapped off by Reard for 34,000.
Alexandre Reard: 7♦7♣
"Reda": Q♠Q♣
Reard had flopped a set against the overpair of Reda and he dodged a two-outer on the 9♠ river. Reard collected the full double while Reda was left with a short stack
The final two Day 1 flights of the 2024 Unibet Deepstack Open Marrakech have been completed. It was a busy day at the Casino De Marrakech as 342 players made their way over for Day 1c while the turbo Day 1d attracted 94 runners. This brings the total entrants from the tournament to 861, over 100 more players than the 2023 edition.
At the end of the day, just 110 players across the two flights have punched their ticket into Saturday’s Day 2, bringing the Day 2 total to 216.
Leading the way from Friday’s flights is Yasser Loudagh who bagged an impressive 617,000. He built a big stack early and never looked back as he held the top position on the leaderboard for the majority of the day.
End of Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Yasser Loudagh
Morocco
617,000
2
Ghost Rider
France
509,000
3
Henri Benoni
France
482,000
4
Tsunami
Spain
455,000
5
Lucien Cohen
France
446,500
6
Dinh Nhat Nguyen
France
420,000
7
Henri Dupont
France
403,000
8
Laurent Michot
France
394,500
9
Otmane Smlali
Morocco
387,500
10
Achille Voltolina
Italy
360,000
The Day’s Action
It was obvious from the start that today’s field was going to be a large one. By the first break of Day 1c, there were already 150 entrants, more than triple that of Day 1a.
Dinh Nhat Nguyen started the day running hot and kept the pressure throughout the day as his stack swung up and down. He won a big pot early in the day with the nut flush against the second nut flush of David Taieb. Nguyen three-bet the river and seemed to get maximum value out of Taieb. He would later crack the pocket acesGuillaume Garcia after turning a set of jacks in another big pot.
Cyril Gouilliou was the beneficiary of a massive cooler when he flopped top set against middle set in a four-bet pot. All of the money went in on the flop and he held to double.
Popular French doctor Abdou Zizi called a jam with ace-ten suited only to run into the aces of Karim Hachem. However, Zizi would flop trips and river quads to eliminate Hachem in brutal fashion.
Several notable players advanced to Day 2 from today. WSOP Bracelet Winner Alexandre Reard as well as EPT Champion Lucien Cohen will return tomorrow.
Alexandre Reard
The eliminations came slower after registration closed, as this was the final chance for players to find a bag. Day 1c played for 45 more minutes than either of the previous flights.
As for Day 1d, it was quite the frenzy as the players had one last shot at making Day 2. However, they had to navigate 15-minute levels. 94 players entered this flight and a total of 24 advanced to Day 2.
Anas Tadini
Day 2 begins Saturday, September 28 at 1 p.m. local time. Play will begin with a few minutes remaining in Level 10 with blinds at 1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 big blind ante. Levels will be 50 minutes in length. The initial plan for Day 2 was to play down to 16 players, but this is subject to change depending on the pace of play.
That does it for Day 1 coverage from the 2024 Unibet Deepstack Open Marrakech. Stay tuned to PokerNews as we follow all the action on Day 2 all the way until a winner is crowned.
