Day 1a of the Unibet DeepStack Open Marrakech drew 210 entries and played nearly 12 full levels before wrapping up. The opening flight contributed 1,113,000 MAD into the prize pool.
At the close of play, 53 players had secured Day 2 stacks, though that number dipped to 52 after Bernard Guigon elected to surrender his 58,000 bag.
Leading the way is France’s Thierry Oldak with 545,000. The veteran, who has over $180,000 in live tournament earnings, is no stranger to success in Morocco as two of his top four career scores have come in the country, including a deep WSOP Circuit run in Marrakech.
Hot on his heels are Salah Eddine Taleb (517,500) and Frederic Popot (479,500), while other big stacks include Juan McGregor (407,500), Belghiti Smail (407,000), and Ghali Hsissen, who delivered the final knockout of the night.
The last hand of the evening saw Hsissen open from the cutoff and face resistance from short stack RSM on the button. RSM turned his pair of sevens into a bluff but Hsissen was reluctant to let go of his pocket aces on a scary board.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thierry Oldak | France | 545,000 |
| 2 | Salah Eddine Taleb | France | 517,500 |
| 3 | Frederic Popot | France | 479,500 |
| 4 | Juan McGregor | - | 407,500 |
| 5 | Belghiti Smail | Morocco | 407,000 |
| 6 | Bo Cruz | - | 401,500 |
| 7 | Belmehdi | Morocco | 387,000 |
| 8 | Aubin De Kermadec | France | 359,000 |
| 9 | Fausto Munz | France | 342,500 |
| 10 | Ricardo Spencer | Spain | 341,000 |
There was no shortage of storylines on opening day. Poker media’s Fausto Munz swapped his notepad for a chip stack and finished with 342,500.
Unibet Ambassador Alexandre Reard survived with 95,000 after his ace-four rivered a straight to beat ace-queen. Fellow ambassador Arnaud Enselme was less fortunate, firing several bullets but falling short of Day 2.
Meanwhile, the father-son duo of Georges Forges and Tristan Forges both looked set to advance together, only to bow out late in the evening.
With three more starting flights still to come, the 210 entries on Day 1a are just the beginning. Day 1b gets underway at 1 p.m. on Thursday, September 18 and PokerNews will be back at Casino de Marrakech to bring you all the live updates from the Main Event.
