Imad Derwiche moved all-in blind from under the gun for 14,200. The action folded to "aymanam," who raised to 30,000 from the cutoff. This folded out the rest of table.
"Protection, protection," Derwiche cheered as the duo exhanged a high-five.
Imad Derwiche: 4♦2♦
aymanam: K♣J♠
Derwiche appeared quite pleased with his hand, but the A♠10♠9♠ flop gave him less reasons to be happy. The K♦ turn confirmed Derwiche's exit ahead of the 10♥ river.
"Pot and pot" raised to 2,000 from under the gun before Denis Vladmirov made it 7,000 from the hijack. "Belmehdi" cold-called from the cutoff and then the action folded to Mohamadou Abilil in the big blind. He mulled over his options before raising to 22,000. Belmehdi was the only caller.
Abilil continued for 25,000 on the Q♦8♣6♦ flop and was called.
On the 10♥ turn, Abilil had 115,000 behind, and fired out another 50,000. Belmehdi jammed as the bigger stack, and was snap-called.
Mahamadou Abilil: A♣A♥
Belmehdi: 10♠10♦
Belmehdi turned a set of tens to leapfrog the aces, much to Abilil's dismay. The latter left the table in disgust as the 4♠ river confirmed his departure.
With the pot, Belmehdi became the new chip leader.
Dawoud Berbiale opened to 2,000 from under the gun before Henri Dupont made it 6,000 from the next seat over. Salah Eddine Taleb called from the cutoff, and Berbiale also kept himself in contention.
The action checked to Taleb on the A♦8♣8♦ flop. Berbiale was the only caller. The 7♦ turn and 4♥ river checked through to showdown. Berbiale's A♥3♥ was good for the aces and eights to take the pot.
On the next deal, Dupont raised to 2,000. Aubin De Kermadec reraised to 5,500, prompting Benalo Zerrouki to four-bet to 15,500 from the cutoff. Roger Tondeur committed his last 11,000 from the button. Dupont folded before De Kermadec called.
De Kermadec led out on the 9♣9♦7♣ flop, and Zerrouki snap-folded for the cards to turn over.
Roger Tondeur: 8♣6♣
Aubin De Kermadec: QxQx
Tondeur was behind but had an open-ended straight flush draw for plenty of hope. However, the baord bricked out with the 9♠A♠ and De Kermadec scooped in the pot.
On Table #8, Michael Ahmetaj opened to 500 from under the gun and was called by Louis Michaud from the hijack. Maxime Majer made it 2,400 from the button before Milosz Siedlecki four-bet to 6,500 from the small blind. Ahmetaj and Michaud folded and then Majer called.
Majer called a bet of 4,000 on the K♦10♠8♠ flop, before Siedlecki checked on the 5♠ turn. Majer fired out 7,700 and was called.
The 7♥ river saw another check from Siedlecki, who had around 29,000. Majer thought for a moment before moving all-in as the slightly bigger stack. After some time in the tank, Siedlecki conceded the pot. Majer then tabled Q♦Q♥.
Over on Table #10, David Marie picked up a nice pot of his own. There was around 25,000 in the pot, on the K♣6♦8♥A♦Xx board. Marie bet 10,000 from early position and Guillaume Darcourt quickly called. Marie tabled A♣8♣ for aces and eights, and Darcourt, who's booked two runner-up finishes already at USDO Marrakech, mucked his hand.
A pot of 14,300 was pushed to Marko Krajacic, with Samuel Joslyn being the player to chip down. The duo tangled in a hand shortly after, with Nicolas Boton joining in.
In a three-bet pot with 7,700 in the middle, Joslyn checked from the small blind, with Boton betting 2,000 on the Q♠6♦5♣ flop. Krajacic called before Joslyn raised to 10,000. Boton quickly called before Krajacic exited the hand.
The K♥ turn checked through to the 3♥ river, where Joslyn checked.
"I have 15,400 behind," he said as Boton eyed up his stack.
Boton put Joslyn all-in and was quickly called.
Boton tabled Q♣Q♦ for a set of queens, which bested Joslyn's Q♥J♠.
The spotlight shifts to the purple and black felt of Casino de Marrakech today as the 2025 Unibet Deepstack Open (UDSO) Marrakech Main Event gets underway at 1 p.m. local time. The 6,000 MAD (€531) flagship tournament features four Day 1 flights from September 17–19, with a turbo option for the late arrivals, before survivors return for Day 2 on September 20. A new champion will be crowned on Sunday, September 21.
Last year, the event drew 861 entries, and after three hard-fought days, it was Nicolas Barkusky who came out on top. Barkusky secured the lion’s share of the prize pool, pocketing 705,000 MAD (~€66,000) after defeating Portugal’s Saul heads-up. The 2024 final table also included notable names such as Lucien Cohen, Nizar Comaty, and Daragh Davey.
2024 Unibet Deepstack Open Marrakech Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize (in MAD)
Prize (EUR)
1
Nicolas Barkusky
France
705,000
€66,388
2
Saul
Portugal
490,000
€46,142
3
Lucien Cohen
France
350,000
€32,958
4
Nizar Comaty
Canada
300,000
€28,250
5
Joan Crespi
Spain
205,000
€19,305
6
Henning Wendlandt
Germany
155,000
€14,596
7
Daragh Davey
Ireland
115,000
€10,829
8
Orey Canarinho
Spain
89,000
€8,381
9
Soner Vanelderen
Belgium
72,000
€6,780
2025 Main Event Structure
Players begin with 50,000 in chips and 50-minute levels on Day 1. Blinds extend to 60 minutes from Level 19. Each Day 1 flight plays down to 25% of the field, with the survivors merging for Day 2 where play continues until the final 16 remain. The last day will see the new champion will be determined.
Late registration remains open for the first nine levels of each Day 1 flight, with unlimited re-entries available during that time. A dinner break will follow Level 8, while shorter breaks are built into the early stages of play.
UDSO Marrakech Main Event Schedule
Date
Time
Event
Buy-in
Wed, Sept 17
1 p.m.
UDSO MAIN EVENT - Day 1a
6,000 MAD (€531)
Thu, Sept 18
1 p.m.
UDSO MAIN EVENT - Day 1b
6,000 MAD (€531)
Fri, Sept 19
1 p.m.
UDSO MAIN EVENT - Day 1c
6,000 MAD (€531)
Fri, Sept 19
9 p.m.
UDSO MAIN EVENT - 1d Turbo
6,000 MAD (€531)
Sat, Sept 20
1 p.m.
UDSO MAIN EVENT - Day 2
-
Sun, Sept 21
1 p.m.
UDSO MAIN EVENT - Final
PokerNews will be on-site throughout the festival, bringing you live updates, chip counts, photos, and everything you need to know from the 2025 UDSO Marrakech Main Event.
The 2025 Unibet DeepStack Open (UDSO) Marrakech is off to a memorable start after Spain’s Gabriel captured the UDSO Cup for 200,000 MAD (~€19,000). The triumph was especially moving as it marked his return to the felt following a heart attack suffered in Las Vegas earlier this summer.
Out of 275 entries that built a €100,000 prize pool, Gabriel overcame a tough final table that included French veteran Guillaume Darcourt, who finished runner-up for 140,000 MAD, while Jason Barton rounded out the podium with 100,000 MAD. The final hand saw Darcourt’s ace-king fall to Gabriel’s ace-seven, sealing the Spaniard’s first post-recovery title.
At the trophy ceremony, Gabriel was overcome with emotion, dedicating his victory to his family and travel companion Manuel. “Thank you, life,” he told ClubPoker, looking skyward as he held the champion’s belt aloft.
Side Event Winners
Aurelie Reard
The festival’s early action also produced victories in the smaller-buy-in tournaments. Jérémy Pasini collected 26,000 MAD in the Progressive Knock Out, while Unibet Poker Pro Aurélie Reard bagged 33,000 MAD for her win in the Warm-Up.
Event
Buy-in
Winner
Prize
UDSO CUP
4,500 MAD (€399)
Gabriel Villar Montes
200,000 MAD (€19,000)
UDSO Progressive Knock Out
3,000 MAD (€266)
Jérémy Pasini
26,000 MAD (€2,462)
Warm-Up
2,000 MAD (€177)
Aurélie Reard
33,000 MAD (€3,125)
Record-Breaking UDSO Silver
The UDSO Silver drew 296 entries, smashing last year’s 211-player record and generating an €80,000 prize pool. The surviving players return today to battle for the title at 2 p.m. local time today, with the finale set to be streamed live on the Poker Marrakech platforms (Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch).
What’s On Today
The action continues on Tuesday, Sept. 16, with a packed slate of events:
Date
Time
Event
Buy-in
Tue, Sept 16
2 p.m.
UDSO SILVER - Day 2
-
Tue, Sept 16
2 p.m.
Mini UDSO Main
3,000 MAD (€266)
Tue, Sept 16
4 p.m.
Hit&Run UDSO High Roller
1,200 MAD (€106)
Tue, Sept 16
6 p.m.
UDSO High Roller
15,000 MAD (€1,329)
Tue, Sept 16
6 p.m.
Sat Main Event
800 MAD (€71)
Tue, Sept 16
8 p.m.
Progressive Knock Out
2,000 MAD (€177)
Main Event Starts Tomorrow
With the UDSO Cup wrapped up, the Silver building to its climax, and today’s High Rollers ready to take center stage, all eyes now turn to the UDSO Marrakech Main Event, which kicks off tomorrow at Casino de Marrakech. PokerNews will be on-site with live updates from start to finish.
