H opened to 5,500 from under the gun before Bentayeb Ayoub made it 16,000 from the button. H four-bet to 25,000 and was called.
Ayoub called a bet of 25,000 on the 10♠10♦8♣ flop, but folded when he faced a jam of 72,000 on the 6♠ turn.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
290,000
55,000
|
55,000 |
|
|
175,000 |
Bentayeb Ayoub opened to 5,000 from under the gun and called when Marius Conan moved all in for 18,500 from the small blind.
Marius Conan: A♥J♥
Bentayeb Ayoub: K♥7♥
Conan's ace-high remained best and he doubled after the Q♠10♣8♠5♣4♥ runout.
On another table, there was a surprise departure from Edgar Aguiar.
Aguiar had been a chip leader for much of the day and was appeared a certainty for Day 2, however his chips went to "Pot and pot."
The player under that alias explained that he made Broadway while Aguiar had AxKx.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
500,000
350,000
|
350,000 |
|
|
290,000 | |
|
42,000
19,000
|
19,000 |
|
Busted |
As 54 players remain, hand-for-hand play has begun. The day will end after one more elimination.
Level: 12
Blinds: 1,000/2,500
Ante: 2,500
Denis Vladmirov and El Mehdi Mbarek got their short stacks in preflop, with Mbarek being the bigger stack by just a few T-1,000 chips.
Denis Vladmirov: K♠K♥
El Mehdi Mbarek: AxJx
Vladmirov's cowboys rode out the 10♣8♦4♣5♥J♣ runout to double up.
On another table, Alexandre Reard was at risk of bubbling the day. He got his last 44,000 in with A♦4♦ and ran into another player's A♠Q♣. However, fortune favored the Unibet ambassador as he went on to make a seven-high straight after the final board read 7♦6♠9♠5♥3♦.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
105,000
105,000
|
105,000 |
|
95,500
24,500
|
24,500 |
|
||
|
5,000
110,000
|
110,000 |
The final 53 players are bagging and tagging their stacks after RSM was eliminated by Ghali Hsissen.
Hsissen opened to 7,000 from the cutoff and RSM called out of his short stack from the button.
On the 8♠7♣6♥ flop, RSM called a bet of 6,000 which left them with 22,500 behind.
Hsissen checked on the 4♠ turn and RSM jammed. Hsissen agonized briefly before calling.
RSM: K♦7♦
Ghali Hsissen: AxAx
Hsissen had made the correct call, and brought Day 1a proceedings to a close after the 3♣ river failed to save RSM.
Chip counts and a day's recap to follow shortly.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
340,000
125,000
|
125,000 |
|
|
Busted |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
545,000
545,000
|
545,000 |
|
||
|
517,500
22,500
|
22,500 |
|
479,500
479,500
|
479,500 |
|
407,500
37,500
|
37,500 |
|
407,000
137,000
|
137,000 |
|
|
401,500
151,500
|
151,500 |
|
387,000
147,000
|
147,000 |
|
|
359,000
279,000
|
279,000 |
|
|
342,500
82,500
|
82,500 |
|
|
342,000
122,000
|
122,000 |
|
|
338,500
1,500
|
1,500 |
|
305,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
|
302,500
302,500
|
302,500 |
|
300,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
|
288,000
288,000
|
288,000 |
|
265,000
3,000
|
3,000 |
|
|
260,500
35,500
|
35,500 |
|
|
231,500
231,500
|
231,500 |
|
|
228,500
61,500
|
61,500 |
|
220,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
220,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
218,000
53,000
|
53,000 |
|
201,000
6,000
|
6,000 |
|
198,000
198,000
|
198,000 |
|
196,000
51,000
|
51,000 |
Despite bagging 68,500, Bernard Guigon has opted to surrender his stack, meaning 52 players have qualified from Day 1a.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
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.
| 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.
6,000 MAD Main Event
Day 1a Completed
