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From Parys With Love; French Grinder Shows Big Emotion for Rail After Hard-Earned Victory in Marrakesh
Four gruelling days of competition in the heart of Morocco were needed to determine a champion in the Unibet Open Main Event, but now that all is said and done, the 853 entries into the event have been whittled down to just one.
It was certainly never easy, but Maxime Parys fought back against every kind of disaster that he faced to truly earn the title at Casino de Marrakech. Coming back from less than a handful of blinds, Parys, who was looked on by his obscenely noisy rail for the entire final day, has now secured not only the Main Event Trophy, but also the coveted Unibet cummerbund.
As if that wasn't enough, he will also be returning home with a whopping seven-figure pay day of 1,375,000 MAD, which includes 1,125,000 MAD from a deal made heads-up, as well as 250,000 MAD which was agreed to go to the victor. This represents the second-largest cash of his live poker career, according to The Hendon Mob
The tournament’s runner-up spot is held by Benjamin Hammann. Although losing the heads-up battle, he will still be headed home with a very respectable seven-figure score of 1,125,000 MAD for his efforts.
Unibet Open Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maxime Parys | France | 1,375,000 MAD* |
| 2 | Benjamin Hammann | France | 1,125,000 MAD* |
| 3 | Redwan Ferman | France | 670,000 MAD |
| 4 | Hammer | Spain | 450,000 MAD |
| 5 | Moneyhunter | Netherlands | 335,000 MAD |
| 6 | Abdullah Akbarpoor | Turkey | 265,000 MAD |
| 7 | Mounim Kaddouri | France | 215,000 MAD |
| 8 | Tunisianking | Tunisia | 180,000 MAD |
| 9 | Ryan Abed | France | 150,000 MAD |
*Denotes Deal Made
Winner’s Reaction
“We did it,” were Maxime “Dabou” Parys’ very first words upon being crowned Main Event champion. Of course, it was only Parys himself who played the cards he was dealt, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell by the noise at the Es Saadi Resort, Marrakesh upon every single pot that went Parys’ way.
It was a wild final table, with chips changing hands and stack sizes swapping rapidly, but the one constant was the sheer loudness emerging from Parys’ rail.
“I’m not here alone,” Parys noted when speaking with PokerNews in his native French. “I’m here with the whole team,” he added, a comment which received whoops and cheers from his rail, all of whom had been watching on for the previous 11 hours. “They were shouting for me the entire final table. How can you lose? It’s impossible.”
It certainly seemed that way, as no matter how many beats he took, Parys just kept fighting and fighting. He had his queens cracked by Hammann very early on in the day, before being left with just five bigs following a hand where he had seen his opponent’s cards exposed preflop, and had to un-commit himself from the pot.
However, that wasn’t going to put a halt to the grit shown by “Dabou,” as instead of being down and out, he described the hand as a “second life,” as he had been given another chance to carry on in the tournament. He used his second life incredibly wisely, explaining that he’d “been down to one, two big blinds in tournaments before,” and knew exactly how to keep both chipping and laddering up.
The roof nearly lifted off when he won a massive hand holding A♥10♥, rivering a flush to crack the tens of Moneyhunter. For Parys, it was at that point that he knew the victory was in his sights.
He secured the knockout to go from five players to four, as well as three to two, and not even the force that is Benjamin Hammann would be able to get between him and the trophy at that point.
Despite having live cashes dating back to 2014, Parys noted that this was his first ever live tournament win, with the exception of a freeroll he took down when he was younger. Now that he has finally broken the duck, it certainly would be a risky decision to bet against the online grinder in any event. His prowess at the table certainly doesn't go unnoticed by his compatriots, nor should it by any player unfortunate enough to be drawn next to him on the felt.
Final Day Action
The final nine took quite a long time to lose their first player. The shortest stack coming into the day, Hammer, secured a double very early on running kings into aces, with that being the only all-in-and-call of the first level.
After over 90 minutes of action, it was Ryan Abed (9th - 150,000 MAD) who would be first to fall. After getting rivered in a pot against Hammer, his flush draw missed against the flopped wheel of Mounim Kaddouri to seal his elimination.
A flurry of doubles then ensued, as Moneyhunter won a flip against Kaddouri, before losing one against Abdullah Akbarpoor. Tunisianking faded a three-outer at the hands of Redwan Ferman before Moneyhunter doubled again, this time through Hammann. Carrying on the trend of short stacks surviving, Redwan Ferman survived against Tunisianking, and Hammer made it six doubles in a row with his big slick fading the outs.
After almost three hours, the next bust would arrive, and it was Tunisianking (8th - 180,000 MAD) who fell to Hammann, unable to go runner-runner for survival. Mounim Kaddouri (7th - 215,000 MAD), who was second in chips to begin the day, fell next, as his ace-three ran into the immovable object that was the ace-king of Moneyhunter.
It seemed set that the next elimination would be Ferman, but he flopped one of his three outs against Akbarpoor, to leave his opponent super short. Akbarpoor would be eliminated the very next hand at the hands of Ferman, as he and Hammer somewhat controversially planned to check all the way down. That was the case, until Ferman made the nuts and realised he couldn’t check. His shove folded out Hammer, and Akbarpoor (6th - 265,000 MAD) saw that his two pair had been cracked.
Hammer then secured a big triple up, but got a stern talking to in the process, before doubling just a few hands later as his ladies held against Hammann.
He was then eventually penalised, as he tabled his cards early in a hand against Maxime Parys. Parys was left short, before picking up a few blinds through shoves, and scoring a hugely important double against Hammann with the big blind, Hammer, dealt out.
It didn’t stop there for Parys, as he then hit a flush while dominated to score a massive double against the pained Moneyhunter (5th - 335,000 MAD), who himself was next to leave. His short stack crumbled to dust at the hands of, who else, but Parys once again.
Hammer (4th - 450,000 MAD) and his antics just missed out on a podium finish, as he lost a massive flip with Ferman flopping a boat, before being eliminated at the hands of the same opponent, making it an all-French affair for the final three.
Although coming into three-handed play chip leader, it was Ferman (3rd - 670,000 MAD who would have to settle for bronze. He lost a massive pot with two pair against Hammann, before running into the kings of Parys. The run bad didn’t stop there, as very shortly after he found himself all in, at risk, then busto against the big slick of Parys, who had now fully embodied the role of executioner at the final table. The river gave both players quads, but Parys’ ace-kicker was the one that played.
The players then made a deal heads-up, guaranteeing themselves a very attractive 1,125,000 payday, and playing on for 250,000 MAD alongside the silverware.
As they had been doing non-stop for the full duration of Day 4, Parys' group of onlookers kept raising the volume, with the winning celebrations audible from France as he held on with two pair to secure the victory. He joined his rail as they surrounded him in a circle, and jumped for joy. Nobody can say it wasn't deserved.
That's a wrap on PokerNews' coverage of proceedings here in Marrakesh. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled, as this certainly wont be the last poker championship that Morocco has to offer.