Main Event Day 1cd | 2019 Winamax SISMIX

05-24-2019 10:19 UTC+1

Final Chance for Players to Enter the Winamax SISMIX Main Event

Will Shillibier

Today sees the final two starting flights for the Winamax SISMIX Main Event, which has attracted almost 1,000 entrants already. That means that the 1,252 record field set last year in Marrakech looks set to be smashed!

Day 1c kicks off at 12pm, and is open to new players only. However, Day 1d at 10pm is open to both new and returning players, so expect that to be a hectic and chaotic flight with 15-minute levels and hundreds of players vying for a place in Day 2.

Day	Date	Time	Levels	Breaks
1c	Friday, May 24	12:00	20x30 minutes	Every four levels
1d	Friday, May 24	21:00	22x15 minutes	Every eight levels
2	Saturday, May 25	12:00	18x35 minutes	Every three levels
3	Sunday, May 26	12:30	40 minutes	Every three levels

Players will receive 50,000 chips. There will be 16 levels of late registration, with Day 1c concluding at the end of Level 20. and Day 1d at the end of Level 22.

Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the live coverage as we see what pros, recreational players and ambassadors make it through to Day 2 in what looks like being the biggest SISMIX Main Event ever!

05-24-2019 12:20 UTC+1

Winamax Team Pro Lewis Joins the Field

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Will Shillibier

Level 2 : 125/250, 250 ante

Romain Lewis got his SISMIX off to a great start, finishing sixth in the High Roller for €8,880, and after enjoying a day off perhaps spent lounging by the pool, he has joined the Main Event field on Day 1c.

Lewis finished eighth in the WSOP Player of the Year leaderboard last year, and is the number four French player in the world according to the Global Poker Index.

Read our interview with Lewis from early in the week.

Player	Chips	Progress
Romain Lewis	50,000

Tags: Romain Lewis

05-24-2019 14:42 UTC+1

Flashback: Hugo Larachiche Wins 2017 Winamax SISMIX

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Will Shillibier

Level 6 : 250/500, 500 ante

Hugo Larachiche Winamax SISMIX 2017 Champion

Two years ago, it was Hugo Larachiche who topped a field of 1,078 to win 1,000,000 MAD at the Casino Es Saadi in Marrakech. This was the first time the event had surpassed the 1,000 player mark.

Larachiche came into the final day third in chips, but fell back and was in the middle of the pack by the time the tournament reached a final table.

However, Larachiche surged ahead and eliminated the last four players in a devastating 90-minute spell to take down the title.

Notable players who cashed in the 2017 Winamax SISMIX Main Event included Winamax Team Pro Ivan Deyra (8th), Erwann Pecheux (48th), 2015 champion Jerome Sgorrano (53rd), Gaelle Baumann (58th), Romain Lewis (66th), Davidi Kitai (76th), Alexandre Reard (95th) and Sonny Franco (124th)

Tags: Alexandre Reard Davidi Kitai Erwann Pecheux Gaelle Baumann Hugo Larachiche Ivan Deyra Jerome Sgorrano Sonny Franco Romain Lewis

05-24-2019 16:07 UTC+1

Kitai Eliminates a Player

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Will Shillibier

Level 9 : 400/800, 800 ante

Davidi Kitai opened to 1,800 from the cutoff and the small blind called. The flop was checked by both players and the small blind bet 4,000 on the turn.

Kitai raised all in and his opponent called.

Davidi Kitai:
All-in Player:

The all-in player was drawing dead and the river sent him to the exit.

Player	Chips	Progress
Davidi Kitai	70,000 30,000	30,000

Tags: Davidi Kitai

05-24-2019 17:04 UTC+1

A Poker Festival Like No Other

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Will Shillibier

Level 10 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

It is a testament to the atmosphere at the Winamax SISMIX that it has taken until the third day of the festival for the tournament to actually feel like a proper tournament. That's not to say that poker hasn't been being played because it has, but rather down to the excitement and atmosphere away from the tables.

Both Spanish Winamax Team Pros Leo Margets and Adrian Mateos have bagged up ahead of Day 2 and would be enjoying a day by the pool today. Well if it wasn't for a spot of rain.

Two days of glorious sunshine has seen poker players from all over Europe, but predominantly Spain and southern France flock to Lloret de Mar to sample a taste of what could become by the end of the day the largest six-max poker tournament in history. There was talk of players driving down from France to play a nightly tournament just to experience a SISMIX tournament.

Now in its sixth year, the Winamax SISMIX Main Event has grown from 670 in 2014 when Davidi Kitai to almost double that in the space of four years when Adrian Mateos won it last year. And now it looks set to double again in a single year, something that organizers weren't expecting.

The change of venue from the Casino de Marrakech to the Gran Casino Costa Brava has eliminated the need for flights, and as a result, has seen fields soar. So much so that the Main Event is now a "soft" freezeout, with reentry only possible in the Day 1d Turbo flight later on tonight. Sides have been capped or even cancelled to make space for the Main Event.

So what makes the tournament so special? Well, being an action-packed recreational player-friendly deep stacked six-max tournament certainly helps, but it's everything off the felt as well that adds so much to what would just be a festival with a €500 Main Event.

The atmosphere by the pool was more like a music festival than a poker festival. Speakers blaring DJ sets, with live music accompanying the latter stages of a thrilling Beer Pong Open that saw over 100 teams competing. Each night a different form of entertainment, from techno to swing to summer rhythms, there's something to suit everyone's taste.

It's sometimes too easy to look ahead to the next iteration of a poker tournament, and the organizer's desire to fulfil even more player demands or requests and to aim for bigger and better things. The SISMIX is unique in that it never fails to deliver and has always surpassed expectations. Last year it set the record for the largest poker tournament ever held in Africa, and this year even more records fall.

After such a success this year - you can safely say that even with Main Event registration still open - you would imagine the tournament would return to Lloret de Mar in 2020 with renewed purpose. Another record? Maybe. Another packed pool party? Perhaps. Another unique festival on the European poker calendar? Definitely.

05-24-2019 17:53 UTC+1

Former Champion Kitai Eliminated on Feature

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Will Shillibier

Level 12 : 700/1,400, 1,400 ante

Davidi Kitai has been on feature for the last few levels, but the cards haven't been going his way. His stack dwindled until he shoved all in for 12,300 from under the gun.

It folded to the player on the button who raised, forcing the two other players out of the pot.

Davidi Kitai:
Opponent:

Kitai would need to hit to stay alive, but no help came on the runout and he was eliminated.

Player	Chips	Progress
Davidi Kitai	Busted

Tags: Davidi Kitai

05-24-2019 18:59 UTC+1

Winamax Team Pro Guillaume Diaz Taking Selfies with Fans and Relaxing at the SISMIX

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Will Shillibier

Level 14 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

After two days spent by the pool, Guillaume Diaz has jumped into the Main Event of the largest Winamax SISMIX in history, and is getting to grips with the players who are enjoying the atmosphere at the tables.

"It was pretty exciting to come here," said Diaz. "To see all the new faces and guys who play on Winamax when we expanded to Spain. Everything is good; the pool and party are good!"

Today the weather is not so good, but Diaz is playing on Day 1c of the Main Event, so a little drizzle doesn't ruin his day.

"I'm happy with my choice of playing today! We're all happy to be here to have a lot of fun and not to think about poker that much. It's not like a festival where you're concentrating. You don't go to the bar at the end of the day at festivals like the WSOP, here you can just enjoy the pool or play beer pong."

The difference between the SISMIX and a "mainstream" festival is stark, but Diaz says the switch comes naturally to him when having to return to focusing on poker.

"I know that we are in one mood here, speaking to lots of players and knowing all the guys from Winamax spending a lot of time with them. We know here it's kind of a holiday, but we all have in our mind the WSOP where we know it'll be serious, but for now, we're just enjoying the moment."

Diaz has been taking perhaps a dozen selfies a day with poker fans, both at the poker table and at the pool.

"Here it's really insane. Here I prepare myself to speak a lot, be open and be really cool with everyone. That's the main focus, it's not on poker. Other places you're focused all on poker, so SISMIX is really different.

"Winamax is doing a really good job because there are lots of new faces coming from the clubs, from online qualification and things like this. Here you see that there are a lot of people who've come by car and got a house. Everyone is enjoying their holiday and there's the poker in the middle."

Lloret De Mar is a brand new poker destination for a major international tour like Winamax, and Diaz says he welcomes the chance to come to a new place and experience the poker players from around there.

"It's always good to experience new things and reach out to a new people. When you go seven times in, I don't know, Monaco, the people around there know that that is there. But maybe there are some guys in Croatia or I don't know who cannot come. It's good to change and have new faces who could come.

"I'd love to go to the south of Portugal with Winamax. Vilamoura or things like this. Faro is really nice too. I think there's room to grow!"

Tags: Guillaume Diaz

05-24-2019 20:02 UTC+1

The Rain in Spain...

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Will Shillibier

Level 16 : 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante

The Winamax SISMIX is not a case of making hay while the sun shines. Because when the rain comes as, unfortunately, it has today in Lloret De Mar, what do Winamax do?

They bring the hay-making machine inside. The same exciting musical acts? Inside. The delicious paella? Inside. The players who make this event the spectacle that it is? All inside.

05-24-2019 20:12 UTC+1

Day 1d Gets Underway

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Will Shillibier

Level 16 : 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante

The Turbo Day 1d has gotten underway, with plenty of big names back for their last chance of making it through to Day 2 of the Winamax SISMIX Main Event.

As expected, former champion Jerome Sgorrano is back in the field, as well as Winamax Team Pros Pierre Calamusa and Aladin Reskallah, and High Roller champion Jon Ander Vallinas, High Roller final tablists Julien Montois and Thomas Simsen, Parham Ahoor, Teunis Kooij, Antonin Teisseire and Erwann Pecheux.

We'll be focusing on Day 1c which concludes around midnight tonight and bring you full Day 1d chip counts before Day 2 gets underway on Saturday.

Tags: Aladin Reskallah Antonin Teisseire Erwann Pecheux Jerome Sgorrano Jon Ander Vallinas Pierre Calamusa Teunis Kooij

05-24-2019 22:11 UTC+1

Diaz's Kings Cracked on Feature Table

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Will Shillibier

Level 18 : 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

Chee Wei Kwok open-shoved for 43,500 from the cutoff and Guillaume Diaz called in the small blind.

It was an all-in showdown on the feature table as Kwok held but was up against the of Diaz.

However, a nine in the window of a gave Kwok a shock lead. The turn was the and the river the and Kwok doubled up, sending Diaz back below 100,000 in chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Guillaume Diaz	95,000 -35,000	-35,000
Chee Wei Kwok	90,000

Tags: Guillaume Diaz