Samy Khaled Grabs Day 1c Chip Lead on the Bubble
After last year’s record-breaking 2,736 entries, the Casino de Marrakech at the Es Saadi Resort, along with the Winamax Team, saw things on a bigger scale to welcome even more players. A giant tent was set up outside, and additional poker rooms were opened to ensure there was plenty of space with room to spare. But even that margin was nearly pushed to its limit by the wave of players who descended on Marrakech this year, creating a massive field of 3,390 entries, setting a new world record for a 6-max tournament.
Today’s Day 1c alone brought 1,232 entrants to the Sismix Main Event tables. Only 204 players managed to bag chips and qualify for Day 2. The day was originally set to end with 205 survivors, but Scotti Azuaje was eliminated on the bubble at the same time as Noël Garde, who lost his stack on the river to Samy Khaled, who seized the moment to climb into the chip lead with 1,100,000 chips. A very good way to finish a day that started at home in Paris this morning and continued on the TV table for a few hours today.
Khaled took over the top spot from Sismix rookie Jose Lozano, the only other player to bag more than a million chips with 1,077,000 after what he called “an awesome day.” “It started a bit badly, but then everything went well. I hope to keep the momentum going tomorrow,” he said, adding that he fired four bullets in this Main Event. At the table next to him, Nelson Vaz Da Silva explained that he built his stack “step by step” to finish third in chips with 969,000.
Day 1c Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samy Khaled | France | 1,100,000 | 110 |
| 2 | Jose Lozano | Spain | 1,077,000 | 108 |
| 3 | Nelson Vaz Da Silva | Portugal | 969,000 | 97 |
| 4 | Pablo Garcia Alba | Spain | 862,000 | 86 |
| 5 | Mathieu Halgand | France | 829,000 | 83 |
| 6 | Klemen Videc | Slovenia | 767,000 | 77 |
| 7 | Kevin Belhamici | France | 735,000 | 74 |
| 8 | Arnaud Pousset | France | 732,000 | 73 |
| 9 | Faycal Ait Ouccime | France | 720,000 | 72 |
| 10 | Ugo Taurines | France | 718,000 | 72 |
Far from the hustle and bustle of the main room, Ugo Taurines (718,000) didn’t lack of animation at his table as he was seated next to the feature table and just two seats away from local favorite Anas Tadini, who ultimately bagged 463,000 chips.
As a birthday gift, [Removed:520] received a bag he filled with 423,000 chips, slightly more than Battle Royale runner-up Aitor Cruz (369,000). Marc Uzan doubled up on the bubble to finish with 300,000, while Tahar Said (205,000) had secured his spot just moments earlier thanks to a runner-runner straight.
Meanwhile, Mustapha Amaouche (232,000), Jean-Marc Chiba (215,000), and Mounim Kaddouri (162,000) reached Day 2 without having to take too many risks, as for Bruno Soutavong, who ended Day 1 with exactly the starting stack (49,000).
Just minutes after Day 1c concluded, the final flight Day 1d Turbo also came to an end. Out of a field of 402 entries, only 67 players advanced to Day 2. Leading the pack is Belgium’s Redouan Bettioui, who bagged 1,090,000 chips.
He’s closely followed by Said Abdel Attey (1,018,000), while other notable stacks include Rayane Bouibeb (678,000), Timothée Rey (536,000), and Winamax Team Pro Pierre Calamusa (500,000). Christopher Dowling (439,000), Said El Yousfi (373,000), Adrien Amorella (368,000), and Tristan Forge (363,000) also seized this final opportunity to qualify for Day 2.
Sismix Editions Comparaison
| 2024 | 2025 | Players Left | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1a | 549 | 677 | 112 |
| Day 1b | 824 | 1079 | 179 |
| Day 1c | 986 | 1232 | 204 |
| Day 1d | 377 | 402 | 67 |
| Total | 2736 | 3390 | 562 |
A total of 562 players will return for Day 2 tomorrow at 12 p.m. local time, all with their sights set on reaching the final tables of the record-breaking Main Event. The full payout structure will be unveiled at the start of the day, and levels will be extended to 35 minutes.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the updates and action here in Marrakech!