MAD15,000 High Roller
Day 2 Completed
2019 Wonder8 Marrakech
MAD15,000 High Roller
Day: 2
Ali Alawadhi Wins Wonder8 High Roller (312,000 MAD)
Level 24
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Day 2 of the Wonder8 High Roller MAD 50,000 (€1,800) High Roller got back underway at 3 p.m. local time. Twelve hours later, just before 3 a.m., a winner was crowned at the stunning Casino de Marrakech.
Heads-up, Ali Alawadhi defeated Thierry Morel to claim the first-place and MAD 331,000 (€30,529) while Morel secured himself a payday of MAD 251,000 (€23,150) after the three last players agreed to a deal before battling for the trophy and earning a bottle of Chivas each.
Alawadhi, an American player from Florida with $637,000 total live earnings, beat a field of 101 entries and earned the fourth victory of his career. French-speaking commentators jokingly told Morel would finish second once again after being the runner-up in several tournaments, and that was exactly what happened.
The most expensive tournament of the 10-day festival at the Casino de Marrakech saw more players enter after the start of Day 2 to boost the field to 101 entries, including 34 re-entries, and create a prize pool of MAD 1,318,000 (approximately €121,577). Only the top eleven spots were guaranteed a return on their investment, and the result of the final table can be found below:
| Position | Player | Country | Payout (in MAD) | Payout (in €) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ali Alawadhi | United States | 312,000 | €30,529* |
| 2 | Thierry Morel | France | 251,000 | €23,150* |
| 3 | Jean-Jacques Zeitoun | France | 226,000 | €20,844* |
| 4 | Pierre Zerbib | France | 135,000 | €12,447 |
| 5 | David Tavernier | France | 100,000 | €9,220 |
| 6 | David Duoek | France | 80,000 | €7,376 |
| 7 | Mark Rostron | United Kingdom | 64,000 | €5,900 |
| 8 | Mohamed El Wely | Morocco | 50,000 | €4,600 |
* denotes deal of the last three players
Hassan Fares was the chip leader at the beginning of the day, with 315,000 in chips, but ended up bubbling the tournament. He was eliminated by Pierre Zerbib. Anas Tadini was among the players to rebuy in the event; he fired six bullets of the total of 34 reentries. He wasn't able to parlay those efforts into a cash.
The list of the unfortunate players not reaching the money included Bernard Guigon and Marius Conan and other notables such as Andrew John Leathem, Mathieu Papineau, Achille Voltolina, and Julien Ferey.
After the bubble burst, Mateo was the first player to reach the money in eleventh place for 30,500 MAD (€2,812), quickly followed by young French pro Corentin Ropert for the same prize. Ropert moved his last 260,000 in the middle with queen-ten off and got eliminated by Thierry Morel with ace-five on a dry board.
Hassan Nashar ended up in the ninth place, losing a flip against Alawadhi and bubbling the official final table. Mark Rostron, was amongst the biggest stacks of the field for some time but finished in seventh place due to a massive hand losing with top-pair and a flush draw against the turned flush of eventual runner-up Morel.
After the elimination of Pierre Zerbib in fourth place, the three remaining players agreed to a deal that left the winner's trophy and MAD 60,000 up for grabs.
In just a few hours, the cards will be back in the air in the poker room of the Casino de Marrakech as the only starting day of the Wonder8 MAD 8,800 (€800) Main Event kicks off at 1 pm. The PokerNews live reporting team will provide updates until a winner is crowned on Sunday, March 31th, 2019.
Thierry Morel Eliminated in 2nd Place (251,000 MAD)
Level 24
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Thierry Morel pushed all in with 
for 1,150,000 and got snap-called by Ali Alawadhi with a better hand, 
.
The board ran out 
, bringing no help to the French player who finished in second 251,000 MAD (€23,253) after a deal. Alawadhi claimed the trophy and the 60,000 MAD for the winner, earning a total of 312,000 MAD (€28,780) today.
A full recap of the day will follow shortly.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
5,050,000 | 1,845,000 |
|
Busted |
Jean-Jacques Zeitoun Eliminated in 3rd Place (226,000 MAD)
Level 24
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Jean-Jacques Zeitoun open-shoved from the small blind for his last 15 big blinds, 600,000 chips, and Ali Alawadhi made the call in the big blind.
Jean-Jacques Zeitoun: 
Ali Alawadhi: 
It was a typical flip situation and Zeitoun still had hope after a flop 
, but a 
fell on the turn, giving Alawadhi a set of sixes to lock up the hand. The river 
couldn't change anything, making Zeitoun the 3rd place finisher for 226,000 MAD (€20,844).
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,205,000 | 610,000 |
|
|
1,705,000 | 255,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 24
Blinds: 20,000/40,000
Ante: 40,000
Alawadhi Puts Pressure
Level 23
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Ali Alawadhi keeps successfully putting pressure on his opponents and won a few pots in quick succession.
On the last hand, the flop showed 
when Alawadhi bet 90,000 with a mere 
. Jean-Jacques Zeitoun check-folded his 
in the big blind and the American player racked the chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,595,000 | 595,000 |
|
|
1,450,000 | -490,000 |
|
|
915,000 | -315,000 |
Deal Done, Playing for 60,000 MAD
Level 23
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
The three remaining players have come to terms on a deal to split the vast majority of the remaining prize money three ways. As the biggest stack, Ali Alawadhi claimed 252,000 MAD (€23,235) in prize money, closely followed by second-place Thierry Morel who received 251,000 MAD (€23,143), while Jean-Jacques Zeitoun banked 226,000 MAD (€20,838).
A total of 60,000 MAD remains in the prize pool, as well as the trophy to play for, so play will continue until a winner has emerged.
Short Break
Level 23
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
The remaining three players are now on a short break and discussing of a deal.
Pierre Zerbib Eliminated in 4th Place (135,000 MAD)
Level 23
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Jean-Jacques Zeitoun started the action on the button with a raise to 75,000 with . Ali Alawadhi chose to three-bet to 285,000 with in his hand. Pierre Zerbib looked at his cards to see and announced all-in for 385,000. Zeitoun folded and Alawadhi completed.
Alawadhi was dominated in this hand but a miraculous board 
gave him trips and the elimination of Zerbib for 135,000 MAD (€12,447).
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,000,000 | 525,000 |
|
Busted |
Updated Chipcounts
Level 23
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,940,000 | -200,000 |
|
|
1,475,000 | 415,000 |
|
|
1,230,000 | -70,000 |
|
|
415,000 | -900,000 |