The Wonder 8 Main Event Gets Underway
Welcome to the Casino de Marrakech for the Main Event of the Wonder 8 Festival. This is the third Wonder 8 edition, created at the Cercle Clichy Montmartre in 2017 in Paris, now closed and in preparation of a reopening. The festival offers 20 events, all in an 8-max with a big blind ante format. Last year this event garnered 461 entrants in Paris, with 55 of them making the money and a gathered a prize pool of € 331,920. The winner was the French player Souhayl Fjer who took home €65,000 for his efforts.
The Wonder 8 takes place to the majestic Casino de Marrakech in the hype Hivernage district, which kicked off on March 30 with a one day 3,300 Dirhams (€300) event. The first appearance of the festival at the Marrakech venue will run through Saturday, March 31st.
The casino resides within the heart of the Es Saadi Marrakech Resort complex, which is well-known for its comfort and luxury. Founded in 1952, the complex features world-class hotels and villas, a beautiful park, pools, spas, restaurants, bars, a tennis court, and a fitness center, with numerous poker events throughout the year. Fully renovated in 2003, the now-iconic establishment has preserved its historical facade and his vintage decor. Also, players are almost guaranteed great weather with Marrakech typically sunny almost every day of the year as well as a fine and delicious typical Moroccan food at the players' buffet.
The Wonder 8 got underway earlier this week, and has already seen many players for its events. The High Roller was won yesterday by Ali Alawadhi for 312,000 MAD after a deal, topping a field of 101 players.
The Main Event kicks off at 1 pm local time. Tournament officials have announced that there will be 12 levels of 45 minutes today, with a 15-minute break every three levels and a one-hour dinner break after level 9 (around 8.15 pm), meaning the end of the day is expected to be around 11.30 pm. Each player receives 45,000 chips and late registration stays open until the end of level 9, with unlimited reentries.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates throughout the day.