2009 WPT Marrakech

€4,500 Championship Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info

2009 WPT Marrakech

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
87
Prize
€377,262
Event Info
Buy-in
€4,500
Entries
416
Level Info
Level
29
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
10,000

€4,500 Championship Main Event

Day 2 Completed

Day 2 is History

Just more than 12 hours ago, 151 players returned to the Casino de Marrakech to try and knock each other out on Day 2 of this WPT event. At the end of a full ten-level day, 17 of them have managed to hang around long enough to bag up their chips once again.

On man who did a little more than just 'hang around' today was Ludovic Lacay. Lacay began the day in the top 25 with 88,000 chips, and he would waste no time surging his way toward the top. Playing the role of table captain all day, the Frenchman saw his stack swell near 1.5 million as the timer wound down on Day 2. Atop the pack for the bulk of the day, Lacay will be the clear betting favorite heading into the final day.

Some other notables were not so fortunate today. Sam Chartier, Scott Montgomery, Bruno Fitoussi, Barny Boatman, Nicolas Levi, and a whole laundry list of other familiar names would find themselves ground down to the felt over the course of the long day. The two dangerous ladies, Annette Obrestad and Liz Lieu, would also make their exits shy of the money.

November Niner Antoine Saout seems to still have a bit of run-good left for next month's once-in-a-lifetime final table at the WSOP, and he would walk away from this tournament with a small paycheck for a 40th-place finish. PokerNews' own Tony G made a deep run before bowing in 33rd place on the wrong end of a coinflip. The start-of-day chip leader, Guillaume de la Gorce, rode his big stack as far as he could, but he would finally be shown the exit just before play concluded, finishing up in 18th place.

The 17 who remain will return tomorrow to play for it all. A WPT title is on the line, as is more than €375,000 in cash (or 4,305,600 Dirhams, if you prefer). We'll see you right back here at 2:00pm for the conclusion of this historic event. Until then, goodnight from Morocco!

In Need Of Azziz-Stance

Azziz Abdelmalki check-raised Adrian Marin's 33,000 bet to 80,000 on a {J-Diamonds} {Q-Diamonds} {7-Diamonds} board before shoving on the {9-Hearts} turn.

Marin made the call with {J-Clubs} {J-Hearts} happy to see Abdelmaki drawing dead with {9-Spades} {7-Spades}.

The {4-Clubs} river changed nothing and Abdelmaki pushed in for his last 50,000 next hand. He was called by Benny Spindler's {K-Spades} {5-Clubs} but his {K-Diamonds} {10-Diamonds} dodged all the bullets on a {8-Clubs} {3-Clubs} {6-Hearts} {2-Clubs} {6-Diamonds} board to survive.

That bumped him down to 100,000, but he doubled up on the last hand of the night to get to 200,000

Guillaume de la Gorce Eliminated in 18th Place (€13,136)

Guillaume de la Gorce - 18th Place
Guillaume de la Gorce - 18th Place
First into the pot, Guillaume de la Gorce open-shoved for about 80,000 chips, all that he had left. The action folded around to the big blind where Yury Kerzhapkin peeked at his cards and quickly made the call for just a small portion of his stack.

Showdown
de la Gorce: {5-Spades} {6-Spades}
Kerzhapkin: {Q-Clubs} {K-Hearts}

De la Gorce didn't seem too displeased with his predicament as he smirked and raised his eyebrows in anticipation. His plans for a double up would fall short, though, on a board of {K-Clubs} {10-Diamonds} {10-Hearts} {3-Spades} {10-Spades}. Unable to improve his hand, Guillaume de la Gorce exits in 18th place.

Tags: Guillaume de la GorceYury Kerzhapkin

Two Tables Left

Here are the seating arrangements:

Table 1:

1. Guillaume de la Gorce
2. Eoghan O'Dea
3. Hichem Ben Halima
4. Patrick Meurisse
5. Kerem Kizak
6. Yury Kerzhapkin
7. Ludovic Lacay
8. Tsan Sadnhi
9. Balazs Botond

Table 2:

1. Tristan Clemencon
2. Benny Spindler
3. Christophe Savary
4. Azziz Abdelmalki
5. Adrian Marin
6. Stefan Hansen
7. Benjamin Pollak
8. Julien Arneodo
9. Stephane Dahan

Kai Paulsen Eliminated In 19th Place (€13,136)

Kai Paulson - 19th Place
Kai Paulson - 19th Place
Ludovic Lacay raised to 25,000 and Kai Paulsen made a committing raise to 95,000. Eoghan O'Dea reraised all-in for 235,000. Lacay folded and Paulsen put the rest of his chips in the middle.

O'Dea: {A-Hearts} {A-Clubs}
Paulsen: {A-Diamonds} {Q-Clubs}

The board came {8-Diamonds} {J-Hearts} {9-Hearts} {2-Diamonds} {Q-Spades} and Paulsen was just covered by the Irishman.

We're down to two tables.

Tags: Kai Paulson

Norbert Levigne Eliminated in 20th Place (€13,136)

With the action passing all the way around the table, the two blinds were content to see a cheap flop, and it came down {7-Clubs} {10-Spades} {9-Spades}. Things would not be so timid on the next betting round, though, as Norbert Levigne got himself all in against Balazs Botond.

Botond held {10-Hearts} {J-Hearts}, and he was looking to fade the myriad outs of Levigne and his {2-Spades} {6-Spades}. The turn was the {7-Diamonds}, and the {3-Clubs} on the river was an airball as well. Failing to improve his hand, Norbert Levigne becomes our 20th-place finisher. He'll receive a little pay bump up to the next level, pocketing just over €13,000.

Tags: Balazs BotondNorbert Levigne

Ahead. Behind. Ahead!

Adrian Marin
Adrian Marin
On a flop of {A-Spades} {8-Hearts} {10-Spades}, Stefan Hansen and Adrian Marin waged a raising war, ending with Marin all in and at-risk. He had warned Hansen that he had the best hand, and that would prove to be the case. He showed {A-Clubs} {10-Clubs}, his two pair in fine shape for a double up against the {A-Diamonds} {Q-Diamonds} of Hansen.

Disaster would strike on the turn, though; the {Q-Spades} peeled off the deck to vault Hansen into the lead and leave Marin drawing to two outs to stay alive. Like a bolt of lightning, the {10-Diamonds} somehow spiked the river, re-improving Marin to the winning tens full. The two players exchanged wide-eyed looks as neither could believe how that hand played out.

When the dust settled, Hansen was knocked down to about 290,000, while Marin's double shoots him up over the 400,000-chip mark

Tags: Adrian MarinStefan Hansen