Main Event
Day 3 Started
WPT Marrakech presented by Chilipoker
Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
WPT Marrakech presented by Chilipoker
Buy-in
€4,250
Entries
222
Level
27
Blinds
25,000 / 50,000
Ante
5,000
Que Sera, Sera... Final Table Awaits
We've had a couple of different tunes running through our heads this week. One, of course, is that happy, jingle-like Crosby, Stills & Nash song "Marrakesh Express." The other comes from that Alfred Hitchcock film The Man Who Knew Too Much (the 1956 version), the one starring James Stewart and Doris Day in which an American family traveling in Morocco gets caught up in a web of international espionage, a story that begins as they journey from Casablanca to Marrakech.
Whether you've seen the film or not, you might know the song featured in it -- the Oscar-award winning "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)." Equally memorable, that one. And perhaps especially apt as we sit down for the start of today's final table of the Main Event of WPT Marrakech presented by Chilipoker.
Speaking of international intrigue, four different countries will be represented among the final nine. The two Germans, Sebastian Homann and Dominik Nitsche, come to the final table with a sizable chip advantage over the rest, but they'll have five Frenchman, a Swede, and an Austrian chasing them.
Here's how they'll be seated and the stacks they'll have before them when the first hand is dealt today:
Seat 1: Felix Oberauer (Austria) - 499,000
Seat 2: Dominik Nitsche (Germany) - 1,479,000
Seat 3: Patrick Muleta (France) - 244,000
Seat 4: Sebastian Homann (Germany) - 1,539,000
Seat 5: Sebastien Compte (France) - 529,000
Seat 6: Johan Williamsson (Sweden) - 693,000
Seat 7: Guillaume Cescut (France) - 956,000
Seat 8: Guillaume de la Gorce (France) - 516,000
Seat 9: Julien Labussiere (France) - 210,000
All nine have demonstrated their skills thus far to reach today's final table. But as we all know, how the cards fall will have something to do with how things turn out as well. Que sera, sera.
Looks like it will be a while before things get underway. Stay tuned for all the action!
Almost There
Announcements are being made and we are close to starting.
Incidentally, our connectivity to the internet here in the Epicurean room at the Casino de Marrakech is especially poor at the moment. Hopefully that situation will improve soon. Meawhile, it appears we may be forced to write our posts in bunches, then escape to a better-connected area to publish.
Labussiere Scores Early Double-Up
We're underway! On the first hand, the table's short stack Julien Labussiere pushed all in from the button for his entire stack of 208,000 (minus the 2,000 ante he'd already committed), and got a caller in Felix Oberauer in the small blind. Labussiere turned over 
, and Oberauer tabled 
.
The flop came 
, then the 
turn gave Labussiere a Broadway straight. The river was the 
, and Labussiere earns a quick double-up to about 430,000. Oberauer, meanwhile, drops under 300,000.
Homann the Man
Sebastian Homann raised to 32,000 from late position, then Johan Williamsson reraised from the button to 92,000. The blinds got out, and the action was back on Homann. The German took his time to consider the situation, then decided to reraise again to 198,000 total.
Now it was Williamsson's turn to spend some time in the tank. He looked over at Homann, taking about a minute before finally letting his hand go.
Homann continues to enjoy the chip advantage here in the early going with a little more than 1.6 million. Williamsson has dropped to 600,000.
Patrick Muleta Eliminated in 9th Place (€19,920)
Patrick Muleta moved all in for about 250,000 from early position and Felix Oberauer called instantly from the big blind.
Oberauer: 
Muleta: 
The board ran out 
, ending Muleta’s tournament. He earned €19,920 for his ninth-place finish.
Oberauer gets a much needed boost to about 550,000.
De la Gorce Applies the Force
Guillaume de la Gorce opened to 35,000 from the hijack and found callers from Dominik Nitsche in the small blind and Sebastian Homann in the big blind.
The flop came down 
and Nitsche led out 53,000. Homann quickly called and after about a minute, de la Gorce re-raised all in. His opponents could not have folded any faster, upping de la Gorce's stack to about 600,000.
Level: 23
Blinds: 10,000/20,000
Ante: 3,000
Back in Action
We've played for an hour, with Sebastian Homann continuing to maintain his chip advantage with eight players left.
Incidentally, it looks as though our connectivity issues may have been resolved (fingers crossed). Onto Level 23!
Homann Takes the Initiative
Dominik Nitsche opened with a raise to 45,000 from the hijack seat, and both Sebastian Homann (cutoff) and Sebastien Compte (button) called.
The flop came 
. Nitsche checked, and Homann took the invitation to fire a bet of 74,000. Compte thought a moment and folded, and Nitsche let his hand go as well.
Homann keeps right on keeping on, and looks to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.75 million now.