Atoui Shows Guts on Day 1b of the WPTDeepStacks Marrakech Main Event
On the second starting day of the 2018 WPTDeepStacks Marrakech Main Event, Karim Atoui made a name for himself by running a massive bluff during the final portion of the night to claim the overnight — and overall — chip lead with 334,000, far more than his nearest challengers.
Holding ace-queen of clubs in a three-bet pot, Atoui check-raised an eight-high flop with two spades and no clubs, then check-raised again when a king landed on the turn before shoving all in when the ace of spades landed on the river. Krijn Broskij, opponent in the hand, laid down ace-king and got shown the inferior hand in the biggest hand of the day.
While the ballsy play by Atoui was certainly the poker highlight of the day, Day 1b showed once again that players are able to find their way — and enjoy themselves — in the luxurious Casino de Marrakech, part of the five star Es Saadi Resort in the vibrant Moroccan city of Marrakech. Last year, the field attracted 433 players and with 431 players in 2018, nearly the same amount of entries was made. The total prize pool and payouts will be finalized and published at the start of Day 2.
In the wake of Atoui, players like Mathieu Chevalier (193,000), Jean-François Bertrand (182,000), and Frederic Delval (172,500) also amassed sizable stacks on the second starting day. Notables such as Mehdi Hsissen (160,500), Imad Derwiche (160,000), Tsunamy (122,000), and Jean Montury (80,000) also punched their tickets to the second day. Broskij, who played over 200k not long before the end, survived Atoui's onslaught but will have to work himself back up from 46,000.
A total of 147 out of 431 entries overall will be back on Day 2, which means over half the field has already been shed. Hopefuls such as Isabel Baltazar, Abdelhadi Kondah, Selim Oulmekki, Paul Tedeschi, and Anas Tadini fell along the way. The survivors return on Saturday at noon local time to play on as the money stages will be reached.
PokerNews covers this event start to finish until a winner has been crowned on Sunday night, so make sure to check back regularly who will lift the WPTDeepStacks trophy in Casino de Marrakech.
Click here for Day 2 seating and chip counts.
flop. Atoui checked, Broskij bet 6,000, Atoui check-raised to 15,000, and Broskij called.
and after check-raising the flop, Atoui now checked. Broskij bet 23,000, but Atoui had a trick up his sleeve as he put in a second check-raise, this time to 59,000. Broskij gave it some thought before calling another check-raise.
fell on the river and Atoui wasted no time before moving all in, putting Broskij to the test for his remaining 70,000. Broskij thought long and hard before open-folding 
. Atoui flashed 
for a complete airball on both the flop and turn to make the jaws drop at his table.
board. After Broksij had opened from under the gun, Atoui had three-bet from the big blind. Broskij had called before both players checked it to the river, where Atoui picked it up with a bet of 6,000.
flop got checked, Atoui bet 7,000 on the 
river and De Zutter called it off.
