Main Event
Day 2 Completed
2018 WPTDeepStacks Marrakech
Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2018 WPTDeepStacks Marrakech
Buy-in
13,200 MAD
Entries
431
Level
31
Blinds
75,000 / 125,000
Ante
125,000
Final 16 Set in WPTDeepStacks Marrakech Main Event; Damaso in the Lead, Sow, Peters Follow
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
On Day 2 of the WPTDeepStacks Marrakech Main Event, it took eleven 60-minute levels to whittle down a field of 147 to its last 16 hopefuls. Each of them will return on Sunday at 2 p.m. local time to Casino de Marrakech to contest for the WPTDeepStacks title and the first place prize of 1,000,000 MAD (appr. $105,000) that awaits the winner later that night.
Fabio Pinho Damaso of Portugal has firmly set his sights on the title and holds a comfy lead with 2,295,000 in chips, far more than his nearest challengers Kalidou Sow (1,400,000) and Tobias Peters (1,360,000). While Damaso hung around in the top of the counts throughout the day, an extra surge during the final level of the night made him the only player to break the 2M mark when chips were bagged and tagged.
Damaso may not have a great live poker resumé to boast yet, Sow and Peters definitely do and are two of the biggest names left in the field. With their 1M+ chip stacks, both are in prime contention for the deepest of runs in this event. Sow, who burst onto the scene with three victories in a row in substantial fields last year, started the day on top, fell back a bit later on, but bounced back right to second place in the last level of the night.
Peters, the 2017 WPTDeepStacks Europe Player of the Year, was playing Day 2 on just three-and-a-half hours of sleep. The night before, Peters won the 4,500 MAD single-day 8 Max tournament for 120,000 MAD (appr. $13,000) at six in the morning. Coming back just a few hours later to play on in Day 2 of the Main Event, Peters battled both fatigue and his opponents to claim the eventual third place on the leaderboard.
Other notables that made it through include Mathieu Papineau (800,000), Jean Montury (630,000), Day 1a chipleader Yves Rolland (550,000), David Pecheur (345,000), and Francois Tosques (315,000). With twenty players remaining, Pecheur was all but out when he was all in with pocket eights against the pocket kings of Abdullatif Attia. Attia flopped a set of kings but Pecheur made a runner-runner flush to keep his hopes alive. Jaouad Abida (1,045,000), Sebastien Boyard (945,000), and Miguel Couceiro (875,000) also had strong showings and found themselves high in the ranking after the day was wrapped up.
Day 2 at a glance
The day started with 147 players and 55 of them would go home with more money than they invested. Plenty of players failed to get a Moroccan flag, including Vincent Mansour, Henrique Pinho, Mohamed Ali Houssam, Arnaud Enselme, Danny van Zijp, [Removed:8], [Removed:44], Guy Taylor, Imad Derwiche, and Said El Yousfi. Former WPT-champion Guillaume Darcourt had the dubious honor of becoming the bubble boy after losing with pocket jacks against ace-king.
Once in the money, small cashes were made by [Removed:30] (54th - 26,000 MAD), Pierre Zerbib (49th - 26,000 MAD), Jeremy Saderne (40th - 27,000 MAD), Slimane Mameche (36th - 28,500 MAD), and Day 1b chipleader Kamel Atoui (34th - 28,500 MAD). The winner of the previous WPTDeepStacks in Vilamoura, Jimmy Livramento, finished in 21st place (35,000 MAD) after running into back to back aces.
Boubekeur Benhalima was the final bustout of the night and finished in 17th place (50,000 MAD. Benhalima shoved more than twice the size of the pot with pocket eights on a king-high board, but couldn't shake Damaso's king-ten and denied himself a spot on Day 3. The 16 remaining players are guaranteed the 50,000 MAD as well, and will be back at 2 p.m. to contest for the title.
PokerNews will be back as well from Casino de Marrakech in the five star Es Saadi Resort, so don't miss anything as the latest WPTDeepStacks champion will be crowned!
Redraw & End of Day 2 Chip Counts
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Jaouad Abida | Morocco | 1,045,000 | 52 |
| 1 | 2 | Miguel Couceiro | Portugal | 875,000 | 44 |
| 1 | 3 | Alex Sanchez | Spain | 770,000 | 39 |
| 1 | 4 | Abdullatif Attia | France | 595,000 | 30 |
| 1 | 5 | Yves Rolland | France | 550,000 | 28 |
| 1 | 6 | Kalidou Sow | France | 1,400,000 | 70 |
| 1 | 7 | Yassine Adib | Morocco | 210,000 | 11 |
| 1 | 8 | David Pecheur | France | 345,000 | 17 |
| 2 | 1 | Mathieu Chevalier | France | 275,000 | 14 |
| 2 | 2 | Mathieu Papineau | France | 800,000 | 40 |
| 2 | 3 | Jean Montury | France | 630,000 | 32 |
| 2 | 4 | Ramon Sol | Spain | 535,000 | 27 |
| 2 | 5 | Fabio Pinho Damaso | Portugal | 2,295,000 | 115 |
| 2 | 6 | Sebastien Boyard | France | 945,000 | 47 |
| 2 | 7 | Francois Tosques | France | 315,000 | 16 |
| 2 | 8 | Tobias Peters | Netherlands | 1,360,000 | 68 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,295,000 | 195,000 |
|
1,400,000 | 225,000 |
|
1,360,000 | -170,000 |
|
1,045,000 | 365,000 |
|
945,000 | 425,000 |
|
875,000 | -65,000 |
|
800,000 | 415,000 |
|
770,000 | -25,000 |
|
630,000 | -170,000 |
|
595,000 | 45,000 |
|
550,000 | -505,000 |
|
535,000 | 235,000 |
|
345,000 | -405,000 |
|
315,000 | -5,000 |
|
275,000 | 105,000 |
|
210,000 | -185,000 |
End of Day 2
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
After Benhalima's bustout, play was immediately suspended with 8:37 left in the level. The 16 remaining players redrew for the final two tables and bagged for the night. All chip counts and an end of day recap will follow.
Boubekeur Benhalima Eliminated in 17th Place (50,000 MAD / €4,571)
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
On a 
flop, Fabio Pinho Damaso checked to Boubekeur Benhalima on the button, who ripped it for 360,000, more than twice the size of the pot. Damaso had a confused look on his face, then called it off after about thirty seconds of thought.
Boubekeur Benhalima: 
Fabio Pinho Damaso: 
Damaso was miles ahead with his pair of kings and remained ahead after the 
turn and 
river. Benhalima became the final bustout of the night and collected 50,000 MAD for his 17th place finish.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,100,000 | 725,000 |
|
Busted |
Miracle Escape for Pecheur
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Earlier, David Pecheur chopped with pocket tens against two times ace-king when an eight-high straight hit the board. Then, he doubled up with ace-queen against king-queen and had 380,000.
After Abdullatif Attia had opened, Pecheur three-bet shoved from the big blind and Attia instantly called.
David Pecheur: 
Abdullatif Attia: 
It was all but over after the 
flop, leaving only backdoor miracles for Pecheur. The 
on the turn opened up a flush draw for the Frenchman, and the 
on the river completed the flush to give Pecheur a miraculous escape.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
750,000 | 280,000 |
|
|
550,000 | -700,000 |
Ricardo Hewitt Eliminated in 18th Place (41,000 MAD / €3,748)
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Boubekeur Benhalima raised to 50,000 in middle position, Ricardo Hewitt three-bet shoved 315,000 on the button and Benhalima called after a brief pause.
Ricardo Hewitt: 
Boubekeur Benhalima:
Hewitt had kicker issues and remained second best after the board brought 
to rail him in 18th. Hewitt explained after the hand he hadn't seen the raise from Benhalima.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
775,000 | 415,000 |
|
Busted |
Marco Hernandez Eliminated in 19th Place (41,000 MAD / €3,748)
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
In a button against big blind situation, Marco Hernandez four-bet shoved all in for around 500,000 and Abdullatif Attia called.
Marco Hernandez: 
Abdullatif Attia: 
Hernandez was all in and behind and couldn't catch up on a 
board, ending his bid in 19th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,250,000 | 765,000 |
|
Busted |
Pierrick Burban Eliminated in 20th Place (41,000 MAD / €3,748)
Level 23
: 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Back from his four-hand penalty, Pierrick Burban was active on a 
flop and called all in for 325,000 after Fabio Pinho Damaso had shoved.
Pierrick Burban: 
Fabio Pinho Damaso:
Damaso was a mathematical favorite with the nut flush draw and overcards but whiffed the on the turn. He got there on the river and Burban was out in 20th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,375,000 | 310,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 23
Blinds: 10,000/20,000
Ante: 20,000