Roy Al Rineh is the presumed chiplead at the moment, sitting pretty behind a tower worth 150,000 in chips. Al Rineh just took down another pot to extend his lead by turning up the heat on Kamel Tir.
With both players at the turn, Al Rineh bet out 5,600 on an board. Tir called in position, allowing both players to see the fall on the river.
Al Rineh came up with a sizable bet of 21,300, which send Tir deep in the tank. Staring intensely at Al Rineh, Tir was looking for any information that could aid him in his decision. Eventually, after nearly four minutes of thought, the French Pro gave it up and Al Rineh won without showdown.
Level 9 is the last level of the day in which players can either jump in, or reenter the tournament. So far, there are 171 entries on the clock, of which 98 are still in the hunt for a WSOP Circuit ring.
After this level, the field will go on a dinner break, then return to play three more levels before Day 1a is concluded.
Over at table one, Belgium's Tony Lefort has grabbed a monstrous chip lead after a massive clash with Kamel Atoui. The battle left Atoui without any chips and launched Lefort to a pile worth 270,000.
According to Lefort, he defended from the big blind with and flopped two pair on . Atoui held for top pair, kept firing on all cylinders, and eventually shoved all in on the river. Lefort called it off to send the Frenchman to the rail.
The players are on a 60-minute dinner break. Late registration is now closed, capping Day 1a at 172 players. 86 of them will be returning after the break, as we play three more levels of 45-minutes before chips are bagged.
Dimitry Sukhorukov is hot here in Marrakech, after taking down the opening event earlier this week for €10,177. Sukhorukov is looking for his second ring of the week in the Main Event and is shaping up to be a contender.
The Russian stormed out of the dinner break by eliminating a player, running his stack up to 170,000 in the process.
Masbah Ben Baba and Thibault Saillard got their stacks preflop in the middle. Saillard had a chance to knock out Ben Baba, but was trailing with against Ben Baba's
board. Tir called in position, allowing both players to see the 
fall on the river.
and flopped two pair on 
. Atoui held 
and Ben Baba doubled up.