Main Event | 2018 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech

01-28-2018 11:59 UTC

Who Will Be Crowned As 2018 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event Champion?

Shirley Ang

The final Day of the World Series of Poker International Circuit Main Event is here and a winner will be crowned tonight. The 16 remaining players are guaranteed to take at least 59,000 MAD (~$6,450) home, with them but they will all have their sights set on that first prize of 1,300,000 MAD (~$142,000) and the coveted WSOP Circuit Ring.

The player who is closest to grabbing those prizes right now is Vladimir Shabalin. Winning this tournament would be the biggest live cash for the Russian, who's record cash to date is €56,200 for a third-place finish in 2016 in Malta. Second in chips HCC has 95 big blinds to play with today and he’s seated with Shlomo Ohana, who has 94 big blinds and sits in third. There is not much known about HCC, including his real name, but he left an impression on all the tables he played at during Day 1a and Day 2. Not much more is known about Ohana, this will be his second live cash in his career, with his first ever cash (€4,150) taking place about 2 months ago in Bucharest.

Well-known players left in this field are Nicolas Noguera and Pierre Merlin. Both are sporting below average stacks for now but with more than 40 big blinds each, there's room to play. Noguera won the WSOP International Circuit Paris Main Event in 2016 for €220,000. Merlin came second in the 2017 WSOP International Circuit Paris Main Event for €135,000. Both of them join their fellow countrymen in their quest for WSOP Circuit glory, as the French are sporting no less than eight hopefuls among the final 16.

Former Champions

Year	Entries	Champion	Country	Prize
2018	486	-	-	€114,383
2017	511	Arron Fletcher	United Kingdom	€130,755
2016	446	Mathieu Selides	France	€95,479
2015	484	Ricardo Manquant	France	€122,330

The tournament will be restarting at 1 pm local time on Level 21 with a small blind of 6,000, a big blind of 12,000 and a running ante of 2,000. Levels will continue with 60 minutes each until Level 25, when blinds will be increased to 75 minutes for the remainder of the tournament. Play will continue until the winner is crowned. PokerNews will be here to provide you with all the trials and tribulations of the WSOP International Circuit Main Event in Casino Marrakech.

Player	Chips	Progress
Vladimir Shabalin	2,070,000

HCC	1,513,000
Shlomo Ohana	1,505,000
Paul	1,220,000
TMV	1,038,000
Nathan	852,000
Joseph Nassar	814,000
Antoine Rahal	811,000
NFJM	777,000
Nicolas Noguera	746,000
Roger Tondeur	704,000
Mohamed Jhider	651,000
Pierre Merlin	648,000
Polo Santoni	601,000
Mounim Kaddouri	340,000
Rony Halimi	286,000

Tags: Arron Fletcher Mathieu Selides Nicolas Noguera Pierre Merlin Ricardo Manquant Shlomo Ohana Vladimir Shabalin

01-28-2018 15:00 UTC

Roger Tondeur Eliminated in 14th Place (69,000 MAD)

Shirley Ang

Level 24 : 12,000/24,000, 4,000 ante

Roger Tondeur shoved all in for around 520,000 from mid-position. HCC was next to act in the hijack, he thought about it for a while and then decided to also shove all in for about 1,000,000. Action folded to Polo Santoni in the big blind. He looked at his card, tanked for a little while and then also went all-in for 806,000.

Polo Santoni:
HCC:
Roger Tondeur:

When all the cards were open, Tondeur, Santoni and HCC got up immediately. The players from the other table also swarmed Table 2 to see what was happening. The floor announced to the audience what the hole cards were and then instructed the dealer to deal the flop.

The first card in the window was the but then he opened the rest: . Santoni cheered loudly and gasps could be heard all over the tournament room. The players at the table all seemed in shock, HCC was still staring at the table with his hands in his hair. Shlomo Ohana just kept staring with his mouth wide open. Tondeur just shrugged.

The dealer then dealt the on the turn and the on the river to complete the board. Tondeur shook hands with the rest and walked away to find the rail. He has been eliminated in 14th place and pocketed 69,000 MAD.

Player	Chips	Progress
Polo Santoni	2,200,000 1,050,000	1,050,000
HCC	262,000 -588,000	-588,000
Roger Tondeur	Busted

Tags: Polo Santoni Rpger Tondeur Shlomo Ohana

01-28-2018 15:22 UTC

HCC Eliminated in 13th Place (81,000 MAD)

Shirley Ang

Level 24 : 12,000/24,000, 4,000 ante

Polo Santoni limped in from the under-the-gun position. Shlomo Ohana did the same from the hijack. HCC, on the button, shoved all in for 302,000 in total. Santoni called and Ohana folded.

Polo Santoni:
HCC:

The board ran out to give Santoni the higher two pair, tens and fives. Santoni dealt the final blow to HCC now and he was eliminated from the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
Polo Santoni	2,350,000 150,000	150,000
HCC	Busted

Tags: Polo Santoni Shlomo Ohana

01-28-2018 16:10 UTC

Nathan Eliminated in 12th Place (81 000 MAD)

Shirley Ang

Level 25 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante

Mounim Kaddouri shoved all in for 965,000 in total from the small blind and was called by Nathan in the big blind who had less with 640,000 behind.

Mounim Kaddouri:
Nathan:

The flop came to give Nathan a flush draw. The turn brought them the and the river completed the board with the .

No flush for Nathan and he has been eliminated from the tournament in 12th place and will take €8,006 with him to Spain.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mounim Kaddouri	1,630,000 635,000	635,000
Nathan	Busted

Tags: Mounim Kaddouri

01-28-2018 16:55 UTC

Mounim Kaddouri Eliminated in 10th Place (113,000 MAD)

Shirley Ang

Level 25 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante

Mohamed Jhider raised to 65,000 from the cutoff, Paul called on the button. Mounim Kaddouri shoved from the big blind for about 350,000. Jhider folded and Paul called.

Paul:
Mounim Kaddouri:

The board ran out - no help for Kaddouri as he became the final table bubble boy. He was sent home in 10th place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Paul	2,850,000 390,000	390,000
Mounim Kaddouri	Busted

Tags: Mohamed Jhider Mounim Kaddouri

01-28-2018 17:25 UTC

Nicolas Noguera Eliminated in 9th Place (135,000 MAD)

Shirley Ang

Level 26 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

Vladimir Shabalin raised to 75,000 from the under-the-gun position, Nicolas Noguera shoved all in from late position for 295,000. TMV called on the button and opened his cards, the floor was quick to cover them up but it's not sure of Shabalin saw them or not. Shabalin also shoved, having TMV covered, TMV quickly folded.

Vladimir Shabalin:
Nicolas Noguera:

The board ran out - no help for Noguera and he was eliminated in 9th place. He won't be adding a second WSOP Circuit Ring to his collection.

Player	Chips	Progress
Vladimir Shabalin	3,800,000 1,560,000	1,560,000

TMV	2,150,000 -300,000	-300,000
Nicolas Noguera	Busted

Tags: Nicolas Noguera Vladimir Shabalin

01-28-2018 21:02 UTC

Polo Santoni Eliminated in 8th Place (168,000 MAD)

Shirley Ang

Level 28 : 30,000/60,000, 10,000 ante

Vladimir Shabalin raised to 135,000 from the cutoff, Paul shoved all in from the small blind and so did Polo Santoni. Shabalin looked at his cards once more and then folded them. Santoni had the shorter stack with 725,000.

Paul:
Polo Santoni:

The window card was the but then the rest of the flop became visible: to give Paul quad nines and Santoni needed the last king to survive in the tournament. The turn brought them the and Paul shook the hand of Santoni even though the king on the river could change the whole outcome. The river completed the board with the . Not the king Santoni wanted and he was eliminated after about 3 hours of 8-handed play and only ten minutes after the dinner break had finished. The French have lost another man in the battle to bring the title back to France.

Player	Chips	Progress
Paul	2,780,000 795,000	795,000
Polo Santoni	Busted

Tags: Polo Santoni Vladimir Shabalin

01-28-2018 21:22 UTC

TMV Eliminated in 7th Place (213,000 MAD)

Shirley Ang

Level 28 : 30,000/60,000, 10,000 ante

Rony Halimi raised to 150,000 from mid-position and action folded to TMV in the big blind, who shoved for 750,000 in total. Halimi tanked for about two minutes. TMV called the clock and the floor immediately said that Halimi had not had enough time. After another minute or so, and some mumbling to himself while looking at his own chip stack, Halimi called.

Rony Halimi:
TMV:

The flop came giving TMV top pair and Halimi middle pair. The turn brought them the , this now gave Halimi trip queens, TMV needed a king to double up or a ten to split the pot. The river completed the board with the on which Halimi's rail cheered loudly. And Halimi screamed: VAMOS!"

TMV was sent to the payout desk to collect his 213,000 MAD (€18,739). Another Spanish cannon has left the field, now only Paul and NFJM are left to try and win the war.

Player	Chips	Progress
Rony Halimi	3,300,000 865,000	865,000
TMV	Busted

Tags: Rony Halimi

01-29-2018 00:07 UTC

Mohamed Jhider Eliminated in 6th Place (269,000 MAD)

Shirley Ang

Level 30 : 50,000/100,000, 10,000 ante

Mohamed Jhider shoved all in for 930,000 in total from the button and was called by NFJM in the big blind with a similar stack.

NFJM:
Mohamed Jhider:

The board ran out - even though the queen on the turn was enough to eliminate Jhider from the tournament, the ace on the river made NFJM's hand even stronger. Jhider has left the tournament in 6th place and will go home with 269,000 MAD.