Main Event | 2019 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech

01-20-2019 10:27 UTC

Robert Leads Quest to Crown Winner in Marrakech

Milko van Winden

The final day of the 2019 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event is here. Only 22 players are left after Day 2 and they will battle it out today in Casino de Marrakech in the Es Saadi Resort - Palace to figure out who will take home the first-place prize of 1,500,000 MAD (approx. €138,000).

Julien Robert sits on top of the leaderboard. He collected 1,575,000 chips on Day 2 and has the best position to win the coveted gold WSOP Circuit ring. Robert obtained some chips and started applying pressure on the players at his table. It was Robert who eventually busted Alamo Lopez on the bubble. Isabel Baltazar is chasing him in second place. She won a big three-way all-in on Day and never looked back. She starts the day with 1,541,000.

Other players that will take their seats today include Pierre Antoine Quignard (742,000), Nicolas Pacifico (633,000), Sonny Franco (589,000), and Jimmy Kebe (314,000). They all still have a shot to take home the grand prize and the gold WSOP Circuit ring.

Seat Draw

Table 1	Name	Table 2	Name	Table 3	Name
1	[Removed:335]	1	Nicolas Pacifico	1	Cheva
2	Kamel Atoui	2	Edoardo Mortera	2	Ramon Sol
3	Abdelhamid El Khayati	3	Alexis Ibbarola	3	Jimmy Kebe
4	Julien Robert	4	Mouloud	4	Steve Berdah
5	Isabel Baltazar	5	Hassan Fares	5	Najib Bennis
6	Pierre Antoine Quignard	6	---	6	---
7	[Removed:69]	7	Ibrahim Kiriakus	7	Eric Rabut
8	VPA	8	Sonny Franco	8	Olivier Paris

They will start in level 23 (blinds 10,000/20,000 - ante 3,000) and they will play down to a winner. PokerNews will provide coverage until a winner is crowned in Marrakech.

Tags: Alamo Lopez Isabel Baltazar Jimmy Kebe Julien Robert Nicolas Pierre Antoine Quignard Sonny Franco

01-20-2019 13:26 UTC

Paris Misses Out on the Final Two Tables

Milko van Winden

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

Olivier Paris had a mere four big blinds in front of him and he just lost those. Paris takes home 61,000 MAD (approx. €5,600) for his 17th place finish.

Player	Chips	Progress
Olivier Paris	Busted

Tags: Olivier Paris

01-20-2019 13:58 UTC

Kamel Atoui Eliminated in 16th Place (61,000 MAD)

Milko van Winden

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

Kamel Atoui made some bold plays during the tournament but his run has now come to an end. Atoui got his last chips in the middle with pocket sevens and he had to hit a seven against the pocket queens of Edoardo Mortera.

Mortera already flopped a boat earlier to double up and he hit a set this time when the flop fell queen-high. No running sevens for Atoui and he was sent to the rail in 16th place, cashing for 61,000 MAD (approx. €5,600).

Player	Chips	Progress
Edoardo Mortera	900,000	380,000
Kamel Atoui	Busted

Tags: Edoardo Mortera Kamel Atoui

01-20-2019 16:25 UTC

Franco Folds the River

Milko van Winden

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

Najib Bennis limped under the gun and it folded to big blind Sonny Franco who checked.

The flop came down and Franco check-called a bet of 40,000. The turn was the and Franco check-called another bet of 40,000.

The river was the and when Franco checked Bennis bet 75,000. Franco had a smile on his face as he ended up open-folding . Bennis was nice enough to show Franco to let him know he made a correct fold.

Franco has been chipping up quite nicely over the last level and is now one of the chip leader of the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
Sonny Franco	2,900,000	655,000
[Removed:335]	2,670,000	395,000
Julien Robert	2,150,000	-250,000
Najib Bennis	1,350,000	-415,000
Edoardo Mortera	800,000	-100,000

Tags: Najib Bennis Sonny Franco

01-20-2019 16:34 UTC

Nicolas Pacifico Eliminated in 10th Place (135,000 MAD)

Milko van Winden

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

Nicolas Pacifico was left short after he lost the three-way pot where Alexis Ibarrola got eliminated. In the next hand, he was the player that got eliminated from the tournament.

He got his last 215,000 in the middle with and he was put at risk by Abdelhamid El Khayati with .

The board ran out and the poker dealer was sent to the rail to collect 135,000 MAD, which is approximately €12,600.

A full final table redraw will follow soon after the players had a short break.

Player	Chips	Progress
Abdelhamid El Khayati	1,600,000	265,000
Nicolas Pacifico	Busted

Tags: Abdelhamid El Khayati Alexis Ibarrola Nicolas Pacifico

01-20-2019 18:24 UTC

Abdelhamid El Khayati Eliminated in 9th Place (156,000 MAD)

Milko van Winden

Level 27 : 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante

The flop was and Jimmy Kebe and Abdelhamid El Khayati got their chips in the middle. El Khayati was the at-risk player in the pretty sizeable 3,600,000 pot.

Kebe flopped a flush draw and bottom pair with and El Khayati was playing .

The turn was the and gave Kebe the flush raight away and El Khayati was drawing dead.

The river was a courtesy and El Khayati was sent to the cashier to collect 156,000 MAD (approx. €14,400). El Khayati had a runner-up finish in the WPT DeepStacks last December in Dauville where he cashed for €68,000. He adds another final table to his resume but his run ends in ninth place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jimmy Kebe	5,100,000	1,780,000
Abdelhamid El Khayati	Busted

Tags: Abdelhamid El Khayati Jimmy Kebe

01-20-2019 22:57 UTC

Franco Doubles After Favorable Runout

Milko van Winden

Level 30 : 50,000/100,000, 15,000 ante

Sonny Franco raised to 220,000 from the cutoff and he was called by Isabel Baltazar from the button and big blind Najib Bennis.

The flop came down and Bennis instantly moved all in. Franco called for his tournament life, being covered by Bennis, and Baltazar got out of the way.

Sonny Franco:
Najib Bennis:

The turn was the which gave Franco a total of seven outs. He needed to hit a five or a six and he did exactly that when the river was dealt.

Franco scored a double up and is now back over the average stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Sonny Franco	2,745,000	1,530,000
Najib Bennis	2,600,000	-1,140,000
Isabel Baltazar	1,165,000	-235,000

Tags: Isabel Baltazar Najib Bennis Sonny Franco

01-20-2019 23:16 UTC

Isabel Baltazar Eliminated in 7th Place (222,000 MAD)

Milko van Winden

Level 30 : 50,000/100,000, 15,000 ante

Isabel Baltazar got her last 815,000 to the middle from late position and small blind Julien Robert called. Edoardo Mortera folded his big blind and they opened up.

Isabel Baltazar:
Julien Robert:

The flop came down and Baltazar was left with one out to win the hand or a runner-runner straight to chop the pot.

The turn was the and she had just the case queen as her out left but the river was the and she was eliminated from the tournament.

The last woman standing in the tournament takes home 222,000 MAD, which is roughly €20,500.

Player	Chips	Progress
Julien Robert	3,900,000	825,000
Isabel Baltazar	Busted

Tags: Edoardo Mortera Isabel Baltazar Julien Robert

01-20-2019 23:29 UTC

Hassan Fares Eliminated in 6th Place (283,000 MAD)

Milko van Winden

Level 30 : 50,000/100,000, 15,000 ante

Hassan Fares got his money in the middle with and he was in need of help against the of Edoardo Mortera.

The flop wasn't that good for Fares when the dealer spread out . The turn gave him some outs but he got eliminated when the river came down.

Fares gets to collect 283,000 MAD (approx. €26,000) for his sixth place in the 2019 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event.

Player	Chips	Progress
Edoardo Mortera	2,900,000
Hassan Fares	Busted

Tags: Edoardo Mortera Hassan Fares

01-21-2019 00:06 UTC

Najib Bennis Eliminated in 5th Place (365,000 MAD)

Milko van Winden

Level 31 : 60,000/120,000, 20,000 ante

Najib Bennis moved all in for 2,250,000 from the cutoff and Sonny Franco sat in the big blind when it folded to him. He peeked at his first card and as soon as he peeked at the other he announced ''call''.

Bennis showed and Franco had him dominated with .

The flop was and Franco had an even bigger lead than he had preflop. The turn was an and Bennis needed a non-heart jack to win the pot, but the river was the and Franco took down the pot.