Jean-Pierre Grand-Moursel Unexpected Chip Leader of Day 1b
Another record was broken at the WSOP Circuit Marrakech at the Casino de Marrakech inside the luxurious Es Saadi Resort. After three flights, the 15,000 MAD Main Event attracted a total of 1,163 entrants, surpassing last year's count of 1,041 players.
On Day 1b, 579 runners attempted to qualify for Day 2, but only 104 players succeeded. Among them, Adrien Sanz built a very big stack after the dinner break, and maintained it until the end (540,000).
He was expected to be the chip leader of the Day. But during the last hands, Jean-Pierre Grand-Moursel won a massive 570,000 chip-pot in a three-way all-in, and became the overall chip leader. At his table, a player nicknamed "Galicianarmy" was as lucky as Grand-Moursel in the last minutes and ended the Day with 456,000 chips.
Day 1b Top Ten
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean-Pierre Grand-Moursel | France | 570,000 | 143 |
| 2 | Adrien Sanz | France | 540,000 | 135 |
| 3 | Galicianarmy | Portugal | 456,000 | 114 |
| 4 | Kostya Zaks | France | 415,000 | 104 |
| 5 | Sandro Jose Alves | Portugal | 406,000 | 102 |
| 6 | Aitor Cruz | 346,000 | 87 | |
| 7 | Mickael Erbil | France | 323,000 | 81 |
| 8 | Asad Klein | Germany | 320,000 | 80 |
| 9 | Arthur Thiriart | France | 311,000 | 78 |
| 10 | Othman Benjelloun | Morocco | 307,000 | 77 |
| 9 | Christopher Marcadet | France | 306,000 | 77 |
| 10 | Roger Tondeur | France | 305,000 | 76 |
Mickael Erbil (323,000), Asad Klein (320,000) and Christopher Marcadet (306,000) also secured positions in the Top 10, while Idir Haiche (186,000), Gilbert Diaz (177,000), and Adrien Guyon (136,000) concluded the day around the average stack.
Despite reentering multiple times on Day 1a and 1b, Kuljinder Sidhu (130,000), Rainer Kempe (97,000) or Samy Boujmala (76,000) successfully bagged their chips. Clément Van Driessche (70,000), for instance, also managed to secure a bag.
All the 245 players still in the tournament, including the 64 players out of 152 entrants who bagged on Day 1c Turbo, will be back tomorrow, Saturday, January 2 at 1 p.m. for Day 2 of the Main Event. The action resumes on Level 15 with blinds of 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 big blind ante.
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates for this event until a winner is crowned.