Adrien Sanz Wins the 2023 Marrakech Poker Open Main Event (MAD 770,000 / €72,200)
Adrien Sanz has become the winner of the 55th edition of the Marrakech Poker Open 15,000 MAD Main Event in the beautiful Es Saadi Resort! Sanz defeated long-time player Karim Lehoussine heads-up to collect the first place prize of 770,000 Moroccan dirhams ( €72,200).
Sanz, who started the day with a comfortable chiplead, managed to stay ahead the entire final day, losing his advance only a brief moment to Lehoussine. The podium was entirely French this evening since in third we find Thierry Gogniat who comes back home with 380,000 MAD (€34,650).
The only Moroccan player of the final table, Mostafa Boukri, had to settle for fifth for 212,000 MAD (€19,330) while Swiss Dinesh Alt and runner-up of the MPO High Roller ended up in 7th place. Rosalie Petit, who won a WSOP ringin Marrakech in january , wasn't as fortunate today and ended up in ninth place.
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE (IN MAD) | PRIZE (~ IN EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrien Sanz | France | 770,000 | €70,200 |
| 2 | Karim Lehoussine | France | 530,000 | €48,320 |
| 3 | Thierry Gogniat | France | 380,000 | €34,650 |
| 4 | Nuno Correia | Portugual | 280,000 | €25,530 |
| 5 | Mostafa Boukri | Morocco | 212,000 | €19,330 |
| 6 | Thierry Morel | France | 166,500 | €15,200 |
| 7 | Dinesh Alt | Switzerland | 134,000 | €12,220 |
| 8 | Jorge Bouquet | Portugual | 107,000 | €9,850 |
| 9 | Rosalie Petit | France | 86,000 | €7,840 |
The Trophy Stays in Morocco
The victory came with some emotions for the French professional who lives in Marrakech since four years and is mostly playing Spin and Go tournaments online , capturing tonight its first title in a major event, and in a place that is close to his heart.
“In the few Main Events I've played live I haven't had much success so far, so I feel really grateful today. But since two years I have consistent results. On this festival I ended up runner-up of the Mystery KO event and I won the Progressive Bounty the next day so I'm very happy about my week! ” Sanz said afterwards in an interview with PokerNews.
"I play all the events here, even the monthly regular tournaments. I feel like home. And its also my first big final table, with my friends around, it's really a great feeling" added he. Sanz knows indeed a nice success in Morocco since he had also finished runner-up of the MPO Opener last October.
Sanz won a decisive hand during the heads-up, when he called all-in with two pair on the turn Lehoussine who had hit a flush. Sanz found one of the four outs he needed on the river to hit a full house and jump to a massive chiplead.
"I was quite in shock, but even with a 2% chance of winning, I still believed in it. I made a mistake in that spot, but you still need luck sometimes" added Sanz.
Some Action the Final Day
At 2 p.m., 10 out of 295 players returned to the felt with each of them already guaranteed 68,000 MAD (€7,840) for surviving two days. Most eyes were already on Sanz from the start, who began with a substantial lead, as well as experienced player Boukri and Nuno Correia, who started in second and third place respectively.
Boukri started the eliminations by sending Said Basri into the rail in 11th place to set up the official final table. Sanz then continued to extend his lead by eliminating Petit and Jorge Bouquet. Alt followed them in 7th place after he shoved preflop with As-Queen to be called by Boukri with Jack-Ten, who found a ten on the river.
After the exit of regular French player Tierry Morel in 6th place, Boukri ended up his run in 5th position when his pocket sevens crashed into Lehoussine's pair of kings.
Not long before the dinner break, Sanz took care of busting Portuguese player Nuno Correia in 4th place, who three-bet shove with pocket eights while Sanz held pocket tens. The three-handed play lasted only two hands, as Gogniat three-bet shoved in the small blind with Queens, while Lehoussine had Kings in his hands on the button.
The heads-up lasted more than one hour, and Lehoussine even managed to come back close to Sanz in chips despite his terrible bad beat after Sanz four-outered him on the river. However, Lehoussine ended up calling the four-bet shove from Sanz with 
while his opponent held 
, and found no help on the board to bow down in second place for place for €48,320.
That fully wraps up PokerNews coverage from Casino de Marrakech. In two months, action will heat up again as the Sismix, organised by Winamax, will take place from May 24 to 29. Our live reporting team will be right back on the floor to cover that event as well.
Until then, au revoir et à bientôt from sunny Marrakech!
