A record-breaking field of 172 players entered Day 1a of the WSOP International Circuit Main Event in the lovely Es Saadi Resort in Marrakech. 49 of them made their way to Day 2 and are still in the hunt for the coveted WSOP Circuit Ring, with Rodrigo Strong - on his birthday! - claiming the overall Day 1a chiplead with 250,000.
The day started off slowly, with dealers at many tables unable to start dealing due to an insufficient number of players. The poker enthusiasts showed up in full force not long after though, eventually setting a new Day 1a attendance record for the WSOPC in Marrakech.
Great Britain's poker legend Barny Boatman didn't have the best of starting days, as he found himself on the rail soon. It took Boatman another two bullets to finally keep hold of a stack, but the experienced pro has a lot of work ahead after bagging 31,600.
Sarah Herzali had a much better day, ending her strong run at 160,000. Herzali wasn't afraid to play pots today by three and four-betting many times. She will be joined by the likes of Gerard Carbo (204,500), EPT11 Malta winner Jean Montury (151,000) and WSOPC Circuit Ring winner Dimitry Sukhorukov (147,000), who all find themselves near the top of the standings.
The French always have a strong showing in Marrakech and this tournament proved no different, with the French players making up the majority of the field. In the end, however, it was a Brazilian topping the leaderboard. The aforementioned Rodrigo Strong barely edged out France superstar Fabrice Soulier, who bagged 241,200 and sits in second.
All remaining players will return on Saturday for Day 2 of the Main Event. At 1 p.m. local time tomorrow Day 1b will commence, which will feature twelve levels of 45 minutes and a starting stack of 30,000 as well. Check PokerNews throughout the day for updates of this exciting Main Event.
Rodrigo Strong opened to 4,000 from early position and Dimitry Sukhorukov three-bet to 11,100 in middle position. Right behind him, Sarah Herzali four-bet small to 21,000. Strong got out of the way and Sukhorukov splashed the extra chips in.
Both players stared profusely at either other, then burst out laughing. It was all smiles as the dealer dealt the flop. Sukhorukov checked, keeping his eyes locked on Herzali. The French pro bet 13,000 and tried to keep here composure, but upon seeing Sukhorukov's stare she couldn't hold back her laugh again.
Sukhorukov folded face-up and blew Herzali a kiss, which got received surprisingly well. The atmosphere is casual here in Marrakech as the day draws to a close.
Sarah Herzali opened the action with a raise to 2,300 in early position. No less than three players called, including Patrick Vittet on the button. The flop came and Herzali continued 4,700, with Vittet being the only caller.
On the turn, Herzali showed no sign of slowing down as she bet 8,000. Once again, Vittet made the call.
The river was the and now Herzali checked. Vittet cut out a bet of 19,100, leaving himself with a mere 15,000 behind. Herzali went in the tank, visibly unhappy with the situation. After considering it for over three minutes, she slid in a call.
Vittet knocked the table and mucked his hand face down. Herzali mucked as well and scooped the large pot.
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.
Welcome to Day 1a of the World Series of Poker International Circuit €1,350 (15,000 MAD) Main Event in Marrakech! It's the third edition of the WSOP International Circuit Event in the beautiful Casino de Marrakech, part of the fabled Es Saadi Resort. After Ricardo Manquant won the inaugural event two years ago, it was Mathieu Selides who stood tall last year.
After a grueling 15 hours of play on the final day, the Frenchman finally overcame Belgium's Anthony Rodrigues to claim the massive first prize of 975,000 MAD (Moroccan Dirhams, which equals €95,479), and the coveted gold WSOP Circuit Ring.
The casino will once again play host to what's sure to be a fiercely contested Main Event. In his title defense, Selides will be facing some strong opposition. One of them will be hometown hero Rachid Rami, fresh off an almost €100,000 score in the same casino mere months ago, who's expected to show up and contest for the title.
2016 WSOP Circuit Global Championship winner Said El Yousfi, Guillaume Darcourt, Jerome Sgorrano, Cheng-Wei Yin, Sonny Franco, Henrique Pinho, Abdelhadi Kondah and Anas Tanidi are also expected to show up, trying to add a WSOP Circuit Ring to their already impressive poker resumé. Dmitriy Suhokurov already has a ring on his finger after winning the €365 opening event earlier this week, kicking off this WSOP International Circuit Event with a bang.
This four-day event features two starting days. Day 1a will be starting at 1 p.m. local time today. Players will start with 30,000 in chips and levels will be 45 minutes throughout the day. Late registration and reentries will be allowed up until the end of level 9. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on the floor to deliver start-to-finish coverage of this exciting WSOP International Circuit Main Event.
flop. Sukhorukov checked, keeping his eyes locked on Herzali. The French pro bet 13,000 and tried to keep here composure, but upon seeing Sukhorukov's stare she couldn't hold back her laugh again.
and Herzali continued 4,700, with Vittet being the only caller.
turn, Herzali showed no sign of slowing down as she bet 8,000. Once again, Vittet made the call.
and now Herzali checked. Vittet cut out a bet of 19,100, leaving himself with a mere 15,000 behind. Herzali went in the tank, visibly unhappy with the situation. After considering it for over three minutes, she slid in a call.