Main Event
Day 2 Completed
2018 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech
Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2018 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech
Buy-in
15,000 MAD
Entries
486
Level
33
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
25,000
Level 21
: 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
Today, 152 hopefuls returned to the felt in the stunning Casino Marrakech in the Es Saadi Resort. After the money was reached, they played on and 16 of them made their way to Day 3. Even though a huge percentage of the remaining players either has French or Spanish roots, it’s a Russian that has taken the chip lead. Vladimir Shabalin bulldozed his way through the field and has bagged a big lead with 2,070,000 in chips.
Shabalin himself was the one to burst the bubble when he hit two sixes on the flop with ace-six against the ace-queen of Javier Tsunamy. HCC sits just behind Shabalin in second place. The anonymous Spanish player dominated all of his tables on Day 1a and continued where he left off on the second day. This gave him a substantial amount of 1,513,000 in chips to play with tomorrow.
Closing the podium is Shlomo Ohana with 1,505,000 in chips. Ohana was trending up and down the whole day but ended up on a high note with a strong run. After losing almost half of his stack with pocket queens against pocket kings, Ohana bounced back by eliminating Mathieu Papineau and Mohamed Mamouni in quick succession, causing an early finish for today as the tournament was scheduled to play ten levels or until 16 players were left.
Notables left in the field are Nicolas Noguera (746,000), who won the 2016 WSOP International Circuit Paris Main Event, and Pierre Merlin (648,000), who finished second in the 2017 WSOP International Circuit Paris Main Event in November.
Players that did make the money but not the end of the day include Harald Sammer (41,000 MAD), Otmani El Houcine (34,500 MAD) and Alexandre Reard (32,000 MAD). Not everyone walked away with a money finish, as Said El Yousfi, Michiel Brosky, Laurent [Removed:250], Ben Bensimhon, Viktor Sorokin, Drisse Maouchi, Jean Montury, Pierre Calamusa, Michael Lech and Smain Mamouni all left the stage empty-handed.
The 16 remaining players will return on Sunday, January 28, for Day 3 of the Main Event. Play resumes at 1 p.m. local time in level 21, which has a small blind of 8,000, big blind of 16,000 and a running ante of 2,000. Blind levels are 60 minutes up until level 25, when they'll be increased to 75 minutes each for the remainder of the tournament.
Come back tomorrow to see who will be crowned the winner and take home the coveted WSOP Circuit Ring and 1,300,000 MAD (~$142,000) for first place. PokerNews will be on hand to provide start-to-finish coverage of the final day.
Level 21
: 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
| Table | Seat | Name | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Mohamed Jhider | France | 651,000 | 41 |
| 1 | 2 | Paul | Spain | 1,220,000 | 76 |
| 1 | 3 | Vladimir Shabalin | Russia | 2,070,000 | 129 |
| 1 | 4 | Pierre Merlin | France | 648,000 | 41 |
| 1 | 5 | Antoine Rahal | France | 811,000 | 51 |
| 1 | 6 | Rony Halimi | France | 286,000 | 18 |
| 1 | 7 | Nathan | Spain | 852,000 | 53 |
| 1 | 8 | NFJM | Spain | 777,000 | 49 |
| 2 | 1 | Polo Santoni | France | 601,000 | 38 |
| 2 | 2 | Nicolas Noguera | France | 746,000 | 47 |
| 2 | 3 | Shlomo Ohana | Israel | 1,505,000 | 94 |
| 2 | 4 | Mounim Kaddouri | France | 340,000 | 21 |
| 2 | 5 | Roger Tondeur | France | 704,000 | 44 |
| 2 | 6 | HCC | Spain | 1,513,000 | 95 |
| 2 | 7 | TMV | Spain | 1,038,000 | 65 |
| 2 | 8 | Joseph Nassar | Lebanon | 814,000 | 51 |
Level 21
: 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,070,000
1,080,000
|
1,080,000 |
|
||
|
1,513,000
13,000
|
13,000 |
|
1,505,000
763,000
|
763,000 |
|
1,220,000
280,000
|
280,000 |
|
|
1,038,000
591,000
|
591,000 |
|
|
852,000
-141,000
|
-141,000 |
|
814,000
64,000
|
64,000 |
|
811,000
196,000
|
196,000 |
|
|
777,000
351,000
|
351,000 |
|
746,000
-74,000
|
-74,000 |
|
704,000
57,000
|
57,000 |
|
|
651,000
337,000
|
337,000 |
|
648,000
-48,000
|
-48,000 |
|
|
601,000
99,000
|
99,000 |
|
340,000
167,000
|
167,000 |
|
286,000
-31,000
|
-31,000 |
Level 21
: 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
The tournament has been stopped for today as there are 16 players left, the players will come back tomorrow at 1 pm local time to continue their pursuit to the win and the 1,300,000 MAD for first place. The full chip counts, redraw and recap of today will follow.
Level 21
: 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
Mohamed Mamouni was all-in and at risk as he was called by Shlomo Ohana.
Shlomo Ohana: 
Mohamed Mamouni: 
The board ran out 
- Ohana's king was the kicker to eliminate Mamouni from the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Level 21
: 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
Mohamed Jhider shoved all in with a short stack and was called by Paul.
Mohamed Jhider: 
Paul: 
The board ran out 
- Jhider doubled up as he hit a ten on the flop.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
940,000
-640,000
|
-640,000 |
|
|
314,000
-111,000
|
-111,000 |
Level 21
: 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
Shlomo Ohana raised from early position, HCC three-bet, Arnold Bellaiche four-bet shoved for 115,000 in total. Ohana folded and HCC called.
HCC: 
Arnold Bellaiche: 
The board ran out 
- the ace on the flop for HCC meant the end of the tournament life of Bellaiche and he was eliminated in 18th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,500,000
430,000
|
430,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Level 21
: 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
Pascal Rabany shoved all in from the under-the-gun position for 146,000 in total. Action folded to Paul, in the small blind, who called.
Paul: 
Pascal Rabany: 
The board ran out 
- Paul hit his ace on the river to knock Rabany out of the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,580,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 21
: 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
Shlomo Ohana shoved all in from mid-position and was called by Mathieu Papineau in the small blind with the smaller stack.
Shlomo Ohana: 
Mathieu Papineau: 
The board ran out 
- not enough help for Papineau and he was eliminated in 20th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |