The Unibet Open is the most important live poker festival organized by poker and sports betting provider Unibet. From September 24 through October 4, the tournament series has its first stop in Marrakech. And the MAD 12,000 Main Event at the Casino de Marrakech has proven extremely popular. The tournament recorded a total of 853 entries across four starting flights, setting a new attendance record for the Unibet Open.
The tournament was played with a buy-in of 12,000 MAD, which corresponds to a standard buy-in of around 1,100 euros. The Main Event kicked off on September 30 with the first flights. On Day 1A, 211 players took their seats, 71 of whom survived the day. Day 1C was particularly strong, with 370 entries making it the largest single flight. Of these players, 121 advanced to Day 2. With 853 entries in total, the Main Event in Marrakech surpassed the Unibet Open’s previous records. At the same time, a prize pool of 8,845,000 MAD is up for grabs.
A total of 272 players qualified for Day 2 across the four starting flights. After the four starting days and the first three levels of Day 2, 62 players remain in the running. Leading the pack is Spain’s Truquens, who bagged a stack of 2,060,000 chips. He will start Day 3 with 103 big blinds. Filippo Lazzaretto is close behind with 1,955,000 chips. Romain Lewis holds third place with 1,600,000 chips. Abdullah Akbarpoor is also among the leaders with 1,595,000 chips. They are followed by Rui Bouquet with 1,160,000 chips and Nil Mestari with 1,060,000 chips.
Mario Boos, a finalist at this year’s WSOP Main Event, is also still in the running. The Frenchman finished Day 2 with 790,000 chips, placing him in 22nd place. The winner will take home the top prize of 1,500,000 MAD. The minimum cash prize is 25,000 MAD. The bubble burst with the heads-up match between Aitor Cruz and Antoine Nassiris. This meant the remaining 111 players made it into the money. Among the well-known players who were eliminated were WSOP bracelet winner Jonathan Therme, Sonny Franco, Malcom Franchi, and Unibet Poker ambassadors Margaux Ponnelle and Alexandre Reard.
The tournament will resume at the Casino de Marrakech on October 3 at 2:00 p.m. local time. The remaining players will resume play at Level 22, with blinds set at 10,000/20,000 and a 20,000 big blind ante. On Day 3, the field will be whittled down to the final table. The Unibet Open Festival runs from September 24 through October 4 at the Casino de Marrakech and features more than 30 tournaments. In addition to the 12,000-MAD Main Event, the schedule includes a Unibet DeepStack Open, Progressive Knockout and Bounty tournaments, as well as Omaha and Turbo events. The festival will conclude with a 16,000 MAD High Roller and a 25,000 MAD Super High Roller.
More information is available on the Unibet Festival Marrakech website. The top 10 chip leaders after Day 2 of the 12,000 MAD Main Event at the Unibet Open:
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Truquens | Spain | 2,060,000 | 103 |
| 2 | Filippo Lazzaretto | Italy | 1,955,000 | 98 |
| 3 | Romain Lewis | France | 1,600,000 | 80 |
| 4 | Abdullah Akbarpoor | Turkey | 1,595,000 | 80 |
| 5 | Bruno Soutavong | France | 1,560,000 | 78 |
| 6 | Hammer | Spain | 1,405,000 | 70 |
| 7 | Rui Bouquet | Portugal | 1,160,000 | 58 |
| 8 | Patrice Chamarre | France | 1,100,000 | 55 |
| 9 | Nil Mestari | France | 1,060,000 | 53 |
| 10 | Ghali Hsissen | Morocco | 1,040,000 | 52 |
(Source: Pokernews Live Reporting)