2015 WSOP International Circuit Morocco Day 1b: Omar Lakhdari Finishes in Front
As expected, the second starting day of the 2015 WSOP International Circuit Main Event at the Casino de Marrakech attracted a much larger field than Day 1a. Once registration for the tournament had ended, the screens showed 125 reentries for both starting days, and Day 1b alone attracted 313 entries. That pushed the overall attendance to 484 entries — only 18 shy of the record for a live poker event in Morocco.
Omar Lakhdari jumped into the lead very early on and increased his stack consistently to bag up 234,600 in chips. That was good enough for the Day 1b chip lead and third overall behind Frederic Rizzo's 264,000 and the 239,800 of Jorge Coello Esmoris on Day 1a.
Top 10 Day 1b Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Omar Lakhdari | 234,600 |
| 2 | Toufik Ourini | 221,700 |
| 3 | Olivier Averso | 207,900 |
| 4 | Gabriel Jimenez | 203,600 |
| 5 | Juan Riera | 191,100 |
| 6 | Manuel Makiadi | 184,600 |
| 7 | Goncalo da Costa Ferrao | 183,200 |
| 8 | Djamel Aouir | 182,300 |
| 9 | Mohamed Sekkat | 180,100 |
| T-10 | Anouar Mehlil | 161,600 |
| T-10 | Rachid Chaouki | 161,600 |
Notables with an big stacks among the 109 survivors from Day 1b included Toufik Ourini (221,700), Olivier Averso (207,900), Juan Riera (191,100), Manuel Makiadi (184,600), and Rachid Chaouki (161,600).
World Poker Tour Nottingham champion and European Poker Tour Deauville Main Event finalist Matas Cimbolas bagged up 149,200, Winamax Poker Team Pro Guillaume Diaz finished on 119,000, and then Soufiane Abbouti (116,900), Kuljinder Sidhu (115,400), and Martial Blangenwitsch (114,000) all claimed above-average stacks. Abdelhadi Kondah (76,400), Ben Warrington (62,700), and Jean-Philippe Rohr (31,100) were a little less fortunate, but will also return for Day 2.
Those who failed to failed to bag up chips included Surinder Sunar, Philippe Ktorza, Vitor Hugo, Said El Yousfi, Jessy Marillaud, Anaras Alekberovas, Patrick Sacrispeyre, and Brahim Oubella.
Day 2 will recommence at 2 p.m. local time on Saturday with 172 players remaining and the blinds at 800/1,600 with a running ante of 200. The second tournament day features levels of 60 minutes in length, whereas the final on Sunday will have an increased level duration of 75 minutes. The payout structure has not been confirmed yet, but shall be announced before the cards go into the air on Day 2.
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