Mathieu Selides Wins 2016 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event for €95,479
Day 3 of the World Series of Poker International Circuit Main Event at the Casino de Marrakech began with 25 players, and it took a grueling 15 hours to crown a winner. Not quite reaching the 5 a.m. mark of last year's event, but shortly before 4 a.m. Mathieu Selides finally outlasted Anthony Rodrigues to win the 975,000 dir (€95,479) first-place prize, the result of a prior heads-up deal that saw them split the prizepool and play for 50,000 dir (€4,657) and the championship ring.
Selides came into the day third in chips but soon rocketed up the leaderboard, eliminating the first player of the day JxJx vs 8x8x, and never looking back. Coming into the final table as chip leader, the Frenchman was cheered on by a raucous crowd, and despite a topsy turvy heads-up battle with Rodrigues — with both players having chances to win the match — the pair agreed to a deal and to play for the ring.
Final Table Results
| Place | Payer | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mathieu Selides | France | $95,479 |
| 2 | Anthony Rodrigues | Belgium | $90,822 |
| 3 | Joao Pinto Correia | Portugal | $55,888 |
| 4 | Choukri Chergui | Morocco | $41,916 |
| 5 | Loic Blarez | France | $31,486 |
| 6 | Samir Beldjoudi | France | $24,218 |
| 7 | Erwann Pecheux | France | $19,095 |
| 8 | Jonathan Khalifa | France | $15,369 |
| 9 | Pedro Oliveira | Portugal | $13,133 |
Selides was helped in no small part by the elimination of start-of-the-day chip leader Sonny Franco midway through level 25, where he was all-in and behind holding the A♥Q♣ against Franco's K♠K♣. The board ran out 6♣4♦10♦7♥A♠ and the ace on the river vaulted Selides ever skywards.
The final table started with Selides holding double the chips of his nearest competitor, and the eliminations of Jonathan Khalifa (€15,369), Samir Beldjoudi (€24,218) and Joao Pinto Correia (€55,888) ensured that his chip stack was always healthy heading into the heads-up battle.
There were chances to win for both players, first Rodrigues' Q♦Q♣ was cracked by the A♥K♥ of Selides on a 10♦A♦K♠2♦K♣ board, and then Selides' A♥9♦ was beaten by Rodrigues, who held the J♥6♥ on a 2♥7♥8♠10♦8♥ board.
Eventually, after nearly four hours of heads-up play — and two hours after the players agreed a deal — it was Selides who emerged triumphant. In the final hand of the tournament, Rodrigues moved all in with the K♣J♠ and Selides called with A♣6♠. The crowd was the loudest it had been considering the size of Rodrigues' stack when he moved all in, and on a board of 8♦2♦A♠ they didn't give up hope.
"Queen! Ten!" was the shout, and the Q♠ certainly raised a few more voices. But the J♣ on the river meant that Rodrigues had to settle for second place and a €90,822 consolation prize.
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