Sow Among Day 1a Leaders in WPTDeepStacks Marrakech Main Event
For the fifth year in a row, Casino de Marrakech, part of the stunning Es Saadi Resort in the popular Moroccan city of Marrakech, sets the stage as host for a WPT event.
It's the second year the 13,200 MAD WPTDeepStacks Marrakech Main Event graces the calendar, and the highlight of the nine-day festival plays out over the course of four days.
Day 1a, the first of two starting days, wrapped up with 53 out of 161 surviving. While the sun was shining early on the day with temperatures surpassing 30 degrees Celcius, the weather suddenly turned overnight, and a rare rainstorm overtook the African city by surprise.
It appeared the rainstorm raged inside Casino de Marrakech as well, as chips were flying everywhere right off the bat. Once the dust was settled, it was Yves Rolland who claimed the Day 1a chip lead with 212,500. Rolland was closely followed by Boubekeur Benhalima (200,000), Jim Azazgour (190,500) and Kalidou Sow (190,000).
| Position | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yves Rolland | France | 212,000 |
| 2 | Boubekeur Benhalima | France | 200,000 |
| 3 | Jim Azazgour | France | 190,500 |
| 4 | Kalidou Sow | France | 190,000 |
| 5 | [Removed:445] | Marocco | 178,000 |
Sow (lead photo), who gained notoriety after winning three large tournaments in a row in December and January, is the biggest name that popped up in the top of the counts.
Sow was on a tear on Day 1a and nearly claimed the chip lead start to finish. However, a late slump set the French giant back a bit, and he had to relinquish his lead after being close to 300,000 not long before.
Other notables that made it through include Jeremy Saderne (105,000), 2017 WPTDeepStacks Europe champion Tobias Peters (86,000), Jimmy de Barros (85,000), and Said El Yousfi (56,000).
Today, Day 1b will kick off at 1 p.m. local time, sporting the same recipe as 1a. It means twelve levels of 40 minutes await the players, and reentries can be made up until the start of level 10 before the total playing field will be finalized.
PokerNews will be right back in Casino de Marrakech to cover the action until a new WPTDeepStacks winner is crowned on Sunday, September 30. Follow along in the PokerNews live reporting section.
