2019 Wonder8 Marrakech

MAD15,000 High Roller
Day: 2
Event Info

2019 Wonder8 Marrakech

Final Results
Winner
Ali Alawadhi
Winning Hand
aq
Prize
312,000 MAD
Event Info
Buy-in
15,000 MAD
Prize Pool
1,318,000 MAD
Entries
101
Level Info
Level
24
Blinds
20,000 / 40,000
Ante
40,000

MAD15,000 High Roller

Day 2 Completed

Ali Alawadhi Wins Wonder8 High Roller (312,000 MAD)

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Ali Alawadhi, credit Mounir Mahroug
Ali Alawadhi, credit Mounir Mahroug

Day 2 of the Wonder8 High Roller MAD 50,000 (�1,800) High Roller got back underway at 3 p.m. local time. Twelve hours later, just before 3 a.m., a winner was crowned at the stunning Casino de Marrakech.

Heads-up, Ali Alawadhi defeated Thierry Morel to claim the first-place and MAD 331,000 (�30,529) while Morel secured himself a payday of MAD 251,000 (�23,150) after the three last players agreed to a deal before battling for the trophy and earning a bottle of Chivas each.

Alawadhi, an American player from Florida with $637,000 total live earnings, beat a field of 101 entries and earned the fourth victory of his career. French-speaking commentators jokingly told Morel would finish second once again after being the runner-up in several tournaments, and that was exactly what happened.

The most expensive tournament of the 10-day festival at the Casino de Marrakech saw more players enter after the start of Day 2 to boost the field to 101 entries, including 34 re-entries, and create a prize pool of MAD 1,318,000 (approximately �121,577). Only the top eleven spots were guaranteed a return on their investment, and the result of the final table can be found below:

PositionPlayerCountryPayout (in MAD)Payout (in �)
1Ali AlawadhiUnited States312,000�30,529*
2Thierry MorelFrance251,000�23,150*
3Jean-Jacques ZeitounFrance226,000�20,844*
4Pierre ZerbibFrance135,000�12,447
5David TavernierFrance100,000�9,220
6David DuoekFrance80,000�7,376
7Mark RostronUnited Kingdom64,000�5,900
8Mohamed El WelyMorocco50,000�4,600

* denotes deal of the last three players

Hassan Fares was the chip leader at the beginning of the day, with 315,000 in chips, but ended up bubbling the tournament. He was eliminated by Pierre Zerbib. Anas Tadini was among the players to rebuy in the event; he fired six bullets of the total of 34 reentries. He wasn't able to parlay those efforts into a cash.

The list of the unfortunate players not reaching the money included Bernard Guigon and Marius Conan and other notables such as Andrew John Leathem, Mathieu Papineau, Achille Voltolina, and Julien Ferey.

After the bubble burst, Mateo was the first player to reach the money in eleventh place for 30,500 MAD (�2,812), quickly followed by young French pro Corentin Ropert for the same prize. Ropert moved his last 260,000 in the middle with queen-ten off and got eliminated by Thierry Morel with ace-five on a dry board.

Hassan Nashar ended up in the ninth place, losing a flip against Alawadhi and bubbling the official final table. Mark Rostron, was amongst the biggest stacks of the field for some time but finished in seventh place due to a massive hand losing with top-pair and a flush draw against the turned flush of eventual runner-up Morel.

After the elimination of Pierre Zerbib in fourth place, the three remaining players agreed to a deal that left the winner's trophy and MAD 60,000 up for grabs.

In just a few hours, the cards will be back in the air in the poker room of the Casino de Marrakech as the only starting day of the Wonder8 MAD 8,800 (�800) Main Event kicks off at 1 pm. The PokerNews live reporting team will provide updates until a winner is crowned on Sunday, March 31th, 2019.

Tags: Ali AlawadhiMarrakechWonder8

Thierry Morel Eliminated in 2nd Place (251,000 MAD)

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Thierry Morel, credit Mounir Mahroug
Thierry Morel, credit Mounir Mahroug

Thierry Morel pushed all in with {q-Spades}{j-Spades} for 1,150,000 and got snap-called by Ali Alawadhi with a better hand, {a-Hearts}{q-Hearts}.

The board ran out {6-Clubs}{j-Diamonds}{a-Clubs}{q-Diamonds}{10-Clubs}, bringing no help to the French player who finished in second 251,000 MAD (�23,253) after a deal. Alawadhi claimed the trophy and the 60,000 MAD for the winner, earning a total of 312,000 MAD (�28,780) today.

A full recap of the day will follow shortly.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Ali Alawadhi us
Ali Alawadhi
5,050,000
1,845,000
1,845,000
Profile photo of Thierry Morel fr
Thierry Morel
Busted

Jean-Jacques Zeitoun Eliminated in 3rd Place (226,000 MAD)

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Jean-Jacques Zeitoun, credit Mounir Marhoug
Jean-Jacques Zeitoun, credit Mounir Marhoug

Jean-Jacques Zeitoun open-shoved from the small blind for his last 15 big blinds, 600,000 chips, and Ali Alawadhi made the call in the big blind.

Jean-Jacques Zeitoun: {j-Diamonds}{9-Spades}
Ali Alawadhi: {6-Diamonds}{6-Clubs}

It was a typical flip situation and Zeitoun still had hope after a flop {5-Spades}{3-Diamonds}{k-Hearts}, but a {6-Spades} fell on the turn, giving Alawadhi a set of sixes to lock up the hand. The river {10-Spades} couldn't change anything, making Zeitoun the 3rd place finisher for 226,000 MAD (�20,844).

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Ali Alawadhi us
Ali Alawadhi
3,205,000
610,000
610,000
Profile photo of Thierry Morel fr
Thierry Morel
1,705,000
255,000
255,000
Profile photo of Jean-Jacques Zeitoun fr
Jean-Jacques Zeitoun
Busted

Tags: Ali Alawadhi

Level: 24

Blinds: 20,000/40,000

Ante: 40,000

Alawadhi Puts Pressure

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Ali Alawadhi keeps successfully putting pressure on his opponents and won a few pots in quick succession.

On the last hand, the flop showed {5-Clubs}{9-Spades}{q-Spades} when Alawadhi bet 90,000 with a mere {k-Diamonds}{8-Clubs}. Jean-Jacques Zeitoun check-folded his {k-Clubs}{8-Diamonds} in the big blind and the American player racked the chips.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Ali Alawadhi us
Ali Alawadhi
2,595,000
595,000
595,000
Profile photo of Thierry Morel fr
Thierry Morel
1,450,000
-490,000
-490,000
Profile photo of Jean-Jacques Zeitoun fr
Jean-Jacques Zeitoun
915,000
-315,000
-315,000

Deal Done, Playing for 60,000 MAD

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

The three remaining players have come to terms on a deal to split the vast majority of the remaining prize money three ways. As the biggest stack, Ali Alawadhi claimed 252,000 MAD (�23,235) in prize money, closely followed by second-place Thierry Morel who received 251,000 MAD (�23,143), while Jean-Jacques Zeitoun banked 226,000 MAD (�20,838).

A total of 60,000 MAD remains in the prize pool, as well as the trophy to play for, so play will continue until a winner has emerged.

Pierre Zerbib Eliminated in 4th Place (135,000 MAD)

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Pierre Zerbib
Pierre Zerbib

Jean-Jacques Zeitoun started the action on the button with a raise to 75,000 with {q-Diamonds}{10-Clubs}. Ali Alawadhi chose to three-bet to 285,000 with {6-Spades}{6-Clubs} in his hand. Pierre Zerbib looked at his cards to see {k-Hearts}{k-Clubs} and announced all-in for 385,000. Zeitoun folded and Alawadhi completed.

Alawadhi was dominated in this hand but a miraculous board {6-Hearts}{4-Diamonds}{2-Spades}{9-Clubs}{a-Diamonds} gave him trips and the elimination of Zerbib for 135,000 MAD (�12,447).

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Ali Alawadhi us
Ali Alawadhi
2,000,000
525,000
525,000
Profile photo of Pierre Zerbib fr
Pierre Zerbib
Busted

Tags: Pierre ZerbibAli Alawadhi