Home / Poker News October 2009 / WPT Marrakech – Savary wins
WPT Marrakech – Savary wins
Posted by: James Carter. - Wed, 2009-10-21 08:18
The final day of the first ever WPT stop on the African continent saw 17 players return to the tables of the Casino Marrakech to decide the winner of the €337,262 first prize.
When all was said and done and the
poker tournament was over, France’s Christophe Savary held the trophy high, having disposed of fellow countryman Ludovic Lacay, who had pretty much dominated the final day of action.
Short stacks didn’t waste time after the kick-off: Azziz Abdelmalki picked up a pair of 9s and shoved all-in on them barely 15 minutes into the first level. Unfortunately for him, Benjamin Pollack had been dealt pocket Qs and he was quick to make the call.
Though Abdelmalki did hit a straight draw, it never filled up and he was eliminated in 17th place. Kerem Kiyak was the next to go. His Ac, 6c didn’t really have any sort of a chance against Ludovic Lacay’s pocket Qs as no A fell on the board.
At such an alert pace, the final table was reached in no time at all. The final table bubble boy was Guillaume de la Gorce, whose pocket rockets were cracked by Savary’s pocket Qs on a board of 10,9,4,J,8 which gave Savary a straight.
The final table participants moved to the Epicurien Bar, where the hostilities began anew. It took around an hour for the first victim to fall though. Hicham Ben Halima saw his A,K blown to smithereens by Eoghan O’Dea’s pocket Ks, when the board failed to provide any sort of help. Balazs Botond was the next to go, followed by Patrick Meurisse.
Following the dinner break, the pace flared up once again. Benny Spindler was quick to head to the rail in 6th place, and Adrian Marin followed him soon in 5th.
The final four battled on for about 2 hours before the next elimination. Despite having been crippled by Savary in the largest pot of the day, Ludovic Lacay sent another player to the rail: Julien Arneodo was the victim this time. His stack still in the danger-zone, Lacay eventually locked horns with Savary again and he was eliminated in 3rd.
Given the huge difference in stack sizes, O’Dea never really stood a change heads-up against the Frenchman.
