Fresh off the heels of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) first ever stop in Jacksonville, Florida, the popular tournament tour has headed off to somewhat warmer climates in Marrakech, Morocco.
A total of 274 players paid their €3,000 for entry to the main event and with the final table now reached, there are still some top, top names set to battle it out for the title. One of the men is no stranger to final tables, having amassed a huge total in tournament winnings since he started playing a few years ago. That man is Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier.
Decked out in sunglasses, perhaps so he doesn’t show off the black eyes that his friend Lex Veldhuis dealt to him in their kickboxing match last week, he sits sixth on the leaderboard. As if that wasn’t enough, up in second is the 2010 World Series of Poker main event champion, Jonathan Duhamel, who will be looking to outdo his fellow Team PokerStars pro. Arnaud Mattern is another team PokerStars pro who has made it to the final nine.
Two Moroccan Players Amongst the Top 3 Stacks
Topping the field is Mohamed Ali Houssam. A Moroccan playing in his own country will no doubt have the rail behind him as he tries to beat off some of the superstars of the game. If he can’t manage it, fellow Moroccan Hassan Fares, who sits in third on the leaderboard may be able to. Whatever happens at this final table, however, you can be sure it will not be one to forget, with a talent packed final table.
The chip stacks for the final table in full are:
1st Mohamed Ali Houssam 1,330,000
2nd Jonathan Duhamel 1,126,000
3rd Hassan Fares 1,110,000
4th Toufil Ourini 1,054,000
5th Arnaud Mattern 952,000
6th Bertrand Grospellier 904,000
7th Rodney Assous 813,000
8th Maksim Martinov 646,000
9th Sebastien Ta 282,000
John
- hailing from Watford, UK John became hooked on the game of poker ever since his uncle taught him the rules of 7-card stud during a home game at the young age of 15. He caught the online bug three short years later after turning 18 and began regularly playing Texas Hold'em SNGs.
