€1,350 Main Event
Day 3 Completed
2025 WSOPC Marrakech
€1,350 Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2025 WSOPC Marrakech
Buy-in
1,350 MAD
Prize Pool
19,421,500 MAD
Entries
1,523
Level
33
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Entries
29
Players Left
1
Level 33
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
In 2024, Max Deveson played until the early hours of the morning to win the World Series of Poker Marrakech Main Event. This year, Justin Tsui didn’t even wait until midnight to be crowned the 2025 winner.
Out of a record-breaking field of 1,523 entries, which generated a total prize pool of 19,421,500 MAD (approximately €1,877,955), Tsui navigated his way to the top, claiming his first WSOPC ring and a career-best cash prize of 2,700,000 MAD.
Spanish players Gandalf and Aitor Cruz secured second and third place, respectively. Meanwhile, Paul Tedeschi and French content creator Mathieu Choffardet fell short of bringing the ring back to France, finishing in fourth and fifth place.
2025 WSOPC Marrakech Main Event Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (in MAD) | Prize (in EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Tsui | Hong Kong | 2,700,000 MAD | €261,900 |
| 2 | Gandalf | Spain | 1,840,000 MAD | €178,480 |
| 3 | Aitor Cruz | Spain | 1,300,000 MAD | €126,100 |
| 4 | Paul Tedeschi | France | 965,000 MAD | €93,605 |
| 5 | Mathieu Choffardet | France | 720,000 MAD | €69,840 |
| 6 | Ina | Spain | 545,000 MAD | €52,865 |
| 7 | Dinesh Alt | Switzerland | 425,000 MAD | €41,225 |
| 8 | Mike Mcmanaman | Spain | 345,000 MAD | €33,465 |
| 9 | Volga Uyanik | France | 280,000 MAD | €27,160 |
Winner's Reaction
Justin Tsui’s relationship with Marrakech began a decade ago when he visited as a tourist. Since then, he hadn’t returned to Morocco—until this week: “I have friends who come to Marrakech every year, so this time, I told myself I would join them. I decided on Tuesday that I was going to come and play the tournament. I landed on Thursday morning, busted my first bullet, and reentered on Friday,” Tsui shared.
After navigating a “very smooth Day 2,” Tsui advanded to Day 3 with a strategy influenced by ICM dynamics.“From 15 players there were so many short stacks while I was third in chips that I just had to keep folding because of ICM. Then, once we were three-handed and then heads-up, I started playing more aggressively to try to win the tournament,” he explained.
This calculated approach paid off, earning him the title which adds itself to an already impressive run in 2024. “The last 6-7 months have been crazy with a couple of big final tables, so it feels good to take the ring and the trophy,” he said moments after his win. “I’ve been playing poker for more than 10 years, so it’s always a dream to win a big tournament. And there were very good players here, so I feel very fortunate to win this one.”
In addition to the prize money, Justin Tsui’s victory secured his entry into the next WSOP Tournament of Champions. “I didn’t know about that, but I was going to the US anyway,” he laughed. For now, he plans to return to Hong Kong in March and then “probably to the Irish Open in April”, to see if he can replicate his success in Marrakech in Ireland.
Day 3 of the WSOPC Marrakech Main Event started with one question: could Anthony Apicella secure a second WSOPC ring this week after winning the High Roller?
Leading the 29 remaining players at the start of the day, Apicella remained relatively quiet in the opening levels, while Aitor Cruz stole the spotlight, continuing to grow his stack from his two big blinds he had during Day 2. Cruz set the tone early by winning a flip to eliminate Hedi Boussetta. He then found pocket kings against Hugo Basin’s ace-queen to reach the final three tables.
The pace of eliminations then skyrocketed, with ten players exiting in just under 50 minutes. During this frenzy, it was better not to be at Mathieu Choffardet's table as he picked up ace-king, pocket tens, and pocket queens almost in a row. Thanks to these hands, he knocked out Belghiti Smail (23rd - 98,000 MAD), Stephane Roux (22nd - 98,000 MAD), and Alexandre De Zutter (18th - 115,000 MAD) and climbed on top of the chip counts at the two-table redraw. Meanwhile, Blaise Bourgeois (20th - 115,000 MAD) and El Mostafa Belkhayate (17th - 135,000 MAD) fell short of making the final two tables.
For Apicella, his dream week turned into a nightmare after Alone Zagury doubled through him. Despite eliminating Omar Gueye in 15th place (160,000 MAD), Apicella’s stack dwindled, and his run came to an end when his ace-queen fell to Gandalf’s ace-king, finishing in 13th place for 190,000 MAD.
Moments earlier, Choffardet faced a setback when he lost a big pot to Aitor Cruz's full house, but managed to recover by eliminating Filip Oles (14th - 160,000 MAD)in a cooler situation with pocket aces against kings. Oguz Kamacik (12th - 190,000 MAD) and Guillaume Darcourt (11th - 230,000 MAD) suffered a similar fate, while Ina multiplied his stack by ten in just three hands.
Zagury (10th - 230,000 MAD) ultimately bubbled the final table, which began with four out of nine players holding under ten big blinds. Volga Uyanik was the first to fall in 9th place (280,000 MAD) against Choffardet’s kings. Cruz then seized control of the table, participating in nearly every hand. Although he doubled up a few opponents, Cruz also eliminated Mike McManaman (8th - 345,000 MAD), Dinesh Alt (7th - 425,000 MAD), and Ina (6th - 545,000 MAD) before the dinner break.
Play resumed with a setup between Choffardet’s ace-king and Justin Tsui’s queens. The coin flip landed in Tsui’s favor, giving him the chip lead. Paul Tedeschi and Gandalf attempted comebacks, but Tsui ended Tedeschi’s run in 4th place (965,000 MAD) by calling the Frenchman’s shove with pocket sevens.
Aitor Cruz (3rd - 1,300,000 MAD) was next to fall to Tsui, and the heads-up play between Tsui and Gandalf was short-lived, as Tsui needed only a few hands to claim victory and be crowned the WSOPC Marrakech Main Event champion.
That concludes our PokerNews coverage of the 2025 WSOPC Marrakech Main Event. But the action will be back soon in Marrakech, with another edition of the Marrakech Poker Open from the 1st to the 6th of April. Stay tuned for live updates on our upcoming events, where we will continue to bring you the latest action, insights, and stories from the world of poker!
Level 33
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Gandalf limped from the button. Justin Tsui raised to 1,150,000 and Gandalf called to find a flop of 2?7?J?.
Tsui bet 900,000 and was called, then checked the 7? turn. Gandalf asked for 1,000,000, but Tsui didn't back down and called.
The K? completed the board and after Tsui checked, Gandalf announced "all-in" for 3,000,000. Tsui went deep into the tank and eventually made the call.
Gandalf: 10?9??
Justin Tsui: A?8?
Tsui hero-called with ace-high and caught Gandalf bluffing to become the new WSOPC Marrakech Main Event champion.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
45,675,000
11,150,000
|
11,150,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 33
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
On the third hand after the restart, Justin Tsui opened to 600,000 from the button with A?8? and Gandalf defended from the big blind with 5?4?.
Tsui continued for 500,000 on the 3?Q?A? flop, and fired a second barrel of 1,700,000 on the 4? turn. Gandalf check-called both times.
The 9? river landed on the felt and after Gandalf checked, Tsui bet 3,500,000. Gandalf went into the tank and called with a pair, but lost to Tsui's top pair.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
34,525,000
8,225,000
|
8,225,000 |
|
|
11,375,000
8,225,000
|
8,225,000 |
Level 33
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Justin Tsui and Gandalf are back at their seats. Shuffle up and deal!
Level 33
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
In just a few minutes, Justin Tsui and Gandalf will face off for the 2025 WSOPC Marrakech Main Event title.
Tsui holds the lead with 26,300,000 chips, while Gandalf trails with a 19,600,000 chip stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
26,300,000 | |
|
|
19,600,000
725,000
|
725,000 |
Level 33
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Aitor Cruz raised to 500,000 from the button. Justin Tsui in the big blind three-bet all-in with a bigger stack and Cruz called, finding himself at risk for 3,875,000.
Aitor Cruz: K?Q??
Justin Tsui:?A?8?
After the flop of 7?2?J?, Cruz found a straight with the 10? turn, but the 7? river didn't complete his straight and he was eliminated.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
26,300,000
4,000,000
|
4,000,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 33
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Justin Tsui opened to 500,000 from the button. Paul Tedeschi in the small blind three-bet all-in for 10,000,000 and made Aitor Cruz in the big blind fold. Tsui went deep into the tank and eventually made the call.
Paul Tedeschi: 5?5??
Justin Tsui: 7?7?
Tedeschi needed a five an a five only to stay in the tournament. But on Q?4?K?J?8?, he was eliminated in 4th place for 965,000 MAD.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
22,300,000
2,400,000
|
2,400,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 33
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Gandalf opened to 600,000 from the button, but Paul Tedeschi in the big blind three-bet to 2,000,000. Gandalf quickly called.
Tedeschi bet 1,500,000 on the 6?8?2? flop and was called, but checked the 10? turn. Gandalf checked back.
Tedeschi checked again the 10? river. Gandalf took this opportunity to go all-in for 11,500,000 with J?10? for trips. Tedeschi went into the tank, but folded A?K?.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
18,875,000
3,075,000
|
3,075,000 |
|
|
10,000,000
2,750,000
|
2,750,000 |
Level: 33
Blinds: 125,000/250,000
Ante: 250,000
