Love from Paris: French warriors win hard-fought victory in Marrakech

Maxime Parys emerged victorious from 853 entries in the Unibet Open Marrakech Main Event, winning 1,375,000 MAD. He staged a short-stack comeback, defeating Benjamin Hammann heads-up.

After four days of grueling competition in the heart of Morocco, the Unibet Open Marrakech Main Event has finally crowned its champion. 853 entries were submitted, with only one player ultimately emerging victorious.

This was no easy feat, but Maxime Parys overcame numerous obstacles at Casino de Marrakech to truly claim the title. He made a strong comeback from a disadvantage with only a few big blinds remaining, and was enthusiastically cheered on throughout the final day by his extremely boisterous family and friends.

He will take home a seven-figure prize of 1,375,000 Moroccan dirhams (MAD), including 1,125,000 MAD from the heads-up deal and an additional 250,000 MAD agreed upon with the winner. According to The Hendon Mob, this is the second-largest prize of his live poker career.

Unibet Open Main Event Final Table Results

* indicates a one-on-one agreement.

Champion's reaction

"We did it," were Maxime "Dabou" Parys' first words upon being crowned Main Event champion. Of course, only Parys himself was playing the cards he was dealt, but you would never guess that from the cheers that erupted at the Es Saadi resort in Marrakech every time Parys won a pot.

The final table was incredibly chaotic, with chips changing hands frequently and chip counts shifting rapidly, but one constant was the tremendous noise emanating from Parys' family and friends.

"I didn't come alone," Parys told PokerNews in his native French. "I came with my whole team." This drew cheers from his friends and family who had been watching the match for the past 11 hours.

"They were cheering for me throughout the entire final table. How could you possibly lose? Impossible."

Indeed, no matter how many setbacks he suffered, Parys kept fighting. Earlier in the day, he had his pocket queens shattered by Hammann, and then in another hand, he was forced out of the pot after seeing his opponent's hole cards pre-flop, leaving him with only five big blinds.

However, this did not stop "Dabou" from showing resilience. Instead of becoming discouraged, he described that hand as a "second life" because it gave him another chance to continue playing. He used this second life extremely wisely, explaining that he had "been down to only one or two big blinds in tournaments before" and knew exactly how to both accumulate chips and climb the ranks.

When he held A♥10♥, making a flush on the river and crushing Moneyhunter's pocket 10s to win a huge pot, the roof almost blew off. For Parys, that moment was when he knew victory was within his grasp.

He secured eliminations one after another, going from five to four, then from three to two. Even a formidable player like Benjamin Hammann couldn't stop him from winning the championship at that point.

Although Parys' live tournament winnings record dates back to 2014, he points out that this is his first live tournament victory, with the sole exception being a free-for-all he won in his younger days. Now he has finally broken the curse, and betting against this online prodigy in any event would be a risky decision. His skill at the table is certainly not to be underestimated by his compatriots, and any unfortunate player sitting next to him should not take it lightly.

Want to change Texas Holdem from "can understand" to "can win"?

If you want to learn more about Texas Hold'em, you can continue reading：

The Origins of Texas Hold'em: Why is it the World's Most Popular Poker Variant?
Texas Hold'em Hand Rankings and Showdown Rules (Beginner’s Essentials)
Texas Hold'em Betting teaching: Check / Bet / Call /Raise and Betting Strategy Analysis
The importance of Texas Hold'em position? Why is the back position more advantageous?
How to play Texas Hold'em? Novices learn Texas Hold'em rules, processes and betting teaching in 10 minutes
Texas Hold'em Starting Hands Strategy Guide: Which Hands to Play?
Texas Holdem Starting Hands Chart Tutorial: Complete Starting Hand Chart and Position Strategy
How to play Texas Hold'em? Complete rules and a hand's flow (Preflop / Flop / Turn / River)

Hunter Poker offers comprehensive tutorials, hand analysis, and strategy sharing to help players upgrade from simply "reading the cards" to understanding the range . This allows you to make better decisions in every hand.

▶️ In Facebook Follow Hunter Poker.
📘 In Youtube Follow Hunter Poker.

Want to learn more about Texas Hold'em gameplay and strategies?

Online Texas Hold'em free tournaments typically have no entry fee, making them ideal for beginners to familiarize themselves with the rules and for advanced players to test strategies and gain experience. View full brand profiles to learn about each platform's free tournament schedule, features, and target audience.

Go to learn more