In a battle of the short stacks, Thomas Cristobal emerged victorious by eliminating Thierry Gogniat. The Frenchman defended out of the blinds and got the rest in against Cristobal on the flop .
Thierry Gogniat:
Thomas Cristobal:
Cristobal, who won some chips the hand before, had Gogniat slightly covered. It was reverse domination for Gogniat, who was outflopped by Cristobal, and the turn and river put the final nail in Gogniat's coffin.
After finishing 19th in the same tournament two years ago, the Frenchman now finished in 20th place.
Thomas Cristobal is having a terrible start of the day. Arron Fletcher is seated to his left and took multiple pots of the Spaniard in the early stages. Cristobal has dropped to just eight big blinds.
Chipleader Julio Sanchez opened the action in middle position. Thibault Saillard shoved his last 210,000 in late position and Sanchez called right away.
Julio Sanchez:
Thibault Saillard:
Saillard needed to improve to stay alive, but couldn't find help on a board. The remaining players are now guaranteed at least 53,000 MAD.
Selmi Oulmekki opened to 40,000 from early position. Ricardo Manquet called in middle position and Cheng Li called from the small blind. The flop was and Oulmekki continued with 55,000. Manquet called, Li shoved all in for 320,000, Oulmekki called and Manquet folded.
Cheng Li:
Selim Oulmekki:
Li's flopped two pair was crushed by Oulmekki's higher two pair, giving the Chinese just two outs to draw to. The on the turn and were close, but not close enough, and Li headed for the rail.
Welcome to the final day of the 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event! After 22 levels of play, a field of 511 entries has been reduced to the last 23 hopefuls. All remaining players are guaranteed at least 46,000 MAD (€4,296), but each of them has their eyes set on the massive 1,400,000 MAD (€130,755) first-place payout and the coveted gold WSOP Circuit Ring that awaits the winner at the end of the night.
It's packed on top of the leaderboard, with a difference of less than one big blind between chipleader Julio Sanchez and Romain Lewis. While not much is known about Sanchez, Lewis is one of the hot young prospects that burst on the tournament scene in the past years. A fixture on the European circuit, Lewis already amassed over $350,000 in winnings in his short career and is looking to add a lot more today.
The most eye-catching name sits slightly behind the leaders in third place: Ricardo Manquant. Manquant won the inaugural Main Event of the WSOP International Circuit in Marrakech two years ago, where he collected an astonishing 1,300,000 MAD (€122,330). The Frenchman will be trying to cement his legacy by collecting a second WSOP Circuit ring here in Marrakech.
At 1 p.m. local time, play will resume with blinds at 10,000/20,000 and a running ante of 3,000. Levels will be 75 minutes for the remainder of the tournament and play will continue until the winner is known. PokerNews will be on the floor as it happens and provide start-to-finish coverage of what's sure to be a very long day. Don't miss any of the action as we crown a new champion in this exciting WSOP International Circuit Main Event.
.
and river 
put the final nail in Gogniat's coffin.
board. The remaining players are now guaranteed at least 53,000 MAD.
and Oulmekki continued with 55,000. Manquet called, Li shoved all in for 320,000, Oulmekki called and Manquet folded.
on the turn and 
