Will the WSOP Circuit Marrakech Main Event Break Attendance Records Again?

One of many first worldwide legs of the 2026 World Collection of Poker (WSOP) Circuit is sort of upon us, with the tour heading to the On line casino de Marrakech in Morocco between January 16-25. Twelve WSOPC ring-awarding occasions are on the busy schedule, complemented by a number of facet occasions.

In January 2025, the WSOPC Marrakech Important Occasion’s attendance was record-breaking. By the point late registration slammed shut on the match’s ultimate flight, some 1,523 entries had been processed and a 19,421,500 MAD ($1,943,001) prize pool created.

Seasoned grinders, together with Maria Lampropulos, Sonny Franco, Leo Worthington-Leese, Mehdi Chaoui, Guillaume Darcourt, Dinesh Alt, and Paul Tedeschi, cashed within the WSOPC Marrakech Important Occasion, however the match belonged to Hong Kong’s Justin Tsui. The champion padded his bankroll with the equal of $270,118, a career-best rating.

PokerNews’ stay reporting workforce was on the bottom by this 12 months’s WSOPC Marrakech Important Occasion, and will likely be available for the 2026 version from January 22. With the WSOP in Las Vegas seeing a number of record-breaking fields, there’s each likelihood that the WSOPC Marrakech Important Occasion will proceed the pattern and surpass this 12 months’s document.

2026 WSOPC Marrakech Full Schedule

The 2026 WSOPC Marrakech competition begins on the afternoon of January 16 with the primary of three flights within the WSOPC Opener. The 2025 version of this WSOPC ring-awarding occasion drew in 904 entrants. Andrew Hawkins outlasted all of them and returned dwelling with $48,483.

Along with the WSOPC Opener, gamers from far and broad will battle it out on the luxurious On line casino de Marrakech within the WSOPC Excessive Curler, the WSOPC Tremendous Excessive Curler, the WSOPC Mini Important Occasion, and extra.

On January 21, two tournaments are kicking off concurrently, every with a novel twist. The WSOPC Veterans is open solely to gamers aged 50 or older, whereas the WSOP Younger Blood is open solely to gamers underneath 50. The champions from each occasions will face off on January 22 within the WSOP Generational Conflict to determine which age group reigns supreme in Morocco.

In fact, the competition’s flagship match is the WSOPC Marrakech Important Occasion. Commanding an MAD 16,000 ($1,700) buy-in, the Important Occasion has a trio of beginning flights. Day 1a begins on January 22, with Day 1b and the turbo-structured Day 1c scheduled to shuffle up and deal on January 23. The second day’s motion runs all through January 24, with the ultimate day and the crowning of the champion going down on January 25, because the curtain comes down on the 2026 WSOPC Marrakech festivities.

US Greenback quantities are approximations to present some steering to the buy-in

2025 WSOPC Marrakech Ring Occasion Outcomes

Justin Tsui is the reigning WSOPC Marrakech Important Occasion champion. As talked about earlier, Tsui got here out on prime of a 1,523-strong area to win his first gold WSOPC ring and a career-best $270,118. Tsui solely determined to play the match two days earlier than the occasion’s first flight; it turned out to be an unbelievable choice.

A number of different gamers returned dwelling with WSOPC rings and sizeable scores to their identify. Anthony Apicella grew to become $130,971 richer courtesy of triumphing within the WSOPC Excessive Curler, whereas Rafik Zoughi gained the WSOPC Mini Important Occasion for $80,794.

Keep tuned to PokerNews’ stay reporting pages all through the 2026 WSOPC Marrakech Important Occasion for all of the updates and pictures you’ll be able to deal with.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the UK, and has labored within the poker business since 2008, and labored for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he grew to become the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from stay reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his position of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.