From Five Blinds to Champion: Maxime Parys Conquers Unibet Open Marrakech

Marrakech provided yet another story where cards shared the spotlight with emotion and friendship. Following Idir Haïche's victory at the UDSO, where two longtime friends faced off for the title, the Main Event of the Unibet Open took center stage. This time, attention was drawn to a player whose journey to the trophy was a fight for tournament survival.

The tournament, with a 12,000 MAD buy-in, saw 853 entries, creating a prizepool of 8,845,000 MAD. After four days of play, only one player remained with all the chips at Casino de Marrakech: Maxime “Dabou” Parys.

Revealed Cards Helped Avoid Elimination

One of the oddest moments in Parys' final came against a Spanish player known as Hammer. Parys opened from the button with K h 7 h for 1.7 million, committing about half of his stack. Hammer, on the big blind, called, mistakenly thinking it was an all-in and prematurely exposed K d J s. Although he quickly hid the cards, his opponent had already seen them.

After floor intervention, the hand continued. On a flop of 6 c 3 d 8 s, Hammer went all-in, and Parys folded, losing a significant portion of his chips but staying in the tournament. Hammer was penalized an orbit for prematurely revealing his cards, but in the next hand, Parys grabbed the blinds with an all-in holding A h 4 h. His comeback started with small but crucial steps.

A pivotal turn came against the Dutch player, Moneyhunter. He went all-in from the button for 5.05 million, and Parys called from the small blind for his remaining stack. With A h T h, he needed help against T s T c. A flop of 5 s Q h 2 h opened a flush draw, completed by a river 6 h. The Frenchman survived another critical moment, gaining a stack that allowed him to seriously contend for the trophy.

Four Nines Propelled Parys to Heads-Up

Parys secured his place in the final heads-up after a hand against Redwan Ferman. After opening from the button, Ferman defended the big blind and then shoved his remaining seven million into a pot of 2.75 million on a flop of 9♠9♠9♦. Parys eventually called with A♥K♠, while Ferman revealed Q♠6♥.

A turn 5♠ kept Parys in the lead. The river 9♣ set a quartet of nines, where the kicker prevailed. Parys’ ace meant a victorious pot and a ticket to heads-up, while Ferman claimed bronze and 670,000 MAD.

Parys and Benjamin Hammann struck a deal before the final showdown. Each secured 1,125,000 MAD, with an additional 250,000 MAD and the trophy still in play. The decision came in one of the opening hands of heads-up. Parys opened to 1.2 million, and Hammann called. On the flop Q s 3 s Q h, Parys bet 750,000, met with a check-raise to 1.95 million from his opponent. Parys called, facing an all-in after the turn 7 h.

Requesting a chip count, he found a call with J s 3 d. Hammann showed 3 c 2 c, with both having two pairs, but Parys held the better kicker. The river T d didn’t alter the outcome, letting the player once on the brink celebrate the title.

According to Parys, this marked his first win in a live tournament, except for a freeroll in his youth. He highlighted the support of his group cheering throughout the eleven-hour final day. From Marrakech, he took home the trophy, a winner’s belt, and 1,375,000 MAD, marking, according to the final report, the second-largest live win of his career.

The Results of the Unibet Open Marrakech 2026 Final Table:

Sources – YouTube, deepstackopen, PokerNews