Category Day 1A

Level 5: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 109/142

Scott Roberts gave it a try but wound up with “egg” on his face in a hand against Stefan Eggenberger.

There was nearly 15,000 in the pot when Eggenberger check-called a bet of 5,000 on the K♣4♠9♠ flop. Eggenberger checked the 7♠ turn. Roberts fired out for 15,000. Eggenberger tanked for about 40 seconds before he called.

The 8♠ river put four spade on the board. Eggenberger checked again before Roberts jammed for more than the 7,800 his opponent had remaining. Eggenberger snap-called.

Roberts turned over the 10♥10♦ but this wasn’t good enough to win the hand as Eggenberger rivered the queen-high flush and doubled his stack after he turned over the Q♠J♥ for the winning hand.

Stefan Eggenberger – 90,000
Scott Roberts – 16,000

Donna Morton, also known as Darkangel and the Godmother of Poker, just arrived straight off the plane to check out what was happening on Day 1a of the Grand Event while also catching up with old friends and meeting some new souls as well.

Morton has been a fixture at the Malta Poker Festival enjoying all the activities outside of the poker tables for the most part. But once in a while, Morton will surprise us and join in on the action herself.

It is too early in the week to know if Morton will play the Ladies First! or another side event but what we do know is that we are in for a treat and we are not just talking about her amazing company. Morton will be hosting several Spaces sessions at the artist formerly known as Twitter now known simply as X.

Also dropping by to say hi were poker mind coach Ilze Zolte and poker guru Craig Smith before they hop into the side event action in the Betsson One Bullet starting at 5 p.m.

We welcome all of our MPF family and wish them a good time and also good luck when they are at the tables.

Level 4: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 116/128

There was a bit of betting on the 2♠10♦Q♠ flop before Bartilomiej Grabowski jammed his sub-starting stack. James Ablott came in over the top for a six-figure jam before David Lappin got out of the way.

Bartilomiej Grabowski: K♣K♥
James Ablott: Q♣2♣

It was a bit of a cooler for Grabowski but he still had some hope with two cards to come. However, things appeared grim for Grabowski after the Q♥ landed on the turn with Ablott improving to a full house. Grabowski was unable to improve to a better full house on the 8♠ river and hit the rail while Ablott added chips to his already impressive stack.

James Ablott – 150,000
David Lappin – 57,000
Bartilomiej Grabowski – 0

Level 4: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 115/125

There were heaps of chips in a pot north of 70,000 which we learned later began with Antoine Talvard opening up from early position before getting calls by Jake Allen, Lisa Roberts, and Liutauras Armanavicius. Armanavicius got out of the way after some betting on the 10♣8♦Q♠ flop with more betting following on the 6♦ turn. All three players checked the A♥ river.

Talvard turned over the A♦Q♦ for the top two pair and won a big pot after Allen and Roberts mucked their cards.

Antoine Talvard – 115,000
Liutauras Armanavicius – 50,000
Lisa Roberts – 35,000
Jake Allen – 32,000

Player	Chips	Big Blinds
Boban Stevanovic	128,000	160
Lennart Bernett	125,000	156
Colin Cooper	116,000	145
James Ablott	112,000	140
Michele Adamo	100,000	125
John Forsman	95,000	119
Oyvind Stangnes	95,000	119
Ronald Christiaan Gijtenbeek	87,000	109
Mark Cornwell	70,000	88

Players are on their first 15-minute break of the day. We will post some of the top chip counts from around the room shortly after the action resumes with blinds at 400/800 along with an 800 big blind ante.

More and more players keep filing in with already 121 entries with 112 players still in their seats. Nicol Eisenbaltter-Todtmann, Samuel Coltman, Rayond Phelen, Idan Levy, Patrick Galvin, and Janet Kosloff were among the players to hit the rail before the first break with plenty of time to re-enter if they haven’t already done so.

Level 3: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 106/113

Guilio Spampinato was busy enjoying a massage when he faced off against Tayfun Rodoplu in a hand.

Rodoplu check-raised the 3♣4♠5♠ flop from 3,000 to 6,000 and Spampinato called to see the 7♣ turn. Rodoplu fired out for 6,000. Spampinato raised to 17,000. Rodoplu went into the tank before he jammed for more than the 32,000 his opponent had in his stack. Spampinato wasted no time in making the call which appeared to make Rodoplu a little bit nervous that he was in trouble.

“Aces?” asked Rodoplu before the cards were turned over.

To Rodoplu’s relief, Spampinato tabled the J♠J♥. Rodoplu was far ahead with the K♠K♦ and eliminated Spampinato, at least for now, after the 7♦ river paired the board.

Spampinato opted to continue his massage on one of the empty tables after busting his first bullet but perhaps we will witness him back in the Day 1a field later in the day with each player entitled to two re-entries if they so choose during each opening flight.

Tayfun Rodoplu – 120,000
Giulio Spampinato – 0

The €200 Texas Classic attracted 133 entries on Tuesday evening to create a €22,982 prize pool. After Israel’s Uri Hartuv and The Chip Race cohost David Lappin hit the rail in third and fourth places respectively after nearly 7 1/2 hours of play, the British duo in Kleber Chapon and Teresa Newton were left with €4,440 locked up and much more on the line.

It didn’t take long for Chapon to defeat Newton to claim the €6,150 top prize and earn the second side event trophy of the 2024 Malta Poker Festival Spring Edition. Congrats to Kleber and all of the 15 players who cashed in this event.

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Kleber Chapon	United Kingdom	€6,150
2	Teresa Newton	United Kingdom	€4,440
3	Uri Hartuv	Israel	€3,082
4	David Lappin	Ireland	€2,130
5	Cristian Mole	Italy	€1,530
6	Kelly Kellner	Canada	€1,030
7	Andrzej Marczykowski	Poland	€770
8	Karl Gialanze	Malta	€620
9	Andrew Leathem	United Kingdom	€530
10	Alfredo Cuti	Italy	€470
11	Mary Kerr	United Kingdom	€470
12	Erik Kjell	Sweden	€470
13	Matthias Kribben	Germany	€430
14	Sebastian Rebhan	Germany	€430
15	Ackan Bircan	United States	€430

Level 2: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 99/101

The Day 1a field is already north of 100 entries, meaning that the €300,000 guarantee will likely be merely a placeholder thanks to the enthusiasm from the players for this well-structured event and amazing atmosphere.

Kelly Kellner, Torsten Ridel, Sergio Gandolfo, Oliver Said, and Billy Silvertsson were among the recent players to join the action.