Live Blog – Day 1A

Day 1a attracted a banner field of 215 entries to eclipse the 118 entries attracted on Day 1a last spring. A total of 59 players survived with many more to come with four more opening flights set to take place on Thursday to Saturday.

Marko Luksa was the star of the day after parlaying his 50,000 opening stack into a massive pile of 687,000 in chips. Michal Gavurnik (577,000) was the only other player to bag more than 500,000 with Giuseppe Incognito (395,000), Dario Berisa (383,000), and Martyn Frey (341,000) rounding out the top five players.

Just behind this crew was Liwei Wang. Wang had the distinction of being the first player out in the Day 1a field. He made his second bullet count by ending the day with 318,000 in chips. Antonino Karman was the only other player not mentioned above 300,000 in which with 317,000.

Meanwhile, former Dutch footballer Regilio Vrede advanced with 289,000, whereas Scott Roberts (83,000) and the friendly local player Matthew Micallef (22,000) were among the short-stacked players to make it to Day 2.

Here is a look at all of the final Day 1a chip counts:

Player	Chips	Big Blnds
Marko Luksa	687,000	137
Michal Gavurnik	577,000	115
Giuseppe Incognito	395,000	79
Dario Berisa	383,000	77
Martyn Frey	341,000	68
Liwei Wang	318,000	64
Antonino Karman	317,000	63
Laviolle Skrypnikov	296,000	59
Alen Bakovic	290,000	58
Regilio Vrede	289,000	58
Krisztian Kis	281,000	56
Jack Hoyle	260,000	52
Martynas Brazdzionis	247,000	49
Wouter Schuurbiers	236,000	47
Riyaz Badami	225,000	45
Attila Kassitzky	221,000	44
Cory Desmond	211,000	42
Todor Genov	206,000	41
Pavle Pecelj	205,000	41
Mark Berman	200,000	40
Giuseppe Loreto	193,000	39
Gregory Joly-Muffat	190,000	38
Baldassare Santaluna	189,000	38
Manoj Navani	185,000	37
Thibault Branly	175,000	35
Giulio Spampinato	172,000	34
Anthony Whalley	171,000	34
Simon Griffin	162,000	32
Jeremy Bametz	158,000	32
Andrew Azzopardi	154,000	31
Alfredo Cuti	154,000	31
Simon Forster	152,000	30
Dmitri Dan	147,000	29
Theo Schmitt	146,000	29
Salvatore La Vardera	142,000	28
Fabio Sturba	142,000	28
Alessandro Di Marco	140,000	28
Thomas Steedman	135,000	27
Jonathan Pastore	126,000	25
Michael Frost	123,000	25
Parminder Kandola	122,000	24
Daniel Palsson	114,000	23
Maxime Chilaud	107,000	21
Chris Yiallourou	98,000	20
Moreno Ferrari	95,000	19
Michael Rossiter	89,000	18
Salvador Villaluz	89,000	18
Mandred Quint	84,000	17
Scott Roberts	83,000	17
Robrecht Winterink	80,000	16
Carlos Lopez	77,000	15
Robert Binek	74,000	15
Nima Shaft Saken	69,000	14
Hugo Menant	68,000	14
Andrew Farrey	64,000	13
Maciej Toma	62,000	12
Calum Bagnall	61,000	12
Teppo Kuivanen	43,000	9
Matthew Micallef	22,000	4

We hope you enjoyed today’s updates and there is much more to come as we will be reporting the Grand Event action each day until a winner is crowned on Monday.

Level 13: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Entries: 59/215

The clock has been stopped with less than 10 minutes remaining in Level 13. The floor announced that each table will play three more hands after the hand the players are on. After that, surviving players will have the option to either bag their stacks into Sunday’s Day 2 or forfeit their stacks entirely and try again during a future opening flight.

We will update all the final chip counts in about 30 minutes with a recap heading to the News section in the morning which we will also link into the blog.

Thank you for tuning in and see y’all virtually tomorrow!

Level 13: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Entries: 68/215

Scott Roberts was once again low on chips when he jammed the button for 11 big blinds. Federico Burgos Puentes came in over the top from the small blind and the player in the big blind got out of the way.

Scott Roberts: K♣4♣
Federico Burgos Puentes: A♥A♦

It was looking like showers for Roberts but he stayed in his seat anyway as anything can (and did) happen.

The table got excited after Roberts gained some hope with an open-ended straight draw after the 2♠3♥5♦ flop. The tables turned on the 6♥ turn with Roberts now holding the nuts with a straight and Puentes drawing to three outs for a chop. The J♠ river completed the board and Roberts doubled his stack near the end of the day by cracking his opponent’s rockets.

Scott Roberts – 95,000
Federico Burgos Puentes – 50,000

Level 13: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Entries: 70/215

Koen Meustege was down to just 500 chips for 1/8th a big blind. We could have a zero to hero story in the making. It has already begun with Meustege doubling up twice before the following hand took place.

Meustege jammed for about 19,000 and was called by Wouter Schuurbiers.

Koen Meustege: A♠10♠
Wouter Schuurbiers: A♣3♥

Meustege was ahead the entire way and had Schuurbiers drawing dead by the turn with the 9♠6♠5♥10♦3♦ running out on the board to earn his third double-up. He still has some work to do as he had about 12 big blinds after the hand.

Wouter Schuurbiers – 160,000
Koen Meustege – 46,000

Level 13: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Entries: 73/215

The final blind level of Day 1a has kicked off with 73 players in their seats. Surviving players will bag and tag their stacks once this blind level is in the books.

Level 12: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 74/215

There were four players in the pot when Boris Zismanov jammed for 10 big blinds with the jack-four-five on the flop. He was looked up by Antonino Karman with the other two players getting out of the way.

Boris Zismanov: Ace-Jack
Antonino Karman: Pocket Fours

Zismanov had a strong hand with top pair with the top kicker. However, he was drawing to a pair of runners with Karman hitting the flop even better with the bottom set.

Miracles can happen but they didn’t today for Zismanov with blanks hitting both the turn and river. Meanwhile, Zismanov has one of the bigger stacks in the room with around 400,000 in chips.

Antonino Karman – 400,000
Boris Zismanov – 0

Level 12: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 77/215

Koen Meustege opened for 6,000 before Totti Lind jammed for nearly 45,000. Wouter Schuubiers came in over the top for more than the 80,000 or so Meustege had behind. Meustege folded and the cards were turned over.

Totti Lind: A♠5♠
Wouter Schuurbiers: K♠K♥

The table began to laugh. We learned later it was because the table was joking earlier about how good a hand ace-five suited was and how it had to be spades. Meustege apparently flashed the 5♠ during a couple of hands earlier in this blind level.

While it was all fun and games, Lind’s Day 1a bullet was on the line. He was unable to improve on the J♦9♥6♥3♠2♠ board and was on the rail.

While Lind was gone, his headphones remained in his seat. His headphones also had no chips and thus were returned by this reporter to Lind a few minutes later.

Level 12: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 86/215

Here is a look at all the stacks north of 200,000 at the last break.

Player	Chips	Big Blinds
Dmitri Dan	352,000	117
Regilio Vrede	294,500	98
Pavle Pecelj	290,500	97
Giuseppe Loreto	288,500	96
Martyn Frey	280,500	94
Jack Hoyle	277,500	93
Krisztian Kis	269,000	90
Cory Desmond	235,500	79
Simon Griffin	229,500	77
Martynas Brazdzionis	225,000	75
Alen Bakovic	218,000	73
Marko Luksa	215,000	72
Dmitri Dan	208,500	70
Jeremy Bametz	206,800	69
Davide Iannaco	202,500	68

Players are on their final break of the day. Blinds will increase to 1,500/3,000 with a 3,000 big blind ante for Level 12. After that, just one more blind level will be played with blinds at 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 big blind ante.

Players that survive these two levels will be asked to bag their stacks into Sunday’s Day 2. Players also have the option to forfeit their stacks to try to get an even bigger stack during one of the other opening flights.

We will update some of the bigger stacks around the room around the time the action resumes. Best of luck to the Day 1a players during the final two blind levels.

Level 11: 1,500/2,500 (2,500)
Entries: 92/215

Manoj Navani bet 8,000 into a pot of a bit more with the 6♣2♣Q♦J♦ on the board after the turn. Guiseppe Incognito raised to 22,000. Navani called before both players checked the [9d] river.

Navani turned over the A♠J♠. Incognito turned over just the J♥ before he mucked his hand and the dealer awarded Navani the pot.

Guiseppe Incognito – 165,000
Manoj Navani – 125,000

Level 11: 1,500/2,500 (2,500)
Entries: 97/215

A fun hand, depending on your perspective, just took place at Table 11. Scott Roberts jammed for 35,500 from early position and was called by Laviolle Skrypnikov from the big blind.

Scott Roberts: K♥J♥
Laviolle Skrypnikov: Q♣Q♠

Roberts was behind and stayed that way despite his jack connecting on the 3♥3♠J♣ flop. The 3♦ turn improved both players to a full house.

Skrypnikov celebrated a little too early after the 3♣ river put quads on the board. Roberts’ king-kicker came into play to double his stack instead of hitting the rail.

“No, no, no!” said Skrypnikov when he realized he lost the hand. “This can’t be happening!”

He then asked the dealer if he could show his cards again so he could take a photo and the dealer obliged.

“I forgot about that out,” said Skrypnikov.

“I forgot as well,” replied Roberts.

Roberts still has some work to do but is in far better shape than being on the rail. Best of luck to both Skrypnikov and Roberts.

Scott Roberts – 75,000
Laviolle Skrypnikov – 70,000

Level 10: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Entries: 101/215

Albert Sapiano has been off and running on Day 1b and was above 250,000 in chips. His stack has settled down slightly after the following hand.

Michael Bland jammed a pot-sized bet of 31,500 with the 7♠J♥3♠J♦6♥ on the board. Sapiano called only to get some bad news.

Bland turned over J♣9♣ for trip jacks. This was miles ahead of Sapiano who was only beating a bluff with A♦K♠.

“I never win with ace-king,” Sapiano shared to the table after the hand.

Albert Sapiano – 200,000
Michael Bland – 115,000

Level 10: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Entries: 116/215

There wasn’t a ton in the pot when both The Chip Race podcast co-host and Unibet Poker ambassador David Lappin and Peter Kaspar checked the 9♦7♦A♠ flop.

Lappin led out for 4,000 on the 6♣ turn. Kaspar jacked it up to 12,000. Lappin jammed for 44,000 and Kaspar quickly called.

David Lappin: 5♥3♣
Peter Kaspar: A♣7♦

Kaspar was ahead with his two pair but Lappin still had some hope with his double belly buster. He was unable to complete his double gutshot straight draw with the K♣ completing the board on the river.

Lappin shared with us after the hand he will be back for another shot at Grand Event glory but not likely tomorrow. We look forward to Lappin’s return and wish him better luck on his second bullet.

Peter Kaspar – 190,000
David Lappin – 0

Level 10: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Entries: 116/215

Moreno Ferrari check-called a bet by Humberto Galindo of 7,000 into a pot of around 30,000 with the 8♥A♦4♣ already on the flop before both players checked the 7♦ turn. The A♥ river paired the board and Ferrari checked again.

Galindo fired out for 15,000. Ferrari paused for a moment before tossing his 15,000 far enough indicating he felt he was behind.

Galindo turned over the K♣Q♥.

“King-queen,” Ferrari double-checked with the dealer.

Shortly after, he turned over his 9♦9♠ to win the hand.

Moreno Ferrari – 180,000
Humberto Galindo – 150,000

Level 9: 1,000/1,500 (1,500)
Entries: 128/215

Four players checked with around 30,000 in the pot after the Q♥K♦10♠ landed on the flop. Matthew Micallef took charge after the 8♣ turn with a bet of 11,000. Two players folded before Wouter Schuurbiers called.

The A♥ river completed the board. If either player held any jack, they would have improved to Broadway. Quick spoiler alert: Neither player had a jack.

Micallef checked before Schuurbiers opted to bet 15,000. Micallef thought for a few moments before he called. Schuurbiers turned over A♦Q♠ for two pair. Micallef could have mucked his hand but showed the K♣Q♦ to show Schuurbiers and the rest of the table he was ahead until the untimely ace hit the river.

Wouter Schuurbiers – 115,000
Matthew Micallef – 50,000

Level 9: 1,000/1,500 (1,500)
Entries: 128/215

Angelo Vietti bet 25,000 into a pot of slightly more with the 5♠A♦8♥6♥ on the board after the turn. Regilio Vrede jammed over the top for more than 150,000. Noel Studer, who was also in the hand, folded before Vietti called off for about 55,000 in total.

Angelo Vietti: 6♠5♦
Regilio Vrede: 6♥6♦

Despite hitting two pair, Vietti was drawing dead to Vrede’s set. He was officially eliminated on Day 1a after a blank river.

Regilio Vrede – 275,000
Angelo Vietti – 0

Level 9: 1,000/1,500 (1,500)
Entries: 134/215

Players are back from break and late registration has closed. The Day 1a field attracted a whopping 215 entries or nearly 100 more than the 118 entries during last Spring’s Day 1a of the Grand Event.

Unibet Ambassador and The Chip Race podcast co-host David Lappin was among the players to enter their first bullet during the break.

Best of luck to the remaining 134 players!

Players are on a 15-minute break. Late registration will be closed for Day 1a when the action resumes.

Level 8: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 133/206

There was about 30,000 in the pot with the 2♣7♠Q♦9♦2♥ on the board with about 30,000 in the pot when Dmitri Dan jammed. Raoul van Wersch paused for a few moments before he called off for about 30,000.

Dan turned over the Q♥J♥ and his top pair was good enough to felt van Wersch who showed the A♦9♠ before leaving the tournament arena.

Meanwhile, Iceland’s Daniel Paulsson, who we recently saw at another stop earlier this year, had even more than the 170,000 chips that Dan had after the hand as he is the table’s captain with 180,000.

Daniel Paulsson – 180,000
Dmitri Dan – 170,000
Raoul van Wersch – 0

Level 7: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 148/204

Xabi Carricart got his last 25,000 in the middle with about the same in the pot with the J♠8♣10♥ on the board after the flop and was up against Chris Yiallourou.

Xabi Carricart: K♦Q♠
Chris Yiallourou: A♣J♠

Yiallorou was far ahead but any nine, queen, king or ace would change that fact. Carricart was unable to get there on either the 6♦ turn or the 3♣ river and was on the rail.

Chris Yiallourou – 135,000
Xabi Carricart – 0

Level 7: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 149/202

We caught up to the hand with more than 30,000 in the pot and the [ks][6h][4s] on the flop with both Antonios Onoufriou and William Lewins having 13,500 in chips across the line.

Moreno Ferrari jammed over the top for 72,000 and both Onoufriou and Lewins called off their stacks for less.

William Lewins: K♦Q♦
Antonios Onoufriou: A♥K♦
Moreno Ferrari: Q♠10♠

Onoufriou was miles ahead of Lewins with his top pair with a better kicker and slightly ahead of Ferrari’s flush draw. The 10♥ turn did nothing to change that. However, the [2s] river completed Ferrari’s flush and he zoomed to the highest levels of the Day 1a leaderboard while eliminating two players.

Moreno Ferrari – 225,000
Antonios Onoufriou – 0
William Levins – 0

The Grand Event room is starting to get crowded as players are filing in getting ready to battle it out in the €150 Betsson One Bullet. There are already 115 entries with the start still more than five minutes away. In other words, this is bound to be a banner field.

If this doesn’t float your boat, there is also a €70 satellite running one floor down from the Grand Event while the €230 Crazy Pineapple begins at 9 p.m. on the same floor as the satellite.

Best of luck to all of the side event and satellite players!

Level 7: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 151/201

The Day 1a field has ballooned to 201 entries! This means it is very likely that the €300,000 guarantee will be a place-holder on the event with already around €100,000 in the prize pool from these entries alone.

One player that has done well for himself since the dinner break was Robrecht Winterink as he won a bunch of chips in the following hand.

There was already 35,000 in the pot with the Q♠3♥6♣8♠ on the board after the turn when Winterink checked. Ionel Serbu Ionel fired out for 20,000 and Winterink quickly called.

The [qh] river paired the board and both players checked. Winterink turned over the J♠J♣ and won the pot after Serbu mucked his hand.

Robrecht Winterink – 130,000
Ionel Serbu – 35,000

Level 7: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 151/198

Players are back from dinner break and the Day 1a field is just two players shy of 200 entries with 198 entries coming out in full force already with two more blinds levels to go in late registration today.

The blinds are at 500/1,000 with a big blind ante of 1,000 before increasing to 600/1,200 with a 1,200 big blind ante. There will be a short 15-minute break after these two levels with late registration closing for Day 1a after the break.

Following the break, there are five more blind levels to be played with players coming back on Sunday’s Day 2 with blinds at 3,000/5,000 along with a 5,000 big blind ante.

The Day 1a field has grown to 195 entries to absolutely destroy the 118 entries attracted last Spring during Day 1a of the Malta Poker Festival Grand Event. A total of 148 players went to dinner with chips. Here is a look at some of the bigger stacks from around the room.

Player	Chips	Big Blinds
Michal Gavurnik	184,100	184
William Gritz	170,400	170
Humberto Galindo	169,600	170
Maciej Toma	156,900	157
Marko Luksa	151,600	152
Dario Berisa	142,200	142
Dan Dmitri	127,800	128
Daniel Williams	127,300	127
Peter Kaspar	116,200	116
Nauseda Gravzydas	114,900	115
Anthony Whalley	113,200	113
Cory Desmond	111,800	112
Thibault Branly	106,600	107
Fabio Sturba	105,000	105
Andrea Stellato	104,200	104
Alessandro Barrone	100,300	100
Martyn Frey	99,000	99
Robin Van Laecken	98,700	99
Mark Berman	97,800	98
Boris Zismanov	97,500	98
Igor Bukowsi	95,100	95
James Clarke	95,100	95
Sylvere Paillot	90,000	90
Theo Schmitt	88,000	88
Scott Roberts	85,300	85
Brian Kubatz	85,300	85
Eimantas Plekavicius	84,600	85
Alexandre Arabia	77,800	78

Players are on a 75-minute dinner break. Blinds will increase to 500/1,000 with a big blind ante of 1,000 when the action resumes. Late registration will be open for two more blind levels after the action resumes.

In the meantime, we will post the latest MPF Grand Event photos during the early part of the break while we will post some stack updates from the bigger stacks around the room after we had a bite to eat.

Level 6: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 143/184

There were nearly 20,000 in the pot with the 4♥3♦2♥ when both Igor Titov and Noel Studer checked. Maciej Toma bet 8,000. Titov jammed for more than 30,000. Studer quickly folded and Toma just as quickly called.

Igor Titov: A♣A♥
Maceij Toma: 2♠2♣

Titov had the best possible hand before the flop but was in for a world of hurt running into Toma’s set of ducks when all the chips went in. Neither the 6♥ turn nor the 7♦ river saved the day and Titov was on the rail at least for now.

Maciej Toma – 150,000
Igor Titov – 0

Level 5: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 142/177

Robin Hyyppa opened with a standard raise size from under the gun and was called by Fabio Sturba from one seat over. Andrea Stellato three-bet to 3,500 from the button. Hyyppa four-bet jammed for 17,000. Sturba folded and Stellato called.

Robin Hyyppa: A♠K♣
Andrea Stellato: K♥Q♣

“I need a queen and it’s all over,” Stellato said.

No queen came. Instead, the 6♥7♠7♣5♥A♦ ran out on the board for Hyyppa to double his stack with his big slick.

Andrea Stellato – 80,000
Robin Hyyppa – 40,000

We have an update you were curious how Lee Colfer got on with his five strawberry cream cheese pie challenge issued to him by Totti Lind. Let’s just say Colfer was both a winner and a loser by eating all five pies in one blind level with eight minutes to spare.

“I feel sick,” Colfer shared with us. “I got the pie sweat but got the job done.”

“And you got a new nickname,” said Mark Berman from a table nearby. “Lord of the Pies!”

Colfer seemed comfortable with the new nickname and can walk off the added pie calories with a 75-minute dinner break coming in less than an hour.

We asked Lind if it was mission accomplished and he agreed before adding:

“To be fair, I only saw him eat four pies,” Lind said with a mischievous smile. “But I trust the guy.”

We wish Lind and Colfer the best of luck at the tables and Colfer some good digestion of eating a massive amount of desert treats before the dinner break.

Level 5: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 146/169

Michael Pinto was down to half a starting stack but now will need to re-enter if he wishes to have any chips at all after hitting the rail after the following hand.

Nikola Minovic bet 3,800 into a pot of a bit more with the [invalid notations] on the flop. Pinto jammed for 24,900 and Minovic snap-called.

Michael Pinto: J♠3♠
Nikola Minovic: A♦J♦

Both players had middle pair but Pinto had some kicker issues. Those issues weren’t resolved after the [4h] turn and [6h] river completed the board for Minovic to claim his stack.

Nikola Minovic – 75,000
Michael Pinto – 0

Level 5: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 146/168

Three players had their stacks in the middle with the 9♥5♥8♥ on the flop.

Daniel Rigby: 5♣5♠
Michael Pinto: A♥9♣
Gregory Muffat-Joly: 7♥6♥

Muffat-Joly flopped a straight flush and both of his opponents were drawing dead in a pot north of 100,000 despite having decent holdings and draws.

A blank card came on the turn. However, the table and the ones surrounding went into shock as the case 5♦ completed the board on the river.

Gregory Muffat-Joly – 110,000
Michael Pinto – 25,000
Daniel Rigby – 0

We already mentioned about Totti Lind bringing nine strawberry cream cheese pies to his table to tease Lee Colfer in a friendly way.

However, the story has developed into something else. Lind has just informed us that Colfer now can have five pies. The twist is, Colfer gets them for free if he can eat five pies in one blind level. Otherwise, Lind gets paid €20, which was about what the fun gag cost him to begin with.

Colfer seems committed to the challenge. We will try to get an update later not only with pies but with hands as well between these two friendly players.

Photo of Lee Colfer compliments of Totti Lind.

Level 5: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 148/162

A player limped and three players called behind before Oliver Klat raised the button to 3,500. Nauseda Gravzydas three-bet to 11,200 from the big blind which got all the limpers out of the way. Klat called to see the 4♠2♦7♦ flop.

Gravzydas checked before Klat jammed for close to 40,000. Grazvydas snap-called off his stack of 34,300 and the cards were turned over.

Nauseda Gravzydas: K♣K♠
Oliver Klat: Q♦Q♠

“Nice check,” Klat said to Gravzydas.

Neither the 9♣ turn nor the J♥ river helped Klat and he was down to crumbs after the hand.

Nauseda Gravzydas – 70,000
Oliver Klat – 4,000

Totti Lind not only came to the Malta Poker Festival to try to win the Grand Event trophy but also to have fun while he is here as well.

There has been a bit of friendly banter at his table as is the case at other tables as well and he opted to play a joke on Lee Colfer.

“I really love coming to Europe,” Colfer said who traveled to Malta from the United Kingdom. “They have the strawberry cheese cream pie from McDonalds.”

Lind didn’t miss a beat and immediately ordered nine (yes, nine) strawberry cream cheese pies from McDonalds. They arrived in a hurry and he shared his original plan was to tilt Colfer with them in the beginning. Being the nice guy that LInd is, he did say he would likely give one to Colfer.

Lind already gave one to this reporter, so that just leaves eight left. Thank you for the tasty treat as warm-up before the dinner break.

Level 4: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 141/153

Carlos Lopez checked the [2h][th][js][6c] before Marko Luksa nearly bet the pot with a bet of 9,000. Lopez called and both players checked the [6d] river.

Luksa turned over the [ah][7h] for a bricked flush draw. Lopez then showed [kc][jd] to win the pot with two-pair. Luksa was off to a hot start early on and still has around double a starting stack.

Marko Luksa – 100,000
Carlos Lopez – 90,000

The first side event took place last night with the €230 HORSE powered by Martin Smith bringing in mixed players from around the world. The field attracted 54 entries to create a €10,368 prize pool.

Local Maltese hero Antoine DiGiorgio won the trophy along with the €2,900 top prize after he defeated Johannes Kuusisto heads-up. DiGiorgio not only is well known for his Malta Poker Fish Facebook group but also for helping players that come to visit Malta or even sort out issues among local players. He also has helped grow the mixed-game community in Malta and strongly pushes a weekly 8-Game tournament here at Portomaso Casino.

A massive congrats to DiGiorgio on the victory and we wish him the best of luck when he is back in action in the Grand Event and other side events.

Place	Player	Prize
1	Antoine DiGiorgio	€2,900
2	Johannes Kuusisto	€2,120
3	Jens Vortmann	€1,560
4	Bas de Laat	€1,230
5	Andreas Sanden	€1,000
6	Renato Messina	€850
7	Rigo Vangarelli	€708

Level 4: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 142/151

Gaetano Brignone bet 12,000 into a pot of around 25,000 with the [ks][6h][9h][2s] on the board after the turn. Daniel Kruger called to bring the pot up to around a 50,000 starting stack.

The [7h] river completed the board. Brignone jammed for about 35,000. Kruger went into the tank for several minutes. He stared down at his opponent but noticed that many of the eyes of the table were on him and had his stack potentially on the line if he called.

“I’m sorry, I have a good hand,” Kruger told the table.

Players seemed fine with this and Kruger tanked for a few more minutes during which time he checked his cards twice. Kruger eventually folded and the dealer awarded Brignone a tasty early pot.

Gaetano Brignone – 85,000
Daniel Kruger – 30,000

Level 4: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 140/148

The Day 1a field has blossomed to 148 entries with 140 players still in their seats. This is a great sign for a big Grand Event attendance as it easily trumps the 118 entries attracted last Spring during Day 1a of the MPF Grand Event.

Meanwhile, the action has resumed in the Grand Event. Players will enjoy three more blind levels before being sent on a 75-minute dinner break. We will update the biggest stacks around the room during the dinner break but in the meantime, sit back and enjoy our coverage.

Level 3: 200/300 (300)
Entries: 138/143

Players are on their first short break of the day. We lost both Sasa Drca and Antonios Onoufriou just before the break but they can hop back in today or any of the other four opening flights over the next few days.

Blinds will increase to 200/400 with a 400 big blind ante when the action resumes.

Here is a look at some of the early photos on Day 1a:

Level 3: 200/300 (300)
Entries: 134/137

Andrew Assopardi bet 2,000 into a pot of more than double that with the [6h][kd][3d][2c][5c] on the board after the river. The action paused on Mitica-Alexandru Iacob before he raised to 12,000.

Assopardi tanked for a couple of minutes before he tossed in a single chip to call. Iacob tapped the table expressing a nice call after he turned over [td][7d] for a bricked flush draw. Assopardi called with [ks][qh] and won the pot with the top pair.

Andrew Assopardi – 60,000
Iacob Mitica-Alexandru – 27,000

We were catching up with Sweden’s Totti Lind. We are used to seeing our friend as he used to live in Malta. But he has been out of the continent this year living the good life in Thailand.

He opted to come back to Malta to play the Malta Poker Festival and to catch up with old friends. He shared that it has been a rollercoaster early on but was at around 40,000 in chips. This is plenty at this stage of the game with Totti having plenty of room to make moves with more than 100 big blinds.

We wish Totti the best of luck in his quest to win the trophy and hope to update you later on with some big spots he might be in.

Level 3: 200/300 (300)
Entries: 130/133

There was nearly 25,000 in the pot with the [5c][3c][jc][8h] on the board after the turn when we caught up to the table. Regilio Vrede checked before Ionel Serbu jammed for about 35,000. The action paused on Lisa Roberts who folded as did Vrede.

Roberts flashed the [ad][ah] to the table.

“Nice fold,” Serbu said to Roberts without revealing his own hand.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Seiler was the third player to hit the rail at a different table at around the same time.

Ionel Serbu – 60,000
Regilio Vrede – 33,000
Lisa Roberts – 25,000

Level 2: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 127/129

Salvador Villaluz, also known as “Buddy” and “Bingo Buddy” flew all the way from Canada to play in the Malta Poker Festival and see a bit of the majestic island. He shared with us why he is playing Day 1a of the MPF Grand Event instead of one of the other opening flights.

“I bingoed a satellite last night,” shared Bingo Buddy.

We learned that Buddy arrived with no sleep from Canada. Rested a mere hour before he decided to hop into the poker action. Good thing for him he did as he got his €550 Grand Event seat for a fraction of the cost with €70 satellites running throughout the next few days. He had a little less than the 50,000 starting stack when we caught up with him and wish him the best of luck in his quest to become the latest MPF Grand Event champion.

Meanwhile, we already mentioned a couple of the players that traveled to Malta from the United States including Lisa and Scott Roberts. We know of several other players making the journey across the pond from the USA including MPF Ladies First! host and last spring’s MPF Ladies First! champion Chris Read and Poker Power’s AJ Rudolph, who will be on hand to give a poker training session to ladies before the Ladies First! event.

The Ladies First! kicks off on April 29 at 4 p.m. with the Poker Power session taking place at 1 p.m.

Level 2: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 118/119

Table 10 has provided a lot of the action early on. Not only was the first elimination there but seems like there is a pot brewing every time we walk past that table.

Lisa Roberts traveled out with her husband Scott from the United States is at the table but hasn’t been involved in much of the action. That is left to the likes of Albert Sapiano, Regilio Vrede, Noel Studer, Robrecht Winterink, and others.

We have seen Sapiano at many stops around the world, including one recently at the Hippodrome in London where he was busy battling it out in the Mega Series. We have gotten to enjoy his style of play as a reporter as action usually follows.

In a recent hand, Sapiano fired out for 1,500 into a pot of more than 2,000 with the [qh][5s][3d] on the flop and Winterink called. Sapiano again bet 1,500 on the [kd] turn and Winterink called again.

“Check in the dark,” Sapiano said before the [9h] river completed the board. Winterink checked back and won the hand when his [tc][ts] was good against Sapiano’s [tc][ts.

Robrecht Winterink – 100,000
Albert Sapiano – 45,000

Level 2: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 113/114

Brian Kubatz checked before Amber Glasby bet 4,000 into a pot of a bit more with the [5h][3h][9s][kd] on the board after the turn. Stan Dannijs, who was getting a massage, didn’t seem that relaxed at that particular moment. He tanked for close to a minute before he called and Kubatz called as well.

The [jh] river was checked around. Glasby turned over the [3s][3c] for a set. She was good until the river as Dannijs was awarded the pot after he showed the [9h][6h] for the rivered flush.

Stan Dannijs – 60,000
Amber Glasby – 60,000
Brian Kubatz – 40,000

Level 1: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 105/106

Regilio Vrede led out for a pot-sized bet of 3,200 on the [3c][td][4h] flop and was called by Albert Sapiano after another player folded.

Sapiano then check-called a bet 6,000 on the [th] turn before both players checked the [2s] river.

Vrede appeared surprised to see Sapiano turn over the [as][5d] for a rivered wheel and mucked his hand.

“Nice hand,” Vrede said moments later while tapping the table.

Regilio Vrede – 55,000
Albert Sapiano – 45,000

Level 1: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 99/100

Day 1a of the Grand Event has already reached the century mark. Last Spring, Day 1a attracted 118 entries and eventually attracted 1,014 entries for a €486,720 prize pool.

Marthijn Lakerveld (pictured below), who hasn’t been spotted playing the Grand Event quite yet, won that event for a whopping €71,000!

Level 1: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 95/96

Noel Studer four-bet from early position to 2,200 and was called by Liwea Wang who three-bet from the cutoff.

Studer fired out for 700 on the [2h][ks][qc] flop. Wang raised to 4,000. Studer three-bet to 12,500 and Wang called.

The [7d] turn brought more action. Studer bet 15,000. Wang jammed for the rest of his starting stack for more than 30,000 and Studer called.

Liwea Wang: [th][ts]
Noel Studer: [kh][kd]

Studer had his opponent drawing dead and further improved to a full house to send Wang first out of the MPF Grand Event after [7h] river completed the board.

Shortly after, Wang got back into the field to also mark the first player to re-enter.

Noel Studer – 100,000
Liwea Wang – 50,000

Level 1: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 85/85

The MPF Grand Event has kicked off in style with already 85 entries in action.

Malta Poker Festival founder Ivonne Montealegre and Tournament Director and Ludos Academy CEO Danilo de Berardinis welcomed the players and provided some information about the event before the cards were flying.

The 2023 Malta Poker Festival kicked off with a handful of side events on April 24-25 with much more action to come until the conclusion of our festival on May 1.

Our coverage will begin on Wednesday, April 26 at 2 p.m. when cards are in the air for the much-anticipated €300,000 guaranteed Malta Poker Festival €550 Grand Event.

The MPF Grand Event is a deep-stacked affair with players starting each of the five opening flights from April 26-29 with 50,000 in chips. The first four flights, including today’s Day 1a will feature 13 blind levels of 40 minutes each with the final blind level boasting quicker 20-minute blind levels.

Players can re-enter up to two times per flight during the first eight levels of any opening flight.

Also taking place today are two other side events with the €150 Betsson One Bullet kicking off at 8 p.m. followed by a fun €230 Crazy Pineapple tournament at 9 p.m. Additionally, there will be another Grand Event satellite at 7 p.m. boasting a €70 buy-in.

Check out our blog throughout the day for all of your updates on today’s Grand Event action!