button in SafariStavros Passias Wins Massive Cooler to Lead Final 24 Players After Day 3
If Day 3 of the €600 Battle of Malta Summer Edition Main Event was expected to be a relatively short day, few could have anticipated just how quickly it would unfold, with only four and a half hours needed to reduce the field from 75 players to the final 24.
They are the last contenders standing from a field of 2,667 entries recorded at Casino Malta, for a total prize pool of €1,186,962. The eventual champion will take home €176,070 after Wednesday’s final table.
There is still a long way to go to win the coveted knight trophy. However, that path looks a little shorter for Stavros Passias, who bagged the chip lead at the end of Day 3.
The Greek player was not expected to finish on top of the counts, even though he already sat third in chips at the dinner break. But after play resumed, he found himself on the right side of a massive cooler, flopping quads against a full house to scoop a huge pot which propelled him into the chip lead.
Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stavros Passias | Greece | 10,760,000 | 108 |
| 2 | Angelo Censabella | Italy | 8,800,000 | 88 |
| 3 | Daniele Renzi | Italy | 7,345,000 | 73 |
| 4 | Luigi D'Alterio | Italy | 5,460,000 | 55 |
| 5 | Robin Kruhai | Germany | 4,975,000 | 50 |
| 6 | Marko Cosic | Serbia | 4,415,000 | 44 |
| 7 | Georgios Papakonstantinou | Greece | 4,410,000 | 44 |
| 8 | Arnaud Boudet | France | 4,380,000 | 44 |
| 9 | Joao Da Silva | Portugal | 4,230,000 | 42 |
| 10 | Tiberiu Florescu | Romania | 4,215,000 | 42 |
Before Passias’ surge to the top of the counts, the Italian duo Angelo Censabella and Daniele Renzi had established themselves as the clear frontrunners.
On one hand, Censabella built his stack throughout the day by scoring multiple eliminations on his way to bagging 8,800,000 chips. Renzi, on the other hand, enjoyed a key moment early in the day when a fortunate queen helped him crack pocket kings, sending Kristian Holmgren to the rail. The hand was particularly significant, as Holmgren had started Day 3 as the chip leader. Instead of running deep with his big stack, he ultimately had to settle for €2,370 for his 58th-place finish.
Luigi D’Alterio (5,460,000) and Robin Kruhai (4,975,000) also made the top five, followed by Marko Cosic (4,415,000), Georgios Papakonstantinou (4,410,000), and Arnaud Boudet (4,380,000), who doubled up several times during the day, including once with a straight hit on the river.
He doubled once through fellow countrywoman Florence Mazet (3,735,000), who herself tripled her stack on Day 3 and was proud to be the last woman standing after the eliminations of Karen Kalif (31st - €4,430) and Carina Voncken (46th - €3,000).
Mark Vella (4,215,000) is also in contention for a possible home-soil triumph, alongside players such as Gianluca Donini (3,715,000), Panteleimon Pontos (2,920,000), Gareth Hamilton (2,330,000), Daniel Yerin (2,080,000), and Fredrick Bratein, who sits as the short stack with 800,000.
Play is set to resume this Tuesday, June 2, at 4 p.m. local time for Day 4 of the Main Event. Approximately 30 minutes remain in Level 29, which features blinds of 50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 big blind ante.
The 24 remaining players have already locked up a minimum cash prize of €5,200, and the day will conclude once eight players remain for the official final table.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €176,070 | 9 | €14,690 |
| 2 | €101,910 | 10-11 | €12,340 |
| 3 | €69,480 | 12-13 | €11,110 |
| 4 | €52,660 | 14-15 | €9,910 |
| 5 | €43,900 | 16-17 | €8,720 |
| 6 | €35,600 | 18-20 | €7,530 |
| 7 | €27,050 | 21-23 | €6,340 |
| 8 | €19,350 | 24 | €5,200 |
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage until the very end of this Battle of Malta Main Event!