The first hands of the last duel turned into Aschraf Khader's favor, as he has now 10,000,000 chips.
For example, he defended from the big blind to find a flop of J♣Q♣4♥, then he check-raised to 3,000,000 after Lorenzo Di Blasi bet 800,000 on the button.
Lorenzo Di Blasi opened from the button, then both players raised each other and ended up putting all their chips in the middle, Aschraf Khader being slightly covered.
Aschraf Khader: A♠9♥
Lorenzo Di Blasi: A♦K♠
On a board of K♣5♣Q♣10♦K♥, Di Blasi hit a king on the flop and on the river to win the tournament.
Last week Lorenzo Di Blasi won the €120 Flight to MPP, the first tournament of the Eurasian Poker Tour (EAPT) festival at Portomaso Casino in Malta. Outlasting 390 players, he took home €8,500, hoping for more on the Main Event.
It seemed almost impossible to win both tournaments, but Di Blasi managed to do so as he finished in first place again on the €560 Main Event, out of a field of 660 entrants. Already chip leader at the beginning of the final table, he stayed in the lead until the end and won €50,225. Germany's Aschraf Khader was the last player to challenge him for victory. But he couldn't do much against Di Blasi's good run and finished in second place for €33,200.
EAPT Malta €560€ Main Event Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
Lorenzo Di Blasi
Italy
€50,225*
2
Aschraf Khader
Germany
€33,200*
3
Fabio Peluso
Italy
€23,000*
4
Marco Vannini
Italy
€16,000*
5
Tiago Serrazina
Portugal
€11,600*
6
Theodoros Ampelikiotis
Greece
€9,600
7
Sergiy Alariki
Ukraine
€7,675
8
Panteleimon Michalakellis
Greece
€6,175
9
Eyal Saidof
Israel
€5,000
*The top five finishers will also receive a €5,000 package to Cyprus for the Mediterranean Poker Party in May which includes an entry to the €2,000 EAPT Grand Finale.
Winner's Reaction
"I am more than happy," Lorenzo Di Blasi said, visibly moved, moments after he lifted his second trophy of the week. "Last week, it was my first win of a tournament. I never thought that I could win one, so winning two tournaments in the same festival is unbelievable".
For this manager in the tuna industry, the Main Event started off well with a qualification for Day 2 through Day 1b with 235,000 chips. Then, he discreetly worked his way to the top places of the chip counts, eventually reaching the chip lead just before the final table. "When I eliminated Helfner Augusto Hotvedt in 10th place, it was a very big pot. It was the most important moment of the tournament for me because after this hand, I told myself that I could win."
During the final table, Di Blasi won a big flip to extend his lead, and eventually secured a chance to win in the heads-up. Khader made a comeback at the beginning of the last duel, but Di Blasi managed to triumph.
Thanks to his two victories, Di Blasi earned two packages for the Mediterranean Poker Party in May in Cyprus. For now, he plans to go there to play poker and enjoy the place. But perhaps he'll return home with one, two, or more trophies, as he did this week in Malta.
Final Day's Action
99 players out of a field of 660 entrants qualified for Day 2 and reached the money. They all came back at noon for the final day of the EAPT Main Event. But after the first three levels of the day, half of the field was already eliminated. At the same time, a small group of players became the first millionaires of the tournament, like Arvydas Merfeldas, Panteleimon Michalakellis, or Helfner Augusto Hotvedt, who could have lost a big part of his stack if he hadn't folded queens preflop.
After the first break of the day, David Lappin's tournament came to an end (48th, €1,150), as well as for Day 1 overall chip leader Mohamed Aissani (51st, €1,150). The action slowed down a little bit during the next few hours, but it was only the calm before the storm as only 30 minutes were needed to go from 27 players left to the two last tables. During that period, the future winner Lorenzo Di Blasieliminated Enrico Grella (24th Place, €1,825) and drove Hans Erlandsson (20th, €2,300) crazy, while WSOP bracelet winner Fabio Pelusoeliminated two players at once to build a big stack.
It didn't take long either to go from 16 players to the final nine. Day 1c chip leader Alessandro D'Amore (14th, €3,050) was eliminated during that time, followed by Flaviano Cammisuli (13th, €3,600), Gian Luca Proietti (12th, €3,600), Alessandro Comi (11th, €4,200), and Helfner Augusto Hotvedt. The Norwegian player had the biggest stack of all during the two-table redraw, but he had a terrible time when he moved from one table to the other. Finishing 10th for €4,200, he let his nine remaining opponents join the final table.
Once the package was guaranteed, the shortest stacks doubled up one after the other, until Tiago Serrazinagave up in 5th place for €11,600. Marco Vanniniwas the next to follow (4th, €16,000). Fabio Peluso then found kings and moved all-in on the flop against a "combo draw." But Di Blasi's flush was completed on the turn, and Peluso left with the bronze medal (3rd, €23,000).
Between Lorenzo Di Blasi and Aschraf Khader, only one player could win. Despite Di Blasi having 75% of the chips at the beginning of the heads-up, Khader fought hard and closed the gap. However, just when he nearly was back, Di Blasi sent him to the rail with ace-king and won this EAPT Main Event.
That concludes the PokerNews coverage of the 2024 EAPT Malta Main Event. Stay tuned for more updates from tournaments around the world!