2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 12 Malta

€5,300 Main Event
Day: 4
Event Info

2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 12 Malta

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
56
Prize
€534,300
Event Info
Buy-in
€5,000
Prize Pool
€3,157,350
Entries
651
Level Info
Level
30
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
10,000

40 Hopefuls Battle for €602,400 on Day 4

Johnny Lodden is the only Team Pro left
Johnny Lodden is the only Team Pro left

Welcome to Day 4 of the 2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 12 Malta€5,300 Main Event! The field of 651 runners has been decimated to just 40 players, al eyeing that first place prize of €602,400.

Max Silver was the last player to get eliminated on Day 3 yesterday, cashing for €11,840. The remaining 40 hopefuls are guaranteed €11,840 at this point, but the next jump is straight away as 39th place will take home €13,730.

Jaroslaw Sikora from Poland stands in best position with a stack of 1,457,000 (146 big blinds). Alexander Ivarsson (1,306,000), Faraz Jaka (1,200,000), Niall Farrell (1,160,000) and Sam Greenwood (1,160,000) also all poses stacks worth more than a million/100 big blinds.

Austrian high roller Thomas Muehloecker (135,000), Dutch EPT regular Paul Berende (108,000) and Italian Antonio Mitrotta (103,000) are the shortest of the pack.

The plan for today is to play down to 16 players or play 5 levels, whichever comes faster. The levels will be 90 minutes long, and after each level a break of 20 minutes is scheduled. The last break, the one after level 23, will be 30 minutes.

Play starts at noon, so in about 90 minutes from now. You can again follow all the action right here on PokerNews.com, with updates from the first flop till the last river. Also available for your railing pleasure is coverage of the €10,000 High Roller event. After the big fields in the €25,000 High Roller and €10,000 one-day event, we expect nothing less for this traditional 3-day high roller. Seven players won seats for this event in last night’s €500 Super satellite. Amongst the winners were Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari, EPT Copenhagen champion Anton Wigg, EPT Deauville winner Remi Castaignon and EPT Barcelona High Roller winner Jonathan Currle. Jean Montury, who won last season’s EPT Malta champion, narrowly missed out, finishing eighth for €3,560. You can follow coverage of that event right here, which starts at 12:30.

Tags: Alexander IvarssonNiall FarrellPaul BerendeSam GreenwoodThomas Muehloecker

"I Deserve That"

Level 20 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
Paul Berende
Paul Berende

Action folded to Paul Berende in the cutoff and he raised to 80,000. Nabil Mohamed Abdien Cardoso mistakenly thought Berende was all in (he actually had 26,000 back), moved all in from the small blind, and tabled the {a-Clubs}{q-Hearts} after the big blind folded.

Action was on Berende, and he had the option of either folding or calling off knowing his opponent's cards. Berende hit the tank, and Mike "Timex" McDonald knew what was up. You see, there was a pay jump between 40th and 39th places, from €11,840 to €13,730. As such, McDonald called the clock to disrupt Berende's stalling.

Berende smiled, and with 10 seconds remaining on the countdown called off with the {7-Hearts}{7-Clubs}.

It was a flip, but not after the flop fell {10-Spades}{j-Diamonds}{k-Diamonds} to give Cardoso Broadway.

"I deserve that," Berende said with a smile. The {8-Diamonds} turn left him drawing dead, and he took his leave from the tournament in 40th place after the {Q-Diamonds} was run out on the river.

Meanwhile, Ezequiel Kleinman was eliminated at the feature table at the hands of Sam Greenwood.

Player Chips Progress
Nabil Cardoso es
Nabil Cardoso
400,000
115,000
115,000
Paul Berende nl
Paul Berende
Busted

Tags: Nabil Mohamed Abdien CardosoPaul BerendeEzequiel KleinmanSam Greenwood

Bryn Kenney Busts With Kings to Ace-King

Level 20 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
Bryn Kenney
Bryn Kenney

Bryn Kenney and Erik Scheidt got their chips in the middle before the flop, and their stacks were close. Kenney was just slightly dominated chip wise, but was dominating cards wise:

Bryn Kenney: {K-Hearts}{K-Diamonds}
Erik Scheidt: {A-Hearts}{K-Clubs}

The flop was good for Scheidt though with {A-Spades}{6-Hearts}{5-Clubs}, leaving Kenney just a single card to hope for. The {2-Spades} on the turn and {9-Spades} on the river were blanks, and Kenney made his exit in 34th place, good for €13,730.

Player Chips Progress
Erik Scheidt de
Erik Scheidt
570,000
287,000
287,000
Bryn Kenney us
Bryn Kenney
Busted

Tags: Bryn KenneyErik Scheidt

WSOP Bracelet Winner Ivan Luca Flips for Tournament Life

Level 20 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
Ivan Luca
Ivan Luca

Shannon Shorr opened for 22,000 from middle position and Argentina's Ivan Luca, who won a World Series of Poker gold bracelet this summer, moved all in for 198,000 from the button. The blinds both folded and Shorr opted to put most of his stack at risk wit ha call.

Shorr: {10-Clubs}{10-Diamonds}
Luca: {a-Diamonds}{q-Clubs}

It was a flip, but Luca needed to improve to stay alive. The {j-Diamonds}{6-Diamonds}{3-Clubs} flop didn't do much for him, though the {K-Hearts} turn did give him a gutshot. Unfortunately for him, the {J-Hearts} river was a blank and he had to settle for 33rd place.

Player Chips Progress
Shannon Shorr us
Shannon Shorr
480,000
73,000
73,000
Ivan Luca ar
Ivan Luca
Busted

Tags: Ivan LucaShannon Shorr

Sikora Makes Double Knock Out; Lodden and Turtiainen Hit the Rail

Level 21 : 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante

Over on the feature table we saw a massive three way all in. Lodden in early position, Sikora in the hijack and Turtiainen in the big blind had all of their chips in the middle before the flop. The main pot was 466,000, the side pot was a bit bigger with 844,000.

Johnny Lodden: {8-Clubs}{10-Clubs}
Mikko Turtiainen: {Q-Hearts}{Q-Diamonds}
Jaroslaw Sikora: {A-Clubs}{A-Hearts}

The flop gave Lodden some outs with {9-Spades}{J-Diamonds}{J-Hearts}, but the {K-Hearts} on the turn and {4-Hearts} on the river were blanks and Lodden made his exit in 29th place while Turtiainen finished in 28th place.

Player Chips Progress
Jaroslaw Sikora pl
Jaroslaw Sikora
1,496,000
787,000
787,000
Johnny Lodden no
Johnny Lodden
Busted
PokerStars
Mikko Turtiainen fi
Mikko Turtiainen
Busted

Tags: Jaroslaw SikoraJohnny LoddenMikko Turtiainen

McDonald Heads to the €10K High Roller

Level 21 : 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
Mike McDonald
Mike McDonald

While Kevin Lee Sharp was busting at one table, Mike "Timex" McDonald was felted on another.

McDonald, who has been having a remarkable EPT12 Malta including a win in the €25K High Roller, managed to double his short stack through Nabil Mohamed Abdien Cardoso, but the Spaniard managed to deliver the knockout blow shortly there after.

It happened when Cardoso opened for 26,000 under the gun and McDonald defended from the big blind. When the flop came down {4-Diamonds}{8-Clubs}{7-Spades}, McDonald shoved his last 54,000 and Cardoso snapped him off.

Cardoso: {k-Hearts}{10-Spades}
McDonald: {k-Spades}{5-Clubs}

McDonald went with his gutshot, and while the {K-Clubs} turn paired his king, his kicker was inferior to that of Cardoso. The {A-Spades} was a blank on the river, and McDonald hit the rail in 27th for €17,840, money he used to immediately register the €10K High Roller taking place just across the room.

Player Chips Progress
Mike McDonald ca
Mike McDonald
Busted
EPT 1X Winner

Tags: Mike McDonaldNabil Mohamed Abdien Cardoso

Shannon Shorr Eliminated in 22nd Place (€20,800)

Level 21 : 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
Shannon Shorr
Shannon Shorr

Italy's Gianluca Escobar opened for 26,000 from middle position and cleared the field all the way around to Shannon Shorr in the big blind. The American pro opted to shove all in for roughly 155,000, and Escobar snap-called.

Shorr: {3-Clubs}{3-Spades}
Escobar: {a-Clubs}{a-Spades}

It was a bad spot for Shorr, and he would find no salvation as the board ran out a clean {q-Clubs}{9-Spades}{10-Hearts}{8-Clubs}{9-Clubs}.

Player Chips Progress
Gianluca Escobar it
Gianluca Escobar
1,065,000
165,000
165,000
Shannon Shorr us
Shannon Shorr
Busted

Tags: Gianluca EscobarShannon Shorr

Natasha Barbour Eliminated in 20th Place (€23,960)

Level 22 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante
Natasha Barbour
Natasha Barbour

Alen Bilic opened under the gun to 32,000 and Natasha Barbour moved in for her last 265,000 from the hijack. Action folded to Michael Ho in the big blind and he shoved too. Bilic instantly folded and it was time for a showdown.

"Can I snapchat this?" Ho asked before revealing his cards. The dealer nodded and Ho's phone suddenly started playing loud music. "Every %^*! time!" he said with a smile.

Michael Ho: {Q-Hearts}{Q-Diamonds}
Natasha Barbour: {J-Clubs}{J-Diamonds}

The board came {Q-Clubs}{9-Diamonds}{3-Hearts}{7-Diamonds}{K-Hearts} and Barbour got up from the table. "I don't think I got you covered" Ho said. But he did and Natasha hit the rail in 20th place.

Player Chips Progress
Michael Ho us
Michael Ho
595,000
355,000
355,000
Natasha Barbour us
Natasha Barbour
Busted

Tags: Michael HoNatasha Barbour

Faraz Jaka Eliminated in 19th Place (€23,960)

Level 23 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Faraz Jaka
Faraz Jaka

Up at the feature table, Faraz Jaka opened with a raise under the gun, how much we're not sure, and Jaroslaw Sikora, who was to Jaka's direct left, three-bet to 105,000. Action folded back to Jaka, and he four-bet to 240,000. Sikora hit the tank for a bit before announcing an all-in five-bet, which prompted Jaka to call off 984,000.

Jaka: {a-Hearts}{k-Spades}
Sikora: {q-Clubs}{q-Hearts}

"The sickest race of them all," Joe Stapleton said on the stream.

Indeed it was, but Jaka needed to improve to stay alive. He did just that too as the {7-Clubs}{k-Hearts}{5-Clubs} flop paired his king. However, his lead proved short lived as the dealer burned and turned the {Q-Spades} to leave Jaka drawing dead. The meaningless {A-Spades} was put out on the river for good measure, and Jaka made his way to the payout desk in 19th place to collect €23,960.

Player Chips Progress
Jaroslaw Sikora pl
Jaroslaw Sikora
1,810,000
804,000
804,000
Faraz Jaka us
Faraz Jaka
Busted

Tags: Faraz JakaJaroslaw Sikora

Michael Ho Eliminated in 18th Place (€23,960)

Level 23 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Michael Ho
Michael Ho

Nabil Cardoso opened to 42,000 under the gun and two positions down it was Michael Ho who shoved all in from the cutoff. The button and both blinds folded and action was back on Cardoso. He didn't need a count, but he did check his cards one more time and then instantly called.

"Oh shit!" Ho exclaimed, knowing very well he was in trouble after the double check and then snap call.

Michael Ho: {7-Diamonds}{7-Spades}
Nabil Cardoso: {A-Spades}{A-Diamonds}

"You had to double check your cards for that?" Ho asked with a smile. "Just in case" Cardoso apologized.

The flop came {A-Clubs}{Q-Hearts}{2-Spades} and that just about ended it for Cardoso. The {Q-Spades} on the turn sealed the deal and the {5-Hearts} on the river was there just for good measures. Michael Ho eliminated in 18th place.

Player Chips Progress
Nabil Cardoso es
Nabil Cardoso
1,100,000
200,000
200,000
Michael Ho us
Michael Ho
Busted

Tags: Nabil CardosoMichael Ho