The Second-Ever EPT Malta Main Event About to Get Underway with Day 1a Action
Welcome to Day 1 of the EPT12 Malta Main Event!
The EPT first visited Portomaso Casino back in March for what turned out to be a Season 11 highlight. That stop saw the emergence of Dzmitry Urbanovich, who won four side events — including the €25,000 High Roller – on his way to becoming the EPT11 Player of the Year; David Peters walked away with €597,000 after winning the €10,000 High Roller; and 41-year-old former pool champ, Jean Montury, made history by becoming the first-ever EPT Malta champ.
To do so, the Frenchman topped a field of 895 players – which created a €4,340,750 prize pool – and took home a €687,400 first-place prize along with a SLYDE championship watch. Be it today's starting flight or tomorrow's Day 1b, Montury is sure to attempt a title defense.
Others expected to take their shot at the second EPT stop of Season 12 are Team PokerStars Pros Jake Cody, Luca Pagano, Jason Mercier, Andre Akkari and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier; as well as PokerStars SportStar Fatima Moreira de Melo and Team Online's Mickey Petersen and Ike Haxton.
Some other well-known pros spotted at the festival throughout the week include EPT12 Barcelona champ John Juanda, former EPT Grand Final winners Steve O'Dwyer and Mohsin Charania, Australian Jeff Rossiter; New Zealander [Removed:17]; recent World Series of Poker Europe bracelet winner Dietrich Fast; reigning World Poker Tour Player of the Year Anthony Zinno; WSOP APAC champ Scott Davies; and Americans Chris Hunichen, Shaun Deeb, and Connor Drinan, just to name a few.
Day 1a of the EPT12 Main Event will kick off at Noon local time, which is about 90 minutes from now. The plan for the day is to play eight 75-minute levels, meaning players, who'll each start with 30,000 in chips, is in store for a 12-hour day.
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be there every step of the way, so be sure to stay tuned for updates straight from the floor of the EPT Malta Main Event. Also, don't forget to check out the final table of the €10,000 High Roller, which you can check out by clicking here.