Thomas Muehloecker Among Top Dogs as €1,650 PokerStars Open Enters Day 3
The Mediterranean sun has risen above the beautiful waters of Malta, bringing another day of the 2025 PokerStars European Poker Tour Malta with it. The eye-catcher on the schedule today is Day 3 of the €1,650 PokerStars Open, where the starting field of 1,845 has been dwindled down to just 79 contenders. They return to Casino Malta at 11 a.m. well into the money, battling for the biggest part of the €2,656,800 prize pool, of which a massive €423,700 is reserved for the eventual winner.
Thomas Muehloecker collected 1,765,000 chips on Day 2, taking second place on the leaderboard, only half a big blind behind chipleader Claudio Coelho. The Austrian grinder has been playing well for over a decade at this point, amassing over $11,000,000 in tournament earnings as per The Hendon Mob, placing him second on Austria's all-time money list. If Muehloecker manages to convert his big stack into a victory, it would be the fourth live PokerStars title of his storied career.
However, plenty of players are still between Muehloecker and the trophy. Mateusz Moolhuizen knew a stellar Day 2 as well and comes into Day 3 third in chips with 1,535,000. Moolhuizen won the FPS Main Event, the precursor to the PokerStars Open, at EPT Paris last year and is looking to add a second major title to his resume. At that same EPT, Ioannis Oikonomidis won the €1,650 Mystery Bounty event for his first live PokerStars title, and he also battled his way to a spot in the top ten chip counts, sitting in sixth with 1,380,000.
Start of Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claudio Coelho | Portugal | 1,775,000 | 89 |
| 2 | Thomas Muehloecker | Austria | 1,765,000 | 88 |
| 3 | Mateusz Moolhuizen | Netherlands | 1,535,000 | 77 |
| 4 | Modar Alsoud | Germany | 1,410,000 | 71 |
| 5 | Siarhei Sochneu | Belarus | 1,405,000 | 70 |
| 6 | Ioannis Oikonomidis | Greece | 1,380,000 | 69 |
| 7 | Fabian Bernhauser | Austria | 1,380,000 | 69 |
| 8 | Dario Pieruzzini | Italy | 1,320,000 | 66 |
| 9 | Marius Pertea | Romania | 1,280,000 | 64 |
| 10 | Ivan Martinez | Spain | 1,180,000 | 59 |
Just outside the top ten, EPT regulars Scott Margereson (1,030,000) and Joachim Haraldstad (1,020,000) can be found with six-figure stacks. Kenny Hallaert leads the three remaining PokerStars ambassadors with a stack of 845,000, with the French duo Julien Brecard (345,000) and Benjamin Bruneteaux (230,000), being among the short stacks at the start of the day.
The returning players have all secured a minimum payout of €4,950 for making it to the penultimate day of the tournament, with the next pay jump being at 71 players left. Five-figure prizes will be reached today when 27 players remain, while the eye-watering six-figure ones will be distributed on Day 4, being reserved for the top few finishers.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €423,700 | 14-15 | €20,700 | |
| 2 | €264,650 | 16-17 | €17,250 | |
| 3 | €188,900 | 18-20 | €14,350 | |
| 4 | €145,350 | 21-23 | €12,000 | |
| 5 | €111,850 | 24-27 | €10,000 | |
| 6 | €86,500 | 28-31 | €8,600 | |
| 7 | €65,950 | 32-39 | €7,350 | |
| 8 | €50,700 | 40-55 | €6,500 | |
| 9 | €39,050 | 56-71 | €5,650 | |
| 10-11 | €29,800 | 72-79 | €4,950 | |
| 12-13 | €24,850 |
Day 3 will kick off with blinds at 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante. All levels will remain 60 minutes long, and the tournament is expected to play down to the final table today, although no official plans have been announced. Details regarding a dinner break are still unknown as well.
A long day may be in the cards for the PokerStars Open today, and PokerNews will be there from start to finish to bring all the highlights and updates straight from the tournament floor. Stay tuned as another exciting day of poker at EPT Malta is about to get underway.