Jason Wheeler Tops the Lot as Day 1b of EPT Malta Main Event Concludes
After ten hour-long levels of play, Day 1b of the €5,300 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Malta Main Event is officially in the books.
Hosted at Casino Malta in St Julian’s, the event was last held in 2016, drawing a total of 468 players. Nine years later, it has already attracted 852 entrants, and with late registration open until the start of Day 2, that number is expected to climb even higher.
Finishing the day atop the leaderboard is American player Jason Wheeler. Having bagged 240,000, Wheeler will be returning to a stack worth an enormous 240 big blinds at the start of play. Wheeler is no stranger to deep runs at EPT Malta, having final tabled the €25,000 High Roller, €10,000 High Roller, and €5,000 Six Handed here in 2015.
Second in chips at the end of play is Daniel Charlton, who bagged 226,500. Charlton showed that, well, there may not be a ‘right way’ to play pocket jacks; there are different ways to play them.
Rounding out the podium in third place is Merijn van Rooij. An EPT regular, the Dutch player will be hoping to turn his impressive start into a deep run and will enter Day 2 with a stack of 223,000.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Wheeler | United States | 240,000 | 160 |
| 2 | Daniel Charlton | United Kingdom | 226,500 | 151 |
| 3 | Merijn van Rooij | Netherlands | 223,000 | 149 |
| 4 | Paawan Bansal | India | 221,500 | 148 |
| 5 | Richard Geyer | United States | 220,000 | 147 |
| 6 | Ferdinand Janssen | Netherlands | 217,500 | 145 |
| 7 | David Rosich | Andorra | 205,000 | 137 |
| 8 | Ehsan Amiri | Australia | 201,000 | 134 |
| 9 | Kenta Miyoshi | Japan | 199,500 | 133 |
| 10 | Evaldas Aniulis | Lithuania | 193,500 | 129 |
Two PokerStars ambassadors also ensured they will be in the hunt on Day 2, as Kenny Hallaert (63,000) and Fintan Hand (30,000) fly the flag for Team PokerStars.
Another notable name making it through is that of Dominik Panka. Having built a stack of 183,500, Panka will be hoping to replicate his deep run from last time an EPT took place in Malta, where he final tabled the Main Event.
No strangers to the deepest of deep runs, five former EPT Main Event champions also secured passage to Day 2. Tom Middleton (151,000) bagging the biggest stack, followed by Anton Bergstrom (68,500), Thomas Eychenne (54,500), Simon Wiciak(39,000) and Hossein Ensan (23,500).
Day 2 will begin on Wednesday, October 8, at noon local time. Late registration will remain open until this point, after which the official prize pool and payouts will be announced.
Play will start at Level 11, with blinds at 1,000/1,500/1,500, with the number of levels being played still to be confirmed.
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for chip counts, updates, and all the action as the €5,300 EPT Main Event continues in Malta.