€5,300 Main Event Day 1b | 2025 PokerStars EPT Malta

10-07-2025 20:30 UTC+1

Lappin Only Casualty of a Three-Way All-In

Maxime Taldir

Level 8 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Vasileios Tsaknis opened from the button. Rodrigo Colon in the small blind three-bet all in for 10,700, David Lappin in the big blind jammed for 18,700, and Tsaknis eventually made the call.

David Lappin: A♦10♥ All in
Rodrigo Colon: 10♦10♠ All in
Vasileios Tsaknis: A♠Q♦

Colon's tens held on 4♠K♦8♠2♥3♣ so he tripled up while Lappin was eliminated.

Thomas Eychenne was sent to the rail at the same time from another table.

Player	Chips	Progress
Vasileios Tsaknis	113,000 38,000	38,000
Rodrigo Colon	33,000 33,000	33,000
David Lappin	Busted
Thomas Eychenne	Busted

Tags: David Lappin Rodrigo Colon Vasileios Tsaknis

10-07-2025 20:31 UTC+1

Afriat Gets Raised Twice by Mamut

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Frank Visser

Level 8 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

In a four-way limped pot, Eric Afriat bet 1,500 on the A♥J♥6♣ flop from early position. Nikolai Mamut raised to 4,000 on the button, which forced out the other two players.

Afriat responded with a three-bet to 11,000, which Mamut quickly called. The 10♥ turn was then checked by both players before Afriat bet 5,500 on the 8♦ river.

Mamut upped the ante to 18,500, which was enough to make Afriat fold his holding.

Player	Chips	Progress
Eric Afriat	104,000 16,000	16,000
Nikolai Mamut	96,000 66,200	66,200

Tags: Eric Afriat Nikolai Mamut

10-07-2025 20:38 UTC+1

Israel Adds a Few Chips to Growing Stack

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Frank Visser

Level 8 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Nemo Israel just called in the small blind, and Johan Karlsson checked his option in the big blind.

The 6♥J♦K♠ flop checked through to the Q♣ turn, where Israel bet 1,500. Karlsson called to the 5♦ river, where he quickly folded when Israel turned up the heat and fired 7,500.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nemo Israel	152,000 105,000	105,000
Johan Karlsson	40,000

Tags: Johan Karlsson Nemo Israel

10-07-2025 20:45 UTC+1

Wheeler Puts Dent in Van Rooij's Towers

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Frank Visser

Level 8 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

In a three-bet pot worth around 17,000, Merijn van Rooij checked from under the gun to Jason Wheeler on the button. Wheeler placed a continuation-bet of 4,500 on the K♥K♣6♣ flop, which Van Rooij called swiftly.

Both players knuckled the table on the J♣ turn, and did so too when the A♥ emerged from the deck on the river.

Van Rooij flung open his 9♠9♣, but the dealer quickly mucked them as Wheeler had won the pot with A♣J♦.

Player	Chips	Progress
Merijn van Rooij	152,000 13,000	13,000
Nikolaos Angelou	131,000 63,000	63,000
Jason Wheeler	72,000 14,000	14,000

Tags: Jason Wheeler Merijn van Rooij

10-07-2025 20:49 UTC+1

Aniulis Hits a Full House to Crack Aces

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Maxime Taldir

Level 8 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

The action was picked up on a board of J♥2♥10♦J♠5♥ with already more than 55,000 in the pot. Giampaolo Puglia in middle position checked and saw Evaldas Aniulis on the button moving all in for 57,900. Puglia went deep into the tank and eventually made the call.

Evaldas Aniulis: 2♠2♦ All in
Giampaolo Puglia: A♠A♦

Aniulus, with deuces-full, secured a massive double-up while Puglia was left on fumes with only 3,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Evaldas Aniulis	172,000 172,000	172,000
Cedric Schwaederle	135,000 101,000	101,000
Giampaolo Puglia	3,000 47,900	47,900

Tags: Evaldas Aniulis Giampaolo Puglia

10-07-2025 20:51 UTC+1

Nightly Entries and Exits

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Frank Visser

Level 8 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Christopher Puetz	30,000 30,000	30,000
Laurent Cessy	30,000 30,000	30,000
Stoyan Madanzhiev	30,000 30,000	30,000
Laszlo Bujtas	30,000 30,000	30,000
Erwann Pecheux	30,000 30,000	30,000
Niko Koop	Busted
Anton Suarez	Busted
Rikiya Jindo	Busted
Roland Rokita	Busted
Leo Worthington-Leese	Busted
Julian Micallef	Busted
Jacobus Verberk	Busted
Marius Kudzmanas	Busted
Alexandros Theologis	Busted

[Removed:548]	Busted
Sebastian Mortensen	Busted
Jerry Odeen	Busted
Jordi Urlings	Busted
Saar Wilf	Busted
Thomas Santerne	Busted
Lars Kamphues	Busted
Pavle Pecelj	Busted

10-07-2025 20:51 UTC+1

Final Break of Day 1b

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Frank Visser

Level 8 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

The players have been sent on their last 25-minute break of the night. When they return, they will play two more 60-minute levels before the survivors bag for Day 2.

10-07-2025 20:56 UTC+1

Life Outside Poker: Sam Abernathy's Journey from Poker Stardom to Motherhood

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Kaelaine Minton

Level 8 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Life Outside Poker is a podcast for PokerNews hosted by Connor Richards that seeks to pull back the curtain on poker players and allow viewers and listeners to get to know them on a personal level.

In the 34th episode, Connor talks with WSOP free-to-play app ambassador Sam Abernathy about growing up in Georgia, studying design, the similarities between gymnastics and poker, finishing third in the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event, and a notorious slow roll she suffered in that event.

Abernathy also talks about first getting into poker through the WSOP Play app before becoming an ambassador years later, motherhood and being married to fellow poker player Lautaro Guerra, who finished 15th in this year's WSOP Main Event for $450,000.

Learn More About Life Outside Poker!

Level: 9

Blinds: 600/1,200

Ante: 1,200

10-07-2025 21:17 UTC+1

Late-Night Counts

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Frank Visser

Level 9 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Evaldas Aniulis	198,300 26,300	26,300
Osman Aksu	165,500 29,500	29,500
Gerard Rubiralta	163,000 63,000	63,000
Merijn van Rooij	156,000 4,000	4,000
Daniel Charlton	155,000 14,500	14,500
Ehsan Amiri	155,000 4,000	4,000
Dominik Panka	154,000 125,000	125,000

Gerard Carbo	148,800 53,300	53,300
Nemo Israel	146,000 6,000	6,000
Jorge Ufano Pardo	142,000 92,700	92,700
Xiaohu Liu	141,300 104,300	104,300
Igor Pihela Jr.	138,500 97,500	97,500
Giuseppe Spitale	138,000 35,000	35,000
Vladimir Babic	138,000 138,000	138,000
Adria Calonge	136,300 136,300	136,300
Sharon Sade	135,500 115,300	115,300
Matteo Menconi	134,500 64,500	64,500
Nikolaos Angelou	129,600 1,400	1,400
Erik Lindqwist	129,500 8,500	8,500
Petre Ionescu	125,000 125,000	125,000
Dylan Bradley	123,400 57,400	57,400
David Kaufmann	121,800 1,800	1,800
Fabian Niederreiter	121,000 121,000	121,000
Jon Vallinas	121,000 76,800	76,800
Nikolai Mamut	120,000 24,000	24,000

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