After Olivier Arnault open-shoved for 18,100 from the button, Ehsan Amiri in the small blind three-bet to 40,000. Jacob Amsellem, who was already involved in this hand from the hijack, jammed for 119,000, putting Amiri in a tough spot. He eventually folded what he later said was queens.
Olivier Arnault: J♥J♠
Jacob Amsellem: 8♦8♠
Amiri couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Amsellem's hand and that he would have hit a set on 6♠5♠Q♣3♥J♦ if he had called. "I would be the chip leader," he added, while Arnault was tripling up.
The pot had grown to a sizable 55,000 when the action was picked on the 5♣5♠A♥K♦ turn. Michel Molenaar made a small bet of 7,500 in early position, which was called by Alexandros Kolonias on the button.
Molenaar elected to check the A♦ river over to Kolonias, who almost instantly moved all in for 22,100. Molenaar asked for a count, spent some time in the tank, and flicked in a calling chip.
Kolonias tabled A♠J♠ for a full house, and Molenaar briefly showed Q♠Q♥ before he added them to the muck.
The action was picked up on a board of 6♦9♠J♣4♥Q♦ with 28,800 in the pot. Brandon Sheils in the small blind checked, Romain Lewis in early position jammed for a bit more than 60,000 and Sheils went deep into the tank. The clock was called and at the end of the countdown, he threw his 29,000 chips in front of him to call.
Brandon Sheils: K♦J♥
Romain Lewis: Q♠J♦
Sheils called with the second pair but ran into Lewis' two pair and was eliminated.
A pot between Orlando Genders and Dario Pieruzzini had grown to 24,000 when they reached the K♣5♦3♣7♥ turn. Genders checked to Pieruzzini, who fired a bet of 5,500.
Genders sighed and moved all in for 28,800, receiving a quick call from his opponent.
Orlando Genders: A♦A♣
Dario Pieruzzini: K♦7♦
Pieruzzini's two pair was not counterfeited on the 10♣ river, securing the pot in his favor. A dejected Genders amicably said his goodbyes to the tables while tables around him started bagging for the night.
When the action folded to Sylwia Studniarz in the small blind, she opted to raise to 3,000. Romain Lewis called from the big blind, taking the two to a flop.
The dealer spread a seemingly innocuous 5♣Q♦7♦ flop; it was anything but, as fireworks soon followed.
Studniarz checked, prompting Lewis to take over the betting lead, doing so for 3,500. Studniarz then check-raised to 10,000. Not done yet, Lewis three-bet to 18,500. Studniarz, undeterred, four-bet jammed for 62,300. One look back at his cards, and Lewis called.
Sylwia Studniarz: J♥J♣
Romain Lewis: 7♣5♦
Lewis had outflopped Studniarz, who was in danger of being eliminated with just a few hands of Day 1b left to play.
The dealer burned and turned the 6♠, keeping Lewis in the lead. However, the river Q♥ counterfeited his two pair, providing Studniarz with a late-night double-up.
In the very last hand of the day, the pot was around 27,000 with Eric Afriat first to act holding a 32,500 stack. Paawan Bansal raised to 112,500, putting Afriat’s tournament life on the line, as he only had about 40,000 behind. The board showed J♠2♠A♣5♦9♠.
Afriat took a moment to think, even asking what the blinds would be for the start tomorrow. In the end, he made the call. Bansal tabled A♠10♠ for the nut flush, while Afriat also had a flush with 8♠6♠, but it wasn’t enough. His tournament ended just one glimpse away from bagging a stack.
All tables are in the process of bagging their chips, meaning Day 1b has reached its conclusion. Out of the 533 entries, 189 players have made it through to Day 2, which will start tomorrow at noon local time.
Stay tuned for full chip counts and a recap of the day.
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
Kenny Hallaert
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.
Tom Middleton
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.
