2025 PokerStars EPT Malta
Action was joined as Michele Mastronardi had already manoeuvred his stack of roughly 15,200 into the middle preflop. Guillermo Cifuentes was the player who had him at risk.
Michele Mastronardi: K♦Q♠
Guillermo Cifuentes: A♣K♥
A bleak situation for Mastronardi didn't get any brighter, as the board ran out 2♠4♥7♣9♣4♦, sending him to the exit.
Level: 6
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 600
Simon Wiciak flicked in the minimum raise to 1,000 in middle position. Toru Ida upped the amount to 3,000 in the hijack, and Wiciak called once it had folded back to him.
Wiciak check-called Ida's continuation-bet of 2,200 on the 8♣7♠7♥ flop, but the Frenchman quickly check-folded when Ida put his stack of 11,000 in on the K♥ river.
The pot had grown to around 16,500 by the time the board was completed Q♥A♣2♣2♠J♥.
Christian Rotundo, in the small blind, checked to Erik Lindqwist, who fired a bet of 12,500. Rotundo took some time to think before making the call.
Lindqwist turned over A♦K♣ for aces and deuces with a king kicker, good enough to take down the pot as Rotundo’s cards quickly hit the muck.
Jason Wheeler opened to 1,200 from the hijack, Clement Bonnant on the button three-bet to 3,800 and Wheeler called.
Both players checked the 7♣5♠8♠ flop leading to the 5♥ turn where Wheeler overbet to 15,000.
With 13,500 behind, Bonnant went deep into the tank but ultimately folded.
Andrei-Vlad Simion was sitting in the cutoff with 3,700 already in front of him when Lyudmil Ivanov raised to 10,000 from the hijack. Simion took a moment before moving all in for about 38,000, and Ivanov quickly double-checked his cards before making the call.
Andrei-Vlad Simion: A♠A♥
Lyudmil Ivanov: Q♥Q♠
Simion was ahead with aces, but the flop fell Q♣4♠J♣, giving Ivanov a set of queens. The K♠ on the turn offered Simion a few extra outs, but the 3♠ on the river locked up the pot for Ivanov, eliminating Simion from the field.
Longmao Fan raised to 1,000 from the cutoff before seeing Paawan Bansal three-bet from the big blind to 4,200. Fan made the call, and they headed to a flop.
The dealer provided a 9♥7♥7♠ flop, and Bansal continued for 2,700. Again, Fan called.
The turn brought the K♠, and in a similar fashion, Bansal bet 2,800 and Fan called.
Bansal then chose to slow down on the 10♣ river, checking to his opponent. Fan wasted little time in moving all in for 14,600, and Bansal snap-called.
Fan flipped over 9♦9♣ to reveal a flopped full house, with Bansal turning over his cracked A♠A♣.