€10,300 High Roller Day 1 | 2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 11 Malta

Player	Chips	Progress
Rui Ferreira	280,000 208,000	208,000
Max Silver	277,200 -4,800	-4,800
Walid Bou Habib	260,000 80,000	80,000
Piotr Franczak	258,600 89,600	89,600
Adrian Mateos	236,500 -13,500	-13,500

Ludovic Geilich	234,300 4,300	4,300
Mike McDonald	228,000 155,000	155,000

Joao Vieira	227,200 9,200	9,200

Steve O`Dwyer	218,600 168,600	168,600
Vladimir Dobrovolskii	209,000 189,000	189,000
Puk Nabuurs	208,500 43,500	43,500
Ilkin Amirov	205,000 -15,000	-15,000
Igor Yaroshevskyy	203,800 153,800	153,800
Ivan Luca	200,000 -89,000	-89,000
Frederik Jensen	192,000 170,000	170,000

Charles Carrel	192,000 142,000	142,000
Berthold Winz	171,300 121,300	121,300
Francisco Benitez	167,800 58,800	58,800
Owain Carey	167,000 -98,000	-98,000
Vladimir Troyanovskiy	166,500 -33,500	-33,500
Artur Koren	165,600 -14,400	-14,400
Simon Deadman	163,500 108,500	108,500
Michael Tureniec	160,700 120,700	120,700

Pablo Fernandez	159,000 109,000	109,000
Artem Litvinov	155,900 93,900	93,900

Player

Chips

Progress

Rui Ferreira

280,000

208,000

Max Silver

277,200

-4,800

Walid Bou Habib

260,000

80,000

Piotr Franczak

258,600

89,600

Adrian Mateos

236,500

-13,500

Ludovic Geilich

234,300

4,300

Mike McDonald

228,000

155,000

Joao Vieira

227,200

9,200

Steve O`Dwyer

218,600

168,600

Vladimir Dobrovolskii

209,000

189,000

Puk Nabuurs

208,500

43,500

Ilkin Amirov

205,000

-15,000

Igor Yaroshevskyy

203,800

153,800

Ivan Luca

200,000

-89,000

Frederik Jensen

192,000

170,000

Charles Carrel

192,000

142,000

Berthold Winz

171,300

121,300

Francisco Benitez

167,800

58,800

Owain Carey

167,000

-98,000

Vladimir Troyanovskiy

166,500

-33,500

Artur Koren

165,600

-14,400

Simon Deadman

163,500

108,500

Michael Tureniec

160,700

120,700

Pablo Fernandez

159,000

109,000

Artem Litvinov

155,900

93,900

The last big event of the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Malta got underway this afternoon — the €10,300 High Roller.

Here's a thing you should know about high rollers and these tournaments; most of the players aren't very keen on getting up early. And with "early," we mean before noon. So when most high-roller events start at 1 p.m., most of the times there's just a handful of players actually playing from the first deal. More and more players sign up and filter in throughout the course of the course of the day, with the most buying in around 3 p.m. or so.

When there were already over 50 players sitting as the '"shuffle up and deal" announcement was given, we knew this one was going to be a big one. And so it was, with a total of 288 entries made on Day 1. That number was a combination of 228 unique players and 60 reentries. Plus, registration will remain open until 15 minutes before the start of Day 2, and the field is highly expected to get a few more entries.

The definitive prize pool will be announced as soon as registration closes, but it already stands at over €2.8 million — just €1.5 million less than the prize pool of the €5,300 Main Event.

All the big names were in the field on Day 1, or should we say almost all of them? Dzmitry Urbanovich has already won three events in Malta during this festival, finished runner-up in a fourth, and made the final table of a fifth for a total of five cashes. But, he was nowhere to be seen today in the €10,300 High Roller. Why? Well, Urbanovich was busy going deep in another event and told PokerNews he would be signing up for Day 2.

Notables such as Ole Schemion and Bryn Kenney entered twice and busted twice, while others made it through the day on a single bullet like Max Silver, Adrian Mateos, and Ludovic Geilich. It was Silver who finished second in chips with 277,100 in chips — a familiar spot he's been in before here in Malta, after having worked his way to the chip lead on Day 1b of the Main Event. Unfortunately, he failed to cash in that one despite his early rise. Bagging the most chips after ten levels was Rui Ferreira with 280,000.

There was more than one remarkable hand on the day, like the one where Vanessa Selbst bet 3,400 on a flop after getting confirmation from the dealer that Ilkin Amirov had checked. Then, all of a sudden, Amirov had 4,600 in front of him. Despite this, Selbst won that hand, which she described as one of the weirdest hands she had ever played.

Or what do you think of Patrick Leonard's bust out? After a raise, three-bet, and cold four-bet, Leonard found ace-king in the big blind, but the dealer mucked his cards by accident. Leonard got his hand back by telling his exact cards to the dealer, who then fished them out of the muck. Leonard shoved, got called by Ludovic Geilich with jacks, and busted when the flop came jack-high.

A total of 10 levels were played on the first day, eliminating 136 players. Friday will be Day 2, and play starts at 12 p.m. local time with the 142 remaining players, together with the possible last-minute entries. Another 10 levels are on the schedule for Day 2, or play will stop when the field is down to the final table of eight. Play starts with an average of 95,000 in Level 11 (1,000/2,000/300).

PokerNews will again be present to give you all the updates you can ask for from the PokerStars.com EPT Malta €10,300 High Roller., and you can also follow along with Main Event coverage by clicking here.

Tags: Adrian Mateos Bryn Kenney Dzmitry Urbanovich Ilkin Amirov Ludovic Geilich Max Silver Ole Schemion Patrick Leonard Vanessa Selbst