€550 Grand Event
Day 1a Completed
2018 Malta Poker Festival
€550 Grand Event
Day: 1a
Jakubcik Claims Chip Lead; Malta's Sammut, Davey, Bensimhon, and Gumz All Find Bags
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 4,000 ante
The first-ever day of the brand new Malta Poker Festival is in the books after 14 levels of 45 minutes each. In total, 302 players flocked to the beautiful Portomaso Casino in the Portomaso Marina area, to battle it out on the poker tables. At the end of the day, 64 players managed to find a bag to tag for Day 2 which will take place on Sunday, November 4.
Leading the pack is Ondrej Jakubcik from the Czech Republic with 462,000 in chips. Trailing behind him with quite a distance between them is Italy’s Alessandro Pichierri with 257,000. And closing the Day 1A chip lead podium is Borge Dypvik from Norway who bagged 241,500.
Jakubcik is no stranger to the Maltese poker scene as he already managed to win a tournament here a few months ago and took €100,000 home with him for his efforts. Other notable players who made it through to Day 2 include Irish player Daragh Davey who has made Malta his home base and found 180,000 chips at the end of the day. Local player Clint Sammut (139,000) needed two bullets today but survived in the long run.
Eyal Bensimhon (122,000) bagged a just above average stack but the well-liked poker player will be looking to build up that stack on Day 2. Fabian Gumz registered just after the dinner break and ran his starting stack of 25,000 up to 102,000.
Unfortunately, not everyone was that lucky. Jesper Hougaard ran his pocket eights into the ace-king of Natalia Chuprinskaia early on in the day, David Lappin couldn’t manage to hold on to his stack after having doubled before the first break of the day with ten-eight against Shayne Farquhar who held pocket jacks. Farhuqar had flopped a set but Lappin rivered a straight and then shoved and got called. Espen Uhlen Jorstad ran his ace-queen into the pocket kings of Michal Wilczynski. Steven Iglesias lost all his chips in the last hand of the night but will definitely be back tomorrow for Day 1B.
The second starting flight starts at 2 PM local time on Friday, November 2, with the exact same structure as the first flight. Another spectacular opening ceremony is planned and the PokerNews live reporting team will be there to bring you all the action from Malta!
Grand Event Schedule
| Day | Date | Starting Time | Late Reg | Entries | Survivors | Further Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | Thursday, November 1 | 14:00 | ~21:30 | 302 | 64 | 75 minute-dinner break after Level 6 |
| 1B | Friday, November 2 | 14:00 | ~21:30 | - | - | 75 minute-dinner break after Level 6 |
| 1C | Saturday, November 3 | 14:00 | ~21:30 | - | - | 75 minute-dinner break after Level 6 |
| 2 | Sunday, November 4 | 13:00 | N/A | - | - | 20-minute breaks and 75-minute dinner break after Level 23 |
| 3 | Monday, November 5 | 14:00 | N/A | - | - | 20-minute breaks and 75-minute dinner break after Level 35 |
| 4 | Tuesday, November 6 | 14:00 | N/A | tba | - | Play down to a champion |
End-of-Day Chip Counts (full)
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 4,000 ante
A recap of today's action is to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
462,000 | 1,000 |
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257,000 | 211,000 |
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241,500 | 241,500 |
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229,000 | 39,000 |
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216,000 | 62,000 |
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209,000 | 89,000 |
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204,500 | -21,500 |
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200,000 | 1,000 |
|
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191,500 | 56,500 |
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190,000 | 20,000 |
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180,000 | 29,000 |
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174,500 | |
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173,500 | |
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167,000 | |
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|
164,500 | -27,500 |
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150,000 | 23,000 |
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145,000 | 100,300 |
|
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144,500 | 48,400 |
|
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|
139,000 | -3,500 |
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136,500 | |
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132,000 | -19,000 |
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132,000 | 22,000 |
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131,500 | 74,500 |
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124,000 | |
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122,000 | -32,000 |
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Play Ended
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 4,000 ante
Play has ended with 64 remaining players showing on the clock.
Three More Hands
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 4,000 ante
The tournament clock has been stopped and the 66 remaining players need to play three more hands before they can bag and tag their chips for Day 2.
Wilczynski Takes Jorstad Out
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 4,000 ante
Espen Uhlen Jorstad raised to 6,000 from under the gun and Michal Wilczynski three-bet to 16,500 from the hijack. Action folded back to Jorstad who counted out his stack and then decided to shove for 78,500 in total, Wilczynski called almost immediately.
Espen Uhlen Jorstad: 
Michal Wilczynski: 
The flop came 
for Wilczynski to hit a set of kings immediately. Jorstad needed to hit a runner-runner straight or flush to stay alive.
The turn was the 
which meant that Jorstad was drawing dead and the 
on the river was just a formality to complete the board. Jorstad might be back tomorrow for Day 1B.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
199,000 | 105,000 |
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Busted | |
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Busted | |
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Busted | |
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Busted | |
Ambassador
Jakubcik Ahead By Far
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 4,000 ante
Martynas Racinskas was all-in from under the gun for 34,100 and was called by Ondrej Jakubcik in the cutoff.
Martynas Racinskas: 
Ondrej Jakubcik:
The board ran out 
for Racinskas to hit a straight draw on the turn but brick the river to get eliminated in the end.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
461,000 | 331,000 |
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Busted | |
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Leinberg Doubles Through Davey
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 4,000 ante
Raigo Leinberg shoved from the cutoff for 14,300 and was called by Daragh Davey in the big blind.
Raigo Leinberg: 
Daragh Davey: 
The flop came to give Davey a pair of deuces but Leinberg was still ahead on the way to a double-up.
The turn was the to give them both two pair, Leinberg needed to avoid another deuce to secure the double-up and the 
on the river didn't provide any danger for Leinberg.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
151,000 | 70,000 |
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|
32,300 | -600 |
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Latest Selection of Chip Counts
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 4,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
226,000 | 199,000 |
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|
192,000 | |
|
|
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190,000 | |
|
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154,000 | 64,000 |
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154,000 | 9,000 |
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135,000 | 23,000 |
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Busted | |
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Last Level of the Day
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 4,000 ante
With more than 75% of the field having been eliminated already, the 75 remaining players have just entered the last level of the day. At the end of the level, the remaining players will bag their chips and return on Sunday, November 4 at 1 PM local time for Day 2 of the Grand Event.