€550 Grand Event Day 1c | 2018 Malta Poker Festival

€550 Grand Event

Day 1c Started

11-03-2018 14:00 UTC+2

The Final Starting Day of the MPF Grand Event Starts at 2 PM

Shirley Ang

The final starting day of the €550 Grand Event of the Malta Poker Festival is set to start at 2 PM local time and is expected to be the busiest starting flight of all of the earlier starting flights. Day 1A attracted 302 entries and Day 1B collect 451 buy-ins making it a total of 753 participants with 142 players who have made it through to Day 2 already.

With the guaranteed prize pool set at €500,000, this will easily be surpassed at the start of the day already. The day will start with a gravity-defying opening ceremony and the shuffle up and deal will be announced by the MPF official host, Cat Winch-Johnson, and the MPF Tournament Director, Danilo De Berardinis.

Still leading into Day 2 is Ondrej Jakubcik with 462,000 in chips which were collected on Day 1A. He is followed by Domenica Gala (329,000), Emanuele Napolitano (320,500), Claudio Pagano (317,000), and Serdar Demircan (300,000). Some of the players expected to try again today include David Lappin, Andy Hills, Ronni Borg, Andrew Hedley, Niko Koop, Fabrice Soulier, Ivo Donev, Leo Worthington-Leese, Anton Morgenstern, and Jon Kyte.

The players entering the final starting flight will start with 25,000 in chips and play 14 levels of 45 minutes each are on the schedule. A 15-minute break will take place after Level 3, 9, and 12 with a 75-minute dinner break after Level 6 or Level 7 depending on which table the player is seated. There is a cap of a maximum of 700 players to be seated at the same time and play will start 9-handed but could change to 10-handed if necessary.

Grand Event Day 1 Structure

Level	Duration	Small Blind	Big Blind	Ante
1	45	50	100	-
2	45	75	150	-
3	45	100	200	25
Break	15
4	45	150	300	25
5	45	200	400	50
6	45	250	500	50
Break	75	Group 1
7	45	300	600	100
Break	75	Group 2
8	45	400	800	100
9	45	500	1,000	100
Break	15
10	45	600	1,200	200
11	45	800	1,600	200
12	45	1,000	2,000	300
Break	15
13	45	1,200	2,400	300
14	45	1,500	3,000	400

Today it’s also time for the MPF Ladies Event at 4 PM with a buy-in of €100. The €1,320 Grandmaster High-Roller is also set to start at 8 PM. Both tournaments can be reentered once and have a capacity of 100 and 150 respectively. The Ladies Event is a one-day event and the High-Roller is set to last two days. But what some players have been looking out for all week, or maybe even started warming up for, is the MPF VIP Player Party at Club Level 22 which is free to attend for all package holders. The club is located in the same building as the Portomaso Casino but has a different entrance and is located on the 22nd floor as the name might have given away already.

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	451	80	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

The PokerNews live reporting team will be on hand to provide you with all the updates as the final players battle their way into Day 2.

Tags: Andrew Hedley Andy Hills Anton Morgenstern Claudio Pagano David Lappin Fabrice Soulier Ivo Donev Jon Kyte Niko Koop Ondrej Jakubcik Ronni Borg Serdar Demircan

11-03-2018 15:07 UTC+2

Start Delayed

Shirley Ang

With the tournament clock already showing 381 entries, the start of the tournament is delayed, as the players stream onto the poker tables, spread over two floors, and await the opening ceremony.

Level: 1

Blinds: 50/100

Ante: 0

11-03-2018 15:30 UTC+2

Shuffle Up and Deal

Shirley Ang

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

As has become common practice here at the Malta Poker Festival, the opening ceremony was a success with the players and Danilo De Berardinis has instructed the dealers to shuffle up and deal.

11-03-2018 15:37 UTC+2

Prize Pool Guarantee Surpassed

Shirley Ang

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

With 410 players registered at the start of the tournament, the prize pool guarantee of €500,000 has been surpassed as this makes it a total of 1,163 entries already!

11-03-2018 15:49 UTC+2

First Familiar Faces in the Field

Shirley Ang

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Mark Vella	25,000	25,000
Stefano Terziani	25,000
Andy Hills	25,000	25,000
Kework Besiktasliyan	25,000	25,000
Steven Penny	25,000	25,000
Espen Engevik	25,000	25,000

11-03-2018 16:08 UTC+2

One for Petrecca

Shirley Ang

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

Schmuel Cohen raised to 300 from mid-position and was called by Dario Guarnuto in the hijack, Dylan Petrecca in the cutoff and Victor Olinger in the big blind.

The flop came , everyone checked to Petrecca who bet 800 and only Guarnato made the call.

The turn was the , Guarnato check-called the 1,625 continuation-bet of Petrecca.

The river completed the board with the and they both checked. Guarnato tabled for the turned pair of fives but that couldn't beat the of Petrecca who had flopped top pair.