€550 Grand Event
Day 2 Completed
2018 Malta Poker Festival
€550 Grand Event
Day: 2
Norwegians Rule the Top Five as Borge Dypvik Leads Day 2 of the Malta Poker Festival Grand Event
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
After almost twelve full levels of play, Day 2 of the €550 Grand Event of the Malta Poker Festival is over and done with 24 survivors left out of 260 players who started the day at 1 PM. And a battlefield is was as the all-ins and calls were flying all over the place throughout the day as they were all trying to win a chunk of the €662,510 prize pool for themselves.
Topping the chip counts is Borge Dypvik from Norway who managed to find a huge double-up against Jona Wilmsmann with pocket jacks against the ace-queen of Wilmsmann. Dypvik is taking 3,120,000 with him to Day 3 while Wilmsmann has 1,425,000 for tomorrow afternoon.
Eyal Bensimhon started the day in the middle of the pack but managed to chip up early on the day but then lost a few pots to go back to the middle of the road but finished on a high on the second spot in the chip counts with 2,500,000.
Norway seems to be doing very well in this event as not only the top spot has been taken by the Norwegians! Espen Uhlen Jorstad scored a late double-up with kings against queens against Craig Simpson and closes the podium with 2,430,000 in chips.
Filling up the top 5 is Andre Henning with 2,155,000 and Steven Iglesias with 2,075,000. Iglesias is a bit of a special case, he is legally blind and has Daniel Grytten with him to tell him what his cards are, the action on the table, the chip counts, the cards on the board, and help him with the chips themselves.
Other notable players making it through to Day 3 include the Day 1B chip leader Domenico Gala (1,500,000), Federico Petruzzelli (1,695,000), Colin Lovelock (1,300,000), Gary Banks (1,205,000), Fabian Gumz (730,000), and the last woman standing Giovanna Dimartino with 665,000.
Players who made the money, as one of the top 151 players who got paid, but not the end of the day include Monika Zukowicz (€2,400), Clint Sammut (€2,100), Mark Vella (€1,350), Daiva Byrne (€1,200), Andy Hills (€1,200), Muhamet Perati (€1,150), Traian Bostan (€1,100), Murat Tulek (€1,050), and the Day 1A chip leader Ondrej Jakubcik for €1,000.
Michael Jesse was the bubble boy when he ran his ace-queen into the jack-ten of Simpson. Simpson hit a jack on the river to burst the bubble and Jesse wasn't sent to the rail empty handed as he received a buy-in for next year's MPF Grand Event, courtesy of Olybet.
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 | 78 | 75 minute-dinner break after Level 6 |
| 1C | Saturday, November 3 | 14:00 | ~21:30 | 613 | 118 | 75 minute-dinner break after Level 6 |
| 2 | Sunday, November 4 | 13:00 | N/A | 1,366 | 262 | 20-minute breaks and 75-minute dinner break after Level 23 |
| 3 | Monday, November 5 | 14:00 | N/A | 24 | - | 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 full seat draw for Day 3 will be posted as soon as the organization sends them through as Day 2 starts at 2 PM local time tomorrow, Monday, November 5. The plan is to play down until the final table has been reached so make sure to follow the updates as the PokerNews live reporting team will bring you all the action from the shuffle up and deal until the final eight players are determined.
Day 3 Seat Draw
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Andre Henning | Norway | 2,155,000 | 43 |
| 1 | 2 | Emanuele Onnis | Italy | 1,560,000 | 31 |
| 1 | 3 | Fabian Gumz | Germany | 730,000 | 15 |
| 1 | 4 | Eyal Bensimhon | Israel | 2,500,000 | 50 |
| 1 | 5 | Elio Caferro | Italy | 600,000 | 12 |
| 1 | 6 | Steven Iglesias | Norway | 2,075,000 | 42 |
| 1 | 7 | Gary Banks | United Kingdom | 1,205,000 | 24 |
| 1 | 8 | Francesco Cortorillo | Italy | 1,890,000 | 38 |
| 2 | 1 | Idan Raz | Israel | 915,000 | 18 |
| 2 | 2 | Borge Dypvik | Norway | 3,120,000 | 62 |
| 2 | 3 | Colin Lovelock | United Kingdom | 1,300,000 | 26 |
| 2 | 4 | Yoav Scheiman | Israel | 515,000 | 10 |
| 2 | 5 | Espen Uhlen Jorstad | Norway | 2,430,000 | 49 |
| 2 | 6 | Giovanna Dimartino | Italy | 665,000 | 13 |
| 2 | 7 | Harvey Norris | United Kingdom | 690,000 | 14 |
| 2 | 8 | Fedrico Petruzzelli | Italy | 1,695,000 | 34 |
| 3 | 1 | Piero Compagnoni | Italy | 1,380,000 | 28 |
| 3 | 2 | Emanuele Napolitano | Italy | 1,065,000 | 21 |
| 3 | 3 | Marko Cosic | Serbia | 1,800,000 | 36 |
| 3 | 4 | Giovanni Salvatore | Italy | 1,060,000 | 21 |
| 3 | 5 | Domenico Gala | Italy | 1,500,000 | 30 |
| 3 | 6 | Eivind Dahle | Norway | 1,235,000 | 25 |
| 3 | 7 | Nicolaj D'Antoni | Italy | 995,000 | 20 |
| 3 | 8 | Jona Wilmsmann | Germany | 1,425,000 | 29 |
End-of-Day Chip Counts (full)
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,120,000 | 475,000 |
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2,500,000 | 1,783,000 |
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2,430,000 | 30,000 |
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2,155,000 | 455,000 |
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2,075,000 | 310,000 |
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1,890,000 | 1,090,000 |
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1,800,000 | -85,000 |
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1,695,000 | 845,000 |
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1,560,000 | 240,000 |
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1,500,000 | -20,000 |
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1,425,000 | |
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1,380,000 | 75,000 |
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1,300,000 | -930,000 |
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1,235,000 | -425,000 |
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1,205,000 | 138,000 |
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1,065,000 | 145,000 |
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1,060,000 | 165,000 |
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995,000 | -5,000 |
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915,000 | -35,000 |
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730,000 | -100,000 |
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690,000 | -625,000 |
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665,000 | 45,000 |
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600,000 | -205,000 |
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515,000 | -925,000 |
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Ambassador
Play Ended
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
The tournament clock has been stopped with 11 minutes left in the level. The 24 remaining players are now bagging and tagging their chips for Day 3 tomorrow, Monday, November 5, which will start at 2 PM local time.
The full chip counts, the seat draw for Day 3, and recap of today's action are to follow.
Gala Doubles Through Gumz
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Domenico Gala (button) just doubled up through Fabian Gumz (small blind) for 720,000.
Domenico Gala: 
Fabian Gumz: 
The board ran out 
for Gala to hold with the pocket queens to double up. The dealer was then told to stop dealing as over on Table #4, Dario Amato was eliminated in 25th place for €2,400.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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|
1,520,000 | 958,000 |
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830,000 | -735,000 |
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Jorstad Doubles Through Simpson
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Fabian Gumz opened from mid-position and Espen Uhlen Jorstad three-bet on the button, Craig Simpson shoved in the small blind, while Gumz folded, Jorstad made the call for 1,130,000 in total.
Espen Uhlen Jorstad: 
Craig Simpson: 
The board ran out 
for Jorstad to hold with the pocket kings to double up.
Simpson was left behind with around 50,000, he managed to triple up just after but then busted.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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2,400,000 | 1,671,000 |
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Busted | |
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Gumz Doubles Through Onnis
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Domenico Gala raised to 100,000 from the hijack and Fabian Gumz shoved in the cutoff for 690,000. Emanuele Onnis also shoved in the big blind having both of his opponents covered. Gala folded.
Fabian Gumz: 
Emanuele Onnis 
The board ran out 
for Gumz to make a full house to double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
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1,565,000 | 190,000 |
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1,320,000 | -980,000 |
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Dypvik Doubles Through Wilmsmann
Level 26
: 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Jona Wilmsmann raised to 105,000 from the hijack, Borge Dypvik shoved for 1,270,000 from the button. Action folded back to Wilmsmann who called.
Borge Dypvik: 
Jona Wilmsmann: 
The board ran out 
for Dypvik to hold and double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
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2,645,000 | 1,601,000 |
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1,225,000 | -1,175,000 |
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Busted | |
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Busted | |
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Level: 26
Blinds: 25,000/50,000
Ante: 5,000