€550 Grand Event Day 2 | 2018 Malta Poker Festival

11-05-2018 02:30 UTC+2

Norwegians Rule the Top Five as Borge Dypvik Leads Day 2 of the Malta Poker Festival Grand Event

Shirley Ang

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.

Bubble during the MPF Grand Event - Craig Simpson & Michael Jesse

Tags: Andre Henning Andy Hills Borge Dypvik Clint Sammut Colin Lovelock Craig Simpson Daiva Byrne Daniel Grytten Domenico Gala Espen Uhlen Jorstad Eyal Bensimhon Fabian Gumz Federico Petruzzelli Gary Banks Jona Wilmsmann Mark Vella Michael Jesse Monika Zukowicz Muhamet Perati Murat Tulek Ondrej Jakubcik Steven Iglesias Traian Bostan

11-04-2018 23:27 UTC+2

Banks Doubles Through Cortorillo

Shirley Ang

Level 24 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante

Gary Banks was all-in for 495,000 from the mid-position and was at risk as he was called by Francesco Cortorillo in the cutoff with the bigger stack.

Gary Banks:
Francesco Cortorillo:

The flop came for Banks to flop the flush draw but keep Cortorillo ahead.

The turn was the which didn't really change the situation.

The river completed the board with the which gave Banks the flush indeed to double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Gary Banks	1,067,000	867,500
Francesco Cortorillo	800,000	210,000

Tags: Francesco Cortorillo Gary Banks

11-04-2018 19:59 UTC+2

Lovelock Takes Caravaglio Out

Shirley Ang

Level 21 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante

Emanuele Napolitano raised to 32,000 from mid-position and Luca Caravaglio three-bet shoved for around 200,000 from the hijack. Action folded to Colin Lovelock in the big blind who also decided to shove for Napolitano to quickly get out of their way.

Luca Caravaglio:
Colin Lovelock:

The board ran out for Lovelock to hit a set on the flop and improve to a full house on the river to eliminate Caravaglio from the Grand Event. Caravaglio picked up a cash for €1,150.

Player	Chips	Progress
Colin Lovelock	950,000	873,000
Idan Raz	650,000	397,000
Pascal Borkowski	620,000	469,500
Marko Cosic	585,000	376,000
Emanuele Napolitano	395,000	74,500
Kalle Gasstorp	335,000	238,500
Andy Hills	290,000	30,000
Luca Caravaglio	Busted

Tags: Colin Lovelock Emanuele Napolitano Luca Caravaglio

11-04-2018 17:45 UTC+2

Michael Jesse Bubbles the Malta Poker Festival Grand Event

Shirley Ang

Level 18 : 4,000/8,000, 1,000 ante

Craig Simpson raised to 21,000 from the button and Michael Jesse shoved for 39,000 in the small blind. Piero Compagnoni folded his big blind and Simpson called. But their cards couldn't go on their backs yet as they had to wait till all action was completed at all the other tables. After a while, it was finally time for them to reveal their cards as all the other players and media flocked to their table. Cat Winch-Johnson was the one calling the cards as they were being revealed.

Michael Jesse:
Craig Simpson:

The flop came to keep Jesse ahead but Simpson now picked up an open-ended straight draw.

The turn was the which didn't change the situation.

The river completed the board with the which meant Simpson hit a pair of jacks to burst the bubble. The rest of the field all cheered as Jesse became the bubble boy, but he wouldn't be leaving with empty hands. Thanks to Olybet, Jesse will be receiving a seat to next year's Grand Event worth €550.

Player	Chips	Progress
Craig Simpson	476,000	344,500
Michael Jesse	Busted

Tags: Craig Simpson Michael Jesse Piero Compagnoni

11-04-2018 16:00 UTC+2

Prize Pool Details Announced

Shirley Ang

Level 17 : 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante

The prize pool details have been announced:

There were 1,366 entries creating a total prize pool of €662,510 and 151 players will be in the money for at least €1,000! The winner will not only walk away with the inaugural title, the beautiful MPF Grand Event trophy but also with €150,000!

This is what they are all playing for:

Place	Prize in EUR	Prize in USD	Place	Prize in EUR	Prize in USD
1	150,000	170,798	19-24	2,900	3,302
2	85,000	96,785	25-32	2,400	2,733
3	50,000	56,933	33-40	2,100	2,391
4	40,000	45,546	41-48	1,800	2,050
5	34,000	38,714	49-56	1,550	1,765
6	28,000	31,882	57-64	1,350	1,537
7	20,600	23,456	65-72	1,200	1,366
8	14,710	16,750	73-80	1,150	1,309
9	10,500	11,956	81-96	1,100	1,253
10-12	7,000	7,971	97-112	1,050	1,196
13-15	5,000	5,693	113-151	1,000	1,139
16-18	3,500	3,985

11-04-2018 13:05 UTC+2

Who Will Make the Money in the Grand Event of the Malta Poker Festival?

Shirley Ang

Day 2 of the €550 Grand Event of the Malta Poker Festival is here and starts at 1 PM local time in the middle of the Portomaso Marina, right here in the Portomaso Casino in St Julians. The three starting days collected 1,366 entries in total, easily smashing the €500,000 guaranteed prize pool that was advertised. Out of all those entries, 260 players will return to the felt today.

Leading all those players in the chip counts is the Day 1A chip leader, Ondrej Jakubcik with 462,000 which equals 116 big blinds. He is followed by the Day 1C head honcho, Laurens Van De Sype who bagged 334,500 only a few hours ago. Third in chips is Domenico Gala who found 329,000 in chips by the end of the night on Day 1B.

Grand Event Day 2 Structure

Level	Duration	Small Blind	Big Blind	Ante
15	45	2,000	4,000	500
16	45	2,500	5,000	500
17	45	3,000	6,000	1,000
Break	20
18	45	4,000	8,000	1,000
19	45	5,000	10,000	1,000
20	45	6,000	12,000	2,000
Break	20
21	45	8,000	16,000	2,000
22	45	10,000	20,000	3,000
23	45	12,000	24,000	3,000
Break	75
24	45	15,000	30,000	4,000
25	45	20,000	40,000	5,000
26	45	25,000	50,000	5,000

Day 2 should be a shorter day than the previous ones as there are 12 levels of 45 minutes each scheduled with a 20-minute break after every 3 levels. Another 75-minute dinner break is scheduled after the 9th level of play today. The full prize pool details should be announced later today and another brand-new spectacular opening ceremony has been planned that will keep you on the edge of your seats.

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	-	-	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

Make sure to come back at 1 PM local time to see who will make the money as the PokerNews live reporting team will be here to bring you all the action from the floor!

Tags: Domenico Gala Laurens Van De Sype Ondrej Jakubcik