Who Will Take Down the Second-Ever Malta Poker Festival Grand Event Title?
A winner of the €550 Grand Event will be crowned today here at The Malta Poker Festival with the final table taking place in Club TwentyTwo instead of the Portmaso Casino. At 2 p.m. local time, only eight players out of the 1,324-strong field will return to the final table to try and win that first-place prize of €150,000. They have all secured at least €14,000 already but will all be eyeing up more than that.
Dmitri Dan will be coming back with the chip lead of 14,015,000 in chips and is trailed by Leendert Marcus with 9,330,000 and Tomas Sujeta with 6,685,000 in chips. Oskar Wedde, Pasquale Gregorio, Peter de Bruin, Craig Smith, and Dario Marinelli complete the final table.
After a quick day on Day 3, Day 4 is expected to last a bit longer. With spectators welcomed at Club TwentyTwo, they will be able to enjoy all the action from up close while enjoying the spectacular views the balconies offer high up in the sky as it's the highest location available in Malta.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pasquale Gregorio | Italy | 2,615,000 | 26 |
| 2 | Dario Marinelli | Italy | 590,000 | 6 |
| 3 | Craig Smith | United Kingdom | 1,470,000 | 15 |
| 4 | Leendert Marcus | Netherlands | 9,330,000 | 93 |
| 5 | Tomas Sujeta | Lithuania | 6,685,000 | 67 |
| 6 | Peter de Bruin | Netherlands | 2,315,000 | 23 |
| 7 | Dmitri Dan | Israel | 14,015,000 | 140 |
| 8 | Oskar Wedde | Norway | 2,830,000 | 28 |
When the players return at 1:30 p.m. local time to be taken up to the 22nd level of the Portomaso tower, they will continue to play the 32 minutes and 51 seconds that are left of Level 29 which has a small blind of 50,000, big blind of 100,000 and a button ante of 100,000 at 2 p.m. The final table will be live-streamed on Twitch with a 15-minute security delay as the hole cards will be shown.
This is what is still left to play for:
| Place | Prize (EUR) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | € 150,000 | $167,525 |
| 2 | € 82,000 | $91,580 |
| 3 | € 48,000 | $53,608 |
| 4 | € 38,000 | $42,440 |
| 5 | € 32,440 | $36,230 |
| 6 | € 26,000 | $29,038 |
| 7 | € 20,000 | $22,337 |
| 8 | € 14,000 | $15,636 |
The PokerNews live reporting team will be there to update you along with the 15-minute delay so the updates will start from 2:15 p.m. onwards. Keep following along with the action as play will continue until a winner has been crowned.
for Marinelli to hold with the pair of kings to double up with.
and action folded to Pasquale Gregorio on the button. He three-bet to 930,000, Dario Marinelli was in the small blind and shoved for 1,100,000. Marcus quickly folded and Gregorio called.
to not bring any help to Marinelli as the Italian player was sent packing with €14,000 for finishing in eighth place.
for De Bruin to hit a pair of eights but it also gave Marcus the flush and straight flush draw.
for him to improve to trips to send his fellow countryman to the rail in seventh place. De Bruin gets to take home €20,000.
for Smith to hit top pair.
for not change anything and neither did the 
on the river as Smith doubled up while his rail celebrated loudly.
.
for Sujeta to hit a straight. Gregorio hit middle pair. Gregorio check-called the 205,000 bet of Sujeta. 
and Gregorio checked again. Sujeta glanced at Gregorio and Gregorio's stack. He then looked at Wedde's stack before betting 750,000. Gregorio took some time and then made the call.
. Gregorio checked for the last time and now Sujeta shoved with the bigger stack. Gregorio checked his cards once more and dived into the tank. After a while, the clock was called on him. The floor gave him 30 seconds to make a decision and in the end, Gregorio made the call for his whole stack to be sent home in sixth place for €26,000.
and defended.
for Marcus to hit a set of deuces and for Dan to pick up the flush draw. Marcus checked. Dan continued with a bet of 425,000. Marcus looked at his cards again and then made the call.
for Marcus to improve to a full house. Marcus bet 2,000,000 and Dan snap-called to see Marcus had rivered the better hand to scoop the pot.
for Wedde to pick up a flush draw but the river completed the board with the 
in the small blind and completed it. Leendert Marcus opted to check his big blind while holding 
on the turn. Smith bet 350,000 with ace-high, Marcus called with the open-ended straight draw. Sujeta took some time and raised to 1,400,000. Smith folded and Marcus made the call.