2019 The Malta Poker Festival

€550 Grand Event
Day: 3
Event Info

2019 The Malta Poker Festival

Final Results
Winner
Tomas Sujeta
Winning Hand
98
Prize
€150,000
Event Info
Buy-in
€550
Prize Pool
€642,140
Entries
1,324
Level Info
Level
35
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
400,000
Players Info - Day 3
Entries
21
Players Left
8

Play Ended

Level 29 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

The eight remaining players have bagged up for the final day on Monday, November 4 at 2 p.m. local time.

A recap of today's action is to follow.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Dmitri Dan il
Dmitri Dan
14,015,000
265,000
265,000
Day 3 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Leendert Marcus nl
Leendert Marcus
9,330,000
Profile photo of Tomas Sujeta lt
Tomas Sujeta
6,685,000
-315,000
-315,000
Profile photo of Oskar Wedde no
Oskar Wedde
2,830,000
100,000
100,000
Profile photo of Pasquale Gregorio it
Pasquale Gregorio
2,615,000
250,000
250,000
Profile photo of Peter de Bruin nl
Peter de Bruin
2,315,000
150,000
150,000
Profile photo of Craig Smith us
Craig Smith
1,470,000
-500,000
-500,000
Profile photo of Dario Marinelli it
Dario Marinelli
590,000

Eight Left in the Malta Poker Festival Grand Event with Dan Still in the Lead

Level 29 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Dmitri Dan
Dmitri Dan

A huge set up ensured that Day 3 of the €550 Grand Event ended halfway through the third level of play of the day to see the 1,324-strong field reduced to a mere 8 hopefuls who will play their final table in Club TwentyTwo on Monday, November 4 at 2 p.m. local time. With the bulk of the €642,140 prize pool still up for grabs, all eyes will be on that first-place prize of 150,000 and the charming The Malta Poker Festival trophy.

Dmitri Dan started the day with the chip lead and never let it go, in fact, he only added more to his stack as he finished the day with 14,015,000 in chips. He can claim four victims on Day 3 which started with 21 players. Jacopo Achille, Teijo Sinervo, Martyn Frey, and Michel Vat all saw their chips go into Dan’s stack before making their way to the payout desk. Dan only has two tournament cashes recorded to his name on The Hendon Mob and they both date back to more than two years ago and with the €14,000 each player has already secured, this will be his biggest cash ever.

Leendert Marcus
Leendert Marcus

Dan is followed in the chip counts by Leendert Marcus from the Netherlands with 9,330,000. Even though Dan had an impressive run today, Marcus had some of the more notable eliminations of the day. He was the first player to send someone else to the rail today. Domenico Tortomasi’s two pair couldn’t beat the flush Marcus had turned. Marcus also took out Nicolaj D’Antoni, who finished in third place last year, with a flush, this time he rivered it.

But Marcus won what could probably be called the biggest setup of the tournament at the most crucial moment. Mark Vella had shoved with pocket queens, Dario Marinelli over shoved with pocket kings, and Marcus called with pocket aces. The aces held to send Vella out of the Grand Event in ninth place and to leave Marinelli short when he returns to the final table on the final day.

Final Hand of the Day
Final Hand of the Day

Closing the podium in third place is Tomas Sujeta with 6,685,000 in chips. Sujeta eliminated Giovanni Piccione when his lower pocket pair turned into a set on the flop. After having first doubled Linda Nguyen up, he still took her out in tenth place when she held ace-jack and he had ace-nine. The flop came with a nine for Sujeta to pair up with to send Nguyen home with €7,000. Nguyen finished in 73rd place last year so has bettered that result but she will still be disappointed to have missed out on the final table.

The final table is completed with Oskar Wedde, Pasquale Gregorio, Peter de Bruin, and Craig Smith.

Final Table Seat Draw

SeatPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Pasquale GregorioItaly2,615,00026
2Dario MarinelliItaly590,0006
3Craig SmithUnited Kingdom1,470,00015
4Leendert MarcusNetherlands9,330,00093
5Tomas SujetaLithuania6,685,00067
6Peter de BruinNetherlands2,315,00023
7Dmitri DanIsrael14,015,000140
8Oskar WeddeNorway2,830,00028

When the players return at 1:30 p.m. local time, they will be taken up to Club TwentyTwo which is on the 22nd level of the Portomaso Tower. All eight have secured €14,000 already and 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. The final table will be live-streamed on Twitch with a 30-minute security delay as the hole cards will be shown.

This is what they are still playing for:

PlacePrize (EUR)
1€ 150,000
2€ 82,000
3€ 48,000
4€ 38,000
5€ 32,440
6€ 26,000
7€ 20,000
8€ 14,000

The PokerNews live reporting team will be following along with the delay so the updates will start from 2:30 p.m. local time onwards. Make sure to keep reading or watching along until the winner has been crowned.

Tags: Craig SmithDario MarinelliDmitri DanGiovanni PiccioneJacopo AchilleLeendert MarcusLinda NguyenMark VellaMartyn FreyMichel VatOskar WeddePasquale GregorioPeter de BruinTeijo SinervoTomas Sujeta

€550 Grand Event

Day 3 Completed