€550 Grand Event Day 1d | 2022 Malta Poker Festival Spring

04-29-2022 13:57 UTC+3

Guarantee Expected to be Surpassed in Day 1d of 2022 Malta Poker Festival Spring €550 Grand Event

Calum Grant

The 2022 Malta Poker Festival Spring €550 Grand Event is in full swing, with the first three starting flights already in the books. Today's action sees Day 1d kick off at 2 p.m. CEST at the Portomaso Casino.

Day 1c was the most attended flight yet, seeing 191 entries. This boosted the overall entry figure to 445, meaning €222,500 of the €300,000 guarantee has been collected. Day 1d is expected to be even bigger than Day 1c, so it is an almost certainty that the guarantee will be hit when the dust settles from today's proceedings.

Greece's Georgios Ninis bagged best in Day 1c, finishing with a healthy 429,000 chip stack. Other notables who made it through to Sunday, May 1's Day 2 include Tanja Vujanic, David Hu and Jacek Pustula.

The likes of Mats Karllson, Jacqueline Cachia and Maureen Bloechlinger were unable to navigate the first hurdle but still have several chances to advance to the next stage.

Day 1d gets underway at 2 p.m. local time and players receive a starting stack of 50,000. Starting flights will close after 13 levels of action, all of which last 40-minutes. Late registration is open until the end of the break that follows Level 8 and each participant is permitted two re-entries per flight.

Another event taking place today at the MPF is the The Hendon Mob Championship Day 1. That event begins at 4 p.m. CEST and comes with a buy-in of €220.

There are two satellites running today, one for the Grand Event which is currently underway. Those looking to play the €1,100 MPF High Roller can book their seat for a fraction of the price in today's satellite, which costs €150 to enter. That gets going at 6 p.m. local time.

MPF Grand Event Day 1 Structure

LEVEL	Duration	Small Blind	Big blind	ANTE
1	40	100	100	100
2	40	100	200	200
3	40	200	300	300
		15 minute break
4	40	200	400	400
5	40	300	600	600
6	40	400	800	800
		15 minute break
7	40	500	1000	1000
8	40	600	1200	1200
		75 minute dinner break
9	40	1000	1500	1500
10	40	1000	2000	2000
11	40	1500	2500	2500
		15 minute break
12	40	1500	3000	3000
13	40	2000	4000	4000

Malta Poker Festival Spring Grand Event Schedule

DATE	TIME (CET)	BUY-IN	EVENT	Entries	Advanced
Tue, 26 Apr	2 p.m.	€ 550	MPF Grand Event Day 1A	118	31
Wed, 27 Apr	2 p.m.	€ 550	MPF Grand Event Day 1B	136	35
Thurs, 28 Apr	2 p.m.	€ 550	MPF Grand Event Day 1C	191	53
Fri, 29 Apr	2 p.m.	€ 550	MPF Grand Event Day 1D
Sat, 30 Apr	2 p.m.	€ 550	MPF Grand Event Day 1E
Sat, 30 Apr	9 p.m.	€ 550	MPF Grand Event Day 1F
Sun, 1 May	2 p.m.	-	MPF Grand Event Day 2
Mon, 2 May	2 p.m.	-	MPF Grand Event Day 3

As always, PokerNews has got you covered, bringing you the action as it happens at the Malta Poker Festival Spring.

04-29-2022 16:06 UTC+3

Pujol Flops a Flush

Calum Grant

Level 2 : 100/100, 200 ante

Alain Pujol has made a habit of flopping some big hands in the €550 Grand Event and today has been no exception. The Frenchman opened to 600 from the cutoff and then faced a 1,600 three-bet from Daniel Rigby on the button.

The blinds got out of the way and Pujol called.

Rigby bet 1,700 on the flop and then went into the tank after Pujol made it 7,500.

"This might be the one sir," Rigby said.

He took some time before ultimately folding and Pujol flashed his for a flopped flush.

Player	Chips	Progress
Alain Pujol	55,000 55,000	55,000

04-29-2022 16:20 UTC+3

WPA's Read Runs into Aces

Calum Grant

Level 2 : 100/100, 200 ante

Women's Poker Association (WPA) advocate and profession poker player Christina Read has had a tough couple of days, running into aces several times in Day 1c.

Well she has picked up where she left off, this time getting into a preflop cooler with pocket kings versus Marios Eracleous' pocket aces.

Recapping the action, she explained that it was a five-bet pot in the blinds and that her kings were never close to winning as the board ran out.

Player	Chips	Progress
Marios Eracleous	100,000 100,000	100,000
Christina Read	15,000 -35,000	-35,000

04-29-2022 16:55 UTC+3

Pujol Finishes Off Rigby

Calum Grant

Level 3 : 200/300, 300 ante

Javier Casal opened to 600 from middle position and was called Anne-Marie Yuen in the cutoff and Alain Pujol in the small blind. Daniel Rigby moved all-in for 7,100 from the big blind. Only Pujol called.

Daniel Rigby:
Alain Pujol:

Pujol, who had already beaten Rigby with ten-deuce, was looking to do it again but it seemed unlikely after the flop. The turn gave Pujol two pair. Rigby made a smaller two pair on the river and exited the tournament room.

Player	Chips	Progress
Anne-Marie Yuen	80,000 80,000	80,000
Alain Pujol	63,000 8,000	8,000
Daniel Rigby	Busted

04-29-2022 17:04 UTC+3

Guarantee Eclipsed

Calum Grant

Level 3 : 200/300, 300 ante

The €550 Grand Event has hit its €300,000 guarantee as there are now over 600 players who have entered the tournament.

Day 1d had not even reached its first break of the day before the milestone was hit.

04-29-2022 17:40 UTC+3

Piazza Takes Out Rohling

Chris Bean

Level 4 : 200/400, 400 ante

On a flop of Tasja Rohling bet 4,000 and was called by Massimiliano Piazza. The paired the board and Rohling shoved, Piazza called.

Massimiliano Piazza:
Tasja Rohling:

Rohling did not hit one of her remaining two outs and headed to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Massimiliano Piazza	78,000 28,000	28,000
Tasja Rohling	Busted

04-29-2022 17:50 UTC+3

Hawes Doubles Ceglarek

Calum Grant

Level 4 : 200/400, 400 ante

With 10,000 in the middle on the board, Greg Hawes checked from early position before he faced an 18,800 jam from Gregor Ceglarek in the cutoff.

Hawes immediately asked for a count but took a moment to mull over his options. He decided to put his chips in the middle.

Hawes has the for top pair, top kicker while Ceglarek had flopped a set with his . The completed the board and Ceglarek doubled up to a starting stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Greg Hawes	52,000 -28,000	-28,000
Gregor Ceglarek	50,000 50,000	50,000

04-29-2022 18:54 UTC+3

Halasi on the Double

Chris Bean

Level 6 : 400/800, 800 ante

Andras Halasi moved all in for 31,100 on the turn board of . Theo Bijaoui made the call.

Theo Bijaoui:
Andras Halasi:

Bijaoui was ahead with his over-pair to the board, but Halasi spiked the on the river for the king-high flush.

Player	Chips	Progress
Andras Halasi	112,000 77,000	77,000

04-29-2022 19:12 UTC+3

Day 1 of The Hendon Mob Championship Underway

Calum Grant

Level 6 : 400/800, 800 ante

Day 1 of The Hendon Mob Championship is in full flow and there have already been 261 entries, swelling the current prizepool to €50,112.

The tournament began at 4 p.m and is about to enter Level 5 (300/600/600). Late registration closes upon the completion of the break that follows Level 8.

A host of players who have participated in Grand Event have entered the tournament and notable players such as local favourite Jacqueline Cachia, Unibet Ambassador David Lappin and Gary Whitehead.

04-29-2022 19:58 UTC+3

Ace From Space for Magy

Calum Grant

Level 7 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Gregory Luttke-Grech opened to 2,600 from middle position and was called by Michael Specka on the button. Daniel Magy jammed for 23,500 from the big blind.

Grech folded and Specka decided to call.

Daniel Magy:
Michael Specka:

The flop gave Magy four outs to Broadway along with his overcards. The turn was a brick but the hit the river to give Magy the checkmark and seal the double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Specka	100,000 100,000	100,000
Daniel Magy	50,000 -49,000	-49,000