Malta Poker Festival Breaks 1,000 Entries and Generates €486,720 Prizepool
The penultimate starting flight of the 2022 Malta Poker Festival Spring €550 Grand Event has wrapped up at the fantastic Portomaso Casino. Day 1e saw 248 entries with 71 more players booking their place into Day 2, which kicks off at 2 p.m. CEST on Sunday, May 1.
Ridvan Kilincaslan bagged best, ending the day with a stack of 423,000. Norbert Bundik and Jasper van Moorsel rounded out the top three chip counts and will be looking to put in a deep run in the MPF's crown jewel event.
Ho Tien Cheung, Paul Monaghan and reigning and defending champion Tomas Sujeta also bagged and tagged their stacks for Day 2.
There were some impressive hands throughout the flight, but none better than Sebastian Larsen's flopped quads against a later eliminated Koppany Balogh. Tempers began to get heated at one stage on table 10 with Soner Vanelderen and Marco Carravieri letting each other know what they thought of each other.
Familiar faces who failed to make it through Day 1e included the likes of Alexandra O'Brien, Marek Ohnisko and Flaviano Cammisuli.
Elsewhere at the MPF, Jan Hoogendijk captured The Hendon Mob Championship, following a heads-up deal with Austrias Andreas Blaskov. Women's Poker Association advocate Christina Read took down the Ladies First! event, defeating MPF founder Ivonne Montealegre for €2,100.
MPF Day 1e Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Name | County | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ridvan Kilincaslan | Sweden | 423,000 | 85 |
| 2 | Norbert Bundik | Hungary | 420,000 | 84 |
| 3 | Jasper van Moorsel | Netherlands | 368,000 | 74 |
| 4 | Eden Azulay | Israel | 362,000 | 72 |
| 5 | Paul Monaghan | United Kingdom | 345,000 | 69 |
| 6 | Massimo Chierchia | Italy | 333,000 | 67 |
| 7 | Fabio Aprile | Italy | 322,000 | 64 |
| 8 | Sebastian Larsen | Denmark | 308,000 | 62 |
| 9 | Tsvetelina Pavlova | Bulgaria | 296,000 | 59 |
| 10 | Mariano Bucca | Italy | 294,000 | 59 |
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 | 252 | 65 |
| Sat, 30 Apr | 2 p.m. | € 550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1E | 248 | 71 |
| 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 |
PokerNews will be back at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 1 to bring you all the action from Day 2 of the MPF Grand Event.
, Sebastian Larsen checked from middle position. Koppany Balogh took a few moments before deciding to put his opponent all-in for his remaining 73,000. 
for top pair but Larsen had flopped quads with his 
.
flop and then picked up the nut flush draw on the 
turn. The 
river was a brick and Hoogendijk propelled his stack to 7,410,000 while Blaskov now sits with 2,400,000.
flop. 
turn and 
for eights full of kings and Said exposed his 
was no help to Paddington who has had multiple bust-outs in the tournament and will likely be re-entering the competition.
