Packed House for Day 1d, Vester Vergeest Tops the Lot
Action in the €550 Grand Event continued today with Day 1d of the Malta Poker Festival at the Portomaso Casino in St. Julian’s.
The atmosphere was lively from the get-go, with booming music welcoming the players as they took their seats. It didn’t take long for the room to reach full capacity, marking the busiest starting flight of the Grant Event so far. The tables stayed packed throughout the day, with a steady flow of newcomers joining the field until late registration closed.
When the final numbers were tallied, the flight drew 365 entries, with 55 players surviving the day. With four starting flights now complete, 136 players have punched their ticket to Day 2, each guaranteed at least the minimum payout.
Coming out on top today, Vester Vergeest bagged a humongous 1,440,000, finishing the day with thirty starting stacks. This saw him not only take the Day 1d chip lead, but also the overall tournament chip lead, bagging the biggest stack across all complete starting flights.
Two more players advanced with seven-figure stacks, and on any of the previous starting flights, both would have been top of the chip counts. On this occasion, Lee McCormick and Marko Luksa would have to settle for podium finishes, advancing with 1,200,000 and 1,146,000, respectively.
Day 1d Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vester Vergeest | Netherlands | 1,440,000 |
| 2 | Lee McCormick | Ireland | 1,200,000 |
| 3 | Marko Luksa | Serbia | 1,146,000 |
| 4 | Linus Lind | Sweden | 830,000 |
| 5 | Finn Larsen | Denmark | 787,000 |
| 6 | Andrea Melluzzo | Italy | 729,000 |
| 7 | Peter Brackley | United Kingdom | 626,000 |
| 8 | James Limmer | United Kingdom | 560,000 |
| 9 | Bojan Simoncic | Slovenia | 560,000 |
| 10 | Piotr Kuszczak | Poland | 527,000 |
With such a busy flight, chips were flying, stacks were swinging, and bad-beat stories were being shared all around the room. Perhaps none were harsher than the elimination of Marcello Genna.
With the flight on the stone bubble, Genna was all in preflop holding pocket aces, only to see his tournament end in brutal fashion as the ace-queen of chip leader Vergeest came from behind to send him to the rail.
All hope is not lost for Genna or any of the players who didn’t advance. With four more starting flights still to come—and unlimited re-entries available in each—there are plenty more opportunities for players to forget their disappointments and start anew in an upcoming flight.
Three starting flights are scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, October 31. Day 1e will begin at 1:00 p.m., followed by Day 1f at 6:00 p.m. and Day 1g at 9:00 p.m. local time. All three flights will see blinds starting at 100/200 with a 200 big blind ante. Days 1e and 1f will follow a 40-minute clock, while the turbo Day 1h will see blinds increase every 20 minutes.
All three flights allow for unlimited re-entries, with late registration closing at the end of Level 10.
Play for all Day 1 flights will conclude once 15% of the field remains, at which point the remaining players will bag their chips and be guaranteed a minimum payout. Day 2 is then scheduled for 6:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, November 1.
Malta Poker Festival Grand Event Remaining Schedule
| Day | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1e | October 31 | 1:00 p.m |
| Day 1f | October 31 | 6:00 p.m |
| Day 1g | October 31 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Day 1h | November 1 | 10:00 a.m. |
| Day 2 | November 1 | 6:00 p.m. |
| Day 3 | November 2 | 2:00 p.m. |
| Day 4 | November 3 | 1:00 p.m. |
Be sure to stay tuned as PokerNews brings you chip counts, updates, and all the action from the €550 Malta Poker Festival Grand Event here in Portomaso.