When the action folded to Lee McCormick on the button, he put his towers of chips to use, raising to 25,000. Once the small blind folded, not intimidated, Giovanni Nava moved all in for 218,000.
McCormick toiled over the decision, ultimately choosing to fold.
With eight all-action starting flights in the books for the €550 Grand Event, today sees the survivors of each flight combine in pursuit of a deep run here at the Portomaso Casino in St Julian's.
With the sun beaming down on the Malta Poker Festival, it is good vibes all around as the players arrive safe in the knowledge that they have already earned a minimum payout. However, with the event smashing its guarantee, all will be looking further up the payout charts at the life-changing money sitting atop the prize pool.
The combined entries from all starting flights totalled 1,987, seeing the prize pool balloon to a huge €903,498 - A great success for the Malta Poker Festival and testament to those involved in the organisation and the running of the event, as the number of entries saw the €500,000 guarantee far exceeded.
Leading the charge into Day 2, Vester Vergeest topped the Day 1d leaderboard and never looked in danger of being toppled. The flying Dutchman bagged a stack of 1,440,000, a whopping 30 starting stacks, which sees him sufficiently armed for the Day 2 battle.
In total, just ten players advanced with seven-figure stacks, and falling just shy of the overall chip lead were two more players from flight Day 1d. Entering Day 2 in second place, Lee McCormick amassed a stack of 1,200,000, with third-place Joris Ruijs hot on his heels, completing the podium places with 1,180,000.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Vester Vergeest
Netherlands
1,440,000
2
Lee McCormick
Ireland
1,200,000
3
Joris Ruijs
Netherlands
1,180,000
4
Marko Luksa
Serbia
1,146,000
5
Gordon Paterson
South Africa
1,098,000
6
Henry Broens
Netherlands
1,060,000
7
Jesper Joldher
Malta
1,047,000
8
Julien Stropoli
France
1,006,000
9
Marc Schembri
Malta
1,003,000
10
Richard Gray
United Kingdom
1,000,000
Euan McNicholas
Entry to Day 2 doesn’t require you to be a chip leader, though, and there are plenty of players further down the leaderboard with an abundance of experience in poker's big occasions.
Players such as Jon Kyte (971,000), Euan McNicholas (832,000), Ferdinand Janssen (555,000), Florian Ribouchon (510,000), Matthew Davenport (142,000) and Tomasz Brzezinski (44,000) all found their way through their respective flights and will be among the action when cards are in the air.
Day 2 will resume at 6:00 p.m. local time, with play resuming at Level 15, with blinds at 6,000/ 12,000 with a 12,000 big blind ante. Each blind level will run for 60 minutes, with breaks in play yet to be confirmed.
The plan for today's schedule is not yet confirmed, but all players have one clear objective - to put chips in a bag at the end of the day and progress to Day 3 on Sunday, November 2, at 2:00 p.m. local time.
Malta Poker Festival Grand Event - Remaining Schedule
Day
Date
Time
Day 2
November 1
6:00 p.m.
Day 3
November 2
2:00 p.m.
Day 4
November 3
1:00 p.m.
As always, 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.
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