€550 Grand Event
Day 1b Completed
2025 Malta Poker Festival Spring
€550 Grand Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
2025 Malta Poker Festival Spring
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1b
Buy-in
€550
Prize Pool
€555,940
Total Entries
1,202
Level
32
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Entries
82
Players Left
12
Players Left 1 / 1,202
Filter
Level 16
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
The Portomaso Casino in sunny St Julian's was a hive of activity today, as the Malta Poker Festival started to get into full swing.
Along with Day 2 of the PokerNews Championship, Day 1b of the €550 Grand Event was the main attraction. After a two-hour bubble, 12 players progressed from the 82 entrants, with play concluding with 17 minutes left in Level 16. They join 24 qualifiers from Day 1a.
Frenchman Ludovic Uzan bagged a huge stack of 1,412,000 to take the overall chip lead - over double that of his closest challengers in Day 1b, Boban Stevanovic of Serbia (674,000) and Brit Alexander Maskell (477,000).
Uzan was among the chip leaders for the entire day, and started to gather real momentum after going runner-runner for quads to bust Yvonne Fuge. From there he only added to his stack, leveraging it expertly on the bubble to rake in pots.
Uzan boasts recorded cashes of $138,541, and clearly enjoys the Malta Poker Festival, finishing seventh in the Grand Event in April last year for $16,000 - his third biggest score.
Johannes-Herald Stephan was the unfortunate player to exit on the bubble, his pocket eights being usurped on the turn by Maskell.
PokerNews ambassador Lukas Robinson was also among the players to hit the rail in Day 1b, and he'll be sure to be on the hunt for a bag for Day 2 in the five remaining flights.
End of Day 1b Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ludovic Uzan | France | 1,412,000 |
| 2 | Boban Stevanovic | Serbia | 674,000 |
| 3 | Alexander Maskell | United Kingdom | 477,000 |
| 4 | Jason Shellum | United Kingdom | 350,000 |
| 5 | Uwe Behrendt | Germany | 322,000 |
| 6 | David Leger | France | 303,000 |
| 7 | Steven Penney | United Kingdom | 202,000 |
| 8 | Bob Jansen | Netherlands | 119,000 |
| 9 | Francisco Jimenez | Colombia | 114,000 |
| 10 | Andrew Fleming | United Kingdom | 92,000 |
| 11 | Ferry Janssen | Netherlands | 76,000 |
| 12 | Mihai Norocel | Romania | 47,000 |
The next opportunity for players to qualify for Day 2 arises Thursday, May 1 at 1 p.m, when Day 1c of the €300,000 guaranteed MPF Grand Event will see further hordes of players descend on Portomaso Casino.
Day 1c will feature 40-minute levels, with late registration open until the start of Level 11. Players will start with 50,000 chips at blind level 100/200, with a 200 big blind ante. Players are permitted two reentries per flight, with play concluding when 15% of the field remains, all of whom will be in the money.
PokerNews will be on the floor from the start of the day, so stay tuned for all your coverage of the MPF Grand Event.
Level 16
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,412,000
462,000
|
462,000 |
|
674,000
74,000
|
74,000 |
|
477,000
2,000
|
2,000 |
|
350,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
322,000
198,000
|
198,000 |
|
303,000
77,000
|
77,000 |
|
202,000
11,000
|
11,000 |
|
119,000
6,000
|
6,000 |
|
114,000
28,000
|
28,000 |
|
92,000
89,000
|
89,000 |
|
76,000
74,000
|
74,000 |
|
47,000
146,000
|
146,000 |
Level 16
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Johannes-Herald Stephan opened to 40,000 from middle position, leaving himself around 20,000 behind.
Alexander Maskell was in the big blind, and he three-bet to 68,000, with Stephan getting the rest of his stack in the middle on the bubble.
Johannes-Herald Stephan: 8♣8♦ 
Alexander Maskell: A♦10♠
Stephan was ahead in a race, and remained so after the Q♥J♣9♦ flop, although his opponent gained extra equity with an up and down draw.
The A♠ hit on the turn to put Maskell in front, and Stephan could not find a set or the straight on the 2♥ river.
Stephan is the unfortunate player to bubble. Stay tuned for updated chip counts, and a recap of the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
475,000
85,000
|
85,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 16
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
A pot of 68,000 had developed, with the completed board reading A♦5♣5♦2♥J♥, in a hand between David Leger in early position and Bob Jansen in the big blind.
Jansen check-called a bet of 75,000 from Leger, and was shown the bad news when Leger tabled J♦J♠ for the rivered set.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
380,000
174,000
|
174,000 |
|
|
125,000
222,000
|
222,000 |
Level: 16
Blinds: 6,000/12,000
Ante: 12,000
Level 15
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Steven Penney was all-in for 94,000 and at risk versus Ferry Janssen.
Steven Penney: 9♣9♠
Ferry Janssen: Q♥Q♣
Penney was dominated and looked to be heading to the exit on the bubble after the 10♠8♠3♣ flop.
However the A♠ turn gave him outs to the flush, and the 3♠ rolled off on the river to send Penney the double-up.
“I can tell you all enjoyed that” smiled Penney, as the river was met with deathly silence from his opponents, and the players craning for a view from the other table.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
213,000
43,000
|
43,000 |
|
|
150,000
95,000
|
95,000 |
Level 15
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
A pot of around 240,000 had developed by the turn on a board of J♥10♦4♦9♦, in a hand between Boban Stevanovic in the big blind and Ferry Janssen under the gun.
Boban Stevanovic jammed the turn with the covering stack, and after quite a bit of thought, Janssen folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
600,000
168,000
|
168,000 |
|
|
245,000
44,000
|
44,000 |
Level 15
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
In the 888th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Kyna England talk about a WSOP gold bracelet while out on bail, who recently pleaded guilty to intent to commit murder against his wife. It's a sad tale, but the victim is now openly sharing her tale of survival and the horrific aftermath.
The crew then talks about Maurice Hawkins, who has yet to address the $100K+ judgment against him despite racking up wins and big paydays, and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the new poker room slated to open next month at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
Other stories include the second-largest Bad Beat Jackpot in history being hit, recent tournament winners including Christian Harder and from the Irish Poker Open, and another edition of New Vlogs on the Block featuring JW Wilder’s Parody Poker.
Finally, given it's the 888th episode of the show, it only made sense to celebrate 888poker. As such, Chad sat down with 888poker Ambassador Nick Eastwood, who has established himself as one of the industry's premier content producers.
The podcast is sponsored by the #1 free-to-play WSOP app. Remember to use the bonus code "POKERNEWS" if you download and play for an extra 1,000,000 in chips!
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Level: 15
Blinds: 5,000/10,000
Ante: 10,000
