Andrea Crobu was all-in for 49,000 and at risk versus Per Gaassand.
Andrea Crobu: A♥Q♦ 
Per Gaassand: A♠A♣
Crobu had run into rockets and no unlikely escape was provided by the K♣Q♣5♦8♦2♦ runout. We are now on the bubble.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
340,000
65,000
|
65,000 |
|
Busted |
Adrian Rueda moved all in for 100,000, and Thomas Cazaletz rejammed for 190,000, forcing out all other opponents.
Adrian Rueda: A♣9♣
Thomas Cazaletz: A♦K♣
Rueda was dominated, and seemed to be heading for the exits on the bubble after the J♠5♣4♥ flop.
However the 10♣ turn gave him outs to the flush, to the collective groan of the watching crowd.
The 9♠ rolled off on the river to send Rueda the double-up, and the fact he got there with the pair rather than the flush led him to celebrate wildly. Cazaletz shook his head in disbelief, but took it in good spirits.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
230,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
87,000
148,000
|
148,000 |
Aleksandar Zuberovski raised to 135,000 from the button, leaving himself around 35,000 behind. Niccolo Cadoni was in the big blind, and he thought Zuberovski was all-in, flicking in a single calling chip.
Forced to make a call, Cadoni put Zuberovski all-in on the 8♦4♥2♦ flop, and Zuberovski called it off on the bubble.
Aleksandar Zuberovski: A♥10♠
Niccolo Cadoni: 10♥10♦
Zuberovski was crushed versus Cadoni's overpair, and he could not find an ace on the 6♦ turn or 6♥ river, bringing an end to the day's play with 48 seconds left in Level 16.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
545,000
458,500
|
458,500 |
|
Busted |
Day 1c has now concluded, with 31 players progressing to Day 2. Stay tuned for updated chip counts and a recap of the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,066,000
421,000
|
421,000 |
|
917,000
117,000
|
117,000 |
|
|
754,000
204,000
|
204,000 |
|
|
647,000
102,000
|
102,000 |
|
636,000
186,000
|
186,000 |
|
|
633,000
13,000
|
13,000 |
|
|
465,000
125,000
|
125,000 |
|
419,000
206,000
|
206,000 |
|
366,000
366,000
|
366,000 |
|
342,000
82,000
|
82,000 |
|
336,000
36,000
|
36,000 |
|
318,000
318,000
|
318,000 |
|
315,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
|
309,000
209,000
|
209,000 |
|
275,000
275,000
|
275,000 |
|
268,000
68,000
|
68,000 |
|
|
256,000
256,000
|
256,000 |
|
|
230,000 | |
|
|
224,000
26,000
|
26,000 |
|
204,000
154,000
|
154,000 |
|
|
198,000
148,000
|
148,000 |
|
192,000
22,000
|
22,000 |
|
|
182,000
182,000
|
182,000 |
|
169,000
171,000
|
171,000 |
|
148,000
57,000
|
57,000 |
There was a fantastic atmosphere in the absolutely packed Portomaso Casino today, with players coming from far and wide to enjoy the Malta Poker Festival's extensive schedule.
Day 1c of the €300,000 guaranteed €550 Grand Event was a hive of activity, and after sixteen 40-minute levels of play, 31 players qualified from the 206 entrants. Those figures bring the total number of entrants to 446, with 67 players through to Day 2.
Home-grown player Justin Scicluna rose to the top of the standings once the dust settled, bagging up 1,066,000, steadily building his stack throughout the day.
Scicluna was closely followed by Denmark's Jan Jensen (917,000), who made a chip-handling error that might have cost him dearly, but in fact led to a double-up. Alessio Assennato (754,000) of Italy completes the podium places.
Jensen appears the most experienced of the three with live recorded cashes of $38,000, and a deep run here would represent a career-best score for all of the top three.
Defending champion Domenico Lando was in the field today, but just missed the Day 2 cut. No doubt he'll be back for another shot in the remaining flights.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Scicluna | Malta | 1,066,000 |
| 2 | Jan Jensen | Denmark | 917,000 |
| 3 | Alessio Assennato | Italy | 754,000 |
| 4 | Niccolo Cadoni | Italy | 647,000 |
| 5 | Jaime Lozano Diaz | Spain | 636,000 |
| 6 | Owen Sammut | Malta | 633,000 |
| 7 | Per Gaassand | Norway | 465,000 |
| 8 | Kjetil Reigstad | Norway | 419,000 |
| 9 | Alessandro Siena | Italy | 366,000 |
| 10 | Mathieu Choffardet | France | 342,000 |
There are two further opportunities on Friday, May 2 for players to find a bag for Day 2 - Day 1d kicks off at 1 p.m. local time and 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.
Day 1e is a turbo flight starting at 7 p.m. with 20-minute levels, but otherwise following the same structure as previous flights. The final starting flights then take place on Saturday, May 3.
PokerNews will be on the floor from the start of the day, so stay tuned for all your coverage of the MPF Grand Event.
€550 Grand Event
Day 1c Completed
