Portomaso Casino in St Julian's was again packed to the rafters today, the sounds of chips riffling and laughter filtering through the air, as 258 players across Days 1d-1e sought to find a bag for Day 2 of the €550 Grand Event at the Malta Poker Festival.
Those figures resulted in the €300,000 guarantee being broken, with the prize pool currently standing at €324,615, and the final two starting flights still to come.
A total of 39 players progressed to Day 2, with Antonio Scala of Italy leading the way on 870,000. He is closely followed by Christoforos Chrysochoidis of Greece (816,000) and Aurelio Vallone (722,000), also of Italy.
Scala was the chip leader at the second break, and despite taking a hit when Alex Montgomery turned a flush, he managed to recover, in part helped by busting Ilze Zolte on the Day 1d bubble. Scala has recorded cashes of less than $5,000 - his biggest score being a 92nd place finish in the October 2023 Malta Poker Festival Grand Event, and he will no doubt be dreaming about a major European title tonight.
Chrysochoidis has recorded live results of close to $300,000, and is fresh off a career-best score of €25,500, after winning a PLO Bounty tournament at the Diamond Poker Series in Tallin in April.
Vallone was involved in the hand of the day, when James Paris showed him an epic bluff. He didn't let that setback derail him, and steadily rebuilt his stack, while Paris would not make the Day 2 cut.
End of Day 1d-1e Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antonio Scala | Italy | 870,000 |
| 2 | Christoforos Chrysochoidis | Greece | 816,000 |
| 3 | Aurelio Vallone | Italy | 722,000 |
| 4 | Fidan Zahiti | Sweden | 614,000 |
| 5 | Martyn Frey | United Kingdom | 567,000 |
| 6 | Angelo Vietti | Italy | 546,000 |
| 7 | Lukasz Korniluk | Poland | 535,000 |
| 8 | Marco Patane | Italy | 484,000 |
| 9 | Manoj Navani | India | 476,000 |
| 10 | Jiri Novak | Czechia | 430,000 |
The final chances for players to have a shot at the title are on Saturday, May 4, with Day 1f kicking off at 1 p.m., while turbo flight Day 1g will get underway at 9 p.m.
Day 1f 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 1g features 20-minute levels, but otherwise follows the same structure as previous flights. Players who qualify for Day 2 will return on Sunday, May 4, at 1.pm., where blind levels will be increased to 50 minutes. The final day takes place at 1 p.m. Monday, May 5, where play will continue until a champion is crowned.
Stick with PokerNews for all your coverage of what is guaranteed to be a frantic day of poker thrills and spills.
