A pot of close to 100,000 had developed on a flop of Q♦10♦5♥, in a hand between Aurelio Vallone in middle position and James Paris in the big blind.
Paris led out with a bet of 71,000, and after around 90 seconds of thought, Vallone called.
The 4♣ hit on the turn, and Paris jammed for around 355,000, just covering Vallone
Vallone went deep into thought, looking pained by the decision. He stared intently at the board, stealing the odd glance at his opponent but not trying to stare him out, and gently riffling chips through his hands. Paris didn't move an inch throughout, looking cool as ice. After about three minutes, Vallone said "You're strong eh, really strong".
Paris' stony facade cracked momentarily as he let out a very slight smile, but he still maintained his posture and overall relaxed, confident vibe.
Vallone tried again - "If you bluff it's not a problem, it's a good spot", but nothing from Paris. After around another two minutes, Vallone sent his cards to the muck.
Paris turned over 7♠2♠ and the table erupted, Vallone included.
"Amazing, truly amazing my friend" Vallone said, and he wasn't being sarcastic in the slightest. "Honestly, just brilliant" he continued, and Paris smiled and said "You really made me sweat for it, king-queen?", and Vallone confirmed he had folded a queen.
Ilze Zolte moved all in under the gun for 42,000, and received a customer in Anastasios Apostolou. Action folded to Antonio Scala in the big blind, and he three-bet to 360,000, forcing out Apostolou.
Ilze Zolte: A♥K♦
Antonio Scala: 9♣9♥
It was a fair fight, but unfortunately for Zolte, she completely bricked the 10♥3♣2♥10♦8♠ runout to exit empty-handed.
Play has now concluded in Day 1d, with 32 players progressing. Stay tuned for updated chip counts and a recap of the day.
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.
James Paris
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.
