Level 27
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
With play due to conclude for the day at the end of this level, action has dried up momentarily.
2025 Malta Poker Festival Spring
€550 Grand Event
Day: 2
Event Info
2025 Malta Poker Festival Spring
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
Buy-in
€550
Prize Pool
€555,940
Entries
1,202
Level
32
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Entries
180
Players Left
10
Players Left 1 / 1,202
Filter
(1)
Level 27
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
The clock has been paused and it has been confirmed there will be three more hands played tonight.
Level 27
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Around 1,100,000 was in the middle on a board of 9♦5♣9♠J♠. Egon Holdhus led out with a bet of 375,000 and Antonio Scala called.
The J♥ river was checked through, and Scala's A♣10♦ was good versus Holdhus' K♣Q♦.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
9,300,000
3,100,000
|
3,100,000 |
|
||
|
3,050,000
800,000
|
800,000 |
Level 27
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Carsten Mawick opened to 320,000 under the gun and Martijn Rendering jammed for 1,300,000 from the big blind. Mawick made the call.
Martijn Rendering: A♣3♥ 
Carsten Mawick: K♠J♣
Rendering was in front, but the jack was in the window on the J♥10♠9♣ flop, and Rendering could not find an escape on the 9♠ turn and 2♣ river.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
6,450,000
3,250,000
|
3,250,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 27
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Play has now concluded for the day, just short of the final table. Stay tuned for updated chip counts and a recap of the day.
Level 27
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
11,500,000
2,200,000
|
2,200,000 |
|
|
||
|
8,840,000
360,000
|
360,000 |
|
6,750,000
6,028,000
|
6,028,000 |
|
6,645,000
545,000
|
545,000 |
|
||
|
|
6,455,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
5,645,000
1,470,000
|
1,470,000 |
|
5,520,000
280,000
|
280,000 |
|
4,780,000
180,000
|
180,000 |
|
|
2,830,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
1,700,000
2,900,000
|
2,900,000 |
Level 27
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Winning a large-field live poker tournament is anything but easy, but winning consecutive flagship events at a poker festival is a rare feat indeed.
After 12 levels of play in Day 2, Domenico Lando is in the running to do just that - the Italian triumphed in the October 2024 edition of the Malta Poker Festival Grand Event for a career-best €140,000 payday, and he will return to Portomaso Casino for the final day of the Spring 2025 edition sitting fourth out of the returning ten players, all hunting the €100,000 first-place prize.
Lando had to battle all day for that privilege - he was all-in with deuces for four big blinds just before dinner and held for the double-up. He then caught some heat towards the end of the day to bust Manuel Janas with a rivered flush and disposed of short-stack Giulio Di Salvo.
Italian players make up six of those who outlasted 180 Day 2 hopefuls to come back for the final day, and it is Day 1f chip leader Antonio Scala who will hold the lead when play resumes, finishing up with a 46 big blind stack of 11,500,000.
Scala was aggressive throughout the day, and wasn't afraid to leverage his stack at opportune times. Sevens in particular were good to him, resulting in him sending Ludovic Uzan and Thomas Lange to the exits.
Matteo Ferrara (8,840,000) and Aurelio Vallone (6,750,000) make up an all Azzurri top three. Ferrara at one stage looked like he could be the runaway leader - after he woke up with aces and found fellow big stack Gustav Andersson also with a premium - but he ran into overpairs on two occasions towards the end of the day.
The field is relatively tightly packed, with Egon Holdhus of Norway and Macedonian Dragan Ignjatovski slightly cut adrift at the bottom. Any of the players could make a run at the title.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antonio Scala | Italy | 11,500,000 | 46 |
| 2 | Matteo Ferrara | Italy | 8,840,000 | 35 |
| 3 | Aurelio Vallone | Italy | 6,750,000 | 27 |
| 4 | Domenico Lando | Italy | 6,645,000 | 26 |
| 5 | Carsten Mawick | Germany | 6,455,000 | 25 |
| 6 | Alexander Maskell | United Kingdom | 5,645,000 | 22 |
| 7 | Vincenzo Popolo | Italy | 5,520,000 | 22 |
| 8 | Angelo Vietti | Italy | 4,780,000 | 19 |
| 9 | Egon Holdhus | Norway | 2,830,000 | 11 |
| 10 | Dragan Ignjatovski | North Macedonia | 1,700,000 | 6 |
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €100,000 | 6 | €18,450 |
| 2 | €63,000 | 7 | €12,950 |
| 3 | €43,500 | 8 | €10,850 |
| 4 | €32,150 | 9 | €8,550 |
| 5 | €25,050 | 10 | €6,550 |
The players will return to Portomaso Casino at 1 p.m. local time on Monday, 5 May, where play will get underway at Level 28, 125,000/250,000, with a 250,000 big blind ante. The clock will be set to 50-minute levels.
PokerNews will be on the floor until a champion is crowned, so stay tuned for your coverage of all the action.
€550 Grand Event
Day 2 Completed
