button in SafariNils Knofler Leads into Day 2 of Record-Breaking Malta Poker Festival Spring Grand Event
The Malta Poker Festival has gone from strength to strength since its debut in 2018, and after substantially increasing the guarantee for the €600 Spring Grand Event from €300,000 to €500,000, record numbers have flocked to Portomaso Casino this year.
The tournament rooms have been absolutely crammed the entire festival, and when the dust settled on the final starting flight, a total of 1,451 entrants were logged, creating a €684,390 prize pool, a record for the Spring Edition of the event.
A total of 202 players will return for Day 2, while one player bagged two minimum cashes.
Day 2 kicks off at 4 p.m. local time, and Nils Knofler of Germany (1,909,000) has clear daylight at the top of the standings, leading the way from Slovenian Tadej Zalokar (1,369,000) and Liutauras Armanavicius (1,183,000) of Lithuania, all of whom topped their respective starting flights.
Start of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nils Knofler | Germany | 1,909,000 |
| 2 | Tadej Zalokar | Slovenia | 1,369,000 |
| 3 | Liutauras Armanavicius | Lithuania | 1,183,000 |
| 4 | Davide Raschella | Italy | 1,150,000 |
| 5 | Abdellah Baali | Algeria | 1,145,000 |
| 6 | Arian Kashi | Denmark | 1,135,000 |
| 7 | Giuseppe Mazza-Boussemart | France | 1,085,000 |
| 8 | Rosario Saddemi | Italy | 1,083,000 |
| 9 | Johann Berger | Belgium | 1,060,000 |
| 10 | Federico Petruzzelli | Italy | 1,042,000 |
There are plenty of other notables names in the hunt for the title, including Egon Holdhus (1,003,200), who final tabled the event last year, Antonis Poulengeris (811,000), 2025 Autumn Grand Event champion Joris Ruijs (388,000), bracelet winner Vangelis Kaimakamis (256,000) and Maxime Chilaud (250,000).
Play will resume at Level 13, with blinds of 6,000/12,000, and a 12,000 big blind ante. The clock will be increased to 50-minute levels, and the plan for the day in terms of length of play will be confirmed in due course. The Day 2 seating draw will follow shortly.
Payout information will be provided when available. The final day takes place at 1 p.m. local time on April 27, where the clock will be increased to 75-minute levels, and play will continue until the trophy is lifted.
PokerNews will be on the floor from cards in the air until a champion is crowned, so stay tuned for all your coverage of the action from the Malta Poker Festival Spring Grand Event.