button in Safari€600 MPF Grand Event
Day 1f Completed
2026 Malta Poker Festival Spring
€600 MPF Grand Event
Day: 1f
Players Left 113 / 620
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Chip Counts
Chip Counts
2
921,000
3
743,000
5
717,000
6
600,000
9
469,000
10
401,000
Level 15
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Portomaso Casino was again packed to the rafters today, as players continued their quest to find a bag for Day 2 of the €600 Malta Poker Festival Spring Grand Event, with Day 1f of the €500,000 guaranteed tournament on the agenda.
The flight attracted 159 entries, meaning 24 players would progress and be guaranteed a €900 minimum cash.
As the bubble stretched into its second hour, Davide Raschella was on the right end of a blind on blind cooler to bust Salvatore Patti and bring proceedings to a close.
That pot, along with cracking Florian Bock's queens and disposing of two foes with rockets, helped the Italian climb to the top of the standings by the end of play, with 1,150,000 making its way into his bag. Mans Ekholm of Sweden (921,000) was his closest challenger, while Dan Haberlein of Germany (743,000) completed the podium places.
Haberlein will be grateful to have found a bag, as he looked almost certain to bubble with aces, but somehow found a miracle runner-runner escape to make a straight and overcome Patti's set of queens. It was a brutal end to the day for Patti, who was sitting pretty with a substantial stack as the bubble began before exiting empty handed.
Raschella boasts recorded cashes of over $250,000, and will be a dangerous foe in Day 2, while Ekholm and Haberlein are hunting their first significant recorded live scores.
End of Day 1f Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davide Raschella | Italy | 1,150,000 | 58 |
| 2 | Mans Ekholm | Sweden | 921,000 | 46 |
| 3 | Dan Haberlein | Germany | 743,000 | 37 |
| 4 | Thibaut Thevenet | France | 724,000 | 36 |
| 5 | Alexandrakis Stergios | Greece | 717,000 | 36 |
| 6 | Emma Woolfrey | United Kingdom | 600,000 | 30 |
| 7 | Loukas Kioutsoukis | Greece | 568,000 | 28 |
| 8 | Raymond Phelan | Ireland | 511,000 | 26 |
| 9 | Angela Rogan | Ireland | 469,000 | 23 |
| 10 | Fredrik Kristvik | Norway | 401,000 | 20 |
At present, 73 players out of 580 entrants have qualified for Day 2. There are numerous further opportunities for players to make the cut, with five starting flights still to come, as detailed in the schedule below.
2026 Malta Poker Festival Spring Grand Event Remaining Schedule
| Day | Date | Time | Buy-In | Stack | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1g | April 24 | 12 p.m. | €600 | 60,000 | 40 minutes |
| 1h | April 24 | 7 p.m. | €600 | 60,000 | 30 minutes |
| 1i | April 25 | 12 p.m. | €600 | 60,000 | 40 minutes |
| 1j | April 25 | 9 p.m. | €600 | 60,000 | 20 minutes |
| 1k | April 26 | 10 a.m. | €600 | 60,000 | 15 minutes |
| 2 | April 26 | 4 p.m. | 50 minutes | ||
| 3 | April 27 | 1 p.m. | 75 minutes |
PokerNews will be on the floor for the start of play in Day 1g, so stick with us for all your coverage of the Malta Poker Festival Spring Grand Event.
Level 15
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,150,000
65,000
|
65,000 |
|
||
|
|
921,000
129,000
|
129,000 |
|
|
743,000
69,000
|
69,000 |
|
724,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
|
717,000
717,000
|
717,000 |
|
|
600,000
280,000
|
280,000 |
|
568,000
188,000
|
188,000 |
|
511,000
299,000
|
299,000 |
|
|
469,000
99,000
|
99,000 |
|
|
401,000
16,000
|
16,000 |
|
362,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
|
348,000
348,000
|
348,000 |
|
333,000
23,000
|
23,000 |
|
286,000 | |
|
277,000
353,000
|
353,000 |
|
|
257,000
95,000
|
95,000 |
|
208,000
146,000
|
146,000 |
|
|
175,000
175,000
|
175,000 |
|
|
168,000
45,000
|
45,000 |
|
|
152,000
152,000
|
152,000 |
|
86,000
44,000
|
44,000 |
|
|
70,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
61,000
169,000
|
169,000 |
|
27,000
33,000
|
33,000 |
Level 15
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Play has now concluded in Day 1f, with 24 players progressing to Day 2. Stay tuned for updated chip counts.
Level 15
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Davide Raschella raised to 40,000 from the small blind, and snap-called a three-bet jam from Salvatore Patti from the big blind of 150,000.
Salvatore Patti: 10♠10♣ 
Davide Raschella: K♥K♦
It was a blind on blind cooler on the bubble, and there was no escape on the 8♣5♣3♥3♦6♠ runout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,085,000
211,000
|
211,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
Busted | |
Level 15
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Mans Ekholm opened to 40,000 from early position, and received a call from Angela Rogan on the button.
On the A♠J♥10♣ flop, Ekholm continued with a bet of 55,000, which failed to shake off Rogan.
The 8♥ turn was checked to the 7♠ river, where Ekholm checked once more.
Rogan fired out a bet of 200,000, and was forced to fold to a check-jam of 620,000 from Ekholm.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,050,000
365,000
|
365,000 |
|
|
370,000
443,000
|
443,000 |
Level 15
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Dan Haberlein opened to 40,000 from early position, and was met with a three-bet to 160,000 from Salvatore Patti in the small blind. Haberlein four-bet jammed for a total of 322,000 and Patti called.
Dan Haberlein: A♣A♦
Salvatore Patti: Q♦Q♥
In a bubble cooler, Haberlein had the goods, but the queen was in the window on the K♦Q♠2♠ flop.
The 10♠ turn gave Haberlein additional outs to the straight, and the J♠ hit on the river in miraculous fashion, sending Haberlein the double and prolonging the bubble, much to the disgust of his competitors.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
674,000
352,000
|
352,000 |
|
|
170,000
170,000
|
170,000 |
Level: 15
Blinds: 10,000/20,000
Ante: 20,000
Level 14
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
David Lloyd was all-in for 186,000 and at risk against Davide Raschella.
David Lloyd: A♠K♠
Davide Raschella: K♥Q♠
Lloyd was in great shape, and there were no surprises on the 5♦3♥3♣7♣4♠ runout.
"I'm not calling anymore" joked Raschella, as he saw more of his stack sent across the table.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
874,000
186,000
|
186,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
412,000
274,000
|
274,000 |
Level 14
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Dan Haberlein was all-in for 141,000 and at risk against Davide Raschella.
Dan Haberlein: Q♠Q♣
Davide Raschella: J♦9♦
Haberlein was well ahead, and remained so across the A♥K♥2♥9♥6♦ runout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,060,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
322,000
177,000
|
177,000 |
