Ermanno Di Nicola Hunting $1 Million in Cashes in PokerStars Open Main Event Malaga Final Day
Seven-figures in recorded cashes is a significant milestone for any poker player, and Italian Ermanno Di Nicola comes into the final day of the PokerStars Open Main Event Malaga at Gran Madrid, Casino Torrequebrada requiring a fourth-place finish to achieve that precise feat.
Starting the day third in chips behind Scandanavian duo Jorgen Dyhrberg and Linda Nguyen, the WSOPE 2023 Colossus and WSOPE 2024 €1,650 6-max champion would begin as the bookies favorite if a market were available, sitting on $916,000 in career scores, and with only Davis Harari above the $150,000 mark. All other final table participants but Harari, Morten Lie and Joel Haapio have already secured career-best paydays of €22,600.
Final Table Seating Draw and Counts
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Morten Lie | Norway | 6,160,000 | 51 |
| 1 | 2 | Ignacio Cuesta | Spain | 1,760,000 | 14 |
| 1 | 3 | Linda Nguyen | Norway | 8,185,000 | 68 |
| 1 | 4 | Jorgen Dyhrberg | Denmark | 11,235,000 | 93 |
| 1 | 5 | Fernando Quintana | Spain | 2,750,000 | 22 |
| 1 | 6 | Ermanno Di Nicola | Italy | 7,280,000 | 60 |
| 1 | 7 | Joel Haapio | Finland | 3,445,000 | 28 |
| 1 | 8 | Manuel Ferrari | Italy | 4,920,000 | 41 |
| 1 | 9 | Davis Harari | United States | 3,310,000 | 27 |
Dyhrberg starts the day holding a commanding lead over the field, and is seeking a fairytale victory, currently holding recorded tournament results of less than $10,000, while Nguyen has been in the top five of the counts since the start of Day 2.
New Yorker Harari, currently completing a masters in business management in Portugal, has two six-figures scores behind him, a runner-up finish in a $1,600 tournament in 2020, and a fifth-place finish at the Wynn Summer Classic last month, amongst $312,000 in cashes.
Two Spanish players remain in the mix for an emotional major title on home soil in the form of Ignacio Cuesta and Fernando Quintana. Although they start the final table as the relative short-stacks, they are not in any form of immediate danger and will fancy their chances.
The tournament broke records for a live event held in Malaga, attracting 1,636 entrants to create a €1,570,560 prize pool, with 240 places paid and the champion set to take home the life-changing sum of €241,860.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €241,860 |
| 2 | €152,800 |
| 3 | €109,200 |
| 4 | €84,000 |
| 5 | €64,600 |
| 6 | €49,700 |
| 7 | €38,200 |
| 8 | €29,400 |
| 9 | €22,600 |
The players will return to Level 30, with blinds of 60,000/120,000, with a 120,000 big blind ante, with the clock set to 24 hands per level. Play will continue until a champion is crowned.
The action will also be streamed on PokerStars Spain's Youtube and Twitch channels, on a 30-minute delay. Our coverage here will be delayed to match the stream, and will commence at approximately 1 p.m.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all your coverage of the final table, as we see who can emerge as champion in the PokerStars Open Main Event Malaga 2025.