Henrik Veldhoen opened to 30,000 from the hijack, and received calls from Atilla Saracoglu in the cutoff and Aiguo Xu in the big blind.
The 10♥7♠2♠ flop and 4♠ turn were checked through to the 2♥ river, where Xu led out with a bet of 80,000. Veldhoen quickly folded, but Saracoglu asked for a count, and on being informed of the amount, quickly made the call.
Xu confidently tabled 8♠8♥ for a pair of eights, but Saracoglu had top pair tens with J♣10♣.
Jerome Le Flohic opened to 15,000 from the cutoff, and was faced with a three-bet to 55,000 from Giacomo Beneforti on the button.
Carlos Arias was in the big blind, and he took some time for thought before he cold four-bet jammed for 365,000. His opponents took some time for thought but ultimately folded, sending Arias a nice pot unopposed.
We are onto Day 3 of the sun-drenched PokerStars Open Main Event Malaga at Gran Madrid, Casino Torrequebrada, with only 82 players set to return from 1,636 runners for the penultimate day at noon local time, after an action-packed Day 2 saw 534 players fall by the wayside.
The podium places are currently filled by three players who will be dreaming of a career-first six-figure score - Spaniard Marciano Rodriguez (2,760,000), Finn Joel Haapio (1,670,000) and Marios Zervoudis of Greece (1,520,000).
Start of Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Marciano Rodriguez
Spain
2,760,000
184
2
Joel Haapio
Finland
1,670,000
111
3
Marios Zervoudis
Greece
1,520,000
101
4
Linda Nguyen
Norway
1,305,000
87
5
Franklin Hincapie
Sweden
1,275,000
85
6
Giacomo Beneforti
Italy
1,270,00
84
7
Adem Agoudjil
France
1,210,000
80
8
Vasile-Voinita Soica
Romania
1,100,000
73
9
Teo Assuncao
Switzerland
1,065,000
71
10
Simone Demasi
Italy
1,030,000
68
Linda Nguyen
Rodriguez stormed to the top of the counts after hitting a straight flush to crack quads, and that was not the only dramatic cooler of the day, as Bobby Simons rivered the rarely seen royal flush, and was unbelievably up against two full houses. Simons would unfortunately fall towards the end of the day.
The €1,570,560 prize pool, a record for an event in Malaga, was to be split between 240 players, after four players busted simultaneously at separate tables on the bubble, with a minimum cash good for €1,700.
Plenty of other quality players are still in the hunt for the title, including PokerStars ambassador Alejandro Lococo (245,000), Gerard Cortes Rubiralta (845,000), Henrik Veldhoen (590,000), Irish Open champ Tero Laurila (585,000), and Gianluca Speranza (245,000).
Alejandro Lococo
The eye-catching sum of €241,860 awaits the winner, while a spot at the final table will guarantee a €22,600 payday. All players have locked up a €3,300 cash.
2025 PokerStars Open Malaga Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
1
€241,860
14-15
€12,100
2
€152,800
16-17
€10,100
3
€109,200
18-20
€8,880
4
€84,000
21-23
€7,600
5
€64,600
24-27
€6,600
6
€49,700
28-31
€5,800
7
€38,200
32-39
€5,000
8
€29,400
40-55
€4,400
9
€22,600
56-71
€3,800
10-11
€17,400
72-82
€3,300
12-13
€14,500
The players will return to Level 21, with blinds of 10,000/15,000, with a 15,000 big blind ante, with the clock set to 60-minute levels. It is expected a minimum of ten levels will be played today.
Be sure to stick with us at PokerNews for all your coverage, as we see who can move into prime position to take the PokerStars Open Main Event Malaga 2025 title!
