Tomasz Brzezinski Continues Hot Form to Bag Chip Lead in Day 1a of SPT Malta Main Event

A total of 94 runners represented a solid start to proceedings in Day 1a of the €400 buy-in, €150,000 guaranteed SiGMA Poker Tour Malta Main Event today at Portomaso Casino.

In the first of six starting flights, the atmosphere was jovial, and with 14 players scheduled to progress to Day 2, a double knockout on the bubble brought matters to a close with seven minutes left in Level 15, securing 13 players a minimum cash of €600.

Tomasz Brzezinski stormed to the top of the standings on 714,000, closely followed by Jon Persent of Norway (646,000), with Dutchman Renzo Hollings (529,000) completing the podium places.

Brzezinski, a native of Poland but now residing in Malta, is fresh off a career-best score of €493,250 courtesy of a fourth-place finish in the EPT Barcelona Main Event, and will surely be full of confidence for the challenges ahead.

End of Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts

Rank	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Tomasz Brzezinski	Poland	714,000	71
2	Jon Persent	Norway	646,000	65
3	Renzo Holling	Netherlands	529,000	53
4	Oliver De Bono	Malta	430,000	43
5	Tobias Bollmann	Germany	414,000	41
6	Luca Fagioli	Belgium	413,000	41
7	Daniele Degennaro	Italy	357,000	36
8	Terje Bremseth	Norway	309,000	31
9	Christopher Convery	South Africa	275,000	28
10	Wilhelm Isaak	Germany	170,000	17

Day 1a Action

There was plenty of action early on, as Holling took a 100 big blind pot on the flop unopposed, and he would be the longtime chipleader in the flight, only being overtaken in the final session.

Terje Bremseth ended up with a top-ten stack, and he was rescued on the river in a huge three-way all-in, cracking the pocket kings of Richard Burke in the process.

Iga Jakoniuk hit a miracle quad kings on the river to bust Masatoshi Minowa's turned flush, but she would then fall to Persent prior to the bubble.

Lukas Robinson was the only SiGMA ambassador in action today, and although he found a double-up close to the end of play, he ultimately met his demise in a three-way all-in with Remy Hordan and Oliver De Bono.

Brzezinski meanwhile was consistently around the 300,000 mark, and chipped up massively around the bubble, taking numerous pots down without showdown.

Bremseth and De Bono were then responsible for bursting a reasonably lengthy bubble on their respective tables simultaneously, Bremseth leaving Simon Forster dead by the turn, and De Bono getting lucky on the river versus the two pair of Vladan Blagojevic.

There are numerous opportunities still to come for players to book their spots in Day 2, which will play to a winner, with the remaining schedule set out below.

SiGMA Poker Tour Malta Main Event Remaining Schedule

Date	Day	Time	Blind Levels
September 4	Day 1b	6 p.m.	30 minutes
September 5	Day 1c	2 p.m.	30 minutes
September 5	Day 1d	8 p.m.	20 minutes
September 6	Day 1e	11 a.m.	30 minutes
September 6	Day 1f	8 p.m.	20 minutes
September 7	Day 2	2 p.m.	40 minutes