Romain Gachet Leads 13 Qualifiers From Day 1e of SPT Malta Main Event
Day 1e stretched the longest of the starting flights thus far in the €400 buy-in, €150,000 guaranteed SiGMA Poker Tour Malta Main Event, but with 26 minutes left on the clock in Level 17, a cruel river card sealed the fate of Masatoshi Minowa on the bubble, bringing play to a close.
A total of 13 players progressed from 85 entries, joining the 41 qualifiers from Days 1a-1d. They were led by Romain Gachet of France, who bagged up 560,000, although not a total sufficient to trouble the overall chip leaders.
Adam Makra of Hungary (524,000) and Maltese player Mark Vella (520,000) completed the podium places. Sebastian Mortensen (1,029,000) remains the man to catch, with the final flight yet to be completed.
Vella would certainly appear to be the most experienced of the three, with recorded results of just under $180,000, and he would no doubt savor a trophy on home soil.
End of Day 1e Top Ten Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romain Gachet | France | 560,000 | 37 |
| 2 | Adam Makra | Hungary | 524,000 | 35 |
| 3 | Mark Vella | Malta | 520,000 | 35 |
| 4 | Rony Mourad | Lebanon | 493,000 | 33 |
| 5 | Takuma Terada | Japan | 406,000 | 27 |
| 6 | Oliver Mihajlovski | North Macedonia | 399,000 | 27 |
| 7 | Jordan Buhagiar | Romania | 364,000 | 24 |
| 8 | Marcello Genna | Italy | 207,000 | 14 |
| 9 | Nicolas Chretien | Belgium | 193,000 | 13 |
| 10 | Ignazio Ulma | Italy | 158,000 | 11 |
Day 1e Action
Gachet rose to the summit after claiming a double knockout in the final session, and was extremely active around the bubble. His total could have potentially been greater, but he got unlucky in a blind versus blind spot against Claudio Barone.
Gachet was aggressive once he got a stack, and tangled with Vella on a regular basis, it probably ending up about even. Vella got the last word when he caught Gachet bluffing but didn't have to show.
Rony Mourad finished in fourth on 493,000, and he had a good end to proceedings, winning the classic race against Minowa, and setting the perfect trap against Julien Liarte.
Ignazio Ulma was the early chip-leader in the flight having run hot, and while he found a bag for Day 2, he ended up going backwards during the course of the day.
The SiGMA ambassadors have not yet managed to progress, Lukas Robinson getting rivered by Barone on his third attempt, and it remains to be seen whether the final turbo flight Day 1f, currently underway at the time of writing, can be their salvation.
End of Day 1f chip counts and the Day 2 seating draw will be provided as soon as possible after the conclusion of the flight. Payout information will be provided as soon as the details are confirmed.
The qualifiers will return to Portomaso Casino on September 7 at 2:00 p.m. for Day 2, where the clock will be increased to 40-minute levels, and play will continue until a winner is crowned. All Day 2 players have secured a minimum cash of €600.
Be sure to join PokerNews tomorrow for what is guaranteed to be a final day full of thrills and spills. The final table will be streamed on delay, with details of the relevant social media channels to follow.