€400 Main Event
Day 1cd Completed
€400 Main Event
Day 1cd Completed
On an extremely busy day at Portomaso Casino, Day 1c of the €400 buy-in, €150,000 guaranteed SiGMA Poker Tour Malta Main Event has now concluded.
A total of 12 players found bags for Day 2 from 82 entrants, to join the 24 players already qualified from the first two starting flights.
WSOP Online bracelet winner Jonathan Therme of France bagged the chip lead in the flight on 849,000, and he is closely followed by Micaela Arcusin of Argentina (813,000), with Italian Salvatore Incardona someway back in third (588,000).
Therme boasts just over $1,000,000 in recorded earnings, and snagged a WSOP bracelet by winning the $315 Superstack Turbo Bounty online on GGPoker in 2022 for $36,600. His biggest recorded cash is a 77th place finish in the 2023 WSOP Main Event for $109,400.
Arcusin has just under $130,000 in recorded cashes, and her biggest payday is a runner-up spot in a tournament in Uruguay in 2023 for $45,005, while Cardona has scores of $80,000 (all figures courtesy of The Hendon Mob).
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Therme | France | 849,000 | 71 |
| 2 | Micaela Arcusin | Argentina | 813,000 | 68 |
| 3 | Salvatore Incardona | Italy | 588,000 | 49 |
| 4 | Alessandro De Marzi | Italy | 297,000 | 25 |
| 5 | Roberto Zuffo | Italy | 290,000 | 24 |
| 6 | Dumitru Straistari | Romania | 265,000 | 22 |
| 7 | Luca Ittiresu | Italy | 247,000 | 21 |
| 8 | Christian Nilsson | Sweden | 233,000 | 19 |
| 9 | Thibaut Thevent | France | 227,000 | 19 |
| 10 | Massimo Bruno | Italy | 148,000 | 12 |
SiGMA ambassadors Drea Karlsen and Lukas Robinson were in the field again today, but fell short of the Day 2 cut once more. Karlsen came off worst in a three-way all-in scenario involving Luca Ittiresu, who bagged a top-ten stack. Robinson meanwhile would meet his maker in the form of Roberto Zuffo, who also progressed to Day 2.
Arcusin was among the top stacks for most of the day, and she chipped up when she hit the river to bust Marc Hunter close to the cutoff, and then proceeded to wield her stack expertly when hand-for-hand play commenced.
Therme was the beneficiary of a gift from Oliver Said near the close of play. Therme four-bet jammed from the button with a middling holding versus Said's small-blind three-bet, but Said called it off with an even more mediocre hand. Therme held in a crucial spot, and didn't look back from there.
Karol Guzla was the victim of a cooler on the bubble against Incardona which left him short-stacked, and Therme then finished him off to bring proceedings to a close at the start of Level 16.
At the time of writing, late registration is still open in turbo flight Day 1d. End of day chip counts for that flight will be provided tomorrow morning.
The final two starting flights take place on September 6, with the remaining schedule set out below. The players will return at 2:00 p.m. local time on September 7 for Day 2, where blinds will be increased to 40-minute levels, and play will continue to a winner.
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all your coverage of the SPT Malta Main Event, with tomorrow expected to be packed full of thrilling poker action.
A total of five players qualified from 34 runners in Day 1d, with Lukasz Fraczek leading the way on 549,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
849,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
813,000
328,000
|
328,000 |
|
|
588,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
|
549,000
549,000
|
549,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
535,000 | |
|
|
297,000
82,000
|
82,000 |
|
|
290,000
8,000
|
8,000 |
|
|
265,000
39,000
|
39,000 |
|
|
264,000
264,000
|
264,000 |
|
|
247,000
53,000
|
53,000 |
|
|
233,000
77,000
|
77,000 |
|
|
227,000
153,000
|
153,000 |
|
|
190,000
190,000
|
190,000 |
|
|
162,000
162,000
|
162,000 |
|
|
148,000
42,000
|
42,000 |
|
|
75,000
105,000
|
105,000 |
|
|
73,000
23,000
|
23,000 |
Day 1c has now concluded, with 12 qualifiers proceeding to Day 2, all of whom have locked up a minimum cash of €600.
Day 1d is approaching the end of Level 8, with 22 players seated from 32 entries. Late registration is open until the start of Level 11.
Stay tuned for updated chip counts for Day 1c and a recap of the day.
End of day chip counts for Day 1d will be provided as soon as they are available, most likely tomorrow morning.
Jonathan Therme opened to 25,000 under the gun, and short-stack Karol Guzla moved all-in from the big blind for 34,000, with Therme making up the difference.
Karol Guzla; 9♣8♣
Jonathan Therme: K♦7♥
Guzla needed to hit the board, but he bricked the A♥A♠Q♦Q♠2♦ runout, Therme's king kicker with the double-paired board taking the pot.
Guzla is the unfortunate player to bubble in Day 1c.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
849,000
31,000
|
31,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
Busted | |
Level: 16
Blinds: 6,000/12,000
Ante: 12,000
Salvatore Incardona was all-in for 279,000 and at risk versus Karol Guzla in a battle of the blinds.
Salvatore Incardona: K♦K♣
Karol Guzla: A♣K♥
In a complete cooler, Guzla was crushed, and he could not find an unlikely escape on the 8♠7♣3♦2♥7♥ runout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
608,000
348,000
|
348,000 |
|
|
45,000
63,000
|
63,000 |
Dumitru Straistari was all-in for 132,000 and at risk versus Luca Ittiresu.
Dumitru Straistari: A♦K♦
Luca Ittiresu: A♠J♥
Straistari had his opponent dominated, and the double-up was confirmed by the Q♠8♥6♣5♠8♦ runout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
304,000
59,000
|
59,000 |
|
|
300,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
With 13 players remaining, and 12 scheduled to progress, we are now on the bubble in Day 1c.