€1,100 Main Event Day 1ab | 2023 PokerStars Summer Festival Malta

06-28-2023 18:19 UTC+2

Puczylowski Makes River Call to Double Up

Matt Warburton

Level 5 : Blinds 200/500, 500 ante

Marcin Puczylowski raised from middle position and Tonino Schmitz, sitting on one of the bigger stacks in the tournament, made a reraise to 3,500. Puczylowski made the call.

The flop came 6♦4♣Q♥ and Puczylowski checked to the aggressor. Schmitz made it 3,000 to go and Puczylowski made the call. The turn came the 2♦ and both players checked.

The river was the 2♣ and Puczylowski opted to make a small bet of 1,100. Schmitz shrugged his shoulders before declaring all in for the rest of Puczylowski's stack, an effective bet of 11,600.

Puczylowski quickly made the call and flipped over Q♦J♦ for top pair. Schmitz tapped the table and mucked his hand, while Puczylowski scooped the pot for a double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Tonino Schmitz	98,000 98,000	98,000
Marcin Puczylowski	41,000 41,000	41,000

Tags: Marcin Puczylowski Tonino Schmitz

06-28-2023 17:57 UTC+2

Azimai Eliminated as Trips No Good

Matt Warburton

Level 5 : Blinds 200/500, 500 ante

Action was on the river on a board of K♦7♥K♥A♣4♥ when Hanna Azimai shoved all in for her remaining chips. Giovanni Agliozzo quickly made the call and the two players flipped over their cards, with Azimai at risk.

Hanna Azimai: Kx10x
Giovanni Agliozzo: AxKx

Azimai had trip kings, but Agliozzo had a full house with kings full of aces to win the pot. Azimai was eliminated from the tournament and wished her opponents "good luck" before making her exit.

Player	Chips	Progress
Giovanni Agliozzo	53,000 24,000	24,000
Hanna Azimai	Busted

Tags: Giovanni Agliozzo Hanna Azimai

06-28-2023 17:20 UTC+2

Romain Busts to Cardinali's Aces

Matt Warburton

Level 4 : Blinds 200/400, 400 ante

Andrea Cardinali and Ludovic Romain stacked off all-in preflop, with Ludovic at risk. The two players flipped their cards.

Ludovic Romain: A♦K♣
Andrea Cardinali: A♥A♣

Romain had ace king, but ran into Cardinali's pocket aces. The board ran out 3♠9♣3♦3♥4♣ and Cardinali's aces held up. Romain was eliminated from the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
Andrea Cardinali	72,000 72,000	72,000
Ludovic Romain	Busted

Tags: Andrea Cardinali Ludovic Romain

06-28-2023 17:00 UTC+2

Banic Wins Flip to Double Up

Matt Warburton

Level 4 : Blinds 200/400, 400 ante

Filipe Do Nascimento Salgado open raised from early position and picked up a late position call before Ivan Banic reraised to 5,200 from the button. Salgado reraised and Banic called all in for the rest of his chips. Two players flipped their cards, with Banic at risk.

Ivan Banic: 10♦10♣
Filipe Do Nascimento Salgado: A♥Q♠

The board ran out 9♦6♦7♥2♣J♥. Salgado failed to improve and Banic held up with his pocket tens to double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ivan Banic	33,000 33,000	33,000
Filipe Do Nascimento Salgado	13,000

Tags: Ivan Banic

06-28-2023 16:18 UTC+2

Schneiders Folds Overpair on Flop

Matt Warburton

Level 3 : Blinds 100/300, 300 ante

Luc LaFontaine raised from early position and picked up a middle position call and a call from Felix Schneiders in the big blind.

The flop came 8♠3♥7♣. LaFontaine checked and the player in middle position bet out for 2,000. Schneiders reraised to 5,000 and LaFontaine reraised to 20,000. Action folded back around to Schneiders and the table talk began.

"Have you got a set?", asked Schneiders.

"I have two draws... three draws," LaFontaine responded.

Schneiders continued to try to guess LaFontaine's hand and LaFontaine continued to throw him off the scent. A neutral player called time and the floor gave Schneiders 30-seconds more to make his decision.

"I think I know what I'm doing," said Schneiders, before goading LaFontaine some before. "If you don't have a set now..."

Schneiders made the fold and showed 10♥10♦.

Player	Chips	Progress
Luc Lafontaine	68,000 68,000	68,000
Felix Schneiders	16,500 16,500	16,500

Tags: Felix Schneiders Luc LaFontaine

06-28-2023 14:57 UTC+2

Guerrero Rivers Straight to Double Up

Matt Warburton

Level 2 : Blinds 100/200, 200 ante

Martin Guerrero open limped from late position and the cutoff raised. Antuen Agalliu called on the button and then Guerrero shoved all in for 10,500. The cutoff folded and Agalliu called. Two players flipped their cards for the all-in confrontation, with Guerrero at risk.

Martin Guerrero: A♠K♣
Antuen Agalliu: 10♦10♣

It was a classic poker race. The board ran out 3♦5♦4♠3♠2♣. Agalliu remained ahead until the river completed Guerrero's straight to give him the double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Antuen Agalliu	26,000 26,000	26,000
Martin Guerrero	25,000 25,000	25,000

Tags: Antuen Agalliu Martin Guerrero

06-28-2023 14:25 UTC+2

Early Bustout as Benvenuto Makes Set

Matt Warburton

Level 2 : Blinds 100/200, 200 ante

Tom Channir moved all in preflop with a short stack and was called by Fabrizio Benvenuto in the small blind. Two players flipped their cards for the all in, with Channir at risk.

Tom Channir: A♥J♦
Fabrizio Benvenuto: 9♥9♣

The board ran out 9♠2♣Q♠5♠A♣. The flop brought Benvenuto a set of nines to leave Channir drawing very thin. The ace on the river was no good and Benvenuto held up to send Channir for an early exit.

Player	Chips	Progress
Fabrizio Benvenuto	42,000 4,000	4,000
Tom Channir	Busted

Tags: Fabrizio Benvenuto Tom Channir

06-28-2023 13:38 UTC+2

Kollatos Leads Three Streets and Takes it Down on River

Matt Warburton

Level 1 : Blinds 100/100, 100 ante

Following a middle position raise and button call, Stylianos Kollatos called in the small blind and the big blind also made the call.

The flop came 7♣9♥5♥ and Kollatos opened the action with a lead for 700. The big blind called and all other players vacated the pot.

The turn was the 8♣ and Kollatos led again for 800 chips. The big blind made a reraise to 2,500 and Kollatos called.

The river was the J♠ and Kollatos led for a third time, this time for a large bet of 6,000. The big blind shook his head before finding the fold and Kollatos scooped the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Stylianos Kollatos	24,000 24,000	24,000

Tags: Stylianos Kollatos

06-28-2023 11:52 UTC+2

Welcome to Day 1a of the PokerStars Summer Festival Malta Main Event

Matt Warburton

The PokerStars Summer Festival Malta has returned to the beautiful Mediterranean island for the second year, bringing more mid-stakes action to recreational and seasoned players alike from across the Continent.

Day 1a of the €1,100 Main Event, the first of four starting flights, kicks off today at 1 p.m. local time.

In return for their entry fee, players will receive starting stacks of 30,000 chips. With levels starting at 100/100 with a 100 ante, this equates to 300 big blinds. The blinds are set to increase every 60-minutes, with a break every two levels.

Day 1b also starts today at 9 p.m. local time. The second flight will run for 10 levels but with shorter, 30-minute blinds.

Players can re-enter once per starting flight and late registration is open until the end of level 12 on Day 2.

It’s too early to tell how big the field will get and what the total prize pool will look like, but last year’s champion, Zlatin Penev, walked away with the top prize of €144,630, the lion’s share of the €782,400 total prize pool.

Away from the felt, Malta is a country steeped in history, culture and entertainment. PokerStars will be offering historic tours and player’s parties to keep things lively for those who bust early or who simply want a break from the tables.

PokerNews will be following all the action on Day 1a and beyond, all the way up to the moment a new champion is crowned.

Tags: Zlatin Penev