Maher Achour raised to 25,000 from the button and Mengshi Tian moved all in from the small blind for 120,000. Achour weighed it up before deciding to make the call. Players turned their cards, with Tian at risk.
Mengshi Tian: J♦10♣
Maher Achour: Q♥6♥
Achour had made a pot odds call and found himself ahead. The board ran out 5♣4♦A♦2♠8♥. Neither player improved and so Achour won the pot with his queen high. Tian was eliminated from the tournament in 51st place.
Action folded around to Georgios Tsouloftas, who shoved from the button with a short stack. Jordi Ribatallada Ruiz made the call in the big blind and players flipped their cards, with Tsouloftas at risk.
Tsouloftas had pocket fives and was flipping against Ruiz's overcards. The board ran out 3♦2♦8♦7♥J♣. Ruiz flopped the nut flush and Tsouloftas was eliminated from the tournament in 58th place.
Yvonne Stiedl raised from the button and Fergal Coyle called in the small blind. Nima Saken Shaft then reshoved from the big blind for 160,000. Stiedl made the call and Coyle folded. Two players flipped their cards for the all in, and Stiedl had Shaft slightly covered.
Nima Saken Shaft: K♥K♣
Yvonne Stiedl: A♥J♠
Stiedl had lost a significant pot just moments before and was now facing a superior hand in another big pot. The board ran out 7♠9♣6♠6♣4♦ and Stiedl found no joy. Shaft doubled up with his pocket kings.
Simone Andrian was all in against Daniel Fantoli preflop, with Fantoli at risk as players flipped their cards.
Daniel Fantoli: A♠J♦
Simone Andrian: K♠K♦
Andrian was way out ahead with his pocket kings. The board ran out Q♣Q♠10♣2♣8♥. Fantoli failed to improve and Andrian made two pair with his kings and the queens on board.
Fantoli was eliminated from the tournament and WSOP bracelet winner Andrian chipped up to over 650,000.
The PokerStars Summer Festival Malta, running at the InterContinental Hotel, continues today with Day 3 of the Main Event starting at 12 p.m. local time.
A total of 916 entries were made to the Main Event, a 12 percent rise on last year's numbers. That made for a prize pool of €879,360.
There are just 77 players left in contention, each garaunteed to take €2,230 for their efforts. The eventual winner is set for a payout of €153,610.
Florian Ahlmer of Germany starts the day as the overall leader with 1,035,000 chips after eliminating Tom Arvaara to burst the bubble of the tournament.
Close behind, and the only other player to have reached the one million mark, is Pedro Faustino of Portugal. Jordi Ribatallada Ruiz, Sergio Grosso and Grzegorz Skawinski round out the top five.
Other notable players who are still in contention include Felix Schneiders, Irish Open 2023 winner David Docherty, and WSOP bracelet winners Simone Andrian and Tommy Nguyen.
David Docherty
Blinds on Day 3 will start at 4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 big blind ante and will run for 75-minutes with a break every two levels. By the end of the day, the tournament will have played for eight levels or down to the last six players, whichever happens first.
Away from the tables, players can explore thehistoric Mediterranean island, take a jet ski ride, or relax in the Player's Lounge with games and music. The Player's Party takes place tonight, food, drinks and a DJ bringing the vibes.
PokerNews will be bringing live updates of Day 3 straight from the tournament floor and following the Main Event down to a winner.
