button in SafariFabrizio Pilitteri Leads Day 1c of WSOP Circuit Malta Main Event
The final two flights of the €1,500 World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event have come to an end. Thanks to the 386 entries recorded on Day 1c and the 156 more on Day 1d, this 2026 edition attracted a total of 879 runners at Casino Malta. The field generated a total prize pool of €1,115,451, which will be shared among the 134 players qualified for Day 2.
Among them is Fabrizio Pilitteri, who finished Day 1c as the chip leader with 1,226,000. Involved in the final hand of the day, he'll return tomorrow with the second-largest stack overall. For tonight, second place belongs to Andreas Stocker (816,000), while Ivan Saul sits third in chips with 683,000.
Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabrizio Pilitteri | Italy | 1,226,000 | 102 |
| 2 | Andreas Stocker | Switzerland | 816,000 | 68 |
| 3 | Ivan Saul | Spain | 683,000 | 57 |
| 4 | Maria Koutsouki | Greece | 635,000 | 53 |
| 5 | Franck Bain | France | 625,000 | 52 |
| 6 | Antoine Talvard | France | 557,000 | 46 |
| 7 | Alkan Aydingoez | Germany | 516,000 | 43 |
| 8 | Ivelin Kolev | Bulgaria | 515,000 | 43 |
| 9 | Vilmos Farkas | Hungary | 514,000 | 43 |
| 10 | Radoslaw Kopec | Poland | 498,000 | 42 |
Among the Top 10, Antoine Talvard (557,000) enjoyed a lucky final few hours, cracking aces, taking down a big pot with a full house, and hitting quads to send two opponents home.
Vilmos Farkas (514,000) and Radoslaw Kopec (498,000) are also among the top stacks, while Robert Binek (390,000) finally made it to Day 2 after two close calls in the first two flights. He will be back tomorrow alongside Malta's Julian Micallef (344,000), Julien Stropoli (311,000), Mitja Rudolf (230,000), recent WSOP Circuit Paris Main Event runner-up Herve Gouzil (213,000), WSOP bracelet winners Matteo Intiso (197,000) and Fabio Peluso (127,000), and Victoria Ailloud (148,000).
Finally, Day 1d ended with 24 remaining players led by Luca Topazio (845,000) and Mike Laskar (841,000). Players like Linda Lahdenpaa (672,000), Bianka Abade (477,000), Angelo Censabella (327,000) and Sebastian Mortensen (152,000) also qualified through this final flight.
The 134 remaining players are now in the money. They secured a minimum cash prize of €3,000 and will return this Saturday, October 3, at 1 p.m. local time for Day 2. As Day 1a finished very early, play will resume at Level 14 with blinds of 3,000/6,000 and a 6,000 big blind ante. Levels will now be 60 minutes long until the end of the tournament, and the day is scheduled to end with nine remaining players, who will play the final table on Sunday.
The detailed payouts will be revealed at the restart, so stay tuned to PokerNews for all the information on this WSOP Circuit Malta Main Event all the way until a winner is crowned!