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€1,500 WSOP-C Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2026 WSOP Circuit Malta
€1,500 WSOP-C Main Event
Day: 1a
Players Left 75 / 166
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Chip Counts
Chip Counts
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
The bubble burst unexpectedly early this Wednesday, September 30, on Day 1a of the €1,500 World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at Casino Malta. From a field of 107 entries, which generated a €135,000 prize pool, 17 players made it through to Day 2 and secured a spot in the money before midnight, whereas it normally takes one or two more levels to get down to the remaining 15% of the field.
This number was reached in large part thanks to Mikel Calo, who went from an average stack to 940,000 by scoring two eliminations during the final hands. He first found aces against queens to nearly double, then hit a runner-runner flush to beat Robert Binek's two pair and send him to the rail on the bubble.
Thanks to these hands, the Italian player bagged the chip lead ahead of Thomas Rayssiguier (534,000) and local player Matthew Micallef (480,000).
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikel Calo | Italy | 940,000 | 157 |
| 2 | Thomas Rayssiguier | France | 534,000 | 89 |
| 3 | Matthew Micallef | Malta | 480,000 | 80 |
| 4 | Carlo van Ravenswoud | Netherlands | 443,000 | 74 |
| 5 | Gabriele Paone | Italy | 430,000 | 72 |
| 6 | Gabriele Re | Italy | 358,000 | 60 |
| 7 | Riccardo Trevisani | Italy | 309,000 | 52 |
| 8 | Evangelos Charalampous | Cyprus | 276,000 | 46 |
| 9 | Koen Meutsege | Netherlands | 260,000 | 43 |
| 10 | Birger Larsen | Norway | 237,000 | 40 |
Carlo van Ravenswoud (443,000), Gabriele Paone (430,000) and Gabriele Re (358,000) follow, while Evangelos Charalampous, who held the chip lead for most of the day, finished with 276,000.
Birger Larsen ended the day with 237,000, slightly more than Georgios Tsouloftas (221,000) and Mario Llapi (190,000), while David Ledden (158,000), Filip Barczak (101,000) and Andrea Dal Bo (82,000) bagged the shortest stacks of the day.
After this first flight, the second of four flights, Day 1b, will kick off this Thursday, October 1, at 12:30 p.m. local time. It will follow the exact same structure as Day 1a, with 40-minute levels and unlimited reentries allowed during the first 12 levels of the day.
Stay tuned for exclusive PokerNews live updates from Malta as we follow the rest of the 2026 WSOP Circuit Malta Main Event!
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
17 players remain in Day 1a. They have all secured their spots in Saturday's Day 2 and are now in the money.
Stay tuned as PokerNews provides you chip counts and a recap of today's action!
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
After Pellerin's elimination, one more elimination was needed to end the day. But before the beginning of the hand for hand procedure, Mikel Calo moved all-in from the button on a board of J♠9♣A♦7♣2♣ with 125,000 in the pot.
Robert Binek in the big blind looked around him and went into the tank. He decided to call off his last 137,000.
Robert Binek: 9♠7♠ 
Mikel Calo: K♣6♣
Binek called with two pair but ran into Calo's runner-runner flush and was eliminated.
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
It was now Tanguy Pellerin's turn to be at risk for 23,000 from the small blind against Mario Llapi in the cutoff.
Tanguy Pellerin: A♦K♥
Mario Llapi: 10♣9♣
Llapi managed to hit a pair on 4♠Q♦10♦6♣5♠ to eliminate Pellerin.
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Cards went on their backs with Ilay Uziel in middle position all-in and at risk for approximately 330,000 against Mikel Calo in the small blind.
Ilay Uziel: Q♦Q♣
Mikel Calo: A♦A♣
Uziel ran into aces and was eliminated on 8♦7♦7♠6♣10♦ while Calo almost doubled up to take the chip lead.
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
After Grzegorz Kozieja's elimination from the table, it was Cyrus Aronis' turn to be at risk from the cutoff against Carlo van Ravenswoud under the gun.
Cyrus Aronis: A♣K♥
Carlo van Ravenswoud: A♠K♦
Van Ravenswoud flopped a nut flush draw on 2♠Q♠6♠, but the 4♣4♦ didn't complete the flush so he split the pot with Aronis.
Level: 14
Blinds: 3,000/6,000
Ante: 6,000
Level 13
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Andrea Dal Bo jammed for 54,000 from early position. Gabriele Re in the big blind went into the tank and called.
Andrea Dal Bo: K♣J♣
Gabriele Re: A♠9♦
Dal Bo managed to hit trips on a board of J♦3♠8♥J♥7♦ to double up.
