Day 1c

Day 1c was a banner field attracting a whopping 870 entries with 134 players surviving with a min-cash into Sunday’s Day 2. Check out all of the final chip counts from Day 1c below:

Level 17: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)
Entries: 134/870

It was the cooler of all coolers to end Day 1c. Francesco Biribao raised nearly all his stack from the middle before button Matthias De Meulder shoved to put Biribao all in. Biribao snapped it off, but they had to wait for the rest of the tables to finish. There were actually two all in and calls on the final hand with the showdown on Table 8 running first.

Biribao had the best hand in poker, pocket aces, and was an 80/20 favorite over the pocket kings for De Meulder. At least, he was until the king came on the flop of 3♥K♥5♦. The Q♠2♣ turn and reiver bricked out for Biribao and he was sent to the rail in the final hand of the night in one of the most brutal coolers in poker.

The remaining 134 players are now bagging up the chips. Stay tuned for a full chip count list from the remaining players as soon as it is compiled.

Level 17: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)
Entries: 135/870

They are on the bubble as Level 17 begins after the break with 135 players left. They’ll bag up for the night after the next elimination.

Level 16: 2,500/5,000 (5,000)
Entries: 142/870

They are nearing the end of Day 1c with about 8 players to go until they bag up for the night, but the Cinderella story reported earlier by my partner in crime, Jason Glatzer, continues as the night winds down. To recall, Estonian Marco Keskel had 900 chips earlier in the night, but as Glatzer reported, he had chipped up to about 70k in Level 14.

I just had a quick look at his table and he’s now playing about 240k with 8 players to go until they end for the night.

Marco Keskel

Level 15: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Entries: 152/870

Table big stack Kacper Pyzara raised early to 8,000 and only big blind Ioannis Poulios called to the flop of T♥K♣2♣. Poulios check-called for 4,000 and Q♠ hit the turn. Poulios checked again and Pyzara fired a roughly pot-sized bet of 30k, which was enough to get Poulios off his hand after some time in the think tank.

Ioannis Poulios – 110,000
Kacper Pyzara – 320,000

Kacper Pyzara

Level 15: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Entries: 167/870

Florent Colin raised to 8,500 from the cutoff, and button Robert Berglund made it 23k to go. Colin called to K♦5♦J♠ flop where he check-raised from 15k to 35k. Berglund tanked for a bit but tossed in the call.

The turn was Q♣ and Colin hit the tank for a couple of minutes before announcing all-in for about 70k. Berglund didn’t take long to release his hand and leave himself about 80k while Colin chipped up to around 200k

Robert Berglund – 80,000
Florent Colin – 200,000

Florent Colin

Level 14: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 190/870

Alexandros Dimogiorgis raised to 6,000 from the cutoff and Zvezdan Tadic defended his big blind. Tadic fired 3,000 on the 7♦3♥5♦ flop and Dimogiorgis called to the Q♦ turn. Both players checked to the 9♦ river where Tadic check-called for 15k. He showed [8d5h] for the middle flush while Dimogiorgis mucked A♥T♥ face up.

Alexandros Dimogiorgis – 100,000
Zvezdan Tadic – 220,000

Zvezdan Tadic

Level 14: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 209/870

We caught up with Estonia’s Marko Keskel while snapping a few photos of the Ladies Only final table. He shared quite the story, so for now, he deserves the nickname Marko “Cinderella” Keskel as he potentially has a true Cinderella story in the making.

Keskel was down to crumbs in his stack with just 900 chips at one point and made a huge comeback and grew that stack to 70,000 in chips. He shared with us the variety of hands, but let’s just say that it involved tons of double-ups and triple-ups to get to where he is now.

There is still some way to go for Keskel to find a bag but we will keep an eye on his Cinderella story. Best of luck to Keskel in getting the job done today and beyond.

Marko Keskel embarking on a Cinderella story in the BoM Main Event

Level 14: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 219/870

The €150 FLIP Ladies Event is down to a final table of nine players after Giovanna Dimartino was the first player out in the money for a tenth-place finish worth €200. The final tablists each locked up at least a €290 payout with a healthy €2,720 top prize on the line.

Monica Thingboe will kick off the final table with the chip lead followed by Maili Tannbaum, Veronica Tuscano, Gabriela Hlouskova, Irina Monastirscaia, FLIP founder Daiva Byrne, Flavia Guedes, Emma Oliver, and Battle of Malta host Patricia Peklar.

Oliver is going for her third victory in a row but shared before the event she would only be disappointed if you didn’t reach the final table. She got her wish and now is going for Battle of Malta history.

Best of luck to all of the players!

Players are on a 20-minute break. The blinds will increase to 1,500/3,000 with a 3,000 big blind ante when the action resumes.

The calculations were recently finalized and the Day 1c field officially attracted 870 entries. A total of 134 players or less will advance to Day 2 already in the money depending on how many players bust out during the final hand.

Best of luck to all of the remaining Day 1c players.

Level 13: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Entries: 242/870

Andre Grech opened the betting under the gun, making it 4,200 to go. To his left, Alexandros Dimogiorgis raised it to 12k. The action folded around to Andrejs Zukovs on the button and he shipped his stack into the middle for 26k. Grech got out of the way, but Zukovs was priced in and made the call.

His king-six was well behind the pocket nines for Zukovs and neither player hit the board so the nines held for a double for Zukovs.

Alexandros Dimogiorgis – 130,000
Andrejs Zukovs – 60,000

Andrejs Zukovs

Level 13: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Entries: 255/870

Jordan Grech jammed his short stack of less than 10 big blinds and was looked up by Eduard Rau.

Jordan Grech: K♥J♦
Eduard Rao: A♦5♥

It was more or less a coin flip with Rau slightly ahead. Grech was unable to snag a piece of the 7♠Q♦2♥Q♥4♣ runout and his chips went into Rau’s stack.

Eduard Rau – 85,000
Jordan Grech – 0

Level 12: 1,000/1,500 (1,500)
Entries: 279/872

Salvatore Caruso raised to 4k from the button and Priit Brikker called from the big blind. They both checked the 9♣5♣9♥ flop but Brikker led for 1,600 on the Q♣ turn. Caruso called to see 7♠ on the river, but he mucked when Brikker bet big with 14k.

Salvatore Caruso – 75,000
Priit Brikker – 81,000

Priit Brikker

Level 11: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 308/872

Things started off with a raise from Domenico Avagliano from the middle, and four other players called, including button Athis Ali and big blind Leslaw Pajak. The flop came 7♦9♦T♠ and it checked to Ali on the button and he fired 11,000. Pajak made the call before the rest of the players backed away from the hand. The turn came K♣ and after a check from Pajak, Ali shoved getting a quick fold from the big blind.

Athir Ali – 51,000
Leslaw Pajak – 60,000

Level 11: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 310/870

Yoan Dody from the button called a three-bet jam by Ivan Furniet Martinez from the small blind to 32,000.

Ivan Furniet Martinez: Q♣Q♠
Yoan Dody: 9♦9♣

Martinez didn’t have much of a sweat and doubled his stack after Dody’s nines didn’t get anywhere on the A♦4♥4♦5♦6♣ board.

Ivan Furniet Martinez – 80,000
Yoan Dody – 30,000

Yoan Dody & Ivan Furniet Martinez Discussing the Hand

Level 11: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 328/872

Oliver Markham limped in from the small blind, then called when Miguel Bolivar raised the big to 3,500. Markham quickly fired 3,600 on the K♠2♥T♣ flop and Bolivar flatted behind. On the 2♣ turn, Markham again fired for 6k this time and again got the call.

He finally slowed down on the river 7♠ with a check, but called when Bolivar bet 8k. They both hit the king on the flop, but not only was Bolivar’s kicker better, both his cards were clubs for the backdoor flush.

Miguel Bolivar – 100,000
Oliver Markham – 110,000

Miguel Bolivar

Level 11: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 324/870

Marian Ivanov opened for 2,500 from the cutoff and was called by Gabriele Re from the button before Fabio Buremi three-bet to 8,400 from the big blind. Ivanov called and Re folded.

Buremi check-called a bet of 6,100 on the 8♠6♥A♦ flop before both players checked the T♥ turn. Buremi fired out for 19,700 on the 2♣ river. Ivanov paused for about 10 seconds before he tossed a chip in to call.

Buremi tabled the T♦T♣ for a turned set of tens. Ivanov shook his head in frustration before mucking his cards for Buremi to take down the pot.

Fabio Buremi – 80,000
Marian Ivanov – 55,000

Fabio Buremi

Level 11: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 344/870

Late registration is over but it will take a few minutes to verify the numbers to make sure all the qualifiers that were scheduled to play on Day 1c got into the mix. We will report the final figures as soon as they are made official.

In the meantime, we witnessed Kristian Hasevik bluff Massimo Caratelli as follows:

Caratelli checked the 6♥6♣Q♦ flop with around 35,000 already in the pot. Hasevik fired out for 12,500 and Caratelli went into the tank. He flashed his AXKX before he opted to fold.

Hasevik returned the favor and showed he didn’t connect with the board either as he turned over the AXTX as the dealer began to award the pot.

Caratelli politely tapped the table in acknowledgment of the nice bluff by Hasevik.

Kristian Hasevik – 140,000
Massimo Caratelli – 75,000

Kristian Hasevik

Level 11: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 345/867

Entries close on this massive Day 1c when the dinner break ends in just under an hour. There are still three flights to go after this one, with a regular 1d tomorrow followed by two turbo flights before Sunday’s Day 2.

Players are on a 75-minute dinner break with the action set to kick off again at 10 p.m. local time. Late registration will be closed when the action resumes, at which point we will know how big the field got and how many players are scheduled to advance to Sunday’s Day 2 from the Day 1c field.

There will also be a repeat of the 600/1,200 (1,200) blind level after the break providing any new players more than 20 big blinds to make a run at Battle of Malta Main Event glory.

Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 381/861

Guido Roperti raised from the middle to 2,600 and big blind Magnus Pukk called to the 4♣3♥9♠ flop. Both players slowed down and checked the flop and the Q♠ turn. When the river came 8♥ Pukk led out for 8,500, and after some thought, Roperti called.

It was king-high for Pukk with king-six against ace-high for Roperti ace-three, sending the pot to Roperti and bringing the two players close to even in chips.

Magnus Pukk – 36,000
Guido Roperti – 35,000

Guido Roperti

Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 378/863

Benjamin Fougerouze jammed for 12,500 from early position before the action paused on Benjamin Fougerouze from the hijack. Fougerouze asked for a count before jamming over the top for 32,000.

Benjamin Fougerouze: K♣9♣
Joem Martinsen: 9♠9♦

Martinsen’s nines held to win the hand and felt his opponent after Fougerouze bricked the 7♥J♥A♣8♥4♠ runout.

Joem Martinsen – 50,000
Benjamin Fougerouze – 0

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 398/856

Angelo Censabella jammed for 13,700 from middle position and was up against Corrado Martinelli from the cutoff.

Angelo Censabella: A♦8♥
Corrado Martinelli: K♦K♣

Censabella had one live card and it connected on the 3♠3♣A♠ flop for a better two-pair than Martinelli. Martinelli was unable to get a two-outer to get back on top after bricking both the 4♥ turn and 9♥ river for Censabella to double his stack instead of leaving the table.

Corrado Martinelli – 60,000
Angelo Censabella – 35,000

Angela Censabella

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 405/852

Damir Savio raised to 2,100 from the button and big blind and table big stack Fabrizio Cocco called. The flop came T♥9♣3♠ and both players checked to the 4♠ turn. Cocco checked again, then tank-called when Savio fired 3,400. When the 6♣ hit the river, he led out for 7,600 and after a few seconds of thought, Savio called. With cards on their backs, Savio’s nine-eight was ahead of the queen-eight for Cocco and the pot was slid to the button.

Fabrizio Cocco – 130,000
Damir Savio – 60,000

Damir Savio – 60,000

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 413/850

Massimilano Mori jammed his short stack and was up against a better hand held by Giuseppe Palmisciano.

Massimilano Mori: A♦6♦
Giuseppe Palmisciano: A♠J♦

It was looking like showers for Mori, at least on this bullet after the hands were tabled. Things didn’t improve much for Mori on the 5♣7♥Q♠ flop. However, his backdoor straight draw came to the front door after the 3♠ turn. The 4♠ rained down on the river to complete Mori’s gutshot straight to win the hand.

Mori shrugged his shoulders to Palmisciano after delivering a bad beat and doubling his stack.

Massimiliano Mori – 45,000
Giuseppe Palmisciano – 35,000

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 439/840

We caught up with 2019 Battle of Malta High Roller champion Chris Da Silva on the break while he was chatting with Charles Akadiri.

Akadiri still has a stack but Da Silva was out of chips.

“So, are you already on 300K?” we asked.

“I was well on my way, but lost my stack,” shared Da Silva. “I am debating on whether to re-enter the Main Event today with 25 big blinds or wait until tomorrow.”

“You had less when you won the High Roller,” we reminded. “You entered during the start of Day 2 with just 15 big blinds.

“Well, that was when I was good at poker,” Da Silva shared.

We can confirm that Da Silva is an amazing player but maybe things haven’t been going as well for him as of late.

“Well, you usually do well in Malta,” we reminded Da Silva.

“I did flip a coin,” Da Silva shared. “If it came up heads, I said I would re-enter after the break.”

“Well, what’s the verdict?” we asked.

“It wound up heads,” Da Silva replied.

“I guess you have your answer then,” we said.

Shortly after, Da Silva headed to the registration desk to get back into the event but not before allowing us to snap a photo of him with his lucky coin.

We wish Da Silva the best of luck in his quest to become the latest Battle of Malta Main Event champion.

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 440/842

Players are on their third break of the day. Blinds will increase to 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante when the action resumes in 20 minutes followed by 600/1,200 with a 1,200 big blind ante. The 75-minute dinner break will take place after these two levels.

Late registration will close after the dinner break and we will know how many players will advance to Day 2 from the Day 1c field while the 600/1,200 level gets repeated for a second time.

Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 469/812

Thomas Samuelsen Harnes raised his button to 1,900 and big blind Alex Todd called to the flop of 6♣4♦T♥. Both players checked to the 6♥ turn where Todd led for 1,500. Harnes made the call to see 5♦ on the river.

Todd counted out an overbet of 12,200 and slid it in, forcing a fold from Harnes after a few seconds of thought.

Thomas Samuelsen Harnes – 43,000
Alex Todd – 51,000

Alex Todd

Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 476/809

Two players out with one stone by Martin Georgiev who celebrated loudly after winning the following massive pot.

We noticed that Alessandro Spata had his short stack of less than 15,000 in the middle and Ivan Martinez with his much bigger stack of close to 60,000 also committed after the 9♠3♠7♥ came on the flop. Georgiev tanked for a couple of minutes before he opted to join in the action to create a huge pot.

Alessandro Spata: A♦Q♣
Ivan Martinez: A♠T♠
Martin Georgiev: A♣9♣

Georgiev went from strength to strength after the 9♦ turn improved him further to trips. This had Spata drawing dead and Martinez lost some outs but still had a live flush draw.

“No spade!” shouted Georgiev.

Georgiev got his wish as instead of a spade the 5♥ river completed the board for him to eliminate both Spata and Martinez.

“Yes!” shouted Georgiev in joy before beginning to pile up his chips.

Martin Georgiev – 150,000
Ivan Martinez – 0
Alessandro Spata – 0

Martin Georgiev Stacking his Chips After Ousting Two Players

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 493/796

Bixi Yao opened under the gun to 1,400 and she found three callers, including the table big stack, Salvatore Caruso from the big blind. The small blind checked the 4♠8♠8♣ flop before Caruso bet 3,200. Yao made the call but the other two players hit the muck. The 4♦ turn hit the turn and Caruso fired 6,100 into the middle. Yao thought for a few seconds but elected to fold and preserve her shorter stack.

Salvatore Caruso – 120,000
Bixi Yao – 13,000

Salvatore Caruso

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 499/775

Angelo Vietti checked with around 15,000 in the pot and the 7♣2♠3♠K♣ on the board after the turn before professional backgammon guru and recreational poker player Zdenek Zizka jammed for around 19,000. Vietti tanked for more than a minute before he called for a chip or two less.

Angelo Vietti: A♣7♥
Zdenek Zizka: Q♠6♠

Vietti flopped the top pair and made the correct call from a statistical point of view on the turn with the second-best pair on a draw-heavy board. However, Vietti took it well when the 4♠ spiked the river to improve Zizka to a flush to win the pot.

While there will not be any official backgammon tournaments at the poker-based Battle of Malta, we wish Zizka the best of luck in his future backgammon tournaments and during his journey during the Battle of Malta Main Event.

Vietti is a familiar face, and it wouldn’t be surprising for him to hop back into the Main Event. Good luck to him as well if he hops back into the action.

Zdenek Zizka – 55,000
Angelo Vietti – 0

Zdenek Zizka

Players are on their second 20-minute break of Day 1c. Blinds will increase to 300/600 with a 600 big blind ante before moving onto 400/800 with a 800 big blind ante before another break takes place.

So get up and stretch, and if you aren’t already playing think about joining the Main Event action or perhaps battle in one of the many side events on tap today.

Break

Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 519/741

I arrived at the table with the action done and dusted already but all the money in the middle two ways. Giovanni Logarzo had flopped two pair with king-queen to jump ahead of the pocket jacks for Giuseppe Lo Rillo, but a jack on the river elevated Lo Rillo to a set and the double up to about 14k now.

Giuseppe Lo Rillo – 14,000
Giovanni Logarzo – 15,000

Giuseppe Lo Rillo

The €150 FLIP Ladies Only kicked off moments ago with 46 women already battling it out with a 20,000 starting stack. This event boasts a €10,000 guarantee, meaning at least at the moment there is some value for any lady in attendance to enter.

The tournament provides plenty of play with a 20-minute clock and late registration remaining open until the start of Level 11.

Emma Oliver is back in town to not only defend her title but make it three titles in a row after winning the previous two Ladies Only events at the prior two Battle of Malta events.

FLIP founder Daiva Byrne, Paula Cowling, and Eha Pinsel are among the early entrants. Best of luck to all of the players.

Two-time defending Ladies Only champion Emma Oliver

Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 534/722

Beniamino Ciotta made it 1,200 to go from the middle, and Theodoros Konstantinidis called from the hijack to see a flop of K♣A♦8♦. Both players checked it through to the 5♥ turn where Ciotta fired 1,200 again.

Konstantinidis called to see 4♦ on the river and when Ciotta checked to him, he bet 3,000. Ciotta didn’t need much time to toss in the call and Konstantinidis showed pocket sevens, but it was no good against the nine-eight for Ciotta with his flopped eights.

Beniamino Ciotta – 40,000
Theodoros Konstantinidis – 14,000

Beniamino Ciotta

The first of two pot-limit Sviten Special events concluded yesterday with Poland’s Mateusz Stanielewicz shipping the bacon after defeating local player from Belgium Soner Vanelderen heads-up en route to the title and the €2,980 top prize.

The Sviten Special affair attracted 34 players to create a €7,100 prize pool. Check out the payouts below:

Below is a quick outline of how the game works if curious:

Sviten Special combines both five-card draw and five-card Omaha in the same game. The action starts simply enough with each player dealt five cards. A round of betting takes place before a flop is dealt. Another round of betting takes place before things begin to take a different turn than most games.

Players can then exchange one to five cards or choose to stand pat. If they choose to exchange just one card, there is a special rule that this card is face up for the entire table to see. If the player doesn’t like that card, they can snag a fresh one face down instead.

A turn is dealt immediately after the exchanges are done before the third round of betting takes place. Finally, a river completes the board and one final round of betting follows. The best five-card draw hand wins half the pot at showdown while the best five-card PLO hand wins the other half.

Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 538/695

Salvatore Signorelli raised to 800 from the middle, and he was called by Ivan Ferrara to in the hijack before Davide Biondo made it 3,000 to go from the cutoff. Both players called to the 4♣6♦6♣ flop and they checked it through. The same check action came on the 3♦8♥ turn and river and Signorelli was first to show with king-queen for a pair of sizes, king-high. Ferrara mucked but Biondo also showed king-queen and they chopped it up.

Davide Biondo – 27,000
Ivan Ferrara – 11,000
Salvatore Signorelli – 32,000

Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 544/661

Andreas Fjeldstad made it 1,000 to go from the button, and small blind Vito Costanza called to the 7♥2♥6♣ flop. Costanza check-raised a bet of 1,000, making it 2,600 to go and Fjeldstad called.

Costanza led for 3.500 on the 9♣ turn and Fjeldstad flatted. The small blind checked the T♣ river, then mucked his hand when Fjeldstad fired 5,500.

Vito Costanza – 30,000
Andreas Fjeldstad – 30,000

Andreas Fjeldstad

The €250 NLH Bounty recently began and already has 121 entries in the field including Jonathan Raab, Cory Desmond, Noam Fater, Vadim Gercev, Taras Khilko, Junyu Liu, James Middleton, Antonios Onoufriou, Harald Redl, Geert Vanoppen, Daniel Stancer, and Kaidar Viikman.

Each player has a €100 bounty on their head, allowing players to earn some dinero early. Players begin with 15,000 in chips with blinds increasing every 20 minutes until a winner is crowned.

There is still plenty of time to hop on in for what promises to be another huge event at the Battle of Malta with late registration open until the start of Level 11. Best of luck to all of the bounty hunters!

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 536/616

Massimiliano Platania raised to 600 from the cutoff and big blind Geroge Chiriac called to the flop of 7♦Q♠8♦. Chiriac check-called for 800 and both players checked the 6♦ turn. Chriac led out for 2,200 on the J♣ river and got a fold.

Geroge Chiriac – 16,000
Massimiliano Platania – 19,000

Geroge Chiriac

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 528/601

Day 1c is on its first break of the day. Blinds will increase to 100/300 with a 300 big blind ante when the action resumes in 20 minutes.

Coffee, anyone?

Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 487/542

Fives were everywhere and not just because it was Table 55, although this was part of the reason.

Peter Bumba three-bet squeezed preflop to 2,800. Giovanni Groccia called and another player folded to see the 9♠7♥J♣ flop. Groccia checked and Bumba continued for 2,500. Groccia jacked it up to 5,500 (more fives) before Bumba jammed for more than the 15,000 or so Groccia had behind. Groccia quickly called and, of course, his 5,500 bet on Table 55 was with fives.

Giovanni Groccia: 5♦5♠
Peter Bumba: K♥K♦

Groccia was far behind but if the poker gods were listening to him, another five would have landed on the turn or river. Instead, the fives-theme ended there with the 4♦ turn and 7♠ river completing the board for Bumba to win the pot and send Groccia to the rail.

Peter Bumba

Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 472/515

It was a bit of a strange hand just now at Table 44. After a raise from the middle, Kristian Previsic flatted next to act before the player to his left, Massino Casabona, made it 3,500 to go. Both players called to the all-spade flop of 5♠A♠4♠. After an initial check, Previsic fired 5,500 and only Casabona called to the K♠ turn. Previsic led for 5,500 again and got a call.

The 2♠ river put the flush on the board and both players checked. Casabona showed ace-king for two pair and no spades, and Previsic mucked his hand, sending the pot to Casabona. Previsic said he also had two pair but didn’t see the flush on board so he missed out on a chop.

Massino Casabona – 60,000
Kristian Previsic – 15,000

Massino Casabona

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 454/474

I arrived at the table with the flop already out reading 5♣7♣Q♣ and four players with cards in front of them. It checked through the flop, but on the 3♥ turn Antonio Greco made it 700 and got folds from Lyu Congliang and Gainluca Pagliaro. Antonino Leotta, from the small blind, wasn’t ready to fold and shoved for 5,800. That was enough to get rid of Greco and Leotta chipped up to about 8k.

Antonio Greco – 15,000
Antonino Leotta – 8,000

Antonino Leotta

Thomas Harnes Ships the €350 Freezeout

Norway’s Thomas Harnes defeated Poland’s Mateusz Piwowarczyk heads-up to win the €350 Freezeout on Thursday evening for €7,870. The event attracted 94 unique players as re-entries were prohibited to create a €28,576 prize pool.

Check out all of the payouts below:

Thomas Harnes Enjoying the Moment

The third installment of the €150 NLH White Knight kicked off moments ago with a field of 39 entries. Players start with 15,000 in chips with blinds increasing every 20 minutes.

Late registration will be open for a few hours with unlimited re-entries permitted until the start of Level 11. Vadim Gercev, who was at the final table yesterday, is among the players back in action as is Mark Attard, Dimitrios Koultoukis, Neil Wyatt, Corrado Conti, and Thomas Rott.

Best of luck to all in their quests to become the latest White Knight hero.

White Knight Begins

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 360/367

Neil Mulholland fired out for 6,500 into a pot of a bit more with the T♥J♥T♣4♥ on the board after the turn and was called by Vladysalv Sidikhin.

The 5♣ river completed the board. Mulholland wasted no time in jamming the rest of his stack of approximately 9,000 and Sidikhin snap-called.

Mulholland turned over the 6♥3♥ for a turned flush. However, he was drawing dead the entire way after the flop with Sidikihin tabling the J♦T♥ for a flopped full house.

Vladyslav Sidikhin – 38,000
Neil Mulholland – 0

Vladyslav Sidikhin and his Lucky Dinosaur Card Protector

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 353/357

Paolo Riga was just involved in three successive hands. After calling raises from the blinds in a couple of hands and having to give up his hand, he called from the button after Stephen Spiteri raised from the middle to 300. Big blind Eugene Ulanov also came along to the flop of A♣5♣Q♦ and all three players checked. When it checked to Riga on the 6♦ turn, he bet 600 to take it down.

Eugene Ulanov – 30,000
Paolo Riga – 32,000
Stephen Spiteri – 17,000

Paolo Riga

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 317/319

Day 1c of the Main Event is officially the biggest thus far with 319 entries midway through Level 1. The previous biggest was yesterday’s Day 1b which attracted 310 entries into the mix.

Two players already hit the rail. Fabrizio Ieone was the first player out and has yet to re-enter. However, Kristian Previsic, who was the second player on the rail, was also the first to re-enter on Day 1c. Previsic tried once on Day 1a and again once on Day 1b. Hopefully, the fourth bullet does the job.

Best of luck to Previsic and all of the Main Event players.

The second €150 NLH White Knight took place on Thursday with 68 entries creating a €8,390 prize pool. United Kingdom’s Adam Neighbour defeated Charlampos Leontakis to win the €2,500 top prize and the title.

Check out all of the NLH White Knight payouts below:

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 253/253

Cards are in the air for Day 1c. The field is already huge with 253 entries in the mix making all but a lock that this will be the biggest opening flight thus far with Day 1b attracting 310 entries during the 10 levels of late registration.

Albert Sapiano, Martin Stoev, Valter Marchi, Marko Luska, and Trond Kristoffersen are among the early entrants in the mix.

The action on Thursday was electric at the Battle of Malta with another 310 entries hopping into the Main Event on Day 1b. Today we expect even bigger or better things to get closer to the lofty €1.5 million guarantee in the 2023 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition Main Event with Day 1c expected to fill even more chairs when the action kicks off on Friday at 1 p.m.

The structure for Day 1c will be identical to the first two opening flights with players starting with 25,000 in chips and blinds increasing slowly at every 40 minutes. Late registration and unlimited re-entries will remain open until after the dinner break that follows Level 10 giving players approximately nine hours to get into the action.

Just 15 percent of the field will advance to Day 2, already in the money for at least a min-cash joining the 90 others that already found success on Day 1a and Day 1b.

Our crew will also provide information about the side events as the day progresses. However, the €150 Ladies Event is worth a special mention as this time around it boasts a tasty €10,000 guarantee and is hosted by FLIP.

So get ready for a beautiful day at the Battle of Malta hosted at Casino Malta and the Intercontinental Hotel.