Final Table Set for an Intense Showdown at the Battle of Malta 2023 Spring Edition 6 Jun 00:48 by Arved Klöhn

The Battle of Malta poker tournament has reached an exhilarating stage as Day 3 concluded, leaving only nine players vying for the coveted title. With an initial field of 1,992 entries, the competition has been fierce, with each participant displaying their skills and strategic prowess. As the final table looms, anticipation builds for a thrilling climax to this prestigious event. Let’s take a closer look at the key details and players who have made it to this stage.

All nine finalists in the Battle of Malta poker tournament have guaranteed themselves a generous payout of €14,480. However, their focus remains fixed on the ultimate prize, a staggering €156,500 reserved for the eventual champion.

As the final table approaches, three players stand out as the frontrunners, having amassed substantial chip stacks during the tournament. Dario Barone leads the pack with an impressive 9,300,000 chips, closely followed by Miguel Bolivar with 7,800,000 chips. Andrea Dominici, with 7,425,000 chips, completes the trio of formidable contenders. Their extensive chip counts suggest a formidable battle ahead, as they navigate the final stages of the tournament. The full chip counts and seat draw can be found below.

Dario Barone id the new Chip Leader

Chip Leader Dario Barone

Live Stream of the Final Table

Fans and enthusiasts eagerly await the resumption of play, scheduled for this Tuesday at 2 pm. With the final table set to take center stage, spectators will have the opportunity to witness the intense poker action via a live stream. However, to maintain fairness and preserve the integrity of the game, a 30-minute delay will be implemented, ensuring that no real-time information reaches the players during crucial hands.

The Battle of Malta poker tournament has been an arduous journey for all participants. Over the course of the event, players have faced numerous challenges and skilled opponents, testing their mettle and strategic acumen. Now, with the final table in sight, the remaining contenders have the chance to etch their names into poker history and claim the prestigious title of Battle of Malta champion. As the Battle of Malta poker tournament heads into its final stage, excitement and anticipation fill the air. With the final table featuring nine skilled players, all of whom have secured a substantial payout, the competition promises to be a fierce battle of wits and strategy. With the live stream capturing the action, fans and poker enthusiasts will have the opportunity to witness the drama unfold as the players vie for the top prize. The Battle of Malta has reached its climax, and soon a champion will emerge, leaving an indelible mark on the poker world.

We are excited about tomorrow’s final table!

Chipcounts Going Into the Final

Name Chips Big Blinds Table Seat
Dario Barone 9,300,000 78 17 2
Miguel Bolivar 7,800,000 65 17 7
Andrea Dominici 7,425,000 62 17 5
Junyu Liu 6,900,000 58 17 6
Victor Fryda 5,500,000 46 17 9
Fabian Rolli 4,450,000 37 17 1
Giulio Di Salvo 4,000,000 33 17 3
Mikhael Busiashvili 2,375,000 20 17 4
Andrea Agnoletto 2,000,000 17 17 8

 

Payouts and Results so far

1 €156,500
2 €101,500
3 €69,890
4 €53,800
5 €41,100
6 €31,590
7 €24,200
8 €18,800
9 €14,480
10 Roberto Caprio €11,240
11 Egidijus Digrys €11,240
12 Andrius Janca €9,380
13 Massimo Centola €9,380
14 Giorgio Bellanca €7,810
15 Cyril Vieira €7,810
16 Maksym Sheingart €6,510
17 Edikas Jurgutis €6,510
18 Antoine Talvard €5,430
19 Candido Cappiello €5,430
20 David Lappin €5,430
21 Shay Shmaryahu €4,420
22 Nicolaj D’Antoni €4,420
23 Alexis Roch €4,420
24 Jon Persent €3,570
25 Tomasz Kokoszka €3,570
26 Dario Minieri €3,570
27 Rain Moelderkivi €3,570
28 James Mercieca €3,090
29 Edgaras Kausinis €3,090
30 Shindler Robert €3,090
31 Doron Ferenbach €3,090
32 Sebastiano Caruso €2,670
33 Daniel Ryder €2,670
34 Giuseppe Liotta €2,670
35 Grzegorz Skawinski €2,670
36 Ameed Khalil €2,670
37 Ilyaev Raul €2,670
38 Gytis Lazauninkas €2,670
39 Erez Hen €2,670
40 Dylan Cechowski €2,300
41 Sandu Dumitru €2,300
42 Algirdas Saveikis €2,300
43 Daniele Gugliotta €2,300
44 Yamen Ghanem €2,300
45 Doron Peretz €2,300
46 Traian-Niko Gemanariu €2,300
47 Jan Plocki €2,300
48 Modestas Kryzanauskas €2,300
49 Daniele Casino €2,300
50 Vincenzo Zitelli €2,300
51 Alessandro De Leo €2,300
52 Dusan Bartak €2,300
53 Vygintas Sipalis €2,300
54 Rocco Ascia €2,300
55 Gediminas Dirmantas €2,300
56 David Oezmen €2,030
57 Lennart Dijkkamp €2,030
58 Yotam Ashkenazi €2,030
59 Karolis Masaitis €2,030
60 Gregori Zubkov €2,030
61 Andrea Stellato €2,030
62 Matteo Liparulo €2,030
63 Giuseppe Gambadoro €2,030
64 Fabio Peluso €2,030
65 Madis Ormisson €2,030
66 Francesco Squillaci €2,030
67 Wissam Ouertani €2,030
68 Steven Smart €2,030
69 Ioannis Georgopoulos €2,030
70 Samuel Marseiler €2,030
71 Dario Marinelli €2,030
72 Lior Sahar €1,750
73 Rytis Pranarauskas €1,750
74 Renato Del Gaudio €1,750
75 Riccardo Saraniero €1,750
76 Shmuel Maman €1,750
77 Sergei Levin €1,750
78 Nikolaos Zacharakis €1,750
79 Yarin Matan €1,750
80 Shaun Decesare €1,750
81 Refael Haim Lavi €1,750
82 Andrea Mussumarra €1,750
83 Omer Cahana €1,750
84 Shmuel Hadad €1,750
85 Ugo Gasparini €1,750
86 Julian Selinger €1,750
87 Xavier Zuczkowski €1,750
88 Konstantinos Kertikidis €1,750
89 Marko Luksa €1,750
90 Matteo La Fata €1,750
91 Eran Porath €1,750
92 Domenico Postorino €1,750
93 Liron Kroani €1,750
94 Boban Stevanovic €1,750
95 Itay Barak €1,750
96 Stan van Dijk €1,550
97 Itay Cahana €1,550
98 Christopher Alexander €1,550
99 Andrea D’Elia €1,550
100 Carsten Mawick €1,550
101 Christos Paparistodemou €1,550
102 Mariano Bucca €1,550
103 Giuseppe Dedoni €1,550
104 Phedonas Phinicarides €1,550
105 Alessio Mastrosimone €1,550
106 Vito Costanza €1,550
107 Daniel Zadok €1,550
108 Kurt Kofler €1,550
109 Dario Pieruzzini €1,550
110 Potito Martire €1,550
111 Matteo Intiso €1,550
112 Samuel Tebege €1,550
113 Simon Steinberg €1,550
114 Markus Sippe €1,550
115 Stefano Munafo €1,550
116 Uri Gilboa €1,550
117 Cristian Nania €1,550
118 Desmond Farrell €1,550
119 Luigi D’Alterio €1,550
120 Joris Klein €1,300
121 Tarmo Tammel €1,300
122 Domenico Lando €1,300
123 Andrea Argnani €1,300
124 Michael Ibba €1,300
125 Gili Bar €1,300
126 Pachalis Papadopoulos €1,300
127 Mateusz Asztemborski €1,300
128 Stanislovas Vinicenka €1,300
129 Salvatore Calvagno €1,300
130 Karol Bogusz €1,300
131 Emanuele Napolitano €1,300
132 Christopher Campisano €1,300
133 Juri Recchi €1,300
134 Nicola Stagi €1,300
135 Polys Christou €1,300
136 Domenico Gala €1,300
137 Vitale Raffaele €1,300
138 Hassan Nima €1,300
139 Alex Montgomery €1,300
140 Humberto Galindo €1,300
141 Koen Meutstege €1,300
142 Federico Petruzzelli €1,300
143 Giacomo Contorno €1,300
144 Alessandro Pichierri €1,150
145 Udo Hemmert €1,150
146 Rotem Sahar €1,150
147 Andrea Radicchi €1,150
148 Mateusz Pawlowski €1,150
149 Marco D’Amico €1,150
150 Raffael Wadl €1,150
151 Alistair Sparrow €1,150
152 David Keuftedjian €1,150
153 Itzhak Zaguri €1,150
154 Nuno De Sales €1,150
155 Gravagna Fausto €1,150
156 Daniele Raimondi €1,150
157 Ioannou Ioannis €1,150
158 Emanuele Cassibba €1,150
159 Jarkko Kuusisto €1,150
160 Pavle Pecelj €1,150
161 Lee Stewart €1,150
162 Skobelev Alexandar €1,150
163 Elisabeth Van Uden €1,150
164 Marcus Larsson €1,150
165 Vasilij Barna €1,150
166 Stavros Markovis-Tsakas €1,150
167 Francesco Ipogino €1,150
168 Jean Paul Motteau €1,150
169 Yiftach Atia €1,150
170 Robert Robinson €1,150
171 Roman Bartak €1,150
172 Bram Berkvens €1,150
173 Constantinos Miaris €1,150
174 Vito La Barbera €1,150
175 Eylon Israel €1,150
176 Massimo Bruno €1,150
177 Dimitrios Koultoukis €1,150
178 Riccardo Arena €1,150
179 Victor Vozian €1,150
180 Mario Mancuso €1,150
181 Roy Panivlov €1,150
182 Vladimir Minarik €1,150
183 Orro Sander €1,150
184 Alexander Lipovski €1,050
185 Idan Osteraicher €1,050
186 Kyriakos Mitsopoulos €1,050
187 Grant Pirie €1,050
188 Alessandro Angotti €1,050
189 Marios Stefani €1,050
190 Assaf Zeharia €1,050
191 Alessio Isaia €1,050
192 Andrea Brentan €1,050
193 Romano Ravaioli €1,050
194 Arthur Emig €1,050
195 Romain Nardin €1,050
196 Leonardo Romeo €1,050
197 Alcaide Martin €1,050
198 Michal Janeczko €1,050
199 Daniel Pereira €1,050
200 Konstantin Poley €1,050
201 Oliviero Bacchi €1,050
202 Emmanouil Zografakis €1,050
203 Piet Pape €1,050
204 Yossef Cohen €1,050
205 Albert Ostrovskij €1,050
206 kriauciunas Mindaugas €1,050
207 Mario Fontana €1,050
208 Remus Pobirci €1,050
209 Stefano Titola €1,050
210 Roberto Cilia €1,050
211 Apostol Beg €1,050
212 Rob Hendrikx €1,050
213 Orazio Pellegrino €1,050
214 Giuseppe Domicoli €1,050
215 Michele Tocci €1,050
216 Giacomo Staropoli €1,050
217 Lukasz Fraczek €1,050
218 Andrew Valenzia €1,050
219 Antoine Berruel €1,050
220 Maurizio Falzea €1,050
221 Harding Jamie €1,050
222 Kevin Karenius €1,050
223 Michal Anzulewicz €1,050
224 Nicolaus Paszkiewicz €1,000
225 Andreas Pavli €1,000
226 Flavio Guerra €1,000
227 Yair Kimhi €1,000
228 Jukka Vainio €1,000
229 Johan Guilbert €1,000
230 Alaa Ganem €1,000
231 Cosimo De Gennaro €1,000
232 Joel Ylismaki €1,000
233 Josef Gulas €1,000
234 Dario Nittolo €1,000
235 Alessandro Vecchi €1,000
236 Gilles Todaro €1,000
237 Demos Demosthenous €1,000
238 Meir Miron €1,000
239 Oliver Luhaoja €1,000
240 Guiseppe Spitale €1,000
241 Francesco Galati €1,000
242 Aviv Zohar €1,000
243 Herli Olop €1,000
244 Andrea Tedesco €1,000
245 Alessandro Furneri €1,000
246 Robinson Watinee €1,000
247 Sabato Tortorella €1,000
248 Audrius Skucas €1,000
249 Michele Iracani €1,000
250 Asciak Michael €1,000
251 Jorge Barros €1,000
252 Arbel Hason €1,000
253 Mary Dvorkin €1,000
254 Noam Garama €1,000
255 Dario Berisa €1,000
256 Andreas Wagemaker €1,000
257 Dov Friedland €1,000
258 Shahar Hulli €1,000
259 Salvatore Motta €1,000
260 Oron Bader €1,000
261 Gianluca Fichera €1,000
262 Omer Hagbi €1,000
263 Justina Andriukeviciute €1,000
264 Amir Assal €1,000
265 Andrea La Monica €1,000
266 Antonio Caruso €1,000
267 Gil Preter €1,000
268 Dainoli Jessica €1,000
269 Diego Grisiglione €1,000
270 Francesco Della Sala €1,000
271 Po Yi Wu €1,000
272 Audrius Laimelis €1,000
273 Jose Ramirez €1,000
274 Ronen Mirakov €1,000
275 Shlomo Moalem €1,000
276 Feliciano Montalbetti €1,000
277 Rytis Kriunas €1,000
278 Victor Gonzalez €1,000
279 Elio Caferro €1,000
280 Martin Stoev €1,000
281 Marco Bartolini €1,000
282 Milan Kuncl €1,000
283 Gal Yechezkel €1,000
284 Whilhelm Isaak €1,000
285 Giuseppe Di Marco €1,000
286 Nicola Ciraolo €1,000
287 Michailas Miserkejevas €1,000
288 Andrea Atzeni €1,000
289 Or Misradi €1,000
290 Alessandro Francaviglia €1,000
291 Erik Lindqwist €1,000
292 Marcos De Oliveira €1,000
293 Vincenzo Pellegrino €1,000
294 Nicola Cerini €1,000
295 Alessandro Caffarelli €1,000
296 Flaviano Cammisuli €1,000
297 Panteleimon Pontos €1,000
298 Tsuf Saltsberg €1,000
299 Kaidar Viikman €1,000
Roberto Caprio Busts on the Final Table Bubble 6 Jun 00:32 by Arved Klöhn
Roberto Caprio

Roberto Caprio

Level 31: 100,00/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 9/1,992

After more than an hour of little and slow action, the final table bubble has burst.

Roberto Caprio raised from UTG to 300k and it was folded to Miguel Bolivar who re-raised to 750k. Caprio want all-in without hesitation and Bolivar instantly called. Showdown:

Caprio: AK
Bolivar: KK

Board: Q9756

The dealer provided no help for Caprio and Bolivar had him barely covered. With that bust, the Final Nine for tomorrow are found.

We will be back with full counts and a short recap in a bit.

Miguel Bolivar – 7,800,000
Roberto Capro – 0

Andrea Agnoletto Doubles Through Liu 6 Jun 00:18 by Arved Klöhn

Level 31: 100,00/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 10/1,992

The first all-in in almost 50 minutes and we see a double up. Andrea Agnoletto, who was spending more time eying the other short stacks’ chips than playing cards was eventually all-in with 5-5 against Junyu Liu’s A-Q. The board brought no help to Liu and Agnoletta doubled up to 2m chips.

Junyu Liu – 4,600,000
Andrea Agnoletto – 2,000,000

Slow Action 5 Jun 23:54 by Arved Klöhn

After the break, the action is very slow. With Mikhael Busiashvili and Andrea Agnoletto there are two short(ish) stacks at the table and so far nobody is willing to commit many chips with the two of them still around during the final table bubble.

Barone Leads on the Quest for the Final Table 5 Jun 23:20 by Arved Klöhn
Dario Barone id the new Chip Leader

Dario Barone id the new Chip Leader

Below are the full counts after the last break of the day.

We have a new chip leader in Dario Barone, followed by Andrea Dominici and Junya Liu.

Name Chips Big Blinds Table Seat
Dario Barone 7,200,000 72 17 1
Andrea Dominici 6,800,000 68 17 2
Junyu Liu 6,700,000 67 18 2
Fabian Rolli 5,300,000 53 17 8
Giulio Di Salvo 4,900,000 49 17 7
Victor Fryda 4,800,000 48 18 8
Miguel Bolivar 4,700,000 47 18 1
Roberto Caprio 4,200,000 42 18 6
Mikhael Busiashvili 3,300,000 33 17 6
Andrea Agnoletto 2,000,000 20 18 5
Final Break 5 Jun 23:12 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on their final break of Day 3. Blinds will increase to 100,000/150,000 with a big blind ante of 150,000 when the action resumes.

Agnoletto Flabbergasted by Liu 5 Jun 23:11 by Arved Klöhn

Level 30: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 10/1,992

Andrea Agnoletto raised from UTG to 250k and in the big blind, Junyu Liu called.

Flop: J43

Liu checked, Agnoletto bet 150k and Liu quickly called.

Turn: Q check / check

River: K

Seemingly out of nowhere, Liu slid 700k in front of the betting line.

Andrea Agnoletto looked flabbergasted and could not make sense of this large bet.

After a few moments of thinking he eventually let go of his hand.

Junyu Liu – 7,000,000
Andrea Agnoletto – 2,800,000

Dominici Celebrates His Set 5 Jun 22:48 by Jason Glatzer

Level 30: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 10/1,992

Andrea Dominici opened for 250,000 from the small blind. Mikhael Busiashvili three-bet to 725,000 and Dominici called. Dominici fired out a donk-bet of 275,000 on the 4KT flop. Busiashvili raised to 600,000 and Dominici called.

Dominici checked the J turn. Busiashvili bet 1,100,000. Dominici went into the tank before he shoved for 2,625,000. Busiashvili snap-called only to find out he was drawing dead.

Andrea Dominici: 44
Mikhael Busiashvili: J7

No card in the deck could hurt Dominici and he just doubled for the second time this orbit against Busiashvili.

Andrea Dominici – 8.7 million
Mikhael Busiashvili – 3 million

Andrea Dominici

Andrea Dominici Scoops a Big One Without Showdown 5 Jun 22:44 by Arved Klöhn
Andrea Dominici

Andrea Dominici Before moving all-in

Level 30: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 10/1,992

During the past levels, it got a wee bit quiet around Andrea Dominici, who was briefly dominating his table. But over the last orbits his stack approached short stack territory once more.

In a rather big hand, he just now scooped a nice pot against Mikhael Busiashvili.

Busiashvili opened from UTG to 275k and Dominici called in the big blind.

Flop: 763

After a check, Busiashvili bet 375k and Dominici called.

Turn: 9

Again Dominici checked and now Busiashvili slid 600k over the line. Dominici thought for a while and then moved all-in for 1,645,000.

Mikhael Busiashvili took his time and eventually decided to retreat from the fight and folded his hand. The 1.9m pot went Dominici’s way.

Mikhael Busiashvili – 5,000,000
Andrea Dominici – 2,900,000

Junyu Liu Doubles Through Fryda 5 Jun 22:16 by Arved Klöhn
Junyu Liu

Junyu Liu

Level 30: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 10/1,992

In a massive double up Junyu Liu just won a 7m chip pot.

It started with Victor Fryda raising to 225,000 from early position.

Two positions behind him, seemingly out of nowhere, Liu jammed all-in for 3,450,000.

Fryda called almost instantly and there were 7m chips in the middle.

Showdown:

Fryda: AQ
Liu: 99

Board: 2483K

Just like that, Liu doubled to slightly over 7m chips, while the former chip leader Fryda is down to roughly 3.5m chips.

Liu – 7,200,000
Fryda – 3,500,000

Digrys Ends His BoM Run After Losing a Flip With Nines 5 Jun 22:09 by Jason Glatzer

Level 29: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 10/1,992

Egidijus Digrys opened the button for 200,000. Giulio Di Salvo three-bet jammed for more than the 15 big blinds or so Digrys had behind. Digrys called and the flip was on.

Egidijus Digrys: 99
Giulio Di Salvo: KQ

Di Salvo improved to two pair on the QJ85K board to eliminate Digrys in 11th place. Day 3 will conclude after one more player hits the rail and then we will begin to prepare for tomorrow’s final table show.

Giulio Di Salvo – 4.8 million
Egidijus Digrys – 0

Egidijus Digrys

Bolivar’s Fours Get There Against Snowmen 5 Jun 21:49 by Jason Glatzer

Level 29: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 11/1,992

Fabian Rolli opened for 225,000 from the cutoff and was called by Victor Fryda. Miguel Bolivar three-bet jammed for 1,800,000. Rolli folded and Fryda called.

Miguel Bolivar: 44
Victor Fryda: 88

It was looking like showers for Bolivar. Instead, he improved to a boat on the 4K5AA board to double his stack.

Victor Fryda – 6 million
Miguel Bolivar – 4 million

Miguel Bolivar

Andrius Janca Timed, Loses Flip, Busts 5 Jun 21:46 by Arved Klöhn

Level 29: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 11/1,992

Andrea Dominici opened from the cut-off to 215k and in the small blind Andrius Janca made it 800k to go, leaving roughly 450k behind.

In the big blind Mikhael Busiashvili quickly raised to 1.5m and Adrea Dominici got out of the way.

Getting fantastic pot odds, Janca began tanking. He looked at his cards, at the tournament clock, and at the other table.

Eventually, the tournament director came over and told him, that he now has 30 seconds or his hand is dead. Then Janca quickly called.

Showdown:

Andrius Janca – AJ
Mikhael Busiashvili – TT

Board: 73392

With his unimproved ace-jack, Jancawas out in 12th place.

Mikhael Busiashvili – 10m
Andrius Janca – 0

Busiashvili Ousts Centola 5 Jun 21:33 by Jason Glatzer

Level 29: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 12/1,992

Mikhael Busiashvili opened for 250,000 from the hijack. Massimo Centola three-bet jammed for slightly more than 1 million. Busiashvili didn’t ask for a count before he snap-called.

Massimo Centola: A5
Mikhael Busiashvili: AK

Both players nailed top pair on the A4279 runout. Centola had some kicker issues and hit the rail in 13th place while Busiashvili chipped up and is in clear third place behind Victor Fryda and Fabian Rolli.

Mikhael Busiashvili – 6.9 million
Massimo Centola – 0

Massimo Centola

Bellanca Runs Into Rolli’s Rockets 5 Jun 21:20 by Jason Glatzer

Level 29: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 13/1,992

Giorgio Bellanca opened for a min-raise from early position. Roberto Caprio called from the cutoff before Fabian Rolli jacked it up to 680,000 from the button. Bellanca four-bet jammed for a little more than 3 million. Caprio folded and Rolli called.

Giorgio Bellanca: AQ
Fabian Rolli: AA

Bellanca seemed disgusted and got up from the table to watch the 8595Q run out on the board before heading to the cashier.

Fabian Rolli – 8 million
Giorgio Bellanca – 0

Giorgio Bellanca

Back With the Last Four Levels 5 Jun 21:15 by Arved Klöhn

The dinner break is over and we’re back with the last four levels of the evening. We will play either until the end of level 32 or until we’re down to the final table – whatever comes first.

Final Two Tables

Final Two Tables

Victor Fryda Leads With Over 8 Million Chips 5 Jun 20:10 by Arved Klöhn

Below are the accurate chip counts going into the dinner break:

Player Chips Big Blinds Table Seat
Victor Fryda 8,300,000 83 18 8
Mikhael Busiashvili 5,500,000 55 17 6
Fabian Rolli 4,900,000 49 18 7
Junyu Liu 4,800,000 48 18 2
Roberto Caprio 4,200,000 42 18 6
Andrea Dominici 3,900,000 39 17 2
Giorgio Bellanca 3,400,000 34 18 4
Dario Barone 3,200,000 32 17 1
Giulio Di Salvo 2,800,000 28 17 7
Egidijus Digrys 2,700,000 27 17 4
Miguel Bolivar 2,000,000 20 18 1
Andrea Agnoletto 1,500,000 15 18 5
Massimo Centola 1,400,000 14 17 3
Andrius Janca 1,200,000 12 17 5
Dinner Break With 14 Players in Contention 5 Jun 20:00 by Arved Klöhn

With the end of level 28, we’re on a 75-minute dinner break.

We will provide chip counts in a few moments and go have a break ourselves then.

Vieira Can’t Get Past Snowmen 5 Jun 19:54 by Arved Klöhn
Cyril Vieira

Cyril Vieira

Level 28: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 14/1,992

In one of the first hands after consolidating the tables into two, we lost Cyril Vieira.

Down to 6 big blinds, he shoved all-in with KXTX from middle position and in the blinds Victor Fryda called with 8X8X.

The board fell K6579, giving Fryda a straight and eliminating Vieira.

Meanwhile, Maksym Sheingart hit the rail just before to leave 14 players remaining.

Victor Fryda – 6,500,000
Cyril Vieira – 0
Maksym Sheingart – 0

Final 16 Counts 5 Jun 19:48 by Arved Klöhn

Below are the counts of the final two tables (very roughly)

Name Chips Big Blinds Table Seat
Victor Fryda 6,200,000 78 18 8
Junyu Liu 5,800,000 73 18 2
Fabian Rolli 5,400,000 68 17 8
Mikhael Busiashvili 5,200,000 65 17 6
Roberto Caprio 5,000,000 63 18 6
Andrea Dominici 4,100,000 51 17 2
Giorgio Bellanca 3,400,000 43 18 4
Dario Barone 3,300,000 41 17 1
Giulio Di Salvo 3,100,000 39 17 7
Egidijus Digrys 2,500,000 31 17 4
Miguel Bolivar 1,800,000 23 18 1
Andrea Agnoletto 1,700,000 21 18 5
Massimo Centola 1,000,000 13 17 3
Cyril Vieira 600,000 8 18 3
Andrius Janca 600,000 8 17 5

 

We will prove accurate counts during the break in a few minutes.

Fabian Rolli Hits Runner Runner Straight 5 Jun 19:40 by Arved Klöhn

Level 28: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 16/1,992

From middle position Andrea Dominici raised to 165k and on the button Fabian Rolli called.

Flop: AJ3

Dominici bet 120k after Rolli checked and the latter called.

Turn: 8

Now both players checked.

River: T

After another check, Dominici bet 525k – almost pot – and Rolli quickly called.

Dominici showed JT9.

While typing up this hand, we lost Edikas Jurgutis and are now down to the final two tables.

We will provide seat draw and counts in a wee bit.

Edikas Jurgutis – 0

Edikas Jurgutis

Edikas Jurgutis – Out in Position 17

Antoine Talvard Elimited in 18th Position 5 Jun 19:15 by Arved Klöhn
Antoine Talvard moments before the bust

Antoine Talvard moments before the bust

Level 28: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 17/1,992

Andrea Dominico raised from early position and in the big blind Antoine Talvard called the raise.

Flop: A75

After a check, Dominico bet 105k and Talvard called.

Turn: 7

Once more the action went check/call. This time Dominico bet 175k.

River: K

Talvard checked a third time and this time Dominico bet 950k, enough to put Talvard, who had 700k behind, all-in.

Talvard thought briefly and elected to call. Dominico tabled T7 and Talvard mucked his hand face-down before leaving the table.

Just like that, we’re down to 17 players and only one spot from the final two tables away.

Andrea Dominico – 2,700,00
Antoine Talvard – 0

Giulio Di Salvo Doubles Through Edikas Jurgutis 5 Jun 19:03 by Arved Klöhn

Level 28: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 18/1,992

Over at Table 17, a rather big preflop all-in saw Giulio Di Salvo double to almost 4m chips against Edikas Jurgutis.

After Jurgutis raised, Di Salvo jammed with 3X3X and Jurgutis called with AXKX.

The board gave Di Salvo a set and he doubled up to roughly 3.7m chips while Jurgutis is down to slightly under 1m.

Giulio Di Salvo – 3,700,000
Edikas Jurgutis – 950,000

Giulio Di Salvo stacks his new chips

Giulio Di Salvo stacks his new chips

Level 28 – Fryda Remains in Front 5 Jun 18:53 by Arved Klöhn

Below are the rough counts for the start of Level 28:

 

Name Chips Big Blinds Table Seat
Victor Fryda 5,300,000 66 18 8
Mikhael Busiashvili 5,100,000 64 17 6
Giorgio Bellanca 4,300,000 54 18 4
Fabian Rolli 4,100,000 51 16 2
Junyu Liu 3,600,000 45 18 2
Roberto Caprio 3,200,000 40 16 1
Maksym Sheingart 3,200,000 40 16 5
Andrea Agnoletto 3,100,000 39 18 5
Edikas Jurgutis 2,700,000 34 17 4
Andrea Dominici 2,700,000 34 16 8
Dario Barone 2,300,000 29 17 1
Miguel Bolivar 2,200,000 28 18 1
Antoine Talvard 1,900,000 24 16 6
Giulio Di Salvo 1,900,000 24 17 7
Cyril Vieira 1,300,000 16 18 3
Massimo Centola 1,200,000 15 17 3
Andrius Janca 1,000,000 13 17 5
Egidijus Digrys 700,000 9 16 3
Victor Fryda

Victor Fryda

Split it Like the Red Sea 5 Jun 18:39 by Arved Klöhn
Andrea Dominici splits it

Andrea Dominici splits it with Fabian Rolli

Level 27: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 18/1,992

In a medium-sized pot Andrea Dominico and the Swede Fabian Rolli collided at Table 16.

Dominico, who had been one of the most active players after doubling into a sizeable stack earlier, made it 135k from the button and Rolli defended his big blind.

Flop: AK9

Rolli checked and Dominico made it another 135k. Rolli called.

Turn: T

After another check, Dominico bet 375k, and once more Rolli called.

River: K

Now both players slowed down and checked. Showdown:

Andrea Dominico: T8
Fabian Rolli: QT

Both players had the same two-pair hand and split the 1.3m pot right in the middle.

Fabian Rolli – 2,700,000
Andrea Dominico – 2,400,000

 

Fun and Games at the Battle of Malta 5 Jun 18:31 by Jason Glatzer

The poker action has been fantastic all week long. But for those looking to take a break, DomusBet has an old-school arcade machine with countless retro-games on it. Unlike most arcade machines, this one is free to play.

Players have been enjoying it all day today. But if you wait around, you can get your turn as well.

Arcade Action at the Battle of Malta

Candido Cappiello Falls to Maksym Sheingart 5 Jun 18:14 by Arved Klöhn
Candido Cappiello

Candido Cappiello

Level 27: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 18/1,992

In a classic race, Candido Cappiello lost all chips against Maksym Sheingart. The two were all-in in a 3.2m pot. All chips went into the middle before the pot.

Cappiello hat AK and Maksym Sheingart QQ.

The board fell 87395 – no help for Cappiello and he was out in 19th place.

Maksym Sheingart – 4,800,000
Candido Cappiello – 0

No More Chip Race(s) 5 Jun 18:08 by Jason Glatzer

Level 27: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 19/1,992

David Lappin is one of the co-hosts and founders of The Chip Race podcast alongside Dara O’Kearney. If you haven’t checked it out, it is certainly worth a listen. Unfortunately, The Chip Race host won’t be at the final table, although it is possible he will join me in the comms booth tomorrow for the final table live stream.

Lappin opened for 400,000 with about 80,000 behind from under the gun. Georgio Bellanca called from the small blind and had his bet ready before the 297 flop to put Lappin in for the rest. That is exactly what happened and Lappin snap-called.

David Lappin: J9
Georgio Bellanca: 66

Lappin was far ahead but Bellanca had his opponent drawing dead after nailing a set on the 6 turn. The A river completed the board to end Lappin’s impressive run.

Georgio Bellanca – 3 million
David Lappin – 0

The Chip Race Co-Host David Lappin

Miguel Bolivar Takes almost 1m from Giorgio Bellanca 5 Jun 18:01 by Arved Klöhn
Miguel Aguilar

Miguel Bolivar

Level 27: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 20/1,992

After losing the last hand before the break, the bad run for Giorgio Bellanca continues. Now he lost a substantial pot to Miguel Bolivar.

The hand began with Bellanca raising to 120k from middle position. Bolivarreraised to 270k from the big blinds and Bellanca called.

Flop: T65

Bolivarfired 225k and Bellanca called.

The Q was checked by both and after the river fell 4, Bolivarfired another bullet – 450k.

Bellanca called and Bolivartabled AA. Bellanca mucked his hand and this 1.9m chip pot went Bolivar’s way.

Miguel Bolivar – 2,700,000
Giorgio Bellanca – 2,600,000

Victor Fryda Remains in the Lead After Second Break 5 Jun 17:39 by Arved Klöhn

The first four levels of today are in the books. We’re down to 20 players and those are the full counts:

Name Chips Big Blinds Table Seat
Victor Fryda 4,900,000 82 18 8
Giorgio Bellanca 3,800,000 63 18 4
Andrea Agnoletto 3,800,000 63 18 5
Mikhael Busiashvili 3,600,000 60 17 6
Fabian Rolli 3,500,000 58 16 2
Maksym Sheingart 3,500,000 58 16 5
Dario Barone 3,400,000 57 17 1
Junyu Liu 3,400,000 57 18 2
Roberto Caprio 2,700,000 45 16 1
Edikas Jurgutis 2,400,000 40 17 4
Andrea Dominici 2,400,000 40 16 8
Cyril Vieira 2,300,000 38 18 3
Andrius Janca 2,300,000 38 17 5
Antoine Talvard 1,600,000 27 16 6
Giulio Di Salvo 1,500,000 25 17 7
Miguel Bolivar 1,300,000 22 18 1
Candido Cappiello 1,300,000 22 16 7
Egidijus Digrys 800,000 13 16 3
Massimo Centola 800,000 13 17 3
David Lappin 400,000 7 18 6
Second Break 5 Jun 17:34 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on their second Day 3 break. Blinds will increase to 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante before moving up again to 40,000/80,000 with a 80,000 big blind ante. A longer 75-minute dinner break will take place after these two blind levels.

We will update all of the chip counts during the break.

Agnoletto Wins Sizeable Pot Without Flop 5 Jun 17:33 by Arved Klöhn

Level 26: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 20/1,992

Right before the break, Andrea Agnoletto managed to scoop a big pot against Giorgio Bellanca. The two big stacks are seated right next to each other at Table 18 with Agnoletto having position against Bellanca.

In a pot that only played out preflop, Agnoletto manages to win 16 big blinds without even needing to see a flop.

The hand started with Bellanca raising to 125k. Agnoletto made it 375k to go and Bellanca took some time and decided to raise to 800k. Agnoletto almost immediately went all-in and almost as instantly Bellanca threw his cards into the muck and left the table.

The two go into the break with almost even stacks.

Giorgio Bellanca – 3,800,000
Andrea Agnoletto – 3,800,000

Giorgio Bellanca and Andrea Agnoletto

Giorgio Bellanca and Andrea Agnoletto

Centola Doubles Through Edikas 5 Jun 17:02 by Jason Glatzer

Level 26: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 22/1,992

Massimo Centola open-jammed for 670,000 from the small blind. Edikas Jurgutis asked for a count before he called.

Massimo Centola: A7
Edikas Jurgutis: 44

Centola got up from his seat as if ready to leave. He sat back down after his ace connected with the KA2T9 board to double his stack through Jurgutis.

Edikas Jurgutis – 2.7 million
Massimo Centola – 1.4 million

Massimo Centola

Jurgutis Triples With Cowboys 5 Jun 16:55 by Jason Glatzer

Level 26: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 22/1,992

Edikas Jurgutis min-raised the button. Andrius Janca three-bet shoved for nearly 3 million. Lahire Roch called off his stack of 1.3 million and Jurgutis called off his stack of 1.1 million for a three-way showdown and two players at risk.

Edikas Jurgutis: KK
Lahire Roch: A9
Andrius Janca: KJ

Jurgutis tripled up on the 28886 board. Although Roch did win the small side pot, he hit the rail shortly after to leave 22 players remaining.

Edikas Jurgutis – 3.4 millon
Andrius Janca – 1.6 million
Lahire Roch – 0

Edikas Jurgutis

Andrea Dominica Plays Post Flop Poker, Wins! 5 Jun 16:53 by Arved Klöhn
Andrea Dominici Thinking

Andrea Dominici thinking about his call on the river

Level 26: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 21/1,992

He was mainly confined to playing preflop poker due to his small stack in the past, but Andrea Dominica recently increased his stack enough to also play post-flop poker now.

And we just saw him pick up a courageous bluff against Roberto Caprio.

The hand began with Fabian Rolli raising to 100k under the gun. Dominica called in the small blind and Caprio called in the big blind as well.

Flop: J73

It was checked to the preflop raiser who made it 135k to go. Both other players called.

Turn: 7 – all players checked.

River: 2 – After Dominica checked, Caprio bet 325k and Rolli promptly folded. Andrea Dominica did some thinking and eventually called with J9.

This was good enough as Caprio could only muster 54 for a bluff.

Meanwhile, we lost Alexis Roch on another table in 23rd position.

Andrea Dominica – 1,700,000
Alexis Roch – 0

Persent Hits the Rail With a Weaker Ace 5 Jun 16:37 by Jason Glatzer

Level 26: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 23/1,992

Giulio Di Salvo jammed for about 10 big blinds from early position before Jon Persent called off his stack of a little less from one seat over.

Jon Persent: A8
Giulio Di Salvo: AQ

Persent wasn’t able to push ahead on the 52T67 board and exited the 2023 Battle of Malta Spring Edition Main Event in 24th place.

Jon Persent

Final Three Tables 5 Jun 16:29 by Arved Klöhn

With that, we’re down to three tables. Those are the approximate counts and (accurate) seats:

Name Chips Big Blinds Table Seat
Giorgio Bellanca 4,680,000 94 18 4
Victor Fryda 4,580,000 92 18 8
Maksym Sheingart 4,280,000 86 16 5
Roberto Caprio 3,660,000 73 16 1
Fabian Rolli 3,160,000 63 16 2
Andrea Agnoletto 3,060,000 61 18 5
Andrius Janca 2,960,000 59 17 5
Miguel Aguilar 2,640,000 53 18 1
Junyu Liu 2,640,000 53 18 2
Mikhael Busiashvili 2,240,000 45 16 4
Candido Cappiello 2,140,000 43 16 7
Dario Barone 2,040,000 41 17 1
Andrea Dominici 1,740,000 35 16 8
Cyril Vieira 1,620,000 32 18 3
Antoine Talvard 1,620,000 32 16 6
Shay Shmaryahu 1,220,000 24 17 2
Alexis Roch 1,220,000 24 17 6
Edikas Jurgutis 920,000 18 17 4
David Lappin 720,000 14 18 6
Egidijus Digrys 620,000 12 16 3
Jon Persent 620,000 12 17 8
Massimo Centola 500,000 10 17 3
Giulio Di Salvo 500,000 10 17 7
Nicolaj D’Antoni 400,000 8 18 7
Giorgio Bellanca

Current chip leader Giorgio Bellanca

Maksym Sheingart Straightens Minieri Out 5 Jun 16:22 by Arved Klöhn
Dario Minieri unlucky with his aces

Dario Minieri unlucky with his aces

Level 25: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 24/1,992

They had been battling before and Sheingart had the better end. Now they went at it again and this time Maksym Sheingart eliminated Dario Minieri.

They were all-in on a flop that read JT6. Minieri was well ahead with his AA, but Sheingart had outs as he held Q9.

Turn and river fell K, 8, giving Sheingart a straight, sending Dario to the rails in 26th place.

Alongside Minieri, we also lost Tomasz Kokoska who busted in 25th place.

Maksym Sheingart – 3,500,000
Dario Minieri – 0
Tomasz Kokoska – 0

Moelderkivi Runs Into Fryda’s Rockets 5 Jun 16:14 by Jason Glatzer

Level 25: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 26/1,992

Rain Moelderkivi jammed from early position for about a dozen big blinds. This got through for a walk but then the next hand he jammed again, this time for 550,000 from under the gun. Victor Fryda called from one seat over and the rest of the table folded.

Rain Moelderkivi: KJ
Victor Fryda: AA

Moelderkivi connected with his jack on the J5Q rainbow flop but got no other love to get ahead of Fryda’s rockets on either the 8 turn or the 2 river to hit the rail in 27th place.

Victor Fryda – 4.5 million
Rain Moelderkivi – 0

Rain Moelderkivi

Alexis Roch Times Into a Lucky Double Up 5 Jun 16:01 by Arved Klöhn
Alexis Roch after hitting a lucky flush

Alexis Roch after hitting a lucky flush

Level 25: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 27/1,992

That was a slightly weird hand!

Over at Table 19, Andrea Agnoletto raised from middle position to 85k. It folded to Alexis Roch on the button, who made it 425k, leaving himself 100k chips.

Agnoletto instantly moved all-in, expecting a rapid call. But Alexis Roch took his time. He even took so much time, that the floor was called over and he was counted down 30 seconds.

Eventually, Roch called, only to see that his AJ was utterly dominated by Agnoletto’s AK.

But Roch scored a lucky double as the dealer fanned a board of KQ375, giving Roch a flush on the river.

Andrea Agnoletto – 2,000,000
Alexis Roch – 1,200,000

Cowboys No Good for Mercieca 5 Jun 16:00 by Jason Glatzer

Level 25: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 27/1,992

James Mercieca opened for 90,000 from middle position and was called by Jon Persent from the cutoff, Dario Minieri from the button, David Lappin from the small blind, and Junyu Liu from the big blind for five players to see the 637 flop.

The action was checked over to Merieca, who jammed the rest of his stack of 520,000. Persent, Minieri, and Lappin all folded before Liu snap-called.

James Merieca: KK
Junyu Lin: 76

Merieca was behind Lin’s two pairs but there were tons of cards in the deck that could still help him survive and double his stack. Instead, he hit the showers after the 2 turn and Q river completed the board.

Junyu Lin – 4.3 million
James Merieca – 0

James Merieca Hiding After Jamming His Stack

Andrea Dominici Doubles Once More 5 Jun 15:52 by Arved Klöhn
Fryda and Dominici

Fryda and Dominici

Level 25: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 26/1,992

Andrea Dominici is digging the short stack game. At the start of the level, he was down to roughly 10 big blinds and was hovering at that level for a while now.

But right now he managed to double up against the table chip leader Victor Fryda.

It was folded to Fryda in the small blind and he moved all-in with KX5X. Dominici called with AX7X. The board brought a 7 and no help for Fryda and just like that, Andrea Dominici now has 20 big blinds to play with.

Meanwhile, we lost Edgaras Kausinis at another table (but we don’t know how that happened).

Victor Fryda – 4,000,000
Andrea Dominici – 900,000
Edgaras Kausinis – 0

Bellanca Flushes Shindler to the Rail 5 Jun 15:49 by Jason Glatzer

Level 25: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 29/1,992

Robert Shindler opened for a min-raise from the cutoff. Giorgio Bellanca three-bet to 280,000 from the big blind. Shindler four-bet jammed for nearly 800,000 and Bellanca snap-called.

Robert Shindler: A5
Giorgio Bellanca: AK

Shindler was behind but he moved slightly ahead after his five found a friend on the 895 flop. Bellanca still had tons of equity with and club completing a flush or any king improving him to a better pair. Shindler’s equity increased after the blank J turn. However, the T river completed Bellanca’s flush and Shindler hit the rail.

Meanwhile, Lahav Ferenbach also headed to the lockerroom after losing his stack to leave just 29 players remaining.

Junyu Liu Three-Bets Twice in One Hand 5 Jun 15:43 by Arved Klöhn
Junyu Liu

Junyu Liu

Level 25: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 30/1,992

With roughly 600k in the middle already we arrived at Table 18 with the flop reading 763.

Two players were in the hand. We assume the preflop action went as follows: Jon Persent raised from middle position, Junyu Liu reraised from the small blind and Persent called.

On the flop Liu bet 155k and Persent raised to 360k, leaving only 700k behind.

Very quickly Liu moved all-in for 800k and almost as quickly Jon Persent threw his cards into the muck.

Junyu Liu – 1,800,000
Jon Persent – 700,000

Roch Snap-Mucks After Agnoletto Calls 5 Jun 15:37 by Jason Glatzer

Level 25: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 31/1,992

There were between 400,000 and 500,000 in the pot when Lahire Roch check-called a bet of 180,000 by Andreas Agnoletto with the 7J44 on the board after the turn.

Roch checked again after the 3 river completed the board. Agnoletto bet 280,000. Roch tanked for a couple of minutes before he raised to 630,000. Agnoletto called about 15 seconds later.

There was no showdown as Roch felt he was beat no matter what so he mucked his hand. Agnoletto found no reason to show his cards either as he collected a decent pot.

Andrea Agnoletto – 3,300,000
Lahire Roch – 700,000

Lahire Roch

Rain Moelderkivi Loses Huge Chunk of his Stack 5 Jun 15:33 by Arved Klöhn
Rain Moelderkivi

Rain Moelderkivi

Level 25: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 30/1,992

Over at Table 16 we just saw Rain Moelderkivi lose a significant portion of his stack.

With roughly 450k in the middle on the river, the board read Q8377 and Moelderkivi checked to his lone opponent, Roberto Caprio.

Caprio bet 250k and Moelderkivi reluctantly called.

The Italian turned over K7 for trips and a flush, more than enough to beat Moelderkivi’s hand, who mucked without showing.

Moelderkivi is now on life support, while Caprio continues his destruction of opponents at his table.

Roberto Caprio – 4,400,000
Rain Moelderkivi – 600,000

Down to Final Four Tables 5 Jun 15:24 by Arved Klöhn

Final Four TablesWith the end of the break, we’re down to the final four tables. All players already have €3,090 secured with the next pay jump coming starting at place #27.

Fryda and Caprio in the Lead After First Two Hours of Day 3 5 Jun 15:11 by Arved Klöhn

Those are the complete counts after the first break:

Name Chips Big Blinds Table Seat
Victor Fryda 4,200,000 105 15 2
Roberto Caprio 4,060,000 102 16 8
Giorgio Bellanca 3,900,000 98 19 2
Antoine Talvard 3,560,000 89 17 6
Maksym Sheingart 2,700,000 68 18 6
Andrea Agnoletto 2,500,000 63 19 8
Fabian Rolli 2,300,000 58 15 7
Egidijus Digrys 2,200,000 55 17 4
Dario Barone 2,060,000 52 19 7
Mikhael Busiashvili 1,800,000 45 19 5
Candido Cappiello 1,700,000 43 16 2
Miguel Aguilar 1,600,000 40 18 4
Dario Minieri 1,500,000 38 18 8
Edikas Jurgutis 1,400,000 35 17 2
Alexis Roch 1,400,000 35 19 4
Jon Persent 1,380,000 35 15 6
Andrius Janca 1,360,000 34 17 5
Junyu Liu 1,260,000 32 18 3
Shindler Robert 1,200,000 30 19 6
Nicolaj D’Antoni 1,100,000 28 18 2
Rain Moelderkivi 1,060,000 27 16 4
Massimo Centola 940,000 24 15 8
Shay Shmaryahu 860,000 22 16 7
James Mercieca 700,000 18 18 5
Doron Ferenbach 660,000 17 16 1
Cyril Vieira 560,000 14 17 3
Giulio Di Salvo 540,000 14 19 3
David Lappin 500,000 13 18 1
Tomasz Kokoszka 480,000 12 15 5
Andrea Dominici 360,000 9 15 1
Caruso’s Aces Cracked, Tournament Life Kaputt 5 Jun 15:10 by Arved Klöhn
Sebastiano Caruso

Sebastiano Caruso during happier times

Level 24: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 31/1,992

Right before the break, we lost Sebastiano Caruso who busted in brutal fashion against Candido Cappielle.

Cappielle raised from the button and Caruso moved all-in from the blinds for roughly 420k chips.

Cappielle eventually called, showing KJ. Caruso had this hand crushed with AA. But the dealer fanned JT79K – two pair for Cappielle, who took out his fellow countryman in 32nd place.

Candido Cappielle – 1,700,000
Sebastiano Caruso – 0

Break Time 5 Jun 15:03 by Jason Glatzer

Day 3 is on its first break. The field has been trimmed down from 48 players to start the day to just 31 hopefuls. Daniel Ryder and Sebastiano Caruso won’t be among the players returning as they both hit the rail just before the break.

The big stacks will be updated during the break and blinds will increase to 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 big blind ante when the action resumes in 20 minutes.

Dario Minieri

Dario Minieri Relaxing After Day 2

Ameed Khalil destroyed by Roberto Caprio 5 Jun 14:40 by Arved Klöhn
Roberto Caprio

Roberto Caprio after his destructive work

Level 24: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 35/1,992

“You destroyed him”, a player over at Roberto Caprio’s table exclaimed.

The Italian just single-handedly took out the former chip leader Ameed Khalil.

In hand we didn’t witness, he took half of Khalil’s stack.

With roughly 1m chips left, Khalil raised with KT from early position to 60k. On the button, Roberto Caprio called with KJ.

The flop fell T52 and Khalil bet out with his top pair. Caprio called with two overs and a flush draw.

The turn realized the draw: 7. Now Khalil checked, Caprio bet 300k and Khalil instantly went all-in. With a hand close to the nuts Caprio had an easy call and left Ameed Khalil drawing dead.

The river was an inconsequential 2 and just like that, we have lost Ameed Khalil.

During this hand, we also lost Ilyaev Raul in 37th place.

Roberto Caprio – 3,500,000
Ameed Khalil – 0
Ilyaev Raul – 0

Lappin Getting Short 5 Jun 14:38 by Jason Glatzer

Level 24: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 33/1,992

The Chip Race podcast co-host David Lappin is one of the players the live reporting team is secretly rooting for. Well, I guess the secret is out of the bag but Lappin will need some hands or some luck soon as he is short on chips after the following hand.

Nicolaj D’Antoni opened for a min-raise from under the gun. Lappin defended his big blind for the two players to see the 6J7 flop. Lappin check-called a bet of 45,000 by D’Antoni before check-calling again for 90,000 on the A turn. The Q river completed the board and Lappin checked again. D’Antoni bet 180,000 and Lappin checked his cards one last time before he folded.

Meanwhile, Giuseppe Liotta hit the rail just after this hand to leave just 33 players remaining.

Nicolaj D’Antoni – 900,000
David Lappin – 400,000
Giuseppe Liotta – 0

David Lappin

Maksym Sheingart Dents Dario Minieri’s Stack 5 Jun 14:23 by Arved Klöhn
Maksym Sheingart

Maksym Sheingart cannot be deterred by Dario Minieri

Level 24: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 36/1,992

Maksym Sheingart opened from middle position to 60k and Dario Minieri reraised to 160k right behind him. It folded back to Sheingart who called.

Flop: 875 – Sheingart checked, Minieri bet 165k and now Sheingart raised to 335k Minieri called the check-raise.

Turn: Q – Sheingart checked again and once more Minieri bet, this time 360k. Now Sheingart only called.

River: 2 – With over 1.7m chips in the middle both players checked.

Sheingart tabled 9X9X – a single pair. Minieri nodded in agreement and mucked his cards.

Maksym Sheingart – 3,200,000
Dario Minieri – 1,200,000

Ladies Kind for Bellanca 5 Jun 14:22 by Jason Glatzer

Level 24: 10,500/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 37/1,992

Dario Barone opened for 65,000 from the button and was called by Andrea Agnoletto from the small blind. Giorgio Bellanca, who had a big stack to start the hand despite starting the day with one of the shorter stacks, three-bet to 255,000.

Barone called and Angoletto folded before the 3T6 landed on the flop. Bellanca continued for 180,000. Barone called and both players checked on the 8 turn and again on the T river.

Bellanca turned over the QQ and won the hand after Barone mucked his cards.

Meanwhile, Gytis Lazauninkas also recently hit the rail to leave just 37 players remaining.

Giorgio Bellanca

Blinds Up: 15k / 30k 5 Jun 14:08 by Arved Klöhn

We’re entering the second hour of the day with the blinds going up to 15,000 / 30,000.

After this level players will go on a 20 minute break.

Right now Victor Fryda is still in the lead with more than 4m chips.

Andrea Dominici Doubles Through Edgaras Kausinis 5 Jun 14:04 by Arved Klöhn
Andrea Dominici

Andrea Dominici

Level 23: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 38/1,992

Italian Andrea Dominici was working with a rather small stack for the last hour, but he just managed to score a double-up against Kausinis Edgaras.

Dominici was all-in with Nines against Dominici’s Ace-Jack and spiked a nine on the board to double up to 700k – still below average, but at least over 10 big blinds.

Edgaras Kausinis – 800,000
Andrea Dominici – 700,000

Cechowski Runs Into Caprio’s Cowboys 5 Jun 13:54 by Jason Glatzer

Level 23: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 38/1,992

Roberto Caprio jammed with the 8336T on the board. Dylan Cechowski went into the tank for a bit before the clock was called on him.

Cechowski announced a call as time was about to run out and likely wishes he folded. Caprio turned over the KK for two pair with an overpair on the board.

“Nice hand,” Cechowski said to Caprio as he turned over the J8 for a lower two pair.

Meanwhile, Erez Hen hit the rail moments later to leave just 38 hopefuls battling for the prestigious title.

Roberto Caprio – 1.5 million
Dylan Cechowski – 0
Erez Hen – 0

Dylan Cechowski out in 40th Place

Dario Minieri takes out Dumitru Sandu 5 Jun 13:45 by Arved Klöhn
Dario Minieri

Dario Minieri after winning the all-in

Level 23: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 40/1,992

Dumitru Sandu was down to a handful of big blinds and was all-in against Dario Minieri before the flop.

Dumitru Sandu showed A8 and Minieri had him crushed with QQ.

The board didn’t help Sandu as it fell JT598, sending him packing.

Dario Minieri – 1,600,000
Dumitru Sandu – 0

Shindler Eliminates Gugliotta 5 Jun 13:36 by Jason Glatzer

Level 23: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 41/1,992

Robert Shindler opened for 60,000 from the cutoff. Andrea Agnoletto called from the small blind before Daniel Gugliotta three-bet jammed for 225,000 from the big blind. Shindler came in over the top for a four-bet jam. Agnoletto asked Shindler about how much his stack was not wanting an official count. Shindler shared it was for about 1,100,000, which we can also confirm was about right.

Daniel Gugliotta: A9
Robert Shindler: AQ

Gugliotta was behind but pulled ahead on the 9JT flop. His equity increased after the blank 5 turn. However, the 8 river completed a straight for Shindler and Gugliotta’s Main Event run was history.

Meanwhile, Algirdas Saveikis and Yamen Ghanen also recently ran out of chips to leave just 41 players remaining.

Robert Shindler – 1.5 million
Algirdas Saveikis – 0
Yamen Ghanen – 0
Daniel Gugliotta – 0

Daniele Gugliotta

Roch Wins Pivotal Hand Against Di Salvo 5 Jun 13:30 by Arved Klöhn
Giulio Di Salvo and Alexis Roch

Giulio Di Salvo and Alexis Roch

Level 23: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 44/1,992

With the players getting closer to big payout jumps, the play has slowed down considerably. Maybe the players need a few more coffees, to get up to speed.

We just witnessed a hand that took more than ten minutes.

It began with Giulio Di Salvo raising from the button. Alexis Roch defended in the small blind and they saw a flop: Q74.

Roch bet out 75k and Di Salvo called.

Turn: 4 – Now Roch checked and Di Salvo made it 150k. Roch took his time and eventually min-raised to 300k. Di Salvo called after some long deliberation.

River: 3 – Roch bet again, this time all his chips, roughly 500k. To this action, Di Salvo folded his hand almost instantly and left us wondering what he might have had.

Alexis Roch – 1,300,000
Giulio Di Salvo – 900,000

Right around the same time, Doron Peretz hit the rails – unfortunately, we didn’t catch his hand.

Remaining Payouts for the Main Event 5 Jun 13:22 by Jason Glatzer

Returning Day 3 players have each locked up a €2,300 payout with much more to come as the action gets deeper and deeper today and tomorrow. Here is a look at all of the remaining payouts for the 2023 Battle of Malta Spring Edition €600 Main Event.

Place Prize
1 €156,600
2 €101,500
3 €69,890
4 €53,800
5 €41,100
6 €31,590
7 €24,200
8 €18,800
9 €14,480
10-11 €11,240
12-13 €9,380
14-15 €7,810
16-17 €6,510
18-20 €5,430
21-24 €4,420
25-27 €3,570
28-31 €3,090
32-39 €2,670
40-48 €2,300
Talvard Ousts Two – Aces Vs. Kings Vs. Queens! 5 Jun 13:18 by Jason Glatzer

Level 23: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 45/1,992

Antoine Talvard opened for 50,000 from under the gun before Modestas Kryzanauskas three-bet jammed for 510,000.  Maciej Plocki four-bet shoved for a little more from the hijack. Talvard snap-called and the cards were turned over.

Modestas Kryzanauskas: QQ
Maciej Plocki: KK
Antoine Talvard: AA

The table was left speechless with aces, kings, and queens all tabled by the three players. It was quite the cooler for both Kryzanauskas and Plocki.

Talvard ousted both players after his rockets held on the J4232 runout. Meanwhile, Traian-Niko Germanariu hit the rail on another table around the same time to bring the field down to 45 players in the opening moments of Day 3.

Antoine Talvard – 2.3 million
Maciej Plocki – 0
Modestas Kryzanauskas – 0
Traian-Niko Germanariu – 0

Antoine Talvard

Penultimate Day Begins 5 Jun 13:03 by Jason Glatzer

Level 23: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 48/1,992

The final 48 players are ready for battle on the Day 3 of the Main Event. Cards are in the air and the plan is for the day to end when the final table of nine players is remaining.

Tuesday’s final table will be played out on a live stream and commentated by this author along with some guests.

Best of luck to the final 48 players in reaching today’s goal of the final table!

Gytis Lazauninkas

Day 3 Seat Draw 5 Jun 11:46 by Arved Klöhn

The seat draw for today is below

Name Chips Big Blinds Table Seat
Nicolaj D’Antoni 1,140,000 46 14 1
Egidijus Digrys 2,140,000 86 14 2
Ameed Khalil 1,675,000 67 14 3
Maksym Sheingart 1,605,000 64 14 4
Mikhael Busiashvili 1,710,000 68 14 5
Traian-Niko Gemanariu 560,000 22 14 6
Massimo Centola 880,000 35 14 7
Gytis Lazauninkas 1,760,000 70 14 8
Andrea Dominici 145,000 6 15 1
Victor Fryda 3,820,000 153 15 2
Grzegorz Skawinski 665,000 27 15 3
Edgaras Kausinis 575,000 23 15 4
Tomasz Kokoszka 560,000 22 15 5
Ilyaev Raul 435,000 17 15 6
Fabian Rolli 1,770,000 71 15 7
Doron Peretz 355,000 14 15 8
Doron Ferenbach 1,480,000 59 16 1
Candido Cappiello 1,105,000 44 16 2
Jon Persent 950,000 38 16 3
Rain Moelderkivi 1,090,000 44 16 4
Sebastiano Caruso 300,000 12 16 5
Dylan Cechowski 600,000 24 16 6
Shay Shmaryahu 610,000 24 16 7
Roberto Caprio 870,000 35 16 8
Giuseppe Liotta 480,000 19 17 1
Algirdas Saveikis 865,000 35 17 2
Cyril Vieira 600,000 24 17 3
Jan Plocki 630,000 25 17 4
Andrius Janca 670,000 27 17 5
Antoine Talvard 1,235,000 49 17 6
Modestas Kryzanauskas 510,000 20 17 7
Daniel Ryder 535,000 21 17 8
David Lappin 1,150,000 46 18 1
Sandu Dumitru 395,000 16 18 2
Junyu Liu 2,015,000 81 18 3
Miguel Bolivar 795,000 32 18 4
James Mercieca 705,000 28 18 5
Edikas Jurgutis 470,000 19 18 6
Erez Hen 625,000 25 18 7
Dario Minieri 985,000 39 18 8
Daniele Gugliotta 300,000 12 19 1
Giorgio Bellanca 430,000 17 19 2
Giulio Di Salvo 1,510,000 60 19 3
Alexis Roch 1,120,000 45 19 4
Yamen Ghanem 395,000 16 19 5
Shindler Robert 1,050,000 42 19 6
Dario Barone 2,835,000 113 19 7
Andrea Agnoletto 2,540,000 102 19 8
Day 3 Showdown: Victor Fryda Leads the Pack 5 Jun 11:43 by Arved Klöhn

The Battle of Malta Poker Tournament enters its thrilling Day 3 as anticipation fills the air. At exactly 1 pm, 48 players will take their seats, determined to outwit, outplay, and outlast their opponents in this intense battle for poker supremacy.

These 48 players have risen above the rest, surviving the trials and tribulations of a field that began with a staggering 1992 entries. Leading the pack is the formidable Victor Fryda, armed with an impressive stack of 3,820,000 chips. But the competition is fierce, with Dario Barone and Andrea Agnoletto hot on Fryda’s heels, boasting stacks of 2,835,000 and 2,540,000 chips, respectively.

Adding to the excitement, the field includes the illustrious presence of Dario Minieri, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) champion whose prowess at the table is legendary. As the tournament progresses, spectators and participants alike will keenly observe Minieri’s strategic moves, eager to witness his trademark poker brilliance.

The Chip Race podcast co-host David Lappin is also still in contention with 1,150,000. Lappin planned to join us for the final table live-stream commentating tomorrow. However, we hope we get to commentate on his action at the final table instead.

The stakes are high, not just in terms of skill and prestige but also in cold, hard cash. The Battle of Malta Poker Tournament has amassed a total prize pool of €1,002,972, promising a life-changing payday for those who endure till the end.

As the day unfolds, the poker warriors brace themselves for a grueling battle. With 10 levels scheduled, each lasting an hour, the poker tables will witness intense battles of wits and nerve. The clock will tick well past midnight, pushing players to their limits as they strive for victory.

Stay tuned as the Battle of Malta Poker Tournament reaches a crescendo, showcasing the indomitable spirit of these players in their quest for poker glory.