Level 40:  500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 9/5,799

The first player to have their dreams of lifting the trophy shattered was Sicilian Pasquale Gregorio.

Vasileios Zisis started the action with A♠2♠ to 2,000,000 from the cutoff. Alexandru Farcasanu shoved 31,000,000 with A♦Q♠ from the small blind, while Pasquale Gregorio woke up with J♦J♣ in the big blind and quickly called. Zisis got out of the way, and Gregorio was at risk in a massive 37 million pot.

A flop of 3♣Q♦6♣ catapulted Farcasanu in front and Gregorio had slim chances to survive this hand. However, the turn brought a K♣ and a flush draw for the Italian, but the river was a blank 3♠, and Gregorio exited as the first elimination of the 2024 Battle of Malta Autumn final table.

Gregorio played a strong game throughout the tournament, having secured his passage into day 2 via the remote Day 1, which took place in Catania, not far from his hometown of Taormina, a beautiful town in the shadow of Mount Etna. He’s normally a cash game player but likes to play tournaments sometimes and will be happy to have entered this one, which has increased his bankroll by over €22,000!

Alexandru Farcasanu – 51,000,000
Pasquale Gregorio – 0

Pasquale Gregorio