Category Malta Poker Festival 2024

Antonio Alba’s Resilient Run Ends In 7th Place (€23,000)

Level 36: 200,000/400,000 (400,000)
Entries: 7/2045


Charles Eichner opened the pot from under the gun, only to see Antonio Alba, fresh off a recent double-up, shove his remaining 11 big blinds. The action folded back to Eichner, who quickly called.

  • Antonio Alba: 1010
  • Charles Eichner: JJ

Alba was once again facing adversity, trailing Eichner’s higher pocket pair. The flop QK5 brought little hope, as he missed all possible outs. The turn A added a few chop possibilities, but Alba needed a ten or a favorable runout to survive.

Finally, the river landed 10, pairing his hand. However, it also completed Eichner’s straight, sealing Alba’s fate. With a smile, Alba gathered his belongings, earning a well-deserved 7th-place finish and a payout of €23,000 after a hard-fought day on the final table.

Alba’s remarkable resilience and comeback moments kept everyone on edge, but his journey ultimately concludes here in style.

Antonio Alba Hits a Miracle to Stay Alive!

Level 36: 200,000/400,000 (400,000)
Entries: 7/2045


Nikolaos Konstas raised big from the button, and short-stacked Antonio Alba pushed his remaining chips in the middle from the big blind. Konstas quickly called.

  • Antonio Alba: KQ
  • Nikolaos Konstas: 99

With a 9 in the window, Alba began packing his things, not noticing the other two cards were hearts—65! The turn brought another heart, K, completing Alba’s flush, though he still didn’t realize it and continued packing. The river J sealed the hand without pairing the board.

For the second time at the final table, Alba survives by hitting a one-card flush!

Antonio Alba – 4,500,000
Nikolaos Konstas – 21,000,000

Salih Zeki Kaya Falls Short In 8th Place (€17,500)

Level 36: 200,000/400,000 (400,000)
Entries: 8/2045

Salih Zeki Kaya was down to his last 5 big blinds and had already posted his big blind and ante. Nikolaos Konstas opened from the button, and Kaya called. The flop came 363, and Kaya pushed his remaining two big blinds all-in. Konstas snap-called.

  • Salih Zeki Kaya: K7
  • Nikolaos Konstas: Q6

Kaya had the better hand pre-flop, but Konstas had hit a pair on the flop. The turn was A and the river another six 6, sealing the win for Konstas.

A solid run from Salih, but his journey ends in 8th place, taking home a payout of €17,500.

Nikolaos Konstas – 25,000,000

Lucky Double For Antonio Alba

Level 35: 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Entries: 8/2045

Antonio Alba pushed his last 6 big blinds all-in and got a call from our chip leader, Charles Eichner, sitting on the button. They revealed their hands: A4 for Alba and JJ for Eichner. Alba was behind and needed some help on the flop — and got exactly that on K34, giving him a pair and a flush draw.

The turn brought the 2, sealing Alba’s double-up with a flush. The 5 on the river even completed a spectacular straight flush! Alba takes a well-deserved pot and stays in the game.

Antonio Alba – 4,400,000
Charles Eichner – 32,000,000

Angelo Vietti Is Eliminated In 9th Place (€13,400)

Level 35: 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Entries: 9/2045


Angelo Vietti, who came to the final table with just over 3 big blinds, made an impressive early double-up. Soon after, he pushed his remaining 2.5 million chips all-in under the gun and was called by Domenico Lando. When the cards were turned, Vietti held JJ against Lando’s 1010. Ahead but at risk, Vietti was disheartened by the 10K9 flop, giving Lando a set of tens.

The A on the turn brought a glimmer of hope for Vietti, adding outs for a straight, but the 9 river sealed his fate. Vietti’s impressive journey in the MPF Grand Event comes to an end, finishing in 9th place and taking home €13,400.

Domenio Lando – 11,000,000

Final Day of the MPF Grand Event Begins!

Level 35: 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Entries: 9/2045


We’re down to the last day of the MPF Grand Event, and it’s time for our final nine players to battle it out for the prestigious title and the €140,000 top prize. After days of intense action, each of our finalists has fought hard to reach this point, and now they’ll be giving it their all to take home the trophy.

Here are our top chip leaders heading into the final table:

  1. Charles Eichner – 34,425,000
  2. Nikolaos Konstas – 20,425,000
  3. Jaroslaw Falkowski – 17,550,000

Play resumes with each player eyeing that incredible top prize and the honor of being crowned MPF Grand Champion. Stay tuned for updates and follow the journey of these final nine players!

Full Chip Counts for the final table:

PositionNameChip Count Country
1Charles Eichner34,425,000France
2Nikolaos Konstas20,425,000Greece
3Jaroslaw Falkowski17,550,000Poland
4Theodoros Ampelikiotis8,950,000Greece
5Domenico Davide Lando8,050,000Italy
6Andre Grech7,400,000Malta
7Antonio Alba2,600,000Italy
8Salih Zeki Kaya2,000,000Denmark
9Angelo Vietti1,025,000Italy

Final Table Of The MPF Grand Event + Chip Counts!

After hours of intense play, the MPF Grand Event is down to its final table! In the last stretch, we saw several crucial hands that reshaped the leaderboard. Antonin Hays bubbled the final table, finishing in 10th place after a massive flip with his Ace-King falling to Nikolaos Konstas’s pocket queens. Theodoros Ampelikiotis doubled up in a dramatic showdown against Andre Grech, dodging Grech’s outs to stay in the game.

Charles Eichner leads the way after winning a massive hand against Dennis Mercier, chip lead vs chip lead for 30 million, he managed to accumulate a few more after that. Second is Nikolaos Konstas from Greece who won the last flip of the night but played brilliantly throughout the day.

Now, the final nine players return with hopes of claiming the €140,000 first prize. Here are the final table chip counts:

PositionNameChip Count Country
1Charles Eichner34,425,000France
2Nikolaos Konstas20,425,000Greece
3Jaroslaw Falkowski17,550,000Poland
4Theodoros Ampelikiotis8,950,000Greece
5Domenico Davide Lando8,050,000Italy
6Andre Grech7,400,000Malta
7Antonio Alba2,600,000Italy
8Salih Zeki Kaya2,000,000Denmark
9Angelo Vietti1,025,000Italy

Check out and their photos from Day 3:

Check out the final 9 payouts that will be rewarded tomorrow:

PositionPayout
1€140,000
2€93,000
3€66,000
4€49,068
5€39,000
6€30,000
7€23,000
8€17,500
9€13,400

Antonin Hays Bubbles The Final Table In 10th Place (€10,200)

Level 35: 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Entries: 11/204
5

Antonin Hays opened the pot from the cutoff and was met with a 3-bet from Nikolaos Konstas to 2.1 million. After a moment of contemplation, Hays put in a 4-bet, and Konstas quickly followed with a 5-bet shove for all his chips. Hays snap-called, and the cards were revealed in what would be a critical 20-million-chip flip for a spot at the final table.

  • Antonin Hays: AK
  • Nikolaos Konstas: QQ

The flop was disastrous for Hays, with 3109 bringing three diamonds, which significantly reduced his odds of winning. The 4 turn kept Konstas firmly in the lead, and the 3 river sealed the hand in favor of the Greek.

Hays bubbles the final table of the main event, finishing in 10th place with a prize of €10,200.

Can The Greek Summon The Poker Gods Too ?

Level 35: 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Entries: 11/204
5

Theodoros Ampelikiotis opened the pot into the two short stacks on the blinds but was met with a hefty 3-bet from Andre Grech, who raised to 1,650,000. The Greek player didn’t hesitate for long, shoving his 4.5 million chips into the middle. Grech, though looking less than thrilled, decided to call.

  • Theodoros Ampelikiotis: QQ
  • Andre Grech: AJ

The flop wasn’t what Ampelikiotis hoped for, with 2J4 giving Grech a pair and adding two hearts to his outs. The 10 on the turn created even more possibilities for Grech with flush, ace, and jack outs. Ampelikiotis just needed to dodge a heart, ace, or jack for the double-up.

The river brought the 6, securing the pot for Ampelikiotis and boosting him up to nearly 10 million chips!

Fabio Peluso Leaves The Fight In 11th Place (€10,200)

Level 35: 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Entries: 11/204
5

Fabio Peluso moved all-in for his 3.5 million stack and was quickly called by Jaroslaw Falkowski from the small blind. It was a classic race with AK for Peluso against Falkowski’s 1010.

The board ran out 6Q752, staying clean for Falkowski’s tens. With no help on the board, Peluso’s run ends in 11th place, earning him €9,200.

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