Category Day 1B

Bas De Laat Triumphs in the Sviten Special Hosted by Eva “Chic”

After an intense battle that pushed through to the early hours, Bas de Laat emerged victorious in the Sviten event, hosted by the ever-stylish Eva “Chic” Jiretorn. The event drew a competitive field with 59 entries battling for a place at the final table. De Laat faced off with Eirik Presttun in a heads-up showdown that continued until 4 a.m., showcasing skill, patience, and determination from both players.

Adding to the excitement, Chic “meowed” her way through the field and made a memorable run, reaching the final table and finishing in an impressive 7th place. The event was as thrilling as it was competitive, with players and fans alike captivated until the last chip was played. Congratulations to Bas de Laat for taking home the title after an unforgettable night!


Checkout the players who made the money and the final standings:

1Bas Wilhelmus Cornelis Johannes De Laat€ 4,000
2Eirik Presttun€ 2,750
3Giorgio Savignone€ 2,140
4Mateusz Marek Stanielewicz€ 1,650
5Don-Hyung Cho€ 1,230
6Mauro Lombardi€ 890
7Eva Anna Marie Jiretorn€ 620
8Richard Ian J Burke€ 500
9Teemu Eemil Hietala€ 380

Take a look at some fantastic photos from yesterday’s action!

Day 1B Recap: 172 Entries, 26 Advance to Day 2

Day 1B brought 172 entries to the tables, each aiming to secure a place in Day 2. After steady and competitive play, 26 players successfully bagged their chips and will move forward. Leading the pack from today’s flight are De Iaco Alessandro with 825,000 chips, Zacharakis Emmanouil with 728,000, and Falkowski Jaroslaw Kamil with 568,000. These players, along with the rest of the qualifiers, have positioned themselves well as they prepare for the next stage.

Read on for the full list of Day 1B chip counts and to see who’s continuing their run in the Grand Event!

PositionNameChipsCountry
1De Iaco Alessandro825,000Italy
2Zacharakis Emmanouil728,000Greece
3Falkowski Jaroslaw Kamil568,000Poland
4Karathanasis Apostolos498,000Greece
5Colin Florent Guy461,000France
6Cuti Alfredo378,000Italy
7Valilis Angelos374,000Greece
8Nalepka Krystian Piotr372,000Poland
9Christie Philip Charles346,000England
10Pecelj Pavle342,000Serbia
11Pekarskas Zigmas339,000Lithuania
12Zivkovic Aleksandar333,000Serbia
13Quinlan Kevin Peter332,000England
14Mann Yoel314,000Israel
15Korobovs Sergejs275,000Latvia
16Harris David James274,000England
17Jahn Gabriele Uta254,000Austria
18Stulhofer Jaroslav252,000Czech Republic
19Tichacek Jan223,000Czech Republic
20Taylor Sarah Melanie217,000England
21Vogel Daniel209,000Switzerland
22Berruel Antoine197,000France
23Grech Andre160,000Malta
24Jouanneau Lucien Jules Martin154,000France
25Menant Hugo Theo Calvin102,000France
26Psarros Panagiotis81,000Greece

Photos From Day 1B MPF Grand Event

Day 1B brought an incredible atmosphere and intense gameplay as players took their seats, all eyes on securing a spot in Day 2. We captured some of the most memorable moments and faces at the tables, showcasing the energy and excitement that filled the room. Dive into these snapshots from Day 1B to relive the action and see who’s making moves in this unforgettable poker journey!

Matte Karjalainen and Ronny Albrigtsen Chip Millionaires on Day 1b

Day 1b of the €300,000 guaranteed 2024 Malta Poker Festival Spring Edition €550 Grand Event is in the books with a banner turnout of 291 entries to bring the total up to 468 entries when taking into account yesterday’s Day 1a with still four opening flights to go.

The day was scheduled to end once the field was down to 45 hopefuls to join the 27 players that found a bag on Day 1a into Sunday’s Day 2. However, Norway’s Ronny Albrigtsen sent two players packing in the same hand by delivering a bad beat to both Svajunas Seduikis and Pavle Peclej to end the day with more than 1 million in chips.

While this was better than the 858,000 that Day 1a chip leader Indre Stanaityte bagged on Wednesday, it wasn’t good enough to take the overall chip leader as Finland’s Matte Karjalainen earned that honor with nearly 1.3 million in chips after cruising most of the day.

Several other notable players found a bag including John Forsman, Garry Spinks, Angelo Vietti, Andrew Cutajar, Richard Kellett, Jonty Willis, poker author and The Chip Race podcast cohost Dara O’Kearney, Maltese all-time leading live tournament poker winner according to The Hendon Mob Joseph Grech, Cory Desmond, Mark Attard, and Antoine Talvard.

The action will resume on Friday at 1 p.m. with Day 1c. In the meantime, check out the chip counts from the Day 1b survivors below:

PlacePlayerChipsBig Blinds
1Matte Karjalainen1,269,000127
2Ronny Albrigtsen1,046,000105
3John Forsman695,00070
4Simon Taylor693,00069
5Kai Vater683,00068
6Lennart Bernett628,00063
7Emanuele Napolitano614,00061
8Jordan Dumas600,00060
9Garry Spinks578,00058
10Angelo Vietti546,00055
11Vilde Ekren506,00051
12Damjan Pulejkov477,00048
13Ian Tabone425,00043
14Krystian Nalepka413,00041
15Enes Hasic401,00040
16Niel Adams375,00038
17Andrew Cutajar370,00037
18Richard Kellett288,00029
19Aleksi Heikkinen284,00028
20Jonty Willis280,00028
21Dara O’Kearney265,00027
22Joseph Grech238,00024
23Igor Bukowski211,00021
24Stephen Barnes204,00020
25Lee McRoe204,00020
26Jan Stigter201,00020
27Per Alstig194,00019
28Thomas Cazaletz194,00019
29Paul Coles192,00019
30Gary Morgan158,00016
31Terence Newton150,00015
32Cory Desmond149,00015
33Ivan Furniet Martinez143,00014
34Alexander Jank136,00014
35James Paris128,00013
36Stefan Trevelyan117,00012
37Sven Lorenz114,00011
38Mark Attard87,0009
39Thore Boedefeld82,0008
40Julija Drevina82,0008
41Paul Hopper75,0008
42Antoine Talvard48,0005
43Matthew Gray30,0003

Albrigtsen Destroys Two Players Dreams

Level 15: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
Entries: 44/291

It was a brutal ending for Pavle Pecelj and Svajunas Seduikis by the hands of Ronny Albrightsen. Pavle effectively jammed for 70,000, leaving just 1,000 back from middle position. Seduikis called off for slightly less from the hijack before Albrightsen called from the button.

Peclej’s remaining chip went in the middle on the 4Q7 flop. The hands at the others tables were being finished before players turned over their cards.

Svajunas Seduikis: AK
Pavle Pecelj: KK
Ronny Albrigtsen: A6

“Running hearts, please,” pleaded the big-stacked Albrigtsen.

Albrigtsen got his wish to the delight of the other players after the 9 turn and [/pcn]Th[/pcn] river completed the board for Albirghtsen to oust two players on the money bubble.

The remaining field of 44 players each locked up at least a €900 min-cash. They will collect a payout slip tonight after bagging and tagging their chips into Sunday’s Day 2.

Stay tuned for the final chip counts from the 44 Day 1b survivors shortly.

Ronny Albrigtsen – 1,046,000
Pavle Pecelj – 0
Svajunas Seduikis – 0

Two Players Double

Level 15: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
Entries: 45/291

Two players doubled their stacks on the fourth hand for hand-for-hand play. Lorenz Sven doubled his short stack when his AK proved to be more than good against the K9 held by Andrew Cutajar.

Meanwhile, to the dismay to most of the field that want to finish the day in the money, Svajunas Seduikis tripled up against Lee McRoe and Ronny Albrightsen when his sixes improved to a full house.

Lorenz Sven

Lucky Bubble Double for Tabone

Level 15: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
Entries: 45/291

Ian Tabone just earned a lucky double on the second hand of the bubble action on Day 1b. Tabone jammed for about 10 big blinds on the K49 flop and was called by Jordan Dumas.

Ian Tabone: 42
Jordan Dumas: KQ

A crowd emerged in hopes for the end of the day. It appeared likely that would happen after the blank 3 turn. However, the poker room erupted after Tabone survived and doubled up with two pair with the 2 river completing the board.

Jordan Dumas – 310,000
Ian Tabone – 300,000

Ian Tabone

Money Bubble Reached

Level 14: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
Entries: 45/291

The clock was just stopped with less than two minutes remaining in Level 14 after Yigit Isilsoy hit the rail in 46th place on Day 1b.

Two minutes will be ran off after each hand during hand-for-hand play.

Meanwhile, the rich appear to be getting richer. This is especially true for Matte Karjalainen who became the first player in the Grand Event to become a chip millionaire.

Callum Hamilton & Isilsoy Yigit

Pulejkov Delivers Huge Bad Beat to Talvard

Level 14: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
Entries: 48/291

Damjan Pulejkov checked the AK610 board after the turn before Antoine Talvard fired out for 40,000 into a pot of around 100,000. Pulejkov jammed for about 150,000 and Talvard went briefly into the tank before he found a call.

Damjan Pulejkov: A3
Antoine Talvard: A10

Talvard was far ahead with his two pair and just needed to fade a spade or a king for a chop to win a huge pot while also eliminating Pulejkov.

“So sick,” Talvard said in a loud whisper after the J spiked the river to improve Pulejkov to a flush.

Damjan Pulejkov – 400,000
Antoine Talvard – 110,000

Damjan Pulejkov
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