Yohann Nataf opened to 1,600 from the button and Nikolaus Teichert as well as Brian Yoon called in the blinds. The trio checked down the flop and Nataf then bet the turn for 3,500 to win the pot. The initial table also included Jonas Lauck, Liv Boeree, Charles Chattha and Johan "YohViral" Guilbert, but was one of the first to break.
After a raise to 1,800, Natalie Hof shoved all in from middle position for 14,500 in the last level. She eventually got called by while Hof had . The board run out and Hof doubled.
It was not a great start for Theo Jorgensen thus far on Day 2. Michael Gathy opened to 2,000 and was called by the player in the small blind before Jorgensen clicked it to 6,000 in the big blind. Only Gathy called and Jorgensen led the flop for 8,000. Gathy called in the cutoff and Jorgensen then checked the turn. Gathy moved all in for what looked like 22,000 and the Team PokerStars Pro folded.
Russell Thomas opened the hijack to 1,600 and his neighbor Jaroslaw Sikora three bet to 3,700 from the cutoff. Action folded to Bjorn Geissert in the big blind and he cold four bet to 7,500. Thomas five bet shoved for 21,500 and Sikora tank folded. Geissert made the call instantly.
Bjorn Geissert:
Russell Thomas:
The board ran out and Thomas hit the rail. Sikora later admitted to having folded pocket tens. Thomas wouldn't be alone on the outskirts, he was joined by the following players who also busted:
Lasse Nielsen opened to 1,600 and Jonathan Little defended his big blind to see a heads-up flop of . Little check-raised from 1,500 to 4,700 and was called by Nielsen before betting the turn for 12,000. Nielsen called and the pot was already 35,000 chips by then.
The river completed the board and Little fired 21,000 to receive a reluctant call from Nielsen, showing for a full house. Nielsen mucked and Little's stack is not so little anymore.
Kevin Lee Sharp opened from the button to 1,600 and Ludovic Riehl called in the big blind to see a flop of . Sharp continued for 1,800 and Riehl check-called before they checked down the turn and the river. Riehl showed and that won the pot.
Soon after, he opened to 2,000 from the small blind and Russell Thomas three-bet from one seat over for 4,700 to enforce a fold. Many small pots so far and Riehl isn't taking too much risk early on Day 2 with his big stack.
We missed the hand as it unfolded, but we do know that Mike "Timex" McDonald, who is just two days removed from winning the €25K High Roller here at the EPT12 Malta, just busted poker pro Ismael Bojang.
It appeared McDonald put Bojang to the test on the river with the board reading . Bojang tanked for a solid two minutes before calling off with for two pair, but it was no good as McDonald had flopped a set with the .
Bojang wished the table luck and then took his leave from the tournament.
While walking through the tournament area, Rasmus Agerskov was talking with fellow Dane Frederik Jensen and confirmed his elimination as follows. Kurganov opened from under the gun and picked up three callers including Agerskov in the big blind. On the flop, all three players checked.
Agerskov led 6,100 on the turn and just Kurganov called before a fell on the river. Agerskov shoved the rest of his stack with two pair, Kurganov called with a rivered set of jacks.
While we're busy covering Day 2 of the EPT Malta Main Event, there is a slew of side events on offer today here at the Portomaso Casino. As PokerStars recently pointed out in a media release, the biggest turnout will certainly be in the ever-popular €2,000 NL Holdem event. A €200 One Rebuy/One Add super satellite is running for that at 11 a.m. British pro Stephen Chidwick took down the EPT11 Malta edition for €102,100 after defeating a 315-strong field.
There are plenty of other smaller buy-in tourneys on the schedule today as well including a €1,000 NL Turbo, the first-ever EPT €5,000 10-Game Mix ,and €500 Quintuple Draw events, a €500 PLO Turbo, €300 NL Turbo and €1,000 NL Hyperturbo Bounty.
In addition, the EPTLive kicked off today and will be offering coverage – in at least nine languages - from now until the cards-up final table on October 31 (subject to a one-hour security delay). Hosts James Hartigan, Joe Stapleton and Matt Broughton, will be mixing up live commentary & studio guest appearances with quizzes, promotions and much more.
Finally, today is the last day of the €50 live Spin & Go tourneys that have been running here at EPT Malta since last Friday. Yesterday, the €1,000 jackpot was finally hit with Kristiyan Trchyu from Bulgaria the first to snag the top prize.