Igor Kurganov had to admit defeat on the river in hand versus Joao Vieira, helping the latter to claim an early chip lead.
Around 34,000 had made it into the middle by the time the board rested as . Viera checked to face a 25,000 be that put him in the tank. Two minutes later he check-raised all in for 58,000. The game was up for Kurganov and he folded.
The EPT Malta Welcome Party is taking place at Shadow Lounge, St Georges Road, Paceville from 9 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, March 21. All EPT Malta players are welcome!
Thomas Muehloeckerr raised to 600 from the hijack and Dimitar Danchev defended his big blind to see a flop of . Danchev proceeded to check-call a bet of 750, and then check-called on of 2,150 on the turn.
The former PCA champ checked for a third time on the river, and Muehloecker bet again, this time 4,850. Danchev called and Muehloecker confidently rolled over the for kings and fours with an ace kicker. It was no good though as Danchev held a superior two pair with the .
With around 2,500 in the pot and a flop of , Patrick Leonard checked from the big blind and Atanas Malinov did the same from the hijack. Andrey Shatilov then bet 1,300 from the button, Leonard called, and Malinov check-raised to 4,700. Shatilov folded, and Leonard pushed back with a raise to 14,775.
Malinov gave it some thought, but ultimately released his cards.
This High Roller has been no different to others in terms of aggressive play from the first card pitched. A mixture of high quality play, deep pockets and the prospect of re-entering if it all goes wrong are keys factors that point towards this approach. As the first levels nears an end though, not many hands have made it to showdown, despite piles of chips finding their way into the middle.
Andrew Chen's good start has been halted slightly by Igor Kurganov. Chen raised to 600 from the button and Kurganov defended his big blind to see a flop where he check-raised Chen's 600 c-bet up to 2,000. Chen called and called another 3,600 on the turn. The board completed with the and Kurganov led for 9,200. Chen tanked for a few minutes and folded.
Marin Finger and Thomas Muehloecker were two of the latest to join the fray.
Perennial high roller Steve O'Dwyer has made his way to Malta. Just a few days back, O'Dwyer was in Macau for the Macau Poker Cup 22, which is where he won the HK$20,000 No-Limit Hold'em Event, a three-day tournament that attracted a field of 237 players and created a prize pool of HK$4,138,020.
The ACOP Super High Roller champ and former World Series of Poker Main Event Octo-Niner Russell Thomas squared off in heads-up play, and it was O'Dwyer who bested his opponent to take down the HK$993,120 ($128,000 USD) first-place prize.
In this tournament, O'Dwyer opened for 600 from early position only to have Patrick Leonard three-bet to 2,000 from the small blind. O'Dwyer made the call, the flop came down , and Leonard bet 1,400. O'Dwyer called and then bet 3,200 after Leonard checked the turn. A call was made and then Leonard checked for a second time on the river.
O'Dwyer took the opportunity to up his bet to 12,000, and it did the trick as Leonard released his cards after thinking for approximately a minute.
Sorel Mizzi turned up and took seat to the left of Pratyush Buddiga while he was battling in a hand with Andrew Chen, who has been the most active player so far today.
A minimum three bets had made it in preflop before Buddiga called a 2,500 bet from Chen with the flop reading . Buddiga called before both players checked the turn. Another ten came with the river and Chen bet 5,000. Buddiga didn't take long to release his hand.
While this hand was playing out, Jeff Rossiter joined table Steve O'Dwyer and David Peters while Dan Smith and Sam Greenwood joined Stephen Chidwick and Philipp Gruissem's table.
. Viera checked to face a 25,000 be that put him in the tank. Two minutes later he check-raised all in for 58,000. The game was up for Kurganov and he folded.
![[user153638]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. Danchev proceeded to check-call a bet of 750, and then check-called on of 2,150 on the 
turn.
river, and Muehloecker bet again, this time 4,850. Danchev called and Muehloecker confidently rolled over the 
for kings and fours with an ace kicker. It was no good though as Danchev held a superior two pair with the 
.
, Patrick Leonard checked from the big blind and Atanas Malinov did the same from the hijack. Andrey Shatilov then bet 1,300 from the button, Leonard called, and Malinov check-raised to 4,700. Shatilov folded, and Leonard pushed back with a raise to 14,775.
flop where he check-raised Chen's 600 c-bet up to 2,000. Chen called and called another 3,600 on the 
turn. The board completed with the 
and Kurganov led for 9,200. Chen tanked for a few minutes and folded.
turn. A call was made and then Leonard checked for a second time on the 
river.
. Buddiga called before both players checked the 
turn. Another ten came with the 
river and Chen bet 5,000. Buddiga didn't take long to release his hand.
