The Final Starting Day of the MPF Grand Event Starts at 2 PM
The final starting day of the �550 Grand Event of the Malta Poker Festival is set to start at 2 PM local time and is expected to be the busiest starting flight of all of the earlier starting flights. Day 1A attracted 302 entries and Day 1B collect 451 buy-ins making it a total of 753 participants with 142 players who have made it through to Day 2 already.
With the guaranteed prize pool set at �500,000, this will easily be surpassed at the start of the day already. The day will start with a gravity-defying opening ceremony and the shuffle up and deal will be announced by the MPF official host, Cat Winch-Johnson, and the MPF Tournament Director, Danilo De Berardinis.
Still leading into Day 2 is Ondrej Jakubcik with 462,000 in chips which were collected on Day 1A. He is followed by Domenica Gala (329,000), Emanuele Napolitano (320,500), Claudio Pagano (317,000), and Serdar Demircan (300,000). Some of the players expected to try again today include David Lappin, Andy Hills, Ronni Borg, Andrew Hedley, Niko Koop, Fabrice Soulier, Ivo Donev, Leo Worthington-Leese, Anton Morgenstern, and Jon Kyte.
The players entering the final starting flight will start with 25,000 in chips and play 14 levels of 45 minutes each are on the schedule. A 15-minute break will take place after Level 3, 9, and 12 with a 75-minute dinner break after Level 6 or Level 7 depending on which table the player is seated. There is a cap of a maximum of 700 players to be seated at the same time and play will start 9-handed but could change to 10-handed if necessary.
Grand Event Day 1 Structure
| Level | Duration | Small Blind | Big Blind | Ante |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45 | 50 | 100 | - |
| 2 | 45 | 75 | 150 | - |
| 3 | 45 | 100 | 200 | 25 |
| Break | 15 | |||
| 4 | 45 | 150 | 300 | 25 |
| 5 | 45 | 200 | 400 | 50 |
| 6 | 45 | 250 | 500 | 50 |
| Break | 75 | Group 1 | ||
| 7 | 45 | 300 | 600 | 100 |
| Break | 75 | Group 2 | ||
| 8 | 45 | 400 | 800 | 100 |
| 9 | 45 | 500 | 1,000 | 100 |
| Break | 15 | |||
| 10 | 45 | 600 | 1,200 | 200 |
| 11 | 45 | 800 | 1,600 | 200 |
| 12 | 45 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 300 |
| Break | 15 | |||
| 13 | 45 | 1,200 | 2,400 | 300 |
| 14 | 45 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 400 |
Today it��s also time for the MPF Ladies Event at 4 PM with a buy-in of �100. The �1,320 Grandmaster High-Roller is also set to start at 8 PM. Both tournaments can be reentered once and have a capacity of 100 and 150 respectively. The Ladies Event is a one-day event and the High-Roller is set to last two days. But what some players have been looking out for all week, or maybe even started warming up for, is the MPF VIP Player Party at Club Level 22 which is free to attend for all package holders. The club is located in the same building as the Portomaso Casino but has a different entrance and is located on the 22nd floor as the name might have given away already.
Grand Event Schedule
| Day | Date | Starting Time | Late Reg | Entries | Survivors | Further Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | Thursday, November 1 | 14:00 | ~21:30 | 302 | 64 | 75 minute-dinner break after Level 6 |
| 1B | Friday, November 2 | 14:00 | ~21:30 | 451 | 80 | 75 minute-dinner break after Level 6 |
| 1C | Saturday, November 3 | 14:00 | ~21:30 | - | - | 75 minute-dinner break after Level 6 |
| 2 | Sunday, November 4 | 13:00 | N/A | - | - | 20-minute breaks and 75-minute dinner break after Level 23 |
| 3 | Monday, November 5 | 14:00 | N/A | - | - | 20-minute breaks and 75-minute dinner break after Level 35 |
| 4 | Tuesday, November 6 | 14:00 | N/A | tba | - | Play down to a champion |
The PokerNews live reporting team will be on hand to provide you with all the updates as the final players battle their way into Day 2.