Day 1b of the €5,200 Million at the PLO Grand Slam Malta saw a field of84 entries assemble, bringing the total across both starting flights to 152. After its scheduled ten levels were completed, 32 players remained, and they will join the 22 players who progressed on Day 1a. With the guaranteed €1,000,000 prize pool not met yet, more valuehunters are expected to join during the first two levels on Day 2, during which late registration is still possible.
Ending Day 1b atop the counts is Dutchman Jelle de Kroon. The Diamond Poker Series debutant bagged a stack of 1,474,000, good for 147 big blinds when play resumes on Day 2. De Kroon won a big set-over-set pot against Nikolaos Lampropoulos in the middle stages of the day, and only continued stacking chips afterward. Lampropoulos was the first person to hit a seven-figure stack, but he ended the night with 246,000, just over a starting stack.
Anton Suarez was the only other chip millionaire at the end of the night, trailing De Kroon closely with 1,417,000 in chips. Fresh off a cash in the €10,300 Championship, Suarez is looking to make his second deep run of the series, as is Hossein Ensan, who finished in fifth in the Championship and also found a top ten stack at the end of the night.
Hossein Ensan
Meanwhile, Nino Pansier has dominated the side events so far at Casino Malta, finishing runner-up in a 5-Card Turbo event before shipping the 6-Card Turbo event a day later for his second Diamond Poker Series trophy. Pansier finished fifth in the counts of Day 1b as he is looking to add a major PLO Grand Slam title to his awards.
End of Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
Bracelet winners Ermanno Di Nicola (614,000), Gabi Livshitz, and Dario Alioto (387,000) also bagged at the end of the night, as did DIamond Poker Series founder Christian Stratmeyer (495,000) and PLO Grand Slam regulars Leonid Yanovski (627,000), Alexi Skoulos (403,000), and Harry Casagrande (112,000).
Leonid Yanovski
The likes of 2025 PLO Grand Slam Tirana champion Tom-Aksel Bedell, recent runner-up in the Malta Championship Aku Joentausta, and runner-up of the very first €5K Million Pavel Izotov did not make it to the end of the night and will have to buy in on Day 2 if they still want a shot at the trophy.
Day 2 will start at 3 p.m. local time on Saturday, October 18. The late registration will remain open for the first two levels and the break that will follow. All levels will remain 45 minutes in length until the final four players, and the plan is to crown a winner on Day 2.
PokerNews will be back on the floor for the final day of the €5K Million, so tune back in then as the second major PLO Grand Slam Malta champion will be decided.