Welcome back to the PokerListings’ coverage of the 2022 Malta Poker Festival (MPF) Autumn Edition €550 Grand Event Powered by partypoker with Day 1d set to kick off at 2 p.m. CEST. A turbo Day 1e flight is scheduled for 9 p.m. but it is possible that this is pushed back a little to accommodate the massive field expected for Day 1d and the side events.
We will not be going out on a limb anymore to say that the €500,000 guarantee on the Grand Event is merely a placeholder based on the first three opening flights attracting 782 entries. A total of 202 players have already found their bag into tomorrow's Day 2.
The Grand Event features five opening flights from Oct. 26-29. Those surviving from any open flights will compete for two more days on Oct. 30-31 until a winner is eventually crowned on Halloween. The first four opening flights, including today’s Day 1d, boast 13 blind levels of 40-minutes each giving players plenty of time to build a massive stack. Players start with a monstrous stack of 50,000 in chips for 500 big blinds during the first blind level. The final opening flight will be a turbo-charged affair boasting 20-minute blind levels. This flight has another major difference as Day 1e will play down to 26% of the field based on the average amount of survivors during the first three opening flights instead of 13 blind levels.
The MPF is all about the players as can be evidenced in the fact that this event doesn’t feature unlimited re-entries and late registration closing at a reasonable time after Level 8 of each day. That being said, if players have some bad luck early on and don’t want to wait for another opening flight to get back into the Grand Event, they can re-enter twice each day before late registration closes.
Those finding a bag during any of the opening flights will enjoy an even deeper structure with 50-minute blinds on Day 2 and even longer 60-minute blind levels on the final day.
Players can also join a contest hosted by PokerDeals where they can win back their €550 buy-in along with plenty of other goodies. There will be flyers with instructions at each table about how to participate.
Greece’s Anastasios Apostolou with 539,000 bagged the overall chip lead followed by Day 1a chip leader Daniel Taylor with 519,000 in chips.
Day 1d of the MPF Grand Event kicks off at 2 p.m. CEST and is estimated to end about 11 hours later at 1 a.m. Check out the structure for all the opening flights below.
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | Ante |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 2 | 100 | 200 | 200 |
| 3 | 200 | 300 | |
| 15-Minute Break | |||
| 4 | 200 | 400 | 400 |
| 5 | 300 | 600 | 600 |
| 6 | 400 | 800 | 800 |
| 75-Minute Dinner Break | |||
| 7 | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| 8 | 600 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
| 15-Minute Break | |||
| 9 | 800 | 1,600 | 1,600 |
| 10 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| 11 | 1,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 |
| 15-Minute Break | |||
| 12 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 3,000 |
| 13 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 |
The MPF Grand Event is the cornerstone of the festival. However, there are plenty of side events, satellites, and around-the-clock cash games in different formats and stakes to provide something for every poker player.
The second and final day of The Hendon Mob €225 championship is underway with four tables left. Among the players in the mix is Malta Poker Fish administrator and good friend to this author Antoine Degiorgio. We wish him and all the remaining players the best of luck in pursuit of the title.
Also taking place today at 4 p.m. is the €100 Ladies First! hosted by Grosvenor Poker ambassador Katie Swift. Ladies' events are always full of energy and we hope the entire field enjoys their experience. We also wish Swift better luck than yesterday. She was in the Day 1c field and survived having her aces cracked once. But the second time this happened was fatal and unfortunately, she was on the rail.
The two-day €120 APAT kicks off its opening day a little later at 5 p.m.
Last, but not least, there will be a €150 CoinCasino CUP satellite awarding seats into tomorrow's €1,100 CoinCasino CUP.
Here is a look at the full schedule of the 2022 Malta Poker Festival Autumn Edition:
| Date | Time | Buy-in | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 24 | 7 p.m. | €60 | Opening Satellite to MPF Grand Event |
| Oct. 25 | 6 p.m. | €230 | HORSE Powered by Cardplayer Lifestyle |
| 7 p.m. | €60 | Satellite to MPF Grand Event | |
| 9 p.m. | €100 | NL Texas Special | |
| Oct. 26 | 2 p.m. | €550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1a Powered by partypoker |
| 7 p.m. | €60 | Satellite to MPF Grand Event | |
| 9 p.m. | €150 | MPF One Bullet | |
| Oct. 27 | 2 p.m. | €550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1b Powered by partypoker |
| 5 p.m. | €230 | Bounty Hunter Days Malta | |
| 8 p.m | €60 | Satellite to MPF Grand Event | |
| Oct. 28 | 2 p.m. | €550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1c Powered by partypoker |
| 4 p.m. | €225 | The HendonMob Championship Day 1 | |
| 6 p.m. | €60 | Satellite to MPF Grand Event | |
| 8 p.m. | €150 | Deepstack Fulltilt Catania | |
| Oct. 29 | 1 p.m. | The HendonMob Championship Day 2 | |
| 2 p.m. | €550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1d Powered by partypoker | |
| 4 p.m. | €100 | Ladies First! Hosted by Katie Swift | |
| 5 p.m. | €120 | APAT Maltese Championship Day 1 | |
| 8 p.m. | €150 | CasinoCoin CUP Satellite | |
| 9 p.m. | €550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1e Turbo Powered by partypoker | |
| Oct. 30 | 1 p.m. | MPF Grand Event Day 2 Powered by partypoker | |
| 2 p.m. | APAT Maltese Championship Day 2 | ||
| 2 p.m. | €150 | CasinoCoin CUP Turbo Satellite | |
| 4 p.m. | €1,100 | CasinoCoin Cup Day 1 | |
| 5 p.m. | €150 | Sunday Deep Stack by Stanley Bet | |
| 7 p.m. | €200 | PLO Knight Crusaders | |
| 8 p.m. | €330 | The PartyPoker Cup | |
| Oct. 31 | 2 p.m. | MPF Grand Event Day 3 Powered by partypoker | |
| 2 p.m. | €1,100 | CasinoCoin Cup Day 2 | |
| 3 p.m. | €120 | Bounty Hunter Days Progressive Closer | |
| 7 p.m. | €150 | Win the Spooky Cross Hosted by Ivonne Montealegre |
Our coverage will kick off when cards are in the air for Day 1d shortly after 2 p.m. Stay tuned to PokerListings for all of your updates.
