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PPC Malta 2022 Live Blog

PPC Malta 2022 Live Blog

Oliver Hutchins Wins the Trophy in the €500K GTD PPC Malta Main Event (€71,000) 04.04.2022 23:46
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Oliver Hutchins Wins 2022 PPC Malta Main Event

United Kingdom’s Oliver Hutchins won the trophy in the €500,000 guaranteed PPC Malta €550 Main Event for €71,000 after a back and forth heads-up battle with Croatia’s Damir Savio.

Hutchins entered the final day near the top of the pack which continued along with one of the bigger stacks until the final table where he eventually shipped the bacon after making a heads-up deal with Savio with a sizeable €13,000 and the coveted PPC trophy still on the line.

The win more than tripled the $25,023 in lifetime live tournament cashes Hutchins has earned. That isn’t to say he didn’t appear calm, cool, and collected as he displayed impeccable skills throughout the event and is known to play a bit online including winning a €109 satellite to initially join the event.

The PPC Malta Main Event provided tremendous value to everyone that cashed, especially those that made the final day, thanks to the 848 entries falling €76,000 shy of meeting the generous €500,000 guarantee slapped on the event.

While the Main Event was certainly the main attraction, the PPC Malta festival as a whole provided a lively environment featuring tons of events away from the tables for its players including a VIP party last night at Portomaso Club 22 with panoramic views that lasted until the early hours of the morning. Additionally, the PPC Malta was littered with tons of low-limit events for everyone to enjoy along with a €2,200 High Roller for those with bigger bankrolls.

Final Table Payouts

PlacePrize
1Oliver HutchinsUnited Kingdom€74,000*
2Damir SavioCroatia€58,000*
3Jingchun YuChina€31,000
4Massimo RossiItaly€21,000
5Wouter SchuurbiersBelgium€16,000
6Federico CirilloItaly€13,000
7Federico PetruzzelliItaly€10,000
8Bradley GudgeonUnited Kingdom€8,000
9Guiseppe DiBellaItaly€6,400

*Reflects heads-up deal.

Final Day Action

The final day began with Massimo Rossi leading the way with 15 survivors, each guaranteed at least a €4,500 payout, competing for the trophy.

Players were hitting the rail at a fast and furious pace to start the day and the final table was set after Savio’s ace-trey held to eliminate Nicolas Plantin on the money bubble in 10th place.

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PPC Malta Final Table

Savio entered the final table with the chip lead with Jingchun Yu and Hitchens as his closest competitors. On the flip end of things, Giuseppe DiBella entered the final table with crumbs in his stack and was the first to go when his queen-jack didn’t hold against the five-four suited held by Federico Cirillo.

Bradley Gudgeon had a bit of a Cinderella story in the making. He certainly had the best ROI in the event having qualified to a PPC Malta Online Day 1 for just €11. He eventually ran out of gas on a bad beat when his cowboys fell to Savio’s big slick to hit the rail in eighth place.

Savio kept the pedal to the medal and very soon after he won a coinflip to eliminate Federico Petruzzelli with his big slick once again winning, this time against his opponent’s jacks.

A bit of time passed before anyone else hit the rail. But then two players crumbled at once in the same hand. The affable Wouter Schuurbiers, who enjoys mixed cash games at Portomaso on a frequent basis and had many of his friends in Malta and from the Malta Poker Fish Facebook group cheering him on in the live stream, jammed queens. Unfortunately for him, Rossi had aces that held. Meanwhile, Cirillo had slightly more than two big blinds while in the big blind and called off with nine-deuce to also end his run in the Main Event.

Both before and after this hand, Rossi was on a rollercoaster ride. His light three-bet jams with hands like queen-five were getting through and definitely loosened some of the action at the table. It appeared that Rossi got his hand caught in the cookie jar when he jammed ace-nine suited with a second-place stack into Savio’s ace-queen. But his nine paired the board and he took the chip lead before things began to fall apart for the Italian poker player.

Rossi paid off Hutchins in one hand before fully doubling him up into the chip lead shortly after leaving himself short on chips. All of a sudden, he was on the rail when his ace-ten suited didn’t hold against the Yu’s queen-jack suited.

Although Yu won that hand, he was the next on the rail when his king-four didn’t get there against Hutchins’ king-queen. A small break took place for heads-up play with Hutchins resuming the action with nearly double the chips of Savio.

Heads-up play was a back-and-forth battle. Hutchins extended his lead and initially appeared to have his opponent on the ropes only for Savio to come back and eventually not only take the lead but have Hutchins on the ropes with a 4:1 chip advantage. Hutchins nearly evened the stacks before regaining the lead and the duo agreed to a deal to reduce the €30,000 gap initially scheduled between first and second places.

The lead continued to go back and forth until stacks were very shallow. Savio jammed with seven-six suited and was outmatched by Hutchin’s queens. Two hands later, Savio jammed king-nine and finished one spot away from the win while collecting a tasty €58,000.

Congrats to Oliver Hutchins on an amazing victory at the PPC Malta!

The PPC Follows Hutchins Back Home to the United Kingdom

For those of you that missed out on the fun, rest assured the partypoker Championships have another stop just around the corner with the £500,000 guaranteed PPC UK at Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham, England from April 29 to May 2. Online Day 1s will also be taking place online at partypoker where you can potentially qualify for as little as $0.01.

PokerListings will also be back at other events throughout the year, so be sure to watch this space.

Final Table Payouts 04.04.2022 22:33
PlacePrize
1Oliver HutchinsUnited Kingdom€74,000*
2Damir SavioCroatia€58,000*
3Jingchun YuChina€31,000
4Massimo RossiItaly€21,000
5Wouter SchuurbiersBelgium€16,000
6Federico CirilloItaly€13,000
7Federico PetruzzelliItaly€10,000
8Bradley GudgeonUnted Kingdom€8,000
9Guiseppe DiBellaItaly€6,400

*Reflects heads-up deal.

Damir Savio Eliminated in 2nd Place (€58,000) 04.04.2022 22:32

Level 41: 400K/800K (800K)

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Damir Savio

It’s all over and Oliver Hutchins is the PPC Malta Main Event champion for €71,000 and the coveted trophy.

Two hands after Hutchins doubled, Damir Savio jammed the button with K 9 for 5.1 million and was called by Hutchins with A 8 .

Savio blanked the 2 2 J 7 Q board to exit the tournament one player shy of the victory in second place for €58,000!

Stay tuned at PokerListings for the recap of the final day of the €500,000 guaranteed PPC Malta €550 Main Event at Portomaso Casino.

Hutchins Doubles with Ladies to Take a Massive Lead 04.04.2022 22:24

Level 41: 400K/800K (800K)

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Damir Savio jammed for 15 million from the button with 7 6 and Oliver Hutchins quickly made the easy call with Q Q from the big blind.

The ladies for Hutchins held as the 7 A A 5 3 rolled off the board. Hutchins held a 4:1 chip advantage after the hand.

Oliver Hutchins: 20.8 million

Damir Savio: 4.7 million

Stacks are Thin 04.04.2022 22:20

Blinds have gone up to 400K/800K with a big blind ante of 800K. The lead swapped twice with small pots and Damir Savio currently is the table captain with 15 million to Oliver Hutchen’s 10 million.

Tides Change Again as Hutchins Doubles Into the Lead 04.04.2022 22:04

Level 40: 300K/600K (600K)

Oliver Hutchins limped from the button with K J and Damir Savio checked back with 10 7 .

The 2 7 2 flop generated tons of action with Savio improving to two pair and Hutchins with a flush draw and over cards. Hutchins Savio check-raised from 650,000 to 1,600,000. Hutchins three-bet jammed for 6,750,000 and Savio called.

It was a coinflip when the money went in. That changed quickly with the J turn improving Hutchins to a better two pair and leaving Savio with two outs on the river to clinch the trophy. The A river completed the board and Hutchins was back in the lead.

Oliver Hutchins – 15.3 million

Damir Savio – 10.2 million

Bottom Two Pair for Savio 04.04.2022 21:52

Level 39: 250K/500K

Oliver Hutchins completed from the small blind with K 10 and Damir Savio checked back with 4 2 . Savio check-raised the 10 2 4 from 750,000 to 2,150,000 and Hutchins called.

Savio bet 2.2 million on Q turn and that’s as far as it went with Hutchins laying down his hand.

Damir Savio – 15.9 million

Oliver Hutchins – 9.6 million

Savio Takes the Lead 04.04.2022 21:42

Level 39: 250K/500K (500K)

Damir Savio limped from the small blind with J 10 and Oliver Hutchins checked his option with K 7 from the big blind. Hutchins check-called for 500,000 on the 2 Q 8 flop before checking again on the 6 turn. Savio fired out for 1,500,000 and took the chip lead after Savio folded.

Damir Savio – 13.2 million

Oliver Hutchins – 12.3 million

Entries: 2/848

Deal Agreed During Break 04.04.2022 21:35

Oliver Hutchins and Damir Savio agreed to a deal during the break with €13,000 and the trophy to be played for. Hutchins secured €61,000, while Savio is guaranteed at least €58,000.

Break Time 04.04.2022 21:21

Players are on what is likely their final break of the tournament.

Stacks Near Even 04.04.2022 21:20

Level 38: 200K/400K (400K)

Damir Savio raised the button with A J to 800,000 and was called by Oliver Hutchins with A 7 . Hutchins check-called for 500,000 on the A 5 9 flop and for 1,750,000 on the 4 turn. Both players checked the 3 river and the stacks were close to even after the hand.

Oliver Hutchins – 13.5 million

Damir Savio – 12 million

Entries: 2/848

Sick River Read by Hutchins 04.04.2022 21:10

Level 39: 200K/400K (400K)

Oliver Hutchins limped from the small blind with 10 5 and was called by Damir Savio with 7 5 . Both players checked the 6 2 4 flop as well as the A turn.

The 3 river could have been a huge action card as Hutchins improved to a straight and only Savio’s exact cards were beating him for a better straight. Savio bet 1,500,000 and Hutchins opted to merely call. Hutchins’ intuition was correct and even though he lost the pot it could have been for much more.

Oliver Hutchins – 16,950,000

Damir Savio – 8,525,000

Savio on Fumes 04.04.2022 20:58

Level 38: 150K/300K (300K)

Oliver Hutchins raised to 600,000 from the button with Q 2 and was called by Damir Savio with K 9 .

Both players checked the 4 7 2 flop and the 7 turn. Savio bet 1,250,000 on the J river. Hutchins went into the tank for several minutes before he made the call to win the pot and extend his lead. Blinds went up after this hand to 200K/400K with a big blind ante of 400K.

Oliver Hutchins – 21 million

Damir Savio – 4.2 million

Small Pots Adding Up 04.04.2022 20:38

Oliver Hutchins has won a few small pots since heads-up began to extend his chip lead.

PlayerChipsBig Blinds
Oliver Hutchins       19,700,000 66
Damir Savio         5,775,000 19
Jingchun Yu Eliminated in 3rd Place (€31,000) 04.04.2022 20:23

Level 38: 150K/300K (300K)

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Fireworks erupted during the very first hand after players came back from the break. Jingchun Yu jammed for 5.4 million from the small blind and was called by Oliver Hutchens from the big blind.

Jingchun Yu: K 4

Oliver Hutchins: K Q

Hutchins stayed ahead of Yu the entire way with the A 3 7 K A rolling out on the board to eliminate Yu in third place and begin heads-up play against Damir Savio with a nearly 2:1 chip advantage.

Both Hutchins and Savio have locked up a massive €51,000 prize regardless of how the heads-up action ends. They are playing for 30 bags more with a whopping €81,000 and the coveted trophy on the line for the winner.

Oliver Hutchins: 16.1 million

Damir Savio: 9.4 million

Jingchun Yu: 0

Entries: 2/848

Short Break 04.04.2022 20:04

The final three players are on a short 15-minute break. Blinds will increase to 150K/300K with a big blind ante of 300K when the action resumes.

Massimo Rossi Eliminated in 4th Place (€21,000) 04.04.2022 19:35

Level 37: 125K/250K (250K)

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Jingchun Yu limped the button with Q J . Massimo Rossi jammed for more than 10 big blinds with A 10 and Yu called.

Yu stood up after he took the lead in the hand with top pair on the 7 6 Q flop and Rossi stood up before the 4 followed on the turn. The 10 river gave Rossi a pair but it wasn’t good enough to save him from exiting the tournament in fourth place for €21,000.

Jingchun Yu – 8,000,000

Massimo Rossi – 0

Entries: 3/848

Hutchins Extends Chip Lead 04.04.2022 19:25

Level 37: 125K/250K (250K)

Oliver Hutchins opened for 525,000 from the button with A K and Jingchun Yu opted to come along for the ride from the big blind with 9 5 .

Yu check-called for 325,000 on the 4 3 2 flop. Yu improved to top pair on the 9 turn and both players checked to the K river which improved Hutchins a better pair. Yu checked before he snap-called a bet of 525,000 by Hutchins. Hutchins grew his chip stack to 11,600,000 after the hand.

Field: 4/848

Hutchins Doubles Through Rossi Into the Lead 04.04.2022 19:04

Level 36: 100K/200K (200K)

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Oliver Hutchins

Oliver Hutchins just doubled into the chip lead in a hand against Massimo Rossi as follows:

Hutchins opened for 400,000 from the cutoff with J 9 and Rossi defended with J 4 from the big blind. Rossi hit bottom pair on the 4 9 7 flop and check-called a bet of 500,000 by Hutchins who improved to top pair.

Rossi checked again on the 7 turn. Hutchins fired out for 1,100,000. Rossi jammed his then table captain stack and Hutchins called off for 3,150,000.

Rossi was unable to hit his two-outer on the 5 river and Hutchins doubled into the chip lead.

Oliver Hutchins – 8,450,000

Massimo Rossi – 4,875,000

Field: 4/848

Full House for Hutchins 04.04.2022 18:42

Level 36: 100K/200K (200K)

Massimo Rossi opened with A 2 from the small blind to 450,000 and Oliver Hutchins defended with Q 9 from the big blind.

Both players checked the 8 4 4 flop. Hutchins connected with his queen on the Q turn but it was Rossi the one to act with a bet of 400,000. Hutchins called and the 4 completed the board on the river to give Hutchins a full house.

Rossi checked before Hutchins fired out for 1,050,000. Rossi snap-called and paid off Hutchins.

Massimo Rossi – 11,500,000

Oliver Hutchins – 5,300,000

Field: 4/848

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