Malaga Madness! Records Continue to Tumble at ESPT/UKIPT Malaga Main Event
Yet another record-breaking day has come to an end at the first-ever ESPT/UKIPT Malaga Main Event at Gran Madrid Casino Torrequebrada with an incredible 409 entries for Day 1c.
Every available table was utilized for the unprecedented demand for action in the Costa Del Sol and the 988 players so far have created the biggest-ever field at an Estrellas Poker Tour event outside EPT Barcelona.
Spaniard Alvaro Paz finished the day as chip leader with an incredible 363,000 chips. A close second is Pia Fransson of Sweden who grew a significant stack early in the day and continued to grow throughout the session. Enrico Iacopetta of Italy closes out the top three.
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alvaro Paz | Spain | 363,000 | 182 |
| 2 | Pia Fransson | Sweden | 346,000 | 173 |
| 3 | Enrico Iacopetta | Italy | 301,500 | 151 |
| 4 | Josep Valls | Andorra | 286,500 | 143 |
| 5 | Jozef Cibicek | Slovakia | 286,000 | 143 |
| 6 | Antonio Alfaia | Portugal | 259,000 | 130 |
| 7 | Kevin Belvedere | Italy | 241,000 | 121 |
| 8 | Simon Wiciak | France | 238,500 | 119 |
| 9 | Alessandro Peinado | Spain | 221,000 | 111 |
| 10 | Jon Ander Vallinas | Spain | 215,000 | 108 |
There was heartbreak for Pokerstars Ambassadors James Hartigan, Barny Boatman, Sam Grafton, and Felix Schneiders who all failed to bag a stack for Day 1c. It remains to be seen if they will reload for the final turbo flight on Friday morning.
The 2023 EPT Barcelona champion Simon Wiciak was the only Pokerstars Pro to make it through to Day 2.
At the time of writing Day 1d has concluded with 59 players advancing from 202 entries. As it stands 270 will return at 5 p.m. local time on Friday to battle for the huge prize pool currently standing at €948,480.
With a turbo flight to come and the ability to buy in direct to Day 2, this event will smash past the 1,000 mark. Keep with PokerNews for all of the latest updates.