Who Will Reach the Final Table of the 2022 Unibet Open Malta €1,100 Main Event?
After the conclusion of the three starting days at the five-star Intercontinental Hotel in St. Julians, a field of 359 entries has been whittled down to the last 119 hopefuls. They will aim to reach the money stages of the 2022 Unibet Open Malta €1,100 Main Event and 47 of them shall succeed with the action recommencing at 12 pm local time.
The returning blinds for level 12 will be 1,000-2,500 with a big blind ante of 2,500 and the current average is at just over 90,000 (36 big blinds). Oliver Said has more than three times chips at his disposal and will return with 288,000. Italy's Giulio Spampinato sits in second place with 260,000 and is the only other contender returning with more than 100 big blinds, ahead of Poland's Szymon Bujok (226,500).
French Unibet ambassador Arnaud Enselme is fourth on the overall leaderboard with 212,500 and leads a trio of brand representatives. David Lappin (29,500) and Dara O'Kearney (24,500) return among the shortest stacks in the field but it wouldn't be a surprise if either of them would use their vast experience to scrape into the payouts.
Notables with above-average stacks include Lennart Dijkkamp (181,000), Baard Dahl (163,000), Day 1c chip leader Julius Kettunen (162,000), Mark Vella (147,500), Mats Karlsson (142,000), Domenico Gala (138,000), Tomasz Brzezinski (137,500), and Eszter Fabian (92,500).
Top Ten Chip Counts Heading into Day 2
| Position | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oliver Said | Malta | 288,000 | 115 |
| 2 | Giulio Spampinato | Italy | 260,000 | 104 |
| 3 | Szymon Bujok | Poland | 226,500 | 91 |
| 4 | Arnaud Enselme | France | 212,500 | 85 |
| 5 | Filip Holmqvist | Sweden | 200,000 | 80 |
| 6 | Jon Per Persent | Norway | 188,000 | 75 |
| 7 | Hasmukh Khodiyara | United Kingdom | 183,000 | 73 |
| 8 | Lukasz Sadlon | Poland | 181,500 | 73 |
| 9 | Lennart Dijkkamp | Netherlands | 181,000 | 72 |
| 10 | Tony Westby | Norway | 181,000 | 72 |
According to tournament staff, the money bubble is expected to burst prior to the second break of the day and the action will recommence at noon local time. The goal of Day 2 is reaching the nine-handed final table, which may turn today's activities into an endurance challenge. All levels will last 60 minutes each and those bowing out can jump into a Pot-Limit Omaha Side Event or the €550 The Chip Race Mystery Bounty tournament.
After the first break of the day, the live stream action on the Unibet Poker Twitch and YouTube channels will be available as well with a 30-minute delay for the cards-up coverage and commentary. The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor throughout the day to provide as many key hands as possible en route to crowning a new Unibet Open champion this weekend.