It was the biggest single starting day in the history of the Battle of Malta and Eugeny Krikun and Nave Biton definitely took advantage.
When the smoke had cleared there were a total of 883 entries on Day 1c, which pushed the overall field to a record 1,813 entries.
The overall prize pool won’t be released until tomorrow but it should be more than €800,000.
Here’s a look at the approximate top five stacks at the end of play:
1. Eugeny Krikun - 244,200
2. Nave Biton - 239,000
3. Tommi Erik Hirvonen - 222,200
4. Alberto Farah - 194,000
5. Giuseppe Occhipinti - 181,300
Moschitta, Margets Make an Appearance
While the Battle of Malta is primarily focused on recreational players there were several pros who graced us with their presence today.
Most notably Fernando Pons (direct from the November Nine in Las Vegas), Konstantin Puchkov, Claire Renaut and Andreas Hoivold.
Spanish poker pro Leo Margets, who’s a bit of a BOM vet, also joined the action partway into the day.
Famed poker blogger (and sometimes PL.com live updater) Allen Rash, you probably know him as Alcanthang, came all the way from the USA to play his first European Poker Tournament but had the misfortune of getting Margets directly on his left.
Rash avoided living up to his nickname, however, and hung out longer than the aforementioned Margets. He couldn’t escape the rail altogether as he busted in the last 20 minutes of play.
A total of 322 survived Day 1c. They’ll join 89 from Day 1a and 227 from Day 1b.
Tomorrow promises to be the most exciting day yet of the 2016 Battle of Malta as the surviving 638 players from all three of the starting days will reconvene at 1 p.m. to play under the same roof for the first time.
The money bubble will also burst tomorrow, which means we’ll see our first payouts of the 2016 BOM.
You can follow along live via our exclusive Battle of Malta live updates.
Daily Video with Leo Margets, Football Legends and MMA Fighters
Check out the daily highlight video for a look at today's action, a peek at yesterday's sports-betting Q&A with football legends Paul Dickov, Alan McInally and Harry Redknapp and interviews with professional MMA fighters Emil Meek, Kenneth Bergh and Jack Hermansson.
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