€5,300 Main Event Dia 5 | 2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 11 Malta

2015-03-27 14:47 UTC+2

Sergio Aido Eliminated in 15th Place (€40,100)

Nível 25 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante

Sergio Aido will not be Spain's first ever EPT champion here in Malta after a cooler cost him his tournament life.

He was down to 967,000 when he committed his stack preflop with but ran into Jean Montury and his . The board ran .

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Jean Montury	3,300,000 1,142,000	1,142,000

Sergio Aido	Eliminado

Tags: Jean Montury Sergio Aido

2015-03-27 14:42 UTC+2

Koray Aldemir Eliminated in 16th Place €35,800

Nível 25 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante

Antonin Duda is back on Fedor Holz's heels after he eliminated Koray Aldemir in 16th place.

The German raised from the hijack and was called by Antonin Duda and Hossein Ensan in the blinds. The flop fanned and Aldemir continued for 75,0000. Ensan folded after Duda check-raised to 160,000 but Aldemir called. He called another 190,000 on the turn and then called off his remaining 341,000 on the river.

Duda opened ace-jack for two pair beating Aldemir's .

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Antonin Duda	4,700,000 900,000	900,000
Koray Aldemir	Eliminado

Tags: Antonin Duda Hossein Ensan Koray Aldemir

2015-03-27 14:13 UTC+2

Three Champions Looking to Make Poker History

Nível 25 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante

There are some fascinating stories that could emerge over the next two days in the Main Event. Three players have already left their mark on the poker world but, after tasting success, are hungry for more of the same.

Dominik Panka turns 24 today and will want to make it a birthday to remember. The PokerStars Sponsored player took down one of world’s “majors” when he defeated Mike "Timex" McDonald in an epic heads-up battle at the 2014 PCA to win more than $1.4 million.

One of his birthday wishes today might’ve been to secure an early double up, and he’s managed just that, increasing his stack by more than 375,000 already, before dropping back a little.

Panka is not the only former EPT champion in the field today. Robin Ylitalo took down EPT London in Season 10 for more than $900,000 and would love to be the first man to do an EPT double. He spoke to PokerNews before play this morning.

“It would mean a lot and would be pretty big to win again. Pretty boring that I can’t be the first overall double champion but it would be cool to be the first man to do the double.

“My plan for the day is to wait a bit and get a feel for how it starts off and see what happens. I only have 30 big blinds so there’s not that much play left, but I’ll see what the other guys do and then maybe I’ll start to loosen up a bit.”

Ylitalo, being Swedish, couldn’t help but get involved early on. He doubled up Bart Kuiper before making a recovery to more than a million chips, partly due to eliminating his countryman, Bjorn Lundgren.

Another major story that could emerge is that of German starlet, Fedor Holz. The 21 year-old is already an online legend after he took down the 2014 WCCOP Main Event on PokerStars for $1,820,700 and he’s just returned to the #1 spot in the world in the PocketFives Online Poker Rankings.

PokerNews asked him what it would feel like to add a major live title and his transition from online to live play.

“It would mean a lot more actually. I’m so excited right now as live play is so much more intense with more emotions. I think a lot of it is to do with the longer time period.

“I actually enjoy live poker more than online. I like both quite a lot, but live gives me the opportunity to think about hands in a more in-depth way. Overall I found the transition from online quite easy.

“My plan for today is to just try and play my best game. I want to play good and take each situation on as it arises and see what happens!”

The Main Event is down to its last two tables and all three players are still in the hunt and aiming to make poker history.

Tags: PokerNews Live Blog Feature Dominik Panka Fedor Holz Robin Ylitalo

2015-03-27 13:48 UTC+2

Rudolf Wilhelm Zintel Eliminated in 17th Place (€35,800)

Nível 25 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante

Jean Montury opened for 60,000 from early position and Mateusz Moolhuizen called from the button. Rudolf Wilhelm Zintel then three-bet all in for 375,000 from the big blind, Montury shoved all in over the top, and Moolhuizen got out of the way.

Montury:
Zintel:

Zintel had some major kicker issues, though he picked up a little hope when the flop gave him a gutshot straight draw. The turn took away an out as Montury picked up a club draw to go with his top pair. The dealer burned one last time and put out the . Zintel missed and exited in 17th place, which means it's time for the two-table redraw.

Players will take a 10-minute break while this is done.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Jean Montury	2,200,000 837,000	837,000

Rudolf Wilhelm Zintel	Eliminado

Tags: Jean Montury Rudolf Wilhelm Zintel Mateusz Moolhuizen

2015-03-27 13:39 UTC+2

Jorma Nuutinen Eliminated in 18th Place (€31,500)

Nível 25 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante

Jorma Nuutinen opened with a raise from early position and then called when Antonin Duda three-bet to 130,000 from the cutoff. The flop saw Nuutinen check, Duda bet 155,000, and Nuutinen check-raise all in. Duda snap-called and when the cards were tabled it was no surprise why the chips went in.

Nuutinen:
Duda:

Nuutinen had flopped a set, but it was no good as Duda flopped the nut straight. Nuutinen was looking to pair the board, but it wasn't meant to be as the blanked on the turn followed by the on the river.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Antonin Duda	4,350,000 874,000	874,000
Jorma Nuutinen	Eliminado

Tags: Jorma Nuutinen Antonin Duda

2015-03-27 13:31 UTC+2

Bjorn Lundgren Eliminated in 20th Place (€31,500)

Nível 25 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante

EPT10 London champ Robin Ylitalo raised from early position only to have Bjorn Lundgren three-bet all in for 164,000 from the button. The blinds both folded, and Ylitalo made the call.

Ylitalo:
Lundgren:

Lundgren was behind, and his spot got even worse when the flop gave Ylitalo top pair with a flush draw. The turn paired Lundgren, but it was fruitless as Ylitalo made his flush. The meaningless was put out on the river for good measure, and then Lundgren made his way to the payout desk in 20th place to collect €31,500.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Robin Ylitalo	1,070,000 382,000	382,000

Bjorn Lundgren	Eliminado

Tags: Bjorn Lundgren Robin Ylitalo

2015-03-27 13:17 UTC+2

Bruno Volkmann Eliminated in 23rd Place (€27,200)

Nível 25 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante

Action folded to Koray Aldemir in the small blind and he moved all in to put the pressure on Bruno Volkmann, who began the day as the second-shortest stack. Volkmann opted to call off and the cards were turned up.

Volkmann:
Aldemir:

Volkmann needed some help, but the flop was anything but as Aldemir flopped a pair of queens. The turn left Volkmann drawing dead, and after the was put out on the river to make it official, Volkmann took his leave in 23rd place for €27,200).

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Koray Aldemir	1,800,000 133,000	133,000
Bruno Volkmann	Eliminado

Tags: Koray Aldemir Bruno Volkmann

2015-03-27 12:19 UTC+2

The Race to the Final Table is On

Welcome back to the penultimate day of the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Main Event. Today's aim for the players is a simple one: make the final table.

Antonin Duda heads into the day as chip leader with 3,476,000. He won two big pots in eliminating Nir Levy in 28th and Alexander Ivarsson in 24th to get there. Levy was unlucky to have his tens beaten by Duda's sixes but Ivarsson was boss of his own destiny, bluffing off his stack to Duda on the last hand of the night.

There was a redraw in the last level of yesterday when the field reached 24 players so there was no need for another one overnight. It can be seen below and play will start with the same feature table. Our two remaining former champions - Dominik Panka and Robin Ylitalo - continue to be sat alongside each other and both have work to do with below average stacks. It's actually Panka's 24th birthday today so here's hoping he suffers no bad beats along the way.

The plan for today is to play to a minimum of eight players remaining but will continue on to six players remaining if less than five levels have been played. Cards will be in the air at noon CET so join the PokerNews reporting team back here then.

Tags: Antonin Duda Dominik Panka Robin Ylitalo