What To Expect on Day 4 of The Festival in Malta
They say that time flies when you’re having fun or you’re very busy. Perhaps both apply in this instance, as we have now reached the fourth day of The Festival in Malta.
Day 3 was a very busy one which at the start of the day hard 10 events on its schedule, but this grew by 10% before the end of the day, as due to popular demand, a new nightly €125 NLH Turbo was added, not only to yesterday’s itinerary, but every day up to and including Saturday.
So what’s in store for Day 4 of The Festival? It’s another busy day of course (aren’t they all?) and the action begins at midday. Here’s a guide for what’s on today.
| Start Time | Event # | Buy-In | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 | 8 | €550 | MAIN EVENT DAY 1B - 12 Levels (9 handed) |
| 13:00 | 1 | Closed | The Hendon Mob Championship Day 2 |
| 14:00 | 16 | €125 | 8-Game |
| 16:00 | 17 | €125 | Blackjack Championships |
| 17:00 | 18 | €1,100 | PLO High Roller |
| 19:00 | 19 | €70 | Satellite to Main Event |
| 20:00 | 20 | €250 | Cash Game Challenge €2/2 PLO |
| 20:30 | Added Event | €125 | Tuesday Madness NLH Turbo |
| 21:00 | 21 | €150 | Turbo Satelite to TX NL Highroller (2 Tickets guaranteed) |
| 22:30 | 22 | €250 | Cash Game Challenge €2/2 Texas |
Marquee Events
The Mixed Games Main Event is now over but both The Hendon Mob Championship (THMC) and the Main Event are still ongoing.
THMC resumes at 1pm and will conclude today, with the winner also securing a package to Hendon Mob event in Cape Town. There are 81 players left in contention for the title and the massive chip leader is none other than The Festival in Rozvadov Main Event Winner Presiyan Tsvetanov from Bulgaria. He ended Day 1c with a chip stack of 425k, with his nearest challenger today starting on 282k.
But before THMC begins, cards will be in the air at noon for the second starting day of the Main Event. The first starting day on Tuesday was relatively quiet with 40 players entering. But with many more players now safely arrived in the island, today’s field is expected to be considerably busier.
Side Events
There are three side events today for players to get stuck into. The first of the day to begin is one for mixed game fans, the €125 8-Game at 2pm. The next side event at 5pm is the Pot Limit Omaha High Roller with a €1,100 buy-in.
Finally, at 8.30pm, the newly added Wednesday Madness will start, a €125 No Limit Hold’em tournament. The Festival’s very own Karev Tralla won Tuesday’s version of this tournament and his victory celebration was in keeping with the name of the tournament, as he sprinted wildly out of the room when he spiked a two-outer to take the title.
Blackjack Tournament
Today’s casino games tournament is the €125 blackjack tournament, which begins at 3pm and will take place on the stage of the main tournament room upstairs.
Blackjack tournaments are a lot of fun, much more so than the usual cash version of the game. It’s not just a pure gambling game, when blackjack is played as a tournament, betting strategy is the most important factor in determining who wins.
The object is not to beat the dealer (well it is, but there’s more to it than that), but to beat your opponents, by ending the session with more chips than your opponents. This brings up some unusual situations that might seem crazy to regular players, like doubling on a total of 20 on the final hand of the tournament, if that is what it takes to win.
To find out the full rules of tournament blackjack and how it works, here’s an article we wrote earlier this year which explains it in great detail.
Satellites
There are two satellites on Wednesday. The first is a €70 Main Event qualifier at 7pm, with 3 x €550 seats guaranteed.
Then at 9pm there is a €150 buy-in satellite to the NLH €1,100 High Roller.
The cash game challenge also continues this evening and at 9pm there’s another session of Franke’s Flip Flops.
Coverage
The live blog continues today and as always we are delivering a variety of different types of content on The Festival Series social media channels, with coverage fronted by Andreas 'Wiseguy' Hoglund and Vaclac "Lemon" Dusek. Click on the icons below to begin a journey of discovery, where you will find, interviews, video montages, shorts and even some funnies.
