Alessandro D'Amodragon tiger rummyre Leads Day 1 of PokerNews Championship

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The €170 PokerNews Championship, hosted at the Malta Poker Festival inside Portomaso Casino, proved to be a resounding success, drawing a field of 291 entries and generating a €41,467 prize pool.

Of those entrants, just 44 players advanced to Day 2, with Italy’s Alessandro D'Amore emerging as the clear frontrunner. He bagged a commanding 580,000 chips to end Day 1 atop the leaderboard, positioning himself firmly in the hunt for the €8,100 first-place prize and the coveted trophy. Close behind are Martin Pedersen (472,000) of Denmark and Germany’s Boysen Nielsen (392,000), rounding out the top three stacks.

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Day 1 wrapped up when industry veteran Kat Arnsby picked up pocket aces and eliminated Jan Stigter on the stone-cold bubble. Stigter’s pocket nines couldn’t improve, and Arnsby’s rockets burst the bubble.

Inside the tournament hall, the atmosphere had a genuine community feel, something the Malta Poker Festival is renowned for fostering. Dozens of players stopped by the PokerNews booth to spin the wheel and win prizes, ensuring that many walked away with a smile, even if they didn’t make Day 2.

However, not everyone was smiling when the chips were bagged. Among those to fall short were several PokerNews employees, including Calum Grant, Milko van Winden, and Daniel Williams. Grant burned through three bullets, showing he's far more dangerous with a notepad than with a chip stack. Van Winden and Williams both survived after late reg closed, but neither could find a bag by the end of the day.

PokerNews Ambassador Lukas Robinson also came up short. “RobinPoker” turned a pair of aces with ace-four, only to be outdrawn by a jack-high straight on the river.

PokerNews Championship Top 10 Chip Counts

Rank	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Alessandro D'Amore	Italy	580,000	73
2	Martin Pedersen	Denmark	472,000	59
3	Boysen Nielsen	Germany	392,000	49
4	Gary Taylor	UK	390,000	49
5	Marion Mizzi	Switzerland	370,000	47
6	Jascha Berger	Switzerland	365,000	46
7	Per Backstrom	Sweden	364,000	46
8	Craig Smith	USA	358,000	45
9	Graham Keith	UK	287,000	36
10	Alexandre Henry	France	265,000	34

With the bubble burst, all 44 remaining players are now guaranteed at least €300, with the bigger money—those four-figure payouts—coming into play once the final table is reached.

Day 2 resumes on Wednesday at 6 p.m. local time, kicking off with Level 14 (blinds 4,000/8,000/8,000 big blind ante).

A huge thank you to everyone who turned up and made the PokerNews Championship such a fun and memorable event. Your energy helped make Day 1 an absolute blast.

And don’t forget! The PokerNews Scavenger Hunt is in full swing at the Malta Poker Festival, with one lucky player set to win a €550 Grand Event ticket this Friday.

Make sure to get involved, as finding your way to free poker glory might be easier than you think.