Grand Prix Malta 1M GTD – Day 1a is Dead, Long Live Day 1b!

Day 1a of the €1m Party Poker Grand Prix wrapped in early hours of Sunday morning, with 229 entrants taking advantage of the cut-price starting flight. The 34 players who were fortunate to make it through to day 2 can now take a break until October 1st when day 2 takes place, but for everyone else, there’s another bargain-basement priced starting day taking place today. The format of the event is structured so that each starting day concludes when 15% of the field remain, therefore the end time of each starting day varies a little.

It was almost 2am when play stopped in the opening flight, with Spaniard David Salamanca Calero holding the chip lead, on an impressive 909k. No far behind in second place is his compatriot Guillermo Alejandro Giner Ceballos with an 876k stack. The two Iberians are head and shoulders above the rest of the day 1a survivors, with Finland’s Juuso Keskitalo a distant third on 674k.

Win Your way In

Satellites are a significant part of the festival schedule and for many players its the only way to get to play in an event that is outside their usual bankroll. In fact most players are under-rolled for big festivals, making it a great choice for pretty much everyone. Who doesn’t like getting in for less by winning a satellite seat?

With the Grand Prix opening flights resuming on Thursday along with the start of the Party Poker MILLIONS, there’s several days left to bag a seat into a big prize-money event. There’s at least two satellites scheduled every day from Monday until Saturday, including two to MILLIONS and one to the Hydra High Roller, while most of the satellites feed into the Grand Prix.

Party Poker MILLIONS Festival Live Satellites
Start Time | Event # | Event | Buy-In
Monday 25th September
18:00 | #5 | Step Satellite to event #11 (MILLIONS satellite) | €50+€10
21:00 | #7 | Grand Prix Satellite | €60+€10
Tuesday 26th September
18:00 | #8 | Grand Prix Satellite | €60+€10
16:00 | #11 | MILLIONS Satellite | €300+€30
Wednesday 27th September
15:00 | #12 | Satellite to Hydra High Roller | €500+€50
21:00 | #15 | MILLIONS Satellite | €300+€30
22:00 | #16 | Grand Prix Satellite (Hyper Turbo) | €60+€10
Thursday 28th September
15:00 | #17 | Grand Prix Satellite (Hyper Turbo) | €60+€10
21:00 | #20 | Grand Prix Satellite | €60+€10
Friday 29th September
15:00 | #21 | Grand Prix Satellite | €60+€10
21:00 | #22 | Grand Prix Satellite (Hyper Turbo) | €60+€10
Saturday 30th September
15:00 | #24 | Grand Prix Satellite | €60+€10
22:00 | #26 | Grand Prix Satellite (Hyper Turbo) | €60+€10

Side Events

With the Party Poker Grand Prix starting days taking a break until Thursday, the festival focuses on side events for the next couple of days, with the €5,300 Hydra Entertainment High Roller starting on Wednesday. On Monday the key side event is a €225+€25, starting at 8pm, while the HORSE and Ladies events both take place on Tuesday.

The full festival schedule can be viewed here.

Jonathan Raab

MILLIONS Malta Media guru