Bad beat for the servers as EPT Malta bubble extends over dinner
They didn’t realise it, but for a brief period tonight it seemed as though the restaurant wait-staff in the Paceville region of Malta had an almighty sweat on their hands.
The EPT Malta Main Event, taking place in Casino Malta in the heart of this party district, was approaching its money bubble. Three or four players needed to bust before the tournament field reduced to the last 135, all of whom would be in the money.
It’s a €8,400 min-cash here, which meant it was a nervy time for players nursing a short stack and hoping to stick around.
The other complication, however, was the tournament clock, which showed only eight minutes until the 60-minute dinner break was due. If the bubble burst before the dinner break, 135 players would pour into the restaurants knowing they were picking up a tidy profit, and may have been inclined to spread the wealth among the servers.
If the bubble remained intact, however, those same players — plus one or two others — might not want to tempt fate by splashing the cash they hadn’t yet officially secured.
A FLURRY OF ACTION
Suddenly, there was an all-in. Attila Ivacson ran pocket queens into Evaldas Aniulis’s pocket aces. Ivacson was out. Then Steven Van Zadelfoff was also knocked out.
And then another! On the other side of the room, Vidar Oie picked up pocket kings and got it all in against Roman Stoica. But Stoica, like Aniulis, had aces and knocked Oie out.
Attila Ivacson knocked out before dinner
It put the tournament on the stone bubble and the clock had barely moved. There were still eight minutes still left. It was looking good for those servers.
But, alas, no. Tournament director Toby Stone picked up the microphone and delivered some news. The final 136 players should head out into the night eight minutes early and get their dinner now. They’d come back and play the stone bubble when everyone was fed and watered.
In many ways, it was an understandable decision. Tournament officials could take stock, ensure numbers were correct, make sure there was no possibility for error at the most important phase of the event.
It would give dealers, floor-staff and the TV crew the chance to recharge batteries ahead of a period that can often drag on far longer than you might expect.
But, well, there are probably some people who wanted it to go the other way, not least the perilously-positioned Fabio Fedullo. Blinds were 1,500-3,000 and his stack had precisely 3,000 chips. He might not live to see much more than one hand.
AND EVENTUALLY, IT BURSTS…
As it turned out, Fabio Fedullo dramatically made it into the money at EPT Malta, with his seemingly pre-destined role as bubble boy instead taken by one of the world’s best, Ole Schemion.
There were three called all-ins in the immediate moments after the dinner break. On the first, Grzegorz Kozieja doubled with pocket aces through the K♣ Qâ™ of Paolo Boi. Boi check-raised the river looking at a board of 9♦ 7♣ K♦ Jâ™ A♥ , but Kozieja’s set of aces were good.
Then Fedullo had his moment. He was all-in in the big blind and both Matteo Ferrara on the button and Shaun Decesare in the small blind paid to see the flop. They checked down a run-out of 8♥ 7♥ 4♠9♦ 2♦ .
Toby Stone told all three players to reveal their hands simultaneously, and Fedullo showed that he had rivered bottom pair, holding K♣ 2♠. Remarkably, it was good as Decesare had Q♦ 3♦ and Ferrara 6♠2♣ . The king played for a full triple.
It wasn’t such good fortune for Schemion on the very next hand, however. Schemion got his last chips in with pocket nines looking at a flop of 5♣ 3♦ 7♥ . But Aniulis again had something better: 5♦ 7â™ , revealed in front of a tightly-packed phalanx of media and other interested parties.
Ole Schemion bursts the bubble
The turn of 4♣ and the 10♣ river bricked out, sending Schemion wandering away from the tournament area. He was pursued by a server, holding a tray with a cup of tea, ordered back when he thought he might drink it.
Schemion paused and dug into his pockets to look for money to pay for the tea, but eventually thought better of it. “I’m busted,” he said. “I don’t need it.” He was polite, but the server had to leave empty handed, still holding that cup of tea.
Just one more kick in the teeth for the serving staff of Paceville. But don’t blame Schemion. That one was harsh.
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