Play hasn’t even begun and already the Eden Arena is buzzing with anticipation. The staff all came in a little early today for the traditional team photo. The Main Event is 30 minutes away from the start of Day 1g, which by all accounts is going to take up the vast majority of the 130+…
The final Main Event satellite has been running for almost 45-minutes now and there are over 500 players taking part so far, chancing their luck at one final opportunity to get into the Main Event for less than the €600 buy-in. We’re now hoping to resolve the issues with PokerLens, which crashed last night and…
A new attendance record has been set for the Mystery Siege of Malta, with a total of 1,313 entries in the €450 Mystery Bounty Event. The final starting flight saw 647 players take their seat for the morning starting final flight of the event, resulting in a total prize pool of over half a million…
Level 17: 5,000/10,000 (10,000) Entries: 138/923 Some technical issues made the last hour of Day 1b hard to track properly; apologize for the blog going idle for a while. That being said, the bubble just burst, sending 138 players on to Day 2. Soft hand-by-hand was introduced with 140 players remaining. There were perhaps seven…
Level 16: 4,000/8,000 (8,000) Entries: 158/923 Alessandro Furneri moved all in UTG for 85,000. Seated right next to him, Krzysztof Iszczuk re-shoved from UTG+1 for perhaps 280,000. There were no other takers. Alessandro Furneri: Krzysztof Iszczuk: An unfortunate scenario for Furneri, who didn’t crack aces as the board spelled out . Krzysztof Iszczuk: 365,000 Alessandro…
Level 15: 3,000/6,000 (6,000) Entries: 271/923 My good friend Robin Wikemar told me he played what probably is the craziest hand of his live poker tournament career. He explained what went down, and one has to admit, it is quite astonishing. His unknown opponent – let’s say “Mr. X” – opened to 10,000 (keep in…
Level 15: 3,000/6,000 (6,000) Entries: 271/923 I noticed a familiar name walking through the tournament tables, Leo Worthington-Leese. The Englishman might be mostly known for his third-place finish in the 2023 EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event. I had a small chat with the lad, who told me he arrived in Malta today. Time will…
Level 14: 2,000/4,000 (4,000) Entries: 271/923 The players have been back for a 20-minute break for roughly half an hour, and this live reporter just got back after rehydrating. It’s been confirmed that 138 players will make it to Day 2; that means roughly half the field has to be eliminated before play concludes for…
Level 12: 1,000/2,500 (2,500) Entries: 307/923 Seated UTG, Giovanni Mangiaracina opened to 7,000. Feliciano Rosano then raised to 17,000 from the Cut-off, and Guido Giandon smooth-called from the Small Blind. Things would get even more spicy, though, as Mangiaracina four-bet all in for 99,500. Rosano considered his options for a minute before folding, but Giandon…
Level 12: 1,000/2,500 (2,500) Entries: 332/923 Rosario Saddemi min-raised to 5,000 UTG. Anargyros Loizos – whom I met earlier this year in Thessaloniki during the 2025 Greek Poker Odyssea – made the call from UTG+1, before Kostantinos Grigoriadis bumped it up to 23,000 from the Button. Moritz Nedden then moved all in for what had…