The €1 million guarantee Battle of Malta Main Event starts tomorrow and a massive turnout is expected. Thousands of players will be competing in Malta’s biggest poker tournament including hundreds of qualifiers from MPNPT, 888poker and Italian site Vincitu.

The award-winning Battle of Malta is being hosted by Casino Malta at the luxurious InterContinental Hotel in St Julian’s from October 15-22. The first tournament on the schedule is tonight’s €50 + €10 super satellite which has already attracted hundreds of entries with dozens of players set to win seats into Day 1a of the Main Event tomorrow. Among those taking part are Finnish poker legend Patrik Antonius, media influence Dehlia de Jong and local hero Jackie Cachia. There are 35 tournaments in total including the new €5,300 buy-in Mega High Stack tournament and the €240 + €60 Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge Pop-up Cup. This year’s schedule also features two “short deck” tournaments for the first time along with a €1,320 High Roller, €110 Ladies event, the €88 + €8 “Crazy 888s Battle”, the €150 “MPNPT Battle” and the €300 IPC Turbo Deepstack plus many more.

 

€1 million guarantee Main Event
This year’s €555 buy-in Main Event is expected to be the biggest in Battle of Malta history. The tournament has grown every year since its launch in 2012 and last year there were a staggering 3,816 entries, generating a massive €1,850,760 prize pool.

 

With unlimited re-entries until the end of level 10, there will be five start flights in total – with many flights expected to sell out. Players will kick off with a 25,000 starting stack and 40-minute blind levels. In the final Day 1e start flight, players will get a 10,000 starting stack and 10-minute levels. Each Day 1 will play down to 15% of the field – with all survivors making the money.

 

Last year’s Main Event was won by Malta-based French player Julien Stropoli for €168,500, the best cash of his live poker career. The star-studded final table included previous MPN Poker Tour finalist Mantas Urbonas, two-time Unibet Open champion Mateusz Moolhuizen and Grosvenor Ambassador Andy Hills.

 

Off the felt
Battle of Malta takes place in bustling St Julian’s with a wealth of amenities including clubs, restaurants, cafes and bars. The weather in Malta is glorious right now and, with the beach just a minute’s walk from the tournament area, swimming and sun-bathing is a definite option.

 

Battle of Malta also has some fabulous events lined up for players at this year’s event. The Battle of Malta Aperol Spritz Welcome Drinks is at Casino Malta on Wednesday evening from 8pm-11pm. On Saturday (October 19), Battle of Malta is hosting a Bowling Competition at the Eden SuperBowl opposite the tournament venue. Four seats for Battle of Malta 2020 are up for grabs for each member of the four-person winning team . Teams of four should register in advance at the Eden Super Bowl which is right across the road from the Intercontinental.

 

The main Battle of Malta Players Party is taking place at exclusive Paranga Beach, the Intercontinental Hotel’s private beach club, from 8pm on Sunday (October 20). Hit Maltese band Red Electrick are on the bill ensuring this will be a night to remember for all Battle of Malta players.

 

New app

Battle of Malta has created a new app – available for both IOS and Android. The app has a host of features including instant notifications, the latest BOM news, the BOM twitter feed, 2020 tournament schedule and the chance to win a seat for the 2020 edition of the event next year. Players can download the app anytime by visiting bom.beezer.com.

Live updates and stream

There will be live updates throughout the €1 million guarantee Battle of Malta Main Event – viewable on the Battle of Malta website for the very first time. The live stream will cover the whole of the Main Event on Twitch, Facebook and the Battle of Malta website with commentators Jason Glatzer and Phil “The Tower” Heald at the helm and hole cards visible from the start.

 

Charity raffle for Pink October
Battle of Malta is aiming to raise thousands of euros at this year’s event with a special charity raffle for Pink October Malta. Some incredible prizes are up for grabs including two BOM 2020 seats and packages for 888Live London, the MPN Poker Tour, the World Casino Championships, the V-Poker Challenge or the Kings of Tallinn as well as dinner or weekend break at the Intercontinental or £500 in travel money from MainEventTravel.com. Raffle tickets will be on sale throughout this year’s Battle of Malta: €5 each, or €10 for three.

With 13,000 tournament entries overall, last year’s event was by far the biggest poker tournament ever held in Malta and the Eden Arena was packed throughout the six-day festival. Nearly €2.56 million was awarded in prize money across 15 different tournaments.

 

Battle of Malta Event Director Diane Fenech said: “Last year’s event was the first to be hosted by Casino Malta and we were blown away by its success. We nearly doubled the field and massively exceeded the €1 million guarantee. Battle of Malta is a unique event with a very special atmosphere in a simply fantastic location and we know players truly love it. We hope to be setting records yet again and look forward to welcoming thousands of players to this year’s tournament.”

 

History of Battle of Malta

 

2012: Winner Nicodemo Piccolo, €35,000, 349 entries, total prize pool of €169,265
2013:  Winner Louis Cartarius, €68,000, 888 entries, prize pool was €430,680
2014: Winner Antoan Katsarov, €122,750, 1,447 entries, total prize pool €701,795
2015: Winner Nicolas Proust, €110,000, 1,804 entries, total prize pool €875,000
2016: Winner Robert Berglund, €160,000, 1,813 entries, total prize pool €879,305
2017: Winner Nadav Lipszyc, €200,000, 2,074 entries, total prize pool €1,005,890
2018: Winner Julien Stropoli, €168,500, 3,816 entries, total prize pool €1,850,760