Day 1a

Day 2 of the €450 Mystery Siege of Malta Bounty kicked off moments ago with 80 players remaining out of the original field of 522 entries that came out in full force during the first two opening flights. All returning players already locked up €350 and will be playing for the coveted trophy along with the €17,190 top prize.

This is not all as every hour, players will be able to open mystery envelopes if they eliminated a player on Day 2. These bounty envelopes can contain a number of prizes with €400 representing the smallest. However, one lucky player will take down a €15,000 top mystery bounty before the day is complete.

Blinds will start at Level 19 with a 4,000 small blind, an 8,000 big blind, and an 8,000 big blind ante. They will increase every 20 minutes until a winner is crowned.

A familiar name will kick off the Day 2 action as the chip leader as the defending Battle of Malta Main Event champion Dario Barone will start things off with 444,000 followed by United Kingdom’s Grant Cook (396,000) and Malta’s local hero Matthew Micallef (380,000).

Get ready for some fun and excitement at Eden Arena until we see that massive €15,000 envelope get picked. Best of luck to the final 80 players in making some magic on Thursday at the 2023 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition.

2023 BoM Mystery Siege of Malta Bounty Day 2

The €200 NLH Dark Knight attracted 52 entries yesterday evening to create a €8,390 prize pool. The top six players took down at least nearly triple a min-cash valued at €590. United Kingdom’s Spencer Owen defeated Latvia’s Elvijs Kuceruks to win the title with the total tournament lasting less than 6 1/2 hours.

Check out all of the payouts below for last night’s €200 NLH Dark Knight at the 2023 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition:

Day 1a Chip Leader Tayfun Rodoplu

Turkey’s Tayfun Rodoplu may not have had the best start of the day after unsuccessfully firing two bullets on Day 1a of the €1.5 million guaranteed 2023 Battle of Malta €600 Main Event at Casino Malta and the Eden Arena at the Intercontinental Malta. However, the third time was a charm as he was all smiles as he built up a healthy chip lead near the end of the day before sending Emilian Mansour Diop to the rail on the bubble to end the day with an overwhelming chip lead by parlaying his 25,000 opening stack into a massive pile of 900,000 in chips.

Day 1a attracted a total of 154 entries with 23 players finishing the day in the money. 2018 Battle of Malta Main Event champion Julien Stropoli from France held the chip lead for a while until Rodoplu went on a run to remember and ended the day in decent shape with a second-place stack of 470,000. While this is still far behind Rodoplu, Stropoli finished miles ahead of his nearest competitors in Manoel Filho (215,000), Dario Marinelli (214,000), and Angelo Barone (184,000).

Check out the full chip counts from Day 1a below and we will see you back on the floor tomorrow. Until then, have an amazing evening!

Level 15: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Entries: 23/154

Mansour Diop was the unfortunate player to bubble Day 1a. Big stack Tayfun Rodoplu opened the hijack with a limp and he was called by both players in the blinds. The flop came K♦9♠7♥ and it checked to Rodoplu who bet 6,000. The small blind got out of the way, but big blind Diop shoved a smaller stack.

Rodoplu called with the open-ended straight draw holding T♣8♠ against two pair for Diop with king-nine. The 3♦ turn bricked for Tayfun, but the big stack got there with the J♦ river.

“Never play a hand against the big stack, even with aces,” Rodoplu said as he raked in the final pot of the fay.

Stay tuned for the final chip counts from the Day 1a qualifiers.

Bubble Action

The action is down to just 24 players with the day ending with 23 players in the money. Check out the three-table Day 1a seat draw below with Tayfun Rudoplu holding the chip lead.

Level 14: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 29/154

The action was picked up on the flop reading T♣J♣5♦ with both players Cory Desmond and Cory Desmond to the T♦ turn. They checked again to the J♦ river where Hassan fired 27,000 and forced the fold from Desmond.

Ori Hassan – 126,000
Cory Desmond – 110,000

Ori Hassan

Level 14: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 29/154

Ulf Andersson jammed for about 10 big blinds from the hijack before Brian Calleja three-bet shoved the button for around 100,000. The action paused on Marian Ivanov, who eventually also got into the mix for his final 69,000.

Ulf Andersson: K♥2♥
Marian Ivanov: 8♦8♣
Brian Calleja: A♦J♠

Andersson looked as if he was about to triple after his king found a friend on the 6♠K♣T♦ flop. The 4♦ turn bricked both Calleja and Ivanov. However, Ivanov celebrated in joy after the 8♥ river improved him to a set to eliminate Andersson and double through Calleja.

“I decided that I didn’t want to come back to Day 2 as a short stack,” Ivanov said after the hand to Tayfun Rodoplu who asked about his call with snowmen. “I decided to take a chance.”

Marian Ivanov

Level 14: 1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 30/154

Antonio Papa got things going with a bet to 6k from the button, and Oliver Said called from the big blind. The flop came 7♣9♣3♦ and Said checked to Papa who bet 6,500 but then had to muck when Said shoved over the bet with a covering stack.

Oliver Said – 85,000
Antonio Papa – 35,000

Oliver Said

Julien Stropoli held the chip lead at the break. Check out some of the biggest stacks from around the room among the final 31 Day 1a players.

Alessandro D’amore and Julien Stropoli

The final 31 players went on a 20-minute break. Whether or not this is the last one depends on whether eight more players will hit the rail in the two hours that follow after the break.

Stacks are still deep despite the blinds will increase to 1,500/3,000 with a 3,000 big blind ante. We will be updating shortly with some of the bigger stacks from around the room.

Stay tuned to the conclusion of the first of six opening flights of the 2023 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition Main Event.

Level 13: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Entries: 31/154

2018 Battle of Malta Main Event winner Julien Stropoli is hoping to become the first two-time winner and is off to a hot start to the event in Day 1a.

Both Dan Sfarlea and Stropoli checked the J♠3♦6♣ flop before Stropoli checked again on the 2♥ turn. Sfarlea bet 18,000 into a pot of around 40,000. Stropoli tanked for more than two minutes before he raised to 60,000. Sfarlea took his time before he called.

More tanking followed after the J♦ river completed the board before Stropoli fired out for 50,000. Sfarlea paused for nearly a minute before he called only to muck his hand after Stropoli turned over A♠A♦ to take down the pot and take the Day 1a chip lead.

Julien Stropoli – 450,000
Dan Sfarlea – 75,000

Julien Stropoli, Winner of 2018 Battle of Malta

Level 12: 1,000/1,500 (1,500)
Entries: 33/154

Antonio Papa opened to 3,200 from the middle before Bruno Massimo shoved 12,500. Yvonne Stiedl was in the hijack next to act and she hit the tank for a bit before raising to 21,000. That pushed Papa out leaving her heads up against Massimo.

It started as a classic race with ace-king over pocket jacks, but things got dark for Massimo with a jack in the window. He couldn’t find the miracle runout and hit the rail to end his Day 1a run.

Yvonne Stiedl – 150,000
Bruno Massimo – 0

Yvonne Stiedl

Level 12: 1,000/1,500 (1,500)
Entries: 37/152

Dawid Slopinski opened from the middle to 3,000 and got calls from Tomas Martinicky on the button as well as Dan Sfarlea in the big blind. They all checked the 3♥3♦4♦ flop but when it checked to Martinicky on the A♥ turn, he fired 6,700 into the pot and got two folds. The three players are among the leaders at the moment with more than half a million between them

Dan Sfarlea – 200,000
Dawid Szopinski – 150,000
Tomas Martinicky – 170,000

Tomas Martinicky

Level 12: 1,000/1,500 (1,500)
Entries: 38/154

Angelo Barone quickly checked the river with the 9♣4♣Q♣5♠A♥ on the board before Yvonne Stiedl bet 21,000 into a pot north of 65,000. Barone snap-called and Stiedl showed her K♠Q♣ for a pair of queens. This wasn’t nearly enough as Barone won the hand with a flopped two pair after showing his Q♥4♥.

Angelo Barone – 230,000
Yvonne Stiedl – 140,000

Angelo Barone

Level 11: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 44/154

Erwann Pechaux opened before he four-bet jammed for around 20 big blinds over the three-bet by Ulf Andersson. Andersson called and Pechaux was in great shape to double his stack after the cards were turned over.

Erwann Pechaux: A♣K♥
Ulf Andersson: AXTX

Both players bricked the 8♣9♣Q♥3♣4♥ board for Pechaux to double his stack with his king kicker.

Erwann Pecheux

Erwann Pichaux – 50,000
Ulf Andersson – 20,000

Level 11: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 50/154

Moritz Nedden was nearly three strikes and out on his third bullet but won a hand against Matthew Micallef to gain some breathing room.

First, from the big blind, Nedden managed to get a three-bet squeeze through against a late position opener and caller. The next hand, Matthew Micallef opened for 2,500 from the cutoff. Nedden three-bet jammed for 23,200 from the big blind and MIcallef snap-called.

Moritz Nedden: K♦Q♥
Matthew Micallef: A♥8♥

Micallef began counting out chips to pay off Nedden after his opponent connected with a better pair on the 5♥Q♦8♣ flop. Neither the 4♦ turn nor the J♣ river pushed Micallef back ahead for Nedden to stay alive and double his stack.

Matthew Micallef – 75,000
Moritz Nedden – 50,000

Moritz Nedden

Level 11: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 51/154

Samuel Lindholm opened early to 3,000 and Erwann Pecheux called from the button. They went heads up to the flop of 8♣K♠T♦ and Lindholm fired 3.500. Pacheux called to the 8♥ turn and both players checked.

The river came 5♥ and Lindholm checked again only to face a bet of 15,000 from Pecheux, leaving himself less than that behind. He hit the tank for about a minute but ended up mucking his hand.

Samuel Lindholm – 34,000
Erwann Pecheux – 45,000

Erwann Pecheux

Level 11: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 53/154

Late registration is now closed for Day 1d with 154 entries officially getting into the action with 53 players still in action. Day 1a will conclude when there are just 23 players or less remaining, each of which will advance to Day 2 already in the money.

Stay tuned for some excitement as the stakes heat up for the remainder of the Day 1a field.

The €450 Mystery Siege of Malta Bounty has been a massive success with already 236 entries in the mix on Day 1a to smash the €100,000 guarantee with still one opening flight to go tomorrow before the start of the final day.

It is now a matter of how big this gets with more excitement in store tomorrow when the mystery bounty envelopes begin to reveal their potentially lucrative prizes.

Best of luck to everyone in action!

Level 11: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 52/154

Dan Sfarlea looks to be leading at the dinner break with a bit more than 150k. Iuliana Olteanu also has more than 150k as does Mansour Diop. See below for what looks like the biggest stacks as collected during dinner.

The remaining players will be back in action with registration closed in about 25 minutes.

Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 51/153

The players will be heading out for their dinner break shortly with the end of Level 10. There are 51 players left in the game and the day will end when the field is down to 15% of the starting field. At the moment with 153 entries, that would mean they play down to 23 players today, but that may well change as entries remain open through dinner with the registration desk shutting down for the start of Level 11. It’s worth noting that Level 11 will be a repeat of the 600/1,200 (1,200) blind level so that players entering on the break will sit down with more than 20 bigs.

Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 54/153

Dan Sfarlea is chipping up at the expense of former chip leader, Alfonso Simone. In a recent hand, Simone opened under the gun to 2,500 and it folded around to Sfarlea in the big blind. He put in a raise to 8,700 but Simone came back over the top to 21k.

Sfarlea called to see 4♥T♦2♠ on the flop, then check-called for 14k. Sfarlea checked again on the 2♦ turn, shoving for 62.3k after Simone bet 24.5k. Simone hit the tank for several minutes before finally mucking his hand and sending the big uncontested pot to Sfarlea.

Dan Sfarlea – 180,000
Alfonso Simone – 115,000

Dan Sfarlea

Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 57/153

Two big stacks battled it out on Table 40 when Roberto Barone bet 6,000 into a pot of close to 40,000 with the K♣8♥5♠A♠ on the board after the turn. Antonio Papa called before both players checked the 6♣ river.

Barone turned over the 8♠ before the dealer asked for the other card to be shown. Eventually, Barone showed the T♠8♠. Immediately after, Papa turned over the K♠J♦ to win the hand with a better pair.

Antonio Papa – 160,000
Roberto Barone – 105,000

Antonio Papa

Level 9: 500/1000 (1000)
Entries: 68/152

Oliver Said picked up two hands in a row recently. In the first hand, he opened the button to 2,000 and got calls from both players in the blinds. It checked to Said on the A♠5♠3♠ flop and he fired 4,000 to take it down.

On the very next hand, Vladyslav Sidikhin raised the middle to 2,000 and he was called by Said in cutoff and big blind Paul Newsome. The flop came T♣6♠3♦ and once again it checked to Said who tossed in a bet of 3,500 and took it down.

Ori Hassan – 70,000
Paul Newsome – 45,000
Dimitrios Samantsidis – 40,000
Oliver Said – 60,000
Vladyslav Sidikhin – 25,000

Oliver Said

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 64/152

Silvana Mandarano three-bet jammed her short stack of less than 7,000 and was called by Dawid Szopinski.

Silvana Mandarano: K♣J♥
Dawid Szopinski: K♥6♥

Both players bricked the 3♠Q♠8♦A♦9♥ runout for Mandarano to win the hand with a better kicker than Szopinski to double her stack.

Meanwhile, Shaun Decesare, Alfredo Cuti, Julien Micallef, Amjad Najer, and Josef Gulas Jr. all recently hit the rail with the opportunity to still re-enter today or during any of the five other opening flights later in the week.

Dawid Szopinski – 65,000
Silvana Mandarano – 15,000

Silvana Mandarano

Level 9: 500/1000 (1000)
Entries: 68/152

Samuel Lindholm opened from the cutoff to 2.000, then called when Andrejs Zukovs raised the button to 6,000. They both checked the Q♣2♥K♠ flop, but after a check from Lindholm on the 2♣ turn, Zukovs bet 2,400 and got the call. The river was 2♠ and Lindholm checked again, then called the bet of 9,600 but mucked when Zukovs showed pocket kings for the flopped set and turned house.

Samuel Lindholm – 30,000
Andrejs Zukovs – 45,000

The €450 Mystery Siege of Malta Bounty is well on its way to decimating the €100,000 guarantee in the early goings with 144 entries hopping in early into the first of two opening flights.

Players start with a stack of 20,000 in chips with blinds increasing every 20 minutes. Like the Main Event, each opening flight will conclude when just 15 percent of the field remains with the returning players on Thursday already reaching the money.

Day 2 is bound to be even more thrilling as this is when the mystery bounty envelopes will be opened.

Many familiar faces are in the mix including Priit Brikker, Mark Vella, Luigi D’Alterio, Andre Grech, Herli Olop, and Angelo Patane.

Best of luck to all the mystery bounty players, especially tomorrow when the mystery envelopes are up for grabs.

Mystery Siege of Malta

Level 9: 500/1000 (1000)
Entries: 74/152

Alfonso Simone is still leading the field as he is sitting with 250k at the break following Level 8. Julien Stropoli is also still sitting pretty with just over 150k. Below is a look at a few bigger stacks as they’ll be going into the final two levels of entry for Day 1a when they return from the break in about 10 minutes.

Alfonso Simone

Players are on their third 20-minute break. Blinds will increase to 500/1,000 along with a 1,000 big blind ante when the action resumes.

The battle will continue for two more blind levels after the break. After this, a 75-minute dinner break will take place with late registration closed before the start of Level 11

Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 76/150

It was all in before the flop when Ahmad Kheil limped early to start things off before Jianyi Liu raised to 2,000 from the middle. Small blind Ian Tabone shoved for 9,200 which pushed Kheil off his hand while Liu called it off with more.

Liu was in good shape with K♣T♠ against 6♦5♦ for Tabone. Liu flopped a straight draw, but Tabone had four to a flush. Liu called for a jack and the turn 9♣ was a brick, but the river J♦ technically fulfilled his request to give him the straight, but the diamond was the wrong suit as it gave Tabone the flush.

“Not that Jack, please,” Liu joked as Tabone was collecting his double.

Ian Tabone – 21,000
Jianyi Liu – 45,000

Jianyi Liu

Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 75/150

Two players checked before Antoine Talvard bet 5,500 into a pot of a bit more with the 4♠6♦K♣2♣ on the board after the turn. Erwann Pecheaux called before Gary Bradshaw jammed for around 45,000. Brian Calleja jammed over the top for slightly more and Talvard went into the tank before he called off for about 20,000 total. Meanwhile, Pecheaux took another look at his cards and flashed the K♠8♠ before opting to muck his hand.

Antoine Talvard: K♥Q♥
Gary Bradshaw: 5♠3♥
Brian Calleja: 6♥6♦

Talvard was drawing dead to the turned straight of Bradshaw. However, Calleja had some hope alive as he just needed the board to pair to improve to a full house or quads.

“Yes!” screamed Calleja after the 4♦ river paired the board.

“Good game,” Bradshaw said like a true gentleman before leaving the poker arena.

Brian Calleja – 138,000
Antoine Talvard – 0
Gary Bradshaw – 0

Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 82/145

Tomas Martini checked after the 8♦4♦A♥ came on the flop before Tayfun Rodoplu fired out for 3,500 into a pot of around 7,000. Martini raised to 10,500 and Rodoplu called.

Martini jammed for nearly 19,000 on the 3♦ turn. Rodoplu had a few chips more and found a quick call.

Tomas Martini: A♠8♦
Tayfun Rodoplu: A♦Q♥

“Pair the board, please,” pleaded Rodoplu.

We can only assume he meant that he wanted his queen to pair as if the board paired up he would still be down to crumbs. Neither situation happened as instead the blank 9♣ completed the board for Martini to double through Rodoplu.

Tomas Martini – 70,000
Tayfun Rodoplu – 500

Tayfun Rodoplu

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 82/144

Local hero Brian Calleja bet 4,000 into a pot of around 10,000 with the 6♥7♣9♠7♠ on the board after the turn and was called by French poker beast Antoine Talvard.

The A♠ river completed the board and Calleja jammed for 13,100. Talvard went into the tank for about 20 seconds before he called.

Calleja turned over the A♦9♣ and gently tapped the table in delight when his top two pair proved to be good enough to double through Talvard who showed the A♥8♦.

Brian Calleja – 45,000
Antoine Talvard – 10,000

Brian Calleja

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 82/145

Alfonso Simone looks to be the big stack still and is up to around 200k now after sending Killian Desnos to the rail. Taras Khilko started things off with a bet to 1,500, and he was called by Desnos on the button and Frederick Vesterby in the small blind before big blind Simone raised it up to 13,600. Khilko got out of the way, but both Desnos and Vesterby called to the 3♥7c]4♠ flop.

Vesterby checked before Simone bet 15k. Desnos shoved, pushing Vesterby out, but Simone made the snap-call. Desnos hit the board with his 3♠5♣ but it was still behind the pocket tens for Simone. The A♣K♥ turn and river didn’t change anything and Desnos hit the rail.

Alfonso Simone – 205,000
Frederick Vesterby – 28,000
Killian Desnos – 0

Alfonso Simone

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 83/143

Roberto Barone is building a stack as he’s just grabbed another big hand to get up to about 80k now. The action was on the turn with the board reading A♦5♣T♦6♦ and after a check from Ahmed Kheil, Barone fired 1,000. Both Athir Ali and Kheil called to see the fourth diamond on the 5♦ river and after a check from Kheil, Barone bet 2,100 and got folds from the other players.

Roberto Barone – 80,000
Athir Ali – 26,000
Ahmed Kheil – 30,000

Roberto Barone

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 85/143

Dawid Szopinski fired out on all three streets on the 9♠K♠4♠5♥6♥ board including a large bet of 20,500 on the river and was called down the entire way by Amjad Nader.

Szopinski turned over the A♠5♠ for the flopped nut flush. Nader could have mucked but instead showed the table he flopped two pair with K♥9♥ and was unable to improve from there.

Dawid Szopinski – 95,000
Amjad Nader – 30,000

Dawid Szopinski

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 84/142

Alfonso Simone looks to be the chip leader at the break before Level 7 with a bit more than 160k. 2018 Battle of Malta winner Julien Stropoli is in second with about 145k right now.

Julien Stropoli, Winner of 2018 Battle of Malta

Stretch your legs as the action is on its second break of Day 1a. The blinds will increase to 300/600 with a 600 big blind ante when the action resumes.

Players will battle for two more blind levels before the third 20-minute break takes place. After that break, two more blind levels will take place before a 75-minute dinner break. Late registration will be closed after the dinner break.

2023 BoM Spring Edition Main Event Champ Dario Barone

Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 88/140

In two hands over a short period, Roberto Barone has chipped up to about 50,000. In the first hand, Barone limped and got two callers to the flop of 3♣A♣T♦. Action checked to cutoff Athir Ali who fired 1,100. Big blind (and runner-up from the spring series) Junyu Liu got out of the way, but Barone flatted to the 7♠ turn. Barone check-raised from 1,100 to 4,000 and after some time deep in thought, Ali folded to bring Barone up to about 32k.

Shortly after I returned to the table to see Barone all in against Dieter Victor with Victor deep in the tank on the river of a board reading 9♥6♦4♥6♣5♠. He eventually mucked, then slammed the table in disgust when Barone showed pocket deuces as he was collecting another chipup.

Athir Ali – 30,000
Roberto Barone – 50,000
Dieter Victor – 40,000

Roberto Barone

Maciej Kala and Allan Arjut

The €350 PL Omaha Deep Stack 4&5 Cards kicked off its action with with an opening field of 15 players. The event is unique in nature as the player on the button gets to choose whether it will be four-card PLO or five-card PLO.

This trend will continue until there are just three players remaining, at which point all the hands will be five-card Omaha. Players kick off the action with 30,000 in chips with blinds increasing every 20 minutes. The field will grow in leaps and bounds with late registration open for nearly three hours as it won’t be closed until the start of Level 9. This event represents a great opportunity for PLO lovers to win an early trophy, so hop on in.

Albert Sapiano decided five bullets in the Main Event was enough today and hopped into the action alongside Sami Pullainen, Andrea Tucci, Joseph Grech, Maciej Kala, and Allan Arjut are among the early entries.

“Maybe this was a mistake,” said Pullainen about entering. “I was in Rome and decided to pop back to Malta. Isn’t this how all great stories start?”

Sami Pullainen

Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 92/136

Daniel Stoev was another player aiming to start a Cinderella story after he jammed his short stack and was up against Amjad Nader, who already had a big pile of chips.

Daniel Stoev: Q♣7♦
Amjad Nader: A♣9♠

Nader’s ace-nine was good the entire way after the 4♠3♥3♠5♥9♦ ran out on the board and Stoev will need to re-enter if he wishes to advance via the Day 1a field.

Meanwhile, the potential Cinderella story for Laur Sibold has come to an end as he also was seen walking away and coming back to a new seat.

“My Cinderella story starts now,” Libold shared as he was about to sit down for his second bullet.

Amjad Nader – 75,000
Daniel Stoev – 0

Amjad Nader

Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 95/134

Rares-Aurelian Bodea opened to 1,000 from the hijack, and big blind Grigorios Archontakis shoved the smaller stack. It was a cooler spot for Archontakis as his pocket eights were well behind the aces for Bodea and the board was no help to the underpair.

Rares-Aurelian Bodea – 31,000
Grigorios Archontakis – 0

Rares-Aurelian Bodea

Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 96/134

Laur Sibold was down to his last 4,000 in chips when he jammed them in from the cutoff. Tomas Martini, who was near 65,000 in chips asked for a count from the button before he made the call.

Laur Sibold: K♠4♥
Tomas Martini: 8♦8♠

Sibold took out his phone and looked ready to leave his seat even before not getting anywhere on the 9♠5♠3♥ flop. The K♦ turn was a different story as this pushed Sibold ahead of Martini’s snowmen. The 9♣ river completed the board and Sibold perhaps will begin a Cinderella story after doubling his stack with a better two pair.

Tomas Martini – 60,000
Laur Sibold – 9,000

Laur Sibold

Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 98/129

Roberto Barone jammed for 3,900 into a pot of close to 20,000 with the 8♣4♦5♠2♠ on the board after the turn. Ahmed Kheil called before Pavle Pecelj raised to 22,000. Kheil called before he checked the T♦ river.

Pecelj jammed for about 35,000. Kheil, who had about the same behind paused for a moment before he folded.

“Can I show now?” asked Barone.

He was given the go-ahead and turned over the 7♦6♣ for a straight.

“Thank you very much,” Barone said before Pecelj turned over the 5♣5♥ for a set of fives.

Pavle Pacelj – 75,000
Ahmed Kheil – 35,000
Roberto Barone – 32,000

Roberto Barone

The €150 White Knight just kicked off its action with 32 entries early on Level 1. Players start off with a healthy stack of 15,000 in chips with blinds increasing every 20 minutes. Late registration will be open for some time as it won’t close until the start of Level 11. So if you are in the area, hop on into what will be the first trophy event of the 2023 Battle of Malta Spring Edition.

Marko Keskel, Takumi Nobuhara, Gang Wang, Anthony Peters, and Sacha Bayard, who was one of the early eliminations on Day 1a of the Main Event are among the players in action.

Best of luck to all to be crowned the “White Knight Champion” of the 2023 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition.

2023 Battle of Malta White Knight

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 102/128

Grigorios Archontakis checked the river with the 5♥Q♦4♣9s]2♣ on the board before Mati Pirn bet 3,500 into a pot of around 12,000. Archontakis went into the tank for close to a minute before he raised to 13,500.

Pirn paused for about 30 seconds before he made the call. Archontakis apparently had nothing bragworthy as opted to open muck his hand. Pirn decided not to show his cards either as he didn’t need to in order to win the pot.

Mati Pirn – 55,000
Grigorios Archontakis – 15,000

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 103/126

Andrei Babatie opened for 1,100 from middle position before Arthur Navello three-bet to 2,200 from the hijack. Babatie jacked it up to a little more than 13,000 before Navello jammed for a little bit more. Babatie found the call and a race was on with Navello at risk.

Arthur Navello: A♥K♥
Andrei Babatie: 9♣9♥

Babatie not only won the flip but sent Navello to the rail after the J♣4♣8♦7♥9♠ board further improved him to a set of nines.

Meanwhile, Jianyi Lu was among the players to hit the rail during Level 4 as did Luca Lentini, Kamel Raach, and Albert Sapiano. Sapiano is already on his fifth bullet of the day and we wish him better luck in growing his stack.

Andrei Babatie – 40,000
Arthur Navello – 0

Andrei Babatie:

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 102/126

I arrived for the action with the flop already out reading 7♦2♦2♥ with four players in action. Luca Lentini put out a bet of 500 that pushed a couple of people out of the hand, but Philippe Dietrich raised enough to put Lentini all in. He made the call with pocket jacks but was in rough shape to the flopped trips of Dietrich with eight-deuce. The rest of the board was clean for the trips and Lentini hit the rail while Dietrich stacked up about 35k after the hand.

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 98/114

Among the players with stacks just before the first break is Josef Gulas Jr., winner of the 2021 WSOP Europe Main Event. He’s sitting with about 70k which looks to be the second biggest right now, though the numbers below are only estimates. Pavle Pecelj is the leader with a bit more than 80k right now, and there are a few more stacks that look to be around double the start.

It’s time to get up and stretch as Day 1a is on its first 20-minute break. Blinds will increase to 100/300 with a 300 big blind ante when the action resumes. We will update shortly with some of the bigger stacks from around the room.

All In at the Battle of Malta

Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 96/103

Yvonne Stiedl and Marian Zemanek both checked with the 4♣A♣T♥6♥ on the board after the turn before Dominik Deigner bet 1,500 into a pot of 2,700.

Stiedl called and Zemanek folded before the K♠ river completed the board. Stiedl checked again. Deigner jammed for more than the 5,500 Stiedl had behind. She went into the tank for about 20 seconds before she made the call only to get the bad news that her A♥8♠ for top pair was no match to the set of fours held by Deigner, who tabled the 4♠4♦ to win the pot and send his opponent to the rail.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Kheil and Sacha Bayard also recently hit the rail, while Albert Sapiano is on his third bullet before the first break.

Yvonne Stiedl

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 92/95

Dario Barone

Among the players in action today is Dario Barone, winner of the Battle of Malta back in the spring of this year. He’s been in the action from the start of the day today and is still sitting around his starting stack. He took down the spring event with high aggression at the final table building an early chip lead then kept hammering the rest of the table. He ended up heads up with Junyu Liu and while Liu put up a valiant struggle, Barone took it all down.

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 92/95

The tournament is near its century mark with 95 entries already in action on Day 1a during Level 2. Three players will have to try again including Albert Sapiano, who dusted off the rest of his stack after losing a hand to Bruno Massimo. After Sapiano, both Antoine Talvard and Hani Bamasood also hit the rail.

Talvard was the Day 1a chip leader during the Spring Edition of the Battle of Malta Main Event before parlaying that into an 18th place finish for €5,430 and he is already back in action alongside Sapiano. Meanwhile, Bamasood for now left the tournament arena but has plenty of time to get back into the Day 1a action or one of the future opening flights.

Antoine Talvard

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 87/87

This isn’t the first rodeo for United Kingdom’s Albert Sapiano at the Battle of Malta as he is well-known for providing action and fun at the tables. Sapiano chipped up a little bit before giving some back in the following hand against another well-known player in Malta in Massimo Bruno.

Sapiano fired out a pot-sized bet of 3,000 on the A♦4♣8♣ flop. One player folded before Bruno quickly called. Sapiano took his foot off the gas on the J♠ turn. Bruno bet 3,000 and Sapiano snap-called.

Both players checked the 5♥ river. Sapiano turned over the A♠3♠ for the top pair but had some kicker issues with Bruno scooping up the pot after showing his A♣T♣.

Massimo Bruno – 45,000
Albert Sapiano – 21,000

Massimo Bruno

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 82/82

Grigorios Archontakis opened to 300 second to act, and he was called in two spots. The flop came T♣4♦9♠ and Archontakis fired 1,200 into the middle. That got rid of one player, but button Rares-Aurelian Bodea made it 3,000 to go. Archontakis made the call to see 3♦ on the turn. He check-called 2,500 to the Q♠ river and then fired 7,500. That sent Bodea into the tank for more than a minute before he finally released his hand.

Grigorios Archontakis: 33,000
Rares-Aurelian Bodea: 20,000

Grigorios Archontakis

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 76/76

Julian Micallef bet 3,500 into a pot of nearly double that with the 5♥A♣9♦6♣T♥ on the board. Odyseefs Pentagiotis went into the tank for close to a minute before he opted to raise to 8,800.

Micaleff tossed in two blue 5,000-denominated chips a few moments later to make the call.

Pentagiotis turned over the A♠2♥ for the top pair. This didn’t get the job done as Micaleff was ahead the entire way before further improving to top two pair to win the hand after tabling the A♥T♦.

Julian Micallef – 40,000
Odyseefs Pentagiotis – 20,000

Odyseefs Pentagiotis

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 58/58

Mirko Porcaro bet 1,100 into a pot of a bit more on the 4♠7♣3♦2♥7♥ board. Pavle Pecelj jacked it up to 4,200 and Porcano went into the tank before calling less than a minute later.

Pecelj turned over the A♠7♠ for trip sevens. Porcano pushed his hand face down before opting to quickly turn it over to show the Q♠7♠ for the same trips albeit with kicker issues for Pecelj to win an early pot.

Pavle Pecelj – 30,000
Mirko Porcaro – 20,000

Pavle Pecelj

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 52/52

The pre-game ceremonies are now underway with 33 players on the list waiting for cards to go in the air. The action begins with blinds at 100/100 with no ante, and the big blond ante will kick in starting with Level 2.

Among the players in the game today is Dario Barone, winner of this event in the spring of this year and he’ll no doubt be looking for another deep run here in the fall. Other players in the action to start Day 1a include Ori Hassan, Maria Katsourides, Giuseppe Grimaldi, and Antoine Bayard.

Opening Ceremonies for Battle of Malta Fall 2023

Welcome to the coverage of the 2023 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition at the luxurious Casino Malta and the adjoining Eden Arena at the Intercontinental Malta. History is set to be made today as Wednesday marks the start of the biggest guaranteed event on the island in the €1.5 million guaranteed Battle of Malta €600 Main Event.

The weather is absolutely perfect outside and we expect equally scorching poker action throughout the week with a robust schedule boasting €2 million in total guarantees along with cash games running around the clock across a variety of games and stakes on the casino floor.

The Main Event boasts six opening flights from Oct. 18-22 with each flight playing down to just 15 percent of the field with the surviving players already in the money. The event is a deep-stacked affair with players starting off with 25,000 in chips good for 250 big blinds for those getting into the battle early on during the first two blind levels. The first four opening flights, including today’s Day 1a boasts 40-minute blind levels with breaks every two hours allowing players to enjoy the action and build up their stacks with the final two opening flights featuring quicker 20-minute blind levels.

Late registration remains open until the dinner break, ensuring that even those who are fashionably late can still join in the thrilling action. With several hundred players expected to grace the tables today, the competition promises to be fierce, with each participant vying for what promises to be a massive prize pool.

Players surviving any of the opening flights will merge to battle for the title for four more days of play from Oct. 22-25 until the latest Battle of Malta Main Event champion is crowned.

Dario Barone Wins the Battle of Malta 2023 Spring Edition

Italy’s Dario Barone comes in as the defending champion after outlasting a field of 1,992 entries in the Spring to win the coveted trophy along with the €156,500 top prize. Meanwhile, Greece’s Dimitrios Anastasakis is the defending Battle of Malta Autumn Edition champion after navigating through 4,342 entries to win the €285,900 top prize.

In addition to coverage of the Main Event, expect sporadic updates from all of the amazing side events throughout the week.

Legends will be made over the course of the next eight days.

So, buckle up, poker fans, as the Battle of Malta kicks off today. So be prepared to witness exhilarating moments, daring bluffs, and strategic maneuvers that will define the destiny of these skilled players. Stay tuned for our live updates, memorable hands, and the emergence of a true poker champion as we embark on this extraordinary journey together.

• Full Schedule of the 2023 Autumn Edition of the Battle of Malta