Gabriele Re Wins Battle of Malta 2023 Autumn for €209,500 25 Oct 22:07 by Lyle Bateman

Gabriele Re

It took five days, and he had to come back from behind against Dutch player Raoul Van Wersch, who led the final table chip counts from the start until heads-up play. Re found a double early in HU with ace-seven over king-queen, then won a later race with pocket fives to take it all down.

Re was all smiles after the win, getting some winner’s photos hoisting the trophy as well as with his other half. He was modest in discussing the win though, saying he got quite lucky to take the lead with the 60/40 spot. He also praised the Casino Malta staff for an excellent event.

Gabriele Re

Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize
1 Gabriele Re Italy €209,500
2 Raoul Van Wersch Netherlands €129,500
3 Alberto Cigliano Italy €65,500
4 Szymon Kuczerski Poland €45,550
5 Xavier Zuczkowski Italy €29,950
6 Daniele Grasso Italy €18,150
7 Christophe de Meulder Belgium €14,350
8 Herli Olop Estonia €11,240

Action of the Day

It took about 7 hours of poker on the final day to finish out the endgame of the 2023 Autumn Battle of Malta. Raoul Van Wersch came into the day with a big chip lead, and for a while, it looked like he’d run away with it. Van Wersch carried that lead all the way to heads up, never relinquishing it until he ran into his final opponent, Italian Gabriele Re.

The game was down to six-handed by the time they got to the first break of the final day with Herli Olop and Christophe de Meulder both hitting the rail within the first two levels of the day. Daniele Grasso was next to hit the rail in a bit of a bad beat. He got his money in good with the best ace, but Szymon Kuczerski hit his lower kicker to take it down and bring the game five-handed.

The chip leader, Van Wersch, had about 2/3rds of the chips in play after he sent Xavier Zuczkowski to the rail in 5th place. Zuczkowski and Van Wersch were seated beside each other and going at it pretty hard in the early play, but in this case, it was a classic flip that decided the huge pot as Zuczkowski’s queens couldn’t hold against the big slick for Van Wersch.

Van Wersch then started to lose some of his luster as he doubled up the short stacks four times. He never quite gave up the chip lead, but came very close before Szymon Kuczerski hit the rail in fourth place. Alberto Cigliano was next to go when Van Wersch won a race with king-jack against Cigliano’s pocket eights.

That left Re in a hole heads-up against Van Wersch but the tables turned fairly quickly after two-handed play began. In a not-so-classic race-like spot with Re holding ace-seven against king-queen Re held to take the lead away from Van Wersch for the first time all day.

From that point on, Re wouldn’t give up the lead. It only took another few minutes before it all ended with a coin flip between pocket fives for Re and jack-ten suited for Van Wersch. There wasn’t much drama when Re flopped a set of fives and then turned the Dutchman dead.

With a big Italian field in attendance, the win for Italy was appropriate. Re’s payday of €209,500 will surely be a nice boost to the bankroll of the online and live grinder, and no doubt he’ll be back here in April 2024 for the next edition of the Battle of Malta.

BOM Final Day photos 25 Oct 22:00 by Redazione
Raoul Van Wersch Out in 2nd Place for €129,500 25 Oct 21:22 by Lyle Bateman

Level 41: 1,000,000/1,500,000 (1,500,000)
Entries: 1/3,432

Raoul Van Wersch nearly went wire-to-wire with the chip lead here on the final day, but then he ran into Italian Gabriele Re during heads-up play. Re found a big double in a 60/40 spot to take the lead and in the end, it came down to a flip with Re holding pocket fives versus JT. The board ran out T5672 giving Re the set on the flop.

Van Wersch earned €129,500 for his runner-up finish.

Van Wersch Loses Chip Lead for First Time at Final Table 25 Oct 20:42 by Lyle Bateman

Level 39: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 2/3,432

After a raise from Raoul Van Wersch to 2.3 million, Gabriele Re shoved and Van Wersch called. He had KQ against A7 and both players hit the flop on the board of 5AK44 but Re hit it harder and held for a huge double to take the lead.

Raoul Van Wersch – 35m
Gabriele Re – 51m

Alberto Cigliano Out in 3rd Place for €65,500 25 Oct 20:19 by Lyle Bateman

Level 39: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 2/3,432

Raoul Van Wersch raised to 2 million, then called off when Alberto Cigliano shoved the big blind. It was a race between pocket eights for Cigliano versus KJ for Van Wersch. There was a jack in the window and no further help came on the 9AJQ3 board. Van Wesch now has a huge lead going into heads-up.

Alberto Cigliano – 0
Raoul Van Wersch – 59m

Alberto Cigliano

Back in Action 25 Oct 19:51 by Lyle Bateman

Level 39: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 3/3,432

The final three players are now back at the felt for the endgame of the 2023 Battle of Malta Autumn.

Short Break Three Ways 25 Oct 19:44 by Lyle Bateman

Level 39: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 3/3,432

Once the field got down to three-handed, the players took a bit of a break. Action will resume shortly with the remainder of Level 39 before they blinds drop to 30 minutes for the start of Level 40.

Pos. Player Chips Table Seat
#1 Raoul Van Wersch 34,650,000 21 2
#2 Alberto Cigliano 29,000,000 21 6
#3 Gabriele Re 22,400,000 21 5

 

Szymon Kuczerski Out in 4th Place for €45,550 25 Oct 19:31 by Lyle Bateman

Level 39: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 3/3,432

Alberto Cigliano raised to 11 million, leaving about 3 million behind, then called when Szymon Kuczerski shoved with a slightly smaller stack. Cigliano had A8s] against KQ and he smashed the flop on a board of A86T4 to send Kuczerski to the cage in 4th place.

Action will now shift to 30-minute blinds.

Szymon Kuczerski – 0
Alberto Cigliano – 29.4m

Szymon Kuczerski

Kuczerski Doubles First Hand Back from Break 25 Oct 19:17 by Lyle Bateman

Level 39: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 4/3,432

Szymon Kuczerski shoved the small blind with A9 but Raoul Van Wersch woke up with pocket jacks and snapped it off. Kuczerski found an ace on the 8QA84 board and Van Wersch couldn’t keep up. That puts Kuczerski near 20 million, and the slide of Van Wersch continues as he is still the chip leader but now down to just 30 million.

Szymon Kuczerski: 19m
Raoul Van Wersch: 30m

Van Wersch Still Leads at Break, but Smaller 25 Oct 19:06 by Lyle Bateman

Level 39: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 4/3,432

Raoul Van Wersch is down to about 40 million now but is still leading at the break. He has about twice as many chips as second-place Gabriele Re. When they return to the felt the blinds will be 500k/1m with a 1m big blind ante, and once the field is down to 3 players, the blinds will be reduced to 30 minutes.

Pos. Player Chips Table Seat
#1 Raoul Van Wersch 40,250,000 21 2
#2 Gabriele Re 20,400,000 21 5
#3 Alberto Cigliano 16,200,000 21 6
#4 Szymon Kuczerski 9,200,000 21 1
Cigliano Survives with Doubles 25 Oct 18:48 by Lyle Bateman

Level 38: 400,000/800,000 (800,000)
Entries: 4/3,432

Alberto Cigliano shoved the button with a tiny stack of 2.7m and Raoul Van Wersch felt priced in to call from the big blind. He was dominated by the Italian Cigliano who had A5 against 85 for the big stack. There were no surprises on the board and Cigliano stayed alive.

The very next hand, Cigliano chipped into Van Wersch’s stack a bit more when he shoved A9 and Van Wersch called off with A7 and the board ran clean for the Italian.

Alberto Cigliano: 17m
Raoul Van Wersch: 38m

Alberto Cigliano

Re Doubles through Van Wersch 25 Oct 18:43 by Lyle Bateman

Level 38: 400,000/800,000 (800,000)
Entries: 4/3,432

Raoul Van Wersch tried to bully with a shove from the button holding T6 but small blind Gabriele Re woke up with pocket eights and put in a quick call. Van Wersch had outs like crazy as the board ran out AQjh]9J but ultimately the eights held and Re is back in it with 22 million, but Van Wersch still has mountains with just shy of 50 million now.

Raoul Van Wersch: 48m
Gabriele Re: 22m

Kuczerski Doubles Through Re 25 Oct 18:37 by Lyle Bateman

Level 38: 400,000/800,000 (800,000)
Entries: 4/3,432

Szymon Kuczerski just found a double in a race against Gabriele Re. Re shoved with pocket eights from the button and Kuczerski snapped him off with ace-nine. The board double paired queens and tens on the turn with an ace on the river to send a big pot to Kuczerski.

Szymon Kuczerski: 14m
Gabriele Re: 12m

Szymon Kuczerski

Xavier Zuczkowski Out in 5th Place for €29,950 25 Oct 18:22 by Lyle Bateman

Level 38: 400,000/800,000 (800,000)
Entries: 4/3,432

It was the biggest set-up in poker when Raoul Van Wersch raised the button to 1,600,000 with AK and Xavier Zuczkowski woke up with queens in the small blind. He jammed for 12 million, forcing Gabriele Re off the big blind. Van Wersch asked for a count, then called.

Van Wersch turned an ace and a flush draw on 9T4A4 and never looked back. Van Wersch is now up to around 52 million chips, about 2/3rds of the chips in play.

Xavier Zuczkowski

Daniele Grasso Out in 6th Place for €18,150 25 Oct 18:06 by Lyle Bateman

Level 38: 400,000/800,000 (800,000)
Entries: 5/3,432

Daniele Grasso was down to 3 million chips and found A9 in the cutoff. Szymon Kuczerski called from the button with A8 but he found his eight on the flop of KT82Q and it was all over for Grasso who pocketed €18,150 for 6th place.

Daniele Grasso

Van Wersch and Zuczkowski Go At It 25 Oct 17:47 by Lyle Bateman

Level 37: 300,000/600,000 (600,000)
Entries: 6/3,432

Xavier Zuczkowski and Raoul Van Wersch have been going at it fairly hard so far today. Earlier on the final table in a blind-on-blind confrontation between them, they both had king-queen, but Van Wersch was able to push Zuczkowski off the hand with a shove to close a bit of a raising war.

They just found another spot to tangle when Zuczkowski raised preflop to 1,200,000 and got a call from Van Wersch in the big blind. Van Wersch was playing a dominated ten with queen-ten against ace-ten for Zuczkowski and things got a bit spicy when both players flopped a ten with 2T7. Van Wersch check-called for 1 million and the 7 paired the board.

Van Wersch bet 1,200,000 and Zuczkowski called. The 5 river was a brick and Zuczkowski shoved to take it down.

Xavier Zuczkowski

Van Wersch Flops It 25 Oct 17:27 by Lyle Bateman

Level 37: 300,000/600,000 (600,000)
Entries: 6/3,432

Raoul Van Wersch raised to 1,800,000 from the small blind with K9, and Xavier Zuczkowski called from the big with A5. Van Wersch smashed the 59K flop for two pair and he bet 1,400,000. Zuczkowski called and both players turned a diamond draw on 8.

Van Wersch bet 2,200,000 and Zuczkowski called to the bricky 4 river. Van Wersch shoved the covering stack, and Zuczkowski got out of the way after some thought.

Back in Action 25 Oct 16:53 by Lyle Bateman

Level 37: 300,000/600,000 (600,000)
Entries: 6/3,432

The players are just now sitting back down for Level 37 with six players remaining and Raoul Van Wersch leading the way.

Break Time 25 Oct 16:39 by Lyle Bateman

Level 37: 300,000/600,000 (600,000)
Entries: 6/3,432

The final six players are now on their first break of the final day with Raoul Van Wersch still leading. When they return to the felt they’ll be in Level 37 with blinds of 300k/600k and a BB ante of 600k.

Pos. Player Chips Table Seat
#1 Raoul Van Wersch 25,150,000 21 2
#2 Gabriele Re 17,600,000 21 5
#3 Xavier Zuczkowski 14,700,000 21 3
#4 Alberto Cigliano 11,850,000 21 6
#5 Daniele Grasso 11,350,000 21 7
#6 Szymon Kuczerski 5,400,000 21 1
Christophe De Meulder Out in 7th Place for €14,350 25 Oct 16:12 by Lyle Bateman

Level 36: 250,000/500,000 (500,000)
Entries: 6/3,432

It was a race after Xavier Zuczkowski opened the cutoff, and Christophe De Meulder shoved the button. Zuczkowski called and it was ace-queen for him versus pocket sixes for De Meulder.

De Meulder picked up some straight outs on the flop of 478Q9 but Zuczkowski nailed the turn to jump ahead. The river bricked for De Meulder and he hit the rail in 7th place.

Christophe De Meulder

Stacks Seven Ways 25 Oct 15:56 by Lyle Bateman

Level 36: 250,000/500,000 (500,000)
Entries: 7/3,432

 

Pos. Player Chips Table Seat
#1 Raoul Van Wersch 24,000,000 21 2
#2 Gabriele Re 16,000,000 21 6
#3 Alberto Cigliano 11,000,000 21 7
#4 Daniele Grasso 11,000,000 21 9
#5 Szymon Kuczerski 8,800,000 21 1
#6 Xavier Zuczkowski 8,600,000 21 3
#7 Christoph De Meulder 6,100,000 21 4
Herli Olop Out in 8th Place for €11,240 25 Oct 15:53 by Lyle Bateman

Level 36: 250,000/500,000 (500,000)
Entries: 7/3,432

Herli Olop came into the final day with one of the shorter stacks, and he was the first to hit the rail. He found pocket nines in the cutoff and shoved it, getting called for a race by Daniele Grasso in the big blind with queen-ten of hearts. Grasso hit a ten on the flop and another on the river of T6K5T to send the Estonian to the rail in 8th place for €11,240.

Herli Olop

Zuczkowski Takes Blind on Blind Pot with Worst 25 Oct 15:41 by Lyle Bateman

Level 36: 250,000/500,000 (500,000)
Entries: 8/3,432

Xavier Zuczkowski picked up a nice pot on the turn near the end of Level 35 when he raised the small blind to 1 million with queen-nine off and Christoph De Meulder came along from the big blind with ace-five. Zuczkowski min-bet the AK4 as he flopped the nut flush draw with the Q in his hand.

De Meulder called to see 7 on the turn but then folded the best hand when Zuczkowski fired 1.1 million.

Final Table Photos 25 Oct 15:31 by Redazione
Tight Action Early On 25 Oct 15:12 by Lyle Bateman

Level 35: 200,000/400,000 (400,000)
Entries: 8/3,432

So far, play at the final table has been pretty cagey with very few flops being shown. Most hands have ended with a single raise and folds as they are nearing the end of the opening level of the day.

The 2023 Autumn Battle of Malta Final Table is Now Underway on Delay 25 Oct 14:52 by Lyle Bateman

Level 35: 200,000/400,000 (400,000)
Entries: 8/3,432

The action is now underway on a variety of streaming channels, as well as action reported here. See below for the places to watch the live stream.

Raoul van Wersch Leads the Way into Final Table of BoM Main Event 25 Oct 13:11 by Lyle Bateman

Raoul van Wersch

The final day of the Battle of Malta is now set with 8 players remaining, competing for the top prize of €209,500. The top two places today will both pay out 6-figure prizes with second place looking to pocket €129,000.

Raoul Van Wersch is the player who is best positioned at the start of the day to take the top prize as he is sitting with about a quarter of the chips in play right now. Gabriele Re is one of three other players with 10 million or more as he starts the day with just over 16 million.

The final day’s action will kick off at 2 p.m. in real-time, but the final table will be streamed on a variety of platforms to suit individual viewers. The stream will be on a 20-minute delay to preserve the integrity of the game, and the live blog action will also follow the stream delay to avoid spoilers.

Lead reporter for the series so far, Jason Glatzer, will be putting down his pen to pick up a microphone today as he will be live on delay bringing you all the action from the stream while I take over the live blog duties for the day. See below for a look at all the places you can watch the action.

Final Table Players by Chips

Seat Player Chips Big Blinds
1 Szymon Kuczerski 9,200,000 23
2 Raoul Van Wersch 22,525,000 56
3 Xavier Zuczkowski 6,750,000 17
4 Christoph de Meulder 6,725,000 17
5 Herli Olop 4,450,000 11
6 Gabriele Re 16,100,000 40
7 Alberto Cigliano 10,100,000 25
9 Daniele Grasso 10,100,000 25

Final Table Payouts for BoM Main Event Autumn 2023

Place Prize
1 €209,500
2 €129,500
3 €65,500
4 €45,550
5 €29,950
6 €18,150
7 €14,350
8 €11,240
Where to Watch the Stream 25 Oct 13:08 by Jason Glatzer

The final table will kick off at 2 p.m. with the stream starting 20 minutes later broadcasted by poker media veteran Jason Glatzer and guests.

You can check it out on the following channels: