Battle of Malta First Day Report 31 Oct 12:00 by Jonathan Raab

The Battle of Malta Autumn edition is now well and truly underway, with the first day now a thing of the past. And what a day it was, with an extremely busy start to the Main Event, taking place at Casino Malta and the Eden Arena at the Intercontinental Hotel.

By the time late registration ended in the main event Day 1a, there had been 362 entries, 15% of whom would progress further in the tournament. But it was a long day for these early starting poker warriors, as it was not until after 5am that the flight concluded, with 54 players safely securing their passage into Day 2.

It was also the first half-price starting day yesterday and as this is a new feature of the Battle of Malta’s format, we weren’t so sure what to expect. It did quite well, not as well as the opening flight, but with 133 entries, it was a reasonable start. 

Just ten players (7.5% of the field) bagged stacks from Day 2. The rest hit the rail, but many will likely be back for another crack at the Hold’em whip, in one of the remaining seven starting days.

High Stack Bonuses

Another new feature for this edition of the Battle of Malta Main Event is the introduction of High Stack bonus prizes for the top finishers in the starting flights. 

  • The full-price starting days award €10,000 to the player who bags the largest stack of the day, plus €5,000 and €3,000 to the players with the second and third biggest stacks respectively.
  • The half-price starting days award €5,000 to the end of day chip leader and €2,000 to the owner of the second biggest stack.

Humberto Hauls €10,000 Bonus in Day 1a 

Day 1a Chip Leader Humberto Lopes Galindo

Humberto Lopes Galindo bagged the chip lead after parlaying his 40,000 opening stack into a whopping 1,146,000 in chips to earn the €10,000 bonus. Michael Kim Falcon was near the chip lead throughout Day 1a and ended just one starting stack behind Galindo, to end the day with 1,106,000 and earn the €5,000 second-place bonus.

These two were quite far ahead of the rest of the pack and it was Nikolaos Oikonomou who squeezed into the third-place by the end of the day, bagging 797,000 to earn the €3,000 third-place bonus. 

There’s a large contingent of Estonian players at this event and two of them posted top 15 chip counts from the opening starting day. Kaidar Viikman, bagged up 435,000, while Herli Olop, who final tabled the 2023 Battle of Malta ended the flight with 385,000. Here are the top 10 chip counts from the day.

Player Chips
Humberto Lopes Galindo 1,146,000
Michael Kim Falcon 1,106,000
Nikolaos Oikonomou 797,000
Gabriel Ionut Dinu 783,000
Kostadin Mihaylov 685,000
Kyriakos Papadopoulos 655,000
Giulio Di Salvo 599,000
Massimiliano Mauceri 570,000
Andreas Froehli 513,000
Kaidar Viikman 435,000

 

The full list of chip counts for all 54 Day 1a survivors can be found here.

Polish Duo Pocket Day 1b Bonuses

Day1b Chip Leader Krystian Nalepka

Day1b Chip Leader Krystian Nalepka

Two players from Poland collected the bonuses. Krystian Nalepka led the way after transforming his 20,000 starting stack into 599,000 to earn the €5,000 chip leader bonus, while countrymate Krzystof Mielnik ended the day with 520,000, which was good enough to earn the €2,000 bonus for second place. 

For clarity, all of the bonuses are part of the prize pool, creating a unique and exciting end to each starting day. Check out the full chip counts below from the 10 Day 1b survivors.

Player Chips
Krystian Nalepka 599,000
Krzysztof Mielnik 520,000
Leslie Lamnea 388,000
Salvatore Pardo 257,000
Andreas Putz 184,000
Claudio Schifano 175,000
Adam Pawel Wojcieszak 161,000
Ricardo Abreu 138,000
Grzegorz Kozieja 132,000
Elia Salerno 76,000

Mystery Siege of Malta Smashes Guarantee

The Mystery Siege of Malta began on Tuesday, when 210 players contested the first of four starting days. The numbers in the first flight alone ensured that the €100,000 guarantee in the event will be smashed well out of the ball park and this was confirmed yesterday, when a further 140 players took their seats. With 350 entries so far at the half way stage of the starting days, the prize pool is already close to €130,000! The prize pool now looks very likely to surpass €250,000!

Chip counts from the survivors of yesterday’s flight can be found in this post in yesterday’s blog coverage.

Satellite Surge

Yesterday’s two main event satellites were both huge, with 67 players winning (full-price) Main Event seats. The early starting satellite had a very respectable 256 entries, producing 25 seat winners. The evening satellite did even better, with 424 players joining the game to generate a further 42 seats into the Battle of Malta Main Event.

Congratulations to Our First Day Winners

We also had four winners on the first day of the festival, as both the White and Dark Knight tournaments reached their conclusions, as did the Sviten and the late night HyperTurbo. 

Danny Verheij from Netherlands won the €150 White Knight, scooping the €2,100 first prize, defeating Italian Vicenzo Scarpitti after an intense heads up battle.

Danny Verheij, White Knight Winner, with runner up Vicenzo Scarpitti

Vladyslav Sidihkin from Ukraine who defeated the UK’s James MacPherson in the €200 Dark Knight to claim the €2.390

Soner Vanelderen, a Belgian who lives in Malta won the Sviten, officially taking the €1,710 first prize, however there was some business done with Karol Olszewski when they were heads up.

Sviten winner Soner Vanelderen with runner up Karol Olszewski

Nathan Priestnall won the first HyperTurbo event of the week, defeating Kosovan Selamiri Bllloshmi to scoop the €2,380 first prize.

Thursday’s Action At The Battle of Malta

Start Time Event Buy-In Fee Starting Stack Levels
11:00 Satellite One Shot to BOM €1,500,000 GTD €60 €10 10K 20 mins
13:00 BOM €1,500,000 GTD Day1C €530 €70 40K 40 mins
15:00 6max by Winamax (Day 1A) €340 €60 30K 30 mins
16:00 MYSTERY SIEGE OF MALTA (BOUNTY MYSTERY EVENT) €100,000 GTD Day1C €210+200 €40 30K 20 mins
17:00 Pot Limit Omaha €300 €30 30K 25 mins
18:00 NLH Dark Knight €170 €30 20K 20 mins
20:00 BOM €1,500,000 GTD Day1D half price €265 €35 20K 20 mins
21:00 Satellite Accumulator to BOM €1,500.000 GTD – every 100K €60 €10 10K 20 mins
22:00 NLH HyperTurbo €130 €20 20K 10 mins

 

Thursday’s schedule is very similar to Wednesday’s. In fact the only difference today is that there is no White Knight tournament this afternoon. In its place is the first of two starting days in the Winamax 6-Max event, which has a €400 buy-in (€340+€60).

As per Wednesday’s action, the day begins with a satellite at 11am, with Day 1c (full-price) of the Battle of Malta Main Event beginning at 1pm and a further half-price flight at 8pm. There is also another Main Event satellite at 9pm.

The third starting day of the Siege of Malta begins at 4pm and today’s non-hold’em offering is a €330 (€300+€30) Pot Limit Omaha.

For those looking for single day Hold’em side events, the €200 (€170+€30) White Knight at 6pm and the €150 (€130+€20) Hyper Turbo at 10pm are the available options.

As today is October the 31st, which as everyone knows is Halloween, we are also expecting something spooky to happen today. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself in a hand and the devil himself is the one who does the write up for the blog. There will be much blood spilled today at the Battle of Malta and none of it will be mine, muhahhhaaa (evil laugh).

Cards Ready

Polish Duo Nalepka and Mielnik Win Bonuses on Day 1b 31 Oct 10:05 by Jason Glatzer

Day 1b of the 2024 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition Main Event at Casino Malta and the Eden Arena at the InterContinental Malta was historic as it was the first time a €300 opening flight was held on the island of Malta for this prestigious event. The rules were different to create parity with the regular €600 opening flight. The 40,000 opening stack was halved to 20,000, as were the blind levels from 40 to 20 minutes.

This is not all, as instead of 15 percent advancing, just 7.5 percent was slated for these flights. Also, the end-of-day bonuses are awarded to the top two players instead of the top three, with a total of €7,000 in bonuses instead of €18,000.

Day 1b witnessed 133 entries getting into the mix, with just ten players finding a bag. On Sunday’s Day 2, they will start the day with at least a minimum amount of cash in hand worth €800.

Two players from Poland collected the bonuses. Krystian Nalepka led the way after transforming his 20,000 starting stack into 599,000 to earn the €5,000 chip leader bonus, while countrymate Krzystof Mielnik ended the day with 520,000, which was good enough to earn the €2,000 bonus for second place. For transparency purposes, all of the bonuses are part of the prize pool, creating a unique environment near the end of the day. Check out the full chip counts below from the 10 Day 1b survivors.

 

Player Chips
Krystian Nalepka 599,000
Krzysztof Mielnik 520,000
Leslie Lamnea 388,000
Salvatore Pardo 257,000
Andreas Putz 184,000
Claudio Schifano 175,000
Adam Pawel Wojcieszak 161,000
Ricardo Abreu 138,000
Grzegorz Kozieja 132,000
Elia Salerno 76,000

 

Galindo, Falcon, & Oikonomou Win High Stack Bonuses on Day 1a 31 Oct 09:48 by Jason Glatzer

The €600 buy-in Day 1a of the 2024 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition Main Event at Casino Malta and the Eden Arena at the InterContinental Hotel Malta was a massive success. A total of 364 runners battled it out in a marathon of a day, and 54 players (15 percent) advanced to Sunday’s Day 2 already in the money.

Humberto Lopes Galindo bagged the chip lead after parlaying his 40,000 opening stack into a whopping 1,146,000 in chips to earn the €10,000 bonus. Michael Kim Falcon was near the chip lead throughout Day 1a and ended just a starting stack behind Galindo to end the day with 1,106,000 to earn a €5,000 second-place bonus.

After that, there was quite some gap, with Nikolaos Oikonomou squeezing into the third-place position with 797,000 to earn the €3,000 third-place bonus.

Meanwhile, a pair of Estonians was near the top of the chip count. In fact, two players whose mission is to help the poker community in Estonia, Kaidar Viikman, bagged up 435,000, followed by the 2023 Battle of Malta Main Event final table Herli Olop, with 385,000.

On the other end of the spectrum was Ottavio Ferrazzano, who miraculously bagged less than a starting stack of 32,000. This is good enough for him to be already in the money along with the 53 other survivors for at least a €800 minimum cash.

Check out the final chip counts from Day 1a below, and stay tuned for an update about who won bonuses and bagged stacks during last night’s €300 buy-in on Day 1b.

Player Chips
Humberto Lopes Galindo 1,146,000
Michael Kim Falcon 1,106,000
Nikolaos Oikonomou 797,000
Gabriel Ionut Dinu 783,000
Kostadin Mihaylov 685,000
Kyriakos Papadopoulos 655,000
Giulio Di Salvo 599,000
Massimiliano Mauceri 570,000
Andreas Froehli 513,000
Kaidar Viikman 435,000
Emanuel Antonacci 415,000
Herli Olop 385,000
Fabio Ratto 384,000
Ferdinand Janssen 381,000
Luigi D’alterio 368,000
Mario Menicanin 321,000
Nikolaos Mourotis 304,000
Daniel Heredi 265,000
Nikola Krstevski 232,000
Calum Bagnall 226,000
Christian Pedersen 214,000
Giuseppe Rosa 190,000
Andrew Mackenzie 183,000
Milos Vaskovic 180,000
Victor-Dan Angelescu 175,000
Neculai Macovei 167,000
Ioannis Oikonomidis 155,000
Ivan Furniet Martinez 146,000
Antoine Talvard 139,000
Leonidas Alexopoulos 138,000
Nikolaos Valtatzis 134,000
Ben Paul Miller 133,000
Janos Kuertoesi 132,000
Clement Bonnant 131,000
Daniele Arangio 125,000
Nikola Minovic 124,000
Plamen Yordanov 123,000
Georgios Mellidis 118,000
Vasyl Laba 114,000
Simone Oddo 106,000
Daniel Yerin 106,000
Sokratis Papavramidis 93,000
Rami Awad 87,000
Giorgios Mylonas 86,000
Stavros Petychakis 79,000
Tomi Arponen 75,000
Paul-Vlad Craciunas 74,000
Radek Castka 69,000
Luca Bartoli 66,000
Dimitrios Diamantis Choulis 60,000
Nenad Srbnesovic 60,000
Sergej Babingev 53,000
Patrick Grabmann 45,000
Ottavio Ferrazzano 32,000
End of Day Approaching 31 Oct 00:43 by Jonathan Raab

The end of the day is approaching, but not for the players, as several tournaments are still in play and they have some way to go before the action draws to a standstill for the night. 

However, for the reporting team, the end of the day has been reached and we are off to recharge our batteries before we do it all again tomorrow. 

The Main Event Day 1a and day 1b are both still in play, is the Dark Knight, which has now reached its final table. The second satellite of the day is also still running and late registration is still open. It’s a huge one and looks like it will exceed 400 entries, which will generate 40 seats into the Main Event. The HyperTurbo is also still going.

Chip counts of the Day 1 and Day 1b survivors will be posted in the morning. Jack and Cesare from the Italian media team will be covering the bubble action later tonight for Day 1a. Check out the Battle of Malta Facebook page for more info on that.

Poker Jacket of Lukas Pazma

Mystery Siege of Malta Day 1b Wraps 31 Oct 00:36 by Jonathan Raab

Second starting day of the Mystery Siege of Malta has no concluded. 21 of the 140 players who started today have joined the 32 who progressed from Day 1a.

There have been 350 entries in total and the prize pool is already almost €30,000 above the modest €100,000 Guarantee that Casino Malta placed on the event. There are two further starting days to come before Friday evening’s Day 2.

Top Ten Chip Counts

Pos Player Name Chips
1 Kajetan Renke 652,000
2 Davide Iannaco 531,000
3 Panagiotis Papastefanou 474,000
4 Michal Wargin 406,000
5 Taago Tamm 369,000
6 Halil Gecaj 298,000
7 Daniel Jackson 185,000
8 Oliver Braddock 174,000
9 Dario Mancuso 133,000
10 Tomasz Kardas 129,000

 

Cards Ready

Day1 Photos Part 2 31 Oct 00:24 by Igor Bezborodov
Soner Vanelderen Wins Sviten 31 Oct 00:20 by Jonathan Raab

The Sviten was a quiet, but hard fought event which paid winner takes all, as there were just six entries. The last two decided to do an informal deal and restructure the prize pool to ensure there was something for second place, but despite this they took it seriously, playing on to determine the winner, even though it was quite an even chop.

In the end Soner Vanelderen took the victory, defeating Karol Olszewski to scoop the official €1,710 first prize.

  • Buy-In: €330
  • Entries: 6
  • Prize Pool: €1,710
Position Player Name Prize
1 Soner Vanelderen €1,710

 

Soner Vanelderen, Sviten Winner

Playing Heads-Up for the Honor in the Sviten 30 Oct 23:45 by Jason Glatzer

The €330 Sviten Special has reached its heads-up action. Karol Olszewski and Soner Vanelderen were heads-up for a title when they agreed to an informal heads-up deal.

Despite the money already agreed upon outside of the €200 difference between first and second places, the duo continued to battle on for at least 30 minutes and are still battling as we speak. Honor is sometimes more important than money with both players eager to add an early Battle of Malta victory.

Jonathan Raab will update the results of this event as soon as it’s concluded. In the meantime, it appears both players are enjoying the friendly battle.

 

First Winner of the Week! 30 Oct 23:23 by Jonathan Raab

The first event to reach its natural conclusion was the €150 White Night. It was won by Dutch player Danny Verheij, who defeated Italian Vicenzo Scarpitti after an intense but amicable heads up battle to claim the €2,100 first prize. 

White Knight Result

  • Buy-In: €150
  • Entries: 58
  • Prizepool: €7,163
Pos Player Name Prize
1 Danny Verheij €2,100
2 Vincenzo Scarpitti €1,500
3 Steven Smart €980
4 Sebastian Mikolajczyk €740
5 Ernst Ter Steege €570
6 Petrus Dekker €440
7 Lewis Brown €350
8 Wilco Van De Kuijt €270
9 Ivan Kuziv €210

 

Danny Verheij, White Knight Winner

Third Break 30 Oct 23:09 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on their third break of the day. Blinds will increase to 1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 big blind ante when the action resumes in 20 minutes.

Falcon Piling on Chips 30 Oct 23:08 by Jason Glatzer

Level 12: 1,000/1,500 (1,500)
Entries: 142/362

Denmark’s Michael Kim Falcon was among the chip leaders at the dinner break and things have gone swimmingly since then as he is up to 470,000 in chips, which appears to be the largest in the room without doing a full audit.

He just recently took a small pot against Erki Evert, who has been full of banter and fun on Table 6.

Evert opened the cutoff for 3,000. Falcon three-bet to 9,000 and Evert soon after found a call.

“You know I will call you anyway,” Evert said as soon as he called.

“I hoped you would,” replied Falcon.

Both players checked the 562 flop.

“I will need to bet the turn,” Evert warned.

Falcon took charge instead, leading out for 15,000. Evert snap-folded and shortly after shared with the table he had ten-eight.

Michael Kim Falcon – 470,000
Erki Evert – 100,000

Michael Kim Falcon

Oeye Wins Massive Pot After Rockets Hold 30 Oct 22:44 by Jason Glatzer

Level 12: 1,000/1,500 (1,500)
Entries: 157/362

Adrian Cazacu was among the early chip leaders at the beginning of the day but was down to 18,000 when he jammed with fours. Michal Kral three-bet shoved for 108,000 with tens from a couple of seats over before Jan Oeye called off his stack of slightly less than Kral with aces.

The aces held on the K5395 runout for Cazacu to hit the rail and Kral to be short on chips. Meanwhile, Oeye won one of the biggest pots of the day when his pocket rockets held strong.

Jan Oeye – 235,000
Michal Kral – 3,000
Adrian Cazacu – 0

Jan Erik Elshaug Oeye

Day 1b Achieves Century Mark 30 Oct 22:22 by Jason Glatzer

The €300 Day 1b opening flight of the Main Event is on its first break after six blind levels of 20 minutes each. This means there are four more levels of late registration for players to get a fresh stack of 20,000 (half the 40,000 in the €600 buy-in flights) in the €300 buy-in opening flight with just 7.5 percent advancing as opposed to the 15 percent advancing from the €600 buy-in flights.

Vasilj Barna, Tanel Evert, Jianyi Lu (who coincidentally also bubbled Day 1b in the 2024 Battle of Malta Spring Edition Main Event), Arthur Navellou, and Gang Wang are among the players still in battle with the field now reaching 100 entries with 66 players in their seats when the action resumes.

Jianyi Lu

HyperTurbo Now In Play 30 Oct 22:18 by Jonathan Raab

The final event of the day is now in play with 21 players now taking part. This tournament really is a fast one as it has just ten minutes for every blind level. A quick glance at the player list reveals that at present, I don’t recognize any of the participants. However there is a rather unusual coincidence, in that two of the players have very similar names:

Peter Cornelis Vermaas and Cornelis Pieter Vreugdejhil.

  • Buy-In: €150 (€130+€20)
  • Tournament Began: 10pm
  • Starting Stack: 20,000
  • Blind levels: 10 mins
  • Play Ends: When we have a winner!

Everybody Shuffling

Full House for Gulas 30 Oct 22:08 by Jason Glatzer

Level 11: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 169/362

Andreas Katsanis was sitting on a healthy stack when he fired out a pot-sized bet of 21,000 with the 52455 on the board. Josef Gulas tanked for more than a minute before he opted to call.

Katsanis turned over he A9 and his trips with an ace-nine kicker were not good enough with Gulas tabling a full house with A4 to win the pot.

Josef Gulas – 85,000
Andreas Katsanis – 85,000

Josef Gulas

Busy First Day at Battle of Malta 30 Oct 22:06 by Jonathan Raab

It’s not over yet, but it’s shaping up to be a busy first day at the Battle of Malta Autumn Edition 2024. So far just one of the day’s nine events has concluded. Seven others are still in play and there is one tournament yet to start, the €150 (€130+€20) No Limit Hold’em Hyperturbo, which begins at 10pm.

The tournament that has ended was the early starting Battle of Malta satellite, which attracted a sizeable field of 256 entries, generating 25 seats into the Main Event (full price seats) and a further €320 for the 26th place finisher.

Events Still in Progress

  • Battle of Malta Day 1a: Late registration has just closed, with a total of 362 entries. They will play on until there are 54 players left, which will take quite a while yet as they are still 178 players left in the flight.
  • Battle of Malta Day 1b: Late registration is still open in the first half price starting day of the Main Event with 93 players having entered by the end of level 6. 
  • White Knight: The first outing for the White Knight is nearly over, with the last three of its 58 players currently fighting it out to determine who wins the €2,100 first prize. Vincenzo Scarpitti, Danny Verhij and Steven Smart are the last three. 
  • Mystery Siege of Malta: This is still running with 53 of the 140 starters left in. Only 21 will progress to Day 2 and one of them won’t be Joe Grech. The Maltese number one ranked player on The Hendon Mob website has just busted and stopped by the media desk to say hi. He lost most of his chips to a 2-outer, but as ever he was very accepting and philosophical about it. He’s not upset, that’s the way poker goes and you have to take the rough with the smooth.
  • Sviten: Today’s Sviten Special was a quiet one, with just six players entering. Three players are left  with Soner Vanelderen still in. 
  • Dark Knight: The Dark Knight is down to the last 15 players from 47 starters. It pays seven spots, with the winner taking home €2,390.
  • Main Event Satellite: the second Main Event satellite of the day is a busy one, with 284 entries already and they have only just started level 4.

Fikri Basaran, Winner of the Hat of the Day Competition

Late Registration Closed; 362 Entries 30 Oct 21:53 by Jason Glatzer

Level 11: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 176/362

Late registration has closed for Day 1a of the Main Event with the field unofficially attracting 362 entries. Assuming there are no final adjustments after double and triple checking the numbers with the cashier, Day 1a will end when the action is down to 54 players or less, each in the money for at least a €800 min-cash.

Meanwhile, today’s end-of-Day 1a chip leader will be awarded a €10,000 prize as will be the case for all of the €600 buy-in opening flights. The second place stack will be awarded €5,000, while third place will snag a tasty €3,000.

Best of luck to all of the players in their quest for Main Event glory.

Nut-Flush for Kristiansen 30 Oct 21:41 by Jason Glatzer

Level 10: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 181/361

Lise Kristiansen bet 8,000 into a pot of around 20,000 with the 9895 on the board on the turn. Aleksandar Zuberovski called to see the 3 river.

Kristiansen led out for 18,000. Zuberovski went into the tank for more than three minutes, during which time he also counted his stack and calculated he would have 300 left if he called and lost.

Zuberovski eventually announced a call only to get the bad news and muck his hand after Kristiansen added some chips to her stack with the nut flush with A8. Zuberovski dusted off his tiny stack the next hand and still has time to re-enter with the minutes counting down on Level 10 if he so chooses.

Lise Kristiansen – 115,000
Aleksandar Zuberovski – 0

Lise Kristiansen

“I Like Small Cards” 30 Oct 21:25 by Jason Glatzer

Level 10: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 186/355

Georgios Gamelis min-raised from the cutoff before Tanel Evert three-bet shoved from the button for 9,500. Gamelis asked for a count before he called.

Tanel Evert: 63
Georgios Gamelis: AT

The 65K34 ran out on the board for Evert to get there with a flush.

“You like six-three,” Laurynas Cerniauskas, who is sitting on a healthy stack, asked with a smile to Evert.

“I like small cards,” said Evert as he stacked up his new chips before heading to the rail.

Laurynas Ceriauskas – 110,000
Georgios Gamelis – 26,000
Tanel Evert – 20,000

Back From Dinner Break 30 Oct 21:06 by Jason Glatzer

Level 10: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 195/350

A handful of new players got into the mix during the dinner break to grow the Day 1a field to 350 entries. Players are back in their seats and ready for de ja vu for a repeat of the 500/1,000 (1,000) blind level.

Meanwhile, Day 1b, boasting a €300 buy-in, is trucking along and is up to 75 entries with 65 players remaining with plenty of time to get into the action there as well with the flight just starting Level 4.

Best of luck to all of the Day 1a and Day 1b players as they move along in their quests to bag their way into Sunday’s Day 2.

Day 1a Gallery 30 Oct 20:36 by Igor Bezborodov
Various Big Stacks at Dinner Break 30 Oct 20:27 by Jason Glatzer
Name Chips Big Blinds
Martin Jorgensen 250,000 250
Michael Kim Falcon 240,000 240
Alexandar Tot 195,000 195
David Mcconachie 170,000 170
Emanuel Antonacci 167,000 167
Leonidas Alexopoulos 165,000 165
Victor-Dan Angelescu 160,000 160
Ben Miller 160,000 160
Cosmin-Ionut Nica 160,000 160
Yamen Ghanem 155,000 155
Nikolaos Mourotis 155,000 155
Nikola Krstevski 140,500 141
Jorge Luis Alves Geraldes 140,000 140
Pablo Garcia Alba 140,000 140
Jordi Ruiz Ribatallada 134,000 134
Massimiliano Mauceri 130,000 130
Herli Olop 130,000 130
Gabriel Ionut Dinu 126,000 126
Wilfred Verwoert 120,600 121
Calum Bagnall 120,000 120
Zlatan Kresic 120,000 120
Nikolaos Valtatzis 120,000 120
Aleksandar Trajkovski 114,000 114
Daniele De Vita 112,000 112
Mario Rodrigo Gonzalo 110,000 110
Andro Scarpa 106,300 106
Joannis Temekonisdis 106,000 106
George Demetriou 100,000 100

 

Day 1b of Battle of Malta Main Event Begins 30 Oct 20:14 by Jonathan Raab

Just as Day 1a of the Main Event is going on dinner break, the first of the half price starting days is getting underway. Play in Day 1b has just begun with 35 players in their seats as the dealers began their initial shuffle. 

It costs just €300 to enter, half the usual €600 buy-in, but players start with half the usual stack and play on half the usual clock as well. It’s also harder to qualify from the half price flights, as only 7.5% of the field will progress to Day 2.

This flight is likely to finish before the full price Day 1a has concluded and although we won’t be fully covering the action, we’ll keep you updated on how it’s going as well.

Already spotted amongst the Day 1b early entrants is Salvatore Caruso, who scooped the biggest bounty in the Mystery Siege of Malta at the 2024 Spring Edition

  • Buy-In: €300 (€265+€35)
  • Tournament Begins: 8pm
  • Starting Stack: 20,000
  • Blind levels: 20 mins
  • Play Ends: When 7.5% of the field remain
  • Play Resumes: Day 2 begins at 8pm on Sunday 3rd November

Salvatore Caruso Scoops the Biggest Bounty (€10,500)

Main Event Day 1a on Dinner Break 30 Oct 19:55 by Jonathan Raab

Dinner Break: 75 mins
Entries: 189/343

The Main Event Day 1a has now gone on a 75 minute dinner break. Play will resume just after 9pm. We’ll update further on the chip leaders before play resumes.

Battle of Malta Main Event Day 1a

Mystery Siege of Malta Guarantee Already Met 30 Oct 19:48 by Jonathan Raab

The €450 Mystery Siege of Malta has four starting days and late registration has now closed for Day 1b, with 79 of today’s 140 players still in. Added to the 210 who played on Day 1a there have now been 350 entries and the prize pool is already in excess of its €100,000 Guarantee.

Mystery Siege Day 1a Chip Counts

Yesterday’s Day 1a of the Mystery Siege had 210 entries, of which 32 made it though to Friday’s Day 2. The chip leader on 640,000 is Andreas Katsanis, who is over 200,000 ahead of his nearest rival. Here are the top ten chip counts.

Pos Player Name Chips
1 Andreas Katsanis 640,000
2 Lise Kristiansen 438,000
3 Vito Burgio 427,000
4 Jorge Geraldes 404,000
5 Udo Hemmert 390,000
6 Clement Bonnant 332,000
7 Timothy Chung 313,000
8 Marko Cosic 298,000
9 Ernestas Degtiariovas 298,000
10 Maruen Zormati 218,000

 

BOM Spring Champion Vasileios Zisis in Today’s Field 30 Oct 19:21 by Jonathan Raab

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 208/345

Greek player Vasileios Zisis, who win the Battle of Malta Spring edition is playing today. He’s in quiet mode at the moment with headphones on and is trying to secure his place in Day 2 early in the week. He’s currently down to about 25,000 and has a lot of work to do if he’s going to repeat his success from earlier in the year. It is just his first bullet however, early days.

 

Vasileios is not the only player in today’s field who made the Spring BOM Final Table. Also playing is Alfred Cutim who finished 4th in April. he is doing rather better than Vasileios so far and has increased his starting stack to over 70,000.

Vasileios Zisis

Fruti Forces D’Alterio Into the Tank 30 Oct 18:57 by Jason Glatzer

Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 219/323

Luigi D’Alterio is usually in attendance at Casino Malta during the Battle of Malta and this time is no different. The Italian came into the festival with nearly $800,000 in tournament cashes as tracked by The Hendon Mob and is looking to possibly break the $1 million barrier if he is able to win the Battle of Malta Main Event.

D’Alterio was recently put to the test. Sonia Fruti jammed for 50,800 into a pot of just 15,000 with the T67Q3 on the board. D’Alterio went into the tank for about five minutes before the clock was called by a player not involved in the hand.

The floor set the clock for 30 seconds and D’Alterio eventually let go of his hand with just two seconds on the clock. Meanwhile, a big smile appeared on Fruti’s face as slid her cards face down to the dealer before collecting the pot.

Sonia Fruti – 66,000
Luigi D’Alterio – 60,000

Sonia Fruti

Knights in Action 30 Oct 18:55 by Jonathan Raab

Both the Knights tournaments are well underway now. The earlier starting White Knight is now in level 11 with just 14 of the 58 players who started still jousting away for a shot at the €2,100 first prize. 

The Dark Knight is now in the third level of the day and currently had 38 entries, with still a ling way to go until late registration closes.

 

Olop Proud to be Back From Estonia 30 Oct 18:30 by Jason Glatzer

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 225/313

We dropped by Table 21 to see how our Estonian friend Herli Olop was fairing. He has chipped up to 90,000 and shared with us one of the bigger hands along the way. Olop skipped the Battle of Malta in the Spring but was on the final table during the last autumn edition when he took eighth place for €11,240. This time around, Olop came as one of the leaders of a large Estonian contingent to the Battle of Malta.

Olop shared that he opened with 65 before two players called including a big stacked player with 120,000 in chips called.

“They usually re-raised,” Olop shared, but this time they just called.

Olop improved to both middle pair and a flush draw on the ace-six-trey flop and he continued for 1,600. One player with a shorter stack with only 20,500 behind raised to 4,500. The bigger stacked player folded while Olop called to see a four on the turn. Olop check-jammed his opponent and he called with big slick.

Olop needed some help but had outs to improve to two pair, trips, or a flush. The two-pair got the job done to eliminate his opponent after a six completed the board on the river.

“No more special hands or big pots so far,” Olop shared.

We wish Olop the best of luck of making the final table the second year in a row. While you certainly can’t win it on Day 1, you can at least put yourself into a good spot. Cheers to Olop and the rest of the Estonian poker community.

Herli Olop

Snowmen Good for Wrobel 30 Oct 18:19 by Jason Glatzer

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 226/312

The Battle continues to rage with many new players arriving from many countries including more than 100 from Estonia and even more from Greece and France. Of course, many in the field have also come from nearby from Italy and the host country of Malta as well.

Meanwhile, several players also traveled from Poland including Tomasz Wrobel who just won a pot against Norway’s Jan Oeye.

Dimitrios Lykouris check-called a bet of 5,000 into a pot of more than double this size with the J534 on the board after the turn. It took a little bit of time, but both players wound up checking down the T river. Wrobel tabled the 88 which proved to be good enough to take down the pot with Lykouris mucking his cards.

Tomasz Wrobel – 80,000
Dimitrios Lykouris – 50,000

Tomasz Maksymilian Wrobel

Dark Knight Begins 30 Oct 18:05 by Jason Glatzer

While late registration is still open in the €150 White Knight with nearly 60 entries and counting in the mix, a new tournament just began in the €200 Dark Knight, which began with 15 entries.

Marco Bottani, Karl Kalmus, Sander Piir, and Valerie Bennet are among the players in the early action with late registration open for quite some time until the start of Level 11 at around 9:35 p.m. this evening.

Best of luck to both players in the Dark Knight and the White Knight, while others battle on Day 1b of the €450 Mystery Siege of Malta and the Battle of Malta Main Event.

The Dark Knight Rides Again

Various Big Stacks at Second Break 30 Oct 17:55 by Jason Glatzer
Name Chips Big Blinds
Ben Miller 170,000 283
Pablo Garcia Alba 125,000 208
Aleksandar Trajkovski 114,000 190
Yamen Ghanem 112,000 187
Andro Scarpa 106,300 177
Joannis Temekonisdis 106,300 177
George Demetriou 100,000 167
Neil Barron 98,500 164
Stefan Fabian 96,000 160
Ivaylo Eftimov 95,000 158
Dario Berisa 94,000 157
Jorge Geraldes 80,000 133
300 Entries and Counting 30 Oct 17:47 by Jason Glatzer

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 230/300

Players are beginning to file back from the break. However, during the break, the magically 300th entry got into the mix. We will be updating some of the bigger stacks shortly as the action continues for three more levels before a 75-minute dinner break.

The Sviten Has Started 30 Oct 17:37 by Jonathan Raab

The first non-Hold’em offering of the Festival is now underway. Like all the non-Hold’em events the buy-in is €300+€30 and there are ten levels for late registration. Players start with 30,000 chips.

One question which is probably on the minds of a few players reading this is “what the heck is Sviten?” 

Sviten Special, to give it its full name, is also known as Drawmaha. It is a split pot poker format which combines Five Card Omaha with Five Card Draw. After the flop, players can exchange any number of the five hole cards, with the caveat that if they only exchange one card, they are dealt it face up and can choose to keep it or receive another card face down instead.

The game was invented in Sweden by Anders Bengtsson and is named after the club in which it was first played. It is a popular format throughout Scandinavia and its popularity is spreading. Malta is one of the few places that it is regularly played and often features on the tournament schedules of poker festivals here.

The tournament started at 5pm and they are now starting the 2nd level of the day.

Second Break 30 Oct 17:24 by Jason Glatzer

The field size is approaching 300 entries for Day 1a. This might be passed soon as players are about to head on their second 20-minute break of the day.

Blinds will increase to 300/600 with a 600 big blind ante when the action resumes. We will update some of the bigger stacks from around the Eden Arena when the action resumes.

Another Set for Ribatallada 30 Oct 17:22 by Jason Glatzer

Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 231/292

Jordi Ruiz Ribatallada earlier won a big hand with a set and now won another hand recently with another set. Ribatallada fired out for 25,000 with a bit more in the pot with the J75QA on the board. Lessa Ferreira Uribarri Soares Rui called and paid off Ribatallada after his AJ for two pair was no good against his opponent’s JJ for a set of jacks.

Jordi Ruiz Ribatallada – 100,000
Lessa Ferreira Uribarri Soares Rui – 65,000

Jordi Ruiz Ribatallada

Nuts for Lindqwist 30 Oct 17:01 by Jason Glatzer

Level 6: 200/400 (500)
Entries: 232/283

Table 17 is an interesting one with Josef Gulas, Shawn Decesare, Matthew Vella, Pawel Wakuluk, and Erik Lindqwist all battling for pots and chips.

Wakuluk had a bet in front of him with the 26J6A on the board when Lindqwist jammed for 15,900. Wakuluk made the call and said “nice hand” after Lindqwist tabled the nuts with A5. Wakuluk attempted to muck his hand but the T8 was tabled.

Best of luck to this high-octane table with many Battle of Malta veterans battling it out.

Erik Linqwist – 45,000
Pawel Wakuluk – 15,000

Erik Lars Allan Lindqwist

Morale Runs Into Ribatallada’s Set 30 Oct 16:48 by Jason Glatzer

Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 222/270

Jordi Ruiz Ribatallada checked the T83 flop before Eirik Presterud bet 5,000. Marco Morale jammed for about 20,000. Ribatallada tanked before he called while Presterud got out of the way.

Marco Morale: QT
Jordi Ruiz Ribatallada: 88

Morale needed help but was drawing dead on the 6 turn. The 5 river finished things off for Morale, who has already re-entered for his second bullet of Day 1a.

Jordi Ruiz Ribatallada – 85,000
Marco Morale – 40,000

Jordi Ruiz Ribatallada

More Than 50 Entries in the White Knight 30 Oct 16:20 by Jason Glatzer

The €150 White Knight was the first event to start the day. The action is flying along with already 51 entries and counting.

Kevin Berkhout, Brian Calleja, Vicenzo Scarpitti, Steven Smart, and Mark Wates were among the early players in action. Many of those names, if not all of them, we will see later on during the Main Event.

“You Scared Me” 30 Oct 16:15 by Jason Glatzer

Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 210/242

Some tables were already playing on Level 5 when the following hand was taking place to close out Level 4 on Table 23.

There were more than 25,000 in the pot on the river with the J8337 on the board when Valentin Imperatore and Hani Bamasood checked. Luca Tonarelli opted to bet 18,000.

Imperatore tanked for about a minute before he folded. Bamasood then tanked himself for close to a minute before he announced a call. Tonarelli turned over the T8 for two pair. Bamasood tabled the JT for a better two pair to scoop up a tasty pot.

“You scared me,” said Bamasood to Tonarelli as he began to pile his chips.

Hani Bamasood – 85,000
Luca Tonarelli – 50,000

Full House for Fabian to Felt Hartwell 30 Oct 15:57 by Jason Glatzer

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 192/209

Giles Hartwell showed a bit of heart but will need to re-enter if he wishes to advance to Day 2 after the following hand against Stefan Fabian.

There were around 9,000 already in the pot and the 855J was already on the board after the turn when Hartwell check-raised from 3,700 to 10,000. Fabian paused for a moment before he called.

Hartwell checked the A river. Fabian tanked for a few moments before he asked Hartwell how much he had in his hands. Hartwell showed his approximate 17,500 in chips, and shortly after, Fabian effectively jammed. Hartwell called and tried to muck his cards after Fabian tabled the A5 for a full house. Hartwell’s JT was eventually tabled and he was officially out of chips on his first bullet of the Main Event.

Giles Hartwell

Mystery Siege of Malta Warming Up 30 Oct 15:45 by Jonathan Raab

The second starting day of the €450 (€210+€200+€40) Mystery Siege of Malta takes place today, getting underway at 16.00. The first starting day was on Tuesday evening, which got the festival underway with 210 players taking their seats for the first time this week. 

The tournament had a €100,000 guarantee and that looks like it will be well and truly smashed, as there is already over €80,000 in the prize pool from Day 1a. There are a further two starting flights on Thursday and Friday. 

  • Buy-In: €450 (€210+€200+€40)
  • Tournament Begins: 4pm
  • Starting Stack: 30,000
  • Blind levels: 20 mins
  • Play Ends: When 15% of the field remain
  • Play Resumes: Day 2 begins at 7pm on Friday 1st November

Everyone Loves a Chop with Four-High 30 Oct 15:44 by Jason Glatzer

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 192/209

You know it is going to be a fun day when two players chop up a pot where between the both they had no card higher than a four in the following hand:

Daniel Munoz bet 3,100 from the blinds into a pot of 7,000 with the 3625 already on the board after the turn. Both Georgios Koutoumanos from the cutoff and Marko Luksa from the button both took their time in calling before the K river completed the board.

Munoz led out for 5,000. Koutoumanos tanked for about half a minute before he folded. Meanwhile, Luksa tanked for more than a minute before he jammed over the top. Munoz quickly called for his stack of approximately 25,000. Luksa turned over the 43 and the duo chopped it up after Munoz turned over the 42.

Marko Luksa – 55,000
Daniel Munoz – 35,000
Georgios Koutoumanos – 35,000

Marko Luksa

Day 1a Over 200 Entries! 30 Oct 15:38 by Jason Glatzer

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 193/208

The Day 1a players are back from break and the field has grown past 200 entries before the action resumed. Late registration will remain open until the start of Level 11, at which time we will know how many of these players will advance to Sunday’s Day 2 already in the money.

So You’d like to play the Main Event? How much would you like to buy-in for sir?

First Break 30 Oct 15:08 by Jason Glatzer

Day 1a is on its first break of the 2024 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition Main Event. We will start updating the biggest stacks from around the room on the second break of the day.

The field grew to 193 entries and could reach 200 entries by the time the action resumes in 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, Kenny Burke, who we reported earlier was short on chips after losing a hand to Simone Picchianti, lost his stack and was among the more than dozen players to lose their first bullet in the Main Event before the first break.

 

Cricchiola Nearly Mucks Winning Hand Against Kamaras 30 Oct 14:58 by Jason Glatzer

Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 172/184

Marflene Cricchiola called a three-bet by Peter Kamaras to bring around 5,000 into the pot before the 2AT flop. Cricciola check-called a bet of 1,800 before leading out himself for 2,500 on the 8 turn. Kamaras called and the J river completed the board.

Cricchiola checked and Kamaras went into the tank before betting 11,500. Cricchiola paused for close to a minute before he called.

Kamaras turned over the 98. Cricchiola paused and pushed his cards face down towards the muck. However, he realized the error of his ways just in time and tabled his cards before the dealer mucked his hand. Cricchiola turned over A8 for two pair and profusely apologized to Kamaras after the hand for thinking his opponent lost his hand and insisted it was an accident.

Marfiene Cricchiola – 65,000
Peter Kamaras – 29,000

Marflene Cricchiola

The White Knight & The Dark Knight 30 Oct 14:45 by Jonathan Raab

The White Knight and the Dark Knight are two of the established side events that take place at every Battle of Malta festival. They are single day No Limit Hold’em tournaments which are both run on 20-minute clocks. 

The White Knight is slightly cheaper, with a €150 buy-in (€130+€20) and players start with 15,000 chips. The Dark Knight costs €200 to play (€170+€30) and the starting stack is 20,000.

Both of these are included on today’s schedule and the first of them to get going, at 3pm, is the White Knight. The players are currently limbering up, some have already drawn their swords preparing to do battle, but whose armour will still be shimmering by the end of the tournament? 

The Dark Knight begins at 6pm this evening.

The White & Dark Knight

Picchinati Soars With Rockets 30 Oct 14:35 by Jason Glatzer

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 169/176

The field continues to grow and grow with the field already up to 176 entries. Hendrikus Postel and Nikola Krstevski were the latest to hit the rail near the end of Level 2.

Meanwhile, Simone Picchianti chipped up against Kenny Burke, leaving his opponent short on chips. Burke bet 7,800 into a pot slightly less than 15,000 with the 7T48 on the board after the turn. Picchianti check-called before checking against after the 7 river paired the board. Burke bet nearly his entire stack with a bet of around 16,000. Picchianti instantly announced a call.

Burke turned over the 98 for two pair after missing his open-ended straight draw. This wasn’t enough, as Picchianti held the AA to win a big early pot.

Simone Picchianti – 90,000
Kenny Burke – 4,600

Simone Picchianti

2019 Battle of Malta Final Table Member Bruno Chips Up 30 Oct 14:17 by Jason Glatzer

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 145/151

Day 1a has blossomed to more than 151 entries. Six players have already hit the rail including Nikola Krstevski and Erik Lindqwist, who was on the final table during the 2024 Battle of Malta Spring Edition before bowing out in eighth place for €11,900.

Meanwhile, Massimo Bruno, who was on the final table of the 2019 Battle of Malta Main Event, is off to an early start but may have missed some value on the river.

Bruno bet 2,500 into a pot of more than 5,000 with the 4574 on the board after the turn. Georgios Myklonas called before the 9 river completed the board.

Bruno paused for a few moments before he checked. Myklonas took his time in checking it back leaving Bruno shaking his head. Bruno turned over a rivered full house with 99 and was awarded the pot after Myklonas folded.

Massimo Bruno – 55,000
Georgios Myklonas – 23,000

Massimo Bruno

Two Tier Buy-In for Battle of Malta Main Event 30 Oct 14:09 by Jonathan Raab

The Battle of Malta has evolved over the years and one aspect that is now significantly different is how much it costs to play. For most of the event’s history it has had a buy-in of €550-€600, however for the Autumn 2024 edition, players have two choices of buy-in, €300 (€265+€35) or €600 (€530 + €70). 

Full Price Flights €600 (€530 + €70)

There are five full price flights, which start at 1pm from Wednesday – Saturday, with the final turbo flight taking place at 10am on Sunday. Late registration is open until the start of level 10. 

Players start with 40,000 chips (an increase on the 30,000 in previous editions) and levels are 40 minutes long, except for the turbo flight, which runs on a faster 20 minute clock. Play continues until 15% of the players who entered remain, who will all progress to Day 2.

Start Time Event Buy-In Fee Starting Stack Levels
13:00 BOM €1,500,000 GTD Day1A €530 €70 40K 40 mins
13:00

BOM €1,500,000 GTD Day1C

€530 €70 40K 40 mins
13:00 BOM €1,500,000 GTD Day1E €530 €70 40K 40 mins
13:00 BOM €1,500,000 GTD Day1G €530 €70 40K 40 mins
10:00 BOM €1,500,000 GTD Day1Turbo €530 €70 40K 20 mins

Half Price Flights €300 (€265 + €35)

New for this edition is the inclusion of five half-price starting flights. The first of these took place remotely in Catania last week, while the remaining four run daily at 8pm at the BOM festival, from Wednesday – Saturday. Players start with 20,000 starting chips and levels are 20 minutes long. Play will end when 7.5% of the players who began are left, who will all progress to Day 2.

Start Time Event Buy-In Fee Starting Stack Levels
20:00 BOM €1,500,000 GTD Day1B half price €265 €35 20K 20 mins
20:00 BOM €1,500,000 GTD Day1D half price €265 €35 20K 20 mins
20:00 BOM €1,500,000 GTD Day1F half price €265 €35 20K 20 mins
20:00 BOM €1,500,000 GTD Day1H half price €265 €35 20K 20 mins

 

So You’d like to play the Main Event? How much would you like to buy-in for sir?

Four Players on the Rail at Start of Day 1a 30 Oct 13:56 by Jason Glatzer

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 131/135

Level 2 just kicked off. It isn’t exactly de ja vu but it’s close with an opening stack still worth 400 big blinds. The main difference is that there is now an ante in play.

Halil Gecaj, Ivane Khazaradze, and Simone Sintucci, joined the first casualty of the day Adrian Cazacu. Of course, players have plenty of time to re-enter or try a different opening flight.

Zanni Sends Cazacu First to Rail 30 Oct 13:49 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 122/123

We already lost a player on the first blind level of the day. Umberto Zanni recapped the hand for us.

Adrian Cazacu isolated from the button with a three-bet to 1,000. Zanni called and the original player in the hand folded. Cazacu fired out for 1,800 on the QK8 flop and a bigger bet of 8,500 on the A turn. Both times Zanni called before Cazacu jammed his remaining stack on the blank 6 river.

Zanni called and turned over the AQ for the top two pair. Cazacu was bluffing the entire way with 64 and has already re-entered and seated at a different table.

Umberto Zanni – 85,000
Adrian Cazacu – 40,000

Umberto Zanni

Start of Day Main Event Ceremony 30 Oct 13:47 by Jonathan Raab

The Battle of Malta has been running for twelve years now and its an instantly recognizable tournament brand.  It conjures up images of Malta’s past using event names that pay homage to historical events and wars that took place in the mists of time on the bustling Mediterranean island nation.

The event is now so well established that some of its features have become legendary, none less than the start of day ceremonies, which see event chief Telly Bartolo and hosts Patrisha Rimfire and Valeria Tamburin escorted to the centre of the arena by a couple of mediaeval knights to welcome the players before the start of the Main Event.

This year’s opening ceremony did not disappoint and created quite a spectacle in the middle of the Eden Arena. 

Opening Day Ceremony

The Battle of Malta Main Event Structure 30 Oct 13:28 by Jonathan Raab

The Battle of Malta has a structure that gets better and better as the tournament progresses. The opening starting days are long, as play continues until players reach the prize money. But with a further four days to complete the tournament, the blind levels increase in length and the play slows down.

Day 1 Full Price (1A, 1C, 1E, 1G & 1I Turbo)

  • Buy-In: €600 (€530+€70)
  • Starting Chips: 40,000
  • Blind levels: 40 minutes (except Day 1I Turbo, which is run on a 20 minute clock)
  • Late Registration: 10 levels
  • Plays Ends: When 15% of the field remain.

Day 1 Half Price (1B, 1D, 1F & 1H)

  • Buy-In: €300 (€265+€35)
  • Starting Chips: 20,000
  • Blind levels: 20 minutes
  • Late Registration: 10 levels
  • Plays Ends: When 7.5% of the field remain.
  • All players who make it to the end of a Day 1 receive a minimum cash of €800, which is to be collected at the end of play.

Players may play as many starting days as they choose, but can only take their biggest stack forward into Day 2. Any players who makes it to the end of more than one starting day will receive a min cash of €800 for each forfeited stack.

Day 2

  • Play resumes: 10pm on Sunday 3rd November
  • Blind levels: 60 minutes
  • Blind level at Start of Day 2: 4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 Big Blind Ante
  • Levels played on Day 2: 4 levels

Day 3

  • Play resumes: 1pm on Monday 4th November
  • Blind levels: 75 minutes
  • Blind level at Start of Day 3: 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 Big Blind Ante
  • Play Ends; When 24 players remain

Day 4

  • Play resumes: 1pm on Tuesday 5th November
  • Blind levels: 90 minutes
  • Blind level at Start of Day 4: ?
  • Shot Clock: Day 4 will be played with a shot clock, players receive 5 x 30 second time bank plaques at the start of the day. Players receive one extra time bank plaque during each scheduled break in play. Unused time banks will not carry over to the final table.
  • Play Ends: When 8 players remain

Day 5 (Final Table)

  • Play resumes: 2pm on Wednesday 6th November
  • Blind levels: 90/45/30 minutes
  • Blind level at Start of Final Table : ?
  • Shot Clock: The Final Table will be played with a shot clock, players receive 5 x 30 second time bank plaques at the start of the final. Players receive one extra time bank plaque during each scheduled break in play.
  • Play Ends; When we have a winner!

Click to view the full tournament structure.

2022 BoM Spring Champion Giuseppe Rosa in the Early Mix 30 Oct 13:18 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 81/81

There will be deep-stacked play of 400 big blinds during the first two 40-minute blind levels of Day 1a. A total of 81 players already got into the mix in hopes of doing something early on the first opening flight in Malta.

Peter Kamaras, Tomi Arponen, Dana Hassan, Vasyl Laba, Marko Luksa, and 2022 Battle of Malta Spring Edition champion Giuseppe Rosa are among the players in the mix.

Rosa can be seen on the Battle of Malta Wall of Fame after winning the €200,340 top prize more than two years ago. We wish him and everyone else in the field the best of luck in advancing to the final table next Wednesday.

Peter Kamaras – 40,000
Tomi Arponen – 40,000
Vasyl Laba – 40,000
Dana Hassan – 40,000
Marko Luksa – 40,000
Giuseppe Rosa – 40,000

Giuseppe Rosa

Let the Battle Commence! 30 Oct 13:15 by Jonathan Raab

Day 1a of the Battle of Malta Main Event is now underway in the Eden Arena at Casino Malta. This is the first of nine starting days taking place this week, although it is not the first, as there was a pre-festival starting day at Full Tilt Catania in Sicily last week, which 111 players entered, eight of whom made it through to Day 2 on Sunday evening.

So far there are 77 players in their seats taking part, but that number is likely to grow as the day progresses. We’ll bring you regular news from the Main Event throughout the day, its going to be a long one!

Let the Battle Commence!

Tournament Schedule, Wednesday 30th October 30 Oct 12:20 by Jonathan Raab

Although this is the first day of our blog coverage, it’s not the first day of the festival, as that began on Tuesday evening with two satellites to the main event, plus the first starting day of the €450 Mystery Siege of Malta event. But let’s call yesterday Day Zero as today is the first day with a full poker schedule and there are no less than 9 (nine) tournaments on the menu. 

There’s sure to be plenty of big pots won and bad beats dealt over the course of the day, but what is there to play? Let’s find out.

€1.5m GTD Battle of Malta Main Event Day 1a and 1b

The first two starting days of the €1.5m GTD Battle of Malta Main Event take place today. The first is a full price starting day at 13.00, with a half-price starting day at 20:00. For more details on how the split-price main event works, check out this post on the BOM main website.

€100,000 GTD Mystery Siege of Malta (Mystery Bounty) Day 1b

The second of four starting days of the €450 buy-in Mystery Siege of Malta begins at 16:00. Players start with a 30,000 chip stack and its being run on a 20-minute clock. the first starting day took place on Tuesday when xxx players joined the tournament, xx of whom have made it through to Friday’s Day 2, when the Mystery Bounties kick-in.

Sviten

Sviten (Sviten Special) is the first of the non Hold’em tournaments on the schedule It begins at 5pm with a €330 buy-in (€300 + €30).

White Knight & Dark Knight

These No Limit Hold’em side events are daily staples at the Battle of Malta, with at least one taking place on most days. Today, as a special treat to start the festival week, both are included on the opening day schedule. The White Knight is a daytime event, while the Dark Knight rides at night. The White Knight has a €150 buy-in (€130+€20) while the Dark Knight is slightly more at €200 (€170+€30).

BOM Main Event Satellites

There are two BOM Main event satellites today, the first at 11.00 for the early risers, while those who prefer to sleep in can join the action to try and win a seat at 21:00. Each costs €70 (€60 + €10) to enter and are run as target stack satellites. Players start with 10,000 chips and win their seats as soon as they have accumulated a stack of 100,000.

Hyperturbo

The €150 No Limit Hold’em Hyper Turbo is on at 22.00 every night throughout the festival (except on Wednesday 6th November).

The Full Daily Daily Schedule for Wednesday 30th November

Start Time Event Buy-In Fee Starting Stack Levels
11:00 Satellite One Shot to BOM €1,500,000 GTD €60 €10 10K 20 mins
13:00 BOM €1,500,000 GTD Day1A* €530 €70 40K 40 mins
15:00 NLH White Knight €130 €20 15K 20 mins
16:00 MYSTERY SIEGE OF MALTA (BOUNTY MYSTERY EVENT) €100,000 GTD Day1B €210+200 €40 30K 20 mins
17:00 Sviten €300 €30 30K 25 mins
18:00 NLH Dark Knight €170 €30 20K 20 mins
20:00 BOM €1,500,000 GTD Day1B half price** €265 €35 20K 20 mins
21:00 Satellite Accumulator to BOM €1,500.000 GTD – every 100K €60 €10 10K 20 mins
22:00 NLH HyperTurbo €100 €20 20k 10 mins

 

Welcome to the Battle Of Malta Autumn 2024 Edition 30 Oct 12:00 by Jonathan Raab

The Battle of Malta began in 2012 and this is the 14th running of the biggest poker event in Malta. The Autumn 2024 edition has a packed schedule of over 40 events, including the €1.5m guaranteed Battle of Malta Main Event, the €100,000 GTD Mystery Siege of Malta and the €300,000 GTD Quigioco High Roller. 

In total there are €2m in guaranteed prize pools with several side events per day, including satellites to key events, daily turbos and non-Hold’em offerings on most days as well. The Main Event runs all the way through the festival, with nine starting flights in total and will reach its live-streamed final table by Wednesday 6th November. 

There’s a twist this year, as the Main Event has two different buy-in prices, with some flights costing €600 to lay, while others are €300. However, players in the half price flights start with half the chip stack of those in the full price flights. Only 7.5% of players entering the half price flights will progress to Day 2, compared with 15% in the regularly priced starting days.

As usual there are lots of Italians in town and a large number of Greek players are expected to make the trip across the Mediterranean. Hotel rooms are indeed hard to come by and with other events also taking place on the island this week, poker takes centre stage once again this autumn in Malta.

Play in the Battle of Malta Main Event begins today at 13.00 with the first full price starting day, while the first half price flights begins at 20:00.

Who will emulate the feats of Vasileios Zisis, the Battle of Malta Spring 2024 edition winner and Gabriele Re, who took down the 2023 Autumn edition? 

Vasileios Zisis

Festival Schedule Highlights

  • Nine starting flights for the €1.5m guaranteed Battle of Malta Main Event (four of which are half price, half starting stack starting days)
  • Four starting days for the €100,000 guaranteed Mystery Siege of Malta
  • QuiGioco sponsored High Roller with a €300,000 guarantee
  • Luxon Pay sponsored Super High Roller
  • Huge number of sponsored side events by Winamax, Novibet, QuiGioco, Redtooth, MAS, Betwin360, Rebet24, Full Tilt Catania, Italian Poker Federation and the IPC Poker Tour
  • First Ladies in Poker Ladies event
  • Non-Hold’em side events most days, formats include Sviten, Omaha, 8 Game & HORSE
  • Daily White Knight/Dark Knight Hold’em side events
  • Daily NLH Hyperturbo at 10pm
  • Daily Satellites for the Main Event and High Roller

The Full festival schedule can be viewed here.

Event Coverage

Coverage of the Battle of Malta can be followed in several ways. 

The blog has English language coverage presented by Jason Glatzer and myself, Jonathan Raab with photography by Igor Bezborodov. 

Jason will be focusing on coverage of the Main Event and will also be doing his famed walkabouts for our YouTube and Facebook channels, delivering news of the action direct from the tournament floor. 

For the first few days of the festival, we will focus most of our coverage the full price starting days, which begin at 1pm, but we will also keep an eye on the half-price flights and will keep you updated on how they are progressing.

I will assist Jason with coverage of the Main Event and also deliver news, stories and results from the wider festival as well as a glance of what’s going on away from the tables.

There is also an Italian coverage of the Battle of Malta on Gioconews, written and presented by Gaetano Vicidomini, who is always on fire!

Patrisha Rimfire and Valeria Tamburin will host coverage on our social media channels on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.