Day 3

Day 3 of the Battle of Malta Autumn Edition Main Event saw the field reduced from 290 to just 36 after a long day in which 9 x 75-minute levels were played. It’s a record breaking event, with both the 5,799 entries and the €2,578,172 prize pool setting new heights for the 12-year old event.

All 290 players who returned to the felt on Monday were already guaranteed at least €2,110, but aiming for a much higher score, such as the €300,800 first prize. When play resumed at 1pm, the rate of eliminations picked up where it had left off on Sunday, with many players put to the sword in the first few levels of the day. Antonis Poulengeris (28nd), James McPherson (242nd) and Jordi Ruiz Ribatallada (240th) among those to depart during the early exchanges. 

Humberto Galindo, who had been the Day 1a chip leader almost made it half-way though the day, but was ousted in 146th place. He will be consoled by the fact that he scooped an additional €10,000 for his Day 1a big stack, to secure a total prize of €12,460, which is worth more than the 8th placed player on the final table will receive.

As the day progressed the rate of eliminations slowed down and by the time the day ended, after level 31, it was Miguel Branco who had emerged as the leader, with a towering stack of 15,225,000 chips. Alexandru Farcasanu and Pasquale Gregorio followed closely behind Branco with stacks of 13,575,000 and 12,875,000 respectively. Meanwhile, defending champion Vasileios Zisis continued to make his presence felt with a stack of 11,550,000 chips, and is a serious contender to become the first two-time champion of the Battle of Malta Main Event. Will he go back-to-back? 

Day 4, the penultimate day of the event resumes at 1 p.m. Here are the full  chip counts of all 36 remaining players.

Payouts for all players who were eliminated on Day 3 can be found here.

Miguel Branco

It was also an extremely busy day for the rest of the schedule at Casino Malta and the Eden Arena at the Intercontinental Malta. There were multiple side events taking place simultaneously, all attracting sizeable fields. 

Gia Carnestrom Wins Ladies Event

The Battle of Malta ladies event took place on Monday and a lively field of 121 fillies lined up for the start of the FLIP (Fantastic Ladies In Poker) sponsored event. There were many recognizable faces in the €150 tournament, including several Battle of Malta regulars, such as Emzy Oliver and the event’s host, Patricia rimfire. However defending champion Champagne Peng Tang did not make the journey from China to Malta to defend her title.

The tournament was played in good spirits with players enjoying a glass of fizz during the first break. The TV table was used to stage the final in the middle of the Eden Arena. Unfortunately, the cameras were not rolling this time to witness a very competitive final table, but by the time they got three-handed, a deal was done, leaving €800 to play for, for the winner. The last three received entries into next years battle of Malta main event as as a prize added by Casino Malta.

Flavia Guedes finished in third place and FLIP founder Daiva Byrne took second, but the victory went to the very stylish Swedish poker matriarch Gia Carnestrom, sporting her trademark hat throughout. Gia is a regular at many European poker festivals and has had a good 2024 so far, with this being her second tournament victory in Malta this year.

Quigioco High Roller Extends To Third Day

The €1,100 High Roller, sponsored by Quigioco had begun on Sunday, but registration remained open for the first three levels on Monday, resulting in many more players entering the tournament to bring the final number of entries up to 540. Originally this tournament has been scheduled to be completed on Monday, however due to the large attendance this was not possible. By the time play was suspended, 29 players were left. They will return today at 2 PM to complete the tournament, chasing the €100,000 top prize. 

Here are the chip counts and Day 3 seating draw of the survivors.

Full Tilt Catania Bounty 

The €70,000 Guaranteed Full Tilt Catania Bounty also began its second day on Monday, also with a further three levels of late registration. The structure is described as regressive, which means that when day to become blinds were rolled back by three levels to the start of level eight. As per the Highroller, a large number of players exercised the right to enter the €300 buy-in event on day two, creating a total field of 535 entries. This tournament did managed to reach its natural conclusion and was won by Romanian Andrei Roman-Tamaduianu for €9,580. 

IPC Deepstack Won by Jakub Szczotka

The first event to come to a conclusion on Monday was the €400 NLH IPC Deepstack. There were a total of 96 entries and it was won by Jakub Szczotka from Poland for €8,430. This is the third victory by a Pole at the Battle of Malta Autumn edition. 

Jakub Szczotka

Saso Lipovsek Wins IPF €10k GTD

The €200 PF €10k Guaranteed event had 214 entries, creating a prize pool of €32,528, more than three times the €10,000 guarantee. It was won by Slovenian Saso Lipovsek, for €6,320, claiming his first ever live  tournament win.

Victor Gonzales Claims Novibet Ultradeep PKO Title

The Novibet Ultra deep was the final event of the evening to begin. Progressive knockout tournaments are rare to find live as it is more complicated to operate than online. As PKO’s are one of the most popular tournament formats, it was no surprise that this became the third side event of the day to exceed 500 entries. When registration closed, 523 players had paid the €330 (€150+€150+€30) buy-in. 

It was won by Spain’s Victor Gonzales who secured the €10,500 first prize, plus a further €9,825 in bounties. 

Full Results of all completed events can be found on the results page.

Tuesday’s Schedule

Tuesday is the last full day schedule at the Battle of Malta Autumn Edition. By the end of the day only the Super High Roller and the Main Event will still be unresolved. Even though the series is now drawing to a close, there’s still quite a lot on for any poker players who are staying until the very end. 

The Main Event resumes at 1pm and High Roller at returns at 3pm. At 2pm the €2,200 (€2,000+€200) Luxon Super High Begins, as does the €350 (€315+35) NLH 8-Max IPC sponsored event. 

Mixed Games are also back on the schedule today, with the €330 (€300+€30) H.O.R.S.E at 4pm.

The White and Dark Knights are also back for another double act today at 5pm & 7pm respectively and the final tournament on the schedule is the €150 Hyper Turbo at 9pm.

Day 3 of the 2024 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition Main Event was full of excitement as players battled for their share of the record-breaking €2,578,172 prize pool and hoped to position themselves to get to the final table on Day 4 and more. The day commenced with 290 players returning to the felt, all guaranteed at least €2,110 for their efforts. As the action heated up, it was Miguel Branco who emerged as the chip leader, boasting an impressive stack of 15,225,000 chips.

The atmosphere in Casino Malta and the Eden Arena at the Intercontinental Malta was electric as players not only battled in the Main Event but many side events including the €150 NLH Ladies Event hosted by FLIP and its founder Daiva Byrne. The €1,100 High Roller was so busy that it added a third day with a winner to be crowned tomorrow.

Alexandru Farcasanu and Pasquale Gregorio followed closely behind Branco with stacks of 13,575,000 and 12,875,000 respectively. Meanwhile, defending champion Vasileios Zisis continued to make his presence felt with a stack of 11,550,000 chips, and is on a serious sweat to become the first two-time champion of the Battle of Malta Main Event.

Meanwhile, Giuseppe Nacci hit the rail during the final moments and didn’t make the cut to the penultimate day with the action resuming for Day 4 at 1 p.m.

Check out the full ending chip counts of Day 3 below:

At the beginning of the day there were 290 players, now there are just 36 left. This is the full list of Day 3 payouts.

Level 31: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 37/5,799

The floor just stopped the clock and asked each table to play five more hands before bagging and tagging into tomorrow’s Day 4.

We will update of any eliminations that take place in the final hands and the final chip counts of the day before we wrap up the report for Day 3.

Last check, the defending champion was in second place with 11 million in chips, just behind the 16 million held by Miguel Branco.

In addition, stay tuned for the Day 4 seat draw with blinds starting at 75,000/150,000 along with a 150,000 big blind ante and increase every 90 minutes. As Day 4 is the penultimate day, the action will play down to an official final table of eight players. The author will then put the pen and pad back down and hop into the Battle of Malta studio to commentate the action of the final day.

Level 31: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 37/5,799

Nils Jarefjall three-bet jammed from the blinds for about 500,000 and was called by Alessandro Siena, who originally opened from early position.

Nils Jarefjall: Q♥Q♦
Alessandro Siena: K♦Q♠

Siena connected with his king to deliver a bad beat to the short-stacked Jarefjall after the A♥K♣8♠5♠4♦ ran out on the board.

“Good game,” Jarefjall humbly said while waiting for his cashier slip.

Alessandro Siena – 6.3 million
Nils Jarefjall – 0

Niklas Aahlund and Nils Jarefjell

Level 31: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 38/5,799

Miguel Branco has had a nice run since the break and now has a pile of 30 green chips with a 250,000 denomination and that is just half his stack as he had around 15 million in total.

Branco shared that he had a bunch of small hands to go from 10 million to 15 million, but curiously enough Emmanouil Zografakis who was at his table with nearly 6 million at the last break has exited the tournament.

It appears Branco is having some fun and is full of laughter. Who wouldn’t laugh when they have the chip lead in the largest-ever Battle of Malta Main Event?

The action is 24 minutes away from the surviving Day 3 players to bag their stacks into tomorrow’s Day 4 when the action will play under a 90-minute clock until the official final table of eight players is reached.

Miguel Branco – 15 million

Miguel Branco

Level 31: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 39/5,799

It’s the final level the day and players are still dropping, but not as fast as proverbial flies. The pace of exits is now similar to that of Maltese traffic at rush hour in central St Julians, i.e pretty slow. Nevertheless, the pace was still too fast for the following players, who exited in 40th-47th places and received €5,420 each. Apart from Krzysztof Mielnik, who also scooped a €2,000 bonus for posting the second biggest stack in his half-price starting day. The next players to bust, in 32nd-39th place, will take away €5,880.

Krzysztof Tadeusz Mielnik, out in 42nd place

Level 31: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 39/5,799

Angelo Onorato jammed from under the gun for 1,660,000. The action paused on Stephen Dellaire, who asked for a count, before opting to fold. Meanwhile, Marton Lugosi also asked the dealer how much the jam was before he called off his stack of 1,535,000. The rest of the table folded and the cards were tabled.

Marton Lugosi: A♥K♦
Angelo Onorato: A♠Q♠

Big slick held against ace-queen suited after the 9♦5♣5♦2♦3♥ ran out on the board for Lugosi to double and leave Onorato with just 125,000 in his stack.

“Would you have called if I jammed?” asked Dellaire to Lugosi.

“Of course,” responded Lugosi. “I had big slick.”

Onorato dusted off his stack shortly later to leave 39 players remaining.

Marton Lugosi – 3.4 million
Angelo Onorato – 0

All-In at the Battle of Malta

Level 31: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 40/5,799

Davide Ingegnere opened for 240,000 from under the gun before Panagiotis Petrou three-bet to 530,000 from middle position. Gabriele Pischedda jammed for about a dozen big blinds from the big blind. Ingegnere came in over the top for 4.6 million and Petrou snap-called off his stack of around 2.2 million.

Gabriele Pischedda: A♠K♠
Panagiotis Petrou: A♦A♣
Davide Ingegnere: A♥K♦

Ingegnere had both players covered and both him and Pischedda had a thin amount of hope of getting there after the Q♥Q♠J♣ came on the flop. No ten came on either the 9♥ turn or the 3♣ river and Petrou doubled through Ingegnere while sending Pichedda to the rail.

Meanwhile, Kryzsztof Mielnik also recently hit the rail to leave just five tables remaining.

Panagiotis Petrou – 6 million
Davide Ingegnere – 2.4 million
Gabriele Pischedda – 0
Kryzsztof Mielnik – 0

Panagiotis Petrou

Level 31: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 42/5,799

Defending champion Vasileios Zisis is going after history as he is in a prime position in second place with 42 players remaining in his quest of becoming the first two-time Battle of Malta Main Event champion.

Alexandru Farcasanu leads the way at the break. Check out the top three stack from each table on the break. The players will play one more blind level before bagging their stacks into tomorrow’s penultimate day with Day 4 resuming on Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Vasileios Zisis

Level 31: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 42/5,799

The Main Event is now on the final break of the day and there’s just one more level to play before the day draws to a close. There are 42 players left, including our defending Champion, who significantly increased his stack during the last session of play.

There had been 45 players left for quite some time, but three quick exits reduced their number to 42 just as the break began. These three unfortunate souls were:

• Aristeidis Giannatos in 43rd
• Yarin Matan in 44th
• Alfonso Amendola in 45th

They all go home with €5,440 for their considerable efforts in getting this far in the mammoth event that is the Battle of Malta.

When the players return, the blinds will be 60,000/120,000 with a 120,000 big blind ante.

Alfonso Amendola, out in 45th

Level 30: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 45/5,799

Ionut Arvatu min-raised from under the gun before he called a four big blind three-bet jam by Andreas Putz from the button.

Andreas Putz: A♦Q♦
Ionut Arvatu: 9♥8♥

The T♣5♠7♥ flop wasn’t the worst for Arvatu. Putz was looking good after reducing the amount of outs to come after pairing his ace on the A♣ turn. However, the J♠ river changed the course of the hand as it improved Arvatu to the nuts with a straight to eliminate Putz.

Jozsef Harsing also hit the rail before Putz to leave 45 players remaining.

Ionut Arvatu – 3.3 million
Andreas Putz – 0
Jozsef Harsing – 0

Andreas Putz

Even though play has slowed down, occasionally there’s a quick-fire spate of exits and after the last pay jump, the next five players busted out quickly. It then took quite some time before the next exits to occur, but we are now down to 47 players and the payout will jump again for the next player out, who will receive €5,440.

*Includes starting day big stacks bonus

Day 1i third place Domenico Candido, out in 52nd

The €150 Ladies event is now on the final table and they are playing it out on the TV table, but sadly without cameras. We did manage to get a few pics before the final started. These are the Flip November Nine, but which one will win the imaginary bracelet?

• Dana Acharya
• Daiva Byrne
• Ann-Roos Callens
• Gia Carnestrom
• Flavia Guedes
• Caroline McKeever
• Linda Nguyen
• Nadja Sutter
• Larraine Welsh

Level 30: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 47/5,799

Konstantinos Karkanidis opened for 250,000 from under the gun and Ivane Khazaradze defended his big blind for the two players to see the 4♣J♥5♣ flop.

Karkanidis check-called a bet of 220,000 on the flop by Khazaradze before check-calling again for 365,000 on the A♦ turn. The 8♣ river completed the board and Khazaradze led out for 685,000. Karkanidis found a call soon enough.

Khazaradze looked down at his cards and gave a smirk. Shortly later, he opted to muck his cards. Karkanidis was already awarded the pot but opted not to show as well.

Meanwhile, Lin Wang and Dimitrios Katsikas hit the rail before this hand.

Konstantinos Karkanidis – 5.5 million
Ivane Khazaradze – 3.6 million

Ivane Khazaradze

Level 30: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 50/5,799

Defending Battle of Malta Main Event Champion Vasileios Zisis bet 375,000 on the T♦7♥5♦ on the flop with less than 1 million in the pot. Emmanouil Zografakis jammed for 2.1 million. Niccolo’ Cadoni tanked before he called, while Zisis folded.

Emmanouil Zogofrafakis: J♦4♦
Niccolo’ Cadoni: A♣T♣

Cadoni had the top pair but Zogofrafakis completed his flush draw to double his stack after the 2♠ turn and 3♦ river completed the board.

“I would have called if you folded,” Zisis shared with Cadoni after the hand. “I had king-ten.”

Meanwhile, the defending champion Zisis has a huge stack with just 50 players left in his quest to become the first two-time champion of the Battle of Malta Main Event.

In other news, Benoit Kuhn has hit the rail and Jack Bonora is no longer on Facebook Live and has returned the microphone.

Vaseilios Zisis – 8.1 million
Emmanouil Zogofrafakis – 5.1 million
Niccolo’ Candoni – 3.6 million
Benoit Kuhn – 0
Jack Bonora – Minus One Microphone

Emmanouil Zografakis

Level 30: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 51/5,799

Alfonso Amendola opened for 225,000 from under the gun before Alexander Luciani jammed for a little less than 2 million from one seat over. Marius Iftimia went into the tank before he called off his stack of 1,450,000 when Amendola began shouting for Jack Bonora, who is doing a live stream on the Battle of Malta Facebook channel, as the cards were being turned over.

Marius Iftimia: A♣A♥
Alexander Luciani: Q♥T♦
Alfonso Amendola: K♣K♥
Jack Bonora: A Microphone

Luciani was eliminated giving Amendola a side pot while Iftimia tripled up with rockets after the T♣2♣2♦4♦5♦ ran out on the board.

Meanwhile, there were a flurry of eliminations while writing up this hand including Domenico Candido, Joshua Norvock, Domenico Ruggero, and Nikolaos Iakovidis all heading to the cashier to leave just 51 players remaining.

Marius Iftimia – 4.35 million
Alfonso Amendola – 1.5 million
Alexander Luciani – 0
Domenico Candido – 0
Joshua Norvock – 0
Domenico Ruggero – 0
Nikolaos Iakovidis – 0
Jack Bonora – Still a microphone

Marius Constantin Iftimia

Level 30: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 55/5,799

Its beginning to get serious in the Main Event with just 55 of the 5,799 players who started left in with a shot at the €300,800 first prize.

The following players who finished in positions 56-71 all received €4,650. The next player out will get €5,050.

Alexander Luciani, out in 56th

Level 29: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 56/5,799

Berend Hooijer opened for 200,000 from middle position before Panagiotis Petrou called from one seat over. Benoit Kuhn three-bet to 625,000 from the hijack. Hooijer paused for a few moments before he folded, while Petrou opted to jam for 1,160,000. Kuhn snap-called and wished his opponent good luck.

Panagiotis Petrou: K♣K♠
Benoit Kuhn: K♥9♥

Petrou stood up in frustration after Kuhn had a flush draw on the 3♥T♦8♥ flop. But he began to celebrate after the J♠ turn and 3♠ river completed the board as he avoided a potential bad beat to exit. Meanwhile, Lorenzo Arduini recently busted to leave just 56 players remaining during the closing minute of Level 29.

Panagiotis Petrou – 2.7 million
Benoit Kuhn – 1.9 million
Lorenzo Arduini – 0

Panagiotis Petrou

Today’s FLIP Ladies Event, which had a sizeable field of 121 starters, has just reached the in-the-money stage, with the remaining 17 players all guaranteed a min cash of at least €250. First prize is €3,860.

Fantastic Ladies in Poker founder Daiva Byrne who is hosting the event, is still in, as is Gia Carnestrom, who is currently sharing the chip lead with Caroline McKeever.

Gia Carnestrom

Level 29: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 57/5,799

Ivane Khazaradze bet 800,000 into a pot of a bit more with the 7♦6♥2♥4♣ on the board after the turn. Lorenzo Arduini check-called and checked again after the 4♠ river completed the board.

Khazaradze jammed for 990,000. Adruini quickly called and tabled the AXKX before quickly turning them upside down. Khazardadze tabled the 8♥5♥ for a straight to win the pot and double his stack.

Meanwhile, Luigi Rieti and Grigorios Thanos recently hit the rail to leave 57 players remaining.

Ivane Khazaradze – 4.8 million
Lorenzo Arduini – 1.1 million
Grigorios Thanos – 0
Luigi Rieti – 0

Ivane Khazaradze

Level 29: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 59/5,799

Salvatore Merendino jammed his short stack of around a dozen big blinds and was up against Alexander Luciani, who just lost a big hand with jacks against Clement Kerrien.

Salvatore Merendino: J♣J♦
Alexander Luciani: A♠J♥

Luciani got some of his chips back he lost to Kerrien after snagging an ace to pair one of his own on the A♦8♥9♠4♥K♠ runout.

Alexander Luciani – 4 million
Salvatore Merendino – 0

Alexander Luciani

Level 29: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 60/5,799

Alexander Luciani jammed for 4.2 million into a pot of a little less with the Q♦K♠4♠3♥4♣ on the board when Clement Kerrien went into the tank. Kerrien eventually called.

Luciani tabled the J♣J♥ and Kerrien won a mountain of chips he was still piling up a couple of hands later after making a good call with A♣Q♣.

“Why do you call the river,” Luciani said a minute after the hand in frustration.

“In case you were bluffing,” responded Kerrien. “I was right.”

Kerrien was near the chip lead after winning one of the largest hands of the tounament if not the largest thus far.

Clement Kerrien – 8.4 million
Alexander Luciani – 2.1 million

Clement Kerrien

The first event to come to a conclusion today was the €400 NLH IPC Deepstack. There were a total of 96 entries, which was won by Jakub Szczotka from Poland for €8,430. This is the third victory by a Pole at the Battle of Malta Autumn edition. Christian Christandl from Italy was second, with Nikola Minovic from Serbia taking third.

• Buy-In: €400
• Entries: 96
• Prize Pool: €32,832

Jakub Franciszek Szczotka

Level 29: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 60/5,799

Luigi Rieti jammed his short stack and before a side pot was created by Konstantinos Karkanidis and Alexandru Farcasanu.

Karkanidis checked the eight-high flop before Farcasanu jammed for well more than the 1.8 million Karkanidis had behind. Karkanidis folded and then slammed the table in perceived frustration after the hands were tabled.

Luigi Rieti: A♥Q♦
Alexandru Farcasanu: T♠T♦

The tens were ahead and that remained the case after the 9♦ turn.

“Thank you,” said Rieti as the A♠ river paired up his ace to triple his stack instead of heading out of the tournament arena.

Alexandru Farcasanu – 6 million
Konstantinos Karkanidis – 1.8 million
Luigi Rieti – 1.4 million

Level 29: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 60/5,799

Adrien Di Grande opened for a min-raise from the hijack before Stephen Dallaire three-bet to 350,000 from the small blind. Di Grande four-bet jammed for approximately 2 million. Dallaire called and the classic coin flip was on with Di Grande at risk.

Adrien Di Grande: A♦K♦
Stephen Dellaire: Q♦Q♣

Di Grande bricked the 8♣3♣3♦7♣4♦ board to exit in 61st place after both Matteo Kerbaol and Sebastian Pabian lost their stacks.

Level 29: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 63/5,799

Antonio Mirabile jammed his short stack of seven big blinds from the cutoff and was called by Clement Kerrien from the big blind.

Antonio Mirabile: Q♦8♦
Clement Kerrien: K♠T♠

“Nice flop,” said Kerrien with a smile with Mirabile with a flush draw on the 2♦A♠4♦ flop.

“Nice turn,” said another player at the table to Kerrien when the blank 3♠ appeared on the turn. Good games were said after the T♥ river completed the board and Mirabile was the first player on the rail after the dinner break.

Level 29: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 64/5,799

The final 64 players are back from their dinner break and are effectively 40 big blinds deep on average. Of course, there are some short stacks still in play despite the deep action.

The tournament director reminded players as they were coming back that play will end the sooner of the end of Level 31 with blinds at 60,000/120,000 (120,000) or when the action is down to just 24 players. This authors bet is that it will last the three more blind levels and the players will come back on Day 4 with an even deeper structure of 90-minute blind levels until a final table is reached.

Level 29: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 64/5,799

Nils Jarafjall and Krzysztof Mielnik were both north of 8 million chips at the dinner break. Check out all the players above 4 million at the dinner break below:

Krzysztof Mielnik

The 64 players left in the Battle of Malta Main Event have now gone on a 75-minute dinner break. We’ll be finding out the updated chip counts of the leaders during this break and will post them before play resumes. 

Remarkably, defending champion Vasileios Zisis is still in contention, with a stack of close to 5m last time we checked. He has now gone past more than 7,500 runners without being defeated, including the 1,814 field he topped in April. Some of those runners might well have been himself though, as it took him a few starting flights to bag a stack into Day 2.

Level 28: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 67/5,799

Mitja Rudolf three-bet jammed the button for about 10 big blinds and was called by Phanishsarn Tanapatr, who opened from the cutoff.

Mitja Rudolf: 6♣6♠
Phanishsam Tanapatr: A♦J♥

Rudolf had his camera ready to go as his opponent connected with his ace on the 5♦Q♦A♣T♦9♥ runout.

Phanishsam Tanapatr – 4.4 million
Mitja Rudolf – 0

Level 28: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 71/5,799

The Main Event is down to the last 72 players now, with defending champion Vasileios Zisis still in the hunt. We’ll be updating on chip counts of the leaders during the dinner break, which will be starting in about half an hour. 

Here are the details of those who fell at the €4,290 prize hurdle, including Michael Kim Falcon, who bagged the second biggest stack on Day 1a and scooped a €5,000 bonus. Those who don’t make it safely over the next fence (56th-71st) will get €4,650.

*Includes bonus prize for 2nd largest stack on Day 1a

Michael Falcon

Level 28: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 73/5,799

Alessio Scarano already had his stack committed from the big blind. The side pot wasn’t big between the under the gun player Alexander Luciani and the player on the button in Marius Iftimia.

Luciani check-folded facing a bet of 125,000 by Iftimia on the 5♣3♠J♦ flop and Scarano and Iftimia tabled their cards.

Alessio Scarano: 7♠6♠
Marius Iftimia: T♥T♠

Scarano had a gutshot straight draw and a backdoor flush draw but also had even more outs after the 7♣ came on the turn. However, no Cinderella story was in the making after the blank 3♦ river sealed the deal for Scarano’s tournament life.

Marius Iftimia – 2.7 million
Alessio Scarano – 0

Level 28: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 80/5,799

Marton Lugosi opened for 125,000 from early position before Cosme Martinez three-bet to 355,000 from middle position. Berend Hooijer cold-called from the cutoff and Lugosi opted to get out of the way before the 9♦8♦4♥ landed on the flop.

Martinez, who had one of the bigger stacks from around the room, check-called a bet of 475,000 by Hooijer before checking again on the A♦ turn. Hooijer jammed for less than 2 million and Martinez snap-folded before the dealer awarded Hooijer the pot.

Cosme Martinez – 4.35 million
Berend Hooijer – 3.5 million

Berend Hooijer

It’s now deep into the day and there’s still lots going on at Casino Malta. One piece of breaking news is that the satellite to the Luxon Pay Super High Roller has been canceled. It was due to start at 9pm. But there are still several other side events in play and some are still open for late registration.

The €330 (€150+€150+€30) Novibet Ultradeep PKO has just started with 200 players installed in their seats when play began. 

• Tournament: Novibet Ultradeep PKO
• Buy-In: €300 (€150+€150+€30)
• Tournament Began: 4pm
• Starting Stack: 100,000
• Blind levels: 20 mins
• Play Ends: When we have a winner!

High Roller

• Current Level: 17
• Players Left/Entries: 185/540
• Registration Closed

Full Tilt Catania Bounty

• Current Level: 20
• Players Left/Entries: 57/535
• Registration Closed

IPC Deepstack

• Current Level: Dinner Break (Will start level 19 after)
• Players Left/Entries: 14/96
• Registration Closed

Ladies Event

• Current Level: 12
• Players Left/Entries: 53/121
• Registration Closed

IPF €10k GTD

• Current Level: 7
• Players Left/Entries: 154/197
• Registration Open

Level 27: 20,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 90/5,799

The action is getting exciting with under 100 players remaining in the Main Event. While the anticipation of who will advance to Day 4 and beyond will continue to build what we can tell you is that Mario Menicanin won’t be among the players that make it any further.

Menicanan jammed for about a dozen big blinds into a pot of a bit more with the 9♥5♦2♠8♠ on the board after the turn. Yarin Matan went into the tank before he called.

Mario Menicanan: Q♣T♠
Yarin Matan: 7♣7♦

Sevens were good on the 9♥5♦2♠8♠A♠ runout for Matan to chip up while Menicanan headed to the cashier to collect the 91st place prize of €4,290.

Yarin Matan – 3.5 million
Mario Menicanan – 0

Level 27: 20,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 95/5,799

The high attrition rate continues, with players still being sent to the rail in quick-fire fashion and there are now just 95 players left who are all still in with a chance of scooping the €300,800 first prize. The payout for the latest bustees is €3,920 and those who exit in positions 72-95 will bank €4,290.

Level 27: 20,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 103/5,799

Herli Olop, who finished in eighth place during the 2023 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition Main Event, was on line to collect his 104th place prize of €3,920 when he shared the nitty-gritty of how he lost his stack.

Olop shared he was card dead and folding for an hour. He followed up that he lost the majority of his stack as follows:

The player in the small blind limped and Olop limped behind with K♠3♠ from the big blind. Olop flopped a flush draw and middle pair on the A♠K♣2♠ flop and the chips went in against his shorter stacked opponent. His opponent turned over 2X2X for trip ducks and Olop was down to eight big blinds after unable to complete his flush draw or get a pair of runners for quads or a full house.

Olop said he lost the rest soon after with king-jack suited against ace-jack suited. It was another amazing run for Olop and we wish him the best of luck if entering in any of the side events after his long grind in the Main Event.

Herli Olop

Level 27: 20,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 104/5,799

Francesco Vitale jammed for 530,000 from middle position. Davide Iannaco asked for a count from the cutoff before he called. The rest of the table folded and the hands were tabled.

Francesco Vitale: A♠J♥
Davide Iannaco: J♣J♠

Jacks not only held but Iannaco hit a jack on the flop to improve to trips before eliminating Vitale on the 7♥2♣J♦2♥T♦ board.

Davide Iannaco – 2.6 million
Francesco Vitale – 0

Davide Iannaco

Level 27: 20,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 110/5,799

Cristian Mihu min-raised from under the gun and was called by Manuel Licata from one seat over. Luka Lerga three-bet shoved for 1.25 million. Mihu came over the top for about 1.5 million and Licata accidentally exposed his 9♠9♣ before Licata acted. Licata tanked for a bit before he folded but not before showing the table he held A♦J♠

The cards were turned over and Lerga’s nines were dominated by Mihu’s Q♥Q♠ and was out of chips after the J♥T♥7♠6♥K♠ ran out on the board.

Cristian Mihu – 3 million
Manuel Licata – 1 million
Luka Lerga – 0

The story of the tournament is beginning to taking shape and big stacks are starting to emerge. Defending champ Vasilsios Zisis is still one of the chip leadersm having grown his stack to 3.9m, however the current chip leader is now Kryzstof Mielnik, who is the first player to build a stack over 5m. He came through one of the half-price flights and bagged a big stack bonus for being second in chips on Day 1b.

Level 27: 20,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 113/5,799

Players are on a 25-minute break. Blinds will increase to 20,000/50,000 with a 50,000 big blind ante when the action resumes.

Yes, there’s a lot going on at the Battle of Malta today, currently there are five other events in play. in addition to the Main. Here’s a roundup of the state of play in each of them at the moment.

High Roller

• Current Level: 14
• Players Left/Entries: 285/540
• Registration Closed

Full Tilt Catania Bounty

• Current Level: 16
• Players Left/Entries: 120/535
• Registration Closed

IPC Deepstack

• Current Level: 15
• Players Left/Entries: 35/96
• Registration Closed

Ladies Event

• Current Level: 7
• Players Left/Entries: 82/102
• Registration Still Open

IPF €10k GTD

• Current Level: 4
• Players Left/Entries: 152/170
• Registration Still Open

Level 26: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 114/5,799

Wojciech Radmonski jammed for his short stack of 185,000 from under the gun before Salvatore La Vardera three-bet jammed over the top for 1.1 million. Joshua Novock, who had 1 million at the time, went into the tank for four minutes before someone at the table called the clock. Novock folded shortly after, as did the rest of the table.

Wojciech Radmonski: A♣2♠
Salvatore La Vardera: 9♣9♥

It was looking like Radmonski was heading to the shower until he erupted in laughter after the river saved him on the 3♠K♦J♠5♦A♥ board.

Salvatore La Vardera – 900,000
Wojciech Radmonski – 470,000

Level 26: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 119/5,799

The latest spate of executions has now been completed and the following players have all had their tournament heads chopped off. This fresh batch of victims secured €3,580 paydays, with the exception of three players, who won a little more, thanks to winning starting day big stack bonuses. The next players to be booted out of the tournament will walk with €3,920.

*Included bonus prize for Day 1 big stack

Konstantin Faerber

Level 26: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 121/5,799

There was around 800,000 in the pot with the 5♠8♣A♠2♦ on the board after the turn when Michael Kim Falcon bet 420,000. Nils Jarefjall paused for about 30 seconds before he called.

Both players checked the 3♣ river. Jarefjall turned over the A♦Q♦ and his top pair and queen kicker did the job as Falcon mucked his cards face down.

Nils Jarefjall – 4.5 million
Michael Kim Falcon – 3.2 million

Michael Kim Falcon

The Full Tilt Catania High Roller is now in level 13 and all the alternates have been seated. The final number of entries was 540, creating a prize pool of €513,000! First prize is €100,000 and in total 79 players will be paid. It is scheduled to finish today, but it wouldn’t be surprising if it is extended until Tuesday, as there are still close to 300 players left in.

Level 26: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 133/5,799

Michal Procner opened from the button before Alexander Luciani three-bet shoved from the big blind. Procner called off his stack of 535,000 and the cards were tabled.

Michal Procner: J♦J♥
Alexander Luciani: A♣T♥

Procner earned a double after his opponent bricked the low 7♦3♦4♠6♦9♣ runout. Meanwhile, despite the dent in his stack, Luciani has already earned more than many in the event after adding a €5,000 second-place bonus prize on his impressive Day 1g performance.

Alexander Luciani – 1.5 million
Michal Procner – 1.2 million

Day 1g second place Alexander Luciani

Level 26: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 136/5,799

Last time this year, Estonia’s Herli Olop advanced to the final table in the Main Event before bowing out in eighth place for €11,240. He is hoping for an even better run this time around and he shared that he recently gained a bit of breathing room with blinds still at 15,000/30,000 along with a 30,000 big blind ante.

According to Olop, Vincent Smith opened for a min-raise before Olop did a live misclick with a three-bet to 130,000.

“I thought I was raising 155,000,” shared Olop. “I didn’t realize I was missing a 25K chip.”

Olop’s opponent check-called bets of 155,000 on the A♥J♥9X flop and for 205,000 on the AX turn. Smith then fired out for 200,000 on the 8X river with no flush coming to the board. Olop had 300,000 left in his stack and called.

Smith turned over the KXJX but this proved to be no match for Olop’s trips, who won the hand after tabling the AXKX.

Herli Olop – 1.7 million
Vincent Smith – 1.2 million

Herli Olop

Level 25: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 143/5,799

The following players participation in the Battle of Malta Autumn Edition Main Event has now come to an end. This latest batch of rail recruits includes Humberto Galindo, the Day 1a chip leader. Apart from Humberto, Michael Howard and Nikolaos Oikonomou, whp also scored  opening day bonus payouts, all these players cashed for €3,260. The next players to depart will collect €3,580.

*Includes starting day chip leaders bonus

Day 1a Chip Leader Humberto Galindo, out in 146th

Level 25: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 146/5,799

We caught up in a hand where Daniel Heredi had his last 445,000 in the middle, as did Niklas Aahlund with his 1,010,000 stack. Nils Jarefjall was also involved and had both players covered.

Daniel Heredi: A♥Q♥
Niklas Aahlund: K♥K♦
Nils Jarefjall: A♣Q♣

Kings were good for Aahlund to double through Jarefjall and eliminate Heredi after the 7♦5♠T♥4♣8♦ ran out on the board.

Niklas Aahlund – 2.6 million
Nils Jarefsjall – 2.3 million
Daniel Heredi – 0

Niklas Magnus Aahlund

The €150 FLIP (Fantastic Ladies in Poker) event has just begun in the Eden Arena, with 45 players seated when the clock was started. There were initially not enough tables to accommodate all the ladies who wanted to play and at least twenty were left waiting for more space to become available. After just a few minutes of play, further dealers were scrambled into place and further tables were opened. 

The number of entrants has now risen to 78, including the runner up in April’s ladies event, including the Battle of Malta host Patrisha Rimfire. Daiva Byrne, who is the ambassador of sponsor Fantastic Ladies in Poker is also here, as is Swedish cowgirl Gia Carnestrom. Other notable players in the field include Emzy Oliver, June Jenkins and Ann-Roos Callens.

• Buy-In: €150 (€135+€15)
• Tournament Began: 4pm
• Starting Stack: 20,000
• Blind levels: 20 mins
• Play Ends: When we have a winner!

Patrisha Rimfire

Level 25: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 165/5,799

Shaun Decesare shared his brutal ending during the break. Decesare, who began the hand with 20 big blinds, broke down the betting action as follows:

Decesare called a min-raise from the small blind with 7X7X and flopped a full house on the 7♦8♦8♠ flop. His opponent bet two big blinds and Decesare called.

The K♠ turn proved to be fatal as for a spoiler, Decesare’s opponent held KXKX. Decesare bet 4.5 big blinds and his opponent tank-called. The rest of Decesare’s stack went in with the all-in triangle on the T♣ river. His opponent quickly called and Decesare’s Main Event run ended on a cooler he will likely remember for awhile.

Sean Decesare

Level 25: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 167/5,799

More players have now become former participants of the Main Event, this next consignment, finishing 168th-199th all collect €2,950. The players who bust next (144th-167th) will receive €3,260

Level 25: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 167/5,799

Tens proved to be fatal for Claudio Barone moments ago and tens just cost Ivan Furniet Martinez a chunk as he doubled up Robert Shearing as follows.

Martinez opened to 60,000 from under the gun before Shearing three-bet jammed for 605,000 from middle position. Dawid Bartosz tanked for about a minute before he folded from the big blind. Martinez then asked for a count before calling soon after.

Robert Shearing: A♦J♠
Ivan Furniet Martinez: T♥T♦

Shearing was cheering on the turn after his ace connected on the 7♣Q♠6♣A♥3♦ runout and was busy stacking chips instead of hitting the rail.

Ivan Furniet Martinez – 2.3 million
Robert Shearing – 1.3 million

Ivan Furniet Martinez

Level 25: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 169/5,799

James Norvock started the day with one of the shorter stacks of 195,000 and has recently become a chip millionaire while sending Claudio Barone to the rail as follows:

Norvock three-bet jammed for 680,000. Barone paused for less than a minute before he called off his stack of around 15 big blinds.

Claudio Barone: T♥T♠
James Norvock: J♥J♠

Norvock’s jacks held to eliminate Barone after the 3♦7♠A♠A♥5♣ ran out on the board.

James Norvock – 1.1 million
Claudio Barone – 0

Claudio Barone

Level 25: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 174/5,799

We could have history in the making as the defending Battle of Malta Main Event champion Vaselios Zisis is among the chip leader on break. Could we see a back-to-back performance. It is way to early to tell with 174 players still remaining and three days of action still to go.

Check out some of the bigger stacks from around the room at the break with blinds about to increase to 15,000/30,000 along with a 30,000 big blind ante.

First Break: 25 Mins
Entries: 174/5,799

The first two levels of the day have now been completed and the players are on a 25-minute break. When they returnm the blinds will increase to 15,00/30,000 (30,000).

The no phone on the table is being announced by the tournament floor before every event, but why is that so? The answer is that it is the result of new rules that the TDA (Tournament Directors’ Association) brought in recently, which is a measure being taken to improve game security. 

There have been recent advances in technology that make it necessary to protect hole card security by taking this measure. Devices on the table potentially could make the game vulnerable to cheats who could use phone cameras to record card values when dealers are pitching cards. Keep them in your pockets, not next to your stack!

No Phones On The Table

Level 24: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 183/5,799

Jozeph Dobos got his 10+ big blinds in good against Berend Jooijer.

Jozeph Dobos: K♠K♣
Berend Jooijer: A♣K♥

Dobos’s cowboys were cracked and his stack headed over to Jooijer to his dismay after an ace showed it face on the 2♣2♥8♥A♥J♠ runout.

Berend Jooijer – 1.6 million
Jozeph Dobos – 0

Berend Jan Hooijer

Level 24: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 191/5,799

There wasn’t much in the pot with the J♣8♠A♦Q♦ on the board after the turn when Nicusor Matei check-jammed from 65,000 to approximately 700,000. Marc Meden tanked before he called off his stack of a bit less.

Marc Meden: K♦J♦
Nicusor Matei: Q♣T♣

Meden was behind and needed a jack or a ten to survive. Instead, Matei shouted in joy when he hand held on the 2♥ river while Meden soon after headed to the cashier.

Nicusor Matei – 1.4 million
Marc Meden – 0

Nicusor Matei

Level 24: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 199/5,799

The number of survivors in the tournament has now dipped under 200 and the payouts have jumped once again. Those who finish from 168th-199th will stagger away from the battlefield with €2,950. Those who recently departed in 200th-231st got €2,640, apart from Iason Filippidis in 210th, who receives €12,640, the extra €10,000 due to him receiving a bonus for being his starting day chip leader.

*Includes starting day chip leaders bonus

Day 1g chip leader Iason Filippidis, out in 210th

Level 24: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 199/5,799

Nikolaos Iakovidis opened for 70,000 from the cutoff before Viorel-Gabriel Gavrila three-bet jammed for 610,000 from the small blind. Iakovidis called off his stack of 565,000 and was ahead when the two players tabled their hands.

Nikolaos Iakovidis: A♣Q♥
Viorel-Gabriel Gavrila: A♦T♥

Ace-queen held strong on the J♥4♣8♠3♦3♠ runout for Iakovidis to double and leave Gavrila with crumbs in his stack.

Nikolaos Iakovidis – 1,180,000
Viorel-Gabriel Gavrila – 75,000

Today’s High Roller begins its second day at 3pm and due to its regressive structure registration remains open for the first three levels of play. Registration is temporarily closed until the tournament restarts, when it will re-open. There is also an adjustment to the structure, as after registration closes, level 11 will be a repeat of the blinds for level ten. This is to ensure that all players who are registered before the cut off can be seated before the blinds progress beyond 500/1,000 (1,000).

There have been some questions as to how the €2,578,172 prize pool was derived. Below is all the info from the opening flights.

There were 1,357 total players playing the half-priced flight. For these players they started with a 20,000 starting stack (half of the 40,000 in the €600 full priced opening flights) and played down to 7.5% (instead of 15% in the €600 full priced opening flights).

Below are the calculations from the opening flights:

Level 24: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 219/5,799

Francisco Moreno three-bet jammed the button for 300,000 and was called by Daniel Mendoza, who originally opened from the hijack.

Francisco Moreno: A♥2♥
Daniel Mendoza: A♠Q♠

Moreno was drawing dead on the turn after the  8♥3♣Q♣6♠2♥ rolled out on the board.

Daniel Mendoza – 1 million
Francisco Moreno – 0

Daniel Jose Romero Mendoza

Level 23: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Entries: 231/5,799

The next batch of former participants have now been ejected from the tournament, all picking up €2,380 for making it this far. It’s never nice to be dusted out of a big event, but I guess €2,380 is better than a kick in the nuts. The payouts have now jumped and the next player out will get €2,640.

Jordi Ruiz Ribatallada, out in 240th

Level 23: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Entries: 233/5,799

Konstantin Faerber raised enough from the small blind to cover the half a dozen blinds left in Bruno Pacelli’s stack. Pacelli called and seemed to find a good spot to double and get back into the mix after the cards were tabled.

Bruno Pacelli: A♦K♥
Konstantin Faerber: A♥7♠

Pacelli shook his head in frustration after a seven paired up Faerber on the 7♦6♥4♣ flop. Pacelli was standing up as the T♣ turn and T♥ river completed the board and waiting for the floor to hand him his payout slip before heading to the cashier.

Konstantin Faerber – 1.2 million
Bruno Pacelli – 0

Konstantin Faerber

The third day of the Battle of Malta Autumn Edition Main Event started in the same vein as the end of Day 2, with players continuing to bust at a fast rate. The following players have now hung up their armour and headed to the payout desk.

Level 23: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Entries: 244/5,799

Ivan Furniet Martinez jammed from early position before Salvatore Chillemi called off his short stack from middle position.

Salvatore Chillemi: A♥Q♦
Ivan Furniet Martinez: A♦K♠

Martinez was ahead but Chillemi instantly turned the tables after his queen connected on the T♠Q♥3♦ flop. Neither the 4♠ turn nor the 4♣ river changed the outcome for Chillemi to double through Martinez instead of hitting the rail.

Salvatore Chillemi

Level 23: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Entries: 277/5,799

A total of 13 players hit the rail in the first 15 minutes on Day 3. Daniel Prior nearly joined this crew but a fortuitous river saved the day. Prior jammed for 225,000 from late position and was looked up by Luca Sebastiani.

Daniel Prior: A♠J♣
Luca Sebastiani: 9♥9♠

Nines were ahead until the river on the 8♠2♥6♦6♣A♥ runout for Prior to secure his double.

Daniel Prior – 500,000
Luca Sebastiani – 275,000

Daniel Sergej Prior

Level 23: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Entries: 287/5,799

Luca Catalin jammed his stack of 285,000 from the cutoff and was looked up by Mathias Jordi from the button.

Luca Catalin: 9♥9♦
Mathias Jordi: A♣K♦

Both players would normally see the 7♥9♣K♠ flop as a good one. However, despite flopping top pair, Jordi needed a pair of runners to eliminate Jordi who flopped the middle set.

Catalin’s double was secure with Jordi drawing dead on the Q♠ turn and the double-up was official after the J♠ river completed the board.

Meanwhile, Madis Ormisson, Luigi D’Alterio, and Ilie-Ionut Ababei all hit the rail in the opening moments.

Luca Catalin – 620,000
Mathias Jordi – 360,000

Luca Catalin

Level 23: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Entries: 290/5,799

Day 3 just began with many eager players in their seats and ready to position themselves for Wednesday’s €300,800 top prize in the 2024 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition Main Event. Players have already locked up €2,110 in prizes, with some already earning more due to the leaderboard bonuses during the 10 opening flights.

The structure today is the sooner of reaching 24 players or playing through Level 31. Due to the amount of chips in play, it seems likely that the action will continue until the end of Level 31 at around 2:45 a.m.

Best of luck to all of the players and check out today’s Day 3 structure below:

Sunday at the Battle of Malta at Casino Malta and the Eden Arena at the Intercontinental Hotel saw the Main Event complete its last starting day. It was a turbo flight with a full price buy in and by the time late registration had closed, 849 players had entered. This brought the total number of entries in the Main Event up to 5,799, an all-time record for the Battle of Malta. The prize pool also reached new heights, exceeding €2.5m for the first time, ending up at a staggering €2,578,172. When the winner emerges on Wednesday afternoon, they will not only claim the trophy and title, but also €300,800 the biggest first prize awarded in the event’s history. This is almost twice the size of the entire prize pool that was generated way back at the very first Battle of Malta in 2012.

Anthony Ouillon Bags Main Event Day 1i €10,000 Bonus

Day 1i was the final starting flight of the Main Event and was played on 20-minute clock, but with a full price buy-in of €600. It began at 10am and despite the early start over 300 players had bought in by the time the cards were in the air. This was the last chance for players to secure their continued existence in the tournament.

Anthony Ouillon headed into Day 2 €10,000 richer thanks to bagging the overall Day 1i lead with a stack of 1,077,000 chips. Michael Howard may not be a chip millionaire with 999,000 but he also earned a healthy €5,000 bonus for the second most chips on Day 1i while Domenico Candido banked €3,000 for bagging up the third place stack of 879,000 in chips. These were the top ten chip counts for Day 1i.

Main Event Day 2

After four levels of one hour each, the 2024 Battle of Malta Main Event witnessed the 760 players that advanced with at least a €800 min-cash wiggle down to just 290 hopefuls in hunt for the €300,800 top prize.

Hendrik Blokdijk had a heck of a day as he catapulted his 16th place stack of 808,000 into 2,485,000 to end Day 2 in the chip lead. Cosme Martinez (2,145,000) and Darko Svesko (2,025,000) also ended the day with at least 2 million.

Meanwhile, the 2024 Battle of Malta Spring Edition Main Event champion Vasileios Zisis has placed himself in an amazing position in his attempt to go back-to-back He ended the day with 1,920,000, just behind Viktor Waal (1,930,000) to complete the top five on the leaderboard.

Four players who won chip leader bonuses in the opening flights failed to progress to Day 3. Thid included Giampiero Arena (360th – €2,000 bonus + €1,590 = €3,590), Cecilia Pascaglini (366th – €10,000 bonus + €1,590 = €11,590), Francesco Tino (372nd – €5,000 bonus + €1,590 = €6,590), and Krystian Nalepka (522nd – €5,000 + €1,210 = €6,210).

The action will resume at 1 p.m. on Monday with blinds at 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante. These are the top ten chip counts going into Day 3. For the full ending chip counts from Day 2, check out this earlier blog post.

Vasileios Zisis

Quigioco High Roller Day 1

The €1,100 Quigioco High Roller’s first day saw 233 players take their seats, from which 137 survived. The €300,000 guaranteed tournament has a regressive structure, which means that the blinds are rolled back three levels when play begins on Day, with registration open for a further three levels of play. 

Gilbert Black is the chip leader from with 330,00. These are the top ten chip counts from the day.

Side Event News

Sadly some of Sunday’s side events had to be canceled, due to the ongoing high demand for the Main Event. The 8-Game, HyperTurbo and the 9pm High Roller satellite were all delisted from the schedule. The side events that did run were well attended.

The Rebet360 €330 NLH began at 3pm and saw 72 entrants fight it out for the top prize. It was won by Raf de Wever for €4,080. This was the only side event to reach its conclusion on Sunday as the €300 Full Tilt Catania Bounty is a two day event. As per the High Roller, it has a regressive structure, with registration open for a further three levels of play at the start of Day 2.

The first day of this €70,000 guaranteed bounty event had 398 entries, 156 of whom still had stacks by the end of the day. The overnight chip leader is Kevin Remelie from the UK whose 667,000 stack is 2.5x bigger than that of his nearest challenger, Neven Damjanovic who has 273,000, a lead of almost 400,000. Play resumes at 3pm on Monday.

Raf de Wever

Monday’s Schedule at the Battle of Malta Autumn Edition 2024

With the Main Event now down to under 300 players, it is no longer dominating the available table space, which should mean that there are no further disruptions to the advertised schedule. It’s the busiest day of the festival in terms of side events, with seven different options for players, plus two satellites.

The first event of the day is the last High Roller satellite, which has had its start time rescheduled to 12pm, having originally been slated to start at 11am. 

Most of the other tournaments today are sponsored side events Two that began on Sunday are the Quigiuoco High Roller and the Full Tilt Catania Bounty, which restart at 2pm an 3pm respectively.

The first side event of the day is the €400 (€360+€40) NLH IPC Deepstack at 1pm. At 4pm, the FLIP (Fantastic Ladies in Poker) Ladies Event begins, hosted by Daiva Byrne. It has a €150 (€135+€15) buy in and a €5,000 guarantee. There’s absolutely no truth in the rumour that Asif ‘The Poker Tourist’ Warris is planning to don a frock to try and sneak into the tournament this time, as he has done at least once in the past.

The €200 NLH IPF NLH with a €10,000 guarantee begins at 5pm and this evening there are two further side events to choose from plus a satellite into Tuesday’s Super High Roller.

Party Time at the Eden Arena

Last night was also the player party, which was held at The Eden Superbowl, which has recently been refurbished and upgraded. Bowling, darts, scary nuns and evil clowns awaited those who made it there, plus nibbles and an open bar.