
Spaniard Cosme Gomez Martinez has won the Autumn Edition of the Battle of Malta to claim the €255,800 first prize. The online pro entered the tournament via a live satellite, which he max late registered for and sat down with just 5.5 big blinds. He secured his seat and just scraped through his starting day, but with a below average 141,000.
The battle of Malta is one of the biggest tournaments in the world at this price range. Now in its 12th year it has grown most years but some more than others. The Autumn Edition of the Battle of Malta set a new standard for the event, attracting a record field of 5,799 entries and generating a prize pool of over €2.5 million!
Short Stacked Throughout!
Gomez Martinez was short stacked for the majority of the tournament, but proved that if you’re still in it, you can still win it. His stack of 8.6m was the second smallest going into the final, but he saved the best for last, surging in the latter stages of the final table to get heads up against defending Champion Vasileios Zisis.
Zisis held the chip lead going into the final and at first it looked like he was on course to complete a remarkable title defence. However, Gomez Martinez, who comes from Teruel in Aragon fought back, won a crucial all-in and then took down a series of sizeable pots to assume a 3-1 chip lead.
The Final Hand
In the final hand Cosme Martinez picked up J♠J♦ on the button and raised to 12,000,000. Vasileios Zisis made a brief inspection of his chip stack before moving all-in with A♦8♥, and Martinez insta-called. With 170 million chips in the pot, this hand would probably decide the tournament, regardless of the outcome.
The flop K♣6♦9♥ didn’t connect with Zisis, and only an ace could keep his back-to-back dreams alive.
A blank 4♠ on the turn kept Martinez in the lead, and the river 3♣ sealed the win. The Spanish rail erupted once again as Martinez completed a stunning comeback from a short stack to a champion, capturing the 2024 Battle of Malta Autumn title and €255,800 first-place prize.
Zisis Falls Short of Historic Double
It’s been a remarkable week at Casino Malta and the Eden Arena at the Intercontinental Hotel, with the record breaking event creating more amazing storylines. Zisis’s feat is quite remarkable, even though he did not manage to seal the deal for the second time in a row.
The spring edition earlier this year had a smaller field of 1814 and was won by Vasileios Zisis. When the Greek player returned to defend his title, he declared I’m the very first day that he felt he would go on and win it again and on each day of the tournament when asked the same question, he repeated his statement. Going into the fourth day of the tournament he was even more confident, but stated that securing the victory would have to wait another day and that his only goal on Tuesday was to secure a seat on the final table.
Throughout the tournament Zisis played his usual, strong, and aggressive game. This was the same approach that had been so successful for him earlier in the year, but this time he has looked even more determined to achieve his goal.
Just to put this into perspective, in April Zisis defeated 1,813 other players and this time he went past a further 5,797 players, making it to the heads up stage once again. He was obviously disappointed with the end result, but was philosophical afterwards and will be smiling quietly to himself for quite some time. Close, no cigar, but a remarkable performance all the same.
How The Final Table Unfolded
The final began very slowly, with no exits for almost the first three hours of play. There were several double ups before the first player busted. Sicilian Pasquale Gregorio was the unlucky player to be the first to lose his tournament life when his pocket jacks couldn’t hold against Farcasanu’s AQ.
It was not long before another player busted out and this time if was Bulgarian Ivaylo Eftimov’s turn to take the walk of shame to the cash desk. He was ahead in the hand against Zisis, but the Greek player spiked trips to send him to the rail. But to be fair, there isn’t much shame in heading to the cash desk to collect over €30,000 as Eftimov also secured a €10,000 bonus for being the end of day chip leader in his starting day.
While busting out of final table had been extremely unpopular during the first two levels of the day, it soon became a trend, as Greek Kyriakos Papadopoulos departed just a few hands later. His A♣5♣ was dominated by Farcasanu’s A♥Q♠. The board not only provided no help, but slapped a queen down on the flop to all-but seal Papadopoulos’s fate.
After these three quick-fire eliminations there was an extended period of play without further losses. By this time Farcasanu had almost caught Zisis, but these two were well ahead of the chasing pack. Italian Davide Iannaco became the 6th place finisher in a similar hand to Papadopoulos’s exit, with the Maltese resident’s A♠5♥ this time finding itself up against A♣J♥, with the board missing both players.
Vasileios Zisis then pulled away form the pack once again after knocking out Dubai resident Shervin Ghasselmou from the UK. He had gone into the final with the second largest stack, but had to set for 5th when his dominated A♣3♠ failed to get there against A♥9♣.
This was another period of turbo bust outs and soon after, Cosme Gomez Martinez claimed his first scalp of the final, dropping Alessandro Siena (another Italian who lives in Malta) in 4th place. Siena’s pocket sevens were beaten when the Spanish player, who held A♥9♥ spiked the 9♦ on the river. Ouch!
These last three exits all happened shortly before the dinner break, at which point the Greek had almost twice the chips of both his rivals.After the dinner break, with three players left, Gomez Martinez won a series of pots from both opponents, reducing Farcasanu to just 32m and closing the gap on chip leader Zisis. But Zisis extended his lead again when his Q♦T♠ outdrew Farcasanu’s A♣T♦ to take the tournament to the heads up stage, holding a chip lead of 123m to the Spaniard’s 81m.
The Final Table Result
Position | Player | Payout (€) |
---|---|---|
1 | Cosme Gomez Martinez | €255,800 |
2 | Vasileios Zisis | €160,800 |
3 | Alexandru Farcasanu | €115,800 |
4 | Alessandro Siena | €91,170 |
5 | Shervin Ghassemlou | €66,600 |
6 | Davide Iannaco | €50,650 |
7 | Kyriakos Papadopoulos | €35,500 |
8 | Ivaylo Eftimov | €36,330 |
9 | Pasquale Gregorio | €22,240 |
The Battle of Malta is now over for 2024 and its been a huge event overall. Can it grow any further? Join us again in 2025 to find out!
- Alexandru Farcasanu
- Pasquale Gregorio
- Kyriakos Papadopoulos
- Alessandro Siena
- Alessandro Siena
- Vasileios Zisis
- Ivaylo Eftimov
- Cosme Martinez
- Zisis Vasileios
- Vasileios Zisis
- Shervin Ghassemlou
- Davide Iannaco
- Alexandru Farcasanu
- Spanish Rail for Cosme Martinez
- Victory Celebrations with the Spanish Rail
- Cosme Martinez
Level 46: 2,000,000/4,000,000 (4,000,000)
Entries: 2/5,799
Cosme Martinez picked up J♠J♦ on the button and raised to 12,000,000. Vasileios Zisis made a brief inspection of his chip stack before moving all-in with A♦8♥, and Martinez insta-called. With 170 million chips in the pot, this hand would probably decide the tournament, regardless of the outcome.
The flop K♣6♦9♥ didn’t connect with Zisis, and only an ace could keep his back-to-back dreams alive.
A blank 4♠ on the turn kept Martinez in the lead, and the river 3♣ sealed the win. The Spanish rail erupted once again as Martinez completed a stunning comeback from a short stack to a champion, capturing the 2024 Battle of Malta Autumn title and €255,800 first-place prize.
Despite narrowly missing out on a back-to-back BoM victory, Zisis adds €160,800 to his resume with an incredible runner-up finish, adding to his €100,000 win from the Spring edition.
Level 46: 2,000,000/4,000,000 (4,000,000)
Entries: 2/5,799
With only 11 big blinds left, Vasileios Zisis looked down at A♠K♦ and opted for a trap call on the button. It worked flawlessly as Cosme Martinez pushed all-in with A♣2♠, and Zisis snap-called before Martinez even touched the chips.
The board 9♦9♥T♠3♠J♥ was clean for Zisis, keeping his hopes for a back-to-back Battle of Malta win alive and putting him within five big blinds of Martinez.

Vasileios Zisis
Cosme Martinez – 110,000,000
Vasileios Zisis – 95,000,000
Level 45: 1,000,000/3,000,000 (3,000,000)
Entries: 2/5,799
Soon after, Vasileios Zisis regained the lead, but it didn’t last long. Cosme Martinez opened the pot with K♠Q♥ to 8,000,000, and Zisis quickly called with Q♣J♥.
Martinez flopped the world again with a full house on a K♦Q♦K♥, while Zisis got a piece of it as well and called Martinez’s 5,000,000 continuation bet.
Both checked the 7♥ turn, but on the 3♥ river Zisis led out with an 11,000,000 bet. We knew there was another lead change brewing, the only question was just how much more Martinez could extract. Spaniard decided to raise to 36,000,000, and Zisis reluctantly called, only to see the bad news.
Cosme Martinez – 130,000,000
Vasileios Zisis – 75,000,000

Cosme Martinez
Level 44: 1,000,000/2,500,000 (2,500,000)
Entries: 2/5,799
Cosme Martinez completed with 9♦8♥ from the button, and Vasileios Zisis checked to see a flop with T♣8♣.
The script flipped this time around as Martinez saw a dream flop of J♦T♦7♣, giving him the nut straight, prompting a 4,250,000 bet. Zisis made a call with a top pair, a gutshot, and a backdoor flush draw.
The turn 2♣ was a spicy one, giving Zisis a flush draw, who check-raised all-in over Martinez’s bet of 12,000,000. Martinez couldn’t call fast enough.
A club on the river would end Martinez’s run, but the K♦ kept his straight safe, doubling him up to take the chip lead for the first time in the tournament after spending most of the day as the short stack.
Cosme Martinez – 106,000,000
Vasileios Zisis – 99,000,000

Cosme Martinez
Level 44: 1,000,000/2,500,000 (2,500,000)
Entries: 2/5,799
Action already hot and heavy in the first hand of the heads-up play as Cosme Martinez completed with Q♣8♣ and Vasileios Zisis checked his option with T♥9♦.
Zisis led out for 4,500,000, flopping big on a 8♠T♦7♣ board, and Martinez called with middle pair. The turn 6♣ completed a straight Greek’s and gave Spaniard a flush draw, but led to both players to check and see the river for free.
On the A♥ river, Zisis bet 18,000,000 into a 17 million pot. Martinez tanked for a minute but made the call, only to see Zisis’s straight, giving him a commanding chip lead after just one hand.
Vasileios Zisis – 148,000,000
Cosme Martinez – 57,000,000

Vasileios Zisis
Level 44: 1,000,000/2,500,000 (2,500,000)
Entries: 3/5,799
Soon after the restart, Farcasanu, who had been chipped down during the previous session found himself chipless.
Cosme Martinez raised 5,000,000 with A♠5♠ on the button, Vasileios Zisis called the initial open in the small blind holding Q♦T♠, but then Alexandru Farcasanu went over the top with A♣T♦ for 30,000,000 chips. Martinez folded, but Zisis quickly called.
The flop T♣Q♠K♠ gave Zisis top two pair, though Farcasanu was still live with an ace or a jack. The turn 9♥ and river 6♠ brought no miracles, and all of a sudden, there were two, sending Farcasanu out in third with €115,800.
Romanian Farcasanu has been one of the stars of the Battle of Malta Autumn Edition and this is his best very live result. He is usually an online pro, but made an exception to visit Malta this week. We are quietly confident that we will see the Bucharest resident once again in the future.
We are now heads up between Vasileios Zisis and Cosme Gomez Martinez.
Vasileios Zisis – 122m
Cosme Gomez Martinez – 83m
Alexandru Farcasanu – 0

Alexandru Farcasanu
The three remaining players returned from dinner break, but after 20-minutes of play, a technical issue with the stream forced a further 10-minute break. Farcasanu is now the short stack after losing a few small-medium sized pots.
Vasileios Zisis – 88m
Cosme Gomez Martinez – 83m
Alexandru Farcasanu – 32m
Soon after Alessandro Siena was taken out, the Battle of Malta Main Event has gone on a 75-minute dinner break. With three players left, the blinds will be reduced to 30-minutes after they return. At this stage Vasileios is still on track to go back-to-back.
The last three remaining players are currently huddled together, perhaps discussing a deal. When the players return they will be on level 43, with blinds at 1m/2m with a 2m big blind ante. Here are the updated chip counts.As there are now three players left, the blinds levels has been reduced to 30-minutes.
Player Name | Chips | Big Blinds |
---|---|---|
Vasileios Zisis | 93,100,000 | 47 |
Cosme Gomez Martinez | 58,900,000 | 29 |
Alexandru Farcasanu | 52,800,000 | 26 |
Level 43: 1,000,000/1,500,000 (1,500,000)
Entries: 4/5,799
Soon after the demise of Ghasselmou, there was another departure from the final table. This one took place just before the dinner break, which means that when the last three return, the clock will be reduced to 30-minutes.
Alessandro Siena shoved the remaining of his chips with J♣9♣, only to be snap-called by Vasileios Zisis with a dominant A♠J♠.
The dealer revealed an 8♦8♠7♠ flop, keeping Zisis well ahead of Siena, who needed a ten or a nine to survive. The 3♣ turn and 2♦ river didn’t deliver, sending Siena out in fourth place with a well-earned €91,170.
Vasileios Zisis – 98,000,000
Alessandro Siena – 0

Alessandro Siena
Level 43: 1,000,000/1,500,000 (1,500,000)
Entries: 4/5,799
In a blind vs. blind clash, Cosme Martinez completed his small blind, and Alessandro Siena raised to 5,000,000 after looking down at 7♥7♦. Martinez took a minute before announcing an all-in, and Siena quickly called, putting Martinez at risk.
Siena was still ahead on the 3♦J♥3♠ flop and 8♦ turn, needing to dodge a six outer on the river to eliminate Martinez in fourth. But the river was a 9♦, and the Spanish rail went nuts as Martinez doubled up to 53 million, leaving Seina with only 9 big blinds.
Cosme Martinez – 53,000,000
Alessandro Siena – 14,000,000
It’s been going since 1pm, when 36 players returned and there are still 11 players left, vying for a place on the final table and a shot at the €48,440. They have had their dinner break and reached the money when there were 13 players left. Fabio Peluso didn’t quite make it, exiting in 15th place. As expected, this will be the last event of the series to conclude, with the Main Event having now reached the business end of the equation.
Level 42: 1,000,000/1,500,000 (1,500,000)
Entries: 5/5,799
The field has been reduced to four, as we have now lost another competitor.
Looking down to A♣3♠ in the cutoff, Shervin Ghassemlou moved all-in for 8,750,000 and was quickly called by Vasileios Zisis with dominating A♥9♣.
The 6♥A♠4♦ flop played in Zisis’ favor as Ghassemlou’s kicker was no help here. The turn 7♦ gave the Brit four new outs with an added gutshot-straight draw, but the river missed, sending Ghassemlou to a payout table, collecting €66,600 for fifth place.
Shervin is originally from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, but now lives in Dubai, where he runs a recruitment agency. He loves life there, but it’s not possible to play poker there. This is his second trip to the Battle of Malta and it’s been a very profitable one for the only British player to make the final table. Well played sir!
Vasileios Zisis – 85,000,000
Shervin Ghassemlou – 0

Shervin Ghassemlou
Level 41: 600,000/1,200,000 (1,200,000)
Entries: 6/5,799
Fifteen minutes into level 41 another player’s participation in the tournament came to an end.
Cosme Martinez raised to 2,400,000 from the button with A♣J♥, and Davide Iannaco quickly pushed all the chips in from the big blind, holding A♠5♥. Martinez made a call and Iannaco was at risk.
The flop of 7♦K♥6♠ missed both players, keeping Martinez in the lead. Turn 2♥ didn’t change anything, and Iannaco needed one of three fives left in the deck for a double up. The river 8♠ provided no help, and Italian was out in sixth place, while Martinez got another pay jump, starting as the final table short stack.
Iannaco is originally from Tuscany, but was one of two Maltese residents to make the final table, receiving significant support on the Malta Poker Fish facebook group. Iannaco sneaked into Day 2 from the final turbo starting day, when he bagged a below average stack, but by the end of Day 3 he was in the top half of the field. He was short stacked throughout much of Day 2 and must be delighted to have departed over €50,000 richer.
With three exits in the last session of play, the final is now hotting up and the money is beginning to get serious. When play resumes they will be on level 41, with blinds of 600,000/1,200,000 and a 1,200,000 big blind ante. As we are now down to six players, the blinds levels will be reduced to 45-minutes.
Player Name | Chips | Big Blinds |
---|---|---|
Vasileios Zisis | 60,900,000 | 51 |
Alexandru Farcasanu | 55,800,000 | 47 |
Alessandro Siena | 29,100,000 | 24 |
Shervin Oliver Ghassemlou | 26,700,000 | 22 |
Cosme Gomez Martinez | 19,000,000 | 16 |
Davide Iannaco | 13,300,000 | 11 |
Level 40: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 6/5,799
Vasileios Zisis opened the pot with a min-raise from under the gun holding Q♣T♦, Davide Iannaco completed his small blind with K♣J♣, and Shervin Ghassemlou came along with K♦5♦ from the big blind.
A flop of 7♦8♦6♣ was good for the Brit, giving him plenty of ways to win the pot, as he check-raised Zisis’ continuation bet of 3,500,000. It was only 6,400,000 more to call for the Greek, bringing the pot to 27 million.
Ghassemlou was a big favorite to take down the pot, especially after a K♠ on the turn, as Zisis was left with two outs only. The river 2♠ secured a double up for Ghassemlou, who had now moved out of the danger zone.
Vasileios Zisis – 61,000,000
Shervin Ghassemlou – 27,000,000

Shervin Ghassemlou
Level 40: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 6/5,799
Alessandro Siena could have been our fourth casualty at the final, calling an all-in from Alexandru Farcasanu, who was trying to steal the blinds with A♠7♦.
Siena’s A♣Q♣ held the lead, but a flop of 9♥8♣5♠ gave quite a sweat to Italian as Farcasanu had seven outs to kick him out in sixth place. The turn 9♦ brought some chopping outs, but a Q♥ on the river sealed the double up for Siena, bringing him to 32 million.
Alexandru Farcasanu – 58,000,000
Alessandro Siena – 32,000,000

Alessandro Siena
Level 40: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 7/5,799
Bust outs in poker tournaments are a little bit like buses, you wait at the stop for ages and then two turn up at the same time. In this case, three buses to the payout desk arrived almost at the same time, as we have now lost three players.
Alexandru Farcasanu raised to 2,200,000 from the cutoff holding A♥Q♠, and Kyriakos Papadopoulos tried to steal the pot with players’ favorite bluffing hand A♣5♣, three-betting to 10,000,000 from the small blind. Unfortunately for the Greek, Farcasanu had him dominated and all the chips went in quickly.
The flop 7♥A♦Q♥ left Papadopoulos nearly drawing dead, needing a miracle to survive. The turn brought one of the case fives, but Papadopoulos would need one more on the river. J♣ on the river wasn’t it, and we lost Papadopoulos in seventh place
Kyriakos from Thessaloniki in Greece is the most experienced player who graced this final table. He has over $1m in live cashes, including over $180,000 when he won a massive field $500 buy-in at the Aria in Las Vegas. He became very short stacked during Day 4, but played strongly, tussling with his compatriot Vasileios in many hands to rebuild his stack.
Level 40: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 8/5,799
Not long after Gregorio had hit the rail, another all-in took place. This time, it was Bulgarian Ivaylo Eftimov whose tournament life was on the line.
Vasileios Zisis opened the pot with Q♦9♠ to 2,000,000 from the highjack, and Ivaylo Eftimov cold-called behind with A♣J♦. Kyriakos Papadopoulos also joined the party, calling his big blind with 6♣5♣.
The A♠9♦3♦ flop saw Zisis bet his middle pair, and Eftimov called with top pair while Papadopoulos got out of the way. Zisis continued his story on the 6♥ turn, and Eftimov called once more.
The river brought a 9♣ and this time Zisis went all-in. Eftimov, down to only 11 million chips, didn’t think long and called one last time. Zisis flipped over trips, sending Bulgarian to the rail in disgust. With this pot, Zisis regained the lead over Alexandru Farcasanu.
Eftimov was the chip leader after Day 1c, which earned him a €10,000 bonus, resulting in a payday of over €36,000. Eftimov had a big stack almost all the way through the tournament and held the chip lead during the early stages of Day 4. We’d love to get a quote from him about his participation, but unfortunately he speaks no English and my Bulgarian is a little rusty.
Vasileios Zisis – 70,000,000
Ivaylo Eftimov – 0

Ivaylo Eftimov
Level 40: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 9/5,799
The first player to have their dreams of lifting the trophy shattered was Sicilian Pasquale Gregorio.
Vasileios Zisis started the action with A♠2♠ to 2,000,000 from the cutoff. Alexandru Farcasanu shoved 31,000,000 with A♦Q♠ from the small blind, while Pasquale Gregorio woke up with J♦J♣ in the big blind and quickly called. Zisis got out of the way, and Gregorio was at risk in a massive 37 million pot.
A flop of 3♣Q♦6♣ catapulted Farcasanu in front and Gregorio had slim chances to survive this hand. However, the turn brought a K♣ and a flush draw for the Italian, but the river was a blank 3♠, and Gregorio exited as the first elimination of the 2024 Battle of Malta Autumn final table.
Gregorio played a strong game throughout the tournament, having secured his passage into day 2 via the remote Day 1, which took place in Catania, not far from his hometown of Taormina, a beautiful town in the shadow of Mount Etna. He’s normally a cash game player but likes to play tournaments sometimes and will be happy to have entered this one, which has increased his bankroll by over €22,000!
Alexandru Farcasanu – 51,000,000
Pasquale Gregorio – 0

Pasquale Gregorio
Level 40: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 9/5,799
After Pasquale Gregorio opened the pot to 2,000,000 from the middle position with J♠9♠, Cosme Martinez looked down at J♥J♣ and put in a three-bet to 7,500,000, leaving just 2 million behind. Feeling priced in, Gregorio four-bet all-in, and Martinez made the call.
The flop of A♦4♦7♠ offered little hope for Gregorio, and the J♦ on the turn sealed Martinez’s third double-up, who finally climbed out of short stack territory to a healthier 22 big blind stack.
Cosme Martinez – 22,000,000
Pasquale Gregorio – 16,000,000

Cosme Martinez
Level 40: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 9/5,799
It seemed that Kyriakos Papadopoulos’ three-bet all-in with 6♦6♣ might get through when he pushed 8,250,000 from the small blind, but his fellow countryman, Vasileios Zisis, who had opened with K♦5♦, decided to call for 6,250,000 more, putting Papadopoulos at risk.
Papadopoulos flopped a top set on a 4♥2♠6♠ boar, leaving Zisis drawing slim. The turn was 4♠, sealing the deal, and Papadopoulos doubled up to 19 million, while Zisis still holds a slight chip lead over the rest of the table.
Vasileios Zisis – 45,000,000
Kyriakos Papadopoulos – 19,000,000

Kyriakos Papadopoulos
Lots of all-in and calls, but still no exits by the second break of the day. After the break they will be on level 40, with blinds of 500,000/1,000,000 and a 1,000,000 big blind ante. Here are the updated chip counts.
Player Name | Nationality | Chips | Big Blinds |
---|---|---|---|
Vasileios Zisis | Greek | 55,000,000 | 55 |
Ivaylo Eftimov | Bulgarian | 30,000,000 | 30 |
Alexandru Farcasanu | Romanian | 35,000,000 | 35 |
Alessandro Siena | Italian | 24,000,000 | 24 |
Davide Iannaco | Italian | 24,000,000 | 24 |
Pasquale Gregorio | Italian | 19,000,000 | 19 |
Shervin Ghassemlou | English | 17,000,000 | 17 |
Cosme Gomez Martinez | Spanish | 14,000,000 | 14 |
Kyriakos Papadopoulos | Greek | 8,200,000 | 8 |
Level 39: 400,000/800,000 (800,000)
Entries: 9/5,799
Cosme Gomez Martinez looked down to 7♥7♦ and raised the pot to 3,150,000, leaving himself with just over 2 million behind. Kyriakos Papadopoulos found A♠T♥ in the big blind and after a short pause, decided to put Martinez all-in, who called the three-bet.
The 5♦9♥J♠ flop kept Gomez Martinez in front, but the K♥ turn added some tension with additional outs for Papadopoulos. The river was a blank 4♥, allowing Martinez to double, leaving Papadopoulos as a short stack.
Cosme Gomez Martinez – 12,000,000
Kyriakos Papadopoulos – 8,200,000

Cosme Gomez Martinez
Level 39: 400,000/800,000 (800,000)
Entries: 9/5,799
Vasileios Zisis opened the action with a 1,700,000 raise from the button holding A♥K♣, and Ivaylo Eftimov called behind with 8♥8♦ in the small blind. Both players checked on the flop of 9♣4♣7♥.
Bolgarian then made a min-bet on the blank turn of 2♠, and Zisis quickly called. The river brought a Q♦, and this time Eftimov sized up his bet to 1,100,000, which tempted Zisis into a hero call with an ace-high, only to find the bad news.
Vasileios Zisis – 55,000,000
Ivaylo Eftimov – 27,000,000

Ivaylo Eftimov
Level 39: 400,000/800,000 (800,000)
Entries: 9/5,799
Action folded to Davide Iannaco in the small blind, who completed with 7♦7♣, possibly setting a trap for Shervin Ghassemlou in the big blind, who checked his option with J♠8♥.
On a 4♣K♣4♠ flop, Iannaco checked to Ghassemlou, who decided to take a stab at the pot with an 800,000 bet into a small pot of 2,400,000, which Iannaco called.
The turn 5♦ didn’t change Iannaco’s plan. He checked-call again after Ghassemlou bet 1,800,000.
The river was a dream 7♠ for the Italian, completing a full house. Iannaco set one final trap, snap-calling Ghassemlou’s third barrel bluff with jack-high.
Davide Iannaco – 20,000,000
Shervin Ghassemlou – 18,000,000

Davide Iannaco
Level 39: 400,000/800,000 (800,000)
Entries: 9/5,799
Davide Iannaco found A♥K♦ in the early position and jammed his 6,300,000 stack into the middle. Kyriakos Papadopoulos peeled 9♠9♣ in the big blind and made a quick call, risking a quarter of his stack.
The A♦7♣J♥ flop gave Iannaco a commanding lead with the top pair, but in poker it’s never easy, as Papadopoulos picked up four more outs on the 8♠ turn. The river is a blank 5♥, and Iannaco doubled up to 14 million, pulling him out of the shortest stack spot.
Davide Iannaco – 14,000,000
Kyriakos Papadopoulos – 13,000,000

Davide Iannaco
Level 39: 400,000/800,000 (800,000)
Entries: 9/5,799
Vasileios Zisis opened the action with a 1,600,000 raise from the cut off holding A♣2♠. Ivaylo Eftimov looked down at A♥Q♣ on the button and pushed all-in for 9,450,000. The action got back to Zisis, who asked for a count and, after thinking for a couple of minutes, made a surprising call.
Eftimov was at risk of being the first player hitting the rail, but the flop of 6♣T♣5♠ kept him in front, while 4♠ on the turn brought four more outs for Zisis. However, the river Q♠ paired Eftimov, who doubled up to a more comfortable 26 big blinds, while Zisis made a first misstep at the final table.
Vasileios Zisis – 54,000,000
Ivaylo Eftimov – 21,000,000

Ivaylo Eftimov
There were ten starting days for the Autumn Edition of the Battle of Malta Main Event, five of them full price, five of them half price. Only one of the BOM November Nine made their way into Day 2 via a half price flight. The rest all paid the full €600. Here are details of which flight each player came through and where they finished in the chip counts.
Seat | Player Name | Entry Event | Entry Day Rank |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Vasileios Zisis | Day 1E Full Price | 12th |
2 | Shervin Ghassemlou | Day 1E Full Price | 43rd |
3 | Alexandru Farcasanu | Day 1I Turbo Full Price | 33rd |
4 | Kyriakos Papadopoulos | Day 1A Full Price | 6th |
5 | Alessandro Siena | Day 1C Full Price | 5th |
6 | Pasquale Gregorio | Catania Half Price | 2nd |
7 | Ivaylo Eftimov | Day 1C Full Price | 1st |
8 | Davide Iannacou | Day 1I Turbo Full Price | 92nd |
9 | Cosme Gomez Martinez | Day 1E Price | 118th |
Level 39: 400,000/800,000 (800,000)
Entries: 9/5,799
Action folded around to Shervin Ghassemlou, who completed his small blind with 7♣4♠, and Vasileios Zisis checked his option with J♣5♣.
The flop of K♣A♠3♠ missed both, Ghassemlou took a stab with 800,000, and Zisis called with J-high and some backdoor draws.
With the 9♦ on the turn, Ghassemlou opted to check to Zisis, giving the chip leader a chance to bet 2,600,000 into a 4,000,000 pot. Ghassemlou let it go, probably regretting coming into the pot in the first place.
Vasileios Zisis – 60,000,000
Shervin Ghassemlou – 27,000,000

Vasileios Zisis
The players have now gone on a 15-minute break. Vasileios Zisis remains the chip leader.
Position | Player Name | Nationality | Chips | Seat |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Vasileios Zisis | Greek | 61,050,000 | 8 |
2 | Alexandru Farcasanu | Romanian | 34,450,000 | 1 |
3 | Shervin Ghassemlou | English | 32,250,000 | 7 |
4 | Kyriakos Papadopoulos | Greek | 20,100,000 | 3 |
5 | Alessandro Siena | Italian | 16,900,000 | 5 |
6 | Pasquale Gregorio | Italian | 12,600,000 | 2 |
7 | Ivaylo Eftimov | Bulgarian | 11,450,000 | 9 |
8 | Cosme Gomez Martinez | Spanish | 8,600,000 | 4 |
9 | Davide Iannaco | Italian | 8,275,000 | 6 |
Level 38: 300,000/600,000 (600,000)
Entries: 9/5,799
Chip leader Vasileios Zisis raised to 1,200,000 from the middle position with Q♦8♠. Cosme Martinez, the shortest stack at the final table, defended his big blind with 9♣4♣, leaving less than a pot bet behind.
Martinez flopped trips on a board of 9♠2♣9♦ and elected to just check-call a 600,000 bet from Zisis. The 8♥ on the turn sealed the deal and brought the rest of the chips in the middle, and Martinez doubled up to 14 big blinds.
Cosme Martinez – 8,600,000
Vasileios Zisis – 60,000,000

Cosme Martinez
Level 38: 300,000/600,000 (600,000)
Entries: 9/5,799
Kyriakos Papadopoulos raised the pot to 1,200,000 with A♥J♠ from the early position, and Ivaylo Eftimov, one of the shortest stacks, defended his big blind with A♣8♥.
The dealer revealed a flop of 8♣Q♦2♣, putting Eftimov ahead, who quickly called Papadopoulos’ 800,000 continuation bet. The turn brought a 7♥, and after thinking for a minute, Papadopoulos fired another bet of 2,300,000 into a 4,900,000 pot, enough to make Eftimov lay down the best hand.
Kyriakos Papadopoulos – 22,000,000
Ivaylo Eftimov – 9,100,000

Kyriakos Papadopoulos
The Main Event final table is not the only event taking place today. There is also day two of the slow structured €2,200 Super High Roller, in which 36 players returned for a pop at the €48,440 first prize.
There are currently 25 players left and they are paying 13 places. The enigmatic Italian Fabio Peluso is still in, as is Dutch maestro Joris Ruijs.
It’s very slow structured tournament, which has a 50-minute clock and we don’t expect it to wrap up any time soon. This one has the capacity to go well past the end of the Main Event.
When they return, the blinds will be 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 big blind ante.
Chip Counts at First Break
Level 38: 300,000/600,000 (600,000)
Entries: 9/5,799
The day kicked off with Ivaylo Eftimov opening the pot to 1,300,000 with Q♦9♦ from the early position and getting a call from Shervin Ghassemlou in the big blind holding A♣Q♥.
A flop of 5♣Q♠T♥ gave both players top pair with Ghassemlou being ahead with an ace kicker. He checked-called the 900,000 bet from Eftimov and repeated with another check-call on the 1,300,000 turn bet when 6♥ fell.
The river was a blank 2♣, both players checked, and Ghassemlou raked in the first pot of the day.
Shervin Ghassemlou – 36,000,000
Ivaylo Eftimov – 10,000,000

Shervin Ghassemlou
It’s the final table of the Battle of Malta Main Event Autumn Edition and after 5,790 eliminations, just nine players remain. It’s November and there are nine of them left, it would be rude not call them the November Nine. The WSOP abandoned the concept that created the original November Nine name, which was to delay its final for several months. But there is no truth in the rumour that the Battle of Malta is going to play down to eight today and then ask everyone to come back next year for an April Eight. November Nine it is.
Seat 1: Alexandru Farcasanu, Romania, 25,250,000
Seat 2: Pasquale Gregorio, Italy, 13,800,000
Seat 3:Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Greece, 20,200,000
Seat 4: Cosme Gomez Martinez, Spain, 9,550,000
Seat 5: Alessandro Siena, Italy, 18,400,000
Seat 6: Davide Iannacou, Italy, 10,075,000
Seat 7: Shervin Ghassemlou, England, 32,150,000
Seat 8: Vasileios Zisis, Greece, 65,3000,000
Seat 9: Ivaylo Eftimov, Bulgaria, 13,650,000
Play has now begun on the final table. Before play started, the players all agreed to an adjusted prize pool, which was proposed by the tournament director after feedback at the end of Tuesday’s play in the Main Event. This is what they are now playing for:
Position | Prize |
---|---|
1 | €255,800 |
2 | €160,800 |
3 | €115,800 |
4 | €91,170 |
5 | €66,600 |
6 | €50,650 |
7 | €35,500 |
8 | €26,330 |
9 | €22,240 |
The nine remaining players have now returned to Casino Malta and the Eden Arena at the Intercontinental Hotel and they are currently opening their chip bags and preparing to commence play. Today we have a live stream of the final table, commentary hosted by Jason Glatzer, with guests. Its being broadcast on a 30-minute delay and can be found on the homepage of the Battle of Malta website and on YouTube and Facebook. There are both English and Italian language commentary versions available.
When play begins there will be 55 minutes left on the clock in level 38, with the blinds at 300,000/600,000 with a 600,000 big blind ante.

The fourth day of the record breaking Battle of Malta Main Event Autumn Edition began with 36 hopefuls still in the hunt for a seat on the final table of nine players. It was a long day for both players and staff at Casino Malta and the Eden Arena at the Intercontinental Hotel, although it began quickly, with a spate of early exits. By the time the field had been whittled down to three tables, the pace began to slow, which is hardly surprising, given the slow structure and serious money up to top to play for.
Miguel Branco, who had gone into the day as chip leader will be disappointed with his 23rd place finish, however for defending champion Vasileios Zisis, it was bliss. He was at or near the top of the chip counts for most of the day and ended up taking a massive chip lead by the time they had reached the final table of nine. It must have been both an awesome and surreal experience for the Greek cash game pro, as he has now put himself in pole position to do the unthinkable and win back-to-back Battle of Malta Main Event titles.
Sporting a sponsored Novibet hoodie, Zisis dominated every table he was on throughout the day, never scared to tussle with his opponents and frequently testing them in tricky spots for their entire stacks. He had his fair share of luck also, including delivering a cooler to Marco Arcodia, to send the Sicilian to the rail on the final table bubble. Zisis has been there before and held his composure in the spring to win the €100,000 top prize. Now he could potentially triple his last win, with a €300,800 top prize on the line.
Zisis has more than double the chips of his nearest competitor in the United Kingdom’s Shervin Ghassemlou who ended the day with 32.15m. Ghassemlou had been quite short stacked throughout much of the day, but in the final few levels, when a lot of players were dodging action, he was getting involved in a lot of pots, taking significant chunks from Alessandro Siena, who had been vying with Zisis for the chip lead throughout most of the day. The last level of the day saw Siena, an Italian who resides in Malta drop back, finishing the day on 18.4mm despite having grown his stack to over 50m at one point.
Romanian Alexandru Fracasanu, who had gone into the day second in chips maintained his position near the top, bagging the third biggest stack of 25.25m. Kyriacos Papdopoulos is the most experienced player to make the final and the only one to have over $1m in lifetime live cashes (according to TheHendonMob database). He played a solid game, frequently getting involved in big hands with Zisis and finished the day on over 20m.
Ivaylo Eftimiov was one of the players who had already secured a decent payout on his starting day, when he picked up the €10,000 bonus prize for bagging the largest stack of his flight. He started the day as one of the chip leaders and in the early exchanges he briefly held the chip lead. He takes 13.65m onto the final, just less than Italian Pasquale Gregorio on 13.8m. Gregorio also got involved in a lot of pots with Zisis and at one point it looked like he might get the better of his Greek adversary, but the defending champ’s resilience prevailed in a number of key hands. Davide Iannaco on just over 10m and Cosme Gomez Martinez on just under 10m chips complete the final table line up. They were both short stacked throughout most of the day, but won some key double ups to remain in contention.
The televised final table starts at 2pm on Wednesday, Nov. 6. It will be streamed on a 30-minute delay, which means that coverage will begin at 2.30pm for those tuning in to follow the action. Jason Glatzer will host the commentary, which can be viewed on the Battle of Malta’s social media channels.
Blinds will begin on Wednesday with the conclusion of level 38, at 300,000/600,000 with a 600,000 big blind ante.
Position | Name | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Vasileios Zisis | Greece | 65,300,000 | 109 |
2 | Shervin Ghassemlou | England | 32,150,000 | 54 |
3 | Alexandru Farcasanu | Romania | 25,250,000 | 42 |
4 | Kyriakos Papadopoulos | Greece | 20,200,000 | 34 |
5 | Alessandro Siena | Italy | 18,400,000 | 31 |
6 | Pasquale Gregorio | Italy | 13,800,000 | 23 |
7 | Ivaylo Eftimov | Bulgaria | 13,650,000 | 23 |
8 | Davide Iannaco | Italy | 10,075,000 | 17 |
9 | Cosme Gomez Martinez | Spain | 9,550,000 | 16 |
Total | 208,375,000 | 349 | ||
Average | 23,152,778 | 39 |
Now let’s take a brief look at the side event action that took place on Tuesday 5th November.
Luxon Pay Super High Roller
The Luxon Pay €2,200 (€2,000+€200) Super High Roller was the final multi-day tournament of series to begin. Play began with only 14 players registered, but ten x 50 minute levels later, the field had grown to 96, creating a prize pool of €182,400. By the end of the day, 35 players remained, with Norwegian Kristian Dahl bagging the chip lead with 307,500. Greek Ioannis Oikonomidid lies in second with 296,500 and Italian Ettore Esposito’s 270,000 rounds up the top three.
Other players still in with a chance of winning the €48,440 first prize include Humberto Galindo and Joris Ruijs. Play resumes at 1pm on Wednesday.
Quigioco High Roller
The Quigioco High Roller was originally intended to be a two-day event, but having had 540 entries, this was an impossibility, as 29 players were left at the end of play on Monday. They returned on Tuesday afternoon and after a further hard fought day of play, it was Italian Candiso Cappiello who emerged victorious to claim the €100,000 first prize. He defeated Frederik Brink heads-up, who had to settle for a €66,770 payday, while Bulgarian Martin Tsvetanov took third for €43,720.
IPC 10K GTD
The first side event of the day on Tuesday was the €350 NLH IPC with a €10k guarantee. There was never any danger that this would create an overlay and in fact the total prize pool was almost twelve times bigger than the guarantee at €119,700. It could have been even bigger, but capacity was restricted to 400 entries and that is exactly the number of players who took part. It was win by Greek player Ammanouil Chalkiotis for €23,000. Carl Sahl from Seweden was second (€14,720) while Swiss Samuel Biland completed the podium (€10,640).
H.O.R.S.E
Tuesday’s €330 H.O.R.S.E saw many familiar faces saddle up for the equestrian sounding H.O.R.S.E mixed game tournament. Antoine Degiorgio, Sascha Manns, Richard Burke, Daragh Davey, Eirik Presttun and Eva Jiretorn were amongst the riders. Cowgirl Gia Carnestrom was also in the field, fresh from her victory in the Ladies event and she went close, but finished in 4th place, in the money. It was won by Bosnian Milos Vaskovic for €3,050. Serbia’s Predrag Kontrec was second (€2,110) and the UK’s Andrew Fleming finished third for €1,340.
White Knight
The final outing for the €150 (€130+€20) White Knight also took place on Wednesday, with 290 entries, to create a €356,815 prize pool. Norwegian Stein Naerland booked the win for €7,131. Andrzej Kepka took second (€4,770) and Axel Karlen was third (€3,490).
Dark Knight
It was also the last of the €200 (€170+€30) Dark Knight tournament on Tuesday. It was another busy one with 283 entries, creating a prize pool of €45,705. Sarah Chan from the UK secured tghe victory for €9,120. Marcin Milde was the runner-up (€6,090) and Eskil Kvanvold was third (€4,460).
Hyper Turbo
The final side event was the €150 (€130+€20) NLH Hyper Turbo. It had 102 entries and was wion by German Oliver Briesemeister for €3,260. Albanian Alen Riven was second (€2,230) and Greek Dimitrios Karagkounis exited in third for €1,460.
Full Results from all events can be found on the soon-to-be updated results page.

Vasileios Zisis
What it day it has been. The action began with 36 hopefuls hunting to join the final table of nine players from the field of 5,799 entries in the record-breaking 2024 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition Main Event.
The defending champion Vasileios Zisis from Greece was at or near the top of the chip counts and ended the day in a position to do the unthinkable in winning back-to-back. Sporting a sponsored Novibet shirt, Zisis’s dominations seemed to have no bounds, and, of course, it didn’t hurt to win a coin flip or two including delivering a cooler to Marco Arcodia to send his opponent to the rail on the final table bubble. It was a long day lasting more than 13 hours, but Zisis has been there before and held his composure in the spring to win the €100,000 top prize. Now he is in line to win triple his last win with a €300,800 top prize on the line.
Zisis has more than double the chips of his nearest competitor in the United Kingdom’s Shervin Ghassemlou who ended the day with 32,150,000. Alexandru Fracasanu, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Alessandro Siena, Pasquale Gregorio, Ivaylo Eftimov, Davide Iannaco, and Cosme Gomez Martinez all had their ups and downs throughout the day before earning their spot on the televised final table starting on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. with the broadcast beginning 30 minutes later across a variety of The Battle of Malta channels hosted by this author Jason Glatzer.
Blinds will begin on Wednesday with the conclusion of blinds at 300,000/600,000 with a 600,000 big blind ante. We will share more about the Main Event in the morning.
End-of-Day 4 Chip Counts
Position | Name | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
1 | Vasileios Zisis | Greece | 65,300,000 | 109 |
2 | Shervin Ghassemlou | England | 32,150,000 | 54 |
3 | Alexandru Farcasanu | Romania | 25,250,000 | 42 |
4 | Kyriakos Papadopoulos | Greece | 20,200,000 | 34 |
5 | Alessandro Siena | Italy | 18,400,000 | 31 |
6 | Pasquale Gregorio | Italy | 13,800,000 | 23 |
7 | Ivaylo Eftimov | Bulgaria | 13,650,000 | 23 |
8 | Davide Iannaco | Italy | 10,075,000 | 17 |
9 | Cosme Gomez Martinez | Spain | 9,550,000 | 16 |
Total | 208,375,000 | 349 | ||
Average | 23,152,778 | 39 |
Final Table Seat Draw
Seat | Name | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
1 | Alexandru Farcasanu | Romania | 25,250,000 | 42 |
2 | Pasquale Gregorio | Italy | 13,800,000 | 23 |
3 | Kyriakos Papadopoulos | Greece | 20,200,000 | 34 |
4 | Cosme Gomez Martinez | Spain | 9,550,000 | 16 |
5 | Alessandro Siena | Italy | 18,400,000 | 31 |
6 | Davide Iannaco | Italy | 10,075,000 | 17 |
7 | Shervin Ghassemlou | England | 32,150,000 | 54 |
8 | Vasileios Zisis | Greece | 65,300,000 | 109 |
9 | Ivaylo Eftimov | Bulgaria | 13,650,000 | 23 |
Final Table Payouts
The final nine players will earn at least €9,290 with Wednesday’s 2024 Battle of Malta Main Event champion securing a whopping €300,800 top prize. Check out all of the payouts below:
Place | Prize |
1 | €300,800 |
2 | €210,800 |
3 | €100,800 |
4 | €82,300 |
5 | €54,100 |
6 | €33,100 |
7 | €22,200 |
8 | €11,500 |
9 | €9,290 |
- Vasileios Zisis
- Shervin Ghassemlou
- Alexandru Farcasanu
- Kyriakos Papadopoulos
- Alessandro Siena
- Pasquale Gregorio
- Ivaylo Eftimov
- Davide Iannaco
- Cosme Martinez