Live Blog Spring 2024

Sometimes, stepping out of one’s comfort zone can do wonders. Vasileios Zisis must have been thinking along the same lines, as the online Omaha cash professional took a shot at the 2024 Battle of Malta Spring Edition €600 Main Event and took it down in dominating fashion. He bested a field of 1,814 entries and was awarded the grand prize of €100,000, the largest payout the €913,349 prize pool provided. British retiree Daniel Maunders proved he could keep up with the youngsters and put up a good fight on the final table, but ultimately fell just short of the title as the runner-up took home €76,200 for his efforts.

Vasileios Zisis

Zisis, who used a Cars figurine as a card protector, grabbed the chip lead on Day 2 of the tournament and carried a big stack for three more days until finally, he ended up with all of the chips. On the final table, he had to go through the likes of 2022 Spring Edition Main Event winner Giuseppe Rosa, who saw his two-time dream come crashing down, serial BoM Main Event casher Nico Frenn from Switzerland, and fellow non-hold’em enjoyer Filippo Busatto, who is mainly a mixed game player.

Zisis’ Card Protector

Eventually, though, he conquered them all and was rewarded with the beautiful Battle of Malta trophy, a fresh champagne shower from his Greek friends on the rail, and of course €100,000 cash, an almost infinite increase in live earnings as his previous best and only other recorded live result was a min-cash for €300, half the buy-in of the BoM Main Event.

Battle of Malta Spring Edition €600 Main Event Final Table Results

Zisis Gets Showered

Final Table Recap

Zisis started the day as second in chips closely behind Maunders, but the two players had a huge edge over the rest of the eight players returning to the Eden Arena at Intercontinental Malta, having almost triple the nearest stack. Zisis took over the lead early on the final table, but Maunders retaliated by eliminating Erik Lindqwist in eighth place. The Swedish player, residing in Malta, had gotten short after doubling up Busatto in a preflop flip and got his final 9 blinds in against Maunders blind-on-blind without success.

It took an hour for the next player to go, and it was none other than Rosa, who tried to pull off an ambitious over-bet bluff with queen-high against Maunders, but was snapped off by two pair, crushing his dreams and seeing Maunder’s lead grow even further. Zisis then took out Frenn in sixth, who was happy to ladder up two spots while starting as the shortest stack of the day, with jacks against ace-six to keep close to Maunders, but Maunders seemed unstoppable as he busted Busatto in fifth mere moments later with kings against ace-queen.

Filippo Busatto

Maunders’ surge continued further as he won a flip against Alfredo Cuti’s ten big blind all-in to eliminate the latter in fourth, after which three players were left. Dutchman Jan-Joost van den Bogert’s stack was like a dwarf sandwiched between two giants, and the chip discrepancy grew even larger when he called off top pair against trips to be left with less than ten big blinds while Maunders and Zisis played more than ten times that amount.

Short-Handed Play

However, Van den Bogert looked to be mounting an unbelievable comeback after doubling up twice and was only ten big blinds away from Zisis at one point after catching his three-bet bluff preflop. Sadly for Van den Bogert, all was not what it seemed and Van den Bogert was brought back to reality quickly by Maunders after a lucky river saw the Brit take a large portion of Bogert’s stack. Zisis then finished the job after Van den Bogert jammed his top pair into the Greek’s flopped flush and Van den Bogert had to say goodbye in third place.

Jan-Joost van den Bogert

After Zisis and Maunders took a dinner break, they started their heads-up battle well-nourished and prepared. Zisis took a massive lead early on after winning two pots, both times with pocket aces, but his flying start ended abruptly when all the chips went in the middle with his pocket tens up against the pocket queens of Maunders. Maunders won with top set and took a small lead, and it was looking like a long and even fight was on the horizon.

In contrast, only ten minutes later a huge cooler saw Maunders jam his trips into the full house of Zisis, who snap-called and left Maunders with just one big blind. Unfortunately for Maunders, a miracle was not in his stars today and he was allowed but one double-up before losing his final three big blinds with nine-four against king-seven.

Daniel Maunders

As Zisis hoisted the beautiful winged trophy, it promised to be only the beginning of his evening, as the Maltese night was still young and celebrations were to be had with his old and new friends from Greece. However, the live reporting will conclude with his Main Event victory. But do not fear, the Battle will be back as the dates for the 2024 Autumn edition have been confirmed.

If you have the itch to play after following along with the poker action for the past seven days, be sure to book your flight to Malta as Casino Malta will once again host the Battle of Malta Autumn Edition from October 29 to November 6. 

Of course, the live reporting team will also be back in full force at that time, so be sure to mark the dates on your calendar and we will see you in Malta at the end of October.

A volte, uscire dalla propria zona di comfort può fare miracoli. Vasileios Zisis deve aver pensato la stessa cosa, visto che il professionista del cash Omaha online si è cimentato nel Main Event 2024 Battle of Malta Spring Edition da 600 euro e lo ha vinto in maniera dominante. Ha battuto un field di 1.814 partecipanti e si è aggiudicato il gran premio di 100.000 euro, la vincita più alta del montepremi di 913.349 euro. Il pensionato britannico Daniel Maunders ha dimostrato di essere in grado di tenere il passo dei giovani e ha dato battaglia al tavolo finale, ma alla fine non è riuscito a conquistare il titolo: il secondo classificato ha portato a casa 76.200 euro per i suoi sforzi.

Zisis, che ha usato una statuetta di Cars come protezione per le carte, ha conquistato la chip lead nel secondo giorno del torneo e ha mantenuto un grande stack per altri tre giorni, finché alla fine si è ritrovato con tutte le chip. Al tavolo finale, ha dovuto affrontare avversari del calibro del vincitore del Main Event della Spring Edition del 2022, Giuseppe Rosa, che ha visto crollare il suo sogno di due volte, lo svizzero Nico Frenn, vincitore seriale del Main Event del BoM, e il collega Filippo Busatto, appassionato di non-hold’em, che è principalmente un giocatore di giochi misti.

Alla fine, però, li ha conquistati tutti ed è stato ricompensato con il bellissimo trofeo Battle of Malta, una fresca doccia di champagne dai suoi amici greci sul rail e, naturalmente, 100.000 euro in contanti, un aumento quasi infinito dei guadagni dal vivo, dato che il suo precedente miglior risultato e l’unico altro risultato registrato dal vivo era un min-cash di 300 euro, la metà del buy-in del Main Event del BoM.

Zisis ha iniziato la giornata al secondo posto in termini di chip, alle spalle di Maunders, ma i due giocatori hanno avuto un enorme vantaggio sul resto degli otto giocatori che sono tornati all’Eden Arena dell’Intercontinental Malta, avendo quasi il triplo dello stack più vicino. Zisis ha preso il comando all’inizio del tavolo finale, ma Maunders si è vendicato eliminando Erik Lindqwist all’ottavo posto. Il giocatore svedese, residente a Malta, si era accorciato dopo aver raddoppiato Busatto in un flip preflop e ha puntato gli ultimi 9 bui contro Maunders blind-on-blind senza successo.

Ci è voluta un’ora prima che il prossimo giocatore se ne andasse, e non era altro che Rosa, che ha tentato un ambizioso bluff over-bet con queen-high contro Maunders, ma è stato fermato da due coppie, infrangendo i suoi sogni e vedendo il vantaggio di Maunder crescere ulteriormente. Zisis ha poi eliminato Frenn in sesta posizione, che era felice di scalare due posizioni pur partendo come lo stack più basso della giornata, con jack contro asso-6 per tenersi vicino a Maunders, ma Maunders sembrava inarrestabile, visto che ha buscato Busatto in quinta posizione pochi istanti dopo con re contro asso-regina.

L’ascesa di Maunders è proseguita quando ha vinto un flip contro l’all-in da dieci big blind di Alfredo Cuti per eliminare quest’ultimo al quarto posto, dopo di che sono rimasti tre giocatori. Lo stack dell’olandese Jan-Joost van den Bogert era come un nano racchiuso tra due giganti, e la discrepanza di chip è cresciuta ulteriormente quando ha chiamato top pair contro trips per rimanere con meno di dieci big blinds mentre Maunders e Zisis giocavano più di dieci volte tanto.

Gioco a mani corte

Tuttavia, Van den Bogert sembrava in procinto di rimontare incredibilmente dopo aver raddoppiato due volte e a un certo punto era a soli dieci big blinds da Zisis dopo aver scoperto il suo bluff con tre puntate preflop. Purtroppo per Van den Bogert non è stato tutto come sembrava e Van den Bogert è stato riportato rapidamente alla realtà da Maunders dopo che un river fortunato ha visto il britannico prendere gran parte dello stack di Bogert. Zisis ha poi terminato il lavoro dopo che Van den Bogert ha incastrato la sua top pair nel colore floppato dal greco e Van den Bogert ha dovuto dire addio al terzo posto.

Dopo una pausa per la cena, Zisis e Maunders hanno iniziato la loro battaglia heads-up ben nutriti e preparati. Zisis ha preso subito un grande vantaggio dopo aver vinto due piatti, entrambi con i pocket aces, ma la sua partenza al fulmicotone è terminata bruscamente quando tutte le fiches sono finite al centro con i suoi pocket tens contro i pocket queens di Maunders. Maunders ha vinto con un top set e ha preso un piccolo vantaggio, e sembrava che si prospettasse una lunga lotta ad armi pari.

Invece, solo dieci minuti dopo, un enorme cooler ha visto Maunders inceppare il suo trips nel full house di Zisis, che ha snapchiamato lasciando Maunders con un solo big blind. Sfortunatamente per Maunders, un miracolo non era nelle sue stelle oggi e gli è stato concesso solo un double-up prima di perdere i suoi ultimi tre big blind con nove-quattro contro re-sette.

Quando Zisis ha issato il bellissimo trofeo alato, ha promesso che sarebbe stato solo l’inizio della sua serata, perché la notte maltese era ancora giovane e c’erano da festeggiare con i suoi vecchi e nuovi amici greci. Tuttavia, la cronaca dal vivo si concluderà con la sua vittoria nel Main Event. Ma non temete, la Battaglia tornerà perché sono state confermate le date dell’edizione autunnale del 2024.

Se avete voglia di giocare dopo aver seguito l’azione del poker negli ultimi sette giorni, assicuratevi di prenotare il vostro volo per Malta, perché il Casinò Malta ospiterà ancora una volta la Battle of Malta Autumn Edition dal 29 ottobre al 6 novembre.

Naturalmente, anche il team di reporter dal vivo tornerà a pieno regime in quel periodo, quindi segnate le date sul calendario e ci vedremo a Malta alla fine di ottobre.

Level 38: 300,000/600,000 (600,000)
Entries: 1/1,814

After five long days of poker, Greek Omaha cash grinder Vasileios Zisis proved he could do it in a whole different field of poker as he beat the 1,814-strong field of the Battle of Malta Spring Edition Main Event and took home the grand six-figure prize of €100,000.

Stay tuned for a full recap of the final day of the Main Event.

Vasileios Zisis

Level 38: 300,000/600,000 (600,000)
Entries: 1/1,814

After having tripled up on his first preflop all-in after being left with one big blind, Daniel Maunders got his 2,400,000 chips in the middle from the button and was called by Vasileios Zisis in the big blind.

Daniel Maunders: 9♦4♠
Vasileios Zisis: K♣7♥

It was looking like Maunders’ comeback would be cut short as the K♦5♥5♠ flop saw Vasileios take a huge lead with his two pair. The celebrations already started, and they flew into full force when the J♦ turn locked up the pot for Zisis.

The Greek rail went crazy as the meaningless J♣ river completed the final board of the Battle of Malta Spring Edition Main Event, and Zisis shook hands with Maunders before hoisting the trophy and celebrating with his friends.

Meanwhile, Maunders had to console himself with his largest-ever live tournament score of €76,200 after an impressive Main Event run that will be etched into memories for a long time.

Vasileios Zisis – 55,000,000
Daniel Maunders – 0

Dopo aver triplicato il suo primo all-in preflop dopo essere rimasto con un solo big blind, Daniel Maunders ha messo al centro le sue 2.400.000 fiches dal bottone ed è stato chiamato da Vasileios Zisis nel big blind.

Daniel Maunders: 9♦4♠
Vasileios Zisis: K♣7♥

Sembrava che la rimonta di Maunders sarebbe stata interrotta quando il flop K♦5♥5♠ ha visto Vasileios prendere un enorme vantaggio con la sua coppia. I festeggiamenti sono già iniziati, e si sono intensificati quando il turn J♦ ha chiuso il piatto per Zisis.

Il rail greco è impazzito quando l’insignificante river J♣ ha completato il board finale del Main Event Battle of Malta Spring Edition, e Zisis ha stretto la mano a Maunders prima di issare il trofeo e festeggiare con i suoi amici.

Nel frattempo, Maunders ha dovuto consolarsi con il suo più grande punteggio di sempre in un torneo dal vivo, pari a 76.200 euro, dopo un Main Event impressionante che rimarrà impresso nella memoria per molto tempo.

Vasileios Zisis – 55.000.000
Daniel Maunders – 0

Level 38: 300,000/600,000 (600,000)
Entries: 2/1,814

Daniel Maunders saw Q♥7♥ on the button and raised to 1,500,000 chips. Vasileios Zisis called in the big blind with 9♠7♣ before both players flopped trips on 7♠6♠7♦.

Both players played it slow and checked for the 9♣ turn to give Zisis a full house. He made a bet of 1,800,000 and was just called by Maunders’ trips. On the A♦ river, Zisis made a huge bet of 8,300,000 after which Maunders jammed all-in for 23,300,000 chips effectively.

Zisis snap-called with his full house and the huge pot was awarded to the Greek at showdown, who left Maunders with 775,000, just over one big blind.

Vasileios Zisis – 54,000,000
Daniel Maunders – 775,000

Daniel Maunders vede Q♥7♥ sul bottone e rilancia a 1.500.000 chips. Vasileios Zisis ha chiamato nel big blind con 9♠7♣, prima che entrambi i giocatori lanciassero un trips su 7♠6♠7♦.

Entrambi i giocatori hanno giocato lentamente e hanno fatto check per il turn 9♣ che ha dato a Zisis un full house. Zisis fa una puntata di 1.800.000 e viene chiamato dal trips di Maunders. Sul river A♦, Zisis ha fatto un’enorme puntata di 8.300.000 dopo la quale Maunders ha fatto un all-in per 23.300.000 fiches.

Zisis ha snapchiamato con il suo full house e l’enorme piatto è stato assegnato al greco allo showdown, che ha lasciato Maunders con 775.000, poco più di un big blind.

Vasileios Zisis – 54.000.000
Daniel Maunders – 775.000

Level 38: 300,000/600,000 (600,000)
Entries: 2/1,814

Daniel Maunders raised to 1,900,000 on the button and faced a shove from Vasileios Zisis in the big blind. Maunders snap called as the first all-in and call of the heads-up took place.

Daniel Maunders: Q♥Q♣
Vasileios Zisis: T♠T♣

Maunders had a commanding lead and improved to a set on the Q♠8♣9♣ flop. Zisis had flopped a gutshot however, but it did not come in on the 3♣7♠ runout, seeing Maunders double up and take the lead as it was back to anyone’s game.

Daniel Maunders – 30,000,000
Vasileios Zisis – 25,000,000

Daniel Maunders ha rilanciato a 1.900.000 sul bottone e ha affrontato uno shove di Vasileios Zisis nel big blind. Maunders ha chiamato e si è verificato il primo all-in e call dell’heads-up.

Daniel Maunders: Q♥Q♣
Vasileios Zisis: T♠T♣

Maunders aveva un vantaggio notevole e ha migliorato il suo set sul flop Q♠8♣9♣. Zisis aveva però floppato un gutshot, che però non è arrivato sul runout di 3♣7♠, con Maunders che ha raddoppiato e si è portato in testa alla classifica, mentre la partita era di nuovo aperta a tutti.

Daniel Maunders – 30.000.000
Vasileios Zisis – 25.000.000

Level 38: 300,000/600,000 (600,000)
Entries: 2/1,814

Vasileios Zisis raised to 1,500,000 on the button with 8♣5♥ and Daniel Maunders defended his big blind with 9♠6♣. The subsequent flop of 8♠T♠2♦ was checked through before Zisis fired 1,400,000 on the 6♥ turn after another check from Maunders.

Maunders then raised all-in for 9,600,000 and Zisis mucked his cards after taking some time to think it through.

Vasileios Zisis – 40,000,000
Daniel Maunders – 15,000,000

Vasileios Zisis ha rilanciato a 1.500.000 sul bottone con 8♣5♥ e Daniel Maunders ha difeso il suo big blind con 9♠6♣. Il successivo flop di 8♠T♠2♦ è stato controllato prima che Zisis sparasse 1.400.000 sul turn 6♥ dopo un altro check di Maunders.

Maunders ha poi rilanciato all-in per 9.600.000 e Zisis ha muckato le sue carte dopo aver preso un po’ di tempo per riflettere.

Vasileios Zisis – 40.000.000
Daniel Maunders – 15.000.000

Daniel Maunders

Level 38: 300,000/600,000 (600,000)
Entries: 2/1,814

Vasileios Zisis raised his button to 1,500,000 with 9♥5♥ and Daniel Maunders called in the big blind with Q♦T♦. Maunders then check-called Zisis’ continuation-bet of 600,000 on the 8♣2♥2♦ flop before check-raising all-in for 8,000,000 chips after Zisis bet 1,800,000 on the Q♣ river.

He took down the pot as Zisis quickly let go of his nine-high and climbed back up a bit.

Vasileios Zisis – 40,000,000
Daniel Maunders – 15,000,000

Vasileios Zisis ha rilanciato a 1.500.000 con 9♥5♥ e Daniel Maunders ha chiamato nel big blind con Q♦T♦. Maunders ha poi check-chiamato la continuation-bet di Zisis di 600.000 sul flop 8♣2♥2♦ prima di check-raisare all-in per 8.000.000 di chips dopo che Zisis ha puntato 1.800.000 sul river Q♣.
Il giocatore si è aggiudicato il piatto, mentre Zisis ha rapidamente lasciato andare il suo nove-alto e ha risalito un po’ la china.

Vasileios Zisis – 40.000.000
Daniel Maunders – 15.000.000

Daniel Maunders

Level 37: 250,000/500,000 (500,000)
Entries: 2/1,814

Vasileios Zisis raised his button to 1,500,000 chips with A♥A♣, the second time he held pocket aces in the short span of the heads-up. Daniel Maunders then called in the big blind with 4♠2♣ and a flop of 6♥6♦9♣ was dealt.

Zisis continued for 1,100,000, but Maunders adventurously check-raised to 3,600,000. He continued the aggression with a 3,000,000 bet on the Q♦ turn and once more Zisis called with his overpair.

The 4♥ river then paired Maunders, but he did not give up and completed his triple-barrel bluff with a bet of 4,500,000 chips. Zisis spent some time in the tank before ultimately letting out a big sigh and slamming in a tower of chips for the call.

Maunders showed his bluff and Zisis triumphantly showed his pocket aces as he took down the biggest pot of the heads-up so far.

Vasileios Zisis – 45,000,000
Daniel Maunders – 9,500,000

Vasileios Zisis ha rilanciato il suo bottone a 1.500.000 chips con A♥A♣, la seconda volta che ha tenuto gli assi in tasca nel breve arco dell’heads-up. Daniel Maunders ha chiamato dal big blind con 4♠2♣ ed è stato distribuito un flop di 6♥6♦9♣.

Zisis ha continuato per 1.100.000, ma Maunders ha avventurosamente check-raisato a 3.600.000. Ha continuato l’aggressione con una puntata di 3.000.000 sul turn Q♦ e ancora una volta Zisis ha chiamato con la sua overpair.

Il river 4♥ accoppia Maunders, che però non si arrende e completa il suo triplo bluff con una puntata di 4.500.000 fiches. Zisis ha trascorso un po’ di tempo nel tank prima di tirare un grosso sospiro e sbattere una torre di fiches per il call.

Maunders ha mostrato il suo bluff e Zisis ha mostrato trionfalmente i suoi pocket aces, conquistando il piatto più grande dell’heads-up fino a quel momento.

Vasileios Zisis – 45.000.000
Daniel Maunders – 9.500.000

Vasileios Zisis

Level 37: 250,000/500,000 (500,000)
Entries: 2/1,814

Daniel Maunders raised to 1,500,000 on the button with 8♥7♠ and Vasileios Zisis defended his big blind with K♣7♦.

The pair then checked through the 3♠9♠4♦ flop and J♦ turn before Zisis check-folded to Maunders’ 1,500,000 river bet on the 2♠.

Vasileios Zisis – 32,000,000
Daniel Maunders – 23,000,000

Daniel Maunders ha rilanciato a 1.500.000 sul bottone con 8♥7♠ e Vasileios Zisis ha difeso il suo big blind con K♣7♦.

I due hanno poi fatto check al flop 3♠9♠4♦ e al turn J♦ prima che Zisis facesse check-fold alla puntata di 1.500.000 di Maunders al river su 2♠.

Vasileios Zisis – 32.000.000
Daniel Maunders – 23.000.000

Daniel Maunders

Level 37: 250,000/500,000 (500,000)
Entries: 2/1,814

Vasileios Zisis found A♥A♣ on the button and raised to 1,500,000 chips. Daniel Maunders defended his Q♠7♣ in the big blind and a flop of K♠7♦8♣ graced the felt.

Maunders continued his signature play and led out for 1,000,000 chips, but Zisis raised to 3,000,000 with his overpair. Maunders paid the extra chips with his bottom pair before the A♠ turn saw Zisis make the nuts with top set.

He loaded up 2,500,000 chips and fired them in the middle. Maunders went into the tank but eventually found a fold and conceded the pot to his Greek opponent.

Vasileios Zisis – 30,000,000
Daniel Maunders – 24,000,000

Vasileios Zisis ha trovato A♥A♣ sul bottone e ha rilanciato a 1.500.000 chips. Daniel Maunders ha difeso le sue Q♠7♣ nel big blind e un flop di K♠7♦8♣ ha abbellito il feltro.

Maunders ha continuato il suo gioco caratteristico e ha rilanciato per 1.000.000 di chip, ma Zisis ha rilanciato a 3.000.000 con la sua overpair. Maunders pagò le fiches extra con la sua bottom pair prima che il turn A♠ vedesse Zisis fare il nuts con il top set.

Ha caricato 2.500.000 fiches e le ha sparate al centro. Maunders è entrato nel tank ma alla fine ha trovato un fold e ha ceduto il piatto al suo avversario greco.

Vasileios Zisis – 30.000.000
Daniel Maunders – 24.000.000

Vasileios Zisis

Daniel Maunders and Vasileios Zisis have taken their seats and, with the eye-catching trophy placed in the middle of the table, the cards are back in the air.

Daniel Maunders e Vasileios Zisis hanno preso posto e, con l’appariscente trofeo posto al centro del tavolo, le carte sono di nuovo in gioco.

Vasileios Zisis and Daniel Maunders have decided to take a 65-minute dinner break before they commence heads-up play.

The blog will continue around 9:30 p.m. local time.

Vasileios Zisis e Daniel Maunders hanno deciso di fare una pausa cena di 65 minuti prima di iniziare il gioco heads-up.
Il blog continuerà intorno alle 21:30 ora locale.

Level 37: 250,000/500,000 (500,000)
Entries: 2/1,814

Vasileios Zisis limped in from the small blind and Jan-Joost van den Bogert checked his option in the big blind. Zisis then checked to Van den Bogert, who made a bet of 500,000.

Zisis raised it up to 1,400,000, after which Van den Bogert quickly moved all-in for 7,800,000. A snap call followed from Vasileios and the cards were shown to the cameras.

Jan-Joost van den Bogert: Q♥9♠
Vasileios Zisis: 5♣2♣

Van den Bogert had run his top pair into the flush of Zisis, and needed to hit a runner-runner full house to stay alive. However, the 8♠ turn had him drawing dead and Van den Boogert shook hands as the 2♦ river completed the board.

Meanwhile, Zisis and Daniel Maunders prepared for the incoming heads-up battle.

Vasileios Zisis – 28,000,000
Daniel Maunders – 27,000,000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 0

Vasileios Zisis ha puntato dallo small blind e Jan-Joost van den Bogert ha controllato la sua opzione nel big blind. Zisis fa quindi check a Van den Bogert, che fa una puntata di 500.000.

Zisis ha rilanciato fino a 1.400.000, dopodiché Van den Bogert ha rapidamente mosso all-in per 7.800.000. Vasileios ha chiamato e le carte sono state mostrate alle telecamere.

Jan-Joost van den Bogert: Q♥9♠
Vasileios Zisis: 5♣2♣

Van den Bogert aveva fatto incontrare la sua top pair con il colore di Zisis e aveva bisogno di un full di runner per rimanere in vita. Tuttavia, il turn 8♠ gli ha fatto fare il draw dead e Van den Boogert si è stretto la mano quando il river 2♦ ha completato il board.

Nel frattempo, Zisis e Daniel Maunders si preparavano alla battaglia in heads-up.

Vasileios Zisis – 28.000.000
Daniel Maunders – 27.000.000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 0

Level 36: 200,000/400,000 (400,000)
Entries: 3/1,814

Vasileios Zisis raised to 800,000 on the button with J♠9♦, after which Daniel Maunders defended his big blind with Q♦9♣.

The 2♣9♥4♠ flop then emerged from the deck, whereon Zisis continued for 700,000 chips and Maunders check-called. Zisis sized up to 2,000,000 on the 7♥ turn and another check-call followed from Maunders.

The A♥ river killed the action as both players checked in quick succession. Maunders’ better kicker won him the pot at showdown as he increased his massive lead even further.

Daniel Maunders – 30,000,000
Vasileios Zisis – 15,000,000

Vasileios Zisis ha rilanciato a 800.000 sul bottone con J♠9♦, dopodiché Daniel Maunders ha difeso il suo big blind con Q♦9♣.

Il flop 2♣9♥4♠ è emerso dal mazzo e Zisis ha continuato per 700.000 chips e Maunders ha fatto check. Sul turn 7♥ Zisis ha aumentato la sua taglia a 2.000.000 e Maunders ha fatto un altro check-call.

Il river A♥ ha stroncato l’azione, poiché entrambi i giocatori hanno fatto check in rapida successione. Il kicker migliore di Maunders gli ha fatto vincere il piatto allo showdown, aumentando ulteriormente il suo enorme vantaggio.

Daniel Maunders – 30.000.000
Vasileios Zisis – 15.000.000

Daniel Maunders

Level 36: 200,000/400,000 (400,000)
Entries: 3/1,814

Jan-Joost van den Bogert raised to 1,000,000 in the small blind with J♠5♣ before Daniel Maunders called in the big blind with K♠3♥.

Van den Bogert then continued for 800,000 on the J♦T♦T♠ flop and called a subsequent raise to 1,800,000 from Maunders. Maunders kept firing his king-high on the 2♠ turn, this time for 2,300,000.

Van den Bogert tossed in another call before Maunders rivered the best hand with the K♥. Both players checked it down and Van den Bogert saw his sour beat at showdown as he dived back to an 18-big blind stack.

Daniel Maunders – 30,000,000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 6,900,000

Jan-Joost van den Bogert ha rilanciato a 1.000.000 nello small blind con J♠5♣ prima che Daniel Maunders chiamasse nel big blind con K♠3♥.

Van den Bogert ha poi continuato per 800.000 sul flop J♦T♦T♠ e ha chiamato un successivo rilancio a 1.800.000 di Maunders. Maunders ha continuato a sparare il suo king-high sul turn 2♠, questa volta per 2.300.000 dollari.

Van den Bogert ha effettuato un altro call prima che Maunders lanciasse la mano migliore con K♥. Entrambi i giocatori hanno fatto check e Van den Bogert ha visto il suo amaro battuto allo showdown, tornando a uno stack di 18 big blind.

Daniel Maunders – 30.000.000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 6.900.000

Daniel Maundersk

Level 35: 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Entries: 3/1,814

Jan-Joost van den Bogert raised to 600,000 on the button with 9♠9♦ and Daniel Maunders came along in the small blind with K♥7♥.

Vasileios Zisis looked down at 7♦4♥ in the big blind and decided to pile in 2,000,000 chips. Van den Bogert then jammed all-in with his pocket nines and received two quick folds to take down another pot.

Daniel Maunders – 26,000,000
Vasileios Zisis – 16,000,000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 13,000,000

Jan-Joost van den Bogert ha rilanciato a 600.000 sul bottone con 9♠9♦ e Daniel Maunders è intervenuto dallo small blind con K♥7♥.

Vasileios Zisis guarda 7♦4♥ nel big blind e decide di puntare 2.000.000 di chips. Van den Bogert ha poi fatto un all-in con i suoi pocket nines e ha ricevuto due rapidi fold per aggiudicarsi un altro piatto.

Daniel Maunders – 26.000.000
Vasileios Zisis – 16.000.000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 13.000.000

Vasileios Zisis

Level 35: 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Entries: 3/1,814

Vasileios Zisis raised to 600,000 on the button with J♦9♣ before Jan-Joost van den Boogert made it 1,800,000 to go in the small blind with K♦8♦.

A quick fold followed from Zisis, and Van den Boogert took down the pot preflop.

Vasileios Zisis – 18,000,000
Jan-Joost van den Boogert – 11,000,000

Vasileios Zisis ha rilanciato fino a 600.000 sul bottone con J♦9♣, prima che Jan-Joost van den Boogert ne puntasse 1.800.000 dallo small blind con K♦8♦.
Zisis ha fatto un rapido fold e Van den Boogert si è aggiudicato il piatto preflop.
Vasileios Zisis – 18.000.000
Jan-Joost van den Boogert – 11.000.000

Jan-Joost van den Bogert

Level 35: 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Entries: 3/1,814

Daniel Maunders limped in from the small blind with 7♠6♠ and Vasileios Zisis checked his option in the big blind with T♣8♦.

Maunders then check-called a bet of 450,000 from Zisis on the 7♣9♦5♦ flop before doing the same for the 1,100,000 bet Zisis made on the 4♦ turn.

The 7♥ river then made Maunders trips, which he checked over to his opponent. Zisis decided to fire a bluff of 2,500,000, which got snapped off by Maunders.

Maunders won the sizable pot and created a sizable difference between him and Zisis as a result.

Daniel Maunders – 28,000,000
Vasileios Zisis – 18,000,000

Daniel Maunders ha limpato dallo small blind con 7♠6♠ e Vasileios Zisis ha controllato la sua opzione nel big blind con T♣8♦.

Maunders ha poi fatto check su una puntata di 450.000 da parte di Zisis sul flop 7♣9♦5♦ prima di fare lo stesso per la puntata di 1.100.000 fatta da Zisis sul turn 4♦.

Il river 7♥ ha fatto fare trips a Maunders, che ha fatto check al suo avversario. Zisis decise di lanciare un bluff di 2.500.000, che fu respinto da Maunders.

Maunders si aggiudicò il cospicuo piatto, creando così una notevole differenza tra lui e Zisis.

Daniel Maunders – 28.000.000
Vasileios Zisis – 18.000.000

Daniel Maunders

Level 35: 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Entries: 3/1,814

Daniel Maunders raised to 700,000 on the button with K♥Q♦ and Vasileios Zisis made the call with K♦Q♠ in the small blind.

Zisis checked to Maunders on the Q♥9♣5♣ flop, after which the latter bet 1,400,000. Zisis made the call and subsequently led out for the minimum of 300,000 on the T♥ turn.

Maunders flicked in an extra big blind and did so too when Zisis made the same bet on the K♣ river. Both players tabled their hands and the dealer chopped up the pot.

Daniel Maunders – 24,000,000
Vasileios Zisis – 23,000,000

Daniel Maunders ha rilanciato a 700.000 sul bottone con K♥Q♦ e Vasileios Zisis ha fatto il call con K♦Q♠ nello small blind.

Zisis ha fatto check a Maunders sul flop Q♥9♣5♣, dopodiché quest’ultimo ha puntato 1.400.000 dollari. Zisis ha fatto call e successivamente ha puntato per un minimo di 300.000 sul T♥ turn.

Maunders ha puntato un extra big blind e lo ha fatto anche quando Zisis ha fatto la stessa puntata sul river K♣. Entrambi i giocatori hanno presentato le loro mani e il dealer ha tagliato il piatto.

Daniel Maunders – 24.000.000
Vasileios Zisis – 23.000.000

Vasileios Zisis

Level 34: 125,000/250,000 (250,000)
Entries: 3/1,814

Jan-Joost van den Bogert jammed for 3,600,000 from the button and Daniel Maunders made the call in the small blind.

Jan-Joost van den Bogert: A♣9♥
Daniel Maunders: K♠7♣

Ace-high remained the best hand on the T♥J♦2♦3♣6♥ board and Van den Bogert doubled up to stay in contention for the title.

Daniel Maunders – 23,000,000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 7,800,000

Jan-Joost van den Bogert ha fatto jamming per 3.600.000 dal bottone e Daniel Maunders ha fatto il call dallo small blind.

Jan-Joost van den Bogert: A♣9♥
Daniel Maunders: K♠7♣

L’asso-alto è rimasto la mano migliore sul board T♥J♦2♦3♣6♥ e Van den Bogert ha raddoppiato per rimanere in lizza per il titolo.

Daniel Maunders – 23.000.000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 7.800.000

Jan-Joost van den Bogert

Level 34: 125,000/250,000 (250,000)
Entries: 3/1,814

Vasileios Zisis raised to 675,000 in the small blind with T♣2♠ and was called by big blind Jan-Joost van den Bogert with K♥5♥.

Zisis made a bet of 375,000 on the 6♥6♣5♠ flop and a bet of 1,100,000 on the 3♠ turn, both times being called by Van den Bogert. Zisis rivered the better pair with the T♦ and the action went check-check.

Zisis showed the Dutchman the bad news at showdown and left him with 15 big blinds.

Vasileios Zisis – 23,000,0000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 3,800,000

Vasileios Zisis ha rilanciato a 675.000 nello small blind con T♣2♠ ed è stato chiamato dal big blind Jan-Joost van den Bogert con K♥5♥.

Zisis ha fatto una puntata di 375.000 sul flop 6♥6♣5♠ e una di 1.100.000 sul turn 3♠, entrambe chiamate da Van den Bogert. Zisis ha trovato la coppia migliore con T♦ e l’azione si è conclusa con un check-check.

Zisis ha mostrato all’olandese la cattiva notizia al momento dello showdown, lasciandolo con 15 big blinds.

Vasileios Zisis – 23.000.0000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 3.800.000

Vasileios ZisisZis

Level 34: 125,000/250,000 (250,000)
Entries: 3/1,814

Daniel Maunders raised to 500,000 in the small blind with J♥6♦ and Vasileios Zisis made the call with 6♣2♣. Maunders then continued for 250,000 on the 8♦7♠9♠ flop and Zisis raised to 850,000. Maunders stuck around with his straight draw to see the T♠ turn roll off.

The action went check-check and the Q♦ river completed the board. Maunders made a bet of 1,200,000 with his straight to the queen and Zisis flicked in a quick call with his lesser straight, seeing the pot shipped to his opponent at showdown.

Daniel Maunders – 28,000,000
Vasileios Zisis – 21,000,000

Daniel Maunders ha rilanciato a 500.000 nello small blind con J♥6♦ e Vasileios Zisis ha fatto il call con 6♣2♣. Maunders ha poi continuato per 250.000 sul flop 8♦7♠9♠ e Zisis ha rilanciato a 850.000. Maunders ha continuato con il suo straight draw per vedere il turn T♠.

L’azione è stata check-check e il river Q♦ ha completato il board. Maunders ha fatto una puntata di 1.200.000 con la sua scala alla regina e Zisis ha fatto un rapido call con la sua scala minore, vedendo il piatto distribuito al suo avversario allo showdown.

Daniel Maunders – 28.000.000
Vasileios Zisis – 21.000.000

Daniel Maunders

The three remaining players have been sent on a small 10-minute break before play resumes.

I tre giocatori rimasti sono stati mandati a fare una piccola pausa di 10 minuti prima della ripresa del gioco.

Level 33: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 3/1,814

Jan-Joost van den Bogert jammed his final 1,900,000 chips in from the small blind and was called by Daniel Maunders in the big blind.

Jan-Joost van den Bogert: A♣9♠
Daniel Maunders: K♣T♠

Van den Bogert had Maunders drawing very thin after the 2♣2♦A♦ flop, but the Brit turned a gutshot with the J♣. However, the river remained clean for Van den Bogert with the 6♠, and he doubled up on the final hand before the players took a small break.

Daniel Maunders – 26,000,000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 3,900,000

Jan-Joost van den Bogert ha incassato le sue ultime 1.900.000 chips dallo small blind ed è stato chiamato da Daniel Maunders nel big blind.

Jan-Joost van den Bogert: A♣9♠
Daniel Maunders: K♣T♠

Van den Bogert aveva Maunders che aveva un draw molto sottile dopo il flop 2♣2♦A♦, ma il britannico ha girato un gutshot con J♣. Tuttavia, il river è rimasto pulito per Van den Bogert con 6♠, che ha raddoppiato nella mano finale prima che i giocatori facessero una piccola pausa.

Daniel Maunders – 26.000.000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 3.900.000

Jan-Joost van den Bogert

Level 33: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 3/1,814

Daniel Maunders limped in from the small blind with A♥5♣ and Vasileios Zisis checked in the big blind with 4♥2♥.

Maunder went on to bet 500,000 on every street on the 2♠A♦3♦3♠A♣ runout, with Zisis calling the flop and turn before finally folding his counterfeit pair on the river.

Daniel Maunders – 28,000,000
Vasileios Zisis – 24,000,000

Daniel Maunders ha limpato dallo small blind con A♥5♣ e Vasileios Zisis ha fatto check dal big blind con 4♥2♥.

Maunder ha continuato a puntare 500.000 su ogni street sul runout 2♠A♦3♦3♠A♣, con Zisis che ha chiamato il flop e il turn prima di foldare la sua coppia contraffatta sul river.

Daniel Maunders – 28.000.000
Vasileios Zisis – 24.000.000

Daniel Maunders

Level 33: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 3/1,814

Jan-Joost van den Bogert raised his button to 400,000 with J♦8♦ and Daniel Maunders flat-called in the small blind with 6♠6♥. Vasileios Zisis also came along with Q♣7♣ in the big blind, and a small family pot went to a flop of J♠7♠4♠.

The action checked to Van den Bogert, who bet 400,000 with his top pair. Maunders got out of the way before Zisis stuck in the call. The T♣ turn was then checked by both players before the 7♦ river saw Zisis make trips.

He bet 1,400,000 chips and received a quick call from Van den Bogert, who saw the bad news at showdown and was left with less than ten big blinds.

Daniel Maunders – 28,000,000
Vasileios Zisis – 24,000,000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 1,900,000

Jan-Joost van den Bogert ha rilanciato il suo bottone a 400.000 con J♦8♦ e Daniel Maunders ha flatato nel piccolo buio con 6♠6♥. Anche Vasileios Zisis si è presentato con Q♣7♣ nel big blind e un piccolo piatto familiare è andato al flop di J♠7♠4♠.

L’azione passa a Van den Bogert, che punta 400.000 con la sua top pair. Maunders si è tolto di mezzo prima che Zisis effettuasse il call. Il turn T♣ viene controllato da entrambi i giocatori prima che il river 7♦ veda Zisis fare trips.

Ha puntato 1.400.000 fiches e ha ricevuto un rapido call da Van den Bogert, che ha visto la cattiva notizia allo showdown ed è rimasto con meno di dieci big blinds.

Daniel Maunders – 28.000.000
Vasileios Zisis – 24.000.000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 1.900.000

Jan-Joost van den Bogert-s-

Level 33: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 3/1,814

Vasileios Zisis raised his button to 400,000 with Q♠Q♦, after which Daniel Maunders defended the big blind with 9♦4♣. Zisis fired another 400,000 in the middle on the 8♣9♠Q♣ flop and Maunders called once more.

On the A♦ turn, 1,000,000 chips were put in by Zisis, but this time Maunders check-folded his middle pair.

Daniel Maunders – 29,000,000
Vasileios Zisis – 22,000,000

Vasileios Zisis ha rilanciato a 400.000 con Q♠Q♦, dopodiché Daniel Maunders ha difeso il big blind con 9♦4♣. Zisis ha sparato altri 400.000 dollari al centro sul flop 8♣9♠Q♣ e Maunders ha chiamato ancora una volta.

Sul turn A♦, Zisis ha puntato 1.000.000 di fiches, ma questa volta Maunders ha fatto check-fold sulla sua middle pair.

Daniel Maunders – 29.000.000
Vasileios Zisis – 22.000.000

Vasileios Zisis

Level 33: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 3/1,814

Alfredo Cuti jammed all-in from under the gun for 1,900,000 chips and was looked up by chip leader Daniel Maunders on the button.

Alfredo Cuti: 5♠5♣
Daniel Maunders: A♠Q♣

Maunders shot ahead in the flip by flopping trips on Q♥Q♠9♠, and locked up the pot as the A♦ turn gave him a full house. The cordial Cuti said his goodbyes as the 8♥ river completed board and headed to the exit in fourth place as the Main Event was left without any Italian players.

Daniel Maunders – 30000000
Alfredo Cuti – 0

Alfredo Cuti ha fatto un all-in da under the gun per 1.900.000 chips ed è stato guardato dal chip leader Daniel Maunders sul bottone.

Alfredo Cuti: 5♠5♣
Daniel Maunders: A♠Q♣

Maunders si è portato avanti nel flip flottando trips su Q♥Q♠9♠, e ha chiuso il piatto quando il turn A♦ gli ha dato un full house. Il cordiale Cuti si è congedato quando il river 8♥ ha completato il board e si è diretto verso l’uscita al quarto posto. Il Main Event è rimasto senza giocatori italiani.

Daniel Maunders – 30000000
Alfredo Cuti – 0

The final four players are taking a spontaneous ten-minute break before the play resumes.

Gli ultimi quattro giocatori fanno una pausa spontanea di dieci minuti prima di riprendere il gioco.

Level 33: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 4/1,814

Daniel Maunders raised his button to 700,000 before Filippo Busatto jammed all-in from the small blind for 3,800,000. Maunders immediately called to put Busatto at risk.

Filippo Busatto: A♦Q♣
Daniel Maunders: K♠K♥

The 3♥4♦2♦ flop brought Busatto a wheel draw, but the 6♥ turn diminished the five to a chop out. It did not arrive on the 7♦ turn regardless, and Busatto handed out some fistbumps before heading to the payout desk to collect his €26,700 for fifth place.

Daniel Maunders – 28,000,000
Filippo Busatto – 0

Daniel Maunders ha rilanciato il suo bottone a 700.000 prima che Filippo Busatto facesse un all-in dallo small blind per 3.800.000 dollari. Maunders ha immediatamente chiamato per mettere Busatto a rischio.

Filippo Busatto: A♦Q♣
Daniel Maunders: K♠K♥

Il flop 3♥4♦2♦ ha portato a Busatto un wheel draw, ma il turn 6♥ ha ridotto la cinquina a un chop out. Il turn 7♦ non è arrivato comunque e Busatto ha distribuito qualche pugno di mosche prima di recarsi al banco dei pagamenti per incassare i 26.700 euro del quinto posto.

Daniel Maunders – 28.000.000
Filippo Busatto – 0

Level 33: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 5/1,814

Nico Frenn went all-in for 2,800,000 from the button and was snap called by Vasileios Zisis in the big blind.

Nico Frenn: A♣6♥
Vasileios Zisis: J♠J♥

It was a dire situation for Frenn, and it became only more so on the 5♦9♦Q♦T♥ runout. No “Barry” came on the 3♦ river and Frenn headed to the exit in fifth place.

Vasileios Zisis – 20,000,000
Nico Frenn – 0

Nico Frenn è andato all-in per 2.800.000 dal bottone ed è stato chiamato da Vasileios Zisis nel big blind.

Nico Frenn: A♣6♥
Vasileios Zisis: J♠J♥

La situazione per Frenn era disastrosa e lo è diventata ancora di più con il runout di 5♦9♦Q♦T♥. Sul river 3♦ non è arrivato nessun “Barry” e Frenn si è diretto verso l’uscita al quinto posto.

Vasileios Zisis – 20.000.000
Nico Frenn – 0

Level 33: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 6/1,814

Filippo Busatto raised to 400,000 in the hijack with A♣7♥, Jan-Joost van den Bogert called on the button with Q♥J♥, and chipleader Daniel Maunders came along in the big blind with 8♦4♦.

Maunders did what is becoming his signature move led out on a flop of 9♦5♣4♥ for 600,000 chips, and both of his opponents laid their hands down.

Daniel Maunders – 23,000,000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 3,700,000
Filippo Busatto – 3,600,000

Filippo Busatto ha rilanciato a 400.000 nell’hijack con A♣7♥, Jan-Joost van den Bogert ha chiamato dal bottone con Q♥J♥ e Daniel Maunders si è presentato nel big blind con 8♦4♦.

Maunders ha fatto quella che sta diventando la sua mossa tipica e ha puntato su un flop di 9♦5♣4♥ per 600.000 fiches, ed entrambi i suoi avversari hanno abbassato le mani.

Daniel Maunders – 23.000.000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 3.700.000
Filippo Busatto – 3.600.000

Daniel Maunders

Level 33: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 6/1,814

Vasileios Zisis raised to 400,000 from under the gun with K♦3♦ and received a call from Daniel Maunders on the button, who was playing A♦Q♥.

The flop was dealt 6♠A♠2♣ and saw Zisis continue for 300,000. Maunders then raised to 900,000, which marked the end of the pot as Zisis quickly folded his king-high.

Daniel Maunders – 22,000,000
Vasileios Zisis – 18,000,000

Vasileios Zisis ha rilanciato a 400.000 da under the gun con K♦3♦ e ha ricevuto un call da Daniel Maunders sul bottone, che giocava A♦Q♥.

Il flop è stato distribuito con 6♠A♠2♣ e ha visto Zisis continuare per 300.000. Maunders ha poi rilanciato fino a 900.000, il che ha segnato la fine del piatto, poiché Zisis ha rapidamente ritirato il suo king-high.

Daniel Maunders – 22.000.000
Vasileios Zisis – 18.000.000

Daniel Maunders

Level 33: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 6/1,814

Giuseppe Rosa looked down at his cards in the cutoff and raised to 400,000. Daniel Maunders defended his big blind before the two players saw the 2♠J♦3♥ flop appear on the felt, which they both checked.

Maunders led out for 200,000 chips and Rosa made the call. The A♣ river then completed the board and Maunders slowed down with a check. Rosa opted to over-bet jam for more than twice the pot, putting 3,700,000 chips in the middle.

Maunders thought for only a few seconds before snapping it off. Rosa tabled Q♣T♠ for just queen-high, and he would not become the first two-time Battle of Malta champion when Maunders showed A♥3♦ for two pair.

Rosa took his leave in seventh place while Maunders scooped up the chips and was the first player to cross the 20-million mark.

Daniel Maunders – 21,000,000
Giuseppe Rosa – 0

Giuseppe Rosa guarda le sue carte nel cutoff e rilancia a 400.000. Daniel Maunders ha difeso il suo big blind prima che i due giocatori vedessero apparire sul feltro il flop 2♠J♦3♥, che entrambi hanno controllato.

Maunders ha puntato 200.000 fiches e Rosa ha chiamato. Il river A♣ completa il board e Maunders rallenta con un check. Rosa optò per una over-bet jam per più del doppio del piatto, mettendo al centro 3.700.000 fiches.

Maunders ha riflettuto solo per pochi secondi prima di lasciare la mano. Rosa ha presentato Q♣T♠ per un’altezza di regina, e non sarebbe diventato il primo due volte campione del Battle of Malta quando Maunders ha mostrato A♥3♦ per due coppie.

Rosa si è congedato al settimo posto, mentre Maunders è stato il primo giocatore a superare la soglia dei 20 milioni.

Daniel Maunders – 21.000.000
Giuseppe Rosa – 0

Giuseppe Rosa

Level 33: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 7/1,814

Daniel Maunders raised to 500,000 in middle position and big blind Jan-Joost van den Bogert called. The flop fell 6♦8♠9♦ and Van den Bogert checked to Maunders.

Maunders put his opponent all-in and an instant call followed from Van den Bogert for 1,400,000 as the players showed down.

Jan-Joost van den Bogert: 8♥6♥
Daniel Maunders: J♠J♣

Van den Bogert had flopped two pair, but still had some outs to fade against the jacks of Maunders. However, he did hold on the Q♠2♠ runout and booked a double-up to a stack of 21 big blinds.

Daniel Maunders – 17,000,000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 4,200,000

Daniel Maunders ha rilanciato a 500.000 in middle position e il big blind Jan-Joost van den Bogert ha chiamato. Il flop cade 6♦8♠9♦ e Van den Bogert fa check a Maunders.

Maunders manda il suo avversario all-in e Van den Bogert chiama immediatamente per 1.400.000, mentre i giocatori mostrano il down.

Jan-Joost van den Bogert: 8♥6♥
Daniel Maunders: J♠J♣

Van den Bogert aveva floppato due coppie, ma aveva ancora qualche out da sfumare contro i jack di Maunders. Tuttavia, ha resistito al runout Q♠2♠ e ha prenotato un double-up con uno stack di 21 big blinds.

Daniel Maunders – 17.000.000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 4.200.000

Jan-Joost van den Bogert

The seven remaining players have been sent on a 15-minute break.

I sette giocatori rimasti sono stati mandati in pausa per 15 minuti.

Level 32: 75,000/150,000 (150,000)
Entries: 7/1,814

Nico Frenn looked down at A♣J♠ under the gun and raised it up to 300,000. Vasileios Zisis then called in the hijack with K♥9♥ and big blind Daniel Maunders also tossed in chips with Q♥7♠.

Everyone flopped something on T♣8♦9♠, but all three players checked it through. On the T♠ turn, the action was checked to Zisis once more, but this time he fired 500,000 with his two pair. Maunders folded but Frenn made the call with his draw.

The 4♠ river did not bring it in and both players checked once more. Zisis won at showdown and inched back closer to Maunders.

Daniel Maunders – 19,000,000
Vasileios Zisis – 18,000,000
Nico Frenn – 4,100,000

Nico Frenn ha guardato A♣J♠ sotto il cannone e ha rilanciato fino a 300.000 dollari. Vasileios Zisis ha poi chiamato nell’hijack con K♥9♥ e anche il big blind Daniel Maunders ha lanciato delle chips con Q♥7♠.

Tutti hanno floppato T♣8♦9♠, ma tutti e tre i giocatori hanno fatto check. Sul turn T♠, l’azione è passata ancora una volta a Zisis, ma questa volta ha sparato 500.000 con le sue due coppie. Maunders ha lasciato, ma Frenn ha fatto il call con il suo draw.

Il river 4♠ non porta nulla ed entrambi i giocatori fanno nuovamente check. Zisis vinse allo showdown e si avvicinò a Maunders.

Daniel Maunders – 19.000.000
Vasileios Zisis – 18.000.000
Nico Frenn – 4.100.000

Vasileios Zisis

Level 32: 75,000/150,000 (150,000)
Entries: 7/1,814

Alfredo Cuti raised to 300,000 as first to act with 6♥6♦, which Daniel Maunders called in the next seat over with A♥Q♥. Short stack Jan-Joost van den Bogert then defended the big blind with 9♣6♣ and the three players saw a flop of K♠7♦8♦.

Van den Bogert committed the rest of his 1,100,000 to the middle with his open-ender and got both better hands to fold, chipping him up significantly.

Daniel Maunders – 19,000,000
Alfredo Cuti – 4,400,000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 2,200,000

Alfredo Cuti ha rilanciato a 300.000 come primo ad agire con 6♥6♦, che Daniel Maunders ha chiamato nel posto successivo con A♥Q♥. Lo short stack Jan-Joost van den Bogert ha poi difeso il big blind con 9♣6♣ e i tre giocatori hanno visto un flop di K♠7♦8♦.

Van den Bogert ha puntato il resto dei suoi 1.100.000 dollari al centro con il suo open-ender e ha ottenuto il fold di entrambe le mani migliori, con un significativo incremento del suo valore.

Daniel Maunders – 19.000.000
Alfredo Cuti – 4.400.000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 2.200.000

Jan-Joost van den Bogert

Level 32: 75,000/150,000 (150,000)
Entries: 7/1,814

Jan-Joost van den Bogert raised to 300,000 in the cutoff and was called by Nico Frenn in the big blind.

The flop was dealt T♥3♥A♥ and Frenn front-shipped his stack of 1,500,000 in the middle. Van den Bogert weighed his options for a bit but ended up making the call, putting Frenn at risk.

Nico Frenn: 7♥6♥
Jan-Joost van den Bogert: K♥T♠

Frenn just needed to fade a heart to double up, and he did so when the board ran out Q♣6♣. Van den Boogert took the title of short stack from Frenn, being left with ten big blinds.

Nico Frenn – 3,900,000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 1,500,000

Jan-Joost van den Bogert ha rilanciato a 300.000 nel cutoff ed è stato chiamato da Nico Frenn nel big blind.

Il flop è stato distribuito T♥3♥A♥ e Frenn ha messo al centro il suo stack di 1.500.000 dollari. Van den Bogert ha soppesato un po’ le sue opzioni ma ha finito per fare il call, mettendo a rischio Frenn.

Nico Frenn: 7♥6♥
Jan-Joost van den Bogert: K♥T♠

A Frenn bastava sfumare una cuori per raddoppiare, e lo ha fatto quando il board ha dato come risultato Q♣6♣. Van den Boogert ha preso il titolo di short stack da Frenn, rimanendo con dieci big blind.

Nico Frenn – 3.900.000
Jan-Joost van den Bogert – 1.500.000

Nico Frenn

Level 32: 75,000/150,000 (150,000)
Entries: 7/1,814

Nico Frenn saw T♦T♣ under the gun and raised to 300,000. Everyone folded to Daniel Maunders in the big blind, who made the call with 6♥3♦.

Frenn continued for 450,000 on the 9♥5♥A♥ flop and received a check-call from Maunders before the 3♠ emerged from the deck on the turn.

Maunders turned his bottom pair into a bluff and led all-in, putting Frenn at risk for his final 2,000,000 chips. Frenn thought about his decision for a bit but eventually let his cards go and Frenn was allowed to pick one card to show, whhich turned out to be the 6♥.

Daniel Maunders – 19,000,000
Nico Frenn – 2,000,000

Nico Frenn ha visto T♦T♣ sotto il cannone e ha rilanciato a 300.000. Tutti si sono rivolti a Daniel Maunders nel big blind, che ha effettuato il call con 6♥3♦.

Frenn ha continuato per 450.000 sul flop 9♥5♥A♥ e ha ricevuto un check-call da Maunders prima che il 3♠ emergesse dal mazzo al turn.

Maunders ha trasformato la sua bottom pair in un bluff e ha portato all-in, mettendo Frenn a rischio per le sue ultime 2.000.000 di chip. Frenn pensò per un po’ alla sua decisione, ma alla fine lasciò andare le sue carte e gli fu permesso di scegliere una carta, che era la 6♥.

Daniel Maunders – 19.000.000
Nico Frenn – 2.000.000

Daniel Maunders

Level 32: 75,000/150,000 (150,000)
Entries: 7/1,814

Giuseppe Rosa raised his button with Q♣J♠ to the minimum of 600,000 and Alfredo Cuti made the call in the big blind with J♣7♣.

The 9♣9♠8♥ flop and Q♥ turn were checked by both before Rosa finally fired for 500,000 on the 5♦ river. Cuti made a quick check-fold and the pot was shipped to Rosa.

Giuseppe Rosa – 4,700,000
Alfredo Cuti – 4,700,000

Giuseppe Rosa ha rilanciato dal bottone con Q♣J♠ fino al minimo di 600.000 e Alfredo Cuti ha fatto il call dal big blind con J♣7♣.

Il flop 9♣9♠8♥ e il turn Q♥ sono stati controllati da entrambi prima che Rosa sparasse per 500.000 sul river 5♦. Cuti ha fatto un rapido check-fold e il piatto è stato distribuito a Rosa.

Giuseppe Rosa – 4.700.000
Alfredo Cuti – 4.700.000

Giuseppe Rosa

Level 32: 75,000/150,000 (150,000)
Entries: 7/1,814

Daniel Maunders jammed all-in from the small blind and Erik Lindqwist quickly called off his stack of 1,300,000 chips.

Erik Lindqwist: A♠3♠
Daniel Maunders: Q♠J♣

The flop paired up Maunders with 7♠J♦T♦, who took a big lead as a result. The 9♥ brought some chop outs, but neither an eight nor an ace appeared on the 4♠ river as Lindqwist was the first to be eliminated from the final table.

He headed to the payout desk to receive his five-figure sum, while start-of-day chipleader Maunders evened stacks with Zisis once more.

Daniel Maunders – 17,000,000
Erik Lindqwist – 0

Daniel Maunders ha fatto un all-in dallo small blind ed Erik Lindqwist ha subito chiamato dal suo stack di 1.300.000 chips.

Erik Lindqwist: A♠3♠
Daniel Maunders: Q♠J♣

Il flop ha accoppiato Maunders con 7♠J♦T♦, che di conseguenza ha preso un grande vantaggio. La 9♥ ha portato alcuni chop out, ma né un otto né un asso sono apparsi sul river 4♠ e Lindqwist è stato il primo a essere eliminato dal tavolo finale.

Lindqwist si è diretto al banco dei pagamenti per ricevere la sua somma a cinque cifre, mentre il chipleader di inizio giornata Maunders ha pareggiato gli stack con Zisis ancora una volta.

Daniel Maunders – 17.000.000
Erik Lindqwist – 0

Erik Lindqwist

Level 32: 75,000/150,000 (150,000)
Entries: 8/1,814

Vasileios Zisis raised to 300,000 with K♦T♥ from the cutoff before Giuseppe Rosa shoved in his 3,900,000 chips from the button with A♥J♠.

Alfredo Cuti tanked for a while in the big blind with his 7♦7♣ but eventually mucked, and Zisis’ king-ten was shuffled back into the deck as well as Rosa took the pot.

Vasileios Zisis – 17,000,000
Alfredo Cuti – 5,300,000
Giuseppe Rosa – 4,600,000

Vasileios Zisis ha rilanciato a 300.000 con K♦T♥ dal cutoff prima che Giuseppe Rosa puntasse le sue 3.900.000 fiches dal bottone con A♥J♠.

Alfredo Cuti ha tankato per un po’ nel big blind con le sue 7♦7♣ ma alla fine ha muckato, e il re-ten di Zisis è stato rimescolato nel mazzo mentre Rosa ha preso il piatto.

Vasileios Zisis – 17.000.000
Alfredo Cuti – 5.300.000
Giuseppe Rosa – 4.600.000

Giuseppe Rosa

Level 32: 75,000/150,000 (150,000)
Entries: 8/1,814

Filippo Busatto raised to 300,000 from early position before Erik Lindqwist jammed all-in from the big blind. Busatto took a few moments before tossing in a call for 2,700,000 chips, and the first preflop showdown of the final table took place.

Filippo Busatto: J♠J♥
Erik Lindqwist: A♣K♦

No ace or king came on the 6♣7♥9♣6♦3♦ board and Busatto doubled up, leaving Lindqwist with merely seven big blinds.

Filippo Busatto: 5,700,000
Erik Lindqwist: 1,100,000

Filippo Busatto ha rilanciato a 300.000 da early position prima che Erik Lindqwist facesse un all-in dal big blind. Busatto si è preso qualche istante prima di lanciare un call per 2.700.000 fiches e ha avuto luogo il primo showdown preflop del tavolo finale.

Filippo Busatto: J♠J♥
Erik Lindqwist: A♣K♦

Nessun asso o re è arrivato sul board 6♣7♥9♣6♦3♦ e Busatto ha raddoppiato, lasciando Lindqwist con soli sette big blind.

Filippo Busatto: 5.700.000
Erik Lindqwist: 1.100.000

Filippo Busatto

Level 32: 75,000/150,000 (150,000)
Entries: 8/1,814

Vasileios Zisis raised to 300,000 from the hijack with A♥J♥ before Giuseppe Rosa made it 900,000 to go with K♥Q♦ in the cutoff.

The action folded back to Zisis, who four-bet shoved. Rosa quickly folded as he was left with 26 big blinds.

Vasileios Zisis ha rilanciato a 300.000 dall’hijack con A♥J♥, prima che Giuseppe Rosa puntasse a 900.000 con K♥Q♦ nel cutoff.

L’azione è passata di nuovo a Zisis, che ha effettuato una four-bet. Rosa ha rapidamente ripiegato, rimanendo con 26 big blinds.

Vasileios Zisis

Level 32: 75,000/150,000 (150,000)
Entries: 8/1,814

Nico Frenn raised to 300,000 with A♣5♦ from the hijack before Vasileios Zisis simply shoved his 15 million chips in the middle with K♥9♦.

The rest of the table folded and some more chips went the Greek’s way.

Vasileios Zisis – 16,000,000
Nico Frenn – 2,700,000

Nico Frenn ha rilanciato a 300.000 con A♣5♦ dall’hijack prima che Vasileios Zisis si limitasse a puntare i suoi 15 milioni di fiches nel mezzo con K♥9♦.

Il resto del tavolo ha ripiegato e altre fiches sono andate al greco.

Vasileios Zisis – 16.000.000
Nico Frenn – 2.700.000

Nico Frenn and Vasileios Zisis

Level 32: 75,000/150,000 (150,000)
Entries: 8/1,814

Alfredo Cuti looked down at 7♠7♥ in middle position and raised to 300,000 chips. Erik Lindqwist called in the cutoff with A♣T♣ and Vasileios Zisis came along in the big blind with A♥9♣.

The flop fell J♠J♦8♥, which got checked through, and so did the K♣ turn. On the 2♦ river, Zisis tried to buy the pot with a bet of 750,000. Cuti quickly mucked the best hand before Lindqwist went into- the tank with his better ace-high.

Eventually, he also tossed his cards into the muck and the pot was shipped to the big stack.

Vasileios Zisis – 15,000,000
Alfredo Cuti – 5,200,000
Erik Lindqwist – 4,000,000

Alfredo Cuti guarda 7♠7♥ in middle position e rilancia a 300.000 chips. Erik Lindqwist ha chiamato dal cutoff con A♣T♣ e Vasileios Zisis è intervenuto dal big blind con A♥9♣.

Il flop è caduto su J♠J♦8♥, che è stato controllato, così come il turn K♣. Sul river 2♦, Zisis ha cercato di comprare il piatto con una puntata di 750.000 dollari. Cuti ha rapidamente muckato la mano migliore prima che Lindqwist andasse in the tank con il suo migliore asso-alto.

Alla fine, anche lui ha gettato le sue carte nel muck e il piatto è stato spedito al big stack.

Vasileios Zisis – 15.000.000
Alfredo Cuti – 5.200.000
Erik Lindqwist – 4.000.000

Vasileios Zisis

Level 31: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 8/1,814

Nico Frenn found J♥J♣ in middle position and raised to 250,000. Filippo Busatto then three-bet to 600,000 in the hijack with T♥T♣ in the hijack and the action folded back to Frenn.

Nico then jammed all-in for his 2,400,000 chips, sending Busatto into the tank. Eventually, he let go of his tens, but became the shortest stack by doing so.

Nico Frenn – 3,400,000
Filippo Busatto – 2,700,000

Nico Frenn ha trovato J♥J♣ in middle position e ha rilanciato a 250.000. Filippo Busatto ha quindi effettuato una three-bet a 600.000 con T♥T♣ nell’hijack e l’azione è tornata a Frenn.

Nico ha quindi fatto un all-in per le sue 2.400.000 fiches, mandando Busatto nel tank. Alla fine ha lasciato andare i suoi dieci, ma così facendo è diventato lo stack più corto.

Nico Frenn – 3.400.000
Filippo Busatto – 2.700.000

Nico Frenn

Day 4 of the Battle of Malta Spring Edition’s Main Event on Monday saw 101 contenders return to the Eden Arena at the Intercontinental Hotel to fight it out for a place on the eight-player final table of the €600 buy-in event. It was also the second day of the Amazingbet €1,100 High Roller and there were a few other sides for players to get their teeth into for the last full-day of events at the festival. 

Highlights from Tuesday April 9th at the 2024 Battle of Malta Spring Edition:

• The Main Event reached its final table of eight players
• The final day of the Amazingbet €1,100 High Roller
• Frank Visser wins Non-Hold’em Games Player of the Festival with third final table
• Live updates of the penultimate day of Main Event (Day 4) on the Battle of Malta Blog
• Photos, videos, interviews and more on the Battle of Malta’s social channels Facebook and Instagram

Battle of Malta Main Event Day 4

Twenty-four players remained at the start of the fourth day of the Battle of Malta Main Event, with Estonian Rasmus Sepping holding the chip lead. By the first break the field had been reduced to 19 players. Sepping still led the way, but Marko Luska and Erik Lindqwist had closed the gap, with the Italian trio of Alfred Cuti, Antonino Calabro and former Battle of Malta Main Event Champion Giuseppe Rosa in possession of the next biggest chip stacks.

Giuseppe Rosa

After the first break, the second session of the day saw Erik Lindqwist assume the chip lead after winning a huge pot against Rosa to move to close to 7m chips. Three further players saw their tournament lives ended in the next level, by which time Antonino Calabro had moved slightly ahead of Lindqwist.

Down to two tables, the tournament became a lot more serious for the remaining players and play slowed. During the next passage of play former champion Rosa, who had been short stacked since early in the day, cracked the Aces of Greek player Vasileios to climb up the chip charts.  This kept his dream of becoming the first ever double winner of the Battle of Malta alive.

Jan-Jost van den Bogert had a good second session of the day and after the busting Jakub Bosko in 16th place, he became the new chip leader. Short stacks Dimitrios Gkatzas and Marko Lusko were the next to depart and by the second break of the day, Jan-Joost had moved into first place in the chip counts, over 1.6m chips ahead of Lindqwist.

It was during the third session of play that the last remaining British player Daniel Maunders began to make his move for glory, when doubling up to over 8m chips in a classic AK v Queens flip, while short stacked Fotios Ntamaris kept his hopes alive with a double-up against Lindqwist.

Daniel Maunders

Start of the day chip leader Rasmus Sepping wasn’t able to emulate the dominance he had shown on day three of the event and by this stage of the day, the amiable Estonian had become one of the shortest stacks remaining. He exited in 12th place, shortly after Michal Jancaski had been busted by Zisis.

The last two remaining Antoninos in the tournament (Calabro and Arigo) were the next to hit the rail, after which just nine players remained, who would then start the event’s unofficial final table.

The last Nine

Just one more player had to fall for the day to end and the eight finalists to be confirmed. That unfortunate soul was Fotios Ntamaris, who’s 9th place finish had looked inevitable, as he was the only player super short stacked, taking just seven big blinds into the final stage of the day.

Fotios Ntamaris

By the time play concluded, two players had built monster stacks, creating a hugely unbalanced table for Wednesday’s live streamed final. Daniel Maunders and Vasileios Zisis each have almost three times bigger stacks than third placed Alfred Cuti.

If you missed the action, the full story of how the day unfolded can be read on event’s dedicated blog.

Main Event Final Table Chip Counts and Seating Draw

Audrius Laimelis wins €1,100 Amazingbet High Roller Regressive (€41,800)

The Battle of Malta’s High Roller, sponsored by Amazingbet returned for its second day, with a further 71 players joining during the first three levels of the day before late registration closed for a total field of 193 players and a prize pool €183,350. Once the prize money had been calculated it was confirmed that the winner would walk away with almost €42,000. Not bad for a festival saver!

Much of the early action was covered on the blog and many of the players will be familiar from the five days of coverage of the main event, which the vast majority of the players in the High Roller had participated in.

Lithuanian Modestas Kyrzanauskas had been the last standing Lithuanian in the Main Event, but had returned for Day 4 as the shortest stacked player and was inevitably eliminated as soon the tournament restarted. He was one of the players who joined the High Roller on Day 2, jumping straight in as soon as he had busted and collected his 24th placed Main Event prize of €4,930. While Modestas did not progress far in the High Roller, it was eventually won by another Lithuanian, Audrius Laimelis, who picked up his biggest ever live score after sending Elvijs Kuceruks back to his hotel, heartbroken.

Audrius Laimelis

The tournament finished extremely late, not until after 6am. There was a suggestion to postpone the final table until Wednesday, however several of the players were booked on early flights, so it was played out to a conclusion.

Fabio Bianchi wins €330 H.O.R.S.E (€1,850)

The final non-Hold’em tournament of the festival was the second running of the €330 H.O.R.S.E and although it was a small field of only 13 players, it was conducted in great spirit with plenty of table banter. Frank Visser, fresh from his win last night in the €330 PLO Knockout tournament was going for his second victory in two days, but fell just short, exiting in 3rd place. Frank has been blogging the Battle of Malta Main Event for the whole week, but has managed to play in three of the non-Hold’em side events, after finishing his shifts. He cashed in all three, including taking yesterday’s PLO Knockout title, to claim the (unofficial) non-Hold’em Player of the Festival award. After completing the Battle of Malta main event reporting, Frank is heading home to the Netherlands, where he will be preparing for his wedding, in a few weeks time. Congratulations to Frank, for both the results this week and the upcoming nuptials.

Local Antoine Degiorgio also played in this event, but was sent home (or maybe to the bar) in 4th place, to become the unfortunate bubble boy.

Antoine Degiorgio

The victory went to Fabio Bianchi from Italy.

Nico Benz wins €330 NLH Novibet Ultra Deep PKO (€4,660)

134 players entered the Novibet Ultra Deep, in which the players started with a 100,000 chip stack. It was won by Germany’s Nico Benz.

Karol Bogusz wins €220 NLH Dark Knight IV (€3,800)

Karol Bogusz proved he is the real deal by winning the final Dark Knight of the festival, defeating Daniel Istrofor to claim the €3,800 first prize. It was the second day in a row that Daniel Istrofor has finished as runner up.

Level 31: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 8/1,814

Giuseppe Rosa raised to 240,000 from early position with A♥T♥ and Alfredo Cuti made the call from the hijack with 5♠5♦.

The short stack of the table Nico Frenn then jammed his stack of 1,700,000 in the middle with T♠T♦ from the small blind and received a qucik fold from Rosa. Cuti thought about making the call for a bit but eventually mucked his cards as well and the pot was shipped to Frenn.

Alfredo Cuti – 5,400,000
Giuseppe Rosa – 4,900,000
Nico Frenn – 2,400,000

Giuseppe Rosa ha rilanciato a 240.000 da early position con A♥T♥ e Alfredo Cuti ha fatto call dall’hijack con 5♠5♦.

Lo short stack del tavolo, Nico Frenn, ha poi incastrato il suo stack di 1.700.000 nel mezzo con T♠T♦ dallo small blind e ha ricevuto un qucik fold da Rosa. Cuti ha pensato per un po’ di fare il call, ma alla fine ha muckato anche le sue carte e il piatto è andato a Frenn.

Alfredo Cuti – 5.400.000
Giuseppe Rosa – 4.900.000
Nico Frenn – 2.400.000

Nico Frenn

The players have been introduced to the spectators and the dealer has been instructed to shuffle up and deal.

The final table of the 2024 Battle of Malta Spring Edition has officially begun.

I giocatori sono stati presentati agli spettatori e il mazziere è stato incaricato di mescolare e distribuire.

Il tavolo finale della 2024 Battle of Malta Spring Edition è ufficialmente iniziato.

All good things must come to an end, and such is the case for the 2024 Battle of Malta Spring Edition, hosted by Casino Malta, as well. After a week of poker, sun, and fun, the final day of the festival will see the €600 Main Event conclude as the last eight players standing from a field of 1,814 return to the Eden Arena at Intercontinental Malta to crown a champion and decide who will walk away with top prize of €100,000 and who will divide the rest of what’s left of the €913,349 prize pool.

Amassing the most chips throughout the previous four days of poker is Daniel Maunders from the United Kingdom. The retiree has secured his second-ever BoM Main Event cash, winning €1,800 at BoM Autumn 2022, and knows the taste of victory, as he already won a tournament in his home country for a five-figure score back in 2021. Maunders managed to bag up 15,130,000 chips at the end of Day 4, starting the final table with a whopping 126 big blinds, a testament to his skill as well as the amazing structure of the Main Event.

Daniel Maunders

At Maunder’s heels, however, is the Greek player Vasileios Zisis. Zisis will bring the only other eight-figure stack to the final table, sitting down with 14,170,000 chips. With such a massive amount of chips, one might think Zisis is a regular on the live tournament scene, but the professional player mainly plays online Omaha cash games, having only one recorded live tournament min-cash lifetime. However, Zisis proved he could battle with the very best in two-card poker the past few days, having secured the chiplead back on Day 2 and maintaining a big stack throughout the rest of the tournament.

Completing the podium, at a considerable distance with 5,630,000 chips, is Italy’s Alfredo Cuti, who calls Malta his home. This is Cuti’s fifth BoM cash, but the five-figure sum he has locked up will be his largest-ever live score regardless of what happens. The same can not be said for his fellow countryman Giuseppe Rosa, winner of the Spring Edition Main Event in 2022. Rosa is looking to become the first player ever to win two BoM Main Event titles and secure his second-ever six-figure score by doing so. However, with 4,750,000 in chips, Rosa is very close to Sweden’s Erik Lindqwist (4,815,000) and London-based Dutchman Jan-Joost van den Bogert (4,375,000).

Giuseppe Rosa

At the bottom of the counts are Filippo Busatto (3,685,000) from Italy and absolute short stack Nico Frenn from Switzerland (1,965,000). This is Busatto’s first-ever Battle of Malta, and he has made a lasting impression by making the final table. Undoubtedly, the tournament has made a lasting impression on him as well as he has locked up his third-ever five-figure score and is on the hunt for his first six-figure one. Unlike Busatto, Frenn is a Battle of Malta veteran, visiting for the fourth time. This is his third Main Event cash, and no matter what happens today he can look back on his best result ever on the Mediterranean island, with his previous best being his 77th place in the Autumn Edition of 2023.

Final Table Seating Assignment

All players have secured themselves €11,900 by making it to the final table, but with the eventual champion taking home €100,000, they will have to tread carefully as they try to make some of the enticing pay jumps.

Remaining Payouts

When play resumes at 2 p.m. local time, the blinds will be at 60,000/120,000 with a 120,000 big blind ante. The final table will know a regressive blind structure of 90-, 45-, and 30-minute levels, dependent on how long the day goes on and how many players are left. The final table will also be streamed live with hole cards shown over at the Battle of Malta YouTube and Facebook. The commentary will be done by Jason Glatzer, who will be joined by some special guests throughout the day.

The live reporting will follow the same 30-minute security delay as the live stream, so tune back in from 2:30 p.m. onwards to find out who will be crowned the 2024 Battle of Malta Spring Edition Main Event champion.

Tutte le cose belle devono finire, e questo è il caso anche del Battle of Malta Spring Edition 2024, ospitato da Casino Malta. Dopo una settimana di poker, sole e divertimento, l’ultimo giorno del festival vedrà concludersi il Main Event da 600 euro, quando gli ultimi otto giocatori rimasti in piedi su un field di 1.814 torneranno all’Eden Arena dell’Intercontinental Malta per incoronare un campione e decidere chi si aggiudicherà il primo premio di 100.000 euro e chi si dividerà il resto del montepremi di 913.349 euro.

Ad accumulare il maggior numero di chip nei quattro giorni di poker precedenti è Daniel Maunders, del Regno Unito. Il pensionato si è assicurato il suo secondo Main Event del BoM, vincendo 1.800 euro al BoM Autumn 2022, e conosce il sapore della vittoria, dato che ha già vinto un torneo nel suo paese d’origine con un punteggio a cinque cifre nel 2021. Maunders è riuscito a raccogliere 15.130.000 fiches alla fine del Day 4, iniziando il tavolo finale con ben 126 big blinds, a testimonianza della sua abilità e dell’incredibile struttura del Main Event.

Alle calcagna di Maunder, tuttavia, c’è il giocatore greco Vasileios Zisis. Zisis porterà l’unico altro stack a otto cifre al tavolo finale, sedendosi con 14.170.000 chip. Con una tale quantità di chip, si potrebbe pensare che Zisis sia un habitué della scena dei tornei dal vivo, ma il giocatore professionista gioca principalmente ai cash game di Omaha online, avendo registrato solo un min-cash in un torneo dal vivo. Tuttavia, Zisis ha dimostrato di poter lottare con i migliori del poker a due carte negli ultimi giorni, assicurandosi la chiplead già nel Day 2 e mantenendo un grande stack per tutto il resto del torneo.

A completare il podio, a notevole distanza con 5.630.000 chip, è l’italiano Alfredo Cuti, che chiama Malta casa sua. Per Cuti si tratta della quinta vincita al BoM, ma la somma a cinque cifre che ha incamerato sarà il suo punteggio più alto di sempre dal vivo, indipendentemente da ciò che accadrà. Lo stesso non si può dire per il suo connazionale Giuseppe Rosa, vincitore del Main Event della Spring Edition nel 2022. Rosa sta cercando di diventare il primo giocatore di sempre a vincere due titoli del Main Event BoM e di assicurarsi il suo secondo punteggio a sei cifre. Tuttavia, con 4.750.000 fiches, Rosa è molto vicino allo svedese Erik Lindqwist (4.815.000) e all’olandese di Londra Jan-Joost van den Bogert (4.375.000).

In fondo al count ci sono l’italiano Filippo Busatto (3.685.000) e lo svizzero Nico Frenn, short stack assoluto (1.965.000). Per Busatto si tratta del primo Battle of Malta in assoluto e ha lasciato un segno indelebile arrivando al tavolo finale. Senza dubbio, il torneo ha lasciato un’impronta duratura anche su di lui, che ha ottenuto il suo terzo punteggio a cinque cifre ed è a caccia del suo primo a sei cifre. A differenza di Busatto, Frenn è un veterano del Battle of Malta, che visita per la quarta volta. Questo è il suo terzo Main Event in denaro e, a prescindere da ciò che accadrà oggi, potrà vantare il suo miglior risultato di sempre sull’isola mediterranea: il precedente è stato il 77° posto nell’edizione autunnale del 2023.

Tutti i giocatori si sono assicurati 11.900 euro arrivando al tavolo finale, ma con il campione finale che si porterà a casa 100.000 euro, dovranno fare attenzione nel tentativo di ottenere alcuni degli allettanti salti di stipendio.

Quando il gioco riprenderà alle 14.00 ora locale, i bui saranno di 60.000/120.000 con un ante di 120.000 big blind. Il tavolo finale conoscerà una struttura di blind regressiva con livelli da 90, 45 e 30 minuti, a seconda della durata della giornata e del numero di giocatori rimasti. Il tavolo finale sarà trasmesso in diretta streaming con le carte in buca sul sito YouTube e Facebook del Battle of Malta . Il commento sarà affidato a Jason Glatzer, che sarà affiancato da alcuni ospiti speciali nel corso della giornata.

La cronaca in diretta seguirà lo stesso ritardo di sicurezza di 30 minuti del live stream, quindi sintonizzatevi a partire dalle 14:30 per scoprire chi sarà incoronato campione del Battle of Malta Spring Edition Main Event 2024.

Seat 1: Daniel Maunders (15,130,000)

Daniel Maunders comes from Southampton and usually plays in local casinos in his home town and nearby Portsmouth, where he achieved his best live cash to-date, £19,736 for winning a £400 buy-in tournament in Portsmouth. It’s not first trip to Malta and this is second Battle of Malta Main Event cash. He is now retired but used to work in the shipping industry. Today he intends to come out of retirement and ‘ship’ the main event.

Seat 2: Erik Lindqwist (4,815,000)

Erik is from Sweden but lives in Malta, running a gaming affiliate business and playing poker as often as he can, frequenting most of the poker festivals that take place in Malta. This is his third Battle of Malta main event cash, but his first final table. His best live result was last September when he finished 5th in the Party Poker Millions. 

Seat 3: Nico Frenn (1,965,000)

Nico from Zurich is an insurance specialist, who loves playing tournament poker. This is the third time he has cashed in the main event at the Battle of Malta, which he has played four times, giving him an impressive 75% strike rate. He was supposed to visit the event with fiends, but eventually made the journey here with his parents instead, so they could enjoy a holiday while he played. However, they had booked return flights for Wednesday, which now have to be rebooked. Nice problem to have.

Seat 4: Filippo Busatto (3,685,000)

Filippo Busatto comes from Conegliano Veneta in the north-east of Italy, near Treviso and Venice. He is mainly a mixed games player but sometimes plays Hold’em tournaments, mostly in Nova Gorica. This is his first time coming to play at the Battle of Malta.

Seat 5: Vasileios Zisis (14,170,000)

Vasileios Zisis is from Katerini in northern Greece, close to Thessaloniki. He’s an online poker pro, mainly playing cash games and in fact he usually plays Omaha. So what’s he doing here playing in a Hold’em tournament? Well its simple, he loves tournaments too and the stratgey involved in them. Having been playing professionally for six years and sometimes it’s a refreshing change from the online grind. This is his first time at the Battle of Malta and he loves the slow structure of the tournament. He had only one live cash before coming to Malta, but also made the money in the Mystery Siege earlier in the week, but didn’t manage to open an envelope.

Seat 6: Giusseppe Rosa (4,750,000)

The most experienced player on the final table is Giuseppe Rosa from Siena in Italy. He has almost $400,000 in live cashes in his poker career and is a former Battle of Malta Champion, winning the main event of the Spring Festival in 2022 for €200,340. He works in gaming and plays poker professionally. 

Seat 7: Jan-Joost Van Den Bogert (4,375,000)

Jan-Joost Van Den Bogert is originally from Netherlands, but has made London his home for the last 12 years, and regularly plays poker, at the Vic. He works as a management consultant in the financial industry but has been playing poker for 17 years. He is quite a private person and his live poker results have been removed from results databases, however he did admit that he is a GUKPT Champion, having won a main event in London a few years ago.

Seat 8: Alfredo Cuti (5,360,000)

Alfredo is an Italian who was born in Sicily, brought up in Germany and now lives in Malta, where he works as a therapist. He started playing poker five years ago and mostly plays in Malta, but has also played in Rozvadov, where he cashed in the Mini Main of the WSOPE in 2022. This is his second Battle of Malta main event cash. Alfredo is also a technology expert and keen statistician, but plays a more exploitative style of play.