Battle of Malta Friday Report 5 Apr 11:19 The Battle of Malta Spring Edition is now well underway at Casino Malta and the Eden Arena at the Intercontinental Hotel in St Julians. Friday was twice as busy as Thursday with numbers in all events heading north, building towards Saturday, which is expected to be the busiest day of the festival, with two further starting days in the Main Event.
The new logistical set up seems to be running smoothly, with both upstairs and downstairs being utilised effectively. Upstairs the Eden Arena, with its 27m video wall is where the Main Event and Mystery Siege were held, while side events and satellites took place within the conference space on the lower floor. Cash games, which have already been quite busy, are being held within Casino Malta itself.
Main Event Day 1b
Day 1b of the Main Event saw the number of entrants rise sharply compared with the opening flight, as 297 hopefuls began their quest for a place in Sundays Day 2. By the end of play, 45 had successful completed their mission for the day and can enjoy a rest day on Saturday before the tournament gets serious.
The chip leader at the end of the day was Krzysztof Chmielowski, who bagged up a 741,000 chips, almost 50,000 more than the Day 1a chip leader. He is also guaranteed a nice payday because as well as being in the prize money, he took down the starting day €5,000 bonus prize for posting the largest stack of the flight.
Krzysztof Chmielowski, Day 1b Chip Leader
It was an eventful day with lots of interesting hands, many of which have been covered in our non-stop blog coverage, which is well worth taking some time to read back. For all the blog posts made on Friday, click here. And for a more detailed wrap up and all the chip counts of the survivors, check out the Day 1b recap posted by new blog team member and silent Jenga enthusiast Christoffer Karlen.
Emmanouil Chalkiotis Wins Mystery Siege of Malta for €23,600
The Mystery Siege of Malta was won by Emmanouil Chalkiotis from Greece. He secured his place in Day 2 via the opening flight, where he bagged the second largest stack of 428,000. He defeated Ashley Scott heads up in a late night finish, securing over €3,000 in bounties as part of his prize.
The business end of the tournament had a very Greek flavour, with three of the last four players standing being compatriots. However the biggest bounties were mostly drawn by players who didn’t make it to the final table. Gil Peter (8th place) and Carmelo Fangano (18th) scooped the two €10,000 bounties.
However the biggest bounty winner of the tournament was 16th placed finisher Rasmus Lundstroem, who captured the €7,500 and a €2,000 during the first break in play, securing a total of €12,700 in bounty prizes overall. He also chopped the €5,000 bounty.
A more in depth report on the tournament, which had a total of 617 entries will be posted later today.
Rasmus Lundstroem
Side Events
There were three further side events on Friday at the Battle of Malta Spring Edition.
The first of these was the €220 H.O.R.S.E, for which 22 players came under starters orders (although not all at the very start). It was won by local resident Bas de Laat, originally from Netherlands for €1,760. Bas has a habit of winning mixed games tournaments and his success will come as no surprise to the Maltese poker community.
Bas was heads up against another non-Maltese resident, Belgian Soner Vanelderen. Gia Carenestrom, who won the ladies event at the last Battle of Malta festival had to make the walk of shame this time, exiting as the bubble girl.
The €200 NLH Italy Play side event had 58 runners and was chopped by Giovanni Caggia and Piotr Kuziola, Both players, along with 3rd placed Giuseppe Segreto also collected packages to the next Italia Play event in Nova Gorica.
Giuseppe Segreto, Giovanni Caggia, Piotr Kuziola
The €150 Hyperturbo was much busier than its counterpart on Thursday, with 77 entrants. Oerjan Birkestoel took the victory and €2,460 first prize.
Full results of these tournaments can be found in the results section.
Satellites
With the weekend approaching, Friday was the key day for satellites at the festival. The early satellite had 179 entrants and generated 17 tickets, with a whopping 341 contesting the late night satellite, producing a further 34 qualifiers for the €500,000 guaranteed Main Event. The second satellite on Friday was another accumulator format qualifier, which allows players to win more than one ticket. Several did just that, with two players banking three seats each!
Talk Show
The second episode of the BOM Talk show dropped on YouTube late last night and it really knocked everyone’s blocks off. I mean this literally, as they played a game of Jenga on the set while filming was in progress and only brought the show to a close after the tower had tumbled. Glen and Jason were joined by Greek player Fotios Ntamaris and BOM’s Director of Staffing Marcello Caloro, with a cameo appearance from blogger Christoffer Karlen.
Check out the Battle of Malta Youtube Channel to watch this episode.
It was a sunny Friday at Malta, and the atmosphere was absolutely electrifying at the Eden Arena & Casino Malta at the Intercontinental Hotel in St. Julians. Many players were eager when they walked through the gates around noon; today was Day 1b of the €600 Battle of Malta Main Event, and things would get heated.
Vu Leads the Way
Day 1b attracted more players than Thursday’s Day 1a-flight, which wasn’t a surprise; many more players are expected to arrive to Malta for the weekend. This resulted in 297 entries, and only 45 would bag their chips and move on to Day 2.
The bubble burst around 02:45 local time, when Georgopoulos couldn’t crack the eights of Chmielowski. Utter joy at the tournament area for the remaining players and the biggest praise belonged to Krzysztof Chmielowski. Bagging an impressive 741,000, his stack is roughly 100,000 bigger than the one of Nicolaj D’Antoni, who was “the winner” of Day 1a.
Not only will Chmielowski be a force to be reckoned with during Day 2, but, he also received the €5,000 cash prize for bagging the most chips from Day 1b.
See all players who advanced from Day 1b here.
Krzysztof Chmielowski during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
Super Saturday
Tomorrow, Saturday April 5, there are two Main Event flights on the schedule. Day 1c is scheduled to set afoot at 13:00, and 20:00, there’s Day 1d which is a turbo flight.
The feeling at Battle of Malta can’t be beaten, and we hope to see you around for tomorrow!
| Player | Chips |
| Krzysztof Chmielowski | 741 000 |
| Alessio Assennato | 654 000 |
| Waldemar Kopyl | 637 000 |
| Giovanni Emanuele Palma | 498 000 |
| Cameron Adam Sinclair | 491 000 |
| Ivane Khazaradze | 456 000 |
| Marco Venturi | 445 000 |
| Sebastian Lund Mortensen | 424 000 |
| Andre Scerri | 408 000 |
| Giovanni Maria Socci | 388 000 |
| Bachana Shengelia | 387 000 |
| Andrew David Burton | 368 000 |
| Giovanna Dimartino | 360 000 |
| Michael Kim Falcon Ravn | 304 000 |
| Artur Gjoka | 281 000 |
| Giuseppe Salvatore Di Bella | 279 000 |
| Mark Anthony Vella | 266 000 |
| Antoine Jeremy Talvard | 256 000 |
| Adrian Ziemichod | 251 000 |
| Vasileios Batatolis | 242 000 |
| Micky Blasi | 241 000 |
| Alex Peter Todd | 229 000 |
| Ferry Sparla | 227 000 |
| Rocco Maiorana | 223 000 |
| Longmao Fan | 221 000 |
| Alessandro Giuseppe Furneri | 214 000 |
| Marko Cosic | 207 000 |
| Gary Fisher | 198 000 |
| Kakha Khazaradze | 196 000 |
| Arnaud Philippe Pierre Cressent | 174 000 |
| Giuseppe Litrico | 150 000 |
| Marcin Kamil Retkowski | 147 000 |
| Stavros Passias | 140 000 |
| Patryk Sylwester Gabrukiewicz | 139 000 |
| Vito Burgio | 138 000 |
| Giuseppe Gridella | 138 000 |
| Viktor Emil Petter Eriksson | 115 000 |
| Wilfred Verwoert | 113 000 |
| Egils Upitis | 110 000 |
| Oskari Jukka Tapio Piira | 104 000 |
| Marius Negrescu | 102 000 |
| Felix Vu | 99 000 |
| Krysztof Kamil Grubka | 92 000 |
| Vito Roma | 91 000 |
| Ahmed Ibrahimi | 25 000 |
Level 16: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
Entries: 45/297
With 47 players remaining, Sebastian Mortensen and Luis Mata clashed all in preflop, Mata being the player at risk with a stack consisting of 86,000.
Sebastian Mortensen: Q♥J♥
Luis Mata: A♦8♣
“I’ve been running pretty good on this table,” Mortensen said before the dealer revealed the flop. He didn’t lie; the board ran out J♠Q♣J♣J♦K♠, and he eliminated Mata with his “Quadhouse.”
Then, on the very next hand, Leonidas Georgopoulos found himself all in for 130,000 against Krzysztof Chmielowski. The latter was the original pre-flop raiser, and he had then tank-called the all in from Georgopoulos.
Leonidas Georgopoulos: Q♦J♦
Krzysztof Chmielowski: 8♥8♠
The board featured no broadway card, meaning Georgopoulos became the unfortunate bubble boy.
We’ll soon be back with full chip counts from Day 1b, as well as a recap of the day. Stay tuned!
The BOM Talk Show – Episode 2 5 Apr 02:20 The second episode of the still unnamed Battle of Malta talk show has now dropped on YouTube. In today’s show Jason and Glenn were joined by Greek legend Fotios Ntamaris and the event’s Director of Staff Marcello Caloro for an informal chat and a game of Jenga! Chris Karlen, unable to resist a game of jenga also drops by for a chat.
Can you guess who topples the blocks? Hit the play button to find out
Level 16: 4,000/8,000
Entries: 49/297
Giuseppe Di Bella during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
Under the Gun, Artur Gjoka opened to 17,000. Giuseppe Di Bella went all in for 89,000 from the Hi-jack. After receiving a count, Gjoka made the call.
Giuseppe Di Bella: K♠K♣
Artur Gjoka: A♣7♣
No ace was apparent on the 3♣8♥9♦5♠4♣ board and Di Bella doubled up at a crucial stage of the tournament.
Artur Gjoka: 170,000
Giuseppe Di Bella: 138,000
Level 15: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)
Entries: 49/297
Michael Ravn during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
Things’ been going fast during the last 30 minutes, and only four more player will bust out before the remaining 45 will bag for Day 2.
At Table 9, Artur Gjoka made it 17,000 UTG. Adrian Ziemichod called from UTG+1 and when action came to Michael Ravn in the Hi-jack, he raised to 47,000.
Gjoka considered his options for a good three minutes before folding. When the decision was on Ziemichod, he twisted and turned before announcing all in for 135,000. Ravn sighed as he made the call.
Adrian Ziemichod: K♥K♦
Michael Ravn: A♦T♦
It’s impossible to describe the emotional rollercoaster experienced by both players as the board spelled out Q♦A♣K♠T♠J♦. The players split the pot before they headed to the break.
Michael Ravn: 335,000
Adrian Ziemichod: 167,000
Level 14: 2,000/4,000
Entries: 66/297
Giovanni Palma during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
In a classic Blind vs. Blind Battle, Giovanni Palma and Antonino Caruso clashed all in pre-flop. Caruso was the player at risk, having 50,000 in his stack.
Giovanni Palma: A♠Q♦
Antonino Caruso: K♦9♣
No dice for Caruso on the J♦8♣T♦A♣2♠ runout, and he brought the number of players remaining in the tournament down to 66.
Giovanni Palma: 475.000
Antonino Caruso: 0
Level 14: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Field: 79/297
Jeroen Romme during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
Daniel Samson opened to 8,000 on the Button. From the Small Blind, a fairly short-stacked Jeroen Romme went all in for 29,000. Felix Vu folded in the Big Blind, but Samson made the call.
Jeroen Romme: T♦9♦
Daniel Samson: K♣8♥
King high was good on the 3♥J♥2♠6♣4♠ runout, and Romme’s still alive in the tournament.
Daniel Samson: 72,000
Jeroen Romme: 69,000
Level 13: 1,000/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 84/297
Gary Fisher during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
Under the Gun, Gary Fisher made it 7,000. Action folded to Sebastian Mortensen on the Button who raised to 20,000. After the blinds got out of the way, Fisher made the call.
On the 8♦7♦9♣ flop, Mortensen forced Fisher all in for 47,000. Fisher didn’t hesitate even the slightest before making the call.
Sebastian Mortensen: K♣K♥
Gary Fisher: J♦T♠
“That’s a good flop”, Mortensen joked. The board completed 8♦7♦9♣3♣5♠ as the chips went the way of Fisher. “I respect the bingo”, he jokingly said to his opponent. Fisher then revealed that he’ll soon release his book and that the title of chapter one is going to be “When you’re short, go all in and win.”
Sebastian Mortensen: 385,000
Gary Fisher: 185,000
| Player | Chips | Big Blinds |
| Antonio Mirabile | 225,000 | 75 |
| ALessandro Cirillo | 347,000 | 116 |
| Krzysztof Chmielowski | 269,000 | 90 |
| Longmao Fan | 159,000 | 53 |
| Bachana Shengelia | 260,000 | 87 |
| Alessio Vanni | 167,000 | 56 |
| Cameron Sinclair | 212,000 | 71 |
| Oskari Piira | 200,000 | 67 |
| Andrew Burton | 270,000 | 90 |
| Waldemar Kopyl | 243,000 | 81 |
| Giovanni Socci | 195,000 | 65 |
| Christoph Tanner | 170,000 | 57 |
| William Gritz | 300,000 | 100 |
| Artur Gjoka | 290,000 | 97 |
| Rosario Saddemi | 252,000 | 84 |
| Sebastian Mortensen | 231,000 | 77 |
| Micky Blasi | 229,000 | 76 |
| Rocco Maiorana | 200,000 | 67 |
| Marko Cosic | 230,000 | 77 |
| Alessio Assennato | 134,000 | 45 |
| Vito Roma | 230,000 | 77 |
| Luca Topazio | 221,000 | 74 |
Level 12: 1,000/2,500 (2,500)
Entries: 87/297
Artur Gjoka during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
From the Cut-off, Artur Gjoka opened to 7,000. Giuseppe Di Bella, seated on the Button, decided to make the call.
Both players checked the 2♣K♥T♠ flop. When the A♥ fell on the turn, Gjoka bet 10,000. Di Bella raised to 30,000, and Gjoka couldn’t have made the call any faster.
The river revealed the 3♥. Gjoka checked, and Di Bella bet 45,000. Gjoka thought the situation over before throwing in chips for a call.
Giuseppe Di Bella: 4♣3♣
Artur Gjoka: K♠T♥
Gjoka had to take a second look at the board before understanding how the hand played out. The decently sized pot went his way right before the players were sent on a break.
Artur Gjoka: 312,0000
Giuseppe Di Bella: 145,000
Play will continue well into the night here at Casino Malta and the Eden Arena at the Intercontinental Hotel. The Battle of Malta Main Event is down to 95 players and will continue until 45 remain. They’re now on level 12 with blinds of 1,000/2,500 and a 2,500 big blind ante.
The Mystery Siege of Malta is moving along quite quickly with just 26 players now left in contention for the €17,900 first prize. Day 1a overnight chip leader Jonathan Wong has recently been eliminated 29th place. Day 1c chip leader Michael Leng exited just afterwards in 28th place. Play is expected to conclude this evening.
Downstairs there are also still two tournaments running, one of which is a satellite to the Main Event and it’s a busy one with 212 entries so far and it’s only in level 3. The other event still in play is tonight’s €150 Hyperturbo by Eplay. No? Me neither! A field of 77 players assembled for this one and there are still 41 left in, with registration now closed.
Chris and Alek will continue the coverage into the night, but this particular reporter is feeling rather like Snoopy at this time of night. Stick a fork in me, I’m done!
Level 12: 1,000/2,500 (2,500)
Entries: 93/297
The floor has announced that Day 1b will end when 45 players remain. Reminder: yesterday, 22 out of 146 entries bagged for Day 2, and the last level of play was 5,000/10,000.
Level 12: 1,000/2,500 (2,500)
Entries: 95/297
Gary Fisher during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
Gary Fisher opened to 6,500 from the Lo-jack. Leonidas Georgopoulos called from the Button, and the two players headed to the flop.
On 4♠2♥8♠, Fisher bet 8,500, and Georgopoulos made the call. The turn was the 2♠, and action went check-check. Fisher then proceeded to check on the 6♠ turn prior to Georgopoulos betting 15,000. “I don’t have a flush”, Fisher confirmed as he made the call.
Leonidas Georgopoulos: A♦T♦
Gary Fisher: Q♥8♣
Level 11: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Entries: 102/297
Great action during Day 1b of the 2025 Battle of Malta Main Event.
From the Cut-off, Patryk Gabrukiewicz opened to 4,000. Francesco Piro went all in from the Button for 37,000, and from the Small Blind, Antonino Caruso re-shoved for 85,000. Gabrukiewicz folded as Piro and Caruso turned over their cards.
Francesco Piro: A♠3♥
Antonino Caruso: A♥A♦
The board 7♥A♣3♦2♥5♥ had a little bit of everything, but the winning hand belonged to Caruso as Piro hit the rail.
Anotnino Caruso: 127,000
Francesco Piro: 0
Today’s talk show was recorded earlier this evening and is currently being edited. Today’s guests, joining Glen and Jason for a cosy chat and a game of Jenga were Greek player Fotios Ntamaris and the Battle of Malta’s Director of Staff (we’re not sure if this is his official title, but we’re running with it) Marcello Caloro.
The episode should be dropping soon on the BOM official YouTube channel.
Getting Ready to Recod the Daily Show
Level 17: 15,000/30,000 (5,000 Bring In)
Entries: 1/22
Stud Hi/Lo
After his whole cards showed 3♠7♥7♠4♠, Bas De Laat bet 30,000 on 6th street and Soner Vanelderen moved all in for 42,000 showing T♥A♣8♣8♠. De Latt made he call and both players revealed their hands.
Soner Vanelderen: K♦9♥T♥A♣8♣8♠
Bas De Laat: 9♠3♥T♥A♣8♣8♠
De Latt caught a 5♠ and Vanelderen a 4♦ on 7th street for De Laat to take the tournament. The pair shared a handshake and De Laat invited Vanelderen to join in the winners photo.
During the first break in the Mystery Siege of Malta, 44 bounties were pulled. The first few players all drew small ones, but with just half a dozen players left to draw, Italian Carmelo Fangano spun the wheel, whipped out two tickets and walked away €11,000 better off, as he first pulled one of the two €10,000 top prizes and then followed it up with a €1,000 prize.
Carmelo Fangano pulls the €10,000 top bounty
Just as play was getting ready to resume, one Rasmus Lundstroem showed up with a single bounty ticket and scooped the €7,500 prize. There is still another €10,000 bounty to be pulled and the €5,000 is still also in play. Further bounties will be drawn during the next break.
Rasmus Lundstroem pulls the €7,500 bounty
49 of the 93 players who began Day 2 are still in the tournament, which is due to conclude this evening.
Level 11: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Entries: 120/297
Imad Fakhro during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
The pot consisted of 12,000 when the flop read 5♥4♦3♠. Silwya Studniarz checked, Markus Loidl bet 5,000, and Imad Fakhro made the call before Studniarz folded.
On the turn Q♦, Loidl bet 9,000. Then, Fakhro decided to raise to 20,000. Loidl made the call.
The 6♣ fell on the river and Loidl now slowed down and checked. Fakhro bet 35,000, and after a minute’s worth of consideration, Loidl decided to call.
Fakhro turned over 7♠6♠; his straight received a nod of approval from Loidl as he mucked his hand.
Imad Fakhro: 160,000
Markus Loidl: 135,000
Level 10: 1,000/1,500 (1,500)
Entries: 130/284
Michael Ravn during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
During the last level before late registration closes, a contender for “Hand of the Tournament” played out at Table 14.
Alexander Goldin raised to 3,500 from UTG+1. Michael Ravn was seated in the Big Blind and was the only player to make the call.
The flop came 9♣7♥Q♣. Ravn checked, and Goldin bet 5,500. Then, Ravn raised to 13,000. Goldin answered and made it 37,000. Things escalated and Ravn put in a tower of blue 5,000-chips, estimated to a value of 100,000.
Goldin made the call, leaving himself with a mere 4,000 behind; most likely, both players thought they were all in. On the turn A♠, the rest of the chips went in as a formality.
Michael Ravn: Q♠9♠
Alexander Goldin: 9♥9♦
“Did you hit the ace?”, Ravn asked before Goldin had turned over his hand. When he saw it, he sighed in disappointment. But, the poker gods had other plans; the dealer dealt the Q♥ on the river, causing the players at the table to let out a collective “whoah”.
“What a river card”, Ravn determined as he won the absolutely abnormous pot, leaving Goldin with crumbs.
Michael Ravn: 300,000
Alexander Goldin: 3,000
| Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
| Alessandro Furneri | 302,500 | 202 |
| Claus Spieckermann | 233,500 | 156 |
| Luca Topazio | 227,500 | 152 |
| Christoph Tanner | 220,000 | 147 |
| Wilfred Verwoert | 200,000 | 133 |
| Waldemar Kopyl | 197,500 | 132 |
| Giuseppe Di Bella | 195,000 | 130 |
| Jochen Halfmann | 190,500 | 127 |
| Marco Venturi | 190,000 | 127 |
| Arnaud Cressent | 182,000 | 121 |
| Rocco Maiorana | 168,500 | 112 |
| Gary Fisher | 165,000 | 110 |
| Krysztof Grubka | 160,500 | 107 |
| Cameron Sinclair | 160,000 | 107 |
| Micky Blasi | 158,500 | 106 |
| Oskari Piira | 145,500 | 97 |
| Alessio Assennato | 145,000 | 97 |
| Luis Mata | 144,000 | 96 |
| Sebastian Mortensen | 140,000 | 93 |
| Marcin Romanowski | 128,500 | 86 |
| Patryk Gabrukiewicz | 127,000 | 85 |
| Alexander Goldin | 125,000 | 83 |
| Fabrizio Aloi | 122,000 | 81 |
| Egils Upitis | 120,000 | 80 |
| Giovanna Dimartino | 117,000 | 78 |
| Bachana Shengelia | 115,000 | 77 |
| Georgios-Angelos Tavoularis | 106,000 | 71 |
The Main Event is now on a 75-minute dinner break. We’re also off to get some food, but we’ll be back with the chip counts of the leaders before play resumes.
Day 1c of the Mystery Siege of Malta finished just in time for Day 2 to start just 20 mins after its scheduled 8pm start time. As it was a very quick turnaround between flights we didn’t manage to get full chip counts of the 43 who made it through Day 1c. However we did manage to identify the chip leader, Micheal Leng, whose 546,000 stack is the largest across all three starting days.
Now that play has resumed the mystery bounties are in play, but none will be drawn until the first break of the session, shortly after 10pm.
The largest of the mystery bounties is €10,000 and there are two of them to be pulled. Here’s the breakdown of the bounties:
- €10,000 x 2
- €7,500 x 1
- €5,000 x 1
- €2,000 x 4
- €1,000 x 6
- €500 x 8
- €200 x 41
- €100 x 30
Bounties about to be pulled at the Battle of Malta 2024 Autumn Edition
Level 9: 1,000/1,500 (1,500)
Entries: 131/274
Killian Desnos during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
The board read K♣4♠2♣2♥ with roughly 20,000 in the middle. Killian Desnos went all in for 28,000, and Dimitrios Anastasakis had a tough decision to make. Eventually, he made the call.
Killian Desnos: J♣3♣
Dimitrios Anastasakis: A♥3♥
A great call by Anastasakis, but, the completed board K♣4♠2♣2♥9♣ had other plans. Desnos won an important pot during the last level before the dinner break.
Killian Desnos: 100,000
Dimitrios Anastasakis: 45,000
Level 9: 1,000/1,500 (1,500)
Entries: 144/270
Dean Hemmings during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
Dean Hemmings decided only to call from Under the Gun. Action folded to Giuseppe Di Bella who called from the Small Blind, prior to Andreas Vlachos checking in the Big Blind.
All three players checked the 2♣Q♥2♦ flop. On the 8♠ turn, Di Bella checked, Vlachos bet 2,500, Hemmings called and Di Bella folded.
Vlachos wasted zero time going all in on the 7♥ river, and Hemmings made the call even faster.
Andreas Vlachos: Q♠2♠
Dean Hemmings: J♦3♠
Bad timing for Vlachos as Hemmings had flopped big, and his bullet life came to an end.
Dean Hemmings: 57,000
Andreas Vlachos: 0
Level 8: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 156/262
Marko Cosic during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
Yannig Colin opened from Under the Gun to 2,400. Action folded around to Marko Cosic on the Button who raised to 6,500. Colin made the call.
The flop came 5♥4♦Q♥, and Colin checked. Cosic led out for 4,500, only to face a 9,000 raise from Colin. Cosic wouldn’t be pushed around and forced Colin all in for roughly 30,000 more. Colin sighed and made the call.
Marko Cosic: K♠K♥
Yannig Colin: A♣Q♣
Tough spot for Colin and he received no help as the full board spelled out 5♥4♦Q♥8♠5♣. Cosic piled his chips as high as the Himalaya mountains.
Marko Cosic: 220,000
Yannig Colin: 0
With just 43 players earmarked for seats in Day and only 54 of the flight’s 286 starters remaining, its now squeaky bum time for those with short stacks in Day 1c of the Mystery Siege of Malta. Day 2 is due to start at 8pm and at the current rate of attrition, they have every chance of starting on time.
There were 617 entries in total, across all three flights, creating a prize pool of over €92,000 plus over €61,000 in bounties. We’ll be covering the bounty pulls tonight, the first of which will be done during the first break of Day 2, which is scheduled to be at 10pm.
Bubble Approaching in the Mystery Siege of Malta
Level 7: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 166/253
Angelo Finocchiaro during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
Under the Gun, Angelo Finocchiaro opened to 3,500. Nikolaos Valtatzis called from the Button, and when action came to Vincenzo Mangiapane in the Big Blind, he moved all in for roughly 30,000. Finocchiaro called before Valtatzis folded.
Vincenzo Mangiapane: A♠6♠
Angelo Finocchiaro: A♣Q♥
No luck for Mangiapane on the 2♥J♣Q♣9♣7♦ board, and his bullet came to an end.
There are many ways to follow the news from the Battle of Malta and this blog is just one of them. Our very creative content team is working hard to produce video content, which can be found on our social media pages.
Our social media channels are more than just places to watch what’s going on, they are places you can interact with the team. There’s even a few competitions and giveaways on there and for those who are willing to share this Instagram post, there’s a Main Event ticket for the autumn to be won. Full details in the description on the post.
We’re also still looking for suggestions for the name of the daily talk show, which will be recorded tonight at 8.30pm. The edited version will drop later this evening.
Instagram Giveaway
Level 7: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 171/246
Artur Gjoka & Arnaud Cressent during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
Action folded to Artur Gjoka, who went all in for his last 7,700 from the Button. Seated next to him in the Small Blind, Arnaud Cressent made the call.
Artur Gjoka: K♥T♥
Arnaud Cressent: J♥T♣
The flop 2♥J♣6♥ brought all kinds of excitement, but, in the end, Gjoka doubled up as the full board completed 2♥J♣6♥7♥T♦. His bullet lives to see another day, and Cressent still looks healthy.
Arnaud Cressent: 175,000
Artur Gjoka: 17,400
| Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
| Christoph Tanner | 247,600 | 248 |
| Vasileios Batatolis | 170,000 | 170 |
| Antonio Mirabile | 168,000 | 168 |
| Ioannis Tsakiris | 158,400 | 158 |
| Cameron Sinclair | 154,900 | 155 |
| Alessio Assennato | 148,800 | 149 |
| Kostadin Mihaylov | 144,000 | 144 |
| Samuel Lindholm | 132,000 | 132 |
| Bachana Shengelia | 125,000 | 125 |
| Imad Fakhro | 123,300 | 123 |
| Oskari Piira | 113,600 | 114 |
| Gary Fisher | 110,000 | 110 |
| Krysztof Grubka | 109,500 | 110 |
| Arnaud Cressent | 107,000 | 107 |
| Antonio Barbagallo | 105,100 | 105 |
| Peter Jaksland | 105,000 | 105 |
| Giovanni Palma | 101,000 | 101 |
| Marco Venturi | 100,000 | 100 |
| Rocco Maiorana | 98,500 | 99 |
| Wilfred Verwoert | 96,000 | 96 |
| Jamie Harding | 94,000 | 94 |
| Mark Vella | 93,400 | 93 |
| Joseba Gonzalez | 92,000 | 92 |
| Luigi Cocita | 90,000 | 90 |
| Antonino Spadaro | 90,000 | 90 |
| Michael Ravn | 85,000 | 85 |
| Andrea Grandi | 83,000 | 83 |
| Patryk Gabrukiewicz | 81,700 | 82 |
| Alessio Mastrosimone | 81,600 | 82 |
| Nikolaos Zylis | 80,300 | 80 |
Level 6: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 172/232
Alessandro Furneri during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
The board read 8♠Q♠4♥8♥ when Thibaut Thevenet bet 10,000. Alessandro Furneri then proceeded to go all in for 16,000. Seated to the left of him, Sergej Schuhmacher called. Action was now back on Thevenet, who attempted to go all in. However, this was deemed an illegal move as the all in wasn’t a full raise. Thus, he instead called.
Thevenet and Schuhmacher both checked the 6♣ river.
Alessandro Furneri: K♣8♣
Thibaut Thevenet: A♦Q♦
Sergej Schuhmacher: K♠9♠
It became evident why Thevenet would have preferred to get it all in on the turn. The pot went the way of Furneri who managed to dodge two flushes.
Sergej Schuhmacher: 80,000
Thibaut Thevenet: 70,000
Alessandro Furneri: 65,000
Level 5: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 175/222
Alessio Mastrosimone during the 2025 Battle of Malta.
Kakha Khazaradze opened to 1,600 from UTG+1. Bartosz Karpowicz called from the Lo-jack, and Big Blind-player Alessio Mastrosimone also decided to join in on the fun.
The flop came 5♣2♠7♦ and Mastrosimone came out hot, betting 1,200. Khazaradze and Karpowicz both called.
On the J♣ turn, Mastrosimone sized up to 2,500, and once again, both his opponents decided to call. The dealer dealt the K♦ on the river; Mastrosimone didn’t hit the breaks and bet 2,500 for a second time. In unconventional fashion, Khazaradze and Karpowicz both called.
Khazaradze and Karpowicz both looked surprised when Mastrosimone turned over K♠4♦, which was deemed the winning hand.
Alessio Mastrosimone: 56,000
Bartosz Karpowicz: 45,000
Kakha Khazaradze: 29,000
Upstairs
Battle of Malta Main Event Day 1b
Now into level 5, the pace of registrations is picking up and there are over 200 participants, 85% of whom are still clinging to their tournament lives. They will be joined by more as the day progresses and won’t stop playing until just 15% of them remain.
Recent exits include Alfredo Cuti, a finalist in 2024, Matthew Micallef and the Irish duo of Vincent Smith and Thomas McGrath.
Mystery Siege of Malta Day 1c
Registration has now closed in the final starting day of the Mystery Siege of Malta, with 286 entries, which brings the total field up to 617 entries. The prize pool break down and mystery bounty amounts will be revealed before the start of Day 2. But before that can begin, the field needs to be reduced to 43 players and there are currently 140 left in the flight.
Downstairs
NLH Italy Play
Today’s €200 (€170+€30) NLH Italy Play side event began recently and is now going into the third level of the day. Despite the sponsor being from Italy, so far only three of the 17 early entrants are actually Italian. Mama mia!
H.O.R.S.E
No fallers yet in the €220 (€200+€20) H.O.R.S.E with 16 stallions and one filly (Gia Carnestrom) still negotiating the early fences in this Battle of Malta Steeplechase. Jason Glatzer is being corralled into saddling up and joining the race, but whether he caves in to such temptation remains to be seen.
Main Event Satellite
Today’s early Main Event satellite is almost over, but three players remain to fight it out for the last of 17 seats that have been awarded in it. Just one of these last three will go home empty handed, as there is €540 left over for the second place finisher.
Level : 200/400 (400)
Entries: 160/192
Claudio Trentacosti opened to 1,200 from early position. Samuel Tebege three-bet to 3,600 and only Trentacosti called.
The flop came Q♠8♥2♦ and Trentacosti checked to Tebege. He continued for 1,200 and was called.
After the turn peeled the Q♥, Trentacosti led out for 2,500. Tebege was quick to make the call.
The T♥ completed the board and Trentacosti slowed down with a check. Tebege bombed the river for 16,000 and was rewarded with the pot.
Samuel Tebege: 71,000
Claudio Trentacosti: 31,300
Tomorrow may be the day of the Aintree Grand National, however today at the Battle of Malta it is the mixed game players’ turn to saddle their mounts and ride for glory. The Grand National is a race of attrition, but there are guaranteed to be more fallers here at Casino Malta, once the pace picks up and the fences (blinds and antes) get bigger.
Unlike in actual equestrian races, today’s runners and riders failed to make an orderly line at the start, but they are allowed to join the race after the start, for the first eight levels in fact. The race started with just one table of players but it has now grown to two, with 13 players already jockeying for position in the chip chart.
Eirik Presstun, Michael Cauchi and Antoine Degiorgio are amongst those who are already out on the course.
More news from the paddock later in the day, when we’ll report on who might be heading for the winners circle and who’s already en route to the butcher shop (yes, we eat horse meat here in Malta).
Antoine Degiorgio
| Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | Panagiota Nikou | 67,000 | 168 |
| 4 | Mateusz Stanielewicz | 26,500 | 66 |
| 5 | Simone Spina | 42,000 | 105 |
| 6 | Claus Spieckermann | 59,000 | 148 |
| 7 | Nuno Cardoso | 21,000 | 53 |
| 8 | Nikolaos Zylis | 36,700 | 92 |
| 9 | Giovanni Socci | 14,800 | 37 |
| Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
| Luigi Cocita | 102,000 | 255 |
| Rocco Maiorana | 101,000 | 253 |
| Stevan Gvozdenovic | 94,000 | 235 |
| Vito Roma | 92,500 | 231 |
| Gary Fisher | 90,000 | 225 |
| Krystyna Bidzan | 85,000 | 213 |
| Marco Venturi | 82,000 | 205 |
| Gaetano Martini | 80,000 | 200 |
| Nicola Leonesio | 77,500 | 194 |
| Kostadin Mihaylov | 75,600 | 189 |
| Daniel Samson | 75,300 | 188 |
| Sergej Schuhmacher | 75,000 | 188 |
| Samuel Tebege | 69,000 | 173 |
| Andrea Grandi | 68,400 | 171 |
| Thomas McGrath | 67,000 | 168 |
| Rosario Sambito | 65,000 | 163 |
| Hendrik Uibo | 64,000 | 160 |
| Alexander Goldin | 64,000 | 160 |
| Alessio Vanni | 62,000 | 155 |
Day 1b of the BOM Main Event has now gone on its first scheduled break of the day. The field has now grown to 151, of which 141 are still commanding chip stacks. With Day 1a’s 146 entries already surpassed, how many entries will the flight end up with? Registration is open until the end of level 10, which means the last chance to buy-in for the flight is at about 9.30pm.
We’ll find out shortly who’s got the chip lead, but we’ll spare the chip chump the embarrassment of being named.
Meanwhile, Day 1c of the Mystery Siege of Malta has just moved into level 9 and has had 249 entrants so far, taking the total number of entries up to 580, with two levels left for any stragglers to join the action.
Level : 100/300 (300)
Entries: 130/135
Victoria McClurg raised to 1,200 from middle position and Sally Stephens made the call from late position.
The flop came 4♥K♣T♠ and McClurg led out for 2,000. Stephens found the call.
After the turn peeled the 2♥ McClurg continued for 6,000 and was called by Stephens.
The river was the 9♠ and McClurg blasted for 10,000. Stephens moved all in for 13,100 total and was called by McClurg.
She revealed Q♠J♥ to best McClurg’s A♣K♠.
Sally Stephens: 45,300
Victoria McClurg: 12,000
Level : 100/200 (200)
Entries: 131/135
Action was caught after the turn of 2♥T♦7♦7♠ and checked from middle position. Jozsef Harsing fired for 5,200 from the button and Samson made the call.
The river was the 7♥ and both players were quick to check their option. Harsing’s 2♦2♠ was counterfeited for Samson to take the pot with J♥J♣.
Daniel Samson: 83,500
Jozsef Harsing: 38,000
Level 2: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 109/112
The Day 1b field in the €600 Main Event has grown to more than 100 entries already and will continue to climb as Day 1c of the €300 Mystery Siege of Malta has more than another 200 entries in the mix to bring the field over 500 entries in hopes of making tonight’s Day 2 when the Battle of Malta Mystery Bounty Show will take place until the big bounties are pulled.
Roberto Polosa was the first player to hit the rail followed by Kostadin Mihaylov and Vasileos Gkogkos. Polosa and Mihaylov are already back in the mix on Day 1b with Gkogkos also having the option until the end of Level 10 today when late registration closes.
2025 Battle of Malta Spring Edition
The Battle of Malta show is looking for a new name after its launch yesterday. Suggest on social media a new name and you can win a prize. Meanwhile, check out yesterday’s episode below.
Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 55/55
The Battle of Malta intro played out on the wide screen thoughout the main ballroom before Battle of Malta event manager Telly Bartolo and Battle of Malta tournament director Andy Tillman shared some announced including a social media contest where players can win a vast array of prizes.
The iconic “shuffle up and deal” came moments later with 55 entries in the field including Jozef Fabry, Tayfun Rodoplu, and Alfredo Cuti are among the players in the field.
2025 Battle of Malta
The Mystery Siege of Malta’s third and final starting day began at 12pm. Its starting an hour earlier than the first flight began on Thursday, to allow it to finish in time for Day 2, which is scheduled to begin at 8pm. It’s already showing signs that it will be a busy one, with over 100 players already installed in their chairs by the start of level 2.
Day 1b Survivors
The second starting day of the Mystery Siege concluded late on Thursday night, with 31 players making it through to day two. Here are the chip counts of the Day 1b survivors:
| Position | Player Name | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carl Nakamoto | 523,000 |
| 2 | Benoit Kuhn | 515,000 |
| 3 | Davor Mudric | 427,000 |
| 4 | Luis Ros | 369,000 |
| 5 | Georgios Zisimopoulos | 364,000 |
| 6 | Michele Adamo | 355,000 |
| 7 | Maciej Kala | 298,000 |
| 8 | Emmanouil Zacharakis | 251,000 |
| 9 | Rony Mourad | 248,000 |
| 10 | Itay Barak | 242,000 |
| 11 | Daniel Heredi | 216,000 |
| 12 | Marian Ciupeiu | 189,000 |
| 13 | Nikola Filipovic | 178,000 |
| 14 | Polykarpos Stryvakis | 177,000 |
| 15 | Daniel Nunez | 173,000 |
| 16 | Loukas Kioutsoukis | 164,000 |
| 17 | Gil Preter | 161,000 |
| 18 | Angelo Vietti | 157,000 |
| 19 | Igor Bukowski | 155,000 |
| 20 | Jarkko Kuusisto | 125,000 |
| 21 | Roberto Morra | 123,000 |
| 22 | Johannes Engludh | 116,000 |
| 23 | Shervin Ghassemlou | 104,000 |
| 24 | Antonio Piro | 96,000 |
| 25 | Jaroslaw Falkowski | 67,000 |
| 26 | Aleksander Lizut | 63,000 |
| 27 | Theodoros Ampelikiotis | 62,000 |
| 28 | Oskar Zych | 61,000 |
| 29 | Herli Olop | 53,000 |
| 30 | Lukasz Fraczek | 42,000 |
| 31 | Georgios Kasimatis | 20,000 |
Friday is the second full day of the 2025 Battle of Malta Spring Edition and will feature another starting day of the Main Event at 1pm and the final opening flight of the Mystery Siege of Malta at 12pm. The Mystery Siege will also conclude today, as its day 2 begins at 8pm, where those who make it through Day 1c will join the 50 players who already progressed from Thursday’s opening flights.
Both the €600 Main Event and the €300 (€160+€100+€40) Mystery Siege of Malta Bounty take place upstairs in the main Eden Arena and players should buy-in for these events at the registration desks within the Eden Arena.
Today’s non-Hold’em offering is the €220 (€200+€20) H.O.R.S.E, which begins at 3pm and there are also two No Limit Hold’em sides as well. The first of the NLH events is the €200 (€170+€30) Italy Play NLH at 4pm. Th €150 (€130+€20) Hyper Turbo by Eplay is at 9pm.
The first of two satellites today is already underway and there is a second tonight at 10pm. Both cost €70 (€60+€120) to enter. Side events and satellites take place downstairs, where players should also register.
Here’s today’s full schedule:
Daily Schedule for Friday April 4th at the 2025 Battle of Malta Spring Edition
Thursday at the Battle of Malta 4 Apr 10:44 The first day of the 2025 Battle of Malta Spring Edition included a lot of poker and a few surprises.
1st Surprise
The first surprise was that the Eden Arena looked a little different as the set up has changed. There is no stage in the middle of the floor. The tables are all well spaced out and it feels like a nice environment to play in. The most noticeable feature of the set up is the enormous video wall that looms over the 70 tables in the playing area.
This new set up of the Eden Arena is complimented by use of the conference space on the floor below the Arena, where side events and satellites are taking place. This allows the Arena to focus exclusively on housing the headline events of the Festival: the Main Event of the Battle of Malta, the Mystery Siege of Malta and the High Roller.
Eden Arena Before The Start of Day 1a
2nd Surprise
The next surprise was the absence of sword wielding knights and their fair maidens, as the opening ceremony has been replaced for this edition with a welcome video, shown before the start of the Main Event on the giant video wall. This certainly surprised and captivated a lot of players. If you missed it, it will be repeated before the start of each opening flight and at a few other rare moments throughout the week.
3rd Surprise
The third and final (for now) surprise of the day was the very first episode of the yet-to-be named Battle of Malta daily talk show. Check out the 15-minute show on the Battle of Malta’s YouTube page and let us know if you have any suggestions for its name. Rumours are that there may be a prize for whoever comes up with the name that is chosen. Watch the full show to find out if it’s true or not!
The inaugural episode saw Jason Glatzer, Glenn Brown, Telly Bartolo and new BOM TD Andy Tillman having a cosy fireplace discussion (minus the fireplace) about the event. There will be a new episode every day, dropping late in the evening. Guests will include players and staff at the event and will focus on the talking points of the day as the event progresses.
Happy Talking, Talking Happy Talk, Talk About Things You Like To Do…
Thursday’s Poker Action
The action on the poker tables was of course still the main highlight of the day, with several events taking place simultaneously, both upstairs and downstairs. Upstairs the focus was on the Main Event, but there were also two flights of the Mystery Siege of Malta.
Main Event Day 1a
The opening flight saw 146 players take their seats in the €600 buy-in event, with just 22 progressing into Sunday’s Day 2. All have secured themselves a payout and chip leader Nicolaj D’Antoni from Italy has done even better, claiming the €5,000 bonus payment for bagging the biggest stack of the day with a towering 697,000.
His nearest challenger on 572,000 is Alessandro Siena, who finished in 4th place in the last BOM Main Event and will be looking to go deep once again. Dario Barone, a former winner of the event (Spring 2023) also made it through the day, however he posted the shortest stack of the survivors with 64,000. But he’s still in it, so he could definitely still win it again.
For a more detailed wrap up and all the chip counts of the survivors, check out the excellent Day 1a recap posted by new blog team member Chris Karlen.
Alessandro Siena on the 2024 BOM Final table
Mystery Bounty
The Mystery Bounty had two flights on Thursday, with one more to come on Friday.
Jonathan Wong posted the largest chip stack from Day 1a with 527,000, well ahead of second placed Emmanouil Chalkiotis on 428,000. Carl Nakamoto, the Day 1b chip leader almost matched Jonathan’s stack with 523,000, with Benoit Kuhn not far behind on 515,000.
Across both these starting days there were 331 entrants, 50 of whom have made it into Day 2, which begins this evening, at 8pm. The final starting flight begins at midday, with 10 levels for late entry.
Side Events
You can’t have a good main course without some tasty sides. Today the players were spoiled for choice as the Mystery Bounty, with two flights was the side event of choice for most. However, there were other accompanying dishes on the poker menu and some players did opt for these boutique choices.
The first of these was the €220 PLO, which was won by Gabriel Morales Ruiz for €1,840. Ryan Wilson took second place in the event, which had 23 entries in total.
The first of two outings for the €200 Dark Knight had 35 entrants and ended up in a chop between Robert Oliver and Michael Janczarski, who each took home €1,620. It has to be said that Robert looks a lot happier about the result than Michael does in the post event photo (see below).
The €150 Hyperturbo was the quietest event of the day, with just 10 entries and was won by Lukasz Zajac for €800.
Robert Oliver and Michal Janczarski Chop the Dark Knight
Satellites
Yesterday’s satellites were busier than the other sides, as most players are focused on securing seats for Friday’s two opening flights. The early starting one mustered 100 entries, while 185 chanced their luck in the late night version. In total 28 tickets were awarded, with some players in the later satellite bagging more than one seat, as its format allows multiple seats to be won. One player on Wednesday scooped three seats and this is unlikely to be beaten, but several players managed to bank a second seat.