Welcome back to the coverage of the 2023 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition at the luxurious Casino Malta and the adjoining Eden Arena at the Intercontinental Malta. History will be made this week with the biggest guaranteed event on the island in the €1.5 million guaranteed Battle of Malta €600 Main Event.

The sun is shining and the birds are singing on the outside and we expect today’s poker action to be also heating up with not only Day 1b of the Main Event but also Day 1b and Day 2 of the €450 Mystery Siege of Malta Bounty already surpassing its €100,000 guarantee on Day 1a alone with more to come on Day 1b before players begin opening envelopes on today’s Day 2.

The Main Event will continue to be the main focus of our coverage. The event boasts six opening flights from Oct. 18-22 with each flight playing down to just 15 percent of the field with the surviving players already in the money. Players will enjoy a deep-stacked affair with 25,000 in opening chips good for 250 big blinds for those getting into the battle early on during the first two blind levels. The first four opening flights, including today’s Day 1b, boasts 40-minute blind levels with breaks every two hours allowing players to enjoy the action and build up their stacks with the final two opening flights featuring quicker 20-minute blind levels.

Late registration remains open until the dinner break, ensuring that even those who are fashionably late can still join in the thrilling action. With several hundred players expected to grace the tables today, the competition promises to be fierce, with each participant vying for what promises to be a massive prize pool.

The mark was set high with Tayfun Rodoplu turning his third Day 1a bullet into a massive pile of 900,000 in chips to end the day for exactly 36 times the starting stack. Meanwhile, 2018 Battle of Malta Main Event champion Julien Stropoli also found a big bag of 483,000 in his quest to become the first two-time Battle of Malta Main Event champion.

Players surviving any of the opening flights will merge to battle for the title for four more days of play from Oct. 22-25 until the latest Battle of Malta Main Event champion is crowned.

Tayfun Rodoplu