And such, Day 1a of the €600 Battle of Malta 2025 Main Event has come to an end. It was an absolute thrilling day which offered immense action, both on but also around the poker tables at the Eden Arena & Casino Malta at the Intercontinental Hotel in St. Julians.

D’Antoni Bags Biggest

Day 1a saw the chip lead swing back and forth during the day, with some names such as Salvatore Spina, Xhulio Kacka, and Massimo Rizzoglio being recognized as big stacks all the way through – all three of them also being amongst the 22 who bagged for Day 2. The one who’s bagged was filled to the brim, though, was Nicolaj D’Antoni, who picked up chips as he came out on the good end on some crucial hands. Not only has he managed to give himself great presumptions to go far during Day 2, but he also claimed the €5,000 cash prize for finishing as the chip leader.

He’ll return to Day 2 – which will be played on Sunday – accompanied by some other great players who managed to navigate their way through Day 1a. One of them is Dario Barone, winner of the 2023 Battle of Malta Summer Edition. Even though Barone was the one to bag the smallest stack of the day, he’s a force to be reckoned with.

James Paris is also in the mix. Paris displayed some great poker Day 1a throughout and has had some great results in Malta; he’ll return to Day 2 with 157,000 in chips.

Bagging 20,000 more than Paris, Johan Sundgren has had a great start in the 2025 Battle of Malta. In fact, in Wednesday’s accumulator satellite for the Main Event, the Swede secured not one, not two, but three Main Event seats.

Drama on the Bubble

The 22 players reached the ITM stage in dramatic fashion, featuring a 3-way all in on the bubble. Sadly, Serena Rossetti became the one to come up short after putting up a great fight during the entire day.

During the last hour of play, Rossetti shared a table with the other two women who were still in the mix. Palina Mankevich and Indre Stanaityte both made it through to Day 2. All in all, the list of the 22 Day 1a survivors spells out a strong group of players.

Tomorrow, Day 1b of the Main Event kicks off at 13:00. There’s so much more fun going on all day, though; make sure you check out the full 2025 Battle of Malta schedule.

We’re grateful for having all of you with us during today’s live coverage, and we can’t wait to pick up the action tomorrow again.