Card Casino Samorin was not quite as packed in Day 2 of the Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition compared to the huge numbers seen on the first day, but a healthy field of 116 players gathered for Day 1b of the €400 buy-in, €400,000 Main Event, chasing the chip-leader cash bonus available for the top three stacks at the end of play.

When all was said and done, one of Slovakia’s finest rose to the top of the standings to claim the €3,000 chip-leader bonus in the form of Andrej Desset (690,000), while Christian Sykora of Austria (579,000) and Tibor Varga (507,000) completed the podium places, banking €1,500 and €1,000 respectively. In addition, the trio received a €600 ticket for the Battle of Malta in October.

Desset sits in fourth on the Slovakia all-time money list, with over $1.5 million in cashes, and triumphed in the Royal Main Event at Card Casino in July last year, while Sykora also holds a Card Casino trophy, having taken the title in the Grand Prix in November 2025. Meanwhile, Varga finished as runner-up in July in the Royal Main Event for his only recorded cash to date.

End of Day 1b Chip Counts – Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition Main Event

The full counts of the Day 1b qualifiers are as follows:-

Position	Player	Country	Chip Count
1	Andrej Desset	Slovakia	690,000
2	Christian Sykora	Austria	579,000
3	Tibor Varga	Hungary	507,000
4	Tomas Svoboda	Czech Republic	481,000
5	Matus Gabzdil	Slovakia	444,000
6	Vladimir Velikov	Bulgaria	363,000
7	Efim Dorfman	Romania	339,000
8	Alexander Geischlaeger	Austria	300,000
9	Konstantinos Nanos	Greece	196,000
10	Tibor Hegedues	Hungary	174,000
11	Marek Grinaj	Slovakia	165,000
12	Erik Polyak	Hungary	136,000
13	Zonglei Zhao	China	135,000
14	Yasen Dichev	Bulgaria	53,000
15	Andrei Pocol	Romania	53,000

 

All of the above players are in the money, and will receive an early payout of €500.

Overall Top Ten Counts After Day 1b – Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition Main Event

A total of 113 players qualified across Days 1a-1b, with the overall Main Event top ten counts at present as follows:

Position	Player	Country	Chip Count
1	Sergii Baranov	Ukraine	1,036,000
2	Peter Kadlec	Slovakia	900,000
3	Edmond Ala	Austria	818,000
4	Gabriel Otescu	Romania	794,000
5	Silviu Nemes	Romania	667,000
6	Rostyslav Sabishchenko	Ukraine	650,000
7	Martin Lechner	Austria	639,000
8	Lubos Svoboda	Czech Republic	605,000
9	Andrej Desset	Slovakia	690,000
10	Christian Sykora	Austria	579,000

 

Junyu Liu Leads Five Qualifiers in Day 1a of €40,000 Mystery Bounty

A total of 36 entries were gathered for Day 1a of the Mystery Bounty, and with 12.5% of the field qualifying for Day 2, five players progressed, led by Junyu Liu of China (440,000).

The second flight of the €220 buy-in event is at 5 p.m. local time on September 10, while Day 2 kicks off at 3 p.m. on September 11.

The full counts of the qualifiers are below.

Position	Player	Country	Chip Count
1	Junyu Liu	China	440,000
2	Lubomir Jasica	Slovakia	240,000
3	Or Zadka	Israel	146,000
4	Filip Jurga	Slovakia	139,000
5	Ran Eingorn	Israel	115,000

 

The Day 2 qualifiers are in the money, and bounties will be in play from the start of play in Day 2.

Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition – Schedule, Thursday, September 10

An absolutely packed schedule of events awaits on the third day of the festival, with Day 1c of the Main Event at 6 p.m. and Day 1b of the Mystery Bounty at 5 p.m., while the one-day €1,000 buy-in, €50,000 High Roller will see the first trophy of the festival being awarded.

Date	Time	Buy-In	Event	Stack	Clock	Late Reg	Prize
Sept 10	14:30	€100	Satellite to High Roller	10,000	00:60 then 00:15	1	5x TCK
Sept 10	17:00	€220	Mystery Bounty Day 1B	30,000	00:30	12	€40,000
Sept 10	17:00	€1,000	NLH High Roller	100,000	00:30	10	€50,000
Sept 10	18:00	€400	Main Event Day 1C	40,000	00:30	10	€400,000
Sept 10	20:00	€70	Satellite to Day 1D 5 TCK	20,000	00:15	8	5x TCK

 

The Main Event and Mystery Bounty flights follow the same structure as previous flights, with the clock set to 30-minute levels, and 12.5% of the field set to qualify.

In the High Roller, players sit down to a 100,000 starting stack, with the clock set to 30-minute levels. Late registration remains open until the start of Level 11, with unlimited reentries available. The champion will also receive a €500 WSOP Bratislava Circuit Main Event ticket for February 2027.

Casino Malta hosts the next WSOP Circuit stop, with the festival running from September 25 – October 2006, and the marquee event being the €1,500 WSOPC Main Event. See the link for details regarding accommodation and the event.

We will be on the floor from 6 p.m. bringing you all the big moments of the day, so stay tuned for all your coverage of the Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition.