The Battle of Malta has long established itself as one of Europe’s premier poker festivals, attracting players from across the continent and beyond with its unique combination of affordable buy-ins, huge prize pools, and exceptional tournament structures. Few €600 buy-in events anywhere in the world offer players the same depth of play and value for money, which is one of the many reasons why thousands continue to make the journey to Malta year after year
The 2026 Battle of Malta Summer Edition once again delivered on that reputation. Hosted at Casino Malta and the InterContinental Hotel in St. Julian’s, the festival brought together players for another memorable week of poker action.
Behind the scenes, the poker.pro media team was on hand throughout the festival, with Christoffer Karlén and Richard Hayes providing extensive live reporting coverage, Jason Glatzer helping bring the final table action to viewers from the commentary booth, among others, and Glenn Brown hosting the events and keeping fans updated across Battle of Malta’s social media channels with interviews, videos, and daily content.
The €600 Main Event attracted a massive 2,667 entries across its various starting flights, generating a €1,186,962 prize pool and comfortably surpassing the tournament’s €700,000 guarantee. After five days of action, Spain’s Alejandro Asenjo emerged victorious to claim the title, trophy, and €94,520 in prize money.
While the original first-place payout stood at €176,070, the tournament essentially concluded with a four-way ICM deal between the final four players. Greece’s Stavros Passias secured the largest payout of €114,150, while Georgios Papakonstantinou collected €100,800. Asenjo locked up €94,520 before play continued for the trophy, and Serbia’s Marko Cosic secured €90,850.
2026 Battle of Malta Summer Edition Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Alejandro Asenjo | Spain | €94,520* |
| 2 |  Marko Cosic | Serbia | €90,850* |
| 3 |  Stavros Passias | Greece | €114,150* |
| 4 | Georgios Papakonstantinou | Greece | €100,800* |
| 5 |  Angelo Censabella | Italy | €43,900 |
| 6 | Danilo Scevola | Italy | €35,600 |
| 7 | Gianluca Donini | Italy | €27,050 |
| 8 |  Fredrick Bratein | Norway | €19,350 |
2026 Battle of Malta Summer Edition Final Day Recap
Eight players returned for the final day with Greece’s Georgios Papakonstantinou leading the way with 22,525,000 chips, closely followed by fellow countryman Stavros Passias with 19,275,000. Serbia’s Marko Cosic and Spain’s Alejandro Asenjo were not far behind the Greek duo, while Gianluca Donini faced the toughest task as the short stack with just eight big blinds.
The opening stages were relatively cautious, with only a couple of significant clashes during the first two levels. The first elimination eventually came when Norway’s Fredrick Bratein was forced all in from the big blind holding 5♠2♣ and was unable to improve against Angelo Censabella’s Q♦2♥. Bratein collected €19,350 for his eighth-place finish.
Shortly after, the tournament produced one of its defining pots. Donini moved all in with K♠10♦ and found himself at risk against both Cosic’s K♥K♦ and Asenjo’s A♣K♣. An ace on the flop vaulted Asenjo into the lead, eliminating Donini in seventh place for €27,050 and giving the Spaniard valuable momentum. Italy’s Danilo Scevola followed in sixth place for €35,600 after his pocket fives failed to hold against the A♠10♦ of Passias.
The next casualty was the entertaining Angelo Censabella. Being the most active at the final table, the Italian eventually committed his chips with K♥J♣ against Cosic’s 4♣4♠. Although Censabella flopped trips, Cosic improved to a full house on the turn to send him to the rail in fifth place for €43,900.
With four players remaining, play paused for deal discussions. After approximately 15 minutes, Passias, Papakonstantinou, Asenjo, and Cosic agreed to an ICM chop that redistributed the remaining prize money while leaving the trophy and title still up for grabs.
As the chip leader at the time, Passias secured the largest payout of €114,150, while Papakonstantinou locked up €100,800. Asenjo guaranteed himself €94,520, and Marko Cosic secured €90,850.
The action accelerated immediately after the deal. Just two hands later, all four remaining players found themselves all in, resulting in Papakonstantinou’s elimination in fourth place. Passias was the next to fall in third, setting up a heads-up duel between Asenjo and Cosic.
Cosic initially won a crucial all-in confrontation to level the stacks, but the match would not last much longer. In the final hand, Cosic moved all in with 7♠2♣ and was called by Asenjo holding A♦8♣. The board ran out 9♥10♦10♠J♥Q♠, giving Asenjo a straight and securing the title.
As fireworks erupted around the feature stage, Alejandro Asenjo was crowned champion of the 2026 Battle of Malta Summer Edition €600 Main Event, adding his name to the event’s prestigious list of winners.
If you want to relive all the final-table action, you can watch the full livestream replay below.
Battle of Malta Hits Slovakia
With Alejandro Asenjo lifting the trophy after outlasting a record-breaking field of 2,667 entries, another memorable chapter in Battle of Malta history has been written. From packed tournament rooms and huge prize pools to dramatic final-table moments and a four-way deal, the 2026 Summer Edition once again demonstrated why the festival remains one of the most popular stops on the European poker calendar.
Players won’t have to wait long for the next Battle of Malta adventure. The festival will make its debut in Slovakia from September 7-14 at Card Casino Bratislava, where a €400 Main Event featuring a €400,000 guarantee will headline the inaugural edition. Battle of Malta then returns home to Malta for the Autumn Edition from October 24 to November 4, highlighted by a €2,000,000 guaranteed Main Event.
