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.
- Read more: Sergii Baranov Leads 98 Qualifiers from Day 1a of the Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition Main Event
- Read more: The Wait is Over, the Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition is Here
- Read more: Battle of Malta Makes Its Slovakia Debut at Card Casino Šamorín
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
The overall Main Event top ten counts after the completion of Day 1b are 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.
Full coverage of Day 1c of the Main Event will be available from 6 p.m. on the Battle of Malta live blog, with general updates provided in respect of the side events, while poker.pro will have a full recap of today’s action in due course, so stay tuned for your coverage of all the big moments from the Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition!
