Chips flew in all directions on Day 2 of the Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition Main Event at Card Casino Samorin on September 13, with a Day 2 field of 185 players reduced to the final 15 combatants after thirteen 40-minute levels of play.
When play concluded after the elimination of the €220 Mystery Bounty winner Silviu Nemes of Romania in the last hand of the day, Hassibullah Hafizi of Austria (9,710,000) and Peter Kadlec of Slovakia (9,425,000) had opened up a significant lead over the rest of the field, with their closest challenger being Marcus Skalicky of Austria (4,820,000), and they will be the favorites to land the chunky €51,400 first-place prize in the final day.
Hafizi and Kadlec have already secured career-best tournament scores, while Skalicky is a WSOP-C ring holder having taken the title in the Mystery Bounty event in Rozvadov in January 2025. Marian Flesar and Zdenek Svoboda appear to be the most experienced of the remaining players, with over $384,000 and $236,000 in recorded cashes respectively.
- Read more: Deniz Surucu, David Urban and Vihren Manolov Top the Standings in Days 1f-1h of Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition Main Event
- Read more: Silviu Nemes Decimates Field to Win €220 Mystery Bounty
- Read more: Desset Leads 15 Battle of Malta Slovakia Main Event Day 1b Qualifiers to Land Chip-Leader Bonus
- Read more: Sergii Baranov Leads 98 Qualifiers from Day 1a of the Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition Main Event
- Read more: Bartos Bags High Roller Trophy as Blazejewski Leads Three Main Event Day 1c Qualifiers
Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition Main Event Chip Counts Start of Day 3 Chip Counts
Play concluded with one minute left in Level 28, with blinds of 80,000/160,000 (160,000), and the full counts are set out below. The clock is increased to 50-minute levels for the final day.
| Position | Player | Country | Chip Count | Blinds |
| 1 |  Hassibullah Hafizi | Austria | 9,710,000 | 80 |
| 2 |  Peter Kadlec | Slovakia | 9,425,000 | 78 |
| 3 | Marcus Skalicky | Austria | 4,820,000 | 40 |
| 4 | Mario Klaic | Austria | 4,580,000 | 38 |
| 5 |  Daniel Georgiev | Bulgaria | 4,560,000 | 38 |
| 6 | Alexander Geischlaeger | Austria | 4,335,000 | 36 |
| 7 |  Sandor Rabi | Hungary | 4,045,000 | 33 |
| 8 | Norbert Kerepesi | Hungary | 3,680,000 | 30 |
| 9 |  Zdenek Svoboda | Czech Republic | 3,575,000 | 29 |
| 10 | Henrich Miculik | Slovakia | 2,525,000 | 21 |
| 11 | Radoslav Herman | Slovakia | 2,285,000 | 19 |
| 12 | Marek Grinaj | Slovakia | 2,265,000 | 18 |
| 13 |  Norbert Alin | Romania | 1,965,000 | 16 |
| 14 | Marian Flesar | Slovakia | 810,000 | 6 |
| 15 | Otto Hiebel | Austria | 515,000 | 4 |
Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition Main Event Day 3 Seating Draw
The seating draw for the final day is set out below, with Table 111 being the streamed feature table. The final day will be live streamed on Card Casino’s YouTube channel on a 30-minute delay, with commentary provided by Jason Glatzer of poker.pro, and our coverage will be synced with the stream to avoid spoilers.
The Day 3 seating draw is set out below:-
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Blinds |
| 111 | 1 | Otto Hiebel | Austria | 515,000 | 4 |
| 111 | 2 | Peter Kadlec | Slovakia | 9,425,000 | 78 |
| 111 | 3 | Marian Flesar | Slovakia | 810,000 | 6 |
| 111 | 4 | Marek Grinaj | Slovakia | 2,265,000 | 18 |
| 111 | 5 | Alexander Geischlaeger | Austria | 4,335,000 | 36 |
| 111 | 6 | Norbert Alin | Romania | 1,965,000 | 16 |
| 111 | 7 | Norbert Kerepesi | Hungary | 3,680,000 | 30 |
| 111 | 8 | Zdenek Svoboda | Czechia | 3,575,000 | 29 |
| 30 | 1 | Henrich Miculik | Slovakia | 2,525,000 | 21 |
| 30 | 2 | Hassibullah Hafizi | Austria | 9,710,000 | 80 |
| 30 | 3 | Radoslav Herman | Slovakia | 2,285,000 | 19 |
| 30 | 4 | Sandor Rabi | Hungary | 4,045,000 | 33 |
| 30 | 5 | Mario Klaic | Austria | 4,580,000 | 38 |
| 30 | 6 | Marcus Skalicky | Austria | 4,820,000 | 40 |
| 30 | 7 | Daniel Georgiev | Bulgaria | 4,560,000 | 38 |
Remaining Payouts
All players have guaranteed a €3,200 payday, while a spot at the final table is worth €4,400, with the remaining payouts up for grabs as follows:
| Place | Prize |
| 1 | €51,400 |
| 2 | €35,500 |
| 3 | €23,000 |
| 4 | €15,000 |
| 5 | €9,800 |
| 6 | €7,600 |
| 7 | €6,300 |
| 8 | €5,296 |
| 9 | €4,400 |
| 10-11 | €3,700 |
| 12-15 | €3,200 |
Recap of Main Event Day 2 Action
A total of 1,510 entries across nine starting flights created a €402,840 prize pool, and 185 players returned for Day 2 with a €700 minimum cash secured, but all with their sights firmly fixed on the €51,400 reserved for the champion.
They were led by Rudolf Kosa of Austria and Sergii Baranov of Ukraine, while Kadlec was sitting in fifth, and Hafizi was in the middle of the pack. Tthe action was fast and furious from the outset, with over 60 players sent to the rail by the first break, including Andrei Pocol, Ondrej Lon and Christoph Hillinger.
Kosa maintained his lead through the first two breaks, but ultimately came unstuck in 29th, shortly after Baranov and hometown hero Andrej Desset hit the rail. Radoslav Herman soared to the top of the standings when he spiked a two-outer to claim a double knockout, and he was joined by Austrian Mario Klaic by the time of the third break.
Geischlaeger secured a crucial triple-up with a low pair, leaping out his chair and celebrating with passion when the river hit, and Skalicky was then the beneficiary of an aces versus queens cooler to vault up the standings.
The final three tables were set when Otto Hiebel disposed of Emil Trenkov, by which stage Flesar had moved into the lead. Thereafter, Hafizi and Kadlec started to catch some momentum to pull away from the field. Hafizi found a two-outer to bust Martin Sedilek. Kadlec then went to war with Nemes, doubling through him twice in successive hands to take the chip lead.
Klaic sent Petko Stamatov to the rail in 20th in a button versus big blind spot, before Hafizi disposed of Flesar with a turned full house.
A huge three-way all-in resulted in Marek Grinaj tripling up, and Hafizi busting Alexandru Popa in a more significant side pot, before Kadlec cracked ‘Bubo’ with a nut flush and Hafizi secured the elimination of Nemes to bring play to a close.
Ross Whitelaw Wins Second Chance One-Day Event (€4,560)
The penultimate side event of the festival, the €200 Second Chance event, attracted 115 entries creating a €19,000 prize pool, and it was Ross Whitelaw of the United Kingdom who took the trophy and €4,560 first-place prize, defeating Filip Lakatos of Slovakia heads-up. It caps a stellar week for Whitelaw, who also final tabled the High Roller.
The full results are as follows:-
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 |  Ross Whitelaw | United Kingdom | €4,560 |
| 2 | Filip Lakatos | Slovakia | €4,275 |
| 3 |  Marin Dragutan | Moldova | €2,300 |
| 4 | Tamas Varszegi | Hungary | €1,650 |
| 5 |  Mehmet Sarigoz | Turkey | €1,225 |
| 6 | David Savocka | Czechia | €975 |
| 7 | Mihail Minev | Bulgaria | €800 |
| 8 | Angelica Llacuna | Austria | €675 |
| 9 | Zhiqiang Lun | Austria | €575 |
| 10 |  Vladimir Shlyakhetsky | Israel | €500 |
| 11 | Tomas Rous | Czechia | €450 |
| 12 | Roman Trnka | Austria | €450 |
| 13 |  Christoph Sajdowski | Germany | €410 |
| 14 | Balazs Zsidi | Hungary | €410 |
| 15 | Jonathan Meshumar | Israel | €410 |
Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition – Schedule, Monday, September 14
The final day of the festival also sees the final side event take place, with the €150 Closer kicking off at 5 p.m., featuring a 30,000 starting stack and 20-minute levels, and late registration is open until the start of Level 11.
| Date | Time | Buy-In | Event | Stack | Clock | Late Reg | Prizes |
| Sept. 14 | 16:00 | — | Main Event Final Day | — | 00:50 | — | €400,000 |
| Sept. 14 | 17:00 | €150 | Closer | 30,000 | 00:20 | 10 | — |
Our coverage of the final day will kick off at 4.30 p.m. keeping in sync with the stream delay, so stay tuned for all your coverage of what is sure to be a thrilling finale to the Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition.
