The European Poker Tour’s return to Malta in October for the first time in nine years, was a happy hunting ground for several players from the UK. The late summer sun in Malta is an attractive option for many of Great Britain’s poker players, some opting to bring family members along and treat it like a holiday, escaping the cold weather in the UK, as evidenced by social media posts. There was significant British success during the 12-day festival, which was held in the Eden Arena and Casino Malta, at the Intercontinental Hotel in St. Julian’s.
Although it was a much smaller festival than August’s EPT Barcelona, collectively British players performed much better in Malta. Five UK players won events, compared with only three in Barcelona and for much larger sums. This Brits Abroad Special includes all UK player cashes at EPT Malta 2025.
Scott Margereson Wins PokerStars Open Main Event
The first British victory of the festival went to Scott Margereson, who scooped the €423,700 first prize, taking down the €1,650 PokerStars Open. Margereson is having a tremendous 2025 and this win pushed his life-time live earnings over the $4m mark.
With four players left, Spanish Gerard Carbo held a significant chip lead, but Margereson closed the gap, accounting for the third and fourth placed bust-outs, but still trailed when the heads-up stage of the tournament began. Once the tete-a-tete began, the Brit caught Carbo bluffing and quickly assumed control of the match, never to look back.
Margereson also won a €2,200 NLH side-event at EPT Barcelona for €25k, but this much more significant marquee event achievement is the second biggest payday of his poker career. It is also the fourth time he has won a PokerStars Live event, receiving one of the iconic spade trophies on each occasion. He also cashed in two other events at EPT Malta.
Twenty-five other British players cashed in the PokerStars Open, including Barny Boatman, who also made the final table, exiting in 8th for €50,700.
- Read More: Live Poker in the UK: What’s On in October
Ali Abdulzahra Takes Down PokerStars Open High Roller
Another player who had a great EPT Barcelona was Ali Abdulzahra, cashing five times, including securing 5th place in the PokerStars Cup for €55,910 and claiming the runner-up spot in the 8-Game for a further €15k. He had an even better EPT Malta, winning the €2,700 PokerStars Open for €319,600 and min-cashing the EPT Main Event.
Abdulzahra was joined on the final table of the High Roller by another British player, Brandon Harris, who hit the rail in 6th place for €64,950. Harris is also having a good year at the tables, having finished 6th in the Irish Open in April, for €100k. Eleven other British players made the money in the PSO High Roller.
Robbie Bull Solves Mystery Bounty
Scotland’s Robbie Bull was another Brit who stood out in Barcelona, with five cashes and two final tables, his best a 3rd place finish in the €1,650 Mystery Bounty for €61.5k. He made up for the disappointment of that near miss by taking down the very same tournament in Malta, for €82,480. More than matching his Barcelona performance, he also cashed five times in Malta, making a second final table in the €330 NLH on the last day of the festival, finishing 3rd for a further €4,090.
Ben Heath Goes Close in EPT Main Event & Super High Roller
Ben Heath went the furthest of nine British players who made the money in the Main Event. Finishing 7th for €118,650, he made the final table, but not the final day, as that began with only five players remaining. It was a harsh exit in a massive pot against the eventual champion Tomasz Brzezinski, with Ben holding K♠K♥.
He was already up against it when the Pole tabled A♠A♦ and it was all over, bar the momentary disbelief, when the first two cards to roll out and hit the flop were the A♣ and the A♥.
Heath was reduced to just 5 big blinds and was eliminated soon after. There’s never a good time to bust-out, but the fact that Heath had doubled up just two hands prior to this monster hand, made it all the more galling.
Heath also made the podium in the €100k Super High Roller, taking 3rd place for €310k, which was also a min-cash, as that event had 16 entries and only three made the money.
After Heath, the next highest UK finisher in the Main was Keith Johnson, in 42nd place, with Gary Fisher one place further back in 43rd. Both Davenports also cashed in the EPT Main Event, with Sinead finishing the highest placed of the two in 65th, while husband Matt exited in 111th. For Sinead, it was her first-ever EPT Main Event in-the-money finish and she won her way in via a satellite, ensuring that the vast majority of the €12,700 payout was profit.
Boatman Cashes Five Times at EPT Malta
Despite no longer being a PokerStars Team Pro, Barny Boatman is still as hungry as ever for success on the tour. He posted on X at the start of the festival that as an unbadged player now, he would probably go unrecognised at the event. It’s possible he might have gone unrecognised by some, but not by Casino Malta cash desk employees, who became very familiar with his constant trips to the payout window.
In addition to his 8th place finish in the PokerStars Open Main Event, he made two further final tables in side events, taking 5th in the €1,00 PLO Hi-Lo for just under €4k and 6th in the €2,100 NLH 6-Handed for about the same again. With five cashes in total, he equalled Robbie Bull’s ITM haul at EPT Malta.
Boatman & Bull may have been the most consistent Brits at EPT Malta, but several others also added multiple Maltese flags to their HendonMob profiles. Alex Todd, Ben Miller, Andrew Hulme, Mitchell Johnson and Ted Spivack all made four visits each to the EPT payout window and a further eight Brits cashed three-times.
Another player who cashed four times was Welshman John Tabatabai, who first tasted success during the poker boom of the mid-noughties, finishing as runner-up to Annette Obrestad in the very first World Series of Poker Europe Main Event in 2007, for £570k. He went on to become a regular on TV poker shows such as Late Night Poker, the Sky Poker Million, the Poker Lounge, before taking a decade long break from the game.
He started popping up again at live events post-covid and is yet to make a significant score, but with four cashes at EPT Malta, it surely won’t be long before he is on the podium in a big event once again.
Wins for Jagger & Le
Two other British players came up trumps in events at EPT Malta. James Jagger tasted success in the €1,100 Big Bet Mix, taking the €10,580 first prize, on a final table that also included Ted Spivack, who finished 3rd for €4,760. The final UK winner at EPT Malta was Tan Le, who topped a 31-player field in the €2k NLH Hyper Turbo Knockout, taking home €11,430.
Near Misses
Although five Brits won events at EPT Malta, it could easily have been a lot more, with three runner-up finishes by UK players and a handful of third and fourth place results to boot. The first to become an EPT Malta bridesmaid was Alex Todd, who banked €13,260 for the runner-up spot in Event 13, the €1,050 NHL.
The next Brit to taste the bittersweetness of second place was John Watkin, who almost got there in Event 37, a €1k NLH Hyper Turbo Freezeout, for €29k. Ben Miller also made this final table of this one, taking €9.6k for 5th.
And finally, Matt Davenport was unlucky to miss out on the title in Event 63, the multi-day €300 NLH, having to settle for the runner-up spot and €10,700 in prize money.
There were many more final table appearances by British players and several who got 3rd and 4th place finishes, most notably Jamie Dwan’s 4th in the €3,250 EPT Mystery Bounty for €65,310, which was his biggest cash to-date and the 6th biggest cash by a UK player at the festival.
There was also a 3rd place finish for Richard Burke in the €550 HORSE. The Malta resident and mixed games specialist took €4,520 home for his efforts. Sergey Lebedev also booked a 3rd place finish in Event 42, €2,100 NLH, for €24,300.
All Cashes by UK Players At EPT Malta
| Event | Highest UK Finisher ITM | UK ITM Count | Other UK Players ITM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event 1 €1,440+€210 NLH Poker Open Main Event | Scott Margerson 1st (€423,700) | 27 | Barny Boatman 8th (€50,700), Daria Pieruzzini 21st (€12,000), Leo Worthington-Leese 38th (€7,350), Keith Johnson 47th (€6,500), James Jagger 50th (€6,500), Andrew Dickinson 58th (€5,650), Stanislaw Grodek 75th (€4,950), Ashley Locker 78th (€4,950), Gary Whitehead 105th (€4,300), Christopher Day 115th (€4,300), Joe Chattaway 125th (€3,750), Kevin Houghton 145th (€3,250), Thomas Clack 146th (€3,250), Tom Middleton 156th (€3,250), Jamie Dwan 167th (€3,250), Jacob Mulhern 173rd (€3,250), Dylan Bradley 175th (€3,250), Wantao Rang 189th (€2,850), Zak Lawson 214th (€2,850), Sebastian Schulze 216th (€2,850), Brandon Sheils 217th (€2,850), Robbie Bull 242nd (€2,450), Ben Miller 252nd (€2,450), Stuart Taylor 256th (€2,450), James Clarke 265th (€2,450), John Tabatabai 268th (€2,450) |
| Event 3 €550 Seniors | James Clarke 8th (€1,800) | 2 | Nicholas Drinkwater 14th (€930) |
| Event 4 €1,100 NLH Freezeout | Lukas Robinson 12th (€3,440) | 3 | Brandon Sheils 19th (€2,260), Robbie Bull 27th (€1,720) |
| Event 7 €550 Hyper Turbo Freezeout | Giles Howard 4th (€5,550) | 2 | James Jagger 8th (€1,750) |
| Event 13 €960+€90 NLH Turbo | Alex Todd 2nd (€13,260) | 1 | |
| Event 19 €720+€105 NLH PokerStars Open Cup | Wantao Tang 18th (€5,300) | 18 | Tom Middleton 34th (€3,030), Joseph O’Donnell 46th (€2,630), Jack Drummond-Smillie 51st (€2,630), Jake Stone 58th (€2,290), Ben Miller 96th (€1,730), Thomas Clack 110th (€1,730), Jon Hewston 111th (€1,730), Brandon Harris 119th (€1,730), Oliver Wheeler 121st (€1,510), Ted Spivack 128th (€1,510), Zak Lawson 131st (€1,510), Mitchell Johnson 133rd (€1,510), Andrew Hulme 145th (€1,310), Dylan Bradley 146th (€1,310), David Docherty 152nd (€1,310), Robbie Bull 162nd (€1,310), Ashley Scott 180th (€1,310) |
| Event 23 €920+€180+€1,000 NLH Hyper Turbo KO | Stanislaw Grodek 9th (€2,940) | 1 | |
| Event 25 €2,425+€275 NLH PokerStars Open High Roller | Ali Abdulzahra 1st (€319,600) | 14 | Brandon Harris 6th (€64,950), Conor Beresford 16th (€14,350), Stuart Taylor 17th (€14,350), Ashley Scott 22nd (€10,850), Ashley Locker 29th (€8,210), Thomas Clack 34th (€7,140), Alex Todd 46th (€6,210), Mitchell Johnson 49th (€6,210), Ben Miller 62nd (€5,410), Christopher Day 65th (€5,410), Leo Worthington-Leese 83rd (€4,710), Jamie Dwan 88th (€4,710), Michael Luckhurst 91st (€4,710), John Tabatabai 96th (€4,100) |
| Event 27 €97,020+€2,980 EPT Super High Roller | Ben Heath 3rd (€310,420) | 1 | |
| Event 31 €4,850+€450 EPT Main Event | Ben Heath 7th (€118,650) | 9 | Keith Johnson 42nd (€14,650), Gary Fisher 43rd (€14,650), Ben Miller 55th (€14,650), Daniel Charlton 57th (€12,700), Sinead Davenport 65th (€12,700), Tom Middleton 87th (€11,050), Matthew Davenport 111th (€9,650), Ali Abdulzahra 133rd (€8,400) |
| Event 32 €480+€70 H.O.R.S.E | Richard Burke 3rd (€4,520) | 1 | |
| Event 35 €960+€140 Big Bet Mix | James Jagger 1st (€10,580) | 2 | Ted Spivack 3rd (€4,760) |
| Event 37 €960+€90 NLH Hyper Turbo Freezeout | John Watkin 2nd (€29,160) | 2 | Ben Miller 5th (€9,600) |
| Event 39 €960+€140 PLO | Barny Boatman 12th (€1,900) | 1 | |
| Event 42 €1,920+€180 NLH | Sergey Lebedev 3rd (€24,300) | 1 | |
| Event 43 €480+€70 NLH Freezeout | Alex Todd 20th (€860) | 1 | |
| Event 45 €960+€140 PLO | Robert Price 4th (€5,080) | 3 | Barny Boatman 5th (€3,970), Ted Spivack 6th (€3,090) |
| Event 46 €1,910+€340+€1,000 EPT Mystery Bounty | Jamie Dwan 4th (€65,310) | 7 | Matthew Frankland 6th (€38,640), Mitchell Johnson 31st (€5,340), John Tabatabai 40th (€2,320), Tan Le 42nd (€4,050), Sergey Lebedev 54th (€4,050), Alex Todd 64th (€3,510) |
| Event 52 €920+€180+€1,000 NLH Hyper Turbo KO Freezeout | Andrew Hulme 9th (€2,850) | 2 | Barny Boatman 11th (€2,280) |
| Event 53 €960+€140 NLH | Leo Worthington-Leese 12th (€6,320) | 4 | Matthew Davenport 15th (€5,270), Connor Charlton 55th (€1,980), Mitchell Johnson 60th (€1,800) |
| Event 57 €460+€90+€500 NLH Hyper Turbo Knockout Freezeout | Mario Trattou 15th (€990) | 1 | |
| Event 60 €940+€210+€500 NLH Mystery Bounty | Robbie Bull 1st (€82,480) | 10 | Sinead Davenport 28th (€2,320), Brandon Sheils 29th (€2,320), Andrew Hulme 32nd (€2,020), Oliver Wheeler 35th (€2,020), Sebastian Schulze 41st (€1,750), Connor Charlton 45th (€1,750), Mario Trattou 49th (€1,750), Alex Montgomery 54th (€1,750), Brandon Harris 66th (€1,520) |
| Event 62 €920+€180+€1,000 NLH Hyper Turbo Knockout Freezeout | Tan Le 1st (€11,430) | 2 | John Tabatabai 6th (€2,320) |
| Event 63 €288+42 NLH | Matthew Davenport 2nd (€10,770) | 3 | Brendan McManus 3rd (€7,690), Franky Green 17th (€1,110) |
| Event 65 €480+€70 8-Game Mix | Ted Spivack 5th (€2,030) | 2 | Wantao Tang 6th (€1,580) |
| Event 66 €1,920+280 NLH Deep Stack | Mario Trattou 7th (€17,080) | 4 | Brandon Sheils 10th (€10,760), Scott Margereson 18th (€6,160), Daniel Charlton 29th (€4,040) |
| Event 69 €288+€42 NLH | Robbie Bull 3rd (€4,090) | 3 | Stephen Thirlwell 13th (€740), Daniel Johnson 16th (€560) |
| Event 70 €4,850+€300 NLH 6-Handed | Scott Margereson 14th (€4,320) | 1 | |
| Event 72 €1,920+€180 NLH 6-Handed | Barny Boatman 6th (€3,950) | 3 | Andrew Hulme 7th (€3,050), Will Kassouf 9th (€1,800) |
Photos Courtesy of PokerStars Live, Photography by Manuel Kovsca & Danny Maxwell
