The Battle of Malta is always a massive affair, with 1000s of poker players descending on the small Mediterranean island nation. This year, however, new records were set for Day 1 attendance for the Main Event.
By the time the dust settled on the entries for the nine starting flights, the total prizes were more than €2.7 million. Nearly 1,000 entries on the final flight for Day 2 pushed the field over the 6,000 mark for the first time ever, but much of the new record was down to the biggest-ever Day 1 flight at the Battle of Malta, Day 1G, which saw nearly 2,000 entries before the registration desk shuttered.
After all the opening-day flights, there were more than 800 players still with chips waiting for Day 2 and the money play. Everyone returning for Day 2 was guaranteed at least €900, but players who managed to survive to the final table are in for some big prizes, with first place at more than €250k.
Final Table Prizes for the Battle of Malta Main Event
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €254,070 |
| 2 | €153,450 |
| 3 | €110,150 |
| 4 | €83,800 |
| 5 | €63,700 |
| 6 | €48,450 |
| 7 | €36,850 |
| 8 | €28,000 |
| 9 | €21,300 |
More than 800 Players for Day 2
When all the entries for Day 1 flights were tallied, the final number was an eye-watering 6,039, a new record for the Battle of Malta. That record came largely on the back of the biggest-ever Day 1 flight in the event’s history, when Day 1G hit 1,990 entries.
| Starting Day | Entries | Players Into Day 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | 285 | 43 |
| 1B Half Price | 113 | 8 |
| 1C | 612 | 92 |
| 1D Half Price | 216 | 16 |
| 1E | 922 | 138 |
| 1F Half Price | 331 | 25 |
| 1G | 1,990 | 298 |
| 1H Half Price | 578 | 42 |
| 1I | 992 | 149 |
| Total | 6,039 | 811 |
While the field sizes started out modestly in the opening flights, nearly 1,000 entries in 1E & 1I helped push the final total to its record number. Day 2 played for 6 levels and whittled the field down to fewer than 200 remaining, with Angelos Michael from Cyprus as the end-of-day leader.
Day 3 narrowed the field from 196 to just 39 players remaining at the end of the day. Greece’s Ioannis Daskalis was more than 30 big blinds ahead of Mikel Calo at the end of the day, and was the only player in the final 29 with more than 100 big blinds to start the penultimate day of play.
Day 4 Action is Underway
At the time of writing, the action for Day 4 is still hot and heavy at Casino Malta in the Intercontinental Hotel in St Julian’s, with final day action scheduled for Wednesday, Nov 5. Day 4 is expected to play down to the final table of nine players before they bag up for the night, but within the first two levels of play, the field was already below 25 players left.
The big money gets awarded on the Final Day on Wednesday, but there’s still a lot of poker to be played in Malta before that final nine is decided. And, while the Main Event combatants will get most of the media and the glory over the final days of the Battle, there is still plenty of side-game action alongside the big game to finish out the festival.
Follow all the Battle of Malta action from our on-site live reporting team. We’ll be on the floor until the final hand is dealt and one of the remaining players pockets €254,070.
