Ivan Botvinkin Wins the WSOP Circuit Malta €300 Mini Main Event for €35,000

Sunday brought the biggest moment of the inaugural WSOP Circuit Malta so far at Casino Malta and the luxurious and spacious Eden Arena at the Intercontinental Malta. A total of 808 entries created a €197,475 prize pool in the €300 NLH Mini Main Event, and by the end of the night, Russia’s Ivan Botvinkin had claimed the first ring of the series.

Elsewhere, the €550 Senior Event bagged 15 survivors heading into Monday’s final day, the Mystery Bounty opened Flight B action, and the €300 Colossus got its first flight underway. The €300 Daily Knockout also wrapped up with a winner.

Botvinkin Wins the €300 NLH Mini Main Event

Russia’s Ivan Botvinkin topped a field of 808 entries to win the €300 NLH Mini Main Event, Event #1 at the WSOP Circuit Malta at the InterContinental Malta in St. Julian’s, taking home €35,000 on Sunday, September 28.

The event generated a €197,475 prize pool with 120 players finishing in the money for a minimum cash of €600. Malta’s Andre Scerri began the final day as the chip leader before bailing out in 29th place for €1,080. Italy’s Edoardo Danesi, who bagged the Day 1A chip lead, finished as runner-up for €23,050. Arturo Piancaldini of Italy completed the podium in third for €16,000.

€300 buy-in | 808 entries | €197,475 prize pool

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Ivan Botvinkin	Russia	€35,000
2	Edoardo Danesi	Italy	€23,050
3	Arturo Piancaldini	Italy	€16,000
4	Matteo Ricco	Italy	€11,100
5	Daniel Mifsud	Malta	€7,925
6	Neil Zammit	Malta	€5,800
7	Otto Guillanum Mathieu C	Belgium	€4,300
8	Shaun Decesare	Malta	€3,250
9	Junyu Liu	China	€2,500
10	Benjamin Aouate	France	€1,975
11	Tiago Braisileiro	Brazil	€1,975
12	Florian Bonnet Eymard	France	€1,560
13	Stanojevic Luka	Serbia	€1,560
14	Alexandre Riera	France	€1,560
15	Tony Arf	Brazil	€1,560
16	Ivelin Kolev	Bulgaria	€1,280
17	Tommaso Maione	Italy	€1,280
18	Christophe Buntinx	Belgium	€1,280
19	Mark Vella	Malta	€1,280
20	Andrea Zottola	Italy	€1,280
21	Franck Bain	France	€1,280
22	Alon Huberman	Israel	€1,280
23	Nima Saken Shaft	Germany	€1,280
24	Anthony Gos	France	€1,080
25	Shane O’Neill	Ireland	€1,080
26	Sarlikiotis Nikolaos	Greece	€1,080
27	Alessandro Angotti	Italy	€1,080
28	Dimitrios Koultoukis	Greece	€1,080
29	Andre Scerri	Malta	€1,080
30	Victoria Ailloud	France	€1,080
31	Elton Malaj	Albania	€1,080
32	Kevin Houghton	United Kingdom	€920
33	Luigi D’altero	Italy	€920
34	Alessio Assennato	Italy	€920
35	Matteo Montanari	Italy	€920
36	Romain Nardin	France	€920
37	Hans Walderstedt Jonson	Sweden	€920
38	Maksim Harbachou	Belarus	€920
39	Gabi Livshitz	Israel	€920
40	Ferdinand Janssen	Netherlands	€810
41	Matthew Micallef	Malta	€810
42	Julien Ricard	France	€810
43	Federico Fulciniti	Italy	€810
44	Fausto Tantillo	Italy	€810
45	Hubert Michal Grotkowski	Poland	€810
46	Eryk Bogdas	Poland	€810
47	Yehoushua Kaynan	Israel	€810
48	Joseph Grech	Ireland	€730
49	Antonio Gramazio	Italy	€730
50	Giovanni Magliari	Italy	€730
51	Salvatore Senapa	Italy	€730
52	Renzo Holling	Netherlands	€730
53	Paul Blakesley	United Kingdom	€730
54	Gang Wang	China	€730
55	Christopher Agius	Malta	€730
56	Alessandro Comi	Italy	€670
57	Riccardo Galluzzo	Italy	€670
58	Zoltan Farkas	Romania	€670
59	Alberto Galluzzo	Italy	€670
60	Hugo Gotuzzo Montes De Oca	Argentina	€670
61	Cedrik Fritsch	France	€670
62	Sharon Kersley	United Kingdom	€670
63	Aleksandar Georgiev	Bulgaria	€670
64	Alessandro D’amore	Italy	€630
65	Stuart Greene	United Kingdom	€630
66	Semih Retzep	Germany	€630
67	Giulio Spampinato	Italy	€630
68	Kenneth Aquilina	Malta	€630
69	Ylianttila Saara Susanna	Finland	€630
70	Callum Gordon	United Kingdom	€630
71	Lin Chen	United Kingdom	€630
72	Anderson Nunez Corrales	Malta	€600
73	Claudio Muller	Switzerland	€600
74	Lam Ching Long	Hong Kong	€600
75	Angelo Censabella	Italy	€600
76	Philip Pearson	United Kingdom	€600
77	Mark Johnston	United Kingdom	€600
78	Erik Lindqwist	Sweden	€600
79	Clement Bonnant	France	€600
80	Moritz Felsing	Germany	€600
81	Daniel Kuhlmann	Germany	€600
82	Abdellah Baali	Algeria	€600
83	Matthew Adams	Malta	€600
84	Aitor Perez Pinol	Spain	€600
85	Aceto Luca	Italy	€600
86	Clement Manquat	France	€600
87	Luke Pace	Malta	€600
88	Degennaro Daniele	Italy	€600
89	Emrah Ates	Switzerland	€600
90	Thibaut Thevenet	France	€600
91	Jordan Dumas	France	€600
92	Rizzo Russell	Malta	€600
93	Simon Bouaksa	France	€600
94	Giuseppe Boussemart	France	€600
95	Quentin Garnot	France	€600
96	James Hart	United Kingdom	€600
97	Salvatore Incadorna	Italy	€600
98	Ninib Messo	Sweden	€600
99	Felipe Morais	Brazil	€600
100	Mike Laskar	France	€600
101	Salvatore Patti	Italy	€600
102	Pavle Pecelj	Serbia	€600
103	Pascal Lardy	France	€600
104	Antonini Marco	Italy	€600
105	Hen Barak	Israel	€600
106	Andrey Voropaev	Belarus	€600
107	Dalton Bezzina	Malta	€600
108	Foschini Domenico	Italy	€600
109	Ivan Valentino	Italy	€600
110	Marco Bognanni	Italy	€600
111	Tommy Mokhtari	Sweden	€600
112	Brizeth Lomeli	United States	€600
113	Federico Parisi	Italy	€600
114	Mirko Fric	Serbia	€600
115	Tadej Mocnik	Slovenia	€600
116	Marco Maggio	Italy	€600
117	Johan Ekdahl	Sweden	€600
118	Angelo Vietti	Italy	€600
119	Riccardo Gubser	Switzerland	€600
120	Federico Malleni	Italy	€600

WSOP Circuit Malta Mini Main Event Final Table

Event #2: €550 Senior (50+) — 15 Survivors Advance to Monday Final Day

The €550 Senior Event (50+), Event #2 at WSOP Circuit Malta, drew 98 entries and finished Day 1 with 15 players in the money for Monday’s final day, with 15 places paid and a minimum cash of €1,130. The winner will take home €12,263. The final day restarts at 12 p.m. with blinds at 5,000/10,000 (10,000) and increasing every 40 minutes.

Five Italians are at the top of the board, led by Francesco Gasparro with 750,000 in chips. Meanwhile, poker.pro’s Terje Bremseth entered his first ring event and is guaranteed a min-cash with a ring within his reach if he is able to run up his shorter stack of 161,000, which is good for 16 big blinds.

€550 buy-in | 98 entries | 15 survivors advancing

Position	Player	Country	Chips
1	Francesco Gasparro	Italy	750,000
2	Salvatore Ritrovato	Italy	602,000
3	Angelo Censabella	Italy	584,000
4	Giovanni Pollini	Italy	450,000
5	Luciano Cutri	Italy	421,000
6	Simon Crowe	Netherlands	314,000
7	Marios Savvides	United States	296,000
8	Jonas Lapinskas	Lithuania	281,000
9	Alon Huberman	Israel	255,000
10	Garry Spinks	United Kingdom	222,000
11	Michael Fryett	United States	204,000
12	Terje Bremseth	Norway	161,000
13	Peter Hohn	Germany	158,000
14	Marina Mendy	France	110,000
15	Norman Butterfield	Canada	91,000

Event #3: €550 NLH Mystery Bounty Day 1A — 19 Advance

The €550 NLH Mystery Bounty opened its first flight on Sunday with 120 entries and 19 players surviving to advance. Leading the field is Gabi Livshitz of Israel, who had an impressive Sunday, running deep in both the Mini Main Event, finishing 39th for €920, and then racking up the top stack in Mystery Bounty Flight 1A.

Flight B continues Monday at 12:30 p.m., with the turbo Flight C following at 8 p.m.

€550 buy-in | Day 1A: 120 entries | 19 survivors advancing

Position	Player	Country	Chips
1	Gabi Livshitz	Israel	651,000
2	Giuseppe Boussemart	France	648,000
3	Zoltan Farkas	Romania	539,000
4	Julien Ricard	France	405,000
5	Anthony Gos	France	388,000
6	Salvatore Senapa	Italy	342,000
7	Claudio Muller	Switzerland	290,000
8	Angelo Vietti	Italy	236,000
9	Wang Gang	China	213,000
10	Elodie Noel	France	189,000
11	Ronen Avraham	Israel	174,000
12	Alexander Davies	Ireland	165,000
13	Lam Ching Long	Hong Kong	134,000
14	Mathias Jensen	Denmark	115,000
15	Giuseppe Tredici	Italy	111,000
16	Alessandro Di Girolamo	Italy	103,000
17	Jerker Bergfeldt	Sweden	93,000
18	Oliver Kathriner	Switzerland	76,000
19	Michel Chambredier	France	59,000

Event #4: €300 Colossus Day 1A — 7 Survivors in First of Six Flights

The €300 Colossus, Event #4 at WSOP Circuit Malta, opened its first of six flights Sunday with 44 entries. Seven players bagged chips at the end of Day 1A to advance to the Day 2 field. Leading the way is France’s Franck Bain, who also cashed the Mini Main Event earlier in the day, finishing 21st for €1,280.

Five additional opening flights remain, with the Colossus running until Wednesday.

€300 buy-in | Day 1A: 44 entries | 7 survivors advancing

Position	Player	Country	Chips
1	Franck Bain	France	466,500
2	Muhamet Perati	Italy	332,500
3	Adrian Ziemichod	Poland	173,000
4	Ivelin Kolev	Bulgaria	136,000
5	Marco Bognanni	Italy	87,500
6	Jorn Olsen	Norway	76,000
7	Maria Koutsokuki	Greece	38,500

Foschini Mario Wins the €300 Daily Knockout

Foschini Mario of Italy took down the €300 Daily Knockout on Sunday at WSOP Circuit Malta for the top cash prize. No ring is awarded in the Daily Knockout. The event generated an €8,519 prize pool for nine cash finishers, with an additional €5,900 in bounty prizes distributed throughout the day. Bounties are not included in the prize column below.

€300 buy-in | €8,519 prize pool (bounties not included)

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Foschini Mario	Italy	€2,659
2	Aleksandar Georgiev	Bulgaria	€1,685
3	Salvatore Benivegna	Italy	€1,130
4	Salvatore Cioffi	Italy	€800
5	Eduardo De Mello Schneider	Portugal	€600
6	Serhii Ivanenko	Ukraine	€480
7	Valerii Mishchuk	Ukraine	€410
8	Wilhelm Isaak	Germany	€380
9	Jacopo Giacomazzi	Italy	€375

WSOP Circuit Malta Monday Schedule

Monday’s action at the WSOP Circuit Malta at the InterContinental Malta in St. Julian’s kicks off at noon with the final day of the €550 Senior Event, followed by Flight B of the €550 NLH Mystery Bounty at 12:30 p.m.

The €300 NLH Ladies Event starts at 1 p.m., the €300 Daily Deepstack fires at 5 p.m., and the turbo Mystery Bounty Flight C closes entries at 8 p.m. A €300 Landmark Satellite to the High Roller wraps the night at 9 p.m.

Time	Event
12:00	Event #2: €550 Seniors Final Day
12:00	€70 Landmark Satellite to Mystery Bounty
12:30	Event #3: €550 NLH Mystery Bounty Flight B
13:00	Event #5: €300 NLH Ladies Event Day 1
17:00	€300 Daily Deepstack
20:00	Event #3: €550 NLH Mystery Bounty Flight C (Turbo)
21:00	€300 Landmark Satellite to High Roller

FAQ

Who won the WSOP Circuit Malta Mini Main Event?

Ivan Botvinkin of Russia won the €300 NLH Mini Main Event at the WSOP Circuit Malta, Event #1, on Sunday, September 28, 2026, at the InterContinental Malta in St. Julian’s. Botvinkin topped a field of 808 entries and a €197,475 prize pool to take home €35,000. Edoardo Danesi of Italy finished as runner-up for €23,050, and Arturo Piancaldini of Italy completed the podium in third for €16,000.

Where is the WSOP Circuit Malta held?

The WSOP Circuit Malta is held at the InterContinental Malta in St. Julian’s, Malta. The series runs from September 25 to October 5, 2026, and marks the first time the WSOP Circuit has visited Malta.

How many entries did the WSOP Circuit Malta Mini Main Event draw?

The €300 NLH Mini Main Event at the WSOP Circuit Malta drew 808 entries, generating a €197,475 prize pool. A total of 120 players finished in the money, with a minimum cash of €600. Ivan Botvinkin of Russia won the event for €35,000 on September 28, 2026.

Who leads the WSOP Circuit Malta Mystery Bounty after Day 1A?

Gabi Livshitz of Israel leads the €550 NLH Mystery Bounty after Day 1A at the WSOP Circuit Malta, bagging 651,000 chips from a field of 120 entries. Livshitz had an impressive Sunday, also finishing 39th in the Mini Main Event for €920 earlier in the day. Flight B continues Monday at 12:30 p.m. and a turbo Flight C fires at 8 p.m.

Who won the WSOP Circuit Malta Daily Knockout on Sunday?

Foschini Mario of Italy won the €300 Daily Knockout at the WSOP Circuit Malta on Sunday, September 28, 2026, for €2,659 in cash prizes. No ring is awarded in the Daily Knockout. The event generated an €8,519 prize pool across nine cash finishers, with additional bounty prizes distributed throughout the day. Aleksandar Georgiev of Bulgaria finished runner-up for €1,685.

Who leads the WSOP Circuit Malta Senior Event heading into the final day?

Francesco Gasparro of Italy leads the €550 Senior Event (50+) at the WSOP Circuit Malta heading into Monday’s final day, bagging 750,000 chips. The event drew 98 entries and 15 players survived to advance, with 15 places paid and a minimum cash of €1,130. The winner will take home €12,263. The final day restarts at 12 p.m. on Monday, September 29.

Photos courtesy of TexaPoker. Payouts courtesy of WSOP.com.

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Jason Glatzer

Jason Glatzer is a seasoned poker player, journalist, commentator, and content creator with over a decade of experience in the industry. His journey in poker began in the 1980's playing for pennies on kitchen tables and enjoying stud game in the 1990s in Atlantic City, before transitioning to online poker in the early 2000s. Glatzer's career in poker media took off at PocketFives, which led to opportunities with PokerNews and other prominent poker media outlets. Throughout his career, he has covered major poker events, and has contributed to various poker publications as a writer, editor, and live reporter.

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