The inaugural WSOP Circuit Malta keeps writing history. Monday at Casino Malta brought the second ring of the series, with Lithuanian pro Jonas Lapinskas topping a 98-entry field in the €550 Senior (50+) event for €12,263 and his second WSOP Circuit gold ring this year.
Meanwhile, across the poker room, the €550 Mystery Bounty continued its march toward a massive Day 2, pulling in two more starting flights to reach 553 total entries and a combined €254,711 in prize money and bounties. And as the evening wound down, the €300 Ladies Event sent nine players into the money heading into Tuesday.
- Read more: Ivan Botvinkin Wins the WSOP Circuit Malta €300 Mini Main Event for €35,000
- Read more: Andre Scerri Leads 120 Into Sunday Final Day at WSOP Circuit Malta Mini Main
- Read more: History Is Made as WSOP Circuit Malta Kicks Off With Two Mini Main Event Flights
- Read more: The Full Breakdown: Every WSOP Circuit Malta Ring Event (Sept. 25 – Oct. 5)
- Read more: The WSOP Circuit Is Coming to Malta for the First Time: Everything You Need to Know
Lapinskas Wins WSOP Circuit Malta Event #2: €550 Senior (50+)
The €550 Senior Event (50+), Event #2 at WSOP Circuit Malta, drew 98 entries and generated a €45,138 prize pool with 15 places paid. Jonas Lapinskas entered Monday’s final day in eighth place with 281,000 chips, navigated the field, and closed it out for the top prize of €12,263 and his second WSOP Circuit gold ring.
At just 50 years old, having celebrated his birthday in May, Lapinskas is believed to be one of the youngest players ever to win a Senior ring at a WSOP Circuit event.
Lapinskas, based in Vilnius, has witnessed an ascent that began in Lithuania, extended through the Baltics, and now, via making waves throughout Europe with his second WSOP Circuit ring win, has been steady and unmistakable. He broke through locally in 2025, winning the €250 NLH Deepstack at the Vilnius Ace Breaker for €4,336, defeating fellow Lithuanian Zygimantas Naglis heads-up. From there, he stepped onto the wider stage, finishing sixth for €7,240 at the 2026 WSOP Circuit stop at Card Casino Bratislava, a series where we shared a room and spent time together between sessions. Even then, it was clear he had the composure and focus to go deep when it mattered.
His first WSOP Circuit ring came earlier this year at WSOP Circuit Tallinn, where he won Ring Event #10, the €1,100 NLH Mystery Bounty, for €27,660 plus a gold ring and a WSOP Paradise Bahamas package. He bested 279 entries and defeated fellow Lithuanian Vilius Zabarauskas heads-up in an all-Lithuanian finale, with four of the last five players still standing carrying Lithuanian flags. Now, a few months later, he has done it again in Malta.
“Second ring this year, first one was in Tallinn, and second one here in Malta and it is a really nice ring,” Lapinskas said after the victory. His resume is no longer just quietly building. It has arrived.
Runner-up Luciano Cutri of Italy earned €7,890, and Salvatore Ritrovato took third for €5,290. poker.pro’s Terje Bremseth, playing in his first ring event at the series, cashed in eighth place for €1,410. French player Marina Mendy, who later led the Ladies Event Day 1 chip counts, finished 15th for the €1,130 min-cash.
€550 buy-in | 98 entries | €45,138 prize pool
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jonas Lapinskas | Lithuania | €12,263 |
| 2 |  Luciano Cutri | Italy | €7,890 |
| 3 | Salvatore Ritrovato | Italy | €5,290 |
| 4 |  Simon Crowe | Netherlands | €3,700 |
| 5 |  Alon Huberman | Israel | €2,705 |
| 6 | Giovanni Pollini | Italy | €2,070 |
| 7 | Angelo Censabella | Italy | €1,665 |
| 8 |  Terje Bremseth | Norway | €1,410 |
| 9 |  Michael Fryett | United States | €1,255 |
| 10 | Francesco Gasparro | Italy | €1,185 |
| 11 |  Peter Hohn | Germany | €1,185 |
| 12 |  Norman Butterfield | Canada | €1,130 |
| 13 |  Garry Spinks | United Kingdom | €1,130 |
| 14 | Marios Savvides | United States | €1,130 |
| 15 |  Marina Mendy | France | €1,130 |
Yushen Wang Bagged Mystery Bounty Day 1B Chip Lead
The second starting flight of the €550 Mystery Bounty drew 259 entries and sent 39 players through to Day 2. Yushen Wang of China bagged the largest stack from the flight at 903,000, ahead of Ukrainians Serhii Ivanenko (623,000) and Valerii Mishchuk (496,000) in second and third.
Ivelin Kolev of Bulgaria sat fourth at 493,000, adding to his earlier Mini Main Event cash. Combined with the 19 survivors from Day 1A, the Mystery Bounty field was building fast toward its final count.
€550 buy-in | Day 1B: 259 entries | 39 survivors advancing
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Yushen Wang | China | 903,000 |
| 2 |  Serhii Ivanenko | Ukraine | 623,000 |
| 3 | Valerii Mishchuk | Ukraine | 496,000 |
| 4 |  Ivelin Kolev | Bulgaria | 493,000 |
| 5 | Dan Ben Ittah | France | 469,000 |
| 6 | Matteo Montanari | Italy | 461,000 |
| 7 |  Andrey Voropaev | Belarus | 460,000 |
| 8 | Gaetano Galvagno | Italy | 453,000 |
| 9 |  Marflene Cricchiola | Malta | 418,000 |
| 10 |  Georgios Tsouloftas | Cyprus | 411,000 |
| 11 | Michael Lewis | United Kingdom | 362,000 |
| 12 | Terence Jordon | United Kingdom | 360,000 |
| 13 | Liwei Wang | China | 349,000 |
| 14 | Aviv Dadush | Israel | 291,000 |
| 15 | Even Lunde | Norway | 289,000 |
| 16 | Antonios Onoufriou | Cyprus | 288,000 |
| 17 | Per-Erik Koi | Norway | 287,000 |
| 18 |  Pawel Dudnik | Poland | 265,000 |
| 19 | Shaun Decesare | Malta | 258,000 |
| 20 | Antonio Asaro | Italy | 191,000 |
| 21 | Dzianis Sauchuk | Belarus | 182,000 |
| 22 | Cristian Nania | Italy | 178,000 |
| 23 |  Marian Fridrich | Slovakia | 175,000 |
| 24 | Roberto Musu | Italy | 171,000 |
| 25 | Terje Bremseth | Norway | 164,000 |
| 26 |  Andreas Stocker | Switzerland | 149,000 |
| 27 | Daniel Mifsud | Malta | 137,000 |
| 28 | Mark Vella | Malta | 136,000 |
| 29 | Muhamet Perati | Italy | 127,000 |
| 30 | Volodymyr Hera | Ukraine | 108,000 |
| 31 | Marco De Medici | Italy | 100,000 |
| 32 | Kai Prigann | Germany | 97,000 |
| 33 | Marco Bognanni | Italy | 87,000 |
| 34 | Salvatore Anastasio | Italy | 81,000 |
| 35 | Edoardo Ferretto | Italy | 78,000 |
| 36 |  Tayfun Rodoplu | Turkey | 74,000 |
| 37 | Vivian Thomas | France | 73,000 |
| 38 |  Marc Alcon Pineda | Spain | 67,000 |
| 39 | Nima Saken Shaft | Germany | 65,000 |
Marco Magistro Led Mystery Bounty Day 1C, Lapinskas Bags Third
Monday’s final starting flight pulled in 170 more entries and sent 26 additional players to Day 2. Marco Magistro of Italy topped the flight at 886,000, just ahead of Frenchman Franck Bain at 839,000.
Ring winner Jonas Lapinskas, apparently uninterested in taking the evening off, came back and bagged third at 638,000, giving him two shots at a major prize this week. Dovydas Srebalius, another Lithuanian, sat fourth at 537,000.
€550 buy-in | Day 1C: 170 entries | 26 survivors advancing
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marco Magistro | Italy | 886,000 |
| 2 | Franck Bain | France | 839,000 |
| 3 | Jonas Lapinskas | Lithuania | 638,000 |
| 4 | Dovydas Srebalius | Lithuania | 537,000 |
| 5 | Luca Mallozzi | Italy | 488,000 |
| 6 | Carlos Jurado Hidalgo | Spain | 342,000 |
| 7 | Dmytro Smyrnov | Ukraine | 268,000 |
| 8 | Andreas Mavromoustakis | Cyprus | 249,000 |
| 9 | Birger Larsen | Norway | 249,000 |
| 10 | Lukasz Fraczek | Poland | 218,000 |
| 11 | Salvatore Incadorna | Italy | 213,000 |
| 12 | Lin Chen | United Kingdom | 205,000 |
| 13 | Alessandro Angotti | Italy | 196,000 |
| 14 | James Dike | United States | 152,000 |
| 15 | Vyacheslav Churkin | Israel | 144,000 |
| 16 | Alkan Aydingoez | Germany | 141,000 |
| 17 | Giuseppe Creaco | Italy | 132,000 |
| 18 |  Dimitrios Koultoukis | Greece | 129,000 |
| 19 | Simon Wiles | United Kingdom | 128,000 |
| 20 | Egidijus Matonis | Lithuania | 112,000 |
| 21 | Salvatore Amitrano | Italy | 100,000 |
| 22 |  Zalan Opauszki | Hungary | 92,000 |
| 23 |  Matiss Celmins | Latvia | 86,000 |
| 24 |  Jesper Norby | Denmark | 85,000 |
| 25 | Ilay Uziel | Israel | 82,000 |
| 26 | Dean Hutchison | United Kingdom | 70,000 |
Mystery Bounty Day 2: Ring and €254,711 on the Line Tuesday
The 553-entry Mystery Bounty field reassembles Tuesday at 1 p.m. with 84 players still alive and a ring waiting at the end. The combined prize structure totals €254,711: a €121,991 cash prize pool plus a €132,720 bounty pool.
Day 2 runs under a 40-minute clock with blinds starting at 5,000/10,000 (10,000). First place carries €23,585 from the regular pool, with the excitement of mystery bounty prizes awarded throughout the day as players are eliminated.
The top stacks heading into Tuesday are led by Day 1B leader Yushen Wang of China at 903,000 and Day 1C leader Marco Magistro of Italy at 886,000. Jonas Lapinskas, already in the money from the Senior, comes in third overall at 638,000 and enters Day 2 as one of the most dangerous players in the field.
Top 10 Stacks Heading into Day 2
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yushen Wang | China | 903,000 |
| 2 | Marco Magistro | Italy | 886,000 |
| 3 | Franck Bain | France | 839,000 |
| 4 | Gabi Livshitz | Israel | 651,000 |
| 5 | Jonas Lapinskas | Lithuania | 638,000 |
| 6 | Serhii Ivanenko | Ukraine | 623,000 |
| 7 | Dovydas Srebalius | Lithuania | 537,000 |
| 8 | Luca Mallozzi | Italy | 488,000 |
| 9 | Valerii Mishchuk | Ukraine | 496,000 |
| 10 | Ivelin Kolev | Bulgaria | 493,000 |
Mystery Bounty Day 2 Payout Structure
553 total entries | €121,991 prize pool + €132,720 bounty pool | €254,711 total prizes
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €23,585 |
| 2 | €15,740 |
| 3 | €10,670 |
| 4 | €7,390 |
| 5 | €5,230 |
| 6 | €3,700 |
| 7 | €2,797 |
| 8 | €2,105 |
| 9 | €1,630 |
| 10-11 | €1,290 |
| 12-15 | €1,050 |
| 16-23 | €870 |
| 24-31 | €750 |
| 32-84 | €520 |
Bounty prizes awarded separately throughout Day 2.
Marina Mendy Leads Ladies Event into Day 2
The €300 Ladies Event drew 58 entries Monday evening, generating a €14,175 prize pool, and nine players survived to return for the Day 2 finale. Marina Mendy, the French player who had already cashed the Senior Event earlier in the day, bagged the chip lead at 665,000. Netherlands’s Alcira Johanna sits second at 582,000, with Finland’s Saara Ylianttila at third at 519,000.
The field features two players with strong histories at Casino Malta. Emma Oliver, the British player known in the community as Emzy, is a two-time Battle of Malta Ladies Event champion and returns to Malta with 110,000 in chips.
Florence Mazet, the French poker journalist based in Malta for around a decade, survived to 92,000. Mazet previously bubbled the 2026 Battle of Malta Spring Edition Main Event final table for a €12,340 payday, the best score on her The Hendon Mob profile.
€300 buy-in | 58 entries | €14,175 prize pool
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marina Mendy | France | 665,000 |
| 2 | Alcira Johanna | Netherlands | 582,000 |
| 3 |  Saara Ylianttila | Finland | 519,000 |
| 4 |  Marketa Zelizkova | Czech Republic | 355,000 |
| 5 | Elodie Noel | France | 288,000 |
| 6 | Liraz Weiman | Israel | 155,000 |
| 7 | Silvia Radulova | Bulgaria | 149,000 |
| 8 | Emma Oliver | United Kingdom | 110,000 |
| 9 | Florence Mazet | France | 92,000 |
€300 Daily Deepstack
Monday’s Daily Deepstack side event drew 42 entries and a €10,264 prize pool, paying seven places. Arturo Piancaldini of Italy, who took third in the Mini Main Event on Sunday for €16,000, picked up another payday with the win, collecting €3,500.
Meanwhile, poker.pro’s Terje “Teddy” Bremseth added a sixth-place finish for €660, remarkably his second final table performance of the day, while also finding a healthy bag into Tuesday’s Final Day of the €550 Mystery Bounty.
Daily Deepstack | 42 entries | €10,264 prize pool
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arturo Piancaldini | Italy | €3,500 |
| 2 |  Lam Ching Long | Hong Kong | €2,194 |
| 3 | Aleksandar Georgiev | Bulgaria | €1,465 |
| 4 | Mykhailo Antonishchak | Ukraine | €1,045 |
| 5 | Alfredo Cuti | Italy | €800 |
| 6 | Terje Bremseth | Norway | €660 |
| 7 |  Alexander Rhys Davies | Ireland | €600 |
Tuesday’s WSOP Circuit Malta Schedule at Casino Malta
Tuesday at Casino Malta in St. Julian’s is the busiest day of the series so far. At noon, Event #6, the €500 NLH Knockout, fires its first flight alongside a Landmark Satellite to the High Roller.
At 1 p.m., both the Mystery Bounty and the Ladies Event play their finales simultaneously. The €2,500 NLH High Roller, Event #7, gets underway at 3 p.m., followed by the €300 Daily Superstack at 5 p.m., a Turbo Colossus flight at 8 p.m., and a Main Event satellite to close out the night at 9 p.m.
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 12:00 | Event #6: €500 NLH Knockout Day 1 |
| 12:00 | €300 Landmark Satellite to High Roller |
| 13:00 | Event #3: €550 Mystery Bounty Day 2 (Final) |
| 13:00 | Event #5: €300 Ladies Event Day 2 (Final) |
| 15:00 | Event #7: €2,500 NLH High Roller Day 1 |
| 17:00 | €300 Daily Superstack |
| 20:00 | Event #4: €300 NLH Colossus Flight B (Turbo) |
| 21:00 | €180 Landmark Satellite to Main Event |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Photos courtesy of TexaPoker. Payouts and chip counts courtesy of WSOP.com.
