The inaugural 2026 WSOP Circuit Malta, powered by TexaPoker, has so far been all that’s been advertised. Tons of action, big ring winners, and big prizes, along with the tropical Maltese atmosphere, let players enjoy themselves away from the felts. Tuesday at Casino Malta and the adjoining InterContinental Malta produced perhaps the most exciting day thus far, with three new WSOP Circuit ring winners, two major Day 1 bags, and a non-ring side event winner.
Malta’s Shaun Decesare got the day started in the right direction by closing out Event #3: €550 Mystery Bounty for €23,586. The Netherlands’ Alcira Lagerwerf followed with the Event #5: €300 Ladies Event title and €4,410. Denmark’s Mette Downer then capped the ring action in Event #6: €500 Knockout for €13,750 in a marathon that ran past 3 a.m., becoming the second woman to win a WSOP Circuit ring on the same day as another female champion. A same-day female double is about as rare as it gets on the circuit.
Meanwhile, Event #7: €2,500 High Roller drew 47 survivors from opening day, and Event #4: €300 Colossus added a Day 1B to run alongside Sunday’s Day 1A, with local hero Karl Gialanze bagging the flight’s chip lead. This is the first-ever WSOP Circuit stop in Malta, running Sept. 25 through Oct. 5 in the luxurious surroundings of Casino Malta and the InterContinental Malta.
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- Read more: Join poker.pro on Telegram for Breaking Tournament News and Results
Shaun Decesare Wins Event #3: €550 Mystery Bounty
It has been a long time coming for Shaun Decesare. The Malta-based poker enthusiast claimed his first WSOP Circuit ring on Tuesday, outlasting 553 entries in Event #3 to take the top prize of €23,586 from the base prize pool. The total prize pool came to €254,711, combining a €121,991 base prize pool with a €132,720 mystery bounty pool that kept the energy high throughout the final day.
The mystery bounty format added genuine buzz to the room, with players never quite sure what waited inside each envelope. Every WSOP Circuit ring winner, including Decesare, also takes home a $5,000 WSOP Paradise package to the Bahamas. Switzerland’s Claudio Muller finished runner-up for €15,740. Cyprus’ Georgios Tsouloftas took third for €10,670.
€550 buy-in | 553 entries | €121,991 prize pool + €132,720 mystery bounty pool
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Shaun Decesare | Malta | €23,586 |
| 2 |  Claudio Muller | Switzerland | €15,740 |
| 3 |  Georgios Tsouloftas | Cyprus | €10,670 |
| 4 | Marflene Cricchiola | Malta | €7,390 |
| 5 |  Ivelin Kolev | Bulgaria | €5,230 |
| 6 |  Marco Magistro | Italy | €3,700 |
| 7 |  Franck Bain | France | €2,800 |
| 8 | Salvatore Anastasio | Italy | €2,105 |
| 9 |  James Dike | United States | €1,630 |
* Prizes do not include mystery bounty amounts.
* Bounties were paid separately throughout the tournament.
Alcira Lagerwerf Wins Event #5: €300 Ladies Event
The Netherlands’ Alcira Lagerwerf won the two-day Event #5: €300 Ladies Event, taking down a nine-handed final table from 58 entries to claim €4,410 and a WSOP Circuit ring. The prize pool totaled €14,175 from the 58 entries attracted on the opening day.
Czech Republic’s Marketa Zelizkova finished runner-up for €2,810. France’s Marina Mendy, who bagged the overnight chip leader, parlayed this into a podium third-place finish for €1,885. Finland’s Saara Ylianttila, who also bagged Day 1B of the Colossus later in the day, finished fourth for €1,335.
€300 buy-in | 58 entries | €14,175 prize pool
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Alcira Lagerwerf | Netherlands | €4,410 |
| 2 |  Marketa Zelizkova | Czech Republic | €2,810 |
| 3 | Marina Mendy | France | €1,885 |
| 4 |  Saara Ylianttila | Finland | €1,335 |
| 5 |  Liraz Weiman | Israel | €1,005 |
| 6 | Elodie Noel | France | €800 |
| 7 | Silvia Radulova | Bulgaria | €680 |
| 8 | Florence Mazet | France | €640 |
| 9 |  Emma Oliver | United Kingdom | €610 |
Mette Downer Wins Event #6: €500 Knockout
Denmark’s Mette Downer became the second woman to win a WSOP Circuit ring on Tuesday, joining Alcira Lagerwerf in a same-day female double that is about as rare as it gets on the WSOP Circuit. Downer outlasted a 283-entry field in the one-day Event #6: €500 Knockout to claim €13,750 from the base prize pool. The total prizes on offer came to €119,709, combining €63,109 in the base prize pool with €56,600 in knockout bounties collected across the day.
The event was a true marathon, running from a noon start through to past 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning, well over 15 hours of play. Bounty amounts are paid separately and are not reflected in the table below. France’s Herve Gouzil finished runner-up for €9,139. The Netherlands’ Rory Tay took third for €6,250.
€500 buy-in | 283 entries | €63,109 prize pool (€56,600 in bounties paid separately)
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mette Downer | Denmark | €13,750 |
| 2 | Herve Gouzil | France | €9,139 |
| 3 | Rory Tay | Netherlands | €6,250 |
| 4 | Mike Laskar | France | €4,370 |
| 5 | Romain Haramburu | France | €3,130 |
| 6 |  Jean Kocks | Germany | €2,300 |
| 7 |  Mykhailo Antonishchak | Ukraine | €1,730 |
| 8 |  Danqiu Shen | China | €1,340 |
| 9 | Eduard Litskan | Ukraine | €1,060 |
| 10 |  Marian Popa | Romania | €865 |
| 11 | Jacopo Giacomazzi | Italy | €865 |
| 12 | Lin Chen | United Kingdom | €725 |
| 13 |  Igor Bukowski | Poland | €725 |
| 14 | Alberto Riccardo Galluzzo | Italy | €725 |
| 15 | Fausto Tantillo | Italy | €725 |
* Prizes do not include knockout bounty amounts.
* Bounties were paid separately throughout the tournament.
Pablo Silvestrini Cabrera Leads Event #7: €2,500 High Roller After Day 1
Event #7: €2,500 High Roller has drawn 112 entries so far with a prize pool of €238,880, and late registration remains open until approximately 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30, meaning the field and prize pool will grow further before the event concludes.
Spain’s Pablo Silvestrini Cabrera bagged the overnight chip lead with 1,500,000. Italy’s Luca Bernardi sits second with 1,200,000. Among the notables coming back: Lithuania’s Jonas Lapinskas, who won Event #2 on Monday and is now gunning for a third ring in 2026, bagged in 20th position with 636,000. Switzerland’s Claudio Muller, who finished runner-up in the Mystery Bounty earlier in the day, is also in the field with 217,000.
Stacks are deep, and players can still get in with a healthy 250,000, with blinds at 3,000/6,000 (6,000) and increasing every hour.
€2,500 buy-in | 112 entries (late reg open) | €238,880 prize pool and growing
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Pablo Silvestrini Cabrera | Spain | 1,500,000 |
| 2 | Luca Bernardi | Italy | 1,200,000 |
| 3 | Jordan Dumas | France | 1,000,000 |
| 4 | Alon Huberman | Israel | 1,000,000 |
| 5 |  Pablo Garcia | Austria | 1,000,000 |
| 6 |  Tiago Brasileiro | Brazil | 998,000 |
| 7 | Andrea Volpi | Italy | 961,000 |
| 8 |  Erik Lindqwist | Sweden | 960,000 |
| 9 |  Pawan Braich | Canada | 941,000 |
| 10 |  Dimitrios Koultoukis | Greece | 918,000 |
| 11 | Tom Talboom | Netherlands | 822,000 |
| 12 | Ludovic Uzan | France | 787,000 |
| 13 | Karl Sandoff | Sweden | 756,000 |
| 14 | Sebastian Mortensen | Denmark | 750,000 |
| 15 | David Ledden | United Kingdom | 713,000 |
| 16 | Ronen Avraham | Israel | 685,000 |
| 17 | Linda Lahdenpaa | Finland | 665,000 |
| 18 | Vincent Robert | France | 643,000 |
| 19 | Michael Lee | Canada | 642,000 |
| 20 |  Jonas Lapinskas | Lithuania | 636,000 |
| 21 | Mounir Tajiou | Sweden | 623,000 |
| 22 |  Vladimir Mirosavic | Serbia | 619,000 |
| 23 | Antonio Asaro | Italy | 583,000 |
| 24 | Martin Hofmann | Denmark | 576,000 |
| 25 | Muhamet Perati | Italy | 575,000 |
| 26 | Luigi D’Altero | Italy | 564,000 |
| 27 | Javier Martinez Estivill | Spain | 544,000 |
| 28 | Tal Chagage | Israel | 526,000 |
| 29 | Alessandro Siena | Italy | 412,000 |
| 30 | Marc Foggin | United Kingdom | 391,000 |
| 31 | Maxime Chilaud | France | 374,000 |
| 32 | Grzegorz Kozieja | Poland | 365,000 |
| 33 | Andrew Salami | United Kingdom | 356,000 |
| 34 | Florian Ribouchon | France | 309,000 |
| 35 | Romain Nardin | France | 297,000 |
| 36 | Joris Ruijs | Netherlands | 274,000 |
| 37 | Arthur Navellou | France | 271,000 |
| 38 | Marco Bognanni | Italy | 266,000 |
| 39 | Barry Grime | United Kingdom | 261,000 |
| 40 |  Daniel Campion | Ireland | 247,000 |
| 41 | Adrian Ziemichod | Poland | 237,000 |
| 42 | Angelo Vietti | Italy | 221,000 |
| 43 | Claudio Muller | Switzerland | 217,000 |
| 44 | Victoria Ailloud | France | 203,000 |
| 45 | Aviv Dadush | Israel | 197,000 |
| 46 | Abdelaziz Anzaha | France | 150,000 |
| 47 | Marcus Petersson | Sweden | 100,000 |
Karl Gialanze Leads Event #4: €300 Colossus After Day 1B
Event #4: €300 Colossus is building across six flights, and the numbers are already moving in the right direction. Day 1A on Sunday produced 44 entries and 7 survivors. Day 1B on Tuesday added 80 more entries and 12 survivors, bringing the combined total to 124 entries and 19 survivors advancing with a prize pool of €30,550 through two flights. Four more flights remain. Malta’s Karl Gialanze is the local hero at the top of the Day 1B counts with 356,000 and, for now, will start Day 2 just behind the Day 1A chip leader from France, Franck Bain, who bagged 466,500 on Sunday.
France’s Simon Bouaksa sits second with 336,000 and France’s Giuseppe Mazza Boussemart is third with 284,000. Day 1C fires on Wednesday evening at 20:00. Finland’s Saara Ylianttila, who finished fourth in the Ladies Event earlier in the day, also bagged Day 1B with 218,000 chips.
€300 buy-in | Day 1B: 80 entries | 12 survivors | Combined through Day 1B: 124 entries | 19 survivors | €30,550 prize pool
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karl Gialanze | Malta | 356,000 |
| 2 | Simon Bouaksa | France | 336,000 |
| 3 | Giuseppe Mazza Boussemart | France | 284,000 |
| 4 | Garrett Boyle | Ireland | 270,000 |
| 5 | Junyu Liu | China | 220,000 |
| 6 | Saara Ylianttila | Finland | 218,000 |
| 7 | Elodie Noel | France | 165,000 |
| 8 | Mark Bamber | United Kingdom | 155,000 |
| 9 | Mathias Jensen | Denmark | 154,000 |
| 10 | Dan Allouche | France | 106,000 |
| 11 | Stira Claudio Francesco | Italy | 96,000 |
| 12 | Andreas Backlund | Finland | 45,000 |
Saulo Sabioni Wins the €300 Daily Superstack
Outside the ring events, Brazil’s Saulo Sabioni won the €300 Daily Superstack to take home €5,110. The Daily Superstack was the only non-ring event running alongside the WSOP Circuit Malta schedule on Tuesday, a busy day for WSOP Circuit ring hunters. Malta’s Daniel Mifsud finished runner-up for €3,220. Albania’s Marjo Pashaj took third for €2,175.
€300 buy-in | Daily Superstack | 71 entries | €17,352 prize pool
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saulo Sabioni | Brazil | €5,110 |
| 2 | Daniel Mifsud | Malta | €3,220 |
| 3 |  Marjo Pashaj | Albania | €2,175 |
| 4 | Aleksandar Georgiev | Bulgaria | €1,542 |
| 5 | Giuseppe Rossino | Italy | €1,150 |
| 6 | Salvatore Patti | Italy | €900 |
| 7 | Milan Van Nijnatten | Netherlands | €750 |
| 8 | James Hart | United Kingdom | €660 |
| 9 | Federico Malleni | Italy | €615 |
| 10 |  Bulent Sahin | Turkey | €615 |
| 11 | Gregor Nachtigall | Germany | €615 |
Wednesday, Sept. 30 Schedule
The moment we’ve been waiting for is here: the €1,500 Main Event starts with Flight A at 12:30. This follows a busy day, with a ring expected to be awarded in the €2,500 High Roller, with late registration still open, beginning at 1 p.m.
The €300 Colossus Flight C fires in the evening at 20:00. In addition, two €180 Landmark Satellite events run at 12 p.m. and 9 p.m., with the fun €300 Daily Deepstack side-event at 5 p.m.
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 12:00 | €180 Landmark Satellite to €1,500 Main Event |
| 12:30 | Event #8: €1,500 NLH Main Event: Flight A |
| 13:00 | Event #7: €2,500 High Roller: Final Day |
| 17:00 | €300 Daily Deepstack |
| 20:00 | Event #4: €300 NLH Colossus: Flight C (Turbo) |
| 21:00 | €180 Landmark Satellite to €1,500 Main Event |
Frequently Asked Questions
* Photos and information courtesy of Texapoker / WSOP.
* Article originally produced at poker.pro.
