Europe’s biggest live poker tournament takes place in October (P)

Europe’s biggest live poker tournament, the Battle of Malta, is scheduled to take place October 5-12. The location is Malta, at the Intercontinental Hotel in St Julian’s, where several thousand top players are expected to battle it out for the prizes put up by the organisers.

On a beautiful island in the Mediterranean, poker enthusiasts will battle it out in the many events available. The main attraction will certainly be the €1,000,000 GTD Main Event, where the buy-in is €555. The five 5-day tournament contains plenty of side events that promise a top-notch experience for all participants.

Poker enthusiasts can also qualify through the satellites available on 888poker, an industry giant that is sponsoring Battle of Malta again this year. Satellites are available on the 888poker platform with buy-ins starting at just 1 cent. The $109 qualifier has a $1,700 Battle of Malta prize package. This includes the buy-in for the Battle of Malta Main Event (Day 1D), four nights’ accommodation at The Intercontinental Hotel and $350 in travel expenses, which are paid into your 888poker account. What’s more, the winner also receives an 888poker LIVE kit.

In addition to participating in the Main Event, Battle of Malta has other exciting events in store for fans. One of them is #888 Made to Play, which has a buy-in of €180+€20 and is scheduled to take place on October 8, starting at 21:00.

The history of Battle of Malta began in 2012

The first edition of this tournament on the island of Malta was held a decade ago, when 349 entrants started the Main Event, paying the €550 buy-in. The total prize was €169,265 and the Main Event was won by Nicodemo Piccolo, a former doctor who went home with the trophy and a cheque for €35k.

Popularity has grown year on year, and the 2013 edition had a record 888 Main Event entrants and total prize money of €430,680. The Main Event was won by Louis Cartarius, an online poker player who won a cheque for €68,000.

The tournament has become increasingly respected, and in the 2014 edition more than 30 professional players signed up, and the prize pool passed €500k. The Main Event final table was truly spectacular, with representatives from eight countries, showing that Battle of Malta is becoming more and more a prestigious tournament at international level.

The 2017 edition offered a big surprise

The 2017 edition saw over 2,000 people register for the Main Event for the first time. Their number was 2,074 and the prize pool amounted to €1,005,890. Israeli farmer Nadav Lipszyc won at the final table, which was joined by three other Israelis, three Norwegians and two Swedes. Lipszyc therefore walked away with a €200,000 prize pool from his first live tournament played outside the qualifying satellite in Israel.

“I think Daniel Negreanu got under my skin and played for me. I can’t believe my result. All I did was listen to my instincts. I don’t read poker books, I don’t study. I play online for amounts like 2 euros. I came in with no money in my pocket, barely had money for breakfast. You may not believe it, but this is my first live tournament I’m playing besides satellite. I didn’t even think I was that good, but now I know,” said Nadav Lipszyc after that win.

In the 2017 edition, second place went to Israeli Yaron Borenstein, who received a cheque for 132 thousand euros, and third to Norwegian Asbjorn Elvevol, who went home with 98 thousand euros.

In the following years, the number of participants became larger and larger, and so they also increased considerably. The Battle of Malta has become one of the most anticipated events in the poker world in Europe and top players participate, especially since the prizes put at stake by the organizers are also considerable.