Monday 24th October, 2022

October’s Battle of Malta notches up more than €3.5 million in prize money –  with over 12,400 festival entries!

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By Mad Harper

Live Events Main Event Travel News News

The stats are in – and it’s clear that October’s Battle of Malta was one of the biggest yet! The festival as a whole attracted a total of 12,438 entries, creating an overall prize pool of €3,581,415.

Dimitrios Anastasakis became Battle of Malta’s first-ever Greek champion when he took down the Main Event for €285,900. Anastasakis, who finished 28^th in the Battle of Malta Main Event back in 2019, cut a three-way deal with eventual runner-up Toivo Rinne from Finland and Malta-based Brit Will Jarman who finished third. Anastasakis’s latest cash now propels him into Greece’s top 20 all-time money list.

Yet again, MainEventTravel partnered Casino Malta in hosting the event. In addition to arranging travel for players and staff, MainEventTravel enables players to sort out everything they need well in advance – including online registration for the Main Event and hotel accommodation.

Battle of Malta took place at the InterContinental Conference Centre in St Julian’s from October 4 to October 12. The huge turnout for the €555 buy-in Main Event meant the event easily smashed its €1,000,000 guarantee with the eventual prize pool reaching a massive €2,171,000. The festival featured 34 tournaments in total, including the €150 Ladies Event and Battle of Malta’s first ever €210 + €40 + 200 Mystery Bounty.

The Battle of Malta Main Event attracted a total of 4,342 entries – with 2,573 unique players – making this year’s Autumn Battle of Malta the second biggest ever held in the event’s ten-year history. Italians accounted for by far the biggest percentage of players in the Main Event with 984 taking part – nearly 40% of the total field and more than four times the next closest nationality – the UK with 236 players. There were 132 Maltese nationals – a great showing from the host country – while Greek players were also out in force with 127 taking part.

A total of 650 players made the money, with a min-cash worth €1,000.

Main Event final table results:

History of the Battle of Malta

2012: Winner Nicodemo Piccolo, Italy, €35,000, 349 entries, total prize pool €169,265

2013: Winner Louis Cartarius, Germany, €68,000, 888 entries, total prize pool €430,680

2014: Winner Antoan Katsarov, Bulgaria, €122,750, 1,447 entries, total prize pool €701,795

2015: Winner Nicolas Proust, France, €110,000, 1,804 entries, total prize pool €875,000

2016: Winner Robert Berglund, Sweden, €160,000, 1,813 entries, total prize pool €879,305

2017: Winner Nadav Lipszy, Israel, €200,000, 2,074 entries, total prize pool €1,005,890

2018: Winner Julien Stropoli, France, €168,500, 3,816 entries, total prize pool €1,850,760

2019: Winner Serghei Lisii, Moldova, €247,167, 4,657 entries, total prize pool €2,258,645

2022 Spring edition: Winner Giuseppe Rosa, Italy, €200,340, 2,592 entries, total prize pool €1,244,160

2022 October edition: Winner Dimitrios Anastasakis, Greece, €285,900, 4,342 entries, total prize pool €2,171,000

Slawomir Switalski, Casino Malta GM, said: "Congratulations to our new and very worthy champion Dimitrios Anastasakis. It was a sensational festival and we would like to thank the thousands of players who came to compete here. Many thanks also to all our floor staff, the dealers, hotel and casino representatives, and all the media for their hard work – plus our fabulous sponsors. We look forward to welcoming everyone back again in 2023 for the next Battle of Malta festival.”

MET CEO Fraser MacIntyre added: “We are very proud to be involved with Battle of Malta which we have been supporting for more than four years. This latest festival was enormous fun and very well-attended. As always there was a great atmosphere both in the tournament room as well as in all the bars and restaurants surrounding the venue. It’s the perfect location for a poker tournament.”

Photo Credit: Battle of Malta