A generous starting stack, unlimited re-entries and a Big Blind Ante from Level 2 are just some of the features of next month’s €1 million guaranteed Battle of Malta Main Event.
The €555 buy-in Main Event is the flagship tournament of the Battle of Malta festival which runs from October 4 to October 12 at the InterContinental Conference Centre in the buzzing tourist resort of St Julian’s. In total there will be 37 different poker tournaments – ranging from €65 buy-in turbo satellites right up to the €1,100 High Roller.
The Main Event
The Main Event starts Wednesday, October 5 and has a total of six starting flights including two turbo flights Day 1e and Day 1f. There are unlimited re-entries for the Main Event and it’s worth noting that the number of entries for the 2019 Battle of Malta reached a staggering 4,657, creating a total prize pool of well over €2 million.
Day 1a starts at 1pm on October 5. Day 1b starts at the same time on October 6, Day 1c is October 7 and the final 40-minute Day 1d flight starts at 1pm on Saturday, October 8. There are then a further two turbo start flights featuring 20-minute blind levels: Day 1e starts at 8pm on October 8 and the final Day 1f flight is at 11am on Sunday, October 9.
Players receive a generous 25,000 starting stack with the blinds starting at 100/100. The Big Blind Ante will kick in from Level 2. Play on each Day 1 will continue until just 15% of the field remain – with all survivors making the money.
On Day 1, the blind levels will be set at 40 minutes (or 20 minutes for the final Day 1e and Day 1f turbos), rising to 60-minute levels on Day 2.
On Day 2 – which starts at 8pm on Sunday, October 9 – play will end at 1am i.e. five levels with no extended break.
Day 3 starts at 2pm on October 11 and will play for 10 levels.
Day 4 starts at 2pm on October 11 and play will continue until the final table is reached.
On the final table, blind levels will start at 60 minutes and go down to 45 minutes when there are just six players left. When there are just three players left, blind levels will be 30 minutes long.
Packed schedule
In addition to the €555 Main Event and the €1,100 High Roller, other events on the schedule include the Battle of Malta’s first Mystery Bounty tournament, a bunch of super satellites, a Pot Limit Omaha tournament, numerous bounty tourneys and a €110 Ladies event. Casino Malta is also partnering with numerous big-name sponsors to provide a host of fun side events including OlyBet, GGPoker, 888, ItaliaPlay, DomusBet, PokerMaps and Let’s Play Poker Live.
The Spring edition of Battle of Malta attracted nearly 2,600 entries creating a monster prize pool of €1,244,160 and providing champion Giuseppe Rosa with a €200,340 payday. Among those who cashed were 2018 BOM champion Julien Stropoli, 2019 runner-up Steven van Zadelhoff, David Lappin, Mateusz Moolhuizen and Dehlia de Jong, Paul Jux-Holderness, Jamie Nixon and Kerryjane Craigie.
History of Battle of Malta
2012: Winner Nicodemo Piccolo, €35,000, 349 entries, total prize pool: €169,265
2013: Winner Louis Cartarius, €68,000, 888 entries, total prize pool: €430,680
2014: Winner Antoan Katsarov, €122,750, 1,447 entries, total prize pool: €701,795
2015: Winner Nicolas Proust, €110,000, 1,804 entries, total prize pool: €875,000
2016: Winner Robert Berglund, €160,000, 1,813 entries, total prize pool: €879,305
2017: Winner Nadav Lipszyc, €200,000, 2,074 entries, total prize pool: €1,005,890
2018: Winner Julien Stropoli, €168,500, 3,816 entries, total prize pool: €1,850,760
2019: Winner Serghei Lisii, €247,167, 4,657 entries, total prize pool: €2,258,645
2022 Spring edition: Winner Giuseppe Rosa, €200,340, 2,592 entries, total prize pool: €1,244,160
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