The €600 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition Main Event at Casino Malta has attracted a massive field of 5,368 entries across nine starting flights, comfortably surpassing its €1.5 million guarantee. Players could enter through the regular €600 buy-in flights or take advantage of half-price qualification flights.
The huge turnout generated a total prize pool of €2,413,281, with 158 players now remaining and returning for Day 3.
A total of 726 players started Day 2 already in the money, but the field was cut down significantly over five hours of play. More than 550 players were eliminated, leaving the remaining 158 to continue their run towards the title.
At the top of the chip counts is Ivan Sposato, who bagged 3,440,000 chips. Close behind him is Jan-Joost van den Bogert, with 3,260,000, while Shai Arbel rounds out the top three with 2,460,000.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Sposato | Italy | 3,440,000 |
| 2 | Jan-Joost Van Den Bogert | United Kingdom | 3,260,000 |
| 3 | Shai Arbel | Israel | 2,460,000 |
| 4 | Vasileios Tsaknis | Greece | 2,210,000 |
| 5 | David Keuftedjian | United States | 2,140,000 |
| 6 | Torben Rauer | Germany | 2,060,000 |
| 7 | Stefano Rege Gianas | Italy | 2,040,000 |
| 8 | Maicol D'arrigo | Italy | 2,040,000 |
| 9 | Candido Cappiello | Italy | 1,930,000 |
| 10 | Lorenzo Angeletti | Italy | 1,920,000 |
Several familiar names are also still in contention. Last year's Battle of Malta Autumn Edition champion, Candido Cappiello, returns with 1,930,000 chips, while Jon Kyte is also among the remaining players with 237,000. Other notable names include Erik Lindqwist (875,000) and Danut Chisu (705,000). At the other end of the counts, Andrej Desset will have some work to do with just 20,000 chips.
Day 3 resumes at 1 p.m. local time at Level 23, with blinds of 15,000/30,000 and a 30,000 big blind ante. Levels have increased to 75 minutes, following 60-minute levels on Day 2 and 20- or 40-minute levels during the starting flights.
According to the schedule, eight levels are planned for the day, with 20-minute breaks every two levels. A 60-minute dinner break is scheduled after Level 27, at approximately 8 p.m. local time.
All remaining players have already secured at least €3,100, but the ultimate goal is the €227,835 first-place prize and the coveted knight trophy.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | € 227,835 | 21-23 | € 9,800 |
| 2 | € 141,250 | 24-27 | € 8,950 |
| 3 | € 92,550 | 28-31 | € 8,200 |
| 4 | € 62,150 | 32-39 | € 7,550 |
| 5 | € 43,400 | 40-47 | € 7,000 |
| 6 | € 32,000 | 48-55 | € 6,450 |
| 7 | € 25,150 | 56-63 | € 5,950 |
| 8 | € 21,150 | 64-71 | € 5,450 |
| 9 | € 18,900 | 72-79 | € 5,000 |
| 10 – 11 | € 16,750 | 80-95 | € 4,600 |
| 12-13 | € 14,950 | 96-111 | € 4,200 |
| 14-15 | € 13,350 | 112-127 | € 3,800 |
| 16-17 | € 12,000 | 128-151 | € 3,450 |
| 18-20 | € 10,800 | 152-158 | € 3,100 |
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Stay tuned to PokerNews as the action continues, and we follow the remaining players on their quest for the Battle of Malta title!