After Nine Years Away, the PokerStars EPT Main Event Returns to Malta

Not since 2016 has the PokerStarsEuropean Poker Tour (EPT) made its mark on Malta, but after nearly a decade away, the tour’s long-awaited return to the Mediterranean island has already lived up to the hype.

The 2025 PokerStars EPT Malta at Casino Malta has been running hot all week, and today marks a huge day on the schedule. The final tables of both the €100,000 Super High Roller and the €1,650 PokerStars Open Main Event will crown champions, while the spotlight shifts to the cards in the €5,300 EPT Main Event.

The last time the EPT visited Malta, Aliaksei Boika captured the 2016 Main Event title, outlasting 468 entrants to take home €355,700 after defeating Mats Karlsson heads-up.

Nearly nine years later, the trophy is once again up for grabs as a fresh field of hopefuls take their shot at poker glory.

2016 EPT Malta Main Event Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize (EUR)
1	Aliaksei Boika	Belarus	€355,700
2	Mats Karlsson	Sweden	€261,730
3	Dmitry Yurasov	Russia	€192,650
4	Elie Saad	Lebanon	€141,780
5	Peter Ockenden	United Kingdom	€104,340
6	Tomas Macnamara	United Kingdom	€76,790
7	Bastian Dohler	Germany	€56,520
8	Xixiang Luo	China	€41,590
9	Dominik Panka	Poland	€41,590

Plan for Day 1a

Day 1a kicks off at 12 p.m. local time, where players will begin with a 30,000-chip stack and blinds of 100/100/100. Ten 60-minute levels are scheduled, with breaks every two levels and a 75-minute dinner break after Level 6.

Registration will remain open until the start of Day 2, and players are permitted up to two entries across both opening flights and Day 2.

Day 1a Schedule

Level	Duration	Small Blind	Big Blind	BB Ante
1	60 min	100	100	100
2	60 min	100	200	200
	20 min break
3	60 min	100	300	300
4	60 min	200	400	400
	20 min break
5	60 min	200	500	500
6	60 min	300	600	600
	75 min dinner break
7	60 min	400	800	800
8	60 min	500	1,000	1,000
	20 min break
9	60 min	600	1,200	1,200
10	60 min	1,000	1,500	1,500