Cards went on their backs on a flop of 8♥6♣3♣ with Corel Theuma in the small blind at risk for 18,000 against Nicola Marxer in the hijack.
Corel Theuma: A♠8♣
Nicola Marxer: Q♠Q♦
Theuma flopped top pair but ran into queens. He wanted an eight to improve his hand but the J♣9♥ runout didn't help him and he became the first player eliminated of this EPT Malta Main Event.
Florian Sarnow opened to 300 from the hijack and was called by both Eric Afriat on the button and Artem Shaganov in the big blind.
The flop of K♥10♥A♥ looked promising but Sarnow's continuation bet made everybody fold.
In the next hand, Sarnow opened again to 300. Afriat three-bet from the cutoff and was called by Shaganov in the small blind, but Sarnow four-bet to 3,100 to make both of his opponents fold.
It was then Emmanouil Zografakis' turn to raise to 300 from middle position. Afriat to his left three-bet to 800,000, but Zografakis four-bet to 2,700. Afriat quickly called.
The dealer fanned a flop of 9♦4♥A♥ and Zografakis continued for 2,500. Afriat smiled and folded K♠Q♠ face up.
Heads-up on a board of 5♦9♥9♣4♦4♥ with more than a starting stack in the pot, Lukas Zaskodny in the cutoff jammed for his last 11,900.
Alexander Ivarsson on the button went deep into the tank, staring at Zaskodny for a long moment. He eventually folded, but had already lost half of his stack.
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
Aliaksei Boika
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
Stay locked in as PokerNews brings you live updates from the tournament floor.
button in Safari
