€5,300 Main Event Day 2 | 2025 PokerStars EPT Malta

10-08-2025 14:58 UTC+2

Gavinet Applies Pressure on Der Megreditchian

Maxime Taldir

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Jacques Der Megreditchian raised to 4,000 from under the gun and faced Alejandro Ganivet who defended from the big blind.

Der Megreditchian continued for 5,000 on 7♣4♥A♣ and was called, then fired a second barrel of 17,500 on the 2♠ turn.

Gavinet went deep into the tank before check-raising all-in for 150,000. Now in the difficult position, Der Megreditchian struggled to make a decision for almost two minutes but folded.

Player	Chips	Progress
Alejandro Ganivet	200,000 170,000	170,000
Toni Kaukua	130,000 9,000	9,000
Jacques Der Megreditchian	76,000 1,000	1,000
Kenny Hallaert	73,000 10,000	10,000

Florian Dietrich	70,000 17,000	17,000
Arnaud Enselme	32,000

Tags: Alejandro Ganivet Jacques Der Megreditchian

10-08-2025 14:52 UTC+2

Reard Folds Out Celmins

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Calum Grant

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Matiss Celmins opened to 4,500 from the hijack. Alexandre Reard and Nicola Spallanzani called from the blinds.

On the Q♥10♠5♦ flop, Celmins continued for 4,000. Reard was the only caller.

Reard led out for 10,000 on the 10♥ turn. After some thinking time, Celmins folded.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nicola Spallanzani	160,000 10,000	10,000
Alexandre Reard	140,000 41,000	41,000
Matiss Celmins	100,000 6,000	6,000
Laszlo Bujtas	55,000 17,500	17,500

Tags: Alexandre Reard Matiss Celmins Nicola Spallanzani

10-08-2025 14:50 UTC+2

Top Two Sees Taylor Double

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Stewart Morrison

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Seeing a raise to 4,000 from the cutoff ahead of him, Stuart Taylor moved all in from the button for 23,500. Linus Goh then called in the big blind, before the original raiser got out of the way.

Stuart Taylor: K♦Q♣ All in
Linus Goh: A♠10♠

On this occasion, the deck favoured Taylor, as the dealer spread a 9♣K♣2♣Q♥3♦ board, giving him a full double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Linus Goh	125,000 46,000	46,000
Stuart Taylor	54,000 23,500	23,500

Tags: Linus Goh Stuart Taylor

10-08-2025 14:50 UTC+2

Coelho Busts Schwippert

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Calum Grant

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Jan Schwippert was all-in for his last 55,000 from the big blind and was at risk to Claudio Coelho, who was on the button.

Jan Schwippert: A♠5♠ All in
Claudio Coelho: Ax10x

Schwippert departed after the 10♥9♦9♥2♣J♥ runout.

Player	Chips	Progress
Claudio Coelho	145,000 44,500	44,500
Jan Schwippert	Busted

Tags: Claudio Coelho Jan Schwippert

10-08-2025 14:31 UTC+2

Holskyi Doubles, Baraza Left Short

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Stewart Morrison

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

When the action folded to Juan Baraza in the cutoff, he moved all in for 23,000. Konstantyn Holskyi moved all in from the small blind too, for a lesser 13,000.

Konstantyn Holskyi: A♦9♦ All in
Juan Baraza: Q♦10♣

Despite turning a straight draw, Baraza was unable to take the lead as the board ran out 2♦5♦K♠J♥8♥, giving Holskyi a much-needed double up, whilst simultaneously leaving Baraza as the new table short stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Konstantyn Holskyi	30,000 18,000	18,000
Juan Baraza	10,000 43,000	43,000

Tags: Juan Baraza Konstantyn Holskyi

10-08-2025 14:25 UTC+2

Clock Pressure Pays Off

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Sava Krink

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

The pot stood at around 20,000 and the board was out until the turn with Q♦5♥7♥3♣. Dejan Kaladjurdjevic was in the small blind with a 22,500 bet in front of him, while Felix Schneiders on the button had raised to 100,000, putting Kaladjurdjevic at risk with around 45,000 behind.

He went deep into the tank until a player called the clock, and the floor gave him 10 more seconds to decide. Kaladjurdjevic let his cards go, giving up the pot to Schneiders.

Player	Chips	Progress
Felix Schneiders	172,000 106,000	106,000
Dejan Kaladjurdjevic	45,000 44,000	44,000

Tags: Dejan Kaladjurdjevic Felix Schneiders

10-08-2025 14:21 UTC+2

Camosci Doubles Through Therme

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Maxime Taldir

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Enrico Camosci in middle position was all-in and at risk for 50,000 against Jonathan Therme in the small blind.

Enrico Camosci: 10♣10♦ All in
Jonathan Therme: 9♠9♣

The dealer fanned a board of 5♥K♠A♥7♥A♠ and Camosci doubled up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Enrico Camosci	108,000 78,000	78,000
Jonathan Therme	34,000 102,000	102,000

Tags: Enrico Camosci Jonathan Therme

10-08-2025 14:19 UTC+2

EPT Malta 2025 Main Event Smashes Records as 898 Entries Pack Casino Malta

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Calum Grant

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

The European Poker Tour’s long-awaited return to Malta was met with a full house.

The €5,300 EPT Malta Main Event drew 898 total entries, making it the largest EPT Main Event ever held on the island and eclipsing the previous high of 895 set back in March 2015.

It's the fourth edition of the tournament and the first since 2016, when Aliaksei Boika triumphed for €355,700. Unlike those earlier freezeout formats, this year’s event featured a single re-entry option, which helped boost the total numbers while still attracting an impressive 640 unique players from 63 different countries.

Together they built a €4,355,300 prize pool, with 135 players making the money and a €760,000 payday reserved for the new champion.

Year	Entries	Prize Pool	Champion	Country	Top Prize
Mar 2015	895	€4,340,750	Jean Montury	France	€687,400
Oct 2015	651	€3,157,350	Niall Farrell	United Kingdom	€534,330
Oct 2016	468	€2,269,800	Aliaksei Boika	Belarus	€355,700
Oct 2025	898	€4,355,300	TBD	—	€760,000

Payouts

A total of 135 players locked up a minimum cash of €8,400, while a spot at the final table guaranteed at least €91,250. The payouts then soar quickly, with €474,650 for second and €339,000 for third before someone walks away with the €760,000 top prize and the EPT Main Event trophy.

This marks the 149th EPT Main Event ever played, pushing lifetime totals to 118,381 entries and more than €624 million in prize money awarded since the tour’s debut in 2004.

Place	Prize	Place	Prize	Place	Prize
1	€ 760,000	9	€ 70,250	72-96	€ 11,050
2	€ 474,650	10-11	€ 56,050	96-119	€ 9,650
3	€ 339,000	12-13	€ 46,750	120-135	€ 8,400
4	€ 260,750	14-15	€ 38,950	21-23	€ 25,600
5	€ 200,550	16-17	€ 33,850	24-27	€ 22,250
6	€ 154,250	18-20	€ 29,450	28-31	€ 19,350
7	€ 118,650	40-55	€ 14,650	32-39	€ 16,800
8	€ 91,250	56-71	€ 12,700

Italy Tops the Charts

Italy led the charge in the nationality breakdown, accounting for 14.1% of the field (90 players), ahead of France (71), Spain (42), Germany (39), and the United Kingdom (39). For comparison, back in 2016, there were 468 players from 54 nations.

10-08-2025 14:14 UTC+2

Aerts Spikes the Turn

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Stewart Morrison

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

The action was joined as Pieter Aerts had moved all in for 33,500, following a raise from Juan Baraza. The action returned to Baraza, who made the call.

Pieter Aerts: K♦K♣ All in
Juan Baraza: A♠A♣

A sorry situation for Aerts, who was left with just two outs to win the pot outright on the 8♣9♦5♣ flop. However, the turn K♠ catapulted him into the lead, and with the river Q♣ unable to help Baraza, Aerts received a full double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Pieter Aerts	72,000 42,000	42,000
Juan Baraza	53,000 8,000	8,000

Tags: Juan Baraza Pieter Aerts

10-08-2025 14:11 UTC+2

Panka Sends Nasreddine to the Rail

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Maxime Taldir

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

At the feature table and with a 30-minute delay, Ole Schemion raised to 3,000 from early position with K♦J♣, Rania Nasreddine to his left called then Dominik Panka on the button three-bet to 12,000. Schemion folded and Nasreddine went into the tank. She eventually called off her last 19,500.

Rania Nasreddine: 10♣9♣ All in
Dominik Panka: A♣K♥

Both players hit two pair on 10♠3♣A♥5♦5♥, but Panka kept the lead and Nasreddine was eliminated.