Ben Heath opened to 55,000 from the button, Roman Stoica in the big blind three-bet to 200,000 and Heath made the call.
The dealer fanned a flop of 9♦4♦J♥ and after Stoica checked, Heath bet 110,000. Stoica called, then both players checked the A♦ turn.
Stoica led out for 215,000 on the A♠ river, but Heath raised to 800,000. With 280,000 behind, Stoica went into the tank and eventually called with A♣Q♦ for trips. Heath, however, had K♦10♦ for the nut flush and sent Stoica to the rail on the last hand of the day.
The €5,300 Main Event at the 2025 PokerStars European Poker Tour Malta is entering its twilight stages at Casino Malta, with just 15 players still in contention from the 898-entry field. And make no mistake, there’s no shortage of star power among the Day 4 survivors.
Three names leap off the page: Adrian Mateos, Ben Heath, and Juan Pardo. Between them, the trio have amassed more than $100 million in live earnings and will be among the biggest favorites to chase down the €760,000 top prize from the €4,355,300 prize pool. Of the three, Pardo bagged the largest stack, ending the night with 2,495,000 chips, while Heath and Mateos will also return in healthy shape with 2,320,000 and 845,000, respectively.
Mateos is the only one of the trio to have already lifted an EPT Main Event trophy, winning in Monaco a decade ago at just 20 years old. Heath, meanwhile, has never bettered a 12th-place finish at EPT Barcelona in 2018, while Pardo recorded his best run earlier this year with a 19th-place showing in Monte Carlo. (All stats courtesy of The Hendon Mob.)
Aliaksei Boika
They’re not the only big names chasing history. Aliaksei Boika, who won the last EPT Malta Main Event back in 2016, is still firmly in the hunt. The Belarusian has been among the big stacks throughout and returns with 2,265,000 as he looks to defend his crown almost a decade later.
All of them, however, will be looking up at Tom-Aksel Bedell, who retained his chip lead from Day 3 thanks to a late flurry of eliminations. The Norwegian businessman has been a wrecking ball inside Casino Malta, knocking out the likes of Giorgos Onisiforou, Grzegorz Kozieja, and Tom Vogelsang. He's in command with 5,765,000, and miles ahead of his closest challengers Mykhailo Ostash (2,985,000) and Toni Kaukua (2,625,000).
Tom-Aksel Bedell
Bedell has shown no fear mixing it up with the high rollers, having battled them countless times before. With momentum on his side, could an upset be brewing when play resumes on Saturday, October 11 at 12 p.m. local time?
End of Day 4 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Tom-Aksel Bedell
Norway
5,765,000
192
2
Mykhailo Ostash
Ukraine
2,985,000
100
3
Toni Kaukua
Finland
2,625,000
88
4
Juan Pardo
Spain
2,495,000
83
5
Ben Heath
United Kingdom
2,320,000
77
6
Aliaksei Boika
Belarus
2,265,000
76
7
Longmao Fan
China
1,820,000
61
8
Adria Calonge
Spain
1,750,000
58
9
Joao Tomas
Portugal
1,095,000
36
10
Luis Faria
Portugal
1,080,000
36
11
Tomasz Brzezinski
Poland
985,000
33
12
Adrian Mateos
Spain
845,000
28
13
David Tous
Spain
410,000
14
14
Maxime Chilaud
France
275,000
9
15
Alessandro Barone
Italy
230,000
8
Bedell Cracks Kings for the Chip Lead
Day 4 began with 36 hopefuls, and the field thinned quickly. It took less than two levels to reach the final three tables, with eliminations coming thick and fast.
Pawaan Bansal was the first to hit the rail, while Pardo scored an early boost by going runner-runner to down Paolo Boi. Heath then ousted Emika Senda — the last woman standing — before Mateos accounted for Manuel Carvalho, just a handful of the notable exits in the early going.
Pardo continued to build momentum when he flopped the nuts to send Giuseppe Spitale out in 24th, while Bedell started his charge by winning a flip to dispatch Kozieja in 21st place. Bedell wasn’t done there; he soon bested Onisiforou in 18th with king-queen getting the better of ace-ten.
Moments later came the hand of the day. High-stakes crusher Vogelsang five-bet jammed with pocket kings, and Bedell called with king-queen of hearts, saying, "I like my hearts." The flop rolled off three hearts, giving Bedell the flush and the 120 big blind pot, leaving Vogelsang shell-shocked and out of the tournament.
The final elimination of the night came courtesy of Heath, who made a flush of his own to oust Roman Stoica in 16th, locking in the official final 15 for Day 5.
Remaining Payouts
The 15 hopefuls are all guaranteed at least €38,950, but the money jumps are steep as they close in on the final table.
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
1
€760,000
7
€118,650
2
€474,650
8
€91,250
3
€339,000
9
€70,250
4
€260,750
10-11
€56,050
5
€200,550
12-13
€46,750
6
€154,250
14-15
€38,950
Action restarts at Level 24 with blinds of 15,000/30,000 and a 30,000 big blind ante. The plan for Day 5 is to play down to six players, setting the stage for Sunday’s finale.
As always, stay locked in with PokerNews as we bring you live updates and every elimination until a new EPT Malta Main Event champion is crowned.
