Chip leader Tom-Aksel Bedell just took two pots in succession.
First he opened to K♥J♣ to an unconventional 100,000 from the hijack and took down the blinds. He looked down at A♥Q♠ on the next deal and did the same. Like before, the rest of the table folded.
Alessandro Barone limped in from the small blind. Juan Pardo eyed his opponent's stack in the big blind before he checked his option.
Both players checked the K♣Q♠2♦ flop as well as the 10♦ turn. Barone then fired 75,000 on the 5♣ river. Pardo used one time bank before he tossed in a call.
Barone tabled J♠9♠ for a straight, and Pardo's cards disappeared in the muck in the defeat.
The 2025 PokerStars European Poker Tour Malta Main Event is down to its final 15 players, and all eyes are on Norway’s Tom-Aksel Bedell, who bagged a massive chip lead after another dominant showing inside Casino Malta. Bedell ended Day 4 with 5,765,000, leaving him well ahead of his closest challengers Mykhailo Ostash (2,985,000) and Toni Kaukua (2,625,000) when play resumes 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
Day 4 started quickly, with multiple eliminations in the first levels. Pierre Chevalier went out in 20th place after a dramatic series of all-ins, while Tom Vogelsang fell in 17th after his pocket kings were crushed by Bedell’s king-queen of hearts on a heart-heavy flop. Vogelsang needed runner-runner outs but was drawing dead on the turn, as Bedell calmly collected the massive pot, remarking only, “I like my hearts.”
Tom Vogelsang
The action slowed as the field thinned, but a few late eliminations ensured the final 15 were set. The day ended with Ben Heath (2,320,000), Juan Pardo (2,495,000), Adrian Mateos (845,000), and the rest of the surviving players locking in positions and securing at least €38,950, while the €760,000 top prize remains within reach for those chasing the title.
Aliaksei Boika
Behind Bedell, the leaderboard features a mix of experience and high-stakes talent. Ostash, Kaukua, Pardo, Heath, Boika, and Mateos all remain in contention, with stacks ranging from Bedell’s 192 big blinds down to Alessandro Barone’s 8. The trio of Pardo, Heath, and Mateos alone have combined live earnings of over $100 million, and each will be looking to close the gap on the runaway leader.
Aliaksei Boika, the 2016 EPT Malta champion, is also still alive, hoping to pull off a rare repeat almost a decade later. With so much talent at the tables, today promises plenty of swings, from big pots to sudden eliminations.
Remaining Payouts
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
Play resumes at 12 p.m. local time, with blinds at 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 final table, where the transition to a hands-per-level format is expected.
Stay locked in with PokerNews for all live updates, big hands, and eliminations as the race for the EPT Malta title continues, reporting on a 30-minute delay to stay aligned with the live stream.
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