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The Malta Poker Festival Spring Edition has grown to be a mainstay of the European poker calendar since its inception in 2018, and poker players from far and wide will return to the stunning Portomaso Casino this week for the 2026 iteration.
The highlight of the festival is the €600 Grand Event, which sports a huge €500,000 guarantee, eclipsing the €300,000 guarantee offered 12 months ago. The action is already well underway, and PokerNews will be joining the fray at the start of Day 1d, which kicks off at 2 p.m. local time.
Mathieu Ikhlef of France (1,012,500) is in pole position after the initial starting flights, leading 25 qualifiers from 215 entrants, with the current top ten counts detailed below.
Top Ten Chip Counts After Day 1c
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mathieu Ikhlef | France | 1,012,500 |
| 2 | June Jenkins | Canada | 965,000 |
| 3 | Neil Zammit | Malta | 893,000 |
| 4 | Philip Pearson | United Kingdom | 541,000 |
| 5 | Cahit Basbug | Turkey | 539,000 |
| 6 | Lucien Jouanneau | France | 518,000 |
| 7 | Marcello Genna | Italy | 485,000 |
| 8 | Stephen Poulter | United Kingdom | 418,000 |
| 9 | Terence Newton | United Kingdom | 413,000 |
| 10 | Mehmet Sargioz | Turkey | 401,000 |
Day 1d is the first of eight remaining Grand Event starting flights, some of which feature a different buy-in, starting stack, and blind levels, with the full schedule set out below.
2026 Malta Poker Festival Spring Grand Event Remaining Schedule
| Day | Date | Time | Buy-In | Stack | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1d | April 22 | 2 p.m. | €600 | 60,000 | 40 minutes |
| 1e | April 22 | 9 p.m. | €300 | 30,000 | 20 minutes |
| 1f | April 23 | 2 p.m. | €600 | 60,000 | 40 minutes |
| 1g | April 24 | 12 p.m. | €600 | 60,000 | 40 minutes |
| 1h | April 24 | 7 p.m. | €600 | 60,000 | 30 minutes |
| 1i | April 25 | 12 p.m. | €600 | 60,000 | 40 minutes |
| 1j | April 25 | 9 p.m. | €600 | 60,000 | 20 minutes |
| 1k | April 26 | 10 a.m. | €600 | 60,000 | 15 minutes |
| 2 | April 26 | 4 p.m. | 50 minutes | ||
| 3 | April 27 | 1 p.m. | 75 minutes |
Players in Day 1d will sit down to a 60,000 starting stack at blind level 100/300, with a 300 big blind ante, and the clock set to 40-minute levels. Late registration will remain open until the start of Level 11 in each flight, and players are permitted unlimited reentries.
Play will continue in each flight until the field is reduced to 15%, and all of whom will return for Day 2 in the money. The exception is turbo flight Day 1e, where play will conclude when 7.5% of the field remains.
Aurelio Vallone is the defending champion, the Italian dissolving into tears in emotional scenes last year following his conquest of a 1,202-runner field. The cash-game specialist banked €94,600 of the €555,940 prize pool, and declared that "poker changed my life."
2025 Malta Poker Festival Spring Grand Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aurelio Vallone | Italy | €94,600* |
| 2 | Carsten Mawick | Germany | €68,400* |
| 3 | Antonio Scala | Italy | €43,500 |
| 4 | Domenico Lando | Italy | €32,150 |
| 5 | Matteo Ferrara | Italy | €25,050 |
| 6 | Vincenzo Popolo | Italy | €18,450 |
| 7 | Alexander Maskell | United Kingdom | €12,950 |
| 8 | Egon Holdhus | Norway | €10,850 |
| 9 | Dragan Ignjatovski | North Macedonia | €8,550 |
*Denotes heads-up deal
PokerNews will be on the floor bringing you all the big moments from cards in the air until the trophy is lifted, so stay tuned for your coverage of all the action from the Malta Poker Festival Spring Grand Event.