It seems like every day so far at the Battle of Malta has broken one record or another, but today one thing is for sure. This is the largest Main Event in the long and illustrious history of this poker festival.

A total of 1,752 players joined the fun on Day 1d of the Main Event, bringing the total to a whopping 4,023 before the Turbo Day 1e flight got underway. By then, we had already eclipsed last year's 3,816 entries and were well over a record €2 million prize pool. 

The Day 1d chip leader is Finnish player Hassan Sey with 575,000. He has already had a rather marvellous week in Malta after taking down the inaugural €5k Mega High Stack event for €43,050. Sey is clearly on a tear this year – he has cashed in more than a dozen tournaments in 2019 including winning the Midnight Sun Main Event in Helsinki in June. His live tournament winnings are now close to $300,000. The overall chip leader remains (at present) Dario Marinelli who finished Day 1c on 608,000.

Day 1e recorded 634 entries, with 95 through for a record 4,657 Main Event total entries. 

Day 1a: 333 entries - 50 survivors
Day 1b: 585 entries - 88 survivors
Day 1c: 1353 entries- 203 survivors
Day 1d: 1752 entries -  263 survivors
Day 1e: 634 entries - 95 survivors
Total entries: 4,657; total for Day 2: 699

MacIntyre and Byrne both progressed from Day 1d, as well as Maya Geller, Dehlia De Jong, and Nicholas Newport. 

There was also action away from the tables with the Bowling Competition hosted by Eden SuperBowl opposite the tournament. However, at the tables, there was plenty of action as Gavril Hutuleac won the €245 Siege of Malta for €12,010, and and Israeli Offer Cohen beat a 321-entry field to take down the Bounty for the Knight event for €6,045. 

Today, Sunday, October 20 at 2 PM, sees all 699 remaining players advance to Day 2 which is scheduled for eight 60-minute levels, but it’s also the main Battle of Malta Players Party, taking place at exclusive Paranga Beach, the Intercontinental Hotel’s private beach club, from 8 pm on Sunday (October 20). Hit Maltese band Red Electrick is on the bill, ensuring this will be a night to remember for all Battle of Malta players.

Battle of Malta has created a new app – available for both iOS and Android. The app has a host of features including instant notifications, the latest BOM news, the BOM twitter feed, 2020 tournament schedule, and the chance to win a seat for the 2020 edition of the event next year. Players can download the app anytime by visiting bom.beezer.com

Follow all the updates online or on the app as we get closer to crowning the latest Battle of Malta champion.

Lars Grenander moved all in for 56,000 from early position, and Indre Stanaityte called. 

Grenander:

Stanaityte:

Board:

Grenander received no help from the flop or turn cards; however, he did pick up extra outs to the chop pot. 

But the river card was a brick for Grenander, and he was eliminated in 264th place, short of the money. 

The remaining 263 players are now in the money spots and will return for Day 2 at 2 pm on Sunday, October 21. 

Day 1d and Day 1e chip counts will be posted when provided by the casino prior to the start of Day 2. 

With the action on the money bubble, the board was down on Table 11, and Cristiano Ruiu bet 280,000. 

Paolo Cappellini moved into the tank with 90,000 behind, and the pressure mounted as a crowd gathered to watch the hand take place. 

Cappellini thought for over two minutes and eventually open-folded a set with . 

Ruiu paused as he collected in the pot before showing Cappellini precisely what he wanted to see and revealed for the higher set. 

Fabio Vona was all in and at risk after Marc Schembri called. 

Vona:

Schembri:

Board:

Vona stood from his chair when the king of diamonds appeared on the flop to give Schembri the lead, and the Italian saw his hopes of making the money fade when the turn and river cards also fell in Schembri's favor. 

Antoine Degiorgio raised to 14,000 from under the gun, and Maya Geller moved all in for 110,000 from middle position. 

The action folded back to Degiorgio, and he asked for a count before making the call. 

Degiorgio:

Geller:

Board:

"I couldn't find the fold button," said Degiorgio after the board improved Geller to the higher full house. 

Geller, who is married to high-stakes pro Patrik Antonius, moved up to 240,000. 

MainEventTravel.com CEO Fraser MacIntyre has two good reasons to be celebrating in the Battle of Malta Main Event this evening, firstly, his own 175,000 stack, and secondly, the fact that his young son Rhys is also competing after winning his €555 seat in a super satellite this evening.

Fraser is grinding his way through Day 1d, while 18-year-old Rhys is in the turbo flight Day 1e (and currently on 80,000.) BOM is MacIntyre Junior’s first live tournament Main Event, and dad Fraser says he couldn’t be more proud.

The players are now on a 20-minute break. 

Kyriakos Mitsopoulos and Giovanni Martino were all in in the blinds with Martino, the player at risk. 

Mitsopoulos:

Martino:

Board:

Martino had found pocket kings in the big blind and was in the perfect spot to double. The community cards were also kind to him, and he secured the 150,000 pot. 

Francesco Gasparr raised from the hijack and called, and Stephanie Kaczala shoved for 52,000. 

Gasparr:

Kaczala:

Board:

Kaczala needed help from the board and received after she paired her ten on the flop. 

Gasparr found no way back, and Kaczala doubled. 

Daiva Byrne has seen her chip stack yoyo up and down over the past two levels but is back fighting on 105,000. 

Byrne went from 18,000 up to 100,000 then back down to 32,000 after a house over house cooler. 

On the flop, both the players in the blinds and Byrne on the button checked, before she called a bet on the turn. 

Heads-up to the river and Byrne called another bet. 

Her opponent revealed an ace in his hand for a full house, and Byrne was unlucky to have to muck for the lower full house. 

Angelo Zammit was all in for 23,000, and Nebojsa Bulatovic called. 

Zammit:

Bulatovic:

Board:

Zammit saw an ace appear on the turn, but it only improved Bulatovic to the nuts. 

Zammit hit the rail in level 14, and Bulatovic cruised up to 110,000. 

Day 1e Turbo is up to 618 entrants with late registration closing imminently. 

The current BOM Main Event prize pool is currently just over €2,250,000. 

Congratulations to Gavril Hutuleac, who saw off Marc Mijnheer heads up in the €245 Siege of Malta event to win €12,010. A total of 39 players from a field of 279 were paid from a prize pool of €59,538 after two tough days fighting their own Maltese battle alongside the ME.

Salvatore Patti moved all in for 25,000 from under the gun. His ten big blind shove looked like it was going to get through but Massimo Caratelli called in the small blind.

The big blind folded and the cards were turned over.

Salvatore Patti:
Massimo Caratelli:

Caratelli had woken up with aces, and they held on the runout to send Patti to the rail.

Giovanni Nana moved all in for 20,000 from middle position, and Lars Gjersvold reshoved for 52,000 from the next seat. 

Alberto Santoro was next to act and went into the tank for over a minute sat with 140,000 before the rest of the players folded. 

Nana:

Gjersvold:

Board:

Nana found a small amount of hope on the flop after pairing his queen, but there were to be no surprises as the turn and river cards kept Gjersvold in full control. 

Nana said his goodbyes and Gjersvold moved up to 80,000. 

Fabio Vona shoved for 22,000 from the cutoff, and Reuven Zohar called on the button. 

Vona:

Zohar:

Board:

Vona was all set to depart until the ace of hearts on the river gave him a surprise revival on Day 1d. 

On a flop, Fraser MacIntyre had checked to Carmelo Villafranca who had bet 16,000. MacIntyre check-raised all in and Villafranca tank-called for his last 35,000.

MacIntyre turned over for the nut straight and Villafranca showed for ace-high. That ace-high did pick up a flush draw on the and MacIntyre winced in anticipation of a potentially ugly river, but the was too little too late for the Italian who was eliminated.

Battle of Malta has created a new app – available for both iOS and Android. The app has a host of features including instant notifications, the latest BOM news, the BOM twitter feed, 2020 tournament schedule, and the chance to win a seat for the 2020 edition of the event next year. Players can download the app anytime by visiting bom.beezer.com

A player moved all in from under the gun for 45,000 and another player moved all in for 30,000 from middle position.

Marek Roeder was in the cutoff and four-bet all in for around 80,000. The remaining players all folded.

Under-the-gun:
Middle Position:
Marek Roeder:

There was a ten in the window of a flop and the turn and river sent both players to the rail.

The flop was down , and Alain Riss checked from the blinds. 

Alex Bounsall bet 8,500, and Riss shoved for 50,000. 

Bounsall needed a minute to contemplate his decision with 20,000 behind but ultimately folded. 

Riss flipped over and pulled in the pot. 

Players are going on a 20-minute break with 483 of 1,752 players remaining.

Shalom Eliyahu moved all in from early position for 15,000, and Daiva Byrne reshoved for 70,000 from the small blind. 

Eliyahu:

Byrne:

Board:

Byrne extended her preflop advantage on the flop with top pair and held to send Eliyahu to the rail. 

The completed board was down , and in front of Luigi D'Oria's seat was . 

Giorgio Ligasacchi was having his stack counted holding , and D'Oria had already departed from the table. 

Ligasacchi was confirmed as the bigger stack, and D'Oria was cruelly eliminated. 

Registration has closed on Day 1d with 1,752 entrants. The play will stop when 15% of the field remains - approximately 263 players. 

Day 1e Turbo, the final Main Event starting flight, is up to 444 entrants having started at 9:30 pm local time. 

The flop was down , and Colin Guthrie bet 21,000 into a 40,000 pot from under the gun. 

Gonzalez Feu moved all in for 72,000 from the cutoff, and Guthrie went into the tank with about 45,000 behind. 

"How big is your kicker?" asked Guthrie after he had sat silently for a minute. 

"Ace-king, ace-queen? I've got ace-jack," he added. 

Guthrie apologised to his tablemates after another minute passed, and the clock was called after thirty more seconds had passed. 

"Best hand I've had in two hours" said Guthrie, but after the TD counted down from ten, Guthrie failed to act, and his hand was declared dead. 

Feu revealed just the before he took in the pot and moved up to 130,000. 

Samuel Biland raised from middle position and Georgios Georgiou three-bet all in for 18,000 from the hijack. 

The action folded back around to Biland, who reluctantly called. 

Biland:

Georgiou:

Board:

Biland immediately received help on the flop with top pair and locked up the pot with trips on the turn to double. 

For those poker players who like to take their competitive nature with them away from the tables, Battle of Malta gave them the chance to compete in a different arena today!

The Battle of Malta Bowling competition saw groups of four compete to win seats to the 2020 BOM Main Event! 

A fantastic evening of fun and the chance to strike lucky for a free seat in 2020!

The 2019 Battle of Malta Main Event Day 1e Turbo flight is underway at Casino Malta. 

Day 1e is the final opportunity for players to register to the Main Event and try to progress to Day 2 on Sunday, October 20. 

The flop fell , and Lasse Jacobsen moved all in for 15,000 from the big blind with three players behind. 

Giorgio Soceanu sat with 100,000, went into the tank, and thought over his decision for almost two minutes. 

The two players waiting to make their move waited patiently, and after Soceanu ultimately decided to fold, they both quickly passed their cards to the dealer. 

Jacobsen picked up the 37,000 pot and revealed for the flush draw. 

The stacks are growing ever bigger in the Battle of Malta Main Event, with several players around the 200,000 chip mark.

888poker ambassador Daria Feshchenko moved all in for around 15,000 from middle position, and Agshin Ahmadli called in the big blind. 

Feshchenko:

Ahmadli:

Board:

Feshchenko held her lead on the flop, but Ahmadli hit a pair on the turn to take the lead. The Russian pro couldn't hit a set on the river to survive and departed at the start of level 10. 

Action was on a flop and Machado Matos had checked to Luciano Iacomino who bet 5,300. Matos then check-raised all in for 26,500.

Iacomino gave it some thought before calling.

Machado Matos:
Luciano Iacomino:

Matos had flopped top pair, and needed to dodge a king or clubs to double. The turn was the and the river was the safe and he doubled to over 50,000, as Iacomino fell to around the same amount.

Players are going on their 75-minute dinner break with the tournament clock currently displayed 791 of 1,785 players remaining.

Play will resume at approximately 21:20 local time.

Action was on a and Dmitry Pavlov had checked to Christian Andersen.

Andersen bet 10,000 and Pavlov tank-folded.

"Come on," said Andersen in faux-annoyance. "You don't have a flush?" He slammed down on the table for a straight flush.

"I'm glad I didn't have a flush!" said Pavlov.

Lars Harding moved all in for 12,000 from middle position, and Guiseppe Di Bella called from the hijack. 

Harding:

Di Bella:

Board: [4c5htc2dqd[

Harding was in a flip for his tournament life and held after the community cards fell to double up. 

Tournament officials have announced that Day 1e of the Battle of Malta Main Event will be delayed be 30 minutes until 21:30 local time.

There are currently 822 players left of 1,750 in Day 1d.

Andy Hills is sitting pretty with a stack of around 80,000 after his table broke and he arrived at his new seat.

"Very bad luck this seat," said a departing player.

"Oh," said Hills. "Looks like this is the ejector seat!"

With just under 70 big blinds approaching the dinner break, Hills is in a good position.

Mark Roberts was all in from the hijack, and Nicki Andersen called from the small blind.

Roberts:

Andersen:

Board:

Andersen only had three immediate outs but hit one of them on the flop to take the lead. 

Roberts had already stood from his seat at this point and departed from the table when he saw Andersen improve to trips on the turn. 

Viktor Pabst opened to 2,700 and Fabio Vona three-bet all in for 12,200. Pabst called and was ahead with against the of Vona.

However, a king in the window of a flop and another on the turn meant that Vona doubled up. The river was the and Pabst falls below starting stack.

Soner Vanelderen was all in from the small blind, and Michele Montone called from the big blind. 

Vanelderen:

Montone:

Board:

Vanelderen couldn't connect with the board and hit the rail in level 8. 

Rino Manno was all in preflop, and both Nicola Notamasi and Sandro Pitzanti called. 

The flop fell , and a bet from Notamasi saw Pitzanti fold. 

Notamasi turned over at showdown for the nut flush, which meant Manno had fallen behind holding . 

The turn and river meant Manno hit the rail, and Notamasi moved up to 100,000. 

Players are going on their second 20-minute break of the day. 

When they return there will be three more levels before a 75-minute dinner break.

The tournament clock shows 1,104 of 1,667 entrants today.

Alessandro Secci raised to 1,600 from middle position, and one player called before David Prukner moved all in for 13,500. 

Secci called, and the third player folded. 

Secci:

Prukner:

Board:

Prukner was dominated and on the verge of elimination until the board brought both players two pair with ace-high for a chop pot. 

On a flop Fabio Vitale checked and Nikolaos Fantel bet. Vitale check-raised to 6,500 and Fantel re-raised to 13,000.

Vitale then re-raised to 28,500 and Fantel tanked. He eventually folded, throwing face up on the table.

Vitale declined to show.

A dramatic hand just occurred on Daiva Bryne's table, and she retold us all the action. 

A player from middle position opened to 1,200, and the player in the next seat three-bet to 3,800. 

The initial raiser four-bet to 11,500 and then saw their opponent shove for 27,000, which was snap-called. 

The caller showed and was up against . 

The flop fell and gave the all-in player trips. 

The on the turn saw their holding improve to a full house, and the river secured their unlikely double up. 

The board was down , and Ruth Paterson bet 3,600. 

Lazi Liraz moved all in for 13,000, and Paterson called some ten seconds later. 

Liraz held a straight with , and Paterson was behind with . 

The was revealed on the river, didn't change the scenario and Liraz moved up to 32,000. 

On a flop Alberto Santoro bet 2,500 and Henrique Pinho called.

The turn was the and Santoro bet 8,000 which was enough to put Pinho all in. He called.

Santoro showed for just ace-high. Pinho showed nonchalantly and the river bricked allowing him to double up.

The flop fell , and Jerry Johannesson bet 6,000. 

His fellow Swede Christofer Borg called before two players folded, and Borg checked on the turn. 

Johannesson moved all in for 10,000, and Borg called for his last 8,000 after 20 seconds of contemplation.

Johannesson showed for ace high, and Borg was ahead with . 

The river kept Borg in the lead, and he secured the double up.  

Nir Faigenboim bet 3,000 from early position with the flop down , and Edmond Oliel raised to 8,000. 

Another player folded before Faigenboim called, and the latter checked on the turn. 

Oliel moved all in for 9,000, and Faigenboim tank-folded after 30 seconds had passed. 

The tournament clock shows 1,547 entrants so far on Day 1d which brings the total to 3,818 breaking the record of 3,816 from 2018.

Expect that number to climb further still with six more levels of late registration on Day 1d and the whole of the Turbo Day 1e still to come! How big can this event get!

The completed board was down , and Michelle Di Salvia was all in with . 

Unfortunately, for him, his opponent Gianluca Scuderi held for the higher two pair, and Di Salvia was eliminated. 

The first draw in the Battle of Malta Pink October Raffle will take place at 7 pm tonight.

There are some extraordinary prizes on offer, so do nab some tickets as soon as you can! You could win BOM 2020 seats, or packages for Grosvenor’s Goliath 2020 (+ £199 travel credits on MainEventTravel.com), 888Live London, the MPN Poker Tour, the World Casino Championships, the V-Poker Challenge or the Kings of Tallinn.

Raffle tickets are on sale all day, €5 each!

The players are now on a 20-minute break. 

All the chips were in the middle with the flop down , and Carlo Cina showed . 

Sebastiano Rossello held and was way ahead. 

The on the turn gave Cina outs to the straight, but the river was no help. 

Cina was reduced to just 600 chips, and he hit the rail just a couple of hands later. 

A player opened to 600 and was called by another player before Marielle van Workum three-bet to 2,800. Asif Warris four-bet to 14,500 and the first two players folded.

Van Workum tanked and eventually called for around 11,500 with

"Hold!" said Warris tabling .

And hold they did, on the board, sending Van Workum to the rail.

The flop fell , and Lars Olsson bet 2,600 from early position. 

Roberto Dessi called from middle position, and two other players folded before the hit on the turn. 

Olsson check-called a 4,500 bet from Dessi and checked again on the river. 

Dessi fired for 6,000, and Olsson called. 

Dessi revealed for a straight, and Olsson mucked . 

Krzysztof Pregowski opened to 1,100 and Vicheslav Sultanov three-bet all in for 7,500 from the next position. It folded back to Pregowski who called.

"Two overs," said Pregowski tabling against the of an opponent.

The board ran out and Sultanov doubled up. Another player piped up and said that he also had ace-jack.

"Why didn't you call?" said Pregowski. "That might have saved me!"

The flop fell , and Sante Capostagno bet 1,500 from middle position. John Cahill called from the next seat, as did Ronnie Ballantyne in the big blind, and the hit on the turn. 

Capostagno bet 2,700, and again, both opponents called before the appeared on the river. 

The action checked to Cahill, and he took over the betting lead, placing 6,700 into the middle. Ballantyne quickly folded, and Capostagno thought for 30 seconds before he folded. 

Christopher Pierpoint checked a flop and a player bet 2,600 into a pot of around 13,000.

Ana Antunes then called and the dealer burned ahead of the turn. Pierpoint interjected and said he hadn't acted yet. He then moved all in for around 10,000. The first player folded and Antunes called.

Christopher Pierpoint:
Ana Antunes:

The turn completed Antunes's straight draw and the river sent a shell-shocked Pierpoint to the rail.

Today from 3:30 pm, Battle of Malta is hosting a Bowling Competition at the Eden SuperBowl opposite the tournament venue. Four seats for Battle of Malta 2020 are up for grabs for each member of the four-person winning team . Teams of four should register in advance at the Eden Super Bowl, which is right across the road from the Intercontinental

All players must have BOM or @CM_Poker wristband to enter. 

Battle of Malta has created a new app – available for both iOS and Android. The app has a host of features including instant notifications, the latest BOM news, the BOM twitter feed, 2020 tournament schedule, and the chance to win a seat for the 2020 edition of the event next year. Players can download the app anytime by visiting bom.beezer.com

The tournament clock shows 1,201 players entered bringing the total number of entrants so far to approximately 3,400.

Names include Timothee Marlin, Daiva Byrne, Andy Hills, Andrew Christoforou, Dehlia De Jong David, Fraser Macintyre, Crazy 888s winner Kevin Houghton, Uri Gilboa, Sarah Herzali, Jon Kyte, Georgios Kapalas, Erwann Pecheux, Nicholas Newport, Vivian Saliba, Yotem Bar-Yosef, Jari Hurri, Asif Warris and Sander van Wesemael.

Live Updates by Will Shillibier and Aaron McBride

The 2019 Battle of Malta continues today with the last two starting flights, with this year's €555 buy-in Main Event expected to be the biggest in Battle of Malta history.

So far over 341 players have made it through to Day 2 tomorrow, with yesterday 203 of 1,353 entrants advancing.

Last year a whopping 3,816 players smashed the €1m guarantee, and this year, thousands of players will be competing in Malta’s biggest poker tournament, including hundreds of qualifiers from MPNPT, 888poker and Italian site You win.

*denotes deal

The award-winning Battle of Malta is being hosted by Casino Malta at the luxurious InterContinental Hotel in St Julian’s from October 15-22.

Malta-based French player Julien Stropoli won last year's Main Event for €168,500, the best cash of his live poker career. The star-studded final table included previous MPN Poker Tour finalist Mantas Urbonas, two-time Unibet Open champion Mateusz Moolhuizen and Grosvenor Ambassador Andy Hills.

Main Event Structure

With unlimited re-entries until the end of level 10, there will be five start flights in total – with many flights expected to sell out. Players will kick off with a 25,000 starting stack and 40-minute blind levels. In the final Day 1e start flight, players will get a 10,000 starting stack and 10-minute levels. Each Day 1 will play down to 15% of the field – with all survivors making the money.

Bowling Competition

On Saturday (October 19), Battle of Malta is hosting a Bowling Competition at the Eden SuperBowl opposite the tournament venue. Four seats for Battle of Malta 2020 are up for grabs for each member of the four-person winning team . Teams of four should register in advance at the Eden Super Bowl, which is right across the road from the Intercontinental.

Players Party

The main Battle of Malta Players Party is taking place at exclusive Paranga Beach, the Intercontinental Hotel’s private beach club, from 8 pm on Sunday (October 20). Hit Maltese band Red Electrick is on the bill, ensuring this will be a night to remember for all Battle of Malta players.

New App

Battle of Malta has created a new app – available for both iOS and Android. The app has a host of features including instant notifications, the latest BOM news, the BOM twitter feed, 2020 tournament schedule, and the chance to win a seat for the 2020 edition of the event next year. Players can download the app anytime by visiting bom.beezer.com

Stay tuned to all the live updates throughout the Battle of Malta festival right here!