Live Updates by Will Shillibier and Aaron McBride

Serghei Lisii has won the 2019 Battle of Malta €555 Main Event for €247,167 after an epic heads-up match against Steven Van Zadelhoff. 

After two hours of back and forth, the final two agreed to a money deal at the InterContinental Arena hosted by Casino Malta at the InterContinental Hotel, with the prize pool being chopped down the middle, with €30,000 and the trophy to play for.

Despite this, it took another two hours for Russia-based Moldovan player Lisii to take the title.

With 4,657 entries, including 2,691 unique players, over five starting flights, the €555 buy-in event smashed all previous records for the event – including last year’s field of 3,816 players. The total prize pool was shared by 688 players and was way over double the €1,000,000 guarantee.

Final Table Results: 

Among those who cashed in the record-breaking event were Scottish pro Ludovic Geilich, media influencer Dehlia de Jong, UCOP champions Niko Pakalen and Mateusz Moolhuizen, Daragh Davey, Irish Open champions Patrick Clarke and Ian Simpson, Patrik Antonius’ wife Maya Geller, 888poker Ambassadors Sofia Lovgren and Ana Marquez, betsson Ambassador Daiva Byrne, Norwegian veteran Rolf Woods, award-winning podcasters David Lappin and Dara O`Kearney, NordicBet Ambassador Jon Kyte, Main Event Travel CEO Fraser MacIntyre and Irish veteran Mick McCloskey.

History of Battle of Malta

2012: Winner Nicodemo Piccolo, €35,000, 349 entries, total prize pool of €169,265

2013:  Winner Louis Cartarius, €68,000, 888 entries, total prize pool was €430,680

2014: Winner Antoan Katsarov, €122,750, 1,447 entries, total prize pool €701,795

2015: Winner Nicolas Proust, €110,000, 1,804 entries, total prize pool €875,000

2016: Winner Robert Berglund, €160,000, 1,813 entries, total prize pool €879,305

2017: Winner Nadav Lipszyc, €200,000, 2,074 entries, total prize pool €1,005,890

2018: Winner Julien Stropoli, €168,500, 3,816 entries, total prize pool €1,850,760

Final Day Action

The final day saw eleven players return to battle, and the action got off to a quick start. Vincenzo Pinna departed in eleventh place after he ran ace-four into Van Zadelhoff's ace-queen, and just minutes later, the final table of nine was set when Valerii Firstenko hit the rail in tenth place after he found no joy with ace-nine against Higgins' pocket eights. 

Flavio Laudani was the first player to depart when the Final Table action began having run pocket nines into the jacks of Higgins.

The final Maltese player left in the 2019 Main Event, Shaun De Cesare (pictured), departed in eighth place, and it was once again Higgins who scored the elimination. Higgins raised to 1m with pocket queens and called after De Cesare three-bet all in with ace-king. Higgins kept his lead on the flop and turn, then improved to a set on the river to seal De Cesare's fate.

Bruno Massimo then found a treble up, but it couldn't prevent him from being the next player to leave in seventh place. Massimo three-bet all in with ace-king and ultimately lost the vital flip against Lisii's pocket jacks.

Rune Moerk was by far the shortest stack remaining and benefited with a pay jump due to Massimo's exit, but the Norwegian was soon making his way to the payout desk in sixth place after failing to connect with the board holding nine-seven suited against Van Zadelhoff's pocket kings.

In fifth place was the UK's Leo Worthington-Leese, who was making his second major final table of the month. Worthington-Leese finished in eighth place during the recent WPT UK Main Event and improved on that result here in Malta with a fifth-place finish. The Brit three-bet all in from the big blind with pocket fours, but was unable to get the better of Lisii's ace-queen from the small blind.

MPNPT qualifier Colum Higgins (pictured) started the final day as the shortest stack, but his valiant run finally came to an end in fourth place. Higgins opened with ace-queen, and Van Zadelhoff defended his big blind with king-ten, only to hit trips on the ten-ten-queen flop.

The Dutchman check-raised a c-bet from Higgins, which the Irishman called before Van Zadelhoff moved all in on the six of spades turn. Higgins thought about his decision for three minutes before he flicked in the calling chip and saw the bad news. There was to be no saving grace on the river, and Higgins hit the rail but also captured the consolation last longer prize of a package to MPN Madrid in February 2020.

Van Zadelhoff was now in a controlling position, and the battle was on between Josef Gulas and Lisii to make the heads-up, and it was to be the former who fell.

After Lisii limped on the button with pocket eights, and Van Zadehoff called, Gulas moved all in with ace-nine from the big blind, which Lisii called. Gulas took the lead on the turn after an ace fell, but in shocking fashion, the eight of spades appeared on the river to bust Gulas in third place.

As mentioned, the epic heads-up match lasted nearly five hours, and in the final hand, Lissi held with king-seven against seven-six. 

That's all from us here in Malta! A huge thank you to all the players who joined us here and to everyone who followed along with the action! Goodbye for now! 

Steven van Zadelhoff moved al in for 17,000,000 and Serghei Lisii called.

Steven van Zadelhoff:
Serghei Lisii:

Ther flop gave LIsii top pair. The turn was the leaving Van Zadelhoff drawing dead and the river confirmed his exit in second place.

He takes home €217,167 after the heads-up deal with Lisii.

Steven Van Zadelhoff called for , and Serghei Lisii checked with . 

Lisii checked, and Van Zadelhoff bet 3m on the flop. 

Lissi raised to 8.3, and Van Zadelhoff moved all in for 33m, which very quickly got Lisii to fold. 

Serghei Lisii raised to 1,500,000 and Steven van Zadelhoff called.

Van Zadelhoff check-called 2,500,000 on the flop and the turn was the . Both players checked and the river was the .

Van Zadelhoff checked and Lisii bet 10,000,000. Van Zadelhoff called and Lisii won the pot with a rivered pair of queens.

Steven Van Zadelhoff moved all in for 57,000 with , and Serghei Lisiii called with . 

Lisii had the pre-flop advantage, but the board fell , and the chop-pot kept Van Zadelhoff alive. 

Steven van Zadelhoff moved all in for 87,000,000 with and Serghei Lisii called with

The flop came giving Van Zadelhoff a gutshot straight draw and backdoor hearts. The  turn was the and the river the as Lisii doubled up to level the stacks once more.

Serghei Lisii moved all in for 18m with , and Steven Van Zadelhoff called with . 

The flop fell , and Lisii held his lead. 

Van Zadelhoff picked up additional outs to the straight on the turn, but the saw Lisii double. 

Steven van Zadelhoff shoved and Serghei Lisii called for 11,000,000.

Serghei Lisii:
Steven van Zadelhoff:

The board ran out handing Lisii a rivered pair to double up and stay alive.

Serghei Lisii limped pre-flop and Steven van Zadelhoff checked . Van Zadelhoff checked the and called the bet of 2,300,000 from Lisii.

The turn was the and Van Zadelhoff check-called again, this time for 5,800,000.

The river was the and Van Zadelhoff checked again. Lisii bet a hefty 12 million and Van Zadelhoff called. Lisii showed his nine-high bluff and Van Zadelhoff took a stranglehold in this contest.

Serghei Lisii called with , and Steven Van Zadelhoff checked with .

The flop fell , and Van Zadelhoff check-called a 2.5m bet. 

The on the turn saw both players check, and the appeared on the river. 

Van Zadelhoff bet 6m and Lisii opted to fold. 

Steven van Zadelhoff limped on the button with and Serghei Lisii checked his big blind with

The flop came and both players checked. The turn was the giving Van Zadelhoff two pair. Lisii check-called 1,600,000 and the river was the .

Both players checked and Van Zadelhoff took down the pot, moving up to around 90 million in chips.

Serghei Lisii called with , and Steven Van Zadelhoff raised to 4.5m with . Lisii called, and the flop fell , and Lisii called a 2.1m bet. 

The appeared on the turn, and Van Zadelhoff checked. Lisii checked behind, and the appeared on the river. 

Van Zadelhoff bet 7m, and Lisii thought for a minute before he raised to 19m. 

Van Zadelhoff thought for 30-seconds before he moved all in, and Lisii snap-folded. 

Steven van Zadelhoff raised to 3,500,000 and Serghei Lisii three-bet to 12,000,000 with .

Van Zadelhoff moved all in and Lisii called.

The board came and the pair chopped the pot. Lisii has opened up a small lead heads-up.

Both Steven van Zadelhoff and Serghei Lisii have agreed on a deal.

They will split the remaining prize pool, and play on for €30,000 and the trophy.

This means that both players are now guaranteed €217,167.

Players are going on a short 10-minute break.

Serghei Lisiii called for 500,000 with , and Steven Van Zadelhoff checked his option with . 

The flop fell , and Van Zadelhoff called a 1.1m bet.

The appeared on the turn, and Van Zadelhoff check-called a 2.5m bet. 

On the river, both players checked, and Lisiii took the pot. 

Steven Van Zadelhoff raised to 2.1m from the button with , and Serghei Lisiii called with . 

Van Zadelhoff bet 2.8m on the flop and Lisiii thought for a minute before he folded. 

Steven van Zadelhoff opened to 2,100,000 with and Serghei Lisii defended his big blind with

The pair checked the flop and the turn was the . Lisii check-called 2,000,000 and the river was the . 

Lisii's bet was enough to force Van Zadelhoff off of the pot.

Play is back underway with just two players remaining in the Battle of Malta Main Event.

After topping a field of 322 players, Chris Da-Silva has won the Battle of Malta High Roller for €73,070.

Da-Silva is an experienced poker player and notched up his fifth win and second-biggest overall lifetime cash, bringing his total live cashes to $470k.

He beat Mateusz Wozniak heads-up at a final table that also included Frenchman Fabrice Soulier.

Other notable finishes in the money included Martin Jacobson (19th - €3,860), Ian Simpson (41st - €2,135) and Jon Kyte (43rd - €2,135).

Serghei Lisiii called for 800,000 on the button with , and Steven Van Zadelhoff completed in the small blind with . 

Josef Gulas looked down at in the big blind and moved all in for 12m. 

Lisiii called, and Van Zadelhoff folded. 

The flop fell , and Lisiii kept his lead, but the on the turn put Gulas into the lead. 

Lisiii only had two outs, and when the peeled off on the river, Gulas was cruelly eliminated in 3rd place for €102,050. 

Josef Gulas raised to 1,500,000 on the button and Serghei Lisiii called with in the small blind.

Steven van Zadelhoff then three-bet to 5,000,000 in the big blind and Lisii folded.

Gulas then four-bet to 11,000,000 and Van Zadelhoff tanked with his aces.before just flat-calling.

The flop came giving Josef top pair and an open-ended straight draw. Both players checked and the turn was the giving Gulas extra flush outs. Again, both players checked.

The river was the and Van Zadelhoff bet 8,800,000 into a pot of around 25,000,000. Gulas tank-folded and Van Zadelhoff extended his chip lead.

Colum Higgins raised to 1.5m from under the gun with , and Steven Van Zadelhoff called in the small blind with . 

The flop fell , and Van Zadelhoff checked before Higgins bet 1.3m. 

Van Zadelhoff raised to 4.8m, and Higgins called. 

The appeared on the turn, and Van Zadelhoff bet all in for 22m. 

Higgins had 19m behind and went into the tank for over three minutes before he called. 

Higgins was drawing to a queen on the river but departed when the appeared. 

Higgins, who started Day 4 as the shortest stack, departed in 4th place for €74,540.  

Steven van Zadelhoff opened to 1,500,000 with from under the gun and Josef Gulas three-bet to 4,500,000 on the button.

Van Zadelhoff check-called 4,500,000 on the flop and the pair checked the turn. The river was the and Van Zadelhoff checked again and Gulas checked behind.

Aces were good, and now Gulas moved into the chip lead;.

Steven Van Zadelhoff called in the small blind with , and Josef Gulas checked his option in the big blind with .

The flop fell , and both players checked. Van Zadelhoff bet 700,000 on the turn, and Gulas called. 

The river fell the , and Van Zadelhoff bet close to pot for 3m. 

Gulas thought for 30 seconds and called with just bottom pair to win the pot. 

Steven van Zadelhoff opened to 1,500,000 from under the gun and Colum Higgins called in the small blind with

The flop gave Higgins a flush draw and he check-called 1,300,000. The pair checked the which gave Higgins a pair and the river was the .

Higgins bet 2,300,000 and Van Zadelhoff raised to 6,100,000. Higgins called but was shown the full house of his opponent and he mucked.

Serghei Lisii raised to 1,600,000 in the small blind and Leo Worthington-Leese three-bet all in for 10,00,000 from the big blind. Lisiii called.

Serghei Lisiii:
Leo Worthington-Leese:

The board came and Lisiii sent Worthington-Leese to the rail with a flopped pair and rivered straight

Rune Moerk moved all in for 1.8m from under the gun with , and Steven Van Zadelhoff raised to 3m from the cutoff with . 

Serghei Lisiii looked down at in the big blind and thought for 30 seconds before he folded. 

The board fell , and Moerk was eliminated in 6th place for €42,910. 

Serghei Lisiii opened to 1,100,000 from early position. Bruno Massimo three-bet all in for 7,300,000 from the button with .

Lisiii called and Massimo needed to win a flip to stay alive. The flop came with no help. 

The turn and river changed nothing and Massimo was eliminated in seventh place.

Rune Moerk shoved for 3.2m from the cutoff with , and Bruno Massimo moved all in for 2.3m with from the small blind. 

Steven Van Zadelhoff looked down at from the big blind and called. 

The board fell and Massimo trebled up. 

Colum Higgins raised to 1m from early position with , and Shaun De Cesare moved all in for 6.8m from the big blind with , which Higgins called. 

The cards fell , and Higgins improved to a set on the river to seal the pot. 

De Cesare, the final Maltese player, departs in 8th place for €27,100. 

Flavio Laudani moved all in from under the gun for 5,800,000 with and Josef Gulas tank-folded in middle position.

Incredibly, Colum Higgins then picked up in the next position and shoved for 14 million. The button and blinds folded.

The board favoured Higgins who sent Laudani to the rail in ninth place.

Bruno Massimo raised to 1.1m from the cutoff with , and Steven Van Zadelhoff called in the big blind with . 

The flop fell, and Van Zadelhoff check-called a 1.1m c-bet. 

Both players checked on the turn and Van Zadelhoff bet 1.8m on the river. Massimo called and saw the bad news that Van Zadelhoff held trips. 

With the Main Event playing out on the feature table, there are just nine players remaining in the €1,320 High Roller..

Jonathan Genovese-Darling is in the lead, but it's tight at the top between him, Gleb Novik, Chris Da-Silva, Mateusz Wozniak and Alf Martinsson who are all over one million in chips.

The remaining players at the final table are all guaranteed €7,495 with €73,070 awaiting the winner.

Seat 1: Flavio Laudani, 34, Catania, Italy – 4,825,000
Laudani, who hails from Catania but now lives in Rome, is a recreational poker player who juggles his love for the game with running his Sicilian patisserie in the Italian capital. This is his second visit to compete in the Battle of Malta.

 Seat 2: Shaun De Cesare, 28, Malta -7,200,000

If anyone is comfortable in Casino Malta, it’s Shaun De Cesare, 28, whose father Kevin owns not just this business, but the Eden Leisure Group here.  Though he’s currently working in eSports, De Cesare has been fascinated by poker since he was 15 and being hustled by his brother (who’s now on the rail supporting him).  “Poker’s been my passion ever since I can remember,” he said, “When I was 20, I wanted to play – the age requirement in Malta is 25 – and the second I turned 25 I did.  I saw a Maltese player come second in the Battle of Malta and thought, ‘I’m going to be that guy someday.”  De Cesare’s final table appearance guarantees him his biggest live cash (he splits his time between medium stakes tournaments and online tournaments), and he is cheerful at the prospect: “I have the home advantage!”

 Seat 3: Steven van Zadelhoff, 40, Netherlands – 25,325,000

Malta-based Dutch pro Van Zadelhoff is arguably the best-known player at the Battle of Malta 2019 final table. The 40-year-old, who’s lived in Malta ten years, first started playing poker online in 2000 while working as a Rolls Royce and Bentley car mechanic. With his very first big online deposit, he won a $300 tournament on Paradise Poker for $25k and has never looked back. He is now a huge success both online and live. He won the World Championship of Online Poker Main Event in 2017, beating a field of 2,183 entries for $1.6m. Live, he’s won over $2.2m, is ranked 8th on Dutch all-time money list, and this summer finished fifth in the EPT Barcelona High Roller for a best live cash of $209,090. Aside from poker, his passion now is mindset, nutrition, and fitness, which he’s covering on his new YouTube channel Vikingspiration.

 Seat 4: Josef Guláš, 50, Czech Republic - 25,600,000

Gulas has been in and out of the chip lead for much of the late stages of the BOM Main Event, describing his experience so far as a “good run.” Gulas, 50, plays live hold’em exclusively in his home country of Czech Republic (mainly in Rozvadov and Prague), but despite favouring cash games to tournaments has racked up nearly half a million dollars in live winnings.  This is not his first time on a televised table, and he is comfortable putting pressure on the shorter stacks.  “Every player needs some good luck,” he said, recalling that he won two flips with ace-king vs. queens to stay alive earlier in the tournament.

 Seat 5: Colum Higgins, 25, Dublin – 14,950,000

Colum Higgins is not regretting his very recent decision to go pro at the game of poker, having previously worked in the gaming industry.  Straight off the bat, he’s made the final table of the biggest €555 Main Event in Europe and guaranteed the biggest live cash of his career.  Higgins mostly prefers live cash games around his home town of Dublin.  He came to the Battle of Malta with friends, all having booked 4 pm flights on the final day.  When he made the last 11, he had only six big blinds; all of the promises they’d made to rail him if he made the final evaporated – but he doesn’t blame them.  “I ran pretty good,” said Higgins of his experience so far, recalling a big flip late on Day 2 that sent his supporters crazy.  “When that ace came on the river…” “I’m already freerolling,” he said of the final. “First hand of the day, I looked down at pocket kings and thought, ‘I’ll catch my flight!’ but here I am.”

Higgins qualified for the BOM Main Event on 32Red and as the longest-lasting MPN qualifier has won a €1,500 package to MPNPT Madrid.

 Seat 6: Serghei Lisii, 25, Moldova – 14,425,000

Serghei has been playing poker since 2012 and moved to Sochi last year to focus on playing tournaments there. This is his first visit to Malta, and he’s competing thanks to qualifying online with 32Red. Online, his best result to date was winning a tourney for $25k; live he won a similar amount after finishing seventh in the WSOP-E Little One for One Drop in Sochi two years ago. He now competes in most of the major tournaments held in Sochi.

 Seat 7: Rune Moerk, 52,Norway – 5,200,000
Moerk is a 52-year-old Norwegian player who works in IT. "I'm very happy to have made the final." He's been playing poker for 30 years, with a preference for live MTTs, although he sometimes also plays cash online. His best finish is eighth place in the Norwegian championships in 2016, although he is set to smash this here, with a minimum cash of €24,620 on the final table. Rune has really enjoyed the event: "It has a lovely structure," he told us. Going into the final, Moerk told us his strategy will vary heavily depending on his position and although he comes into the final as the second shortest stack if he finds an opportunity to outplay people post-flop, he will be aiming to do so.

 Seat 8: Leo Worthington-Leese, 27, Brighton – 11,150,000

Worthington-Leese is today making his third live final table appearance in the space of two months, which includes an eighth-place finish in the WPT UK Main Event for $46,000. The London/Brighton-based 27-year-old has been playing poker for over ten years, but has spent the past three years playing professionally and has over $640,000 in combined live and online cashes, as well as capturing his first WSOP Circuit Ring in 2018 during a trip to Las Vegas.

The former ski instructor has made the final table on his third BOM bullet and was one of the chip leaders at the end of Day 1b. 

 Seat 9: Bruno Massimo, 50, Foggia, Italy - 7,900,00

50-year-old businessman Bruno Massimo is no stranger to poker on the island of Malta and is now poised for a major score here at the Battle of  Malta Main Event. "I play casually in Malta in small tournaments, you know, daily tournaments at local casinos, but the Battle of Malta is special." This is his third year playing in the event, but it's the first time he's made it to second day. And not only that, he's now made the third and the fourth day. "I spend half the year in Malta and half in Italy," said Massimo, who is married with three children. "It's very emotional."

There will now be a short pause in the live updates to allow for the 30-minute stream delay to kick in.

Stay tuned for full final table coverage from the Battle of Malta Main Event.

Josef Gulas opened to 800,000 and Colum Higgins defended his big blind. He then shoved for 2,350,000 on the flop and Gulas tank-called.

Higgins had flopped top pair with and Gulas held for a pair and a straight draw.

The turn improved Higgins to two pair and the river was the .

On the very next hand, Valerii Firstenko moved all in from the cutoff and Higgins three-bet all in from the small blind. Bruno Massimo folded his big blind and the cards were turned over.

Valerii Firstenko:
Colum Higgins:

There was no help for Firstenko on the and after a quick count, Firstenko was covered and he was eliminated, bubbling the final table.

Vincenzo Pinna moved all in for 4m from the button, and Steven Van Zadelhoff reshoved from the small blind for 21.6m. 

Pinna:

Van Zadelhoff:

Board:

Pinna was dominated but picked up additonal outs to the wheel on the flop. 

But the turn and river cards were no use to the Italian, and he departed in 11th place. 

Just 11 players remain in the largest Battle of Malta Main Event in history as a field of 4,657 has been whittled down to two tables.

After two eliminations, the live updates will return to a 30-minute delay once the live stream gets underway.

Leading the way is Josef Gulas who also lead after Day 2. He sits on 25,500,000 just ahead of Steven van Zadelhoff with 21,600,000.

They are the only two players above the twenty million mark which is good enough for around 80 big blinds once play gets underway.

Bringing up the rear is Vincenzo Pinna, Rune Moerk and Colum Higgins who will hope for a start that will rocket them up the counts and into contention once more.

At this stage, the players are all guaranteed €20,100 with €306,205 awaiting the winner.