With 333 entries on Day 1a, 585 entries on Day 1b, and 1,353 entries on Day 1c, this year's Battle of Malta Main Event is already up to a total of 2,271 entrants.

Today 203 players joined the 138 who advanced to Day 2 from Day 1a & 1b after a long day's play, securing themselves a place in the money. 

Danny Toffel, Colin Guthrie, Fraser MacIntyre, Jamie Nixon, Andy Hills, Daniel Samson and last year's champion Julien Stropoli all took part but were unable to progress. The current chip leader – and chip leader overall – is Italian Dario Marinelli on 608,000.

One of the players advancing is 888poker Ambassador Sofia Lovgren who jumped into the field midway through the day and ran up a stack of 80,000 from her 25,000 starting stack.

Joining the Swede for Day 2 are Jimmy Kebe (147,000), Chris Da Silva (117,000) and Steven van Zadelhoff (280,000) along with presumed chip leader Dario Marinelli (608,000) and fellow big stack Aidan Hynes (555,000).

Unfortunately, fan favourite John Hesp failed to make it through to Day 2. He was the penultimate bust out in the day and will have to try again to make it through to Day 2.

For players not advancing, they still have Days 1d, and the Turbo Day 1e flight to advance. Tomorrow sees Day 1d kick off at 1 pm with Day 1e Turbo starting at 9 pm with ten minute blind levels.

Be sure to stay tuned to the live updates as we bring you all the coverage from the Intercontinental Hotel and Casino Malta here at the Battle of Malta.

Damir Savio was all in for around 55,000 with but it wasn't looking good against the of Gabriele Re.

There was a king on the flop moving Re even further ahead. Savio was dead on the turn and the river sent them to the rail.

Keith Brennan was all in for 99,500 with against John Hesp who held

There was no help for Hesp who wanted to eliminate Brenan as the board came and Brennan doubled up.

The tournament clock shows 206 players remaining and the tournament is now hand-for-hand with 203 players making Day 2.

A reminder that you must make Day 2 to make the money.

With the end of the night in sight, Aidan Hynes is sitting on close to 600,000 chips. The tournament clock shows 225 players remaining with just 203 players bagging up in the money ahead of Day 2.

Day 1a chip leader Shane Dempsey bagged 390,000 and yesterday's Day 1b chip leader Niko Pakalen bagged 571,000. Hynes is on course to exceed that if he continues the trend over the last few minutes.

Patrick Solberg limped in the small blind and called a shove from Alfonso Amendola in the big blind for Amendola's last 35,000.

Patrick Solberg:
Alfonso Amendola:

The board ran out and fours held to allow Amendola to double through Solberg.

Action was on a flop of . Shaun De Cesare and Enrico Grella checked out of the blinds and Filippo D'Aparo continued for 17,000.

De Cesare called and Grella check-raised to 50,000. D'Aparo then moved all in for 650,00.

De Cesare tanked and flat-called, but then snap-called a snapshove from Grella.

Both De Cesare and Grella had flopped the nut straight, devastating D'Aparo who held .

The board bricked and a visibly frustrated D'Aparo was eliminated.

On a flop Patrick Solberg bet 7,000 and Hysaj Eljano called. The turn was the and Solberg check-called 22,500 from Eljano.

The river was the . Solberg checked again and Eljano bet 42,500. Solberg tank-called.

Eljano showed for a missed straight draw, with Solberg winning the pot with

Serghei Lisii moved all in for 45,000 from middle position. Manuel Coppola was on the button and moved all in for 35,000. The blinds folded.

Coppola was behind with against Lisii's

The flop came and Coppola completed his gutshot on the turn to leave Lissi short as the river came the

Knut Alexander Mo moved all in for around 50,000 from middle position. It folded around to Mario Eichenberg in the small blind who shoved all in for 30,000. The big blind folded and the cards were turned over.

Mario Eichenberg:
Knut Alexander Mo:

There was no help for Eichenberg on the board and he was sent to the rail.

Finnish poker legend Patrik Antonius, one of the biggest winners in online poker history, is here at Battle of Malta to host the Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge Pop-up Cup, sponsored by First Land of Poker (FLOP). Antonius, who has won nearly $12 million live and many more millions online, is Ambassador for FLOP, a special new social media app created exclusively for poker players.

With 1,353 players entering Day 1c of the Battle of Malta Main Event today, the tournament like other Day 1 flights is scheduled to play down to 15%

That means that the tournament will bag up when 203 players remain. The tournament clock shows 311 remaining, and judging by previous flights, the bubble is expect to burst at some point in Level 15.

The players are now on a 20-minute break. 

Mansouri Amir Houssein raised to 6,500 from middle position, and Duarte Hugo Filipe Marques called from the next seat. The player on the button also called before Dario Marinelli raised to 42,500 from the big blind. 

Houssein folded, and Marques moved all in for 55,000. 

The button folded, and Marinelli put the rest of his stack in the middle and was at risk. 

Marques:

Marinelli:

Board:

Marinelli hit a four on the flop to take the lead and held to secure an unlikely double. 

Marinelli moved up to 120,000, and Marques was left with just 2,500. 

Romanian player Constantin Negrii Dragos has become the first lucky player to grab himself a special prize courtesy of the Battle of Malta. He won himself a pair of Apple Airpods after rivering a full hosue with pocket eights earlier this afternoon.

The main prize this year in 888poker's promotion is still up for grabs. All 888poker players are automatically eligible for a brand new iPhone 11.

All players have to do is to make a Royal Flush in Spades holding two spades in your hand!

We look forward to someone being the lucky winner later in the festival!

Ronny Gresmo was all in for 36,000, and Patrick Pahr Solberg called 

Gresmo:

Solberg:

Board:

Gresmo was dominated but found a jack on the flop to take the lead. The turn and river cards improved his holding to a full house, and he survived in unlikely circumstances. 

Action was on a board and Idan Raz was facing a shove from an opponent for 82,900. Raz took his time before calling with for a pair of tens. 

His opponent held for top pair. However, the river brought another improving Raz to trip tens and he sent his opponent to the rail.

After eliminating Vladyslav Lidovskyi with pocket tens against ace-king, Stefan Petrov has now chipped up to 360,000 and appears to be the chip leader in the Battle of Malta Main Event.

Here are some other big stacks:

The flop fell , and with 14,000 in the middle, Dario Marinelli bet 4,700 from the button. 

The small blind player folded before Damir Savio called in the big blind, as did Kyriakos Papadopoulos from the hijack. 

All three players checked on the turn before the action checked through again on the river. 

Savio revealed for the flush and took down the pot, and both his opponents mucked. 

Danilo Cangianiello open-shoved for around 30,000 with and Dominico Pino re-raised in late position with . The remaining players all folded.

The board ran out with Cangianiello sent to the rail shortly after play resumed.

Adrian Van Bruggen raised from middle position and called after Matias Hautakangas moved all in for 25,000. 

Van Bruggen:

Hautakangas:

Board:

Hautakangas hit top pair on the flop and held after the board completed to seal the double up. 

Players are going on their 75-minute dinner break with the tournament clock displaying 560 of 1,344 players remaining.

Registration and re-entry will remain open for one more level after players return at approximately 21:15 local time.

Brandon Sheils raised to 2,700 from middle position, and Gianluca Fichera, Marius Constantin, and Einar Johansen called. 

The flop fell , and both Constantin and Johansen called Sheils' 4,000 bet. 

The hit on the turn, and the action again checked to Sheils. The Brit continued for 14,000 and took down the pot after both opponents folded. 

Mats Elofsson bet 5,500 with the flop down , and Shaun De Cesare moved all in for 19,000. 

"I have a very good hand," said De Cesare to Elofsson as he contemplated his next move. 

Elofsson thought for a minute with De Cesare stood from his chair. 

A few more seconds passed, and Elofsson folded. 

De Cesare was reminded by his fellow players that he had promised to show his next hand and obliged by flipping over . 

The flop fell , and with 25,000 in the middle, Stefan Petrov shoved for 200,000 from middle position. 

Francesco Coppola folded, and Antonino Calabro went into the tank from the button.

Calabro thought for nearly two minutes with 22,000 behind but called. 

Petrov flipped over for a gutshot straight draw, and Calabro was ahead with . 

The turn gave Petrov the flush draw, and when the appeared on the river, a shocked Calabro was eliminated. 

Due to capacity issues, tomorrow's Event 21 - €2225 Short Deck 6-Max has been cancelled (6pm, Friday 19th October).

Meanwhile, alternates for tonight's Event 16 - €220 Bounty for the Night are being seated from Registration Desk 6.

Ludovic Geilich has had an event Day 1c so far. The Scotsman joined the action midday way through the early levels, but after surviving just 90 minutes on his first bullet. 

After a brief appearance on the feature table, Geilich is back in the Battle of Malta Main Event on Day 1c in a bid to make the money spots and a place in Day 2. 

It’s Kings of Tallinn time in Malta!

Kings of Tallinn, dubbed “the largest poker festival in the North”, is running a great promotion at Battle of Malta to win a €2,000 package to next February’s festival. Visit the Kings of Tallinn stand in the Eden Arena and just fill out the flyer to enter the draw: the main raffle prize includes €1,100 Main Event ticket, €350 for travel expenses, and four nights’ accommodation for two at the luxury Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel! 

 Kings of Tallinn is also running some fun challenges and games at Battle of Malta, offering players the chance to win a €330 side event ticket!  Today – guess how many Battle of Malta Main Event entries we’ll have; tomorrow - pick a winner in classic flips of AK vs. QQ; Sunday - Estonian Twist. 

 Kings of Tallinn takes places in the fabulous Olympic Park Casino at the Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel from 17-23 February 2020. Italian Raffaele Cecere won Wednesday’s €200 Road to Kings of Tallinn tournament, snagging a €1,650 package along with this €5,850 cash prize. The winner for the €2k package will be drawn after Battle of Malta ends and announced via email and social media.

"You would not believe the luck," said a smiling Uri Gilboa as he exited the tournament area. Gilboa fired twice without success today but said that he will be back tomorrow.

Tomorrow offers players their last two chances to book places in Day 2. Day 1d starts at 1p.m. with the special Turbo Day 1e getting underway at 9 p.m.

Matos Gonzalez, Marius Morel, and Adrian Strobel were all in preflop with Strobel covering both opponents. 

Gonzalez:

Morel:

Strobel:

Board:

Strobel held his lead on the flop, although Morel's outs improved with the nut flush draw. 

However, the turn and river cards brought no surprises, and Strobel scored a double elimination. 

Alex Clark bet from middle position after the flop fell , and Salvatore Spadola called from the cutoff.

Clark continued for 5,300 on the turn, and Spadola called to see the river card. 

Clark slowed down and checked, which signaled a 13,000 bet from Spadola. 

Clark instantly folded, and Spadola moved up to 85,000. 

Patrik Antonius in the house – hosting PAPC Pop-Up Cup Finnish poker legend Antonius, one of the biggest winners in online poker history, is hosting this afternoon’s €300 buy-in Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge Pop-up Cup, sponsored by First Land of Poker (FLOP).  

Antonius, who has won nearly $12 million live and many more millions online, is Ambassador for FLOP, a unique new social media app created exclusively for poker players.  

FLOP, which is free and available on both IOS and Android, launched in March and already has thousands of members. Players can engage and share their passion for the game as well as get real-time information on poker rooms, cash games, and events.

The PAPC tournament in Malta follows the highly successful debut for the Patrick Antonius Poker Challenge in Tallinn in April, which broke Estonian records for cash games and tournaments.

Players are going on their second 20-minute break of the day. When they return they will play three more levels before a 75-minute dinner break.

Ruben Gravlien was all in with , and Lappas Charalampos had called with . 

The board was already down , and Gravlien secured the double up. 

Idan Raz is sitting pretty on a stack of 150,000 in Level 6 of Day 1c in the 2019 Battle of Malta Main Event.

Raz has three live cashes, two of which have come on the island of Malta, and will be hoping to use the momentum and the big stack he's built up so far to make it into the money later today.

The flop fell , and Angelo Basile bet 2,100 from early position. 

Nikolaos Karfakis called from the hijack before Olivieri Achille raised to 6,200. 

Baile thought for a minute before he folded, and Karfakis moved all in, which Achille called. 

Karfakis revealed for a full house and Achille held for trips. 

The turn and river were no help to Achille, and Karfakis doubled. 

Prezemuslaw Alberski got all his chips into the middle preflop against Valery Yantsevich and saw he was ahead. 

Alberski:

Yantsevich:

Board:

Top set for Alberski improved his lead, and his double-up was confirmed after the turn card fell. 

Hector Correa Perez opened and Niko Korhonen three-bet to 5,500 from the big blind. Perez called.

Korhonen bet 6,000 on the flop and Perez called. Korhonen continued on the turn for 10,000 and Perez called again.

The river was the and Korhonen bet enough to put Perez all in. The Spaniard tanked before calling, and was shown from his opponent.

Perez mucked but was forced to show and he was eliminated.

A whole bunch of top-flight female poker players are here in the Eden Arena competing on Battle of Malta Day 1c.

Betsson Poker Ambassador Daiva Byrne is sporting a pink t-shirt to mark Pink October Day today. Daiva is the founder of Fantastic Ladies in Poker, one of the biggest and fastest-growing online communities for women poker players. She launched the initiative three years ago, and it already has over 3,000 members.

888poker Ambassador Sofia Lovgren is also playing today along with well-known Jamila von Perger, currently the top three female live tournament players in Germany.

Battle of Malta is aiming to raise thousands for Pink October Malta with an amazing raffle during the event. Some incredible prizes are up for grabs, including two BOM 2020 seats and packages for Grosvenor’s Goliath 2020, 888Live London, the MPN Poker Tour, the World Casino Championships, the V-Poker Challenge or the Kings of Tallinn. Raffle tickets are on sale throughout the event.

On a board, Dimitrios Anastasakis checked to Carlos Martinez Casero who bet 2,500 into a pot of around 6,000.

Anastasakis then check-raised all in for 11,800 and after a tank, Casero called.

Dimitrios Anastasakis:
Carlos Martinez Casero:

It was a straight draw against top pair, and Anastasakis needed to improve. The turn and river wasn't what he needed and the Greek player was eliminated.

The flop fell , and with 10k in the middle, three players checked. 

The peeled off on the turn, and Vik Tore bet 6,000. One player folded, and Din Bitman called. 

Bitman checked on the river and Tore bet 10,000. 

Bitman raised to 35,000, and Tore put the last of his stack into the middle. Bitman revealed for a full house. 

Tore mucked for a straight and departed from the table. 

Oscar Quintero was all in holding against the of Dani Abi Rashed.

Quintero was in control and he avoided a banana skin on the runout to double to almost double starting stack, with Rashed slipping to 15,000. 

The flop fell , and Ronen Mirakov's all in for 11,000 was called by Vasileos Kaparakis. 

Mirakov held and was behind against . 

The on the turn gave Kaparakis two pair, but also Mirakov the flush draw. 

When the appeared on the river, Mirakov improved to his much-needed flush and won the pot to survive. 

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 players are on a 20-minute break. 

On a board, Assi Levi checked and Christopher Pierpoint bet 3,700. Din Arizon called before Levi check-raised all in for around 20,000.

Levi folded and Pierpoint tank-called for his last 17,000.

Assi Levi:
Din Arizon:

Prezemuslaw Alberski raised from the button, and Andy Hills defended his big blind. The flop fell and both players checked before the appeared on the turn. 

Hills check-called a 1,100 bet from Alberski, then check-called a 2,500 bet on the river. 

Alberski immediately mucked, and Hills won the pot without a showdown. 

The board was down , and Pasquale Ruggiero bet 1,800 from the cutoff. 

One player folded before Morten Mathiesen called, and 888poker ambassador Sofia Lovgren also folded. 

Mathiesen bet 2,500 on the river, and Ruggiero folded. 

Zoran Stojanovic opened to 800 and Sander van Wesemael three-bet to 2,200 on the button. Vittorio Di Troia called in the big blind and Stojanovic re-raised all in for around 8,000.

Wesemael shipped his 19,000 stack and Di Troia made it three all-ins for his last 14,000.

Zoran Stojanovic:
Sander van Wesemael:
Vittorio Di Troia:

The board was and Van Wesemael's hand held to send both players to the rail.

A player under the gun opened to 700 and got four calls including Antonio Scalzi on the button and Adam Watkins in the big blind.

The flop was and it checked to the preflop aggressor who continued for 1,300. Scalzi and Watkins called and the turn was the . Both Scalzi and Watkins called 1,900 again.

The river was the and the trio checked. Watkins showed for a missed straight draw but rivered pair of queens. The first player mucked, with Scalzi mucking and Watkins took down the pot.

The flop fell , and Giovanni Russo checked. 

Amir Maimon bet 6,000 into the 11,000 pot, and Russo went into the tank. 

Russo thought for close to three minutes before the clock was called on him by another player. 

The TD informed Russo he had 30 seconds left to act, and ten seconds later, he passed his cards into the muck. 

The completed board was down , and Kent Staahle was all in for 11,000. 

Hirsch called and revealed , but it wasn't enough against , and Hirsch hit the rail early on in Day 2. 

Maurizio Fiscaro bet 800 with the board down , and Sanjay Patel and Vladyslav Lisovskyi called before the final player involved folded. 

The appeared on the river, and Lisovskyi bet 1,400 after the action checked to him. 

Both Fiscaro and Patel called, and Lisovskyi revealed , which was enough to win the pot. 

On a board Matthew Vella bet 1,500 and got two calls.

The river was the and it checked to Vella who bet 7,000. One player folded before the other check-raised all in for around 40,000. Vella called.

The all-in player showed for a flopped set and rivered full house, but Vella had rivered a full house of his own with to send his opponent to the rail.

On a board Giacomo Nunziati check-called 3,500 from Sven Brodd.

The river was the and Nunziati checked. Brodd took about a minute before checking behind.

Nunziati shrugged, tabling for a missed flush draw and Brodd won the pot with for trip nines.

Among the masses of players to take their seats in Day 1c is Daiva Byrne, Danny Toffel, Jay Harwood, Andy Hills, Jon Kyte, Chritos Xanthopoulos, Jamie Nixon, Sandro Pitzanti, Mantas Urbonas, Sander Van Wesemael, and Daniel Wilson. 

With over 800 players registered on Day 1c, the tournament guarantee of €1,000,000 has been met.

That brings the total so far to 1,796 with late registration in Day 1c still open for ten more levels, and both Day 1d and 1e to come tomorrow!

Can the figure of 3,816 from 2018 be beaten?

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 Day 1c action is underway at Casino Malta. 

Live Updates by Will Shillibier and Aaron McBride

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

Yesterday's Day 1b saw 585 entrants compete, and with the action in level 14, the money bubble burst, leaving 88 players remaining to progress to Day 2 on Sunday, October 20.

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!