Last November the Bulgarian qualified online and turned €10 into €122,750 at the 2014 Battle of Malta.

Pokerzeit.com's Lars Liedtke met up with him again six months later, at the place of his biggest success, to find out what’s happened since.

PZ: Hello Antoan, thank you very much for taking the time. Can you introduce yourself to the audience and tell us when and where you first came into contact with poker?

Back where it began.

AK: I started playing poker four years ago while studying dentistry. At that time I was not sure if this is what I want to do with my life.

Then I discovered online poker. My first money I made in freerolls and after that I grinded my way up from NL2 before I decided to become a professional poker player.

PZ: Since Dimitar Danchev won the PCA in 2013 Bulgarians have become more and more a force in live tournaments. What do you think is the reason for the success? Do you exchange knowledge with each other? Can you describe the poker scene in Bulgaria?

AK: There are a couple of groups with 5 or 6 good players respectively, who exchange knowledge. 

Bulgaria is one of the poorest countries in Europe and in my opinion that’s why poker is quickly growing there as it gives people the chance to make a living.

With $1,000 you can live two to three months there.

PZ: You live in the capital, Sofia. Do you like living there? What makes up the charm of this city for you? Do you have casinos or poker rooms there where you can play live?

AK: In general Sofia is a great city for poker players as it is very cheap and Bulgaria has one of the fastest Internet connections in the world.

On the other hand crime is high, because the country is poor, and the rake on PokerStars is high since it became the first legal poker room last August.

In addition to that the market is getting more and more regulated. Online poker is legal now but there are much more restrictions than a year ago.

PZ: How did you hear about the Battle of Malta? And why did you decide to play the tournament?

AK: When I played the satellite I didn’t even know what exactly the Battle of Malta was.

I play poker professionally but don’t really care much about the poker scene.

PZ: You prevailed over 1,447 players and turned your buy-in of €550 into an unbelievable €122,750 at BOM 2014, which was the biggest poker tournament in Maltese history. What’s happened since then? Did this win change your life?

The biggest difference is I consider myself a much better player now.

AK: In fact it was much less as I qualified through a €10 satellite.

Since the win my life hasn’t changed that much. The biggest difference is that I consider myself a much better player now than I was back then.

At that time I was mostly playing mid-stakes and I learned a lot through playing high-stakes MTTs online afterward as those games are really tough.

I got some coaching and started to talk more with other players. In addition some of my friends are really good online players and they helped me become a better player.

PZ: The heads-up at the Battle of Malta was heavily discussed as you weren’t able to play it out and finish the tournament because of regulations in Malta. You had to make a deal in the end. What do you think about this way to end the tournament and did it affect heads-up play a lot?

AK: I was not happy at all because I played mainly Heads-Up Hyper Turbos at that time.

Heads-Up is my best game and I wanted to play to the end, as I was pretty sure that I would win.

PZ: You have your own coaching site and you also analyze hands for PokerStrategy Bulgaria. How did you become a poker coach? Do you also give private poker coaching or take coaching from other famous players? Does it help your own game when you coach less experienced players?

"I started from the bottom and invested a lot of time."

AK: I started from the bottom and invested a lot of time in the last few years to work on my game.

I analyzed around 4,000 hands for PokerStrategy. Regarding Sit & Gos I learned the most from “Unam,“ a Heads-Up Sit & Go coach from the German community.

When it comes to MTTs I recommend the public coaching of “bah22.”

Collin Moshman also helped me a lot. He became a good friend of mine. At PokerStrategy it is very common to exchange strategies.

Furthermore I have my own coaching site called “YourPokerSchool” where I have around 35 private students.

Analyzing their hands also helped me a lot and gave me a good unders

tanding of situations and ranges.

PZ: Can you compare the Battle of Malta to EPT Malta? What are the similarities and differences?

AK: The best tournament players in the world are playing in the EPT Main Events.

It is basically a REG-fest and the buy-in is above my bankroll, so I only play the satellites and wouldn’t buy-in directly as I don’t see myself at the same level of players like Vanessa Selbst.

The average player in an EPT Main Event is much better than at the Battle of Malta. BOM is more comparable to the IPT Main Event.

Reigning champ will be back to defend his honor.

In those two tournaments the average skill level is almost the same. There were good players at the Battle of Malta, but the number of them is much less than in an EPT and the value therefore is much higher.

PZ: What are your plans and goals for the future? Will you defend your title at the Battle of Malta 2015?

AK: My plan is to play more live tournaments and select them wisely. So I will travel next to the UKIPT Nottingham and then maybe to the Estrellas Poker Tour.

In November I will defend my title at the Battle of Malta. I am the reigning champion, so it is a question of honor.

The 2015 Battle of Malta Early Bird Special ends tomorrow (May 15), which means this is the last chance for players to get an up to 18% discount on their package.

The early-bird special is for hotel + buy-in packages, which start at €1,295. Each package also includes entrance to three separate VIP BOM parties.

You can buy packages for one, two or three players. The best deal is getting three of your friends together to play on Day 1b. That package costs just €2,759 for three players and offers a whopping 18% discount from regular pricing.

Head over to the Battle of Malta payment page ASAP to get it on the deal.

Extra Day Added to BOM for Potentially Bigger Field

Maria Ho

The Battle of Malta is once again set to be played out in the fall taking place Nov. 4-9, 2015, at the five-star Hilton Hotel in St. Julian’s.

The buy-in is just €550 with an enormous €500,000-GTD prize pool. Last year Antoan Katsarov outlasted 1,447 players to lock up a first-place prize of €122,750.

Maria Ho will once again handle the hosting duties with numerous pros expected to play the small buy-in tournament.

This year there may be even more players as an extra day has been added to the schedule to help assist with the massive throngs of players.

To learn more about the BOM or buy in directly you can head over to our Battle of Malta homepage.

1,447 players entered the BOM Main Event last year, crushing the €500k guarantee and earning the 2014 European Poker Award for best new low buy-in live event.

With a bigger capacity, more parties and an enhanced schedule of side events, this year is going to be even bigger.

Celebrity poker player Maria Ho is back as host and she'll be joined by a big group of A-list poker pros November 4-9, 2015 at the Portomaso Casino in Malta.

You can lock up your seat right now with an affordable package that includes:

Click here to buy your 2015 Battle of Malta package now!

Qualify Online and We'll Refund Original Purchase Price

If you want to lock up a package now but think you might try to grind a BOM package online with one of our sponsors, don't worry.

Maria Ho is back as BOM Host.

Anyone who buys a package directly and goes on to win one online will be refunded the entire original package price.

Right now there's a weekly BOM satellite happening Thursdays on 888poker. The buy-in is $160 with at least one package guaranteed per week.

888 also has a great step-system that gives you the chance to win your way to the Battle of Malta for as little as one cent!

Last year Scotland's Brendan Doogan started by buying into a one-cent satellite and made it through all six steps to win a $160 ticket to win a full BOM package.

Doogan competed in the Battle of Malta Main Event and turned that one-cent investment into a poker holiday in Malta and a 101st-place finish worth €1,250.

Click here to check out the latest online BOM qualifiers.

Maria Ho Invites You to 2015 Battle of Malta

This November you can get in on one of the most exciting low buy-in poker tournaments on the planet.

Check out the video to get a taste of the action!

Defining just exactly what the "spirit of poker" is can be elusive, but one thing's for sure: we know it when we see it.

These are poker players who stand out with joy, heart and originality both on and off the felt.

Newcomers who burst on the stage and take the poker tournament scene by storm. Oldtimers who’ve been around since the early days but still have plenty of game to compete with today's young guns.

Starts from the top down.

Our signature category - the Most Inspiring Player - highlights the players who not only make poker a living but make it so inviting others want to be a part of it too.

Every year at the Battle of Malta PokerListings crowns three players for their outstanding achievements on and off the felt for the past 12 months.

Who they'll be in 2015 is up to you.

Rising Stars, Living Legends

Distributed across three categories - Rising Star, Living Legend and Most Inspiring Player - the 2015 Spirit of Poker Award Nominees are a cross-section of everything that makes the game of poker great.

Eight players have been fastidiously picked by our editorial panel in each category and every single one of them has brought something unique to poker that deserves to be recognized. The official nominees for 2015:

2015 Most Inspiring Player Award

Rising Star Award

Future is here.

Living Legend Award

Voting Open Now!

With the nominees officially named it's now up to you, the readers, to determine who makes it to the shortlist of three in each category.

Head to the PokerListings Spirit of Poker Awards Main Page to vote and for an overview of the players' extraordinary achievements over the last year to help make your decision.

Voting is now open and will be until September 13, 2015, at midnight. The PokerListings team will then announce the three players with the most votes in each category.

The editorial panel will then vote on and determine the winners.

Past winners of Spirit of Poker Awards include Shannon Shorr, Dominik Panka, Thor Hansen, Luca Moschitta, Pierre Neuville and Naoya Kihara.

Award Ceremony at Battle of Malta 2015

Who will Maria crown this year?

The awards will be presented during the 2015 Battle of Malta which takes place November 4-9.

The 4th Annual Battle of Malta will be fought again in the Portomaso Casino in St. Julian’s, Malta.

It has grown every year since its inception in 2012 with almost 1,500 players in last year's main event to once again shatter the record for largest poker tournament ever in Malta.

Poker pro, TV presenter and 3-time Last Woman Standing in the WSOP main event, Maria Ho, will also be back to host again.

The 2015 Battle of Malta will be five intense days of poker. The main event will have three opening days to accommodate all players but you will also find side events every day including a 2-day Second Chance and a Pot-Limit Omaha Event.

Don’t forget the parties, either. Check out this video to see what they were like last year.

Go to our BOM payment page to book your VIP package. You can also qualify online for as little as 1c; find available satellites here.

Tell us who you think should get a PokerListings Spirit of Poker Award and vote! And we’d be thrilled to see you at the “Best Low Buy-in Poker Tournament in Europe."

With an expanded side-event schedule on top of the award-winning, €500,000 guaranteed €550 main event, a 2015 Battle of Malta final table is yours for the taking.

You can get there on the cheap, too, with satellites running daily and weekly on several online poker sites.

Platinum Sponsors 888poker, Betsson, Betsafe and NordicBet are all running dozens of events this summer with premium Battle of Malta packages on the line.

All packages are all-inclusive and include Main Event buy-in, hotel, party tickets, daily buffet and breakfast and more. Some also include extra cash for travel expense.

Silver Sponsor RedBet and Classic Sponsor PAFpoker are doing likewise and you can even begin your journey to the 2015 Battle of Malta for free.

Daily Freerolls at Betsson, Betsafe and NordicBet

If "free" is your current summer budget for poker satellites you still have lots of choices. Freerolls run twice daily at Betsson, Betsafe and NordicBet with 10 €3.30 Level 1 tickets added to each.

2,000 players expected in 2015.

Those €3.30 Level 1 satellites run 3x daily with €27 Level 2 tickets up for grabs.

One €175 weekly final ticket is guaranteed in each Level 2 event which can put you in the running for a premium €1,550 Battle of Malta package.

€2,000 2015 Battle of Malta Packages at 888Poker

Battle of Malta qualifiers at 888poker start at 1c and run daily. Win your way up to a $160 Step 5 Ticket and it can be used for any 888Live & Major Tournaments including the weekly BOM qualifier every Thursday.

Spectacular locale for spectacular poker.

Two more exclusive freerolls will also run over the summer on Aug. 2 and Oct. 4. PokerListings players who earn just 100 points in the respective qualifying periods will get a ticket.

Each winner will receive a deluxe $2,000 2015 Battle of Malta package including:

Sign up for an account via our 888poker review to be eligible and to qualify for an exclusive $888 bonus.

Win a €1,800 BoM Package at PAF Poker!

Play Against Friends (PAF) Poker is upping the stakes for its 2015 Battle of Malta packages to truly make it a poker holiday to remember.

Daily freezeouts are available from $5.50 to $108 buy-ins with tickets up for grabs to the next step in each. The Malta Live Poker Final $320 Freezeout runs every Sunday at 8 pm with at least one package guaranteed.

PAF Battle of Malta Packages include:

Check the Battle of Malta Qualifiers page for details. And check back regularly for more qualifiers added!

It can be the player's personality, success in the game, or even just something said on TV once. Maybe it's how he or she played a certain hand.

For the past three years PokerListings has put those players in the spotlight for our annual Spirit of Poker Awards. The awards are handed out in three different categories: Living Legend, Rising Star and Most Inspiring Player.

The eight nominees in each category are the players we feel have been the most inspirational on and off the felt over the past 12 months.

At the 2015 Battle of Malta PokerListings will host the third Spirit of Poker Awards ceremony and who will ultimately win in each category all comes down to you.

Who do you think deserves it? Take part in the voting and give your favorite player his or her due. As part of a three-part series here's a closer look at our 2015 Most Inspiring Player nominees.

Martin Jacobson

Age: 28

Country: Sweden

Cashes last 12 months/WSOP 2015: 9/2

His $10 million triumph at the 2014 WSOP was the tipping point of a poker career that began in 2008 and had, to that point, included four runner-up finishes at EPT, WPT and High Roller events.

Jacobson immediately put that money to work for the global causes he finds important. Prior to becoming the world champ he signed on to represent the Raising for Effective Giving charity and donated 1% of his take - totaling $250,000 - in support of the humane treatment of animals.

Jacobson has also inspired the poker community with his continued dedication to better health. Physical fitness is a major trademark and it was only fitting the meticulous preparation he put in for last year’s WSOP final table paid off.

He trained with over 30 different players and had them take on the roles of his opponents, which they had to study in turn. Studies included videos, past events and statistical analyses.

The payoff: Jacobson overcame his shorter stack to win poker's ultimate championship. He's now #1 on the all-time Swedish money list, #1 in the Swedish POY ranking and made it into the Top 10 of the world’s all-time money list.

But his legacy will carry on far past any poker leaderboard.

Davidi Kitai

Age: 35

Country: Belgium

Cashes last 12 months/WSOP 2015: 18/2

What can be more inspiring than ambition? The small-but-energetic poker powerhouse that is Belgium has brought forth the man we call the “Phil Ivey of Europe."

Kitai has made it his mission to conquer the GPI rankings and he’s already made it to second place. In the meantime he's #1 in the Belgian all-time money rankings and #1 in the Belgian POY rankings.

But maybe the most fascinating thing about him is his incredible insight into the game. Watch how he baffles his opponent at a WSOP final table, calling three streets with queen high and then showing confidently!

Leo Margets

Age: 31

Country: Spain

Cashes last 12 months/WSOP 2015: 3/0

The Last Woman Standing at the WSOP main event in 2009, Leo has come a long way since then. She’s a PokerStars team pro, a writer and a sports fanatic.

She uses physical challenges to get in the right mindset and she even has an almost ready manuscript for a novel on her bookshelf.

She listens to what people has to say and 24k followers on Twitter are more than enough evidence that people like to listen to what she says, too.

Recently Leo has taken up writing a blog on PokerListings to give us some personal insight into the life of a professional player with all its ups and downs.

Many women learn poker from their boyfriends, as Margets did, but few go on to make it their own career and prevail in such a male-dominated environment.

Aditya Agarwal

Age: 30

Country: India

Cashes last 12 months/WSOP 2015: 8/2

Plenty of players have stood out by influencing a larger group of people. Agarwal, by comparison, is the poker spearhead of a whole sub-continent with well over a billion people.

He’s the first player from India ever to be named to Team PokerStars Pro. He has more cashes than any other player from India. He’s made the money in the WSOP main event the last three years in a row (71st this year) and he’s number one in the Indian GPI.

Asia is still underrepresented on the global poker circuit despite a larger population than all the other continents together and it needs players like Agarwal to change that.

With the second largest population on Earth India's poker potential is unfathomable and Agarwal is the guy who might just wake up the Bengal Tiger.

Dominik Nitsche

Age: 24

Country: Germany

Cashes last 12 months/WSOP 2015: 19/6

At the age of only 24 poker globetrotter Dominik Nitsche already has 92 cashes in international tournaments.

There are plenty of good players in Germany but nobody is as outspoken about the level of play, nobody spends as much time in commentary booths and nobody spends as much time on the road.

Since he burst on the stage with an LAPT win at the age of only 18 Nitsche has won titles and tournaments on all continents.

Recently 888poker has contracted him so he’s now a sponsored player who’s still winning. His second place at the Bellagio Cup post-WSOP is just one more example.

Anatoly Filatov

Age: 27

Country: Russia

Cashes last 12 months/WSOP 2015: 9/2

Ever think there’s not enough fun in poker? Then you obviously haven’t met Anatoly Filatov.

The man from Moscow – often dressed in the most striking of colors – always has a very good time -- at the poker table as well as away from it.

Filatov this year led Team Russia into the finals of the inaugural Global Poker Masters in Malta, won the High Roller event of the WPT Cyprus and was a jury member at the European Poker Awards.

One of the most talked about and revered players on the Russian poker forums, Filatov may not be a big name in the Englush market yet but he's a driving force of one of the biggest poker markets in the world.

Jason Somerville

Age: 28

Country: US

Cashes last 12 months/WSOP 2015: 3/2

One of the latest introductions to the PokerStars team Somerville has accumulated almost 7.5 million views with his broadcasts on Twitch -- many people seeing his clips as the most educational for new players out there.

He’s excelled as a live commentator for TV and entertained poker fans from all over the world with his chats with professional players.

Somerville has also received a lot of acclaim for his online poker career where he made over $2m without ever making a deposit.

His live successes include a 4th place in the $100k Las Vegas High Roller event for $1.3 million but maybe the bravest thing he’s ever done was coming out as poker's first openly gay pro in 2012.

He continue to inspire poker players - and people from all walks of life - to live out their best lives. And not much you can accomplish on the felt can top that.

Max Pescatori

Age: 44

Country: Italy

Cashes last 12 months/WSOP 2015: 22/7

“The Italian Pirate” this summer became the first European player ever to win four WSOP bracelets. His victories have come in four different games, too, as he's won tournaments in No-Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha, Razz and Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo.

Pescatori lives in Las Vegas but hails from Milan, Italy. Like many live players he’s on the road almost all the time. Over the last 12 months Pescatori has cashed in Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia and England.

He’s been partly responsible for two of the very few books on poker that were originally written in Italian. His live career began in 2002 and he’s now accumulated almost 200 cashes. He shows no signs of slowing down.

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Which of these players do you consider most inspiring to the poker community? Who do you look up to?

Cast your vote right here!

If you want to play the 2015 PokerListings Battle of Malta for free the upcoming satellites on RedBet Poker are an excellent place to start.

RedBet has just started its exclusive 'Road to Malta' promo with 10 exclusive freerolls every week.

Over $4,000 in tournament tickets and two 2015 Battle of Malta packages worth €1,550 each will be awarded.

The Road to Malta began on RedBet this week and will run straight through until Oct. 2.

You can qualify for the Road to Malta freerolls in two different ways:

1. Daily freeroll/coin flip tournaments.

2. Deposit €25 or more using that week’s code.

Over €3,000 in 2015 Battle of Malta Packages

The Battle of Malta

After the promo ends on Oct. 2 the player that sits atop the Road to Malta leaderboard will earn a full €1,550 package to the Battle of Malta.

In addition there will be a Road to Malta Final Freeroll on Oct. 9 where the eventual winner will walk away with a €1,550 package.

You can qualify for the Road to Malta Final Freeroll in three different ways:

- Finish in the top 3 on the Road to Malta Leaderboard
- Play 1,000 ranked hands between July 27-Oct. 2
- Play 8 out of the 10 Road to Malta freerolls

Last year the Battle of Malta attracted nearly 1,500 runners which created a prize pool of €701,795.

This year the tournament is expected to be even bigger, thanks to an extra starting day, and could potentially get close to a €1m prize pool.

For more information you can check out the RedBet Road to Malta homepage. Also be sure to check out our 2015 Battle of Malta homepage.

No matter how often people say poker is now "unbeatable," every year several young players emerge who literally crush the tournament scene.

Joe Hachem was clearly wrong when he said “poker is dying" and Jonathan Little very right when he said that when everyone’s getting better, you just have to stay ahead of the pack.

Amazingly there are young players all over the world who not only stay ahead but come from nowhere to bypass almost everyone.

The PokerListings Spirit of Poker Awards were designed to highlight these outstanding up-and-comers and our 2015 Rising Star category is filled with eight players who captured poker's imagination on and off the felt over the last 12 months.

Now it's up to you to pick whomever you think deserves the final reward for those efforts. Read on for more on our nominees and then vote here to show your appreciation.

Dzmitry Urbanovich

Age: 19

Country: Belarus/Poland

Cashes last 12 months/at 2015 WSOP: 23/0

The only reason why Urbanovich, who was born in Belarus but lives in Poland, didn't cash in the WSOP this year is because he’s still too young to play in it.

What an incredible year for the shooting star! He had a couple of cashes in the second half of 2014 -- even winning a side event at the PCA -- but then something happened and his results went through the roof.

He came to the first EPT Malta and straight out won the €25k High Roller event. He then finished 8th, 1st, 1st, 2nd and 1st within the next eight days, skyrocketing him to the top of both the Polish GPI and the GPI POY race.

That was the first time a player won four tournaments at one EPT. Urbanovich then went on to play the EPT Grand Final, where he came second in the €100k Super High Roller, cashed in the main event and then finished off with a third place in the €10k turbo.

If Dominik Panka put Poland on the map with his success last year Urbanovich took off running with the torch, showing just how much poker potential there is in Eastern Europe.

Adrian Mateos

Age: 21

Country: Spain

Cashes last 12 months/at 2015 WSOP: 14/1

The short career of the young London resident from Madrid is nothing but staggering.

Second-youngest player to win the WSOP Europe Main Event. One of the youngest to win an EPT Main Event. First Spanish player to win an EPT Main Event - and it was the Grand Final at that.

Youngest Spanish player to hit the top spot of Spain's Global Poker Index rankings. Highest-ranking Spanish player in the GPI. All before he was even allowed to enter a casino in the United States.

Maybe even more impressively with such an awe-inspiring resume – the young superstar with the most humble attitude.

While an increasing number of young players seem to have lost the capability to speak in anything but poker lingo, with Mateos it’s still about fulfilling dreams and doing things he couldn’t have done without poker.

He just turned 21 on July 1 and made the money at the WSOP Main Event on his first attempt. It seems there are no more limits to what Mateos can do.

Fedor Holz

Age: 21

Country: Germany

Cashes last 12 months/at 2015 WSOP: 19/4

The shooting star from Germany has been crushing both live and online poker rooms in the last 12 months. In August 2014 Holz was ranked no. 1849 in the GlobalPokerIndex. In July 2015, he now no. 38.

Holz had played live before but after he won a €2k side event at EPT Barcelona he went into God mode. He cashed in the main and the High Roller and then went home to play the WCOOP.

As if he’d known, he said in a video podcast only hours before the WCOOP main event that he felt like he has a great edge and that he was optimistic about reaching his goal to win a million before turning 22.

It took him only 48 hours to win the tournament and $1.3m. Back on the road Holz went on to win an MPS event in November and final tabled an EPT main, €50k High Roller and a €100k Super High Roller event.

This summer was the first time Holz was allowed to play at the WSOP. He came third in the $10k NLHE 6-max Championship and reached Day 7 of the WSOP main event, ultimately finishing 25th.

Apart from all that Holz is a frequent and passionate traveler, reader and podcaster. He’s accessible and socially active and he’s happy to share his experiences. Holz had a long way to the top but got there through hard work and studies and there’s no one questioning he deserves his success.

Charlie Carrel

Age: 21

Country: Great Britain

Cashes last 12 months/at 2015 WSOP: 11/2

What Urbanovich is for Poland, Holz is for Germany and Mateos is for Spain, Charles Carrel is for England.

Carrel went from cashing in an EPT side event in San Remo to winning the €25k High Roller event of the EPT Grand Final for €1.1 million in 13 months.

In between Carrel won a GUKPT main event and final tabled the €10k High Roller Event in Malta. He also managed to turn a $15 deposit into half a million dollars playing online poker.

Maybe falling victim to an online hack was what made him really famous, though, when last January a railbird managed to log into his team viewer account and transferred $1,000 to himself live on Twitch while Carrel was in the bathroom.

His unrelenting spirit in the face of poker travails both good and bad  - plus his psychedelic hoodies - make Carrel a memorable addition to the poker world.

Sabina Hiatullah

Age: 28

Country: Germany/Italy

Cashes last 12 months/at 2015 WSOP:12/1

German-Italian player Sabina Hiatullah is  on the verge of a serious breakthrough at the international poker tables. Having scored several final tables at open events on the EPT, IPT and Eureka Poker Tour plus cashes at the FPS and the CPT in St. Maarten, it’s only a matter of time until she takes one down.

Having said that Hiatullah did "win" the now-infamous Ladies event at the final EPT in Deauville, losing the heads-up to a male player after which she was presented with the trophy.

That tournament re-sparked the discussion of how to keep men from joining Ladies events. Not that it bothered her, really, as she couldn’t find any good players among those men.

Hiatullah has also shown her skill on TV, coming out victorious in the second season the Italian version of House of Poker.

Akira Ohyama

Age: N/A

Country: Japan

Cashes last 12 months/at 2015 WSOP: 2/0

With more than 4 billion inhabitants it’s pretty obvious Asia is the future of online poker. It's a pretty safe bet Akira @ClutchHero Ohyama will be remembered as one of the players that spearheaded the development.

888poker realized it first and signed Ohyama as one of its team pros. He’s been out and around at many of the largest tournaments in Asia – like the APPT, APT, the Macau Poker Cup etc - but he learned the game when he studied at William and Mary in the US.

He learned quickly because his first entry in the Hendonmob database is a WSOP Circuit tournament win in Atlantic City for $29,843.

Ohyama is more of an online player, though, and he’s won almost $2m. His results keep on coming on both platforms; just the other day he came second in “The Whale," one of the majors on 888poker.

In his homeland he tops the rankings of online players; worldwide he’s already one of the top 400 players according to pocketfives.com. That’s good enough to become one of the coaches at Runitonce.com - the marquee poker coaching site online.

Pablo Gordillo

Country: Spain

Cashes last 12 months/at 2015 WSOP: 3/0

Gordillo is a silent assassin with lethal efficiency. Of his six entries in the Hendonmob, four are final tables.

In 2014 he was close to snatching away the first Spanish EPT title from Adrian Mateos when he came 4th in Vienna.

But Gordillo really hit his stride earlier this year when he chose to play a couple of online tournaments on PokerStars on a Sunday afternoon.

As it turned out he went on to win the Sunday Kick-off, the Sunday Storm and the Bigger $55 all in one session, beating out around 45,000 players in the process.

It's an accomplishment not likely to be matched anytime soon.

Claudico

Claudico's on the left

Age: 1

Country: United States

Cashes last 12 months/at 2015 WSOP: 0/0

The most controversial candidate of the 70+ nominees we’ve had at the Spirit of Poker Awards is Claudico, the most sophisticated No-Limit Hold'em AI ever created.

In today’s poker world the question isn’t any more of "if" there are bots or not. There are, and they're improving. Quickly.

Claudico proved just how high the bar has already been set when it played heads-up superstars Doug Polk, Dong Kim, Jason Les and Bjorn Li to a virtual standstill.

Les has even said it will likely beat the best human pros in less than five years, which is both a daunting  - and inspiring - thought.

For now Claudico has the edge over all other poker software programs but the most amazing thing about it is actually what it might become beyond poker.

Its ultimate purpose - decision-making with incomplete information to be used in fields as critical as medicine and security - couldn't be more fitting of a poker award.

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Made up your mind? Head to our voting page to vote for your favorite!

The PokerListings 2013 Battle of Malta hasn’t even begun and it’s already smashed the €200,000 guarantee in preregistration.

Day 1b is nearly sold out and players looking to avoid getting shut out would be better suited to register for Day 1a, which takes place on Thursday, Sept. 26.

The Battle of Malta is a unique low buy-in live tournament that costs just €550 with the high-roller style of a much more expensive event.

The tournament offers several VIP parties, exclusive trophies and a picturesque location.

Kara Scott Returns as Battle of Malta Host

Kara Scott

This year Dan “jungleman12” Cates, Luca Moschitta, Sofia Lövgren, Ashton “theASHMAN103” Griffin, Andreas Høivold and many more poker pros are expected to play.

They’ll be joined by a number of celebrities including Finnish stunt crew The Dudesons and adult actress Puma Swede.

Kara Scott returns as video host for the tournament.

The 2013 Battle of Malta takes place from Sept. 26-29 at the Portomaso Casino in beautiful and sunny St. Julian’s, Malta.

This year’s tournament is expected to be one of the biggest ever held in Malta.

They might not always stand in the lamplight of the highest-stakes games or the biggest tournaments.

Or, like in the case of Erik Seidel, they may still.

But without these players there wouldn’t be a World Poker Tour. Or a Bobby’s Room. Or even, maybe, a World Series of Poker.

If you think poker is a young man’s game consider this: There were almost 4,200 players in this year’s WSOP Seniors Championship. And with Neil Blumenfield and Pierre Neuville there are also two players over 60 in the November Nine.

if you get the chance to play in an international poker tournament, speak to the seniors; they're usually the most fun to talk to. And boy do they have stories to tell.

PokerListings created the Living Legend Award back in 2012 to recognize the contributions of players over the age of 50 who made the game of poker what it is. Who laid the foundation for what poker could and can still become.

Past winners Neuville and Thor Hansen give way to a new winner in 2015 that's among the following eight names. Whom do you think deserves it the most? Vote and let us know right now!

Konstantin Puchkov

Age: 63

Country: Russia

Cashes last 12 months/2015 WSOP: 14/4

You know how people travel less when they get older? Not Konstantin Puchkov. Puchkov appears at so many poker tournaments around the world you start to wonder if he has a twin brother.

From Russia through most of the European countries across the Atlantic to Las Vegas, Puchkov’s been there. And he's cashed. Over and over again.

In 2012 Puchkov had a record 11 in-the-money finishes at the WSOP. Last year he made the last three tables at the Battle of Malta, eventually finishing 21st.

Puchkov’s passion also shows in his second-favorite hobby – breeding horses. In an interview last year Puchkov told us that when he started he gave all the foals poker names like “Freeroll," “Full House” and even “Full Tilt Poker."

Nominated each year for this award count on Puchkov making it for many years to come if he doesn’t win this year. Or, likely, even if he does.

Dan Heimiller

Age: 53

Country: US

Cashes last 12 months/2015 WSOP: 26/5

Dan Heimiller has seen some bad times. Especially early in his career. When he finally saw some success he decided to take the liberty of making the move to full-time poker.

That was roughly 25 years ago. He now has $5.4 million in live cashes including a victory at the WSOP Seniors event last year.

Heimiller has seen it all, played it all, and every second of his sentences will make likely make you laugh.

With 266 live cashes Heimiller has become pretty much the Bob Dylan of poker, if you consider that Dylan’s “Never Ending Tour” began in 1988, only three years before Heimiller started out.

We stopped counting his cashes for 2015 after the WSOP finished but you can count on him cashing at least twice since you started reading this article.

Barry Greenstein

Age: 60

Country: US

Cashes last 12 months/2015 WSOP: 0/0

Although Greenstein hasn’t made any big appearances on the live stage in the last 12 months he’s certainly a hallmark of poker both pre- and post-Moneymaker.

Aptly named the “Robin Hood of Poker” for giving all his winnings to charity he was one of the most prominent members of Team PokerStars. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who has promoted the game more than he has.

Greenstein was a fixture on all the major poker shows, playing the highest stakes and being involved in one of the biggest pots ever played on TV when he lost a seven-figure pot to Tom Dwan.

Showing he hasn't lost his love of the game at all he's also still active at the highest stakes of play-money poker where he's perpetually interacting with fans and celebrating the game of poker.

He's also won the Sunday Billion, PokerStars' marquee play-money tournament, twice. Greenstein has three bracelets, triumphed at the WPT and amassed more than $8m in tournament winnings and is the author of the modern poker classic, Ace on the River.

James Woods

Age: 68

Country: US

Cashes last 12 months/2015 WSOP: 6/2

He’s known mostly for his Hollywood career but his poker results go back to 2004 - at least officially. He's also one of the most passionate, enthusiastic players we’ve ever met.

This summer he made his first WSOP final table. Impressively it was in a No-Limit Hold'em shootout event, meaning he beat two tables of world-class professionals.

Despite his age Woods is a fan of the new generation of online poker players and he still sees himself as a student of the game.

He’s also a role model for amateur players with the way he sees the game, saying that he’s “more motivated than ever," enjoys the game while still taking it seriously and revels in the idea that everyone can win.

“I hope what I do for the game is that I make it appealing to people that the game needs,” he told us this summer. Mission accomplished.

Humberto Brenes

Age: 64

Country: Costa Rica

Cashes last 12 months/2015 WSOP: 2/0

It’s no exaggeration to say that Humberto Brenes brought poker to Latin America.

When he won the only $10k event outside the WSOP in Tunica in 2002, one year before the boom, poker was so rare on Costa Rican TV that whenever the finale was shown again people thought Brenes had won yet another tournament.

Brenes is humble enough to say he’s not the best player in the world and he’s never had the ambition to be a superstar. But he’s definitely proud of his significance for the poker world, and rightly so.

For eight years he was a member of Team PokerStars Pro and his winnings surpass the $6m mark.

Brenes has already been nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame but hasn’t been inducted yet. It should be only a matter of time.

Jackie Cachia 

Age: N/A

Country: Malta

Cashes last 12 months/2015 WSOP: 2/0

Jackie Cachia is living proof that it’s never too late to learn to play poker.

She started playing at a relatively late stage in her life but once she did she quickly became a regular at her local casino, the Portomaso in St. Julian’s.

Now Jackie has cashes at WPT and IPT events, the Battle of Malta and the Irish Open. Her biggest result was a third place in one of the tournaments of the Extravaganza series at The Palazzo in Las Vegas.

In Malta Jackie is a local hero and if you get yourself a ticket to this year’s BOM, chances are you’re going to meet her. You won't be disappointed.

Padraig Parkinson

Age: 54

Country: Ireland

Cashes last 12 months/2015 WSOP: 2/0

One of the wittiest, most original ambassadors of European poker Parkinson is a well of stories and a genuine representative of Irish Poker.

Parkinson was there when Chip Reese, Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, Amarillo Slim and Puggy Pearson first came to Europe and played in the Irish Open, the oldest poker tournament on the continent.

In return Parkinson frequently visited the WSOP and came third in the 1999 Main Event when his fellow countryman Noel Furlong won it.

For decades Parkinson has promoted poker as a grassroots movement, a game that is there for everyone and not just the superstars. He also does spectacular work as a poker commentator and engages in charity work for homeless people.

All that and a sense of humor, too? We should all be so lucky.

Erik Seidel

Age: 55

Country: US

Cashes last 12 months/2015 WSOP: 12/4

At age 55 Seidel doesn’t seem to have peaked at all. In fact it looks much more like he's he's only just reaching his stride.

239 cashes (He'll probably reach 250 before the BOM starts), total earnings of over $25 million (#3 all-time) and a #6 ranking in the GPI popularity index -- all just a fraction of what makes Seidel so great.

For eight weeks the unassuming Seidel quietly made it to the top spot of the GPI ranking. With eight bracelets, he’s also the sixth most successful WSOP player of all time.

Seidel was raised in New York and he’s a big fan of jazz music and theater. He also used to be a top-class Backgammon player.

If you're not a big poker fan and wondering where you recognize him from, he made the heads-up of his first WSOP main event in 1988 and lost to Johnny Chan. The last hand has become a legend since it was featured in Rounders.

This November the Battle of Malta is back for its fourth year and according to BOM Host Maria Ho, you definitely don't want to miss it.

BOM 2015 is absolutely stacked with action including the €550 buy-in, €500,000 guaranteed Main Event, a huge schedule of side events and tons of parties to keep you busy when you're not playing poker.

Last year Maria Ho took over the role of BOM host from Kara Scott and this year she's ready to take on the biggest Battle of Malta yet.

“I had high expectations coming into the Battle of Malta and it definitely exceeded all my expectations and then some,” said Ho.

“It was a blast from start to finish.”

In 2014 the Battle of Malta set the record for the biggest poker tournament ever held in Malta with 1,447 entries. It also won the European Poker Award for Best New Low Buy-In Tournament.

This year a third Day 1 flight has been added which means the field could be even bigger.

Battle of Malta About More than Poker

Maria said that although the poker action was a big part of the trip, a lot of her Battle of Malta highlights came away from the table.

A few of her standouts included the parties, the friendly vibe and the beautiful location.

“I think it's appealing to be playing for a substantial amount of money but also when you get a bad beat people were laughing about it instead of getting mad and that was the general vibe.”

Play poker on the Mediterranean this fall.

“For a lot of people it was their first time in Malta even though there were a lot of Europeans there and they all had amazing things to say.

“There's so much to do and see and it's all in a pretty concentrated area so you can go outside of the hotel and see the sights and walk around and go out to a nice dinner but it doesn't take that long and you don't have to go too far.

“The Battle of Malta definitely had everything you want in a poker tournament.”

Check out the new video with Maria Ho below to hear more about why the Battle of Malta is Europe's hottest low buy-in poker tournament.

Click here to buy a Battle of Malta package now.

Put it in the books: The 2013 Battle of Malta has blown the doors off the Portomaso Casino with 888 total runners and a massive €440k+ prize pool.

While a healthy field was expected an overwhelming crowd descended on Malta to push the Casino to full capacity and even leave a few on the waiting list.

The official prize pool won't be announced until tomorrow but a safe estimate is right around €444,000 - an impressive 2.5x the original guarantee.

The benficiaries? Everyone who makes the money -- and particularly this year's tourney winner who should pocket around €100k along with the super cool BOM trophy.

On a €550 buy-in, that's a truly extraordinary number.

The Thrill of a Big Tour without the Cost or Pressure

Kara Scott: Has a pretty good idea why people love the BOM.

In just its second year the PokerListings Battle of Malta is proving it fills an important niche in the poker community.

With the big tours - the EPT, WPT and WSOP - stuffed with pros and hefty buy-ins, the atmosphere is tense, quiet and pressure packed.

At BOM the overwhelming vibe is fun. Table talk is lively, stories are being swapped and the joy of the game is at the forefront.

Host Kara Scott, a veteran on the pro circuit with plenty of experience in big buy-in events, is enjoying what she sees:

"When I'm playing in really big events, like the World Series Main Event, the Irish Open, some of the big WPTs, you get a lot of pros at your tables.

"And that's, you know, we're there to make money and they're there to make their living so I understand it, but there's a lot of headphones, it's prety quiet, there's not a lot of talking.

"Here at the Battle of Malta it's kind of the opposite of that.

"People want to know each other's stories, there'a a lot more talking at the tables... I didn't see almost anyone wearing headphones and almost tuning out of their table.... It's more of a relaxed atmosphere. It's more about enjoying the game..."

Check out Kara's full take on the BOM and why it's so successful below; check all the latest live updates straight from the floor right here.

For three straight years PokerListings has been awarding special prizes to sometimes unheralded poker players for their outstanding passion for the game as part of our Spirit of Poker Awards.

There’s a good chance you’ve heard of at least one of our former winners as Pierre Neuville become the first Spirit of Poker winner to make the celebrated November Nine this summer.

The idea behind the Spirit of Poker Awards was to show that the media acknowledges and appreciates when players display an enthusiasm and passion for poker.

The awards highlight the performances and achievements of players who don’t necessarily stand in the spotlight all the time.

Kihara, Neuville, Hansen Among Past Winners

Naoya Kihara

Take Naoya Kihara for example. Kihara is still relatively unknown in Europe, but he’s the first Japanese player ever to win a WSOP bracelet –- Takahiro Nakai became the second one this summer –- and he’s a spearhead for the promotion of poker in the far East.

Since he won the PL Award for being the Most Inspiring Player of the Year, Kihara has made it to #1 on the Japanese GPI, joined team PokerStars and past the $1 million mark in winnings while traveling around the globe.

Or how about Thor Hansen, our winner of the Living Legends segment last year. The Norwegian poker icon has been living as a Las Vegas poker pro decades before something like online poker was even invented.

Hansen played with all the mobsters who used to rule in Vegas, he was staked by Hustler owner Larry Flynt, and he won his first bracelet in 1988, when Chris Moneymaker was twelve years old.

When he married Poker Hall of Fame member Eric Drache was his best man and the Norwegians proudly call Hansen their “Godfather”.

He faced the worst diagnosis you can receive from a doctor in 2012 and he was told he had but a few months left. So Thor adapted.

He went back to Norway to get treatment, and he refused to give up. He started playing online and won a SCOOP event. He went back to Vegas this year and cashed five times.

If that’s not an inspirational story in poker than what is?

All Ages Represented in the Spirit of Poker Awards

Dominik Panka

On the other end of the scale, nobody had ever heard of Dominik Panka before January 2014. Then he won the PCA main event and the high roller event in Deauville before the month ended.

Panka represents a new generation of young players who combine great poker skills with a humble attitude and a desire to achieve more in life than just tournament results.

After being named the Rising Star of the Year at the Battle of Malta, 2014, Panka confirmed his skills when he returned to Malta a few months later and came third at the EPT main event.

Luca Moschitta, who was our first Rising Star, has had 17 international cashes since late 2013, and he’s established himself as a team pro for PlanetWin365.

Shannon Shorr has been inspiring poker players for many years. A professional in the truest sense of the word Shorr is on his own regarding finances and organization with no safety net in form of a sponsoring contract.

In his blog, he talks about his journey through life and the world and gives insights into his personal thoughts that everybody can relate to.

Neuville Still Burning Bright

Pierre Neuville at the WSOP

Finally Pierre Neuville was the first player to win the Living Legend Award in 2013 thanks to his extreme passion for poker and the fact he qualified for 21 EPT Main Events in a row and finished runner-up twice.

Since then, Pierre has made the money in 35 tournaments, and 2015 is without a doubt going to be the biggest year of his life, because he has a seat at the biggest table of all: The 2015 WSOP November Nine.

He’s also guaranteed a little over one million in prize money already in the WSOP main event, so this year is also the one where he’s going to have his largest score ever.

Do you agree with our nominations for the most promising Rising Star, the Most Inspiring player of the year, and best player over 50 this year?

Go to our PokerListings Spirit of Poker Awards 2015 page and place your own vote. The Awards Ceremony is going to take place during the Battle of Malta in November.

Past Winners

Rising Stars – Luca Moschitta (2013), Dominik Panka (2014)
Most Inspiring Player of the Year – Naoya Kihara (2013), Shannon Shorr (2014)
Living Legends – Pierre Neuville (2013), Thor Hansen (2014)

The record-breaking 2013 Battle of Malta is down from 888 players to just 24 after Day 2 with two Finns - one expected, one not so much - taking center stage.

Young gun Lauri Pesonen - a PokerListings Spirit of Poker Award finalist and rising star on the major tour circuit - is the expected one.

A £2k side-event winner at EPT London earlier in the year Pesonen navigated expertly through the bomb-laden field to end Day 2 third overall with 1,241,000 in chips.

Loose cannon Jukka Hilden - 1/4 of the Finnish stunt crew The Dudesons - surprised a few people at the tables over the last couple of days to say the least. Moving chips around like a boss, Hilden swung up towards the end of Day 2 to also head to Day 3 in the Top 10 with 801,000.

Italians, Scandis All Over Final 24

Jukka Dudeson: Moved his chips around.

An impressively international Battle of Malta field skewed decidely towards a couple of geographic areas as we wound down to 24 today.

Italians, perhaps feeling a slight home-court advantage given its proximity to Malta, and Scandinavians are all over the chip counts with several eyeing a big win tomorrow.

Norwegian Ambjorn Haga is the overall chip leader heading into Day 3 with 1,849,000 to join the two Finns in the top 10.

Marcus Holmstrom, Jan Erik Saelevik and Pontus Dahlgren add a bit more Northern flavor to the final 24. Norwegian pro Andreas Hoivold seemed set to join them but busted late in the day.

Giorgio Piazza leads the Italians in fourth overall with 1,023,000 while Malta's Konrad Abela leads the hometown charge in second with 1,492,000. Chip counts for the remaining 24 players below:

Andreas Hoivold: Fell late in the day.

€80,000 On the Table for Winner

Given the phenomenal turnout for the 2013 Battle of Malta the inflated prize pool will make for an extremely exciting rundown to the title tomorrow.

The final nine will split roughly €240,000 between them with the winner snagging €80,000 - an incredible return on a €550 buy-in.

Tune in to our Battle of Malta live updates tomorrow at 1 pm CET to see how it all plays out. Learn a bit more about The Dudesons ballsy poker strategy below:

For the third consecutive year three inspiring poker players will be crowned Spirit of Poker Award winners at the PokerListings Battle of Malta.

Voting for the awards has been open for several weeks now and participation has been bigger than ever before.

Thousands of readers from across Europe, North America and the world have cast their votes in three categories - Most Inspiring Player, Rising Star and Living Legend -  and a few favorites have emerged.

Just three weeks remain for you to help select which players will make the final shortlists of three to be voted on by the PokerListing panel.

Here are the categories, nominees and current standings as we head towards the voting deadline:

Filatov, Agarwal, Somerville Inspiring Voters

In our marquee category, Most Inspiring Player, Russian young gun Anatoly Filatov has jumped to the lead at the moment with a large outpouring of local votes.

Everybody loves Jay.

Close behind Filatov in second and third are Aditya Agarwal from India and PokerStars/Twitch star Jason Somerville.

Reigning WSOP champ Martin Jacobson is still in good shape in fourth place but Davidi Kitai, Max Pescatori, Leo Margets and Dominik Nitsche will need a late rush of votes to catch the top three.

Have any of our nominees inspired you to pick up the game or kept your spirits high over the past 12 months?

Help recognize their efforts and vote on our Most Inspiring Player page.

Shark Fans Stay True

Vote totals are extremely close in our Living Legends category where we honor players who’ve been at the tables for decades but still more than hold their ground against today's rising stars.

Still first in fans' hearts.

The eight nominees in this category are Humberto Brenes, Jackie Cachia, James Woods, Barry Greenstein, Dan Heimiller, Padraig Parkinson, Konstantin Puchkov and Erik Seidel.

As you might expect high-stakes legend Seidel is ensconced in the top three but the two nominees with the most votes right now are Costa Rican groundbreaker Humberto “The Chark” Brenes and local hero Jackie “Pokermama” Cachia from Malta.

At the moment it’s a dead heat between the two so every vote counts. Seidel isn’t far behind so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he overcame the gap quickly.

Who do you think is the most impressive player over 50 over the past 12 months? Click through to the Living Legend voting page to have your say.

Carrel, Urbanovich and Holz Fans Rise to Occasion

The category that draws the most attention from our readers is our Rising Star award for emerging young players who very effectively dispute the idea that poker can’t be beat anymore.

Charlie Carrel: Can't-miss kid.

This year it’s an all European group if you disregard the odd one out in this category, Claudico – a poker-playing program devised at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

At this stage, though, it doesn't look like Claudico is going to win. Usually we wouldn’t disclose who’s last but it’s become apparent that nobody wants a poker program to be awarded a prize.

Instead the race is on between Charlie Carrel, Dzmitry Urbanovich and Fedor Holz although all the other players – Pablo Gordillo, Sabina Hiatullah, Adrian Mateos and Akira Ohyama (in alphabetical order) - are within striking distance.

Read more about the impressive candidates and vote on our Rising Stars page here.

Get Your Votes in Before September 13!

This year’s voting for the PokerListings Spirit of Poker Awards will close on September 13 at 12 PM CET. When time is up the PokerListings jury will then deliberate and select the winners from the top three votegetters in each category.

Best low buy-in tourney, bar none.

The winners are invited to the official Spirit of Poker Awards ceremony at the 2015 Battle of Malta where, if you're in the field, you’ll have the chance to play against them.

The 2015 Battle of Malta runs Nov. 4-9 with the €550 NLHE main event guaranteeing a €500,000 prize pool. Last year the tournament smashed the guarantee with 1,447 entries and an over €700,000 prize pool.

That made the Battle of Malta the largest standalone tournament in Europe for 2014 which contributed to it being named “Europe’s best low buy-in tournament” at the European Poker Awards.

Join us this year by qualifying online, buying a VIP package or winning a free VIP package in our Karaoke clip contest!

Think winning a single, low buy-in tournament can't change your life?

Just ask Battle of Malta 2013 winner Louis Cartarius, who's taken the confidence (and profit) from his win to move up in stakes, set new goals and, as it turns out, make the island his new home.

The 22-year-old online pro from Germany came to Malta last year for fun and ended up taking down the biggest score of his young career when he won the BOM main event for €68,000 (after a deal).

”It definitely gave me a lot of confidence," Cartarius told PokerListings in Talinn, Estonia late last year where he was playing the annual Superweekend tournament.

“Before Battle of Malta I was playing mid-stakes heads-up hyper turbo Sit-n-Go’s, but now I've moved up to high-stakes.

"The win gave me that comfort zone you have to be in to resist those swings there are in hyper turbo SNG’s. It made me play those games more comfortably than before."

Huge Value in Low Buy-in, Big Field Tournaments

Talinn's Superweekend is a similar tournament to the Battle of Malta with a €500 buy-in and a field mostly consisting of recreational players. Cartarius opted for Tallinn although most of his poker playing friends from Germany went to Prague for the bigger annual poker festival.

Big field, big value.

Cartarius got his seat at Superweekend through a rake race on Betsafe, one of the organisers of the tournament, but he actually also prefers playing smaller events.

“I like playing tournaments like this and there can be huge value for good players to go here. For a good player from Estonia it can be really good for him to play, because you might have many package players and drunk guys at your table."

“There are very few players who take it very seriously and I must also admit that I came here mostly for the fun."

Cartarius also mainly chose to play Battle of Malta because of its fun and friendly atmosphere. He remembers that on Day 2 he had a small nap at the table after a long night out and he also did not get that much sleep the night before the final day.

He went to bed early but his friend, who he shared a room with, came home later that night accompanied by two girls. Twins even.

“So I had to get out and sleep in front of my own hotel room while he had fun with the girls in the room," recalls Louis with a big smile.

Relocates to Malta, Expected in BOM 2014 Field

Expect the reigning champ back in 2014.

Later that day Cartarius was the one to smile when he took down BOM for his biggest career score.

He started the final day with a mid-sized stack, entered the final table with the smallest stack but eventually triumphed over the massive field of 888 players.

“Battle of Malta was no skill accomplishment. I had 15 big blinds after Day 1, I had 15 big blinds after Day 2 and I was just lucky to win the tournament."

Cartarius’ memories of Malta are so fond that he even moved to the sunny Mediterranean island this month. Malta is already a popular destination for many online grinders and he'll join a few fellow German players there.

Find out how you can join him at the 2014 BOM via our main Battle of Malta page.

The record-breaking 2013 Battle of Malta has made the elite long-list of nominees for Best European Event of the Year at the upcoming GPI European Poker Awards.

Valuing creativity and overall feel of the event the high-profile award represents the most noteworthy and talked-about individual poker events (not complete tours) of the year.

With a phenomenal 888 entries and a €440,000 prize pool that obliterated the €200k guarantee, the 2013 BOM was selected by a team of industry veterans and European poker experts at the Global Poker Index.

Joining the Battle of Malta among the nominees are well-established events including EPT Barcelona, the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo and WPT Cyprus.

BOM Just in Second Year, Big 2014 Planned

Jungleman just one of the BOM converts.

“We feel extremely honored to be nominated in this elite category,” PokerListings CEO Martin Carlesund said, “and very proud of the product we have put together.

“In just its second year the Battle of Malta surpassed all expectations and the response we got from players was overwhelming and contagious.

“We’re already preparing a jaw-dropping product full of surprises for 2014 with even more of the 'poker holiday' feel everyone has loved.”

The 2013 Battle of Malta is also officially in the record books as the biggest poker tournament ever held on Malta. With its growing reputation the BOM is now entrenched as a must-attend event for low- to mid-stakes players.

More information about the PokerListings Battle of Malta and how to register for 2014 here.

The 13th Annual GPI European Poker Awards will be presented January 29, 2014 at the Casino Barriere in Deauville, France as part of EPT Deauville. The full list of nominees and awards can be found in the next couple of weeks here.

Watch a video recap of the 2013 Battle of Malta with host Kara Scott below:

Poker and Karaoke.

That may be the first time those two words have been used in a sentence (OK, maybe not) but that’s what’s about to go down at the 2015 Battle of Malta.

This year one lucky winner will travel to Malta with a VIP player package for the 2015 BOM AND get a free night out on the town with Maria Ho and the PokerListings gang to sing karaoke.

And yes ... that means we’ll listen to you belt out every last word of Living on a Prayer if you so choose.

Post Your Best Karaoke Clip

Entering the contest is as simple as posting your best video/photo/GIF over social media with the hashtag: #battleofmalta.

Mic is yours.

Full contest rules:

1) Please like our Battle of Malta Facebook page.

2) Share a GIF/Video/Photo in our timeline with the hashtag #battleofmalta.

3) Contest results will be published after contest closes (Oct. 15) and you'll be notified if you win.

As for your submission, the possibilities are endless. Do any song you want.

Make your video at home, at your favorite pub or in a stadium.

It can be ANY kind of karaoke situation with you and/or your friends (although only one person wins a ticket to BOM).

Once-in-a-Lifetime Package Including Main Event Buy-In!

A PokerListings panel will pick the eventual winner and he or she will get a comprehensive package that includes:

Maria can jam.

Contest is open from Sept. 1-Oct. 15. The 2015 Battle of Malta takes place Nov. 4-9, 2015. Karaoke night is Tuesday, November 3.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!

We’ll also let you in on one secret: You better bring your A-game because Maria Ho is almost as good at karaoke as she is at poker. And the PokerListings staff is training at their favorite local pub every Friday after work.

Note: Terms and Conditions apply. Package can be transferred but it is not exchangeable at PokerListings for currency.

If you’re looking to win a 2015 Battle of Malta package on Betsafe, NordicBet or Betsson Poker this weekend, your odds just got a bit better.

The number of guaranteed satellite tickets is going up across the board in the daily BOM satellites starting tomorrow, Sept. 3, and running straight through until Sunday. 

Satellites will run on all three sites and will be boosted by Daily Flip Finals that feed directly into a 20-seat guaranteed BOM Daily Final.

At least 220 players will reap the benefits of the beefed-up BOM satellites this weekend via tickets into the next level qualifier.

Five Premium €1,550 BOM Packages at End of Rainbow

Action starts with the 100-seat Guaranteed BOM freeroll tomorrow at 22:30 CET (4:30 pm ET).

Don't miss out on low buy-in event of the year.

Schedule below:

September 3 22:30 CET – 100 SEATS GTD BOM Freeroll – 100 players will win a seat to the 100 SEAT GTD BOM Level 1 tournament on September 4 at 21:30 CET

September 4 21:30 CET – 100 SEATS GTD BOM Level 1 €3.30 Buy-In – 100 Seats GTD to the BOM Daily final on September 5 at 20:00 CET

September 5 20:00 CET – 20 SEATS GTD BOM Daily Final €27 Buy-In  - 20 Seats GTD to the BOM Weekly final on September 6 at 20:00 CET

September 6 20:00 CET – 5 PACKAGES GTD BOM WEEKLY FINAL €165 Buy-In – 5 x €1,550 Packages GTD to BOM

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When talking about poker in Malta, there’s no way you won’t eventually hear the name Jackie Cachia - better known on the island as “Poker Mama.”

Cachia won the Ladies Event at EPT London 2014 and has the most career live cashes of any Maltese poker player.

She’s also one of the few people on the island who can make a living from it.

Jackie loves the game of poker. She plays every big tournament on the island and has earned her respect at the tables over more than a decade.

She is a true inspiration for all Maltese poker players, male or female. That’s why she's nominated for the 2015 Spirit of Poker Living Legend Award.

We visited her at home to introduce the First Lady of Maltese poker to a broader audience.

-- by Lars Liedtke

In the past few years Malta has become a poker hot spot in Europe thanks to several big tournaments like the EPT and the Battle of Malta.

When you come to the island to play poker one thing you can be absolutely sure of is to come across the name Jackie Cachia.

Jackie is an institution in the Maltese poker scene and a few years ago became universally known as the “Poker Mama.”

“At that time,” Cachia says, “the Casino Portomaso had an Italian tournament director named Raffaele.

“He called me Poker Mama and it stuck. Out of fun I then made a t-shirt with the saying Poker Mama. After that everybody used it.”

Far from being just a self-appointed label Cachia has held her own at the tables for many years. With the most cashes of any Maltese poker player under her belt, she also doesn’t have to be anything less than straightforward. And she doesn’t mince words.

“I’ve been playing Five Card Draw with friends for many years and that’s where I really learned poker. Nine years ago I started to play Hold’em for play money online.

“At that time the local casino used to run freerolls every Monday. I played and won it and then I played another one and I won it. Afterwards I started to play the regular tournaments as well and slowly started to build a bankroll.”

Unconditional Love for the Game

Nowadays the Casino Portomaso has become her second home as she lives only a couple of meters away in St. Julian’s. Almost every evening she goes there to play tournaments or cash games.

Grinding live games requires stamina, patience and a lot of discipline. Cachia reaches that through her unconditional love for the game.

Making her mark on the EPT (Photo: Neil Stoddart)

In fact I don’t know many people who love poker more than me but Jackie is definitely one of them. She lives, breathes and loves poker, which makes her a true inspiration for all players.

It pays off as Cachia is one of the very few Maltese who plays poker professionally and makes a living from it. She has an impressive 26 cashes and almost $80,000 in live tournament earnings.

Her biggest success was winning the Ladies Event at the EPT London 2014. She also had a deep run at the Irish Open 2013 where she was among the chipleaders for three days before falling to online legend Calvin “cal42688” Anderson.

First Maltese Nominee for SOPA

Cachia does a lot for poker in Malta and works diligently to improve the local situation for younger poker players. Despite being one of the most attractive destinations for poker players, Maltese legislation is still very conservative.

Malta is the only country where you have to be 25 years old to be able to enter a casino.

Included in same breath as legends like Barry G.

“I think it is a big discrimination,” Cachia says. “I wish somebody from the young players will challenge this and I am sure if they would go to the European Court of Justice they would win."

The Spirit of Poker Awards value passion and enthusiasm over results and, together with all the points mentioned above, is why Cachia is nominated in the Living Legend category this year among poker icons like Erik Seidel and Barry Greenstein.

The intention of the award is to honor players who do something special and help promote poker in their countries. Jackie Cachia is the first Maltese poker player ever to be nominated.

“My first reaction was that of embarrassment. You’re talking about Barry Greenstein, Erik Seidel and in the same breath me.

"At the same time I’m very honored and thankful as I get a lot of support from the local players and my family. When my mother heard about the nomination, she came and said ‘We are very proud of you!," Jackie says with shining eyes.

Dreams of the Main Event

She does indeed get a lot of local support as the Maltese poker community is very strong and proud. On their Facebook page, “Malta Poker Fish,” they even started an initiative to collect votes.

So far it’s working as Cachia is in the top three of the voting. But if there’s something in her life and poker she’s still to accomplish and has always wanted to do, it’s easy for her to decide.

Main Event waits.

“Definitely play the WSOP Main Event. I would love to play this tournament one day, but to be able to do that I have to win a package or build my bankroll.

“Vegas is always fun. The second one would be to go really deep in an EPT or win a big tournament.”

Jackie shares her dream to play the greatest tournament in the world with many poker players. She knows how important bankroll management is and that she has to grind hard to reach it.

She's one of us and that, together with her unconditional love for the game, is what makes “Poker Mama” so authentic and likable. She’s earned her nomination along with poker legends like Greenstein, Humberto Brenes and Seidel.

Visit the PokerListings Living Legends page to cast your vote. Voting ends September 13.

Watch the full interview with Jackie Cachia here: