This November at the 2014 Battle of Malta Ken Lennaárd and Andreas Bergman will settle their rivalry once and for all.

In the first-ever BOM Deluxe Sweden these two experienced poker players will go head-to-head in four events: chess, heads-up poker, boxing and a last-longer bet in the Battle of Malta Main Event.

The rivalry started from Lennaárd's blog on PokerListings.se and developed into bullying and nasty comments and blog posts back and forth.

Both Lennaárd and Bergman are looking forward to the chance to settle things like gentlemen both on the felt and in the ring.

“Ken has the only poker blog that is somehow interesting to read,” said Bergman. “He’s entertaining but at the same time, he is very hard headed.

"If the blog post is about goat breeding in Japan or the bush people in Alaska – Ken knows it all!

"It’s just ridiculous, so I see a chance here to shut his mouth.”

Lennaárd says this match is about defending himself and his wife and kid.

“Bergman is not going to fight with me,” said Lennaárd. “He’s fighting with himself and his own demons.”

The contests will play out during the 2014 PokerListings Battle of Malta at the Portomaso Casino in St. Julian's.

Four Events, Video on PokerListings.com

Lennaárd and Bergman will compete in four different contests to decide who comes out of this feud on top.

The first is a simple last-longer in the Battle of Malta Main Event. Whoever goes deeper in the tournament takes it.

Second, the two players will meet in a chess match at the Hilton Malta and third, a heads-up poker match in the Battle of Malta tournament room.

Lastly they'll put on the gloves and go one-on-one in the ring for three, three-minute rounds to be scored by a panel of judges.

The fight will happen at Lords Gym, just a short walk from the casino, at 8pm on November 7th. If either player backs out of the fight they'll have to pay a €2,000 fine.

The PokerListings video team will be documenting all the action and posting a video in the days after the event.

Keep an eye on the Battle of Malta Video Section for teasers as well as tons of video content from BOM 2014.

Over 800 players are already registered for the 2014 Battle of Malta Main Event but lots of space is still left to take your shot.

A busy early registration period pushed the numbers up close to the total entries of last year but with an overflow room set up and 70 tables ready to go, there's still room for more.

Up to 1,300+ players can be accommodated but the sooner you're here and registered, the better.

Registration Open at 12 Noon

Registration opens again today (Thursday) at 12 pm and a big crowd is expected. Registration starts tomorrow (Friday) at 12 pm as well.

Our online PokerListings payment gateway is no longer available and registration is now only possible on site at the Portomaso Casino.

As a small point of note: It will be easier to get a seat today on Day 1A than on Day 1B. As always, come early and bring some patience for the least amount of hassle as some lineups can be expected.

Check our live updates page for all the latest as we get started on the biggest Battle of Malta yet!

On Thursday, the 6th edition of the Battle of Malta will begin.

And what a battle it’s going to be.

This year the Battle of Malta has grown into a full-fledged poker festival with 9 different tournaments (including the Main Event, Siege of Malta 2nd Chance and Grandmaster High Roller), 4 player parties and more value than ever before.

It all starts at 2 pm tomorrow from the Grandmaster Tournament Room and we'll be slinging up-to-the-minute updates at you over in the Battle of Malta 2017 Live Coverage section!

In the meantime, though ... a preview

The 3 Pillars of BoM 2017

The main focus of BOM 2017 will, of course, be the main event. We’re staying true to the legacy of our signature poker event so the buy-in will stay at €550 with one re-entry allowed.

We are also keeping the €500,000 guarantee for the prize pool - but if history serves that will be close to doubled.

There are 3 starting days again this year – Day 1A on Thursday at 2 PM, Day 1B Friday at 2 PM and Day 1C Saturday at 2 PM.

We’ll play down to the final table on Tuesday and it'll be accompanied by a cards-up live stream on an appropriate delay.

Our signature side event - the Siege of Malta - is also back and is now a three-day event starting on Sunday, Nov 5, at 4 PM. Buy-in is the usual €220+€25.

The Grandmaster High Roller runs on Monday/Tuesday Nov 6/7 and will have a buy-in of €1,320. Watch out for the High Roller satellite on Sunday, the day before the event, where 1 in 10 players will get a ticket to play.

Side Events Galore

Our growing list of side events now also includes the following:

Battle of Malta trophies.

Two brand new events are also in the line-up:

By popular demand we’ve also brought back the Blackjack tournament and we’re raising the number of players to a cap of 25.

If you want in, be early!

Find the complete Battle of Malta event schedule here.

All Tomorrow's Parties

A major part of BOM has always been to ensure the players have a good time and with that good time usually comes a few adult beverages.

In fact, at the Battle of Malta, there’s a party every day! Join us for the Opening Cocktail Party, All-in Friday, the Official BoM VIP Players Party, the Prosecco Breakfast, the Hilton Pool Party, and/or the Thirsty Barber Speakeasy Drinks.

The party never stops if you don't want it to, basically. Check the full list of when and where the parties happen on the schedule page.

By the way ... here's the weather forecast for BOM 2017. Feel free to compare with your place.

Kudos to Liv Boeree, Per Hildebrand & Espen Uhlen Jørstad

The winners of the 2017 PokerListings Spirit of Poker Award were announced last month and we'll have a SOPA award ceremony to honor them at BoM 2017.

(Y)our winners:

The 2017 SOPA Awards will be handed out during the Opening Cocktail Party on Thursday at the Quarterdeck of the Hilton.

Gaelle Garcia Diaz - the new BOM host.

Host of the ceremony (and the Battle of Malta) will be, for the first time, Gaelle Garcia Diaz.

She’s been a player at BOM and now she’s taking over from Maria Ho as the host.

Welcome Gaelle! it’s a pleasure to have you with us.

And players ... please come and say hello to her.

Battle of Malta Live Satellites

As mentioned above there’ll be a Super Satellite to the Grandmaster High Roller event for €132+€18 on Sunday, Nov 5 at 9.30 PM.

It’s capped at 100 players and it’ll be full, so ask at the reception soon to secure your ticket.

We’ll also host last chance satellites to the Battle of Malta Main Event. The satellites run on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 7 PM downstairs in the Portomaso Casino. The buy-in will be €55+€5, and 1 in 10 players get a ticket to the main event.

Again, the number of players is capped for each of the satellites, as there is limited space available, but we’ll give you a chance to re-enter and register late.

Prepare for battle. It is nigh.

An exceptional day of poker has come to a close at the 2014 Battle of Malta with records broken, the guarantee crushed and lots more poker on tap tomorrow.

A total of 1,200 players are now registered across Days 1a and 1b with room for that number to jump even higher.

As it sits now the prize pool has topped €550k but will swell even more as a full tournament room, an overflow room and a to-be-determined number of waiting-list players get a piece of the action.

We won't know the exact number until the end of registration at the end of Level 6 tomorrow but if things hold true to form we could be looking at a €600,000 prize pool and a potential $100k+ first-place prize.

A total of 86 players remain from the 521 entries on the day and will join up with the survivors from tomorrow's Day 1b on Day 2 on Saturday.

Down Goes Cartarius, Up (and Down) Goes Lodden

Whatever the prize up top we will likely award it to a new champion. Last year's champ Louis Cartarius - who actually now calls Malta home - busted his first bullet today but should make a re-appearance tomorrow.

Big swings for Lodden as per usual.

There are plenty of poker players who will happily take his place wearing the BOM crown, too.

Some of poker's most renowned players waded deep into the mix today and several came up weighed down with chips for Day 2.

Among the stacks of note:

Look for the full Day 1a chip counts shortly right here.

Big Day Coming; Record Smashed Again

With the 1,200 players already registered the 2014 BOM has easily surpassed the 888 entries that made last year's event the largest ever on the island.

Year-on-year the jumps have been substantial since the first go-round in 2012 which drew 349 entries. Last year's 888 entries crushed the €200k guarantee and produced a €430,000 prize pool.

With big money comes big names and expected to dive into the BOM player pool are notables including Leo Margets, Luca Pagano, Dominik Nitsche, Gaelle Garcia Diaz, Phillip Hilm and Rupert Elder.

Host Maria Ho will also be back to keep the mood light and the atmosphere buzzing in the tourney room. Check our Battle of Malta Live Coverage page for all the action.

Two massive Day 1s are in the books at the 2014 BOM with records shattered, a huge prize pool built and one happy chip leader in Italian Gino Censori.

After 13.5 hours of play Censori bagged up a field-leading 427,500 to head into Day 2 tomorrow with the overall chip lead.

Censori will lead a combined field of 261 players towards the real prize everyone came for – the one at the top of the guarantee-smashing €701,795 prize pool.

1,447 Entries, Biggest Ever Tournament in Malta

Nitsche back for Day 2.

Numbers were expected to be high but the streams of players rolling into the empty seats over the first few levels was still a spectacle to behold.

Day 1b started with a full complement of 700 players over 70 tables and as soon as the “Player Out” call was made another player was there to take the open seat.

By registration’s end there were 926 players officially bought into the field – an all-time record for Malta and higher even than the 888 total entries for the 2013 Battle of Malta.

Combined with the 521 entries from Day 1a yesterday the grand total rose to 1,447, another clear record.

Nitsche Survives, Panka Falls Again

It was a reasonable day on the felt for Edinburgh resident Dominik Nitsche as he'll carry on to Day 2, albeit with a fairly small stack.

Our 2014 Spirit of Poker Rising Star winner Dominik Panka wasn't so fortunate, however. He fought valiantly on his second bullet on Day 1b but finally succumbed near the end of the day.

Other notables to hit the rails included Sofia Lovgren, Gaelle Garcia Diaz, Leo Margets and Luca Pagano.

Check our Live Coverage page for a rundown of all the action. Some selected chip counts for Day 2:

Combined Field, High Roller, Official Party Await

Short day for Garcia Diaz but hopes are high she'll hit the party.

Plenty more poker is in store for Saturday with the combined field coming together to get Day 2 of the Main Event started at 2 pm.

The official payout structure will be released tomorrow so they’ll know exactly how long they’ll play to hit the money and the full payouts up top.

Also coming tomorrow is the start of the side events with the €4,180 Grandmaster High Roller and the popular €220 Siege of Malta Second Chance tournament.

For those who do or don’t survive the day, the Official 2014 BOM VIP Party is set to jump off at 9 pm at the posh Le Villa at Le Meridien.

Admission is already included for package holders; tickets available for guests at the tournament.

A chip and a chair is the standard cliché poker players use to give themselves hope when facing some pretty long odds.

Rarely, of course, do you end up running your mini stack all the way back up to a title-contending one.

But, you know, it does happen. And almost every poker player can vouch for a time it has.

888poker qualifier Brendan Doogan got to live out a poker dream at the 2014 Battle of Malta after running through six qualifying tournament on 888 to win a full package including his Main Event buy-in.

His starting buy-in: Just 1¢.

Host Maria Ho caught up with Doogan for a chat just after the money bubble today and he told us what it meant to him to make it here, how he's fared in the tournament and what it would mean to earn a life-changing amount of money.

Update: Doogan ended up busting well into the money in 101st place. His payout: €1,250. Maybe not enough for Disneyworld but a nice return nonetheless.

Day 2 is done at the 2014 Battle of Malta main event with just 35 players left with a shot at the €140,000 first-place prize.

Standing tall above the crowd? French pro Hugo Lemaire who bagged up 2.4 million to lead the way towards the final table tomorrow.

"I ran good today," Lemaire said. "I cracked AA + AK with KTo."

"I was lucky to have a very weak and passive table. I enjoyed the game a lot today."

Also standing out among the final 35 are well known pros Andrea Dato from Italy and Konstantin Puchkov from Russia, who battled all the way back to a big stack after being down to just two big blinds.

Plenty of unheralded stars are in the mix as well including the last woman standing, Hege Sogstand from Norway, along with Hans Faber, Declan Connolly, Valentin Messina and Michael Abitbol.

For a recap of all the action, check the Battle of Malta Live Coverage page.

170 Players Paid, Side Events Fire Up

An enthusiastic 261 players started the day at 2pm with high hopes of getting into the money. 170 of them had their wishes satisfied, even if they ended slightly shorter than they wanted.

Better luck in the Second Chance.

Among the early cashers of note were Marco Bognanni, Maria Ho, Luca Moschitta and Fabrice Soulier who all headed for the exits before the final 100.

888poker qualifier Brendan Doogan, who earned his way to the Battle of Malta for just 1c, followed shortly in 101st.

Pre-bubble busts included Thor Hansen, Dominik Nitsche and Johnny Lodden.

While they were getting down to the nitty gritty in the Main Event the popular Siege of Malta Second Chance event fired up.

Another 593 players bought in to take a shot at a return on their money and 109 will come back tomorrow to battle for the 24,000 first-place prize.

Making her way to Day 2 with a good-sized stack was PokerStars presenter Gaelle Garcia Diaz.

A smaller than expected High Roller also played out on the stage with Ireland's Dermot Blain among the contenders.

Tune in tomorrow at 2pm for the full playdown to the champions in both events plus the PLO Knight's Crusade and the Turbo Deepstack.

In the end, the only thing that could stop the Battle of Malta was the clock.

Facing a hard 5 am stop imposed by the Portomaso Casino our two heads-up combatants - Bulgaria's Antoan Katsarov and Malta's Alan James Brincat - played to a virtual stalemate.

The clock was forced to decide the champion according to the chip counts when no more hands could be played.

The chip leader at the time of the stop? Katsarov, who collected €122,750 and the highly sought after Battle of Malta Main Event trophy.

Runner-up Brincat kept €107,250 of the massive €701,795 prize pool, generated by a record 1,447 entries, right here at home on the island.

Keeps a big piece of the prize pool on Malta.

Play On!

With 35 players returning to start the final day we anticipated a long one and that's exactly what we got.

At about 8 pm with about 12 players left, Tournament Director Elio presented the remaining players with a couple of options.

Stop the tournament when the final nine was reached and come back to play tomorrow, or play on to the 5 am stop and the forced deal.

The players unanimously decided to play on, and that's how we proceeded.

Eight Countries Including Malta at Final Table

The Battle of Malta has truly become a bonafide draw for the entire continent and players from dozens of nations across Europe were in attendance this year.

Eight of them were represented at the 10-man final table with Sweden having the most at three players.

The Netherlands, Bulgaria, France, Ireland, Poland and Italy all had players in the mix while Brincat represented his home country of Malta.

The complete list of players and results at the 2014 Battle of Malta Main Event final table:

1 Antoan Katsarov, Bulgaria €122,750*

2 Alan James Brincat, Malta €107,250*

3 Pär Ebenhardt, Sweden €53,000

4 Oskar Szwed, Poland €42,500

5 Hugo Lemaire, France €32,000

6 Declan Connolly, Ireland €23,000

7 Pontus Dargren, Sweden €16,095

8 Johan Krans, Sweden €12,100

9 Wouter Beumers, Netherlands  €9,100

* Indicates a two-way deal

All told the final 10 players split up €431,935 between them - a record-breaking number for the Battle of Malta.

Watch Full Battle of Malta Recap Video with Maria Ho

Four More Battle of Malta Champions

While the Main Event was the maruqee event on the schedule there were four more side events that drew in players from around the world.

Aarno Kivelio

Over 593 players battled it out over two days in the Siege of Malta Second Chance Event before Russian Alexey Kovalev turned his €220 buy-in into a tidy €24,000 and the title.

Finland’s Aarvo Kiveliö won the €165 PLO Knight Crusade for €4,300 (after a deal). Tomasz Olszewski and Francesco Ruffo each took home €16,300 after chopping up the €330 BOM NLH Deepstack Turbo.

Nicodemo Piccolo, who won the first-ever Battle of Malta main event title back in 2012, made the Deepstack Turbo final table.

Arsen Sakanjans captured the Grand Master High Roller yesterday.

Check our Battle of Malta Live Coverage page for the complete rundown of all the action.

There's more to poker than just money and PokerListings has once again honored three players who go above and beyond to exemplify the true spirit of poker.

Dominik Panka, Thor Hansen and Shannon Shorr won this year's Spirit of Poker Awards thanks to receiving more online votes than any of their competitors.

Panka won in the category of Rising Star, Hansen in Living Legend and Shorr in Most Inspiring Player.

Both Panka and Hansen were competing in the 2014 Battle of Malta and were able to accept the award in person while Shorr sent in a video acceptance speech since he couldn't attend the event.

“I'm very humbled and proud,” said Thor Hansen after being presented with his award by Battle of Malta host Maria Ho.

“I've been playing poker for 50+ years and I don't get this very often so I'm very proud.”

Hansen recently opened up on camera in an extended and candid interview with PokerListings about his long poker career and it's easy to see why he received the most votes in the Living Legend category.

Panka "I Enjoy My Role as a Poker Ambassador"

At the other end of the age spectrum was Dominik Panka.

At 23 years old Panka is already Poland's leading all-time money winner but, in keeping with the spirit of these awards, Panka emphasized poker means more to him than just money.

Dominik Panka

“I appreciate it a lot,” said Panka. “I think I had a lot of good fortune this season. Poker is such a difficult discipline, especially right now, so I'm very grateful for being so fortunate and for winning this award.

“Poker is definitely the kind of game where it's hard to compare players to each other apart from how much money they earn but for me it's about a little bit more.

“In Poland poker is a bit of a gray area so whenever poker gets attention I try to be there as a bit of a poker ambassador.”

And finally Shannon Shorr, who's long been respected in the poker community as an ambassador for the game, sent in a short video from America where he was busy playing poker.

“I'd like to congratulate all the finalists,” said Shorr. “All of them are great people doing great things. I'm happy to accept this award because any of us could have gotten it.”

Check out the full video below and keep clicking to watch more video from the 2014 Battle of Malta.

Our final video from the 2014 Battle of Malta takes you behind the scenes to see what goes into one of Europe's biggest stand-alone poker tournaments.

In just three years the Battle of Malta has gone from the spark of an idea to a premiere destination event for recreational poker players from all over Europe.

In this video you'll hear from the woman who first dreamed up the Battle of Malta and we'll also take you inside the PokerListings head office in Malta to meet the people behind one of the biggest online poker resources in the world.

“It started with a very small idea and I pitched it to PokerListings,” said BOM organizer Ivonne Monteleagre. “I left the room thinking this will never happen. But it happened.

“From an event with 300 people which was the first Battle of Malta, now it's starting to become the milestone yearly tournament that makes the Maltese poker community proud.”

Ivonne Monteleagre

The idea was to offer recreational players a major poker event experience at a buy-in they can afford.

At just €550, the BOM Main Event nevertheless gives players the chance to meet and play with big-name poker stars, go to amazing VIP player parties and compete for a six-figure payday.

“If you compare Battle of Malta with a major poker event with a buy-in of $10,000 or more, this is just €550 so it's quite affordable and yet we're offering a quality product,” said Monteleagre.

“So you get a small buy-in but with the feel of an international, well-delivered event. And it's just growing every year so the sky's the limit.”

Check out the full video below and go to the Battle of Malta video page for more action from Europe's hottest low buy-in poker event.

After a record-setting 2014 the Battle of Malta is back and you can take advantage of our great-value packages to lock up your seat right now.

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.

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.”

Click here to buy a Battle of Malta package now.

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. 25) 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!

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. 25. 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.

Ever wonder what it's like to earn a living competing in the biggest poker tournaments in the world?

How about appearing on the adventure-themed reality-TV show The Amazing Race?

Well, this Thursday is your lucky day.

Poker pro and PokerListings Battle of Malta host Maria Ho is scheduled for an AMA on Reddit, giving poker fans and curious laymen alike the chance to pepper her with questions, no holds barred.

The AMA will take place Thursday, November 29 at 5pm EDT.

Find it on Reddit here.

Poker Pro, TV Personality, BOM Host

Ho has been a fixture on the live poker circuit for close to a decade.

She's had great success including two deep runs in the WSOP Main Event and also held the honor of the biggest WSOP cash by a woman for her second-place finish in 2011 that earned her more than $540,000.

Join Maria at the Battle of Malta Nov. 4-9.

Ho co-hosted the TV show Poker Night in America: The Tour and is a celebrity spokesperson for WinStar World Casino.

In 2009 she competed in the Emmy Award winning TV show The Amazing Race with friend and fellow poker player Tiffany Michelle and she's also sung on American Idol and appeared as a panelist on Anderson Cooper 360.

Since 2014 Maria has been the host of the PokerListings Battle of Malta, a role she'll be reprising next week when the award-winning event returns to the Portomaso Casino in St Juliens.

Watch Maria Ho's Best Poker Moment

Check out this video to hear Maria explain one of the defining moments of her poker career.

The 2015 PokerListings Battle of Malta is edging closer and closer to the biggest prize pool in the history of the tournament.

Day 1b garnered a total of 639 entries as the overall number grew to 944 over both starting days with one more to come.

Big-name pros Maria Ho, Thor Hansen and Luca Moschitta all hit the felt with the goal of grabbing a chunk of a potentially massive prize pool.

Instead it was Ivan Timotic and Daniel Mountford who stole the headlines with massive stacks of 317,200 and 285,000 respectively.

Here’s a look at the top 10 chip counts at the end of play:

Former Champs Survive to Day 2

You never know who’s going to show up to play the Battle of Malta and Day 1b was no exception with former American Idol star William Hung, Finnish model/song writer Kim Herold and even a player wearing a pigeon mask hitting the tables.

Maria Ho

Front and center were former champions Antoan Katsarov (2014) and Louis Cartarius (2013).

The only champ that’s missing is our inaugural winner Nicodemo Piccolo who won in 2012 and still has one more day to register for the tournament.

Some of the other notable figures to join in the action were Anatoly Filatov, Andreas Hoivold and Ken Lennaárd.

At the end of play a total of 214 survived to see Day 2. Ho, Hung, Herold and Thor Hansen were among the notables who busted.

Day 1c of the 2015 Battle of Malta kicks off at 2 p.m. local time tomorrow. It’s the final starting day of the tournament so it’s almost assured to be packed. If you’re playing you’ll want to get here early.

The tournament only needs to draw 492 to break last year’s record-setting 1,447 so there’s a good chance we see records fall tomorrow.

Keep it locked on PokerListings for complete live coverage of tournament.

It took just eight hours of play to go from 88 players to a final table of 10 on Day 3 of the 2015 Battle of Malta.

Israeli poker player Uri Gilboa wasn’t scared of the fast structure and utterly crushed his way to the final-table chip lead of 8.5 million.

It’s a fascinating final table that includes players from the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Norway and Finland.

For the first time ever the final table will also have a female player. Anne Meri hails from Finland and is playing a short-stack of 735,000 but will absolutely give the guys a run for their money tomorrow.

The table also includes noted high-stakes pro Carlo van Ravenswoud who finished with 3.7 million.

Fatima Stalls Early, Bulgaria Returns to Final Table

Perhaps the most well-known player in the field to start the day was former Olympian and current PokerStars pro Fatima Moreira de Melo.

Fatima picked up €2,100 for troubles.

Unfortunately de Melo had a rough time in early stage of the day and ended up shoving all-in with T♣ 4♣ and getting beat by 9♥ 7♦.

Still, de Melo was all smiles as she headed out of the tournament room to collect her €2,100 payout.

You can see the rest of the players who got paid on Day 3 on the 2015 Battle of Malta payouts page.

Interestingly for the second straight year we have a player from Sofia, Bulgaria.

Last year Sofia-native Antoan Katsarov outlasted 1,447 players to win the 2014 Battle of Malta for €122,750.

This year Dimitar Alexandrov, also of Sofia, will have a chance to replicate Katsarov's performance with an even bigger first-place prize of €165,000.

Final Table Extended to Monday

Originally the final table was scheduled to play down to a winner in the wee hours tonight but tournament organizers decided to extend the tournament for a bonus day on Monday.

The 10 remaining players will return tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. to play out an epic final table and decide who becomes the 2015 Battle of Malta champ.

You can follow the action live through our live updates page with news, photos and videos straight from the tournament floor.

Here’s a look at the chip counts heading into the final table:

Uri Gilboa: 8,520,000
Henrik Jacobsen: 6,640,000
Dimitar Aleksandrov: 6,410,000
Giuseppe Grimaldi: 6,350,000
Hendrik Koops: 5,370,000
Carlo van Ravenswoud: 3,700,000
Anders Gran Kvam: 3,070,000
Paolo Palmieri: 2,520,000
Nicolas Proust: 1,860,000
Anne Meri: 735,000

William Hung was a viral sensation in North America thanks to his 2004 American Idol audition.

But in Europe? Not so much.

Earlier this month Hung was our special guest on the Mediterranean island of Malta to play the PokerListings Battle of Malta and it was his first trip to Europe.

The night before Day 1 of the tournament Hung joined Maria Ho, a bunch of poker players and the PokerListings crew to sing karaoke.

Hung showed everyone that he's still got the chops that made his one of the most memorable American Idol auditions in the show's history.

The fact that few people recognized William when he sung Achy Breaky Heart at a rowdy karaoke club in Paceville, Malta's party epicenter, made it even more awesome.

Luckily for you, the cameras were rolling.

Hung Shows True Spirit of Battle of Malta

Hung was a welcome addition to this year's Battle of Malta for precisely the same reason we so enjoyed watching him sing karaoke: his attitude.

Hung plays poker because he loves the game and he sings because he loves expressing himself through music.

Hung doesn't care if he's the best singer and he doesn't care what other people think.

He's not trying to be ironic. He's not trying to make a joke. He's just having fun because he loves it and that's what the Battle of Malta is all about.

At the end of the day we'd all be happier if we were a little more like William Hung.

Check out our latest video to hear directly from this year's Spirit of Poker Award winners Humberto Brenes, Anatoly Filatov and Charlie Carrel.

In its third year, the Spirit of Poker Awards recognizes poker players who are not only successful, but also demonstrate a true love for the game of poker.

Awards were given in three categories: Living Legend, Most Inspiring Player and Rising Star.

This year's winners overcame a tough roster of nominees that included some of the most popular poker players in the world to take top honors.

Each of our winners received more online votes than any of their opponents to win the final round of this year's Spirit of Poker Awards.

Costa Rican poker star Humberto Brenes won the Living Legend award, Russia's Anatoly Filatov won Most Inspiring Player and British poker player Charlie Carrel took the Rising Star award.

Watch 2015 Spirit of Poker Awards

Winners Beat Out Huge List of Nominees

Winning a Spirit of Poker Award is no easy feat. A huge base of fans and supporters is essential.

This year's winners were up against some truly tough competition which makes their victories all the more meaningful.

Brenes, for example, overcame huge poker names including Barry Greenstein, Erik Seidel, Padraig Parkinson and legendary actor and poker player James Woods.

Filatov came out on top against a group that included other poker inspirations Martin Jacobson, Jason Somerville and Dominik Nitsche, among others.

Finally, Charlie Carrel got more votes than other poker young guns including Spain's Adrian Mateos, Germany's Fedor Holz and Japan's Akira Ohyama.

Congratulations to all three 2015 Spirit of Poker Awards winners!

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:

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.