A record number of poker players descended on the Portomaso Casino for the 2015 PokerListings Battle of Malta poker festival from Nov. 4-9.

By the time the smoke had cleared the festival set a variety of new records including the biggest tournament ever held on Malta, the biggest prize pool for the Main Event and the biggest turnout yet for the Grandmaster High Roller event.

The highlight was three players getting paid over €100k each in the Main Event thanks to a massive field of 1,804 entries.

French player Nicolas Proust locked up €110k for coming in first place in the Main Event. Here’s a complete look at the Main Event final-table payouts:

1. Nicolas Proust - €110,000
2. Henrik Jacobsen - €102,000
3. Hendrik Koops - €125,000
4. Uri Gilboa - €54,500
5. Carlo van Ravenswoud - €41,300
6. Anders Gran Kvam - €29,500
7. Paolo Palmieri - €21,800
8. Dimitar Aleksandrov - €17,200
9. Giuseppe Grimaldi - €13,350
10. Anne Meri - €10,450

Revisit all of our extensive live coverage on our 2015 BoM Coverage page here:

Kratovic Tops Grandmaster, Filatov 6th

The year saw a massive increase in participation in the €1,200+€120 buy-in Grandmaster High Roller in part thanks to a reduced buy-in.

There were over 80 entries in the contest including famed poker pros Fabrice Soulier, Luca Moschitta, Felix Stephensen and Oanh Bui.

PokerListings Spirit of Poker award winner Anatoly Filatov made an appearance at the final table, eventually finishing sixth for €6,450.

Serbian Mladen Kratovic was crowned the Grandmaster Champion. He earned €28,900 for his troubles.

Prizes were up nearly across the board with several side events awarding over €10,000 for first.

You can view the complete payouts for the 2015 Battle of Malta Main Event and the side event final table payouts here.

When German poker pro Louis Cartarius won the 2013 Battle of Malta main event, it was his biggest live tournament cash.

It still is, actually - although he might be on the verge of resetting that bar this week as he's just made Day 4 of the €5,000 EPT Malta main event.

With 30 players left and a middle-of-the-pack stack, Cartarius still has some work to do to top that €68,000 score (a sixth-place finish or higher would do it).

When the hitherto unknown Cartarius outlasted 888 players to win that Battle of Malta, it formed the base for his future poker career.

Since then Cartarius has only had cashes in tournaments on Malta so it must clearly be his favorite place to play, right? We caught up with him on a break near the end of the Day 3 today to ask.

PL: Where have you been since your win at the Battle of Malta three years ago? Did you move back to Germany?

The check that changed things.

Louis Cartarius: Contrary to these rumors I’ve lived in Malta the whole time. I go back to Germany once in a while but only for visits.

PL: How did the BOM win change your poker career?

LC: Until today this is my largest tournament win, and it has changed a lot.

I’m going to about three or four live tournaments per year, but more importantly the BOM has made it possible for me to take shots at higher levels online.

PL: Did you buy in or satellite into the EPT main event?

LC: I bought in. The numbers are really low in the main event. €350k for first prize isn’t much. Maybe word has spread about the level of play.

The last EPT Malta was really tough to play because there were so many good players. This time it’s a lot easier.

PL: And if you compare it to the Battle of Malta?

LC: Actually, I don’t think the difference is half as big as the difference in buy-in. Of course, this is my personal opinion. It might have to do with the table draw, too.

PL: How do you explain the opposing development of the EPT versus the BOM?

LC: It seems that PokerStars are having trouble keeping the numbers up. After all a €5,000 buy-in is still a large amount of money.

The lower buy-in tournaments like the BOM show, however, that it’s still possible to be successful. The BOM has grown every year since it started.

"Lower buy-ins simply more affordable for more players."

Lower buy-in tournaments are simply more affordable for more players.

PL: Maybe Malta isn’t attractive enough as a poker location?

LC: On the contrary, at this time of the year there is no better place to go than Malta. Where else do you get such amazing weather?

PL: Are you going to try and claim your BOM title back this year?

LC: Yes. I’m going to play and try my best, but of course I know that in such a big field you can’t really expect anything.

PL: The way you’re running in Malta, your chances shouldn’t be too bad.

LC: It looks like it, but we know how poker is. Everything can change completely at any time.

Not afraid to get some shut-eye.

PL: What would you tell a BOM first-timer? Play many pots as long as you’re deep? Or play tight?

LC: Play standard, play rather tight. After all, your priority is to stay alive in a tournament.

PL: By the way, didn’t you almost fall asleep during Day 2 when you won the whole thing?

LC: Yes, that’s true. Maybe I shouldn’t really be the one to give strategy tips for beginners.

The Battle of Malta 2019 is less than a month away. The prestigious, award-winning tournament will start on Wednesday, October 16th and run for seven days with a record number of 27 different events.

The buy-in for the main event is €555 and it will come with a hefty guarantee of €1,000,000. Last year this guarantee was easily surpassed as a record number of 3.816 entries signed up for the tournament, generating a prize pool of €1,850,760.

The first Battle of Malta was held in 2012 and since then the tournament broke its own attendance record every year. From 349 entries seven years ago to almost 4,000 last year – the BoM paces from record to record. It is not unlikely that this year will see yet another mind boggling attendance number.

Last year the Frenchman Julian Stropoli won the main event and took home €168,500. But he wasn't the biggest winner last year. Due to a deal the final his fellow countryman Maxime Canevet bagged €192,000 - almost 350 times the buy-in.

This is how the number of entries for the Battle of Malta has developed over the past 7 years:

Where and When?

Casino Malta and Hotel InterContinental

Like last year the Battle of Malta will be held in the massive new Casino Malta and Hotel InterContinental, Malta’s largest 5-star hotel. The conference center can easily hold over 120 tables and accommodate more than 1,000 players per day. Nevertheless, queues are to be expected for the last flights as most players will try and start on Saturday.

The main event starts with Day 1A on Wednesday, October 16th and the final table will be played on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Quick facts about the BoM

Additional Terms & Conditions:

What’s new in 2019?

This year the Battle of Malta will be even bigger than last year. For the first time a Mega Highroller Event will be held which comes with a buy-in of €5.300. This year more tables and dealers will be on hand to accommodate even more players and events.

Otherwise the organizers stick to what made the tournament so popular in the first place, which is the mixture of a well-structured low buy-in tournament, fun side events and summer feeling in autumn.

You can see the full structure for the BoM 2019 » here.

Claim the last packages for the BoM 2019 now!

You can still get your package for the Battle of Malta and even find a bargain as the InterContinental hotel has special offers for players.For as little as €1.355 you can get a main event ticket and 5-star accommodation including breakfast for four nights. Each additional night is €150 and if you want to bring a friend or your spouse it’s only €20 extra per night.

Those are the packages currently available:

You can get the packages on the official BoM site.

Qualify for the Battle of Malta 2019 online

You can still qualify for the Battle of Malta online. The cheapest way to do that is via the step satellites offered by 888poker.

With those satellites you can qualify for pennies (literally) or you can win a complete package via the $55 BoM-Qualifiers that regularly run on 888poker.

Sign up at 888 and qualify for the BoM 2019

More information