One of the best heads-up No-Limit Hold’em players in the world Cates has attended both editions of the Battle of Malta so far and says he plans to be there again.
This time, Cates added, his eyes will also be on a new addition to the Battle of Malta schedule: the €4,180 Grandmaster High Roller event.
An exciting new twist to the BOM schedule inspired by demand from players last year the High Roller suits the budget of some of the big-name pros set to attend BOM in 2014.
Already confirmed stars include PokerStars pros Leo Margets and Luca Pagano, Spirit of Poker Award winner Dominik Panka, Paul Jackson and more.
Still No Closure on durrrr Challenge
As one of the truly elite poker players in the world just the presence of Cates at the tables makes the atmosphere at BOM special for the casual poker fan.
Cates is one of only three people to win over $10m online on Full Tilt Poker, putting him in elite company alongside Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius.
Among his many televised appearances are the made-for-TV NBC Heads-Up Championship, the PartyPoker Premier League and the €100k Super High Roller at the EPT Grand Final in April where he was the runner-up and earned $1.7m.
Beyond the first two editions of the Battle of Malta one other infamous poker event you might recognize Cates from is the still-to-be completed durrrr Challenge.
Agreed to and begun way back in 2010 Cates raced out to a huge lead and looked to be a lock for a $1.5m+ payday before Black Friday and durrrr's reticence to continue got in the way.
The Challenge briefly resumed last year but has been on hiatus since - although an agreement has been in place for Cates to be paid $40,000 per month if durrrr doesn’t meet a required number of hands.
Five Events Make for Full Poker Festival
The Grandmaster High Roller is one of three new events added to the Battle of Malta festival in 2014.
A €165 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament and a €300 Deepstack No-Limit Turbo are the others. Rounding out the full BOM 2014 schedule is the €550 buy-in Main Event and the returning Siege of Malta Second Chance event, this time with an increased €200 buy-in.
Add in the VIP parties and casual, party-like atmosphere the Battle of Malta is easily one of the most fun, highest-value events in Europe for low- to mid-stakes poker players.
Given the size of the fields, with over 1,000 players expected for the €500,000 guaranteed Main Event, there’s also plenty of incentive for big-time pros like Cates to come out.
A fantastic group of professionals has already committed to attending BOM including PokerStars pros Margets and Pagano, 2014 PCA Main Event champ Panka, Andreas Hoivold, Jesper Hougaard, Sofia Lövgren and, of course, host Maria Ho.
More details on all the Battle of Malta festivities including the schedule, calendar and tournament structures can be found here. Watch a couple video clips of Cates at the Battle of Malta below.
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