A record-smashing 926 entries poured through the doors of the Portomaso Casino today to not just break our own record of 888 total entries last year but set a new record for single-day poker tournament attendance in Malta.
The total prize pool – an eye-popping €701,795 - is also the second-highest ever on the island behind only the 2011 IPT Malta which had a €2,000 buy-in.
The 2014 BOM is now by far the largest-ever poker tournament held on Malta. At just €550 for the buy-in the BOM is easily the biggest-value tournament and now firmly entrenched as one of the biggest stand-alone tournaments in Europe.
Total Prize Pools for Tournaments Held in Malta:
Tourney Buy-In Players Prize Pool IPT Malta 2010 €2,200 385 €746,900 Battle of Malta €550 1447 €701,795 WPT Malta 2011 €3,300 240 €689,400 WPT Malta 2012 €3,300 169 €479,710 IPT Malta 2011 €2,200 237 €474,000
Good Things Come to Those Who Wait
The full 70 tables available ran at full steam for the first eight hours of the day as a 200-player waiting list worked its way into the field as players in the original 700 busted.
By the end of registration almost everyone who wanted to (and could) made it into the tournament.
As we hit Level 10 about 488 players remain in the Day 1b field but about half of those should be culled before the final bell rings in Level 15.
They’ll join the 84 survivors from Day 1a yesterday to play down into the money on Day 2 tomorrow.
Final payout percentages will be announced before the beginning of Day 2.
Heavy Hitters Abound; Side Events Set to Go Off
As expected the field was also packed with big names eyeing a piece of the bountiful prize pool.
PokerStars pros Leo Margets and Luca Pagano and former EPT presenter Gaelle Garcia Diaz all hit the felt today but unfortunately all hit the rail before Level 10.
Edinburgh-based friends and pros Rupert Elder and Dominik Nitsche also arrived at BOM and at least check had built a solid stack up towards the end of the day.
Sofia Lovgren, Dominik Panka and Andreas Hoivold also returned for a second bullet although Panka is the only one who survived. Check our Live Coverage page for all the latest updates from the tourney floor.
The silver lining in anyone’s bust from the Main Event is the opportunity to buy-in to one of the four side events. The Grand Master High Roller and Siege of Malta Second Chance Event start tomorrow while the PLO and Deepstack events start Sunday.
The Official BOM VIP Party also kicks off tomorrow at 9 pm. Check our Battle of Malta page for all the details.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com