Louis Cartarius outlasted a record-setting field and a couple of upstart Finns to win €80,000 on Sunday at the 2013 PokerListings Battle of Malta.
“I guess I have to come back now,” laughed Cantarius. “Malta is really great and it’s been a nice trip.”
The Frankfurt-based online grinder earned his BOM package via Betsafe Poker and carried the Betsafe flag all the way to the title.
Biggest Poker Tournament Ever Held in Malta
A total of 888 entries -- nearly triple last year’s attendance -- made this year’s event the biggest tournament ever held in Malta.
Cartarius also out-dueled Konrad Abela heads-up. Abela would have become the first local to win the Battle of Malta.
The final day of the Battle of Malta began with 24 players still in the hunt for the title including Finnish duo Lauri Pesonen and Jukka Hilden.
Jukka, who is a member of the Finnish stunt crew The Dudesons, proved to be a surprisingly skilled poker player and, in between joking and ordering trays full of beer, he managed to finish 17th for €3,950.
Meanwhile Pesonen, who is Finland’s fifth-best player on the Global Poker Index, made it all the way to fifth place and earned €19,000 for his efforts.
Biggest Score of Cartarius' Career
It was another fast day at the Battle of Malta as they went from 24 players to a winner in nine hours of play.
Norwegian Ambjorn Haga dominated the chip counts for much of the day and at points looked unstoppable with 50% of the chips in play.
Unfortunately for Haga, Cartarius turned the tide three-handed when he won a huge coinflip with pocket fours against Haga’s Ace-Nine.
Cartarius finally busted Haga and then dusted off Konrad Abela in less than five hands heads-up.
It was a surprising outcome for Cartarius who entered the final table second-to-last in chips.
He hasn’t had a lot of success at live tournaments yet either but that changed today.
“This is my biggest live score for sure,” he said.
At just €550 to play, the Battle of Malta is the premier low buy-in, high-value tournament in Europe.
Here are the complete final-table payouts:
1. Louis Cartarius – €80,000 2. Konrad Abela – €52,000 3. Ambjorn Haga – €32,000 4. Arthur Popov – €23,630 5. Lauri Pesonen – €19,000 6. Alessandro de Ioco – €15,000 7. Sonny La – €12,000 8. Guiseppe Polichetti – €9,500 9. Daniel Lucasz – €7,300Visit www.pokerlistings.com