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Brits Strike First in Malta as Kate Jackson Leads the Early Battle of Malta Winners

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Samantha Doyle 1 hour ago

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Kate Jackson won the €330 Super Double Bounty, earning €5,320 from 108 entries.
Four different players claimed Afternoon White Knight titles, with prizes increasing daily.
Six English players advanced from the first Main Event flight, but none led the chip counts.

The biggest Battle of Malta trophies are still several days away, and yet British players have already gotten involved and claimed several coveted spots.

Well before the €1.5 million guaranteed Main Event even dealt its first hand, Kate Jackson had already won the largest event of the Road to Battle of Malta warm-up, while Chris Barclay collected another trophy during the charity tournament for Antoine Degiorgio.

Now that the main festival is underway, six English players have already survived the opening Main Event flight, with more starting days still to come.

Kate Jackson Wins the €330 Super Double Bounty

The biggest result from the BoM warm-up undoubtedly belonged to Jackson, who came through 108 entries in the €330 Super Double Bounty.

Place	Player	Country	Prize*
1	Kate Jackson	United Kingdom	€5,320
2	Mark Vella	Malta	€3,275
3	Alkan Aydingoez	Germany	€2,370
4	Florian Dietrich	France	€4,330
5	Gintas Dirse	Lithuania	€3,070

*Prizes include bounties.

Jackson defeated Malta native Mark Vella heads-up, taking €5,320 from a €25,056 prize pool. As the payout table shows, the final position don't necessarily determine who collected the most money, since the bounty portion allowed fourth-place Florian Dietrich to finish with €4,330.

Four More Winners Come Through the White Knight Events

Before the main battle began, the Road to BoM produced four more Afternoon White Knight champions between October 23 and 26.

Winner	Prize
Christian Schneider	€1,575
Anthonius Henderiks	€2,050
Branimir Bizjak	€2,535
Tudor Popa	€3,115

The prizes grew across the four days, with Tudor Popa taking the largest of the White Knight payouts on Monday. Unlike the Super Double Bounty, these were shorter standalone tournaments, a sort of appetizer before Tuesday evening, when the warm-up tables gave way to the Autumn Edition.

Chris Barclay Wins as the Poker Community Rallies Around Antoine Degiorgio

One of the earliest BoM trophies this autumn came with a little more attached than just the payout.

A charity tournament was held in support of Maltese poker community member Antoine Degiorgio, drawing 134 entries and raising almost €4,000 for Degiorgio and his family. More than €5,000 in additional prizes had also been contributed by poker operators and other supporters.

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Chris Barclay	United Kingdom	€910
2	Jason Glatzer	Lithuania	€620
3	Jennifer Barr	United Kingdom	€410
4	Freddy Rolland	Norway	€340
5	Algirdas Tamasas	Lithuania	€270

Barclay defeated Jason Glatzer heads-up and, beyond the €910 cash prize, received a €1,600 package for the 2027 Battle of Malta Main Event.

Jennifer Barr added another British player to the podium in third, while Scott Taylor also reached the final table in eighth.

Six English Players Make It Through Main Event Day 1A

The trophy everyone ultimately wants is still only just taking shape.

Wednesday's first €600 Main Event flight attracted 300 entries, with 45 players making it through to Day 2. Italy's Angelo Patane finished furthest ahead with 769,000, followed by Dimitrios Stampoultzis and Sami Pulliainen.