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Battle of Malta’s First International Stop Draws 1,510 Entries in Slovakia

3 hours ago

Samantha Doyle 3 hours ago

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Battle of Malta debuts outside Malta in Slovakia, surpassing expectations.
Mario Klaic wins €400 Main Event with €46,900 prize; Martin Bartos claims High Roller.
Silviu Nemes dominates Mystery Bounty, winning €16,375.

Battle of Malta took a gamble of its own by leaving Malta for the first time. The numbers in Slovakia gave organisers the answer they wanted.

The €400 Main Event at Card Casino Šamorín attracted 1,510 entries, edging its €400,000 guarantee up to a €402,840 prize pool. Austria’s Mario Klaic ultimately took the trophy and €46,900 after agreeing a deal with runner-up Henrich Miculik.

The September festival was Battle of Malta’s first full international edition, extending a brand that had previously been centred on Malta since its launch.

Klaic Comes Through Unpredictable Main Event Finale

The final day began with 15 players and two clear leaders.

Austria’s Hassibullah Hafizi returned with 9.71 million, narrowly ahead of Slovakia’s Peter Kadlec on 9.425 million. Klaic was among the chasing group rather than the frontrunners.

€400 Battle of Malta Slovakia Main Event Final Table

Kadlec surged after his pocket aces held against two opponents who both had kings, but later lost the lead. Alexander Geischlaeger and Markus Skalicky also spent time near the top before the field was reduced to Klaic, Skalicky and Miculik.

Klaic eliminated Skalicky in third, setting up an all-Austrian/Slovak heads-up finish.

Battle of Malta Slovakia Main Event Winner — Mario Klaic

Miculik started with the advantage but agreed to an even €40,000 chop, leaving €6,900 and the trophy in play. Klaic reversed the chip counts before flopping two pair against Miculik’s top pair in the final hand.

Main Event Final Table Results

Place	Player	County	Prize
1	Mario Klaic	Austria	€46,900*
2	Henrich Miculik	Slovakia	€40,000*
3	Markus Skalicky	Austria	€23,000
4	Alexander Geischlaeger	Austria	€15,000
5	Peter Kadlec	Slovakia	€9,800
6	Hassibullah Hafizi	Austria	€7,600
7	Daniel Georgiev	Bulgaria	€6,300
8	Norbert Kerepesi	Hungary	€5,296
9	Radoslav Herman	Slovakia	€4,400

*Heads-up deal.

For Klaic, the trophy was a first on the live circuit. The Vienna-based player had recorded larger online cashes previously and was even multi-tabling online during earlier stages of the Main Event, winning a separate $5,000 tournament during Day 2. He put the laptop away for the final day.

Bartos Gives Slovakia a High Roller Champion

The €1,000 High Roller produced the first champion of the festival.

A field of 43 generated the tournament’s €50,000 prize pool, with six players reaching the money. Slovakia’s Martin Bartos took the largest share after defeating Zdenek Svoboda heads-up.

Bartos received €17,200 and a €500 WSOP Circuit ticket.

Attila Koncz, who had started the final table with the chip lead, finished third for €7,100. Czech player Jaroslav Peter took fourth, while Britain’s Ross Whitelaw and Germany’s Jessica Vierling completed the paid positions.

Place	Player	Prize
1	Martin Bartos	€17,200
2	Zdenek Svoboda	€11,000
3	Attila Koncz	€7,100
4	Jaroslav Peter	€4,800
5	Ross Whitelaw	€3,400
6	Jessica Vierling	€2,500

Nemes Collects €11,500 in Mystery Bounties

Silviu Nemes had already built a substantial lead by the time the €220 Mystery Bounty reached its final nine. He then kept eliminating people.

The Romanian eventually knocked out 14 of 23 opponents on Day 2, winning the €4,875 first-place payout and collecting another €11,500 in bounties. His combined return reached €16,375.

The tournament drew 178 entries for a €40,000 prize pool.

Tina Christensen of Denmark finished runner-up, with Junyu Liu of China third. Interestingly, Nemes did not pull the single biggest envelope: Bas De Laat found the €4,700 top bounty before departing in 17th.