Siege of Malta Canceled Due to Coronavirus Concerns, Battle of Malta on Schedule
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The annual Siege of Malta was cancelled on Thursday due to concerns over the rapidly spreading coronavirus. The event was scheduled to take place at the InterContinental Hotel in St Julians, Malta, in April 2020.
In a joint note sent to the press on March 5, Casino Malta and Olympic Casino announced the event will no longer take place "in response to growing concerns about coronavirus."
Both event organisers shared their disappointment for having to cancel a tournament series that would have featured a €500k GTD Main Event alongside numerous side events. As they explained, "the need to safeguard the health of players and staff" needed to be prioritised.
"Due to grave concerns about the outbreak of coronavirus, and following health guidance from organisations such as the Maltese Health Authorities (MHA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), we have reluctantly decided to cancel the new Siege of Malta tournament in April," the note explains.
"In addition to wanting to protect all our players and staff, we also wish to take a responsible stance in helping to contain the virus," the note continues.
"In common with many many other organisers of public events, we are erring on the side of caution and common sense in taking the decision to cancel."
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2020 Battle of Malta to Stay on the Schedule
Thursday's press release touched also on the casino's flagship event, the Battle of Malta poker festival.
The award-winning tournament series known to be one of the biggest poker tournaments to take place in Europe is supposed to be back in St Julians in October. The coronavirus doesn't seem to have changed the plans of the organizers.
"October is a long way ahead and we anticipate that there will be many positive developments regarding coronavirus before Battle of Malta," the note concluded.
"We apologise for any disruption caused to players who were keen to compete at Siege of Malta, and we encourage everyone to come along to Battle of Malta in October instead."
Coronavirus Update: Reactions from the Poker World
The list of poker events canceled due to coronavirus concerns include the Triton Super High Roller Series, the Vietnamese leg of the World Poker Tour Season XVIII, the World Poker Tour Taiwan, and the 2020 Malta Poker Championship.
Earlier this week, the King's Casino in Rozvadov made headlines after announcing a temporary ban of all Italian players from their properties.
Speaking to PokerNews, Vice President of Corporate Communications for the WSOP Seth Palansky confirmed that the World Series of Poker ]are monitoring the situation closely.
At this time, the WSOP events and schedules remain intact and are planned to go on without interruption.
