The Malta Poker Festival is an annual poker festival that takes place at the Portomaso Casino on the Mediterranean island of Malta.
Established in 2018, the festival was founded by Ivonne Montealegre who said that she wanted to take the tournament "to the next level" and make the Malta Poker Festival "the most spectacular destination [on the island]."
Finished Tournaments |
Winner | Winning Hand | Prize | Runner-up | Losing Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Malta Poker Festival Spring |
Daniel Lakerveld
|
a♥5♣ | €71,000 | Simon Gyorgy | k♠5♥ |
The Malta Poker Festival partnered with PokerNews to live report the Malta Poker Festival €550 Main Events. The Main Event was popular from the start with the tournament attracting a banner crowd of 1,366 entries to generate a €662,510 prize pool. Italy's Emanuele Onnis will go down in history as the first Malta Poker Festival Main Event champion after he defeated Germany's Fabian Gumz to win the €150,000 top prize.
The same €150,000 top prize was on tap in 2019 when Lithuania's Tomas Sujeta beat Israel's Dmitri Dan heads-up to win the trophy.
| Year | Field | Prize Pool | Winner | Country | Payout (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1,366 | €662,510 | Emanuele Onnis | Italy | €150,000 |
| 2019 | 1,324 | €642,140 | Tomas Sujeta | Lithuania | €150,000 |
Read More: Malta Poker Festival is All About the Players
In 2020, the Malta Poker Festival was one of several events to be cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. In its place, the Malta Poker Championships were announced after a joint announcement from Qufan Internet Technology Ltd, Malta Poker Festival and The Hendon Mob. The event was held online on Pokio in May 2020.
Kenneth "fulltiltken" Valentine walked away as the winner of the Malta Poker Championships Main Event, winning €15,729.