Portomaso Autumn Series: Aleksandar Kosarkoski Takes Down the Malta Poker Festival Grand Event
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The Portomaso Autumn Series at Portomaso Casino in Malta ran three main tournaments. Tomas Svoboda won the first, the €250 Mini Italian Poker Sport (Mini IPS), for €51,000. Alberto Furnari then won the €340 + 50 Italian Poker Sport (IPS). The last and biggest event was the €530 + 70 Malta Poker Festival (MPF) Grand Event, and that title went to North Macedonia.
The Grand Event drew 2,147 entries, which took the prize pool to €1,069,635, just over the €1 million guarantee. The top 269 players were paid, with a minimum cash of €1,070 and €200,000 for the winner. Aris Velisarios Diminikos had the most chips when the final nine came together. Aleksandar Kosarkoski started the final table third in chips with 15,700,000.
Things went wrong for Kosarkoski early. Within a few hands he had lost half his stack and was down to 16 big blinds. He fought his way back, reached heads-up against France’s Gabriele Santoro and won to take the €200,000 first prize. The win made headlines in North Macedonia, including in media outlets that rarely cover poker.
Full results are available on the Eurorounder website and from Portomaso Casino.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize Money |
| 1 | Aleksandar Kosarkoski | North Macedonia | €200,000 |
| 2 | Gabriele Santoro | France | €134,615 |
| 3 | Raffaele Prezzi | Italy | €91,070 |
| 4 | Marius Olsvik | Norway | €62,040 |
| 5 | Aris Diminikos | Sweden | €42,660 |
| 6 | Alessandro Siena | Italy | €29,770 |
| 7 | Daniel Jackson | Ireland | €21,160 |
| 8 | Alberto Marullo | Italy | €15,420 |
| 9 | Maciej Gut | Poland | €11,600 |
FAQs
1. Who won the 2026 MPF Grand Event at Portomaso?
Aleksandar Kosarkoski from North Macedonia won the €530 + €70 MPF Grand Event, taking home the €200,000 first-place prize.
2. How many entries did the MPF Grand Event attract?
The tournament recorded 2,147 entries, creating a total prize pool of €1,069,635, exceeding its €1 million guarantee.
3. How much did the MPF Grand Event winner receive?
Aleksandar Kosarkoski received €200,000 for winning the tournament. Runner-up Gabriele Santoro collected €134,615.
4. Who finished runner-up in the 2026 MPF Grand Event?
France’s Gabriele Santoro finished second after losing heads-up against Aleksandar Kosarkoski, earning €134,615.
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