Battle of Malta: Anton Makejev Takes the Lead as 24 Players Remain in the Main Event

Estonia’s Anton Makejev sits on top of the leaderboard after Day 3 of the Battle of Malta Main Event at Casino Malta. With just 24 players left, Makejev bagged 14,050,000 chips and is now in pole position for the title.

Massive Field Crushes the Guarantee

The €530 + 70 Battle of Malta Main Event once again drew a huge crowd, with 5,368 entries building a prize pool of €2,413,281. That easily beat the €1.5 million guarantee, and the eventual champion will collect €227,835.

Day 3 started with 158 players and ended with only 24 still in contention.

Late Double-Up Puts Makejev in Front

Makejev’s rise to the top came late in the night. He won a key all-in pot against Stefano Gianas, doubling up and moving into the chip lead.

Greece’s Marios Kapiris is right behind him with 13,950,000. Kapiris also enjoyed a late double-up, winning a crucial hand with two pair in the final level of the day. Poland’s Jakub Skurzynski completes the top three with 13,000,000.

Notable Names Still in the Running

Italy’s Alessandro De Michele, Greece’s Emmanouil Chalkiotis and China’s Lulei Hu are among the players still chasing the title.

Norway’s Jon Kyte is the most experienced player left in the field, with more than $3.9 million in live tournament earnings. However, he has work to do, sitting in 23rd place with fewer than 10 big blinds.

The defending champion from the 2025 Battle of Malta Autumn Main Event, Candido Cappiello, made another deep run but was knocked out in 71st place.

The Final Hand of Day 3

The day ended with a clash between Yuri Cornello and Shai Arbel. Cornello opened to 1,250,000 and Arbel defended from the big blind.

Cornello showed 7♥ 7♦, while Arbel held A♥ 10♦. The flop came A♠ J♣ 9♦, giving Arbel top pair. The 8♦ on the turn and 6♥ on the river didn’t help Cornello, and his elimination brought Day 3 to a close.

Battle of Malta Main Event Chip Counts After Day 3

Place	Player	Country	Chips	Big Blinds
1	Anton Makejev	Estonia	14,050,000	56
2	Marios Kapiris	Greece	13,950,000	56
3	Jakub Skurzynski	Poland	13,000,000	52
4	Tereza Vernerová	Czech Republic	12,050,000	48
5	Ryan Sweeney	England	11,500,000	46
6	Alessandro De Michele	Italy	11,270,000	45
7	James Malatynski	England	10,970,000	44
8	Marco Lopez Coronado	Spain	10,400,000	42
9	Ofer Tadmor	Israel	9,650,000	39
10	Emmanouil Chalkiotis	Greece	9,600,000	38
11	Casper Jensen	Denmark	9,500,000	38
12	Vasileios Tsaknis	Greece	9,300,000	37
13	De-Han Kim	South Korea	9,270,000	37
14	Shai Arbel	Israel	8,600,000	34
15	Lulei Hu	China	6,900,000	28
16	Gabriele Nuzzo	Italy	6,350,000	25
17	Paschalis Papadopoulos	Greece	5,270,000	21
18	Dor Itah	Israel	4,220,000	17
19	Ivane Khazaradze	Georgia	4,090,000	16
20	Jaime Diaz	Portugal	3,850,000	15
21	Vittorio Bevilacqua	Italy	3,170,000	13
22	Rosario Saddemi	Italy	2,500,000	10
23	Jon Kyte	Norway	2,290,000	9
24	Stefano Gianas	Italy	2,270,000	9

Main Event Details

Detail	Information
Event	€530 + 70 Battle of Malta Main Event
Venue	Casino Malta
Guarantee	€1,500,000
Entries	5,368
Prize Pool	€2,413,281
First Prize	€227,835
Players Remaining	24

What’s Next?

With the top three separated by just over a million chips, the battle for the title is wide open. Makejev will look to build on his lead, while Kapiris and Skurzynski won’t be far behind. Further down the counts, short stacks like Jon Kyte and Stefano Gianas will need to find a double-up early.

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