The Battle of Malta 2022
The online Battle of Malta opened on Sunday, July 10, and it opened loudly. GGPoker put €25 million in guarantees on the board through the end of the month, with 75 packages to October’s live Main Event in Malta waiting at the finish. The first Sunday alone returned more than €2 million across fourteen events, and sent eleven players to Malta before the series was a day old. The €110 King’s Landing Opener set the tone, ‘Isujimi’ surviving 3,775 runners and an eleven-hour marathon for €47,148. But the day belonged to the high rollers: in the €1,050 Sunday High Rollers Main Event, ‘Benjamin Rolle’ turned a 408-runner field into €78,613, the biggest score of the launch.
| Event | Buy-in | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Top Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1: King’s Landing Opener | €110 | 3,775 | €382,030 | ‘Isujimi’ | €47,148 |
| #2: Charge to Glory Bounty Turbo | €52.50 | 3,419 | €170,950 | ‘Bernardo Granato’ | €13,396 |
| Let the Battle Begin | €88 | 1,487 | — | ‘Backz0r’ | €16,798 |
| Mini Grand Prix | €25 | 4,718 | — | ‘Mimi Time’ | €11,092 |
| Grand Prix Europe | €250 | 781 | — | ‘Tom_Poker_NL’ | €25,443 |
| Bounty Hunters Castle Siege [Ultra Deep] | €42 | 4,072 | — | ‘mrbill77’ | €12,986 |
| Sunday Hundred Grand | €11 | 11,084 | €112,170 | ‘zemachess’ | €9,702 |
| Omaholic Malta Classic Deepstack | €125 | 304 | — | ‘Chimichanga1’ | €6,514 |
| Sunday High Rollers Main Event | €1,050 | 408 | — | ‘Benjamin Rolle’ | €78,613 |
| Sunday High Rollers (Omaholic) | — | 85 | — | ‘Dirk Gerritse’ | €23,208 |
| Bounty Hunters Big Bounty | — | 4,293 | — | ’77Petraglia’ | €6,760 |
| Sunday Double Chance [2-Stack] | €55 | 1,580 | — | ‘Camisa15’ | €10,436 |
| The Last Stand [Bounty 4-max] | €105 | 579 | — | ‘therewillbeX’ | €8,063 |
| Sunday Saver [Hyper] | €250 | 450 | — | ‘yuyubaba’ | €19,711 |
Week One: The Siege Continues
With the opening Sunday behind them, the field settled in for the long campaign. Two more Main Events fell in the first week: ‘Minthon’ took the €550 Omaholic Knight Crusaders for €28,188, and ‘NewBeerBro’ outlasted 1,354 runners in the €210 Bounty for the Knight, banking €26,285 with bounties. The real engine of the week was the pair of daily Bounty Hunters Malta events, one at €52.50 and one at €525, running every day with six-figure guarantees. ‘justVOL’ posted the biggest of them, €28,118 from Tuesday’s High Roller edition. By the end of the week 62 players had already booked passage to Malta.
| Event | Buy-in | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Top Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #3: Omaholic Knight Crusaders | €550 | 240 | €125,400 | ‘Minthon’ | €28,188 |
| #4: Bounty for the Knight | €210 | 1,354 | — | ‘NewBeerBro’ | €26,285 |
| Bounty Hunters Malta (Mon) | €52.50 | 3,261 | €163,000 | ‘bullfrog89’ | €13,958 |
| Bounty Hunters HR Malta (Mon) | €525 | 326 | €163,050 | ‘0_really’ | €24,032 |
| Bounty Hunters Malta (Tue) | €52.50 | 3,328 | — | ‘ObsceNeL’ | €12,312 |
| Bounty Hunters HR Malta (Tue) | €525 | 344 | €172,000 | ‘justVOL’ | €28,118 |
| Bounty Hunters Malta (Wed) | €52.50 | 3,111 | €155,550 | ‘Bullo89’ | €12,739 |
| Bounty Hunters HR Malta (Wed) | €525 | 291 | €145,500 | ‘Murilo Milhomem’ | €25,690 |
| Bounty Hunters Malta (Thu) | €52.50 | 3,401 | €170,050 | ‘I am GRUT’ | €15,793 |
| Bounty Hunters HR Malta (Thu) | €525 | 303 | €151,500 | ‘Caballo salvaje’ | €27,839 |
Also over €10,000 on the week: ‘drope’, ‘Joursbonbon’, ‘E Buxhoeveden’, ‘The_Agharazi’, ‘Durdi’ and ‘Uruk-Hai’.
Weekend Two: A Million-Euro Cup
By day eight the series was in full swing, with two Main Events and a €1 million headliner on the weekend slate. ‘jaywu1111’ won the €220 Kings of Tallinn Main Event and its €504,786 pool for €65,457, but the marquee was Event #7, the Global MILLION$ European Cup. A €50 buy-in drew a staggering 20,842 entries across its many Day 1s, and when the last of 2,927 survivors had been sorted, ‘LLinusLvoe’ emerged with €83,480 and the title. Off the felt, the Road to Malta rolled on: 132 players had now qualified for the live event, 36 of them with full five-star packages.
| Event | Buy-in | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Top Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #5: Tallinn Summer Showdown | €55 | 2,235 | €113,091 | ‘hmhm’ | €14,292 |
| #6: Kings of Tallinn Main Event | €220 | 2,494 | €504,786 | ‘jaywu1111’ | €65,457 |
| #7: Global MILLION$ European Cup | €50 | 20,842 | — | ‘LLinusLvoe’ | €83,480 |
Past the Halfway Mark
Past the midpoint, more than €12 million had already been won from €10 million in guarantees. ‘ROLLINGDR0NE’ provided the week’s biggest single score, €34,664 with bounties in the €315 Bounty for the Queen, while ‘Songonku’ claimed the €110 Iron Throne Marathon for €20,213. The daily Bounty Hunters grind kept producing five-figure winners, topped by ‘Nisiti’ at €32,820 in Thursday’s High Roller. The trip to Malta was filling fast, with 45 packages and 101 seats now claimed. Four more players cleared €10,000 in the week’s side events.
| Event | Buy-in | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Top Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #8: Iron Throne Marathon | €110 | 1,449 | €146,639 | ‘Songonku’ | €20,213 |
| #9: Bounty for the Queen | €315 | 1,044 | — | ‘ROLLINGDR0NE’ | €34,664 |
| Bounty Hunters Malta (Mon) | €52.50 | 3,184 | €159,200 | ‘Im_goodman’ | €14,773 |
| Bounty Hunters HR Malta (Mon) | €525 | 281 | €140,500 | ‘Maskvv’ | €23,833 |
| Bounty Hunters Malta (Tue) | €52.50 | 3,143 | — | ‘Duong Hoang’ | €14,700 |
| Bounty Hunters HR Malta (Tue) | €525 | 327 | €163,500 | ‘cepsil304’ | €30,650 |
| Bounty Hunters Malta (Wed) | €52.50 | 3,165 | €158,250 | ‘TuMbAk’ | €14,050 |
| Bounty Hunters HR Malta (Wed) | €525 | 288 | €144,000 | ‘TheGreatAmu’ | €29,170 |
| Bounty Hunters Malta (Thu) | €52.50 | 3,302 | €165,100 | ‘Iazrinnnn’ | €12,351 |
| Bounty Hunters HR Malta (Thu) | €525 | 380 | €190,000 | ‘Nisiti’ | €32,820 |
Also over €10,000 on the week: ‘BDPoker69’, ‘SenvintySync’, ‘LMFWY’ and ‘onyvapapaa’.
The Penultimate Weekend
The penultimate weekend brought the biggest prize pools yet. ‘Runnersx2’ navigated the €550 Grand Harbour Superstack and its massive €746,130 pool for a €105,113 top prize, the first six-figure score of the series. The €1 million Event #12, Siege of Malta Bounty MILLION$, drew 13,534 entries at €105 a shot; ‘Kasparas Klezys’ stood alone at the end for €81,977. With one weekend to go, 169 players had qualified for Malta, 59 of them with full packages, and the 25 leaderboard seats were nearly spoken for.
| Event | Buy-in | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Top Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #10: Three-Cities Challenge [3-Stack] | €330 | 494 | €151,609 | ‘In-it2minit’ | €27,165 |
| #11: Grand Harbour Superstack | €550 | 1,428 | €746,130 | ‘Runnersx2’ | €105,113 |
| #12: Siege of Malta Bounty MILLION$ | €105 | 13,534 | — | ‘Kasparas Klezys’ | €81,977 |
The Final Week
The final full week set the table for the finale. ‘FreshMeat!’ won the €330 Gladiator 6-Max for €37,315, and ‘Almazik93’ took the €525 Bounty for the King, €47,407 with bounties. The last run of daily Bounty Hunters events crowned a fresh set of champions, with ‘Nisiti’ again among the biggest at €27,261. Seven more players cleared €10,000 in the side events. The road to Malta was nearly complete: 70 full packages and 119 seats had now been won.
| Event | Buy-in | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Top Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #13: Gladiator 6-Max | €330 | 778 | €238,768 | ‘FreshMeat!’ | €37,315 |
| #14: Bounty for the King | €525 | 848 | — | ‘Almazik93’ | €47,407 |
| Bounty Hunters Malta (Mon) | €52.50 | 3,167 | €158,350 | ‘ArmadAA’ | €16,144 |
| Bounty Hunters HR Malta (Mon) | €525 | 294 | €147,000 | ‘xzbtT’ | €24,837 |
| Bounty Hunters Malta (Tue) | €52.50 | 3,141 | — | ‘ComeLetsGo’ | €13,222 |
| Bounty Hunters HR Malta (Tue) | €525 | 305 | €152,500 | ‘cepsil304’ | €25,400 |
| Bounty Hunters Malta (Wed) | €52.50 | 3,130 | €156,500 | ‘Wang369’ | €15,672 |
| Bounty Hunters HR Malta (Wed) | €525 | 305 | €152,500 | ‘Zombie Chow’ | €25,174 |
| Bounty Hunters Malta (Thu) | €52.50 | 3,096 | €154,800 | ‘Striker77’ | €11,417 |
| Bounty Hunters HR Malta (Thu) | €525 | 397 | €198,500 | ‘Nisiti’ | €27,261 |
Also over €10,000 on the week: ‘Testosterone’, ‘MaShallah’, ‘jerryv36’, ‘icedavid’, ‘Salvinho23’, ‘TennEggGuy’ and ‘VIVAGGPOKER’.
The Final Battle
And then it was over. The last day, July 31, ran three Main Events into the record books, headlined by the €2.5 million Event #18. From 7,104 entries at €550, ‘Alister333’ outlasted them all for €395,747, the single biggest prize of the entire series. Earlier that day, ‘1uckyf1sh’ had banked €149,945 in the €1,050 GGMasters Royal Championship and its seven-figure pool. When the dust settled, the online Battle of Malta had paid out tens of millions across the month, and sent 79 packaged players and 131 seat-winners on to the live Main Event in Malta that October.
| Event | Buy-in | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Top Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #15: St. Julian’s Bounty Feast | €105 | 1,993 | €199,300 | ‘KumisMan228’ | €20,378 |
| #16: GGMasters Royal Championship | €1,050 | 1,083 | €1,083,000 | ‘1uckyf1sh’ | €149,945 |
| #17: Omaholic Crusader Bounty Quest | €210 | 666 | — | ‘silverplat’ | €16,465 |
| #18: Main Event | €550 | 7,104 | — | ‘Alister333’ | €395,747 |
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About the Author: Shawn Altbaum has been writing and editing in the online gaming industry since 2007, reporting live from the WSOP Main Event and conducting interviews with professional players. An active poker player, he combines industry expertise with firsthand knowledge of the games he covers. He currently serves as Global Head of Copywriting at NSUS Group, overseeing brand voice and content strategy across GGPoker and GGVegas.
