The flagship tournament of the festival was the €600 MPF Grand Event with a one-million-euro guarantee. This generated huge interest on Malta, attracting a total of 2,147 entries. As a result, the guarantee was smashed, and the prizepool reached €1,069,635.40.
When the field narrowed down to the final five players, they agreed to a deal for the prize distribution. The largest sum went to Italian player Gabriele Santoro (€137,380), but the title was clinched by Kosarkoski.
This pair faced off in a dramatic heads-up duel. The showdown concluded unexpectedly when Santoro attempted a risky bluff, going all-in with 7 s 4 d on a board reading 3 d Q d Q h 2 s 9 c. Kosarkoski called with Q s 6 d, igniting a victory celebration.
For Kosarkoski, this marks an indisputably career-best result, as his previous live tournament earnings hadn't surpassed $2,000 according to Hendon Mob.
Final table results of MPF Grand Event:
|
Place |
Player |
Country |
Prize |
|
1. |
Aleksandar Kosarkoski |
North Macedonia |
€137,000* |
|
2. |
Gabriele Santoro |
Italy |
€137,380* |
|
3. |
Raffaele Prezzi |
Italy |
€67,000* |
|
4. |
Marius Olsvik |
Norway |
€88,000* |
|
5. |
Aris Velisarios Diminikos |
Sweden |
€97,000* |
|
6. |
Alessandro Siena |
Italy |
€29,770 |
|
7. |
Daniel Andrew Jackson |
United Kingdom |
€20,160 |
|
8. |
Alberto Marullo |
Italy |
€14,420 |
|
9. |
Maciej Przemyslaw Gut |
Poland |
€10,600 |
*5-way deal
Sources: Malta Poker Festival, YouTube
#result
