The Battle of Malta Main Event has comfortably broken through the two-million-euro barrier. The 600€ tournament closed registration with 5.368 entries and a prize pool of 2.413.281€, setting the stage for a fiercely contested race to the trophy. Of the 726 players who returned for Day 2, just 158 survived an evening of relentless eliminations.
The defining confrontation came late in the session. On a 9 h T d J h flop, Chuc Khuu bet 100.000 before Sebastian Mortensen raised to 350.000. Sposato then made it 750.000, forcing Khuu out of the way. Mortensen moved all-in, and Sposato immediately called with K s Q d for the flopped nut straight. Mortensen’s 9 d 9 s gave him a set and a chance to improve, but the 8 h turn and 2 d river kept the straight ahead. The pot exceeded 3.5 million chips and propelled Sposato toward the overnight lead.
Sposato eventually bagged 3.440.000, although the gap to his nearest challenger is small. Dutch contender Jan-Joost van den Bogert finished with 3.260.000, leaving the leading pair clear of the chasing pack. Israel’s Shai Arbel occupies third place with 2.460.000, followed by Vasileios Tsaknis on 2.210.000.
The remaining players are chasing a 227.835€ first prize, with 141.250€ allocated to the runner-up and 92.550€ for third place. With the field reduced to fewer than 3% of the total entries, the next stage will bring the trophy into sharper focus—and another major confrontation could quickly change the order at the top.
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Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 2
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1 | Gaspare Sposato | Italy | 3 440 000 |
| 2 | Jan-Joost van den Bogert | Netherlands | 3 260 000 |
| 3 | Shai Arbel | Israel | 2 460 000 |
| 4 | Vasileios Tsaknis | Greece | 2 210 000 |
| 5 | David Albert Keuftedjian | France | 2 140 000 |
| 6 | Torben Rauer | Germany | 2 060 000 |
| 7 | Maicol Darrigo | Italy | 2 040 000 |
| 8 | Stefano Rege Gianas | Italy | 2 040 000 |
| 9 | Candido Cappiello | Italy | 1 930 000 |
| 10 | Lorenzo Angeletti | Italy | 1 920 000 |
Sources: BattleOfMalta
