Event Snapshot
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Tour | SiGMA Poker Tour |
| Event | Malta Main Event |
| Venue | Portomaso Casino, Malta |
| Buy-in | €400 |
| Guarantee | €150,000 |
| Entries | 411 |
| Final Day Length | 12 hours |
| Champion | Davide Iannaco (Italy) |
| First Prize | €28,500 |
After a marathon 12-hour finale at Portomaso Casino, Davide Iannaco stormed from mid-pack at the final table to capture the €400 buy-in, €150,000 guaranteed SiGMA Poker Tour Malta Main Event title. The Italian, now based in Malta, toppled Poland’s Tomasz Brzezinski in an absorbing heads-up battle to secure €28,500 and the trophy—his first recorded live tournament victory.
Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davide Iannaco | Italy | €28,500 |
| 2 | Tomasz Brzezinski | Poland | €19,000 |
| 3 | Romain Gachet | France | €12,800 |
| 4 | Joachim Vaesen | Belgium | €9,100 |
| 5 | Jon Persent | Norway | €7,500 |
| 6 | Guillaum Otto | Belgium | €5,600 |
| 7 | Christopher Convery | South Africa | €4,300 |
| 8 | Agostino Vitiello | Italy | €3,600 |
| 9 | Terje Bremseth | Norway | €3,000 |
How the Final Day Unfolded
The Main Event drew 411 entries, coming up just shy of the €150,000 guarantee. Sixty players returned from 61 Day 1 qualifiers for Day 2 after Ashley Scott bagged twice and secured two minimum cashes of €600.
Eliminations arrived quickly. Remy Hordan departed in a brutal beat against Massimo Rizzoglio, while Day 2 chip leader Sebastian Mortensen started fast but ultimately bowed out in 11th, falling to Guillaum Otto.
Day 1e chip leader Romain Gachet surged in the second session, grabbing the pole position after picking up rockets in a blinds battle. Fellow big stack Micaela Arcusin also found a premium to keep pace. Gachet stayed in front through to the final table, helped by spiking the river to bust Salvatore Incardona in a wild spot, before his own run ended in third at the hands of Iannaco.
Before the final nine formed, Tomasz Brzezinski eliminated WSOP Online bracelet winner Jonathan Therme, and the lineup was set when Gachet won a flip against Fredrik Eggen.
Final Table Highlights
Gachet led into the last stretch with Brzezinski close behind. The Pole seized momentum with the first knockout, rivering Terje Bremseth to move into the lead, while Gachet dispatched short stack Agostino Vitiello in eighth.
Iannaco kicked off his charge by turning over cowboys to bust Christopher Convery. He kept the pressure on by eliminating Otto in sixth, with Brzezinski answering back by sending Jon Persent to the rail in fifth.
After the third break, Iannaco found rockets in back-to-back clashes, first ousting Joachim Vaesen and then removing Gachet to set up the heads-up duel.
Heads-Up: Iannaco Turns the Tide
Brzezinski began the one-on-one with the edge and the confidence of a recent near €500,000 score in the EPT Barcelona Main Event. But over roughly two hours, momentum shifted decisively to Iannaco, who consistently showed up with the best hand at key moments to close out the victory.
Winner’s Reaction
The Italian, now residing in Malta, said “I’m very happy, I’m not a pro, I don’t study like they do, but I have a good group of friends who are professionals or coaches and I like to talk about the game with them.
This won’t change much in terms of my poker plans, I’ll play everything in Malta like I always do, and see where things take me. It was a fantastic tournament, I played well and ran well. Thank you to the organizers, it was a great event.”
Tour Note
Elsewhere on the SiGMA Poker Tour, the series kicked off in Brazil with an Orpaz victory.
