EPT Malta Shakes Up Portamaso Casino's All-Time Money List
Earlier in the Main Event, we highlighted the history of poker in Malta, one that has invariably been altered with the introduction of the first-ever European Poker Tour festival, which is being held at the Portomaso Casino next to the Hilton Malta.
The property began hosting poker tournaments back in 2008 starting with three Malta Poker Tour €100,000 guaranteed events. Canada's Tommy Pavlicek won the first-ever event, and the €30,000 prize made him the Portomaso's biggest-ever winner. Of course that's changed over the last seven years, but the past week has rocked the rankings in a big way.
Check out the current top 10 winners here at the Portomaso Casino:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | Poland | $646,586 |
| 2 | Connor Drinan | United States | $421,175 |
| 3 | Michal Polchlopek | Poland | $322,658 |
| 4 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | $278,454 |
| 5 | Matt Giannetti | United States | $276,457 |
| 6 | Georgios Zisimopoulos | Greece | $234,197 |
| 7 | Nicholas Petrangelo | United States | $217,998 |
| 8 | Walter Treccarichi | Italy | $204,537 |
| 9 | Fabrizio Rossi | Italy | $177,224 |
| 10 | Alessio Isaia | Italy | $176,414 |
As you can see, the list is full of familiar faces. Take Poland's Dzmitry Urbanovich for example. The 19 year old wasn't even on the list last week, but thanks to three wins here at the EPT Malta, including $605,929 for taking down the €25,000 High Roller, he now sits as the all-time money winner playing tournaments in Malta. As a result of his unparalleled week, he now sits atop the EPT Season 11 Player of the Year leaderboard. It's also worth noting that not all of Urbanovich's results are counted in the above chart, which is courtesy of HendonMob.
Further examination of the list reveals that Connor Drinan (runner-up), Daniel Dvoress (3rd place), and Nick Petrangelo (4th place), all made the top seven thanks to their top-four finishes in the aforementioned €25,000 High Roller. That one event alone rocked the foundation of the Portomaso all-time money list, though it will be short lived as the Main Event is primed to shake things up.
Before the EPT came to town, Michal Polchlopek, who now sits third on the list, was the top dog after winning the 2010 Italian Poker Tour €2,000 Main Event for $266,502, so to say PokerStars has played a hand in shaping poker in Malta is an understatement.
Finally, one thing you don't see on the Portomaso list is someone from Malta, and that's because the game is relatively young on the island. The EPT Main Event saw just six Maltese enter the tournament, thought part of the reason is the casino requires Malta residents to be 25+ to play (foreigners only need to be 18).
As far as the Maltese go, Alan James Brincat sits atop the all-time money leader list thanks to a single cash – $134,225 for runner-up in the 2014 €500 buy-in Battle of Malta. That event, which took place back in November, attracted 1,447 entries and created a prize pool of €701,795 to crush the €500K guarantee. Bulgaria's Antoan Katsarov ended up winning that event for $153,623.
Sitting second on the list with $113,860 in winnings is Jean-Paul Helderman, who also cracked the leaderboard after a single score. Back in 2012, Helderman won the A$2,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em event at the Aussie Millions Poker Championship.
Another notable list regarding Malta is "Most Cashes," and one woman has distanced herself from the pack with 21 cashes. Jackie "Poker Mama" Cachia, who grew up just a few miles from the Portomaso Casino, has amassed $77,833 in winnings and has become an advocate for poker in Malta. The PokerStars Blog recently profiled Cachia, who played and busted this event on Day 1. Still, we recommend you check out that piece by clicking here.
Malta All-Time Lists
| Place | Player | Money Won | Player | # of Cashes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alan James Brincat | $134,225 | Jackie Cachia | 21 | |
| 2 | Jean-Paul Helderman | $113,860 | Charlo Azzopardi | 15 | |
| 3 | Charlo Azzopardi | $90,293 | Andrea Stellato | 7 | |
| 4 | Konrad Abela | $84,014 | Mario Sciberras | 6 | |
| 5 | Jackie Cachia | $76,076 | Anna Colley | 6 | |
| 6 | Bryan Vanrijsbergen | $56,513 | Manfred Sierke | 5 | |
| 7 | Jerome Iozza | $45,536 | Miljan Miljanic | 5 | |
| 8 | Anna Colley | $44,766 | Jacob Nielsen | 5 | |
| 9 | Anton Abela | $39,172 | Antoine Degiorgio | 5 |