Europe is pretty hot right now when it comes to poker (although it’s also rather hot weather-wise, having recorded one of the hottest Octobers ever). In fact, there are two big tournaments that are currently underway on the Old Continent. One of them is the World Series of Poker Europe, which takes place at King’s Resort in Rozvadov, the Czech Republic, and the other one is the so-called Battle of Malta.
The second one, which is supported by 888poker, actually just reached its conclusion as the Main Event wrapped up with a player from Moldova named Serghei Lisii taking first place and winning a total amount of €247,167.
It was not an easy road for Lisii, as he had to outplay some great poker professionals, including the Dutch poker pro, Steven van Zadelhoff, who was the main obstacle facing Lisii in the heads-up part of the tournament. Apart from winning a hefty prize, Lisii also won an additional €30,000 from sponsors, as well as a nice-looking trophy for his achievement.
During heads-up play, nobody really expected Lisii to win, as van Zadelhoff was a huge favorite. There’s a good reason for that, as he is basically a host of the tournament since he lives just a couple of minutes away from the Intercontinental Hotel, where the Battle of Malta took place.
In fact, van Zadelhoff is also a WCOOP champion and was overall considered one of the most experienced poker players in the tournament. Yet, Lisii displayed outstanding poker skills and managed to outsmart his opponent. In the end, Van Zadelhoff had to settle for second place and a prize of €217,167.
The reason why the total amount of money he won was so close to the Lisii’s prize is that the two players made a deal after they started playing the heads-up game.
Malta has been a pretty exciting place for poker during the last couple of days, as many poker professionals decided to go to the Mediterranean island in other to play some poker. The organizers even managed to spark some controversy by introducing shirtless dealers for the Ladies Event.
The Final Table Results
The final table consisted of nine players coming from all parts of the world. The ninth player, who was the first one to hit the rail, was Flavio Laudany from Italy. He was soon followed by a player from Malta, Shaun De Cesare, and another Italian, Bruno Massimo, ended up in seventh place.
The sixth player comes from Norway, and his name is Rune Moerk. In the fifth position, a player from the UK named Leo Worthington-Leese had to hit the rail, with an Irishman Colom Higgins following him right after that. Third place belonged to a player from the Czech Republic named Josef Gulas, who left van Zadelhoff and Lissi to test each other’s poker abilities.
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