The return of the Unibet Open to the European live poker scene after a hiatus of more than two and a half years will come to a thrilling conclusion as of noon local time at the five star Intercontinental Hotel in St Julian's. Out of a field of 359 entries in the flagship �1,100 tournament, nine players from eight different countries remain in contention for the biggest slice of the �359,000 prize pool.
It was the largest Unibet Open Main Event on Malta in the fifth edition and followed in the footsteps of a record-setting Unibet Poker Belgian Championship at Casino Blankenberge in Belgium for the operator. All finalists have locked up a payday of �7,200 but all eyes will be set on the top prize of �75,000 and becoming the newest Unibet Open Main Event champion in the 15th anniversary edition.
Local resident Mats Karlsson from Sweden, representing Malta leads the way and already knows what it takes to run deep on the Mediterranean island. Back in 2016, he finished second in the EPT Malta Main Event and returns with 2,515,000 in chips. Fellow Swede Serdar Demircan (2,350,000) sits in second place and reached back-to-back final tables in this very event after he finished sixth in the 2019 edition for a payday of �13,450.
Denmark's Henrik Juncker completes the Scandinavian podium with 1,935,000 in chips and has more than two times as many chips as the nearest follower thereafter. Rene Kuhlman (915,000) returns with 34 big blinds right in the middle of the pack, narrowly ahead of Rain Molderkivi (870,000).
Several other players are closely bunched together including Samuele Lo Presti (775,000), Tal Sardal (645,000), and Raymond Wheatley, who is a student of Unibet ambassador Dara O'Kearney. Belgium-based American player Daniel Illingworth is the bottom stack by some margin with 270,000 and has nine big blinds at his disposal.
Final Table Seat Assignments
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raymond Wheatley | Ireland | 515,000 | 17 |
| 2 | Tal Sardal | France | 645,000 | 22 |
| 3 | Serdar Demircan | Sweden | 2,350,000 | 78 |
| 4 | Rene Kuhlman | Netherlands | 915,000 | 31 |
| 5 | Samuele Lo Presti | Italy | 775,000 | 26 |
| 6 | Mats Karlsson | Malta | 2,515,000 | 84 |
| 7 | Henrik Juncker | Denmark | 1,935,000 | 65 |
| 8 | Daniel Illingworth | United States | 270,000 | 9 |
| 9 | Rain Molderkivi | Estonia | 870,000 | 29 |
There are 54:27 minutes left in level 23 at blinds of 15,000-30,000 and a big blind ante of 30,000. The level duration remains at 60 minutes each until six contenders remain, after which it will be reduced to 45 minutes each. Once the field is down to the final three, the level duration then concludes at 30 minutes each until a winner has been crowned.
Unibet Open Malta Stops at a Glance
| Year | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Country | Top Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 293 | �417,525 | Mateusz Moolhuizen | Netherlands | �117,000 |
| 2016 | 292 | �292,000 | Martin Soukup | Czech Republic | �65,000 |
| 2018 | 273 | �273,000 | Daniel Jacobsen | Denmark | �60,090 |
| 2019 | 327 | �327,000 | Alan Carr | United Kingdom | �53,400 |
| 2022 | 359 | �359,000 | �75,000 |
Thirty minutes is also the delay of the cards-up coverage on the Unibet Poker Twitch and YouTube channels for the live-streamed final showdown. All PokerNews updates will be based on the delay to not spoil any of the action.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | �75,000 | ||
| 2 | �46,460 | ||
| 3 | �32,090 | ||
| 4 | �23,770 | ||
| 5 | �18,280 | ||
| 6 | �14,070 | ||
| 7 | �11,250 | ||
| 8 | �9,000 | ||
| 9 | �7,200 |