The PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Malta festival only kicked off on October 1, but two of poker’s superstars have already captured titles. Juan Pardo and Roland Rokita gave their bankrolls a sizable boost by taking down the €5,000 Mystery Bounty and the €12,300 PokerStars Cuatro Knockout, respectively, at the Casino Malta in St. Julians.
According to The Hendon Mob Database, Pardo ranks tenth on the EPT’s all-time money list courtesy of winning $6,672,744 on the prestigious tour. The talented Spaniard is only $190,283 behind French veteran Jean-Noel Thorel ($6,863,027) in ninth place. Pardo closed that gap significantly by reeling in a €145,900 prize in the €5,000 Mystery Bounty event.
€5,000 Mystery Bounty Final Table Results
RankPlayerCountryBountiesPrizeTotal Prize
| 1 |
Juan Pardo |
Spain |
€87,500 |
€58,400 |
€145,900 |
| 2 |
Samuel Mullur |
Austria |
€12,500 |
€38,100 |
€50,600 |
| 3 |
Paul Lagan |
Ireland |
€40,000 |
€26,200 |
€66,200 |
| 4 |
Pavels Spirins |
Latvia |
€40,000 |
€19,500 |
€59,500 |
| 5 |
Weiran Pu |
China |
€0 |
€15,200 |
€15,200 |
| 6 |
Jon Ander Vallinas |
Spain |
€0 |
€11,800 |
€11,800 |
A compact crowd of 36 entrants fought it out over a €349,200 prize pool. The top six finishers received prize money from the regular prize pool, with Jon Ander Vallinas being the first grinder to fall inside the money places. Vallinas didn’t collect any mystery bounty payments, so his take-home pay was €11,800 for this event.
China’s Weiran Pu also didn’t receive any mystery bounties, so his reward for a fifth-place exit was €15,200. Latvian Pavel Spirins scooped €59,500 after busting in fourth, and Ireland’s Paul Lagan won €66,200 for his third-place finish.
Pardo battled Samuel Mullur heads-up for the title and the lion’s share of the prize pool. Mullur has been on a tear for several months, but he couldn’t find a way past his Spanish opponent. Mullur bowed out in second place, a result good for €50,600, leaving Pardo to get his hands on another Spadie trophy and €145,900 in prize money.
Roland Rokita Rakes in €99,200
Roland Rokita
The €12,300 PokerStars Cuatro Knockout may have only attracted 17 entrants, but the large buy-ins meant €199,920 was up for grabs across the regular prize pool and bounty payments.
Only three of those starters received cash from the regular prize pool, and what a trio they were. Dutchman Joris Ruijs busted in third and took home €30,400 for his efforts. Ruijs’ exit left Austria’s Roland Rokita in a one-on-one situation against American high-stakes guru Byron Kaverman, who was Ruijs’ executioner.
Rokita got the job done heads-up, which resigned Kaverman to a €69,600 consolation prize while locking up a €99,920 payday for himself.
€12,300 PokerStars Cuatro Knockout Final Table Results
RankPlayerCountryBountiesPrizeTotal Prize
| 1 |
Roland Rokita |
Austria |
€24,000 |
€75,920 |
€99,920 |
| 2 |
Byron Kaverman |
United States |
€24,000 |
€45,600 |
€69,600 |
| 3 |
Joris Ruijs |
Netherlands |
€0 |
€30,400 |
€30,400 |
Other Early EPT Malta Champions
Jan Bendik
Several other players have also captured titles in the early EPT Malta side events. Peter Krajnyak won the €550 Seniors event for €7,265 while Italian Umberto Ruggeri won the €1,100 NL Hold’em Freezeout for €38,700.
Another Italian, Federico Fulciniti, took down the €550 Hyper Turbo Freezeout for €12,020, with the 2016 EPT Grand Final champion Jan Bendik collecting €20,560 for his victory in the €1,050 Hyper Turbo Freezeout.
Remaining EPT Malta Schedule
The tournaments continue coming thick and fast during the EPT Malta festival, which runs until October 12. PokerNews’ live reporting team will be on the ground bringing you live and exclusive coverage of the €1,650 PokerStars Open (from Day 2 onward), the €100,000 EPT Super High Roller, and the eagerly anticipated €5,300 EPT Malta Main Event.
DateTimeEvent
| Fri 3 Oct |
11:00 a.m. |
€1,650 NLHE PokerStars Open Main Event Day 1e |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
8-Game Mix Final Dat |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€20,000 No-Limit Hold’em |
| |
4:00 p.m. |
€600 Win Your Seat Satellite to EPT Main Event |
| |
5:30 p.m. |
€1,650 NLHE PokerStars Open Main Event Day 1f |
| |
8:00 p.m. |
€2,730 Win Your Seat Satellite to Super High Roller |
| |
9:00 p.m. |
€600 Win Your Seat Satellite to EPT Main Event |
| Sat 4 Oct |
11:00 a.m. |
€825 NLHE PokerStars Open Cup Day 1a |
| |
11:00 a.m. |
PokerStars Open Main Event Day 2 |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€25,000 NLHE Super High Roller Warm-Up |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€5,200 Pot Limit Omaha |
| |
4:00 p.m. |
€1,155 Win Your Seat Satellite to EPT Main Event |
| |
6:00 p.m. |
€825 NLHE PokerStars Open Cup Day 1b |
| |
9:00 p.m. |
€2,100 NLHE Hyper Turbo Knockout Freezeout |
| Sun 5 Oct |
11:00 a.m. |
€600 Win Your Seat Satellite to PokerStars Open High Roller |
| |
11:00 a.m. |
PokerStars Open Main Event Day 3 |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
€2,700 NLHE PokerStars Open High Roller Day 1a |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
PokerStars Open Cup Final Day |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
€330 NLHE Womens Event |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€50,000 NLHE EPT Super High Roller |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€10,200 Pot Limit Omaha |
| |
7:00 p.m. |
€2,700 NLHE PokerStars Open High Roller Day 1b |
| |
9:00 p.m. |
€600 Win Your Seat Satellite to EPT Main Event |
| Mon 6 Oct |
11:00 a.m. |
€1,155 Win Your Seat Satellite to EPT Main Event |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
€5,300 NLHE EPT Main Event Day 1a |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
€550 H.O.R.S.E. |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
Pokerstars Open Main Event Final Day |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€5,200 Pot Limit Omaha |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€50,000 NLHE EPT Super High Roller Day 2 |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
PokerStars Open High Roller Final Day |
| |
4:00 p.m. |
€600 Win Your Seat Satellite to EPT Main Event |
| |
6:00 p.m. |
€25,000 PLO EPT High Roller Day 1 |
| |
7:00 p.m. |
€1,100 Big Bet Mix Day 1 |
| |
8:00 p.m. |
€1,155 Win Your Seat to EPOT Main Event |
| |
10:00 p.m. |
€1,050 NLHE Hyper Turbo Freezeout |
| Tue 7 Oct |
11:00 a.m. |
€1,155 Win Your Seat Satellite to EPT Main Event |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
Big Bet Mix Final Day |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
€25,000 PLO EPT High Roller Final Day |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
€5,300 NLHE EPT Main Event Day 1b |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
EPT Super High Roller Final Day |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€1,100 Pot Limit Omaha Day 1 |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€25,000 No-Limit Hold’em |
| |
7:00 p.m. |
€550 2-7 Single Draw |
| |
7:00 p.m. |
€2,100 No-Limit Hold’em |
| |
9:00 p.m. |
€550 NLHE Freezeout |
| Wed 8 Oct |
12:00 p.m. |
€730 Win Your Seat Satellite to EPT Mystery Bunty |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
Pot-Limit Omaha Final Day |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
€5,300 NLHE EPT Main Event Day 2 |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€1,100 PLO Hi-Lo |
| |
2:00 p.m. |
€3,250 NLHE EPT Mystery Bounty Day 1 |
| |
7:00 p.m. |
€25,000 NLHE Super High Roller Second Chance Day 1 |
| |
8:00 p.m. |
€1,050 NLHE Hyper Turbo Knockout Freezeout |
| |
8:00 p.m. |
€250 Win Your Seat Satellite to EPT 10-Game |
| Thu 9 Oct |
12:00 p.m. |
EPT Main Event Day 3 |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€550 NLHE Seniors Event Day 1 |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€25,000 NLHE Super High Roller Second Chance Day 1 |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€3,250 NLHE EPT Mystery Bounty Day 2 |
| |
1:00 p.m. |
€5,200 8-Game Mix |
| |
1:00 p.m. |
€2,100 NLHE Hyper Turbo Knockout Freezeout |
| |
2:00 p.m. |
€1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Day 1 |
| |
3:00 p.m. |
€1,125 Win Your Seat Satellite to EPT High Roller |
| |
7:00 p.m. |
€1,125 Win Your Seat Satellite to EPT High Roller |
| |
7:00 p.m. |
€2,200 EPT 10-Game Mix |
| |
9:00 p.m. |
€1,050 NLHE Hyper Turbo Knockout Freezeout |
| Fri 10 Oct |
11:00 a.m. |
€1,125 Win Your Seat Satellite to EPT High Roller |
| |
11:00 a.m. |
€370 Win Your Seat Satellite to Mystery Bounty |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
€1,650 NLHE Mystery Bounty Day 1a |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
NLHE Seniors Event Final Day |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
EPT Mystery Bounty Final Day |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
EPT Main Event Day 4 |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€10,300 NLHE High Roller Day 1 |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€2,200 EPT 10-Game Mix Day 2 |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
No-Limit Hold’em Final Day |
| |
6:00 p.m. |
€400 NLHE EPT Charity Event |
| |
7:00 p.m. |
€1,650 NLHE Mystery Bounty Day 1b |
| |
9:00 p.m. |
€2,150 NLHE Hyper Turbo Knockout Freezeout |
| Sat 11 Oct |
12:00 p.m. |
€330 NLHE Day 1a |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
€250 Win Your Seat Satellite to €2,200 Deep Stack |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
EPT Main Event Day 5 |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€10,300 NLHE High Roller Day 2 |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
EPT 10-Game Mix Final Day |
| |
1:00 p.m. |
€550 8-Game Mix |
| |
1:00 p.m. |
€2,200 NLHE Deep Stack Day 1 |
| |
1:00 p.m. |
Mystery Bounty Final Day |
| |
6:00 p.m. |
€10,300 No-Limit Hold’em Day 1 |
| |
6:00 p.m. |
€330 NLHE Day 1b |
| |
8:00 p.m. |
€10,050 NLHE Hyper Turbo Freezeout |
| Sun 12 Oct |
12:00 p.m. |
€330 No-Limit Hold’em |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
€10,300 NLHE Final Day |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
Deep Stack Final Day |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
No-Limit Hold’em Final Day |
| |
12:00 p.m. |
NLHE High Roller Final Day |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
€2,200 NLHE 6-Handed |
| |
12:30 p.m. |
EPT Main Event Final Day |
| |
4:00 p.m. |
€5,300 NLHE 6-Handed |
| |
6:00 p.m. |
€1,050 NLHE Last Chance Super Hyper Turbo Freezeout |
Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.
