Battle of Malta returns for its Fall Edition with €2 million in guarantees across nine days of live poker at Casino Malta in St. Julian's. The festival runs from October 27 to November 4, 2026, headlined by a €600 Main Event with a €1.5 million guarantee. After a Summer Edition that drew 2,667 Main Event entries, organisers are hoping to build on a rapid run of growth.
Here is the full picture: schedule, structure, key side events, the records the festival is chasing, and how to approach it as a player.
Dates, venue and guarantees
The Fall Edition takes place at Casino Malta in St. Julian's from October 27 to November 4. The total advertised guarantee is €2 million. The centrepiece is the €600 Main Event, guaranteed at €1,500,000. Other guaranteed events include a €300,000 Star Yes High Roller, a €150,000 Mystery Siege of Malta, a €50,000 Bounty event, a €300,000 Mega High Roller Final Table, and a €5,000 guaranteed Pot Limit Omaha event. The Mega High Roller guarantee carries an asterisk in the published schedule, without an explanation in the source we reviewed, so check the festival's rules for qualifying conditions.
The Main Event structure
The Main Event has nine starting flights, labelled Day 1A to Day 1I, running from October 28 to November 1. Players can choose between two entry points:
- €600 flights: 40,000 starting chips and 40-minute levels
- €300 flights: 20,000 starting chips and 20-minute levels
The second option is a cheaper, faster and more volatile entry. Day 2 is on November 1, Day 3 on November 2, and Day 4 on November 3. The final table is on November 4 at 2 p.m.
Having multiple flights allows players to schedule around work and travel, and also allows them to re-enter on later flights if they bust. The main practical consideration is stack depth: the €300 option gives you 20,000 chips at 20-minute levels, so you will be playing a shorter-stacked game almost from the start.
Key side events
The festival goes well beyond the Main Event. Notable events include:
- Mystery Siege of Malta (€450): €150,000 guarantee, starting October 27, with €200 mystery bounties
- Star Yes High Roller (€1,100): €300,000 guarantee, Day 1 on November 1 and Day 2 on November 2
- Bounty (€300): €50,000 guarantee, November 1 and 2
- Mega Teddy High Roller (€5,200): November 2 at 4 p.m.
- Casino Malta Royal High Roller (€2,200): November 3 at 3 p.m.
- PokerNews Open (€330): November 3 at 5 p.m., with a 30,000 starting stack and 25-minute levels
- Pot Limit Omaha: €330 on October 28, and €330 with a €5,000 guarantee on October 31
- Mixed and specialty events: H.O.R.S.E. (€330, November 3), Sviten by PLO Masters (€300, October 29) and Dark Knight (€130, several dates)
- Mega High Roller Final Table: €300,000 guarantee, November 3 at 2 p.m.
This mix is deliberate. Casino Malta has built the festival around a broad menu, with entry points from €130 up to €5,200 and a wide range of formats.
The records Battle of Malta is chasing
Growth has been the festival's headline. According to the PokerNews preview, total prize pools were €4,782,250 in 2024 and €6,064,470 in 2025, an increase of around 27%. The 2026 total has not yet been determined. The Summer Edition Main Event in 2026 drew 2,667 entries and a €1,186,962 prize pool; Alejandro Asenjo won €94,520 after a four-way deal. Earlier in the year, the festival's Summer Edition also exceeded its €700,000 guarantee with two starting flights still to go and, according to Poker Industry News, Main Event participation for that edition was up 73% year-on-year after the switch from spring to summer.
Asenjo is an interesting thread. He won the Summer Edition Main Event, and the 2024 Autumn Edition Main Event was won by Cosme Gomez, who is described as Asenjo's friend. Whether that signals any pattern is a matter for the superstitious, but it illustrates how closely knit the circuit's regular community can be.
Raising the Main Event guarantee to €1.5 million is a clear sign of confidence. With a €600 buy-in, it would require about 2,500 full-priced entries to meet the guarantee, and fewer than that if the majority use the cheaper €300 flights, though in practice the mix of entry types will determine what number is needed. The Summer Edition's 2,667 entries and €1.19 million prize pool suggest the guarantee is ambitious but not out of reach.
What it means for players
Choose your flight carefully. Nine flights and two entry levels give you choices. Players who want a deeper-stacked, more skill-driven game should favour the €600 flights. Those who prefer a cheaper shot at the title can take the €300 route, but they should adjust their strategy to the shorter stacks and levels. Our poker strategy pages and ICM explainer are useful for short-stack play.
Use re-entry strategically. Re-entry means you can fire again after busting, which changes the maths of risk-taking. Decide before you play how many bullets you will fire, and stick to a bankroll plan.
Watch the deal dynamics. The Summer Edition ended with a four-way deal, and deals are common at the end of large live events. Know how ICM chops work before you are asked to agree to one. Our ICM guide and pot odds guide explain the maths.
Consider the side events. For players who prefer other games, PLO and H.O.R.S.E. events provide variety. If you want to compare formats before you travel, our Omaha and Hold'em vs Omaha pages are good primers.
Play online satellites first. Many online operators run satellites into live festivals. If you are looking for a cheaper route, check our tournaments page for sites offering package deals, and use our poker networks guide to compare options.
Planning the trip
Malta is a popular destination, and the Fall Edition's dates, with the final table on November 4, give players a decent run of days. Booking early is wise: accommodation near St. Julian's fills up quickly during poker festivals. Check Casino Malta's official information for entry requirements, registration times, and any dress or ID rules, and confirm the flight schedule for the day you intend to play.
If you plan to play multiple events, build rest days into your itinerary. The schedule has overlapping events on several days, and tournament poker is more tiring than it looks. A realistic plan might include one Main Event flight, a side event, and a day off before Day 2.
The competitive landscape
Battle of Malta competes with other European series for attention, including the European Poker Tour, partypoker's live stops, and the Kings circuit. Its strengths are scale, a manageable buy-in, and a destination people want to visit. The Summer Edition's results suggest the festival is succeeding in all three areas. A strong Fall Edition would reinforce its position as one of Europe's key mid-stakes events.
For online players who prefer to stay home, the festival's online counterpart on CoinPoker has run its own large series, and our CoinPoker coverage explains how it works. Those who prefer to follow results can use the live-reporting pages of major poker news sites.
Bottom line
The Battle of Malta Fall Edition combines a big guarantee, flexible entry options and a long festival schedule. Whether you are chasing the €1.5 million Main Event, playing high roller events or just enjoying the mixed games, it is an appealing option for European players. If the Summer Edition's growth carries over, the guarantee may be comfortably beaten. Prepare your bankroll, learn your ICM spots, and arrive with a plan.