The third time’s the charm for the Malta Poker Festival (MPF). After a series of postponements, the much-awaited Malta Poker Festival is officially taking place from April 25 through to May 2, 2022 at the Portomaso Casino, Malta.
Established in 2018, the series was founded by Ivonne Montealegre who said that she wanted to take the tournament “to the next level” and make the Malta Poker Festival “the most spectacular destination [on the island].”
The MPF is one of the most exciting and popular low buy-in poker festivals in Europe, with players at the forefront of every decision the MPF makes, prioritising quality over quantity.
Notable Tournaments
The highlight of the MPF is always the Malta Poker Festival €550 Grand Event, with both of its instalments eclipsing 1,300-entries. The upcoming MPF Grand Event is ‘powered’ by UNIBET Deepstack Open and is expected to be most attended ever, with a whopping six starting flights planned.
Day 1A gets underway on Tuesday, April 26 at 2 p.m. CET with Day 1B starting at the same time the following day. The remaining starting flights all play out then from April 27-30 with the fields merging for Day 2, which plays on Sunday, May 1. The final day of the MPF Grand Event takes place the day after where play will close once a winner is crowned.
Other notable events on the MPF schedule include:
- €220 The Hendon Mob Championship
- €120 Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT) Maltese Championship
- €1,100 MPF Highroller
- €100 Ladies First! (€1,000 for men)
Malta Poker Festival Grand Event Schedule
| DATE | TIME (CET) | BUY-IN | EVENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, 26 Apr | 2 p.m. | € 550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1A |
| Wed, 27 Apr | 2 p.m. | € 550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1B |
| Thurs, 28 Apr | 4 p.m. | € 550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1C |
| Fri, 29 Apr | 2 p.m. | € 550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1D |
| Sat, 30 Apr | 2 p.m. | € 550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1E |
| Sat, 30 Apr | 9 p.m. | € 550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1F |
| Sun, 1 May | 2 p.m. | – | MPF Grand Event Day 2 |
| Mon, 2 May | 2 p.m. | – | MPF Grand Event Day 3 |
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2020 Malta Poker Championships
It’s no secret that the live poker scene was decimated by the coronavirus pandemic, and the MPF was one of several events cancelled because of it.
Not to be deterred, the Malta Poker Championship was announced in its place. Following a joint announcement from Qufan Internet Technology Ltd, Malta Poker Festival and The Hendon Mob. The event was held online on Pokio in May 2020.
The Malta Poker Championships €150 Main Event saw a total of 293-entries, generating a final prizepool of €64,200. Ireland’s Kenneth “fulltiltken” Valentine was the last player standing in the event and walked away with the €15,729 first-place prize.
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PokerNews at the Malta Poker Festival
PokerNews is once again live reporting the Malta Poker Festival €550 Grand Event, having been in attendance in 2018 and 2019.
Italy’s Emanuele Onnis was the inaugural MPF Main Event winner, outlasting 1,365 other entries. He took home the €150,000 top prize after despatching Fabian Gumz at heads-up. Tomas Sujeta was the Grand Event champion in 2019 and collected the €150,000 up top. The 2019 field attracted a healthy 1,324-entries with Israel’s Dmitri Dan finishing as the runner-up.
Past Malta Poker Festival Grand Event Champions
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2022 Malta Poker Festival Full Schedule
| Date | Time (CET) | Buy-In | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, 25 Apr | 7 p.m. | €60 | Satellite to MPF Grand Event |
| Tue, 26 Apr | 2 p.m. | €550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1A |
| Tue, 26 Apr | 7 p.m. | €60 | Satellite to MPF Grand Event |
| Wed, 27 Apr | 12 p.m. | €60 | Satellite to MPF Grand Event |
| Wed, 27 Apr | 2 p.m. | €550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1B |
| Wed, 27 Apr | 7 p.m. | €60 | Satellite to MPF Grand Event |
| Thurs, 28 Apr | 2 p.m. | €60 | Satellite to MPF Grand Event |
| Thurs, 28 Apr | 4 p.m. | €550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1C |
| Thurs, 28 Apr | 6 p.m. | €220 | Bounty Hunter Days Malta |
| Thurs, 28 Apr | 7 p.m. | €60 | Satellite to MPF Grand Event |
| Fri, 29 Apr | 12 p.m. | €60 | Satellite to MPF Grand Event |
| Fri, 29 Apr | 2 p.m. | €550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1D |
| Fri, 29 Apr | 4 p.m. | €220 | The Hendon Mob Championship Day 1 |
| Fri, 29 Apr | 6 p.m. | €150 | MPF Highroller Satellite |
| Sat, 30 Apr | 1 p.m. | – | The Hendon Mob Championship Day 2 |
| Sat, 30 Apr | 2 p.m. | €550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1E |
| Sat, 30 Apr | 3 p.m. | €120 | APAT Maltese Championship Day 1 |
| Sat, 30 Apr | 4 p.m. | €100 | Ladies First! |
| Sat, 30 Apr | 9 p.m. | €550 | MPF Grand Event Day 1F |
| Sun, 1 May | 1 p.m. | – | APAT Maltese Championship Day 2 |
| Sun, 1 May | 2 p.m. | – | MPF Grand Event Day 2 |
| Sun, 1 May | 3 p.m. | €150 | MPF Highroller Turbo Satellite |
| Sun, 1 May | 4 p.m. | €1,100 | MPF Highroller |
| Sun, 1 May | 6 p.m. | €150 | Win the Cross |
| Sun, 1 May | 7 p.m. | €200 | PLO Knight Crusaders |
| Mon, 2 May | 2 p.m. | – | MPF Grand Event Day 3 |
| Mon, 2 May | 5 p.m. | €120 | MPF Last Chance |
Editor & Live Reporter
Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum’s proudest poker achievement is winning the only tournament he has ever played in Las Vegas, the prestigious $60 Flamingo evening event.