EPT Malta: Main Event Nearing Finale, Tom-Aksel Bedell Takes the Lead

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Bedell Dominates Competition in the Main Event
 

The Main Event at the EPT Malta 2025 is heading into the final phase, with only 15 players left from the original 898 entries after a dramatic fourth day. This record-breaking tournament boasts a €4,355,300 prize pool, promising €760,000 to the winner.

Currently, Tom-Aksel Bedell from Norway holds the best chance at the title, entering Day 5 with a massive stack of 5,765,000 chips (192 BB). Bedell has ended the past two days as the dominant chipleader, even significantly extending his lead.

Bedell built his enormous lead with a series of bold yet perfectly timed moves. The most pivotal hand of the day occurred when his K h Q h hit a flush against K s K c of Tom Vogelsang in a pot worth 120 big blinds.

Following Bedell are Mykhailo Ostash (2,985,000) and Toni Kaukua (2,625,000). Several poker stars are still in the hunt for the title as well. Among the notable names are Adrian Mateos, Ben Heath, and Juan Pardo. All three have multiple EPT titles, with Mateos being the only one of the trio to have won a Main Event (Monte Carlo 2015).

Particularly interesting to watch is Aliaksei Boika, who is attempting to replicate his success from 2016 when he won the last EPT Malta Main Event. Boika is among the top stacks and still holds a chance for a historic double.

Day 5 continues on Saturday, October 12, at noon, with the aim of playing down to six finalists who will then meet in Sunday's grand finale. You can follow the final days through live streams on YouTube and Twitch.

EPT Malta Main Event (after Day 4) – TOP 10 Stacks

Position

Player

Country

Stack

1

Tom-Aksel Bedell

Norway

5,765,000

2

Mykhailo Ostash

Ukraine

2,985,000

3

Toni Kaukua

Finland

2,625,000

4

Juan Pardo

Spain

2,495,000

5

Ben Heath

United Kingdom

2,320,000

6

Aliaksei Boika

Belarus

2,265,000

7

Longmao Fan

China

1,820,000

8

Adria Calonge

Spain

1,750,000

9

Joao Tomas

Portugal

1,095,000

10

Luis Faria

Portugal

1,080,000


Polish Player Wozniak Wins EPT Mystery Bounty
 

While the main tournament continued, another festival highlight, the €3,250 EPT Mystery Bounty, crowned its champion. The event attracted 504 entries, creating a total prize pool of €962,640.

The winner was Poland’s Mateusz Wozniak, who took home €158,590 after a deal made before heads-up, along with the prestigious title. The finale saw record-breaking wins, with the top five players earning career-high payouts. Wozniak, for instance, nearly doubled his previous earnings with this EPT title.

Position

Player

Country

Prize

Bounty

1

Mateusz Wozniak

Poland

158,590

€14,000

2

Sil Damstra

Netherlands

150,230

€42,000

3

Sebastien Vincendeau

France

84,870

€1,000

4

James Dwan

England

65,310

€47,500

5

Ettore Ricci

Italy

50,220

€1,000

6

Mathew Frankland

England

38,640

€10,000

7

Peter Dragar

Hungary

29,730

€8,000


Swiss Player Mamon Celebrates First Trophy
 

The EPT Malta festival is experiencing record attendance even in side events, as demonstrated by Event #53: €1,100 No Limit Hold’em, which attracted 454 entries, creating a total prize pool of €435,840.

After two days of action, Maksym Mamon from Switzerland emerged victorious, turning around the heads-up match in his favor. Despite a prior deal with Janssen, Mamon took home a smaller prize but relished the victorious feeling of his first EPT title.

Runner-up Ferdinand Janssen significantly boosted his record winnings thanks to the deal. The third place went to experienced Ukrainian pro and WSOP bracelet holder Mykhalio Gutyi.

Position

Player

Country

Prize

1

Maksym Mamon

Switzerland

€65,290

2

Ferdinand Janssen

Netherlands

€73,350

3

Mykhalio Gutyi

Ukraine

€38,060

4

Hugo Silva

Brazil

€29,270

5

Hugo Machado

Portugal

€22,520

6

Kazuyuki Tanemura

Japan

€17,320

7

Nariman Yaghmai

Iran

€13,320


Source: PS Live, The Hendon Mob, Flickr, YouTube