PokerListings Battle of Malta Result, Guermeur Wins in Dublin

Cartarius Triumphs in Battle of Malta

Poker player from across the world descended on the quaint island of Malta late last week to fight for the top prize in PokerListings’ annual live event.

Dubbed the Battle of Malta, the €550 buy-in tournament has become a popular destination for many low and mid-stakes grinders in recent years and this time around the festival certainly exceeded all expectations.

A slew of professional players, including the Daniel Cates, Johannes Strassman, Sam Holden and Kara Scott, helped push the total number of runners to 888 and break the record for the largest poker tournament ever held in Malta.

Joining the sea of talent on display was the GPI‘s very own Fabien Mezanger. Tired of watching other players climb the ranks of the Global Poker Index, Fabien sat down with hopes of banking a slice of the impressive prizepool.

However, despite a spirited start, our plucky amateur ran into a series of bad beats – most notably losing with Q-T on a J-K-A-2 after his opponent caught a lucky jack on the river to make a full house with A-J – and fell just short of the money.

Whilst Fabien was left watching from the rails and taking down the vital stats to compile the latest GPI report, Germany’s Louis Cartarius managed to make his way past the masses an onto the final table.

Sat beside a selection of tough players on the final day, including a Finnish double act consisting of Lauri Pesonen and Jukka Hilden, Cartarius managed to keep his cool and survive as 24 players became nine.

With the action ticking over at a relentless pace and Norway’s Ambjorn Haga holding more than 50% of the chips in play it looked as though the title was heading in one direction.  However, as the field thinned it was Cartarius who gained strength and with just three players left he managed to turn the tide and take the chip lead.

Having battled from one of the shortest stacks to the tournament’s top player, Cartarius certainly wasn’t going to give up without a fight and after dispatching with Haga in third he soon made a move for the title.

After grinding down Konrad Abela, the German’s finest moment came when his Ah Qh was enough to overcome his opponent’s Ad Js as the board rolled out: Jd 7s 4s Qd 4d.

As the lights went down and the chips were pushed towards Cartarius the rail erupted as he scooped the €80,000 top prize and the title of 2013 PokerListings Battle of Malta Champion.

PokerListings Battle of Malta Final Result:

1. Louis Cartarius – €80,000
2. Konrad Abela – €52,000
3. Ambjorn Haga – €32,000
4. Arthur Popov – €23,630
5. Lauri Pesonen – €19,000
6. Alessandro de Ioco – €15,000
7. Sonny La – €12,000
8. Guiseppe Polichetti – €9,500
9. Daniel Lucasz – €7,300

Loosli on Form Ahead of WSOP Final

Whilst the masses were invading Malta over the weekend, another cohort of players, including WSOP November Niner Sylvain Loosli, travelled to Dublin for the Winamax Poker Open.

In total 1,087 runners took to the felt but by the time just six players remained it was Loosli who looked like one of the main challengers for the title.

Indeed, after the likes of Michael Gathy, William Mauriaucourt and Marc Macdonnell hit the rail after valiant runs, Loosli and Jerome Guermeur conspired to oust Pierre Beriou before contesting a three hour war.

After battling back-and-forth for an extended period of time, the two grinders eventually cut a deal before playing for the trophy.

When the final chips had fallen it was Guermeur who stood victorious and, whilst Loosli turned his attentions towards the WSOP finale, he posed for pictures with his friends and a giant model sheep.

1. Jerome Guermeur – €75,000

2. Sylvain Loosli – €60,000

3. Pierre Beriou – €40,000

4. Marc Macdonnell – €30,000

5. William Mauriaucourt – €24,000

6. Michael Gathy – €19,000