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Klaic Caps Battle of Malta Slovakia With Maiden Live Tournament Win
- Mario Klaic wins €400 Main Event at Battle of Malta Slovakia for €46,900.
- Martin Bartos takes down the €1,000 High Roller; Silviu Nemes dominates Mystery Bounty.
- Festival marks first-ever Battle of Malta event held outside traditional home.
Mario Klaic had plenty of online scores before arriving at Card Casino Šamorín. What he did not have was a live trophy.
That changed on the final night of the Battle of Malta Slovakia Edition, where the Austrian grinder defeated Henrich Miculik heads-up to win the €400 Main Event for €46,900. The tournament drew 1,510 entries, creating a €402,840 prize pool and clearing its €400,000 guarantee.
Klaic’s win closed the first Battle of Malta festival ever staged outside its traditional home.
A Deal, €6,900 and the Trophy Left to Play For
Klaic did not begin the final day with the biggest stack.
Hassibullah Hafizi and Peter Kadlec entered as the two leaders, while Klaic was among the next group trying to close the gap.
Kadlec looked particularly dangerous early. A three-way preflop collision saw two players turn over pocket kings, only for Kadlec to show pocket aces and score a double knockout. His run eventually stalled, and the final stages became much less predictable.
Daniel Georgiev, Hafizi and Kadlec were eliminated in quick succession after a break. Alexander Geischlaeger followed in fourth when his ace ran into Miculik’s pocket aces, leaving Klaic, Miculik and Markus Skalicky three-handed.
Klaic eventually removed Skalicky before beginning heads-up play behind Miculik.
The pair agreed to take €40,000 each and leave another €6,900 for the champion. Klaic then took over the chip lead and ended the tournament with two pair against Miculik’s top pair.
Battle of Malta Slovakia Final Table
| Place | Player | County | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Klaic | Austria | €46,900* |
| 2 | Henrich Miculik | Slovakia | €40,000* |
| 3 | Markus Skalicky | Austria | €23,000 |
| 4 | Alexander Geischlaeger | Austria | €15,000 |
| 5 | Peter Kadlec | Slovakia | €9,800 |
| 6 | Hassibullah Hafizi | Austria | €7,600 |
| 7 | Daniel Georgiev | Bulgaria | €6,300 |
| 8 | Norbert Kerepesi | Hungary | €5,296 |
| 9 | Radoslav Herman | Slovakia | €4,400 |
*Heads-up deal.
Klaic had spent the earlier stages of the tournament playing online at the same time as the live Main Event and even won a $5,000 online event during Day 2. On the final day, the online tables were gone and the live title finally followed.
Bartos Wins First Trophy of the Festival
Before Klaic closed the series, Martin Bartos had already given the Slovak crowd a home victory.
Bartos won the €1,000 High Roller, collecting €17,200 and a €500 WSOP Circuit ticket after defeating Zdenek Svoboda heads-up. The tournament attracted 43 entries, with the advertised €50,000 prize pool shared among six players.
Hungary’s Attila Koncz began the final table with the chip lead but finished third for €7,100.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Bartos | €17,200 |
| 2 | Zdenek Svoboda | €11,000 |
| 3 | Attila Koncz | €7,100 |
| 4 | Jaroslav Peter | €4,800 |
| 5 | Ross Whitelaw | €3,400 |
| 6 | Jessica Vierling | €2,500 |
Nemes Takes Nearly Half of Mystery Bounty Prize Pool
Silviu Nemes’ €220 Mystery Bounty win came with a very different route to the money.
The Romanian entered Day 2 as the chip leader and then accounted for 14 of the 23 players who had survived the opening flights.
Nemes received €4,875 for winning the tournament itself, but the eliminations added €11,500 in bounty prizes. His €16,375 combined return was more than 40% of the €40,000 overall prize pool.
Tina Christensen finished second for €3,140 plus €700 in bounties, while Junyu Liu took third for €2,130.
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