Diamond Poker Series Malta 2026: Event Recap

The 2026 Diamond Poker Series took place in Malta as part of the PLO Grand Slam schedule, bringing together established PLO specialists and international regulars. The series featured multiple high buy-in events alongside specialist formats, producing several notable results over the course of the festival.

The series began with a competitive opening event that immediately established the standard for the week. Gergö Nagy claimed the first title of the festival after defeating Jonas Kronwitter in heads-up play. The result placed both players into early contention within the broader series narrative and highlighted the level of opposition expected throughout the schedule.

Attention shifted to the €10k Championship, which became one of the central events of the series. Deep into the tournament, Dennis Weiss and Freund remained close in chip counts, keeping final table pressure high as the field narrowed.

The championship concluded with Lauri Varonen securing the title. Varonen claimed first place and a payout of €239,300, closing out the event after navigating a final table that included multiple established PLO competitors. 

The result marked the largest single cash of the series and positioned the 10k Championship as a defining moment of the Malta stop.

Jonas Kronwitter returned to the spotlight in the €5k Million, delivering one of the most notable turnarounds of the festival. After earlier setbacks during the series, Kronwitter advanced through the later stages and converted his run into a tournament victory.

He secured first place in the 5k Million, adding a major title to his Malta campaign and balancing his earlier heads-up loss in the opener with a marquee win later in the schedule.

Beyond the headline tournaments, the series also featured specialist PLO formats. In the €2k PLO5 Bomb Pot event, Nino Pansier and Hausen reached an agreement to settle the tournament between them.