PokerStars European Poker Tour Malta action is in full swing inside the Casino Malta, with dozens of spade trophies already claimed. The high rollers, predictably, are some of the biggest winners of the festival thus far, with quite a few familiar names making final table runs during the first week of EPT Malta action.
From multiple bounty events to no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha action, here’s what you need to know about the early high-stakes events from Malta.
Pardo Adds To Spade Trophy Collection With €10,200 Mystery Bounty Win
Juan Pardo is no stranger to success on the EPT. The Spanish pro earned his first career spade trophy in April 2018 when he won a high roller at EPT Monte Carlo. He has subsequently won multiple major high rollers at the 2019 EPT Barcelona festival, along with victories at EPT London (2022), EPT Cyprus (2023), and a return victory in Monte Carlo (2024).
Pardo added EPT Malta to his ever-growing list of conquests early on in this festival, taking down a €10,000 Mystery Bounty event. His collection of bounties significantly eclipsed his first-place prize payout, earning him a total of $170,703 along with his seventh career spade trophy.
Pardo beat a field of 36 entrants, and earned 240 points in the Card Player Player of the Year race. His career earnings now sit just shy of $15 million.
Other notables at the final table included World Series of Poker bracelet winners Samuel Mullur and Weiran Pu.
| Place | Player | Payout | Bounties | POY Points |
| 1 | Juan Pardo | $68,328 | $102,375 | 240 |
| 2 | Samuel Mullur | $44,577 | $14,625 | 200 |
| 3 | Paul Lagan | $30,654 | $46,800 | 160 |
| 4 | Pavels Spirins | $22,815 | $46,800 | 120 |
| 5 | Weiran Pu | $17,784 | $0 | 100 |
| 6 | Jon Vallinas | $13,806 | $0 | 80 |
Vogelsang Tops Stacked €20,000 No-Limit Hold’em Final Table
Tom Vogelsang has enjoyed significant successes on the high roller scene over the last few years. Most notably, he finished second in a 2022 Triton main event in Cyprus for $1.39 million. Despite over $5.5 million in career earnings, most of Vogelsang’s career-best results have not come in outright victories.
Vogelsang added a fifth career live title of note early on at the EPT Malta festival, and did so with a high degree of difficulty. At a €20,000 no-limit hold’em final table that included high roller crushers Adrian Mateos, Aleksejs Ponakovs, and Klemens Roiter, it was Vogelsang who emerged victorious.
For his triumph, Vogelsang collected $256,277 and 288 Card Player POY points, in the yearlong race presented by CoinPoker. Vogelsang, who hails from the Netherlands, outlasted a field of 30 entrants on his way to victory.
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Tom Vogelsang | $256,277 | 288 |
| 2 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | $165,204 | 240 |
| 3 | Klemens Roiter | $109,512 | 192 |
| 4 | Adrian Mateos | $79,209 | 144 |
| 5 | Bernhard Binder | $63,999 | 120 |
Chris Nguyen Continues 12-Month Tear With €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em Win
The last 12 months of Chris Nguyen’s tournament poker career have been nothing short of outstanding. He finished fifth in the 2024 WSOP Paradise super main event, and then won a €100,000 high roller earlier this year for a combined $4.385 million.
The German pro added a second career spade trophy in Malta, taking down a €25,000 no-limit hold’em event for $358,371 and 336 Card Player POY points.
Nguyen bested WSOP bracelet winner Alexandros Theologis, Mullur (making his second notable final table of the festival), recent Onyx Super High Roller Series winner Daniel Rezaei, two-time WSOP bracelet winner and Triton champion Ognyan Dimov, and 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure winner, WSOP bracelet winner and Triton champion Dimitar Danchev.
Just one day after placing second in this event, Theologis took down the €100,000 high roller at this festival for $908,154.
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Chris Nguyen | $358,371 | 336 |
| 2 | Alexandros Theologis | $233,883 | 280 |
| 3 | Samuel Mullur | $161,109 | 224 |
| 4 | Daniel Rezaei | $119,656 | 168 |
| 5 | Ognyan Dimov | $93,600 | 140 |
| 6 | Dimitar Danchev | $72,774 | 112 |
Rokita Strikes Early With €12,300 Cuatro Bounty Win
Despite considerable successes elsewhere, including a 2024 WSOP bracelet win, a 2024 Triton Jeju title, and a victory at Wynn Las Vegas, Roland Rokita hadn’t secured a notable live triumph on European soil before coming to EPT Malta.
Rokita remedied that gap in his resume with his win in a €12,300 Cuatro Bounty event in the first few days of action at the festival. He claimed a $116,906 first-place prize, including more than $28,000 worth of bounties.
Rokita defeated American tournament veteran Byron Kaverman heads-up to secure the title.
Joris Ruijs of the Netherlands failed to secure a bounty on his way to a third-place finish.
| Place | Player | Payout | Bounties |
| 1 | Roland Rokita | $88,826 | $28,080 |
| 2 | Byron Kaverman | $53,352 | $28,080 |
| 3 | Joris Ruijs | $35,568 | $0 |
Photo credits: Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd. / Eloy Cabacas, Danny Maxwell, and Manuel Kovsca
