PartyPoker MILLIONS Festival Malta Wraps Up; Blit, Trattou and Lybaert Emerge with Glory

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Editor & Live Reporter
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PartyPoker Malta Winners

In a thrilling showdown at the PartyPoker MILLIONS Festival Malta, Jacques Ammiel Blit emerged as the champion of the �1 Million Guaranteed �550 Grand Prix, securing a remarkable �145,000 in winnings and the largest slice of the �1,011,000 prize pool. Blit's victory was a culmination of his journey, having won a PartyPoker Live Passport before the COVID pandemic disrupted his poker plans.

Starting Day 2 in the upper echelons of the chip counts, Blit maintained his dominant position throughout and reached the final table in second place, trailing behind Italian player Eros Nastasi.

The live-streamed final table witnessed the elimination of Italian Luciano Borghetti in the initial stages, followed by the experienced Andrea Bonelli and the local favorite, Juuso Keskitalo, also known as "The Smiling Finn."

Jacques Ammiel Blit
Jacques Ammiel Blit - Photo courtesy of Jean Marc Zerafa

As the field narrowed, Cyprus' Marios Mansour exited in sixth place, leaving Blit as the sole non-Italian contender. Salvatore Ritrovato claimed fifth place, winning �31,000, while Massimiliano Ferro secured �45,000 for fourth. The third-place finish went to Nastasi.

As the heads-up stage arrived, Blit held a chip lead with 58 million chips against his opponent
Marcello Favaloro's 44 million. Despite facing some challenges, Blit managed to maintain his lead and clinched victory in the final hand with A?Q?, outplaying Favaloro's J?2?.

Following the win, a jubilant Blit expressed his joy, describing the experience as heavenly. His decision to use an unused passport package to participate in the festival paid off handsomely.

For those who missed the action, the replay is available on the PartyPokerTV Twitch channel.

PartyPoker Grand Prix Final Table Results

PositionPlayerCountryPrize
1Jacques Ammiel BlitArgentina�145,000
2Marcello FavaloroItaly�86,000
3Eros NastasiItaly�61,000
4Massimiliano FerroItaly�45,000
5Salvatore RitrovatoItaly�31,000
6Marios MansourCyprus�20,500
7Juuso KeskitaloFinland�14,500
8Andrea BenelliItaly�11,700

Trattou Wins MILLIONS

Mario Trattou
Mario Trattou - Photo courtesy of Jean Marc Zerafa

After an intense battle at the �3,000 buy-in PartyPoker MILLIONS Malta Main Event, the UK's Mario Trattou emerged as the victor, conquering a field of 154 competitors and claiming the �93,000 first prize, along with a prestigious trophy and lasting memories.

Trattou's journey concluded with a heads-up victory over Sicilian Domenico Gala. The final hand of the tournament saw Gala limp with ace-queen, only to then get in against Trattou's pocket aces.

Fabio Peluso, a WSOP bracelet winner, held the chip lead going into the final stages, displaying an aggressive playing style early on. However, the mercurial Italian eventually finished in third place.

PartyPoker Team Pro Matt Staples achieved his largest live win to date, earning �31,900 for his 4th place finish.

Trattou's victory was a remarkable turnaround, as he had been reduced to just two big blinds on the second day of the event. In a post-match interview, he expressed his delight and gave credit to his family and their pet dog for his success. Having reignited his passion for poker during the COVID lockdown, Trattou's triumph in Malta marks a significant milestone in his poker journey, leaving him eager for more.

PartyPoker MILLIONS Malta Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Mario TrattouUnited Kingdom�93,000
2Domenico GalaItaly�64,000
3Fabio PelusoItaly�41,000
4Matt StaplesCanada�31,900
5Erik LindqwistSweden�24,510
6Giuliano BoellisItaly�19,400
7Alberto CiglianoItaly�15,900
8Adam HariHungary�13,700

Lybaert Wins High Roller

Bart Lybaert
Bart Lybaert

In a high-stakes showdown at the �5,300 Hydra Entertainment High Roller, Belgian player Bart Lybaert emerged as the champion, outlasting a field of 44 competitors to claim the impressive �72,864 first prize and a striking trophy. Second place was secured by Michel Molenaar from the Netherlands, who aimed for a second �5K event win in Malta this year.

PartyPoker �5,300 Malta Hydra Entertainment High Roller Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Bart LybaertBelgium�72,864
2Michel MolenaarNetherlands�49,632
3Kamil SokolCzechia�31,680
4Teun MulderNetherlands�24,288
5Farid JattinColombia�17,952
6Leo MargetsSpain�14,784

PartyPoker Sends Its SPINS Excitement Into SPINS Overdrive

Grab Yourself a PartyPoker Welcome Bonus

If you haven't joined PartyPoker yet and want a bankroll boost ahead of playing Grand Prix Malta satellites, you can earn a generous welcome bonus when you download PartyPoker via PokerNews.

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The minimum deposit is $10, which comes with $10 in tournament tickets released over the course of a week on the following time scale:

  • Day 1: 2x $1 SPINS tickets + 1x $5.50 MTT ticket
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However, if you deposit $20 or more, then that package increases to $30 worth of tickets released as follows:

  • Day 1: 1x $5.30 MTT ticket
  • Day 2: 2x $1 SPINS ticket
  • Day 3: 1x $5.50 MTT ticket
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Residents in the United Kingdom can get a different PartyPoker welcome bonus. Made up of a 100% matched deposit with a maximum of ��400 on any deposit over ��10. Players also receive ��100 free play, made up of Party Dollars and SPINS Overdrive tickets, over the course of 14 days. This is a limited-time offer for UK residents, so grab it before it races off into the distance.

All matched deposit bonuses have playthrough requirements and are released in 10% increments. For full details and to check the expiry date of the bonuses, check out the terms and conditions on the PartyPoker website.

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Editor & Live Reporter

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

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