The EPT first set foot in Malta in the spring of 2015. The poker festival that took place in Portomaso Casino proved to be so popular with players that Europe’s largest tour returned to the beautiful Mediterranean country two more times for equally exciting events. The last one was concluded only last night with Aliaksei Boika from Belarus scoring a terrific victory in the EPT Season 13 Malta €5,300 Main Event.
The player started the tournament’s final day as the short stack but eventually dominated a short heads-up match against start-of-the-day chip leader Mats Karlsson from Sweden. Boika collected a first-place prize of €355,700 and the tournament’s trophy. Including last night’s payout, he now has more than $1 million in live tournament winnings.
Although Boika has been seen in different live events throughout the years, he has devoted most of his attention to online poker. He can be spotted playing on PokerStars quite frequently.
The €5,300 Main Event’s final day began with six players returning to contend for the title. There was no former EPT champion among the final six. Karlsson kicked off play with a comfortable advantage over his remaining opponents. The player maintained a good chip position throughout the greater part of the tournament and yesterday was no exception.
As for Boika, he had the challenging task to emerge from his short stack position. As it could be seen, the player completed that task more than well.
Tomas Macnamara was the first to leave the six-handed final table. The UK player collected €76,790 for his efforts. It then took more than two hours of play before another contender hit the rail. Eventually, Peter Ockenden from the UK and Lebanon’s Elie Saad were eliminated in quick succession, taking home €104,340 and €141,780, respectively. Dmitry Yurasov’s elimination then set the heads-up match between Boika and Karlsson. The Russian player scooped €192,650 for his 3rd place in the event.
Two-handed play began with Karlsson holding around 8 million in chips against Boika’s 6 million. Although the Swede had dominated action for the bigger part of the day, it seemed that his momentum had disappeared completely, as it was Boika who ruled the heads-up match. The name of the winner became clear after only 45 minutes of play.
On the very last hand, Karlsson bet 200,000 with [Ad][4d] and Boika called with [As][Jh], The flop came [2s][Qh][8s]. Boika checked and then called Karlsson’s 550,000 bet. The [Kd] appeared on the turn. The players checked in anticipation for the river, which showed [7d]. Boika checked and Karlsson moved all in for 2.5 million, trying to bluff his opponent out. Boika spent a good five minutes in the tank before announcing a call and sending Karlsson to the rail. The Swede collected €261,730 for his runner-up finish.
