Ten Left Battling for Super High Roller Glory at EPT Malta – A Look at the Lineup

As registration closed on Day 2 of the EPT Malta €100,000 Super High Roller, a field of ten currently remains at the tables in the side room at Casino Malta. This three-day event saw a field of seven progressing from yesterday’s Day 1, meaning three more players ponied up a cool €100,000 to participate in the biggest buy-in event of the series. Here is a look at the line-up.

#1 Orpen Kisacikoglu – 903,000

Leading the way is an established high-stakes regular in the form of billionaire entrepreneur Orpen Kisacikoglu. Kisacikoglu has been competing against the games’ best and brightest across the EPT circuit, as well as Triton. Despite technically being a recreational player, Kisacikoglu has a vast pool of knowledge and experience, as well as $21,424,708 in live tournament earnings, which puts in #1 in Türkiye’s All Time Money List, according to thehendonmob.com. His largest EPT cash came in the €100,000 Super High Roller in Monte Carlo this year, where he finished fourth for €716,900. His largest singular score came at Triton in Madrid in 2022, again in a €100,000 Super High Roller. He banked €2,016,491 for his efforts on that occasion.

Kisacikoglu was on the good side of a monstrous cooler versus Spanish high-stakes crusher Juan ‘Malaka$tyle” Pardo, who flopped a set of sixes against Kisacikoglu’s set of fours. Pardo check-raised a nine-high flop, which Kisacikoglu called; both checked the four on the turn before Pardo jammed all in on the five river. Kisacikoglu snap-called with quads to propel him up the counts. He will be putting his big stack to work from the get-go to try to build upon his advantage to take down the title tomorrow.

#2 Pieter Aerts – 614,000

Coming in on Day 2 in second place is Pieter Aerts, who is fresh off winning the €25,000 No Limit Hold’em event at EPT Barcelona in August. The Belgian won €475,360 for his efforts and was rewarded with the lion’s share of the €1,584,660 prize pool. That result was his biggest result to date on the EPT circuit, but Aerts has scored bigger, most notably, a score of $2,234,587 for winning the $106,000 8-Handed No Limit Hold’em event in Monte Carlo back in November 2024 on the Triton circuit. Aerts has also finished third in the €50,000 Super High Roller at EPT Paris, where he took third place and €422,900, finishing behind Chris Brewer in second and Thomas Santerne in first.

#3 Alex Theologis – 359,000

Rounding out the podium is Alex “Pwndidi” Theologis. Theologis is predominantly known for his prowess on the virtual felts, but Theologis is a feared opponent online or live. The Greek has amassed $4,826,371 in live tournament earnings. The largest score came in the €62,400 Turbo at the Triton stop in Monte Carlo last November, where he won €860,143 for a second-place finish. His largest ever score came in 2021, when Theologis won the $25,000 WSOP Super High Roller Online for $1,212,033.

#4 Samuel Mullur 354,000

One of poker worlds’ rapidly rising stars, Samuel Mullur, sits in fourth place but still in touching distance of Theologis in third. The talented Austrian has amassed $10,867,404 and sits third on Austria’s all-time money list. His biggest score to date came recently, where he finished second to Christoph Vogelsang in the 106,000 No Limit Hold’em Triton Main Event in Jeju for $3,509,025. His best score on the EPT circuit also came this year, as he won the €25,000 No Limit Hold’em at EPT Barcelona in August for €327,300.

#5 Ben Heath – 354,000

Ben Heath is one of the most established professionals on the high-stakes circuit. Having amassed a whopping 35,092,268 throughout his career, Heath is dangerous in any given line up. His best score came in the backend of last year, in the staggering $525,000 No Limit Hold’em Triton Million Bracelet Event. Heath banked $8,160,000 as he fell short to Argentina’s Alejandro Lococo. Heath also cashed in same $106,000 No Limit Hold’em Triton Main Event in Jeju, where he finished third for his second-largest career score of $2,223,000.

#6 Mikita Badziakouski 341,000

Another one of the game’s most established crushers, Mikita Badziakouski needs little introduction. The Belarusian is hoping to make history and become the first player to win three €100,000 EPT Super High Roller events, having achieved victory in Barcelona in both 2018 and 2022. Badziakouski has amassed a staggering $65,707,195 in live tournament earnings, which puts him fourth in the All Time Money List. Badziakouski’s biggest bink came in the $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop, where he came in first place and took home $7,114,500.

#7 Adrian Mateos 338,000

The only progressor from Day 1 to have won a €100,000 Super High Roller other than Badziakouski, Adrian Mateos, comes into Day 2 in 7th place. The Spanish super-crusher has gathered $54,057,573, putting him 10th in the All Time Money List. Mateos has already cashed at this Malta stop, finishing fourth in the €20,000 for €67,700. His Super High Roller win came in 2022 at EPT Monte Carlo, and that score of €1,365,430 stands as his biggest EPT score in his outstanding career. His biggest overall single score came last year in the $212,000 No Limit Hold’em at Triton Montenegro, where he scooped $3,292,000 for a second-place finish to Wiktor Malinowski.

#8 Enrico Camosci – 250,000

The first of three late registrants, Enrico Camosci comes into Day 2 with a starting stack. It’s still plenty to work with, with the blinds at 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante when play resumes. Camosci is known for his energetic table presence, and is usually seen to be in good spirits at the poker tables. The Italian has amassed <b>$8,730,349</b> in live tournament earnings, with his best score coming in the <i>100,000 in Monte Carlo</i> this year, where he finished second for <b>$1,474,085</b>, his first live seven-figure score.

#9 Juan Pardo – 250,000

Juan “Malaka$tyle” Pardo is one of the most recognizable names in poker today. Whether it is by his birth name or his iconic PokerStars screen name, Pardo has established himself as one of the generation’s modern greats, like most of this field have in their own right. He has amassed $15,237,657 in live tournament earnings and has already won one event at this EPT Malta stop, the €10,000 Mystery Bounty, which Samuel Mullur finished second. Pardo secured seven of the ten mystery bounties that day, only missing both of the top €40,000 bounty prizes across the payout structure. Pardo’s win at EPT Barcelona 2019 in the, €50,000 No Limit Hold’em for €1,013,860 stands as his second biggest score to date. His biggest came when he finished second in the $306,000 Super High Roller Bowl in Cyprus, where he banked $1,900,000.

#10 Aleksejs Ponakovs – 250,000

Aleksejs Ponakovs rounds out the pack in what is one of the toughest fields you could assemble. The Latvian has gained $29,575,506 in live tournament earnings and has been a high-stakes regular for the majority of his poker career. Ponakovs has recorded a second-place finish this EPT Malta stop, claiming runner-up spot in the 20,000 No Limit Hold’em to Tom Vogelsang just a few nights ago, winning €141,200 in the process. This year, Ponakovs secured his biggest ever tournament score of $3,139,000 in the $150,000 Triton Super High Roller, which was won by Joao Viera. Below are the full chip counts in table form, and the payouts.

Chip Counts and Payouts

Rank	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Orpen Kisacikoglu	Turkey	903,000	151
2	Pieter Aerts	Belgium	614,000	102
3	Alexandros Theologis	Greece	359,000	60
4	Samuel Mullur	Austria	354,000	59
5	Ben Heath	United Kingdom	343,000	57
6	Mikita Badziakouski	Belarus	341,000	57
7	Adrian Mateos	Spain	338,000	56
8	Enrico Camosci	Italy	250,000	41
9	Aleksejs Ponakovs	Latvia	250,000	41
10	Juan Pardo	Spain	250,000	41

What’s Next?

The Super High Roller is scheduled to be a three-day event, but due to the small field, it could come to its conclusion today. Also in play is the €1,650 PokerStars Cup, which will also play down to a winner today. Stay tuned to pokerlistings.com to get the rundown of those two tournaments when the play comes to an end at Casino Malta.