by Mario Alfonsi | Published on Jun 22, 2020 | Updated on Sep 16, 2022
Back in May 2020, MGA-licensed real money social poker app Pokio played host to the first-ever Malta Poker Championships Online. The popular live poker festival was moved to the virtual felts due to the coronavirus pandemic, joining several other major live events that had to be held online as a result of government-imposed lockdowns across the world.
After almost a week of online action, the event did not disappoint, as it managed to attract a total of 729 unique entries, awarding €96,000 in total prize pool, almost doubling its initial guarantee of €50,000. Let’s take a look back at the festival’s massive success.
The Highlights
The online edition of the Malta Poker Championships was headlined by the €30,000 GTD Main Event, which ended up awarding €64,200 in total prize money after drawing 293 entries. It was taken down by Kenneth “fulltiltken” Valentine for €15,729.
Another key event on the schedule was The Hendon Mob Championship (THB) which came with an initial guarantee of €10,000. It was ultimately captured by Lars “Ostepop1” Skjerve for €3,025. The festival also featured a Mini version of the Main Event which was won by Marcin “Elvis” Klain for €1,460, as well as an exclusive ladies-only event dubbed “Queens of Pokio”.
Meanwhile, Oscar “Oskar” Wedde triumphed in the Dealer Relief Special to walk away with €350 as top prize. This particular tournament served as a charity event where the fund collected will be awarded to one lucky poker dealer during a freeroll tournament which will take place this week on the Pokio app.
Surpassing Expectations
All of the events on the schedule managed to smash their respective guarantees, and this is something the CEO of Qufan Internet Technology Ltd Manuel Lopes is extremely proud of. Players also had a lot of fun, leaving nothing but nice words about their overall experience at the festival.
Roland Boothby, Head of Partnerships at The Hendon Mob, was equally delighted with the turnout of the festival, praising the hardwork, dedication and talent poured in by their partners, and everyone involved in making the festival a huge success. This is despite difficulties brought about by the global health crisis, which largely impacted the live poker scene.
The Malta Poker Championships Online was held in partnership with The Hendon Mob. It ran on Pokio on May 22-27. The platform is operated by Qufan Internet Technology Ltd. All of the concerned parties said that they were looking forward to more exciting partnerships in the future.
