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GGPoker Claims World Record Before Hosting Battle of Malta

Written by Jennifer Newell
Last updated on
Jennifer Newell

As online poker grabs more and more players from around the world, GGPoker of GGNetwork is celebrating quite an accomplishment. It entered Guinness World Records™ with the totals from the World Series of Poker Main Event nearly two months ago.

Remember the interesting decision to take the WSOP online with GGPoker during the coronavirus pandemic? That turned out to be a positive decision for both sites and many players. And in the end, the prize pool for that WSOP Main Event is now in the record books…officially.

That announcement came just days before GGPoker announced the full schedule for the Battle of Malta 2020. Again, thanks to the pandemic, another live tournament series bit the dust, but it decided – like so many before it – to take its action online.

The series is now set for November 1-22 with more than $30 million in guarantees.

History Books and a Guinness Book

It is easy to say that the WSOP 2020 will make the history books. It was the first time the official World Series of Poker took its summer series online. It happened during a pandemic. And it split the series between the US market and the rest of the world.

The 54 tournaments hosted by GGPoker and Natural8 for the international crowd delivered staggering numbers.

–Total prize pools: $147,789,550

–Total entries: 239,754

–Total participating nationalities: 166

But one tournament outshone all the others, as it often does. It was the WSOP Main Event, the first ever online. That meant its parameters were different. The buy-in was $5K instead of $10K, it offered several reentries, and there were 23 starting flights. And there was a guarantee on the prize pool…of $25 million, no less.

The final numbers for that Main Event set a record. With 5,802 entries, the prize pool was $27,559,500.

Everyone involved knew at the time that it was the largest prize pool for any online poker tournament in history, but it needed to become official.

Enter the Guinness World Records™. An official adjudicator for Guinness checked it out, verified it, and put it in the books.

According to GGPoker Head of Poker Operations Steve Preiss, the hope was to capture the Guinness World Records™ title. And WSOP Director Ty Stewart noted the accomplishment. “Breaking a Guinness World Records™ title shows what happens when you combine GGPoker’s amazing platform with the World Series of Poker brand,” he said. “This will be a tough record to beat.”

GGPoker Helps Another Series Go Online

This pandemic just won’t let poker events take place in person yet. In fact, a second wave of positive coronavirus cases is sweeping across most continents now. It’s gonna be awhile.

The folks at the Battle of Malta sadly informed the poker community that Portomaso Casino would not host the Malta Poker Festival in 2020. It wasn’t safe in the past few months to host a large live poker tournament, and health experts were certain the winter months would only make the situation worse.

But just days after the cancellation announcement, organizers noted that they would take the series online with GGPoker.

Now, the details are set, Casino Malta General Manager Slawomir Switalski said, “It is with a heavy heart that Casino Malta had to postpone the much-awaited Battle of Malta live event, but we’re elated to partner with such a prestigious brand as GGPoker. We look forward to seeing everyone in Malta in 2021 for a very special Battle of Malta.”

Today, GGPoker released details. The series will run November 1-22, and three weeks of tournaments will offer $30 million in guaranteed prize pool. There will be 15 ring-awarding events, alongside numerous associated side events throughout the three weeks.

The highlight, of course, will be the Battle of Malta Main Event, which will require a traditional $550 buy-in and guarantee $3 million. Starting flights will begin on November 8 and run through the start of Day 2 on November 22.

Battle of Malta 2020 Schedule

As mentioned, there will be numerous side events running daily throughout the 2020 Battle of Malta. GGPoker has not yet listed the full schedule of side events, only those for November 1. That alone, though, shows the diversity of options available, with 22 events in addition to the three Battle of Malta ring events and buy-ins ranging from $5 to $3,150.

The 15 events of the Battle of Malta are:

Event 1 / November 1:  $110 NLHE King’s Landing Opener ($200K GTD)

Event 2 / November 1:  $100 NLHE Gaming Employees Championship

Event 3 / November 1:  $215 NLHE Kings of Tallinn Main Event ($500K GTD)

Event 4 / November 5:  $210 NLHE Bounty for the Knight ($200K GTD)

Event 5 / November 7:  $1,200 NLHE Grandmaster High Roller ($250K GTD)

Event 6 / November 8:  $5,250 NLHE High Roller Championship ($2M GTD)

Event 7 / November 8:  $215 NLHE Siege of Malta Day 2 ($2M GTD)

Event 8 / November 12:  $315 NLHE Bounty for the Queen ($300K GTD)

Event 9 / November 14:  $105 NLHE Bounty Poker Tour Special ($200K GTD)

Event 10 / November 15:  $525 NLHE Bounty for the King Royal Championship ($500K GTD)

Event 11 / November 15:  $55 NLHE Mini Main Event Day 2 ($1M GTD)

Event 12 / November 19:  $105 NLHE St. Julian’s Bounty Feast ($200K GTD)

Event 13 / November 21:  $215 NLHE Crusader’s Cup ($250K GTD)

Event 14 / November 22:  $550 NLHE Main Event Day 2 ($3M GTD)

Event 15 / November 22:  $315 NLHE The Revenge ($500K GTD)

Of course, players can start winning their seats now via satellites on GGPoker, which start as low as $0.55.

GGPoker will also host a Player of the Series leaderboard. Players will receive points for every official series event they play, and the final results will put the top 50 players in the money. In fact, there will be €50K distributed among them as follows:

1st place:  €3,500 Battle of Malta Live Package (5-star hotel for 7 nights, ME and HR tickets, travel)

2nd place:  €2,500 Battle of Malta Live Package (5-star hotel for 7 nights, ME ticket, travel)

3rd place:  €1,900 Battle of Malta Live Package (5-star hotel for 4 nights, ME ticket, travel)

4th – 10th places:  €1,700 Battle of Malta Live Packages (5-star hotel for 4 nights, ME ticket, travel)

11th – 50th places:  €800 Battle of Malta Live Packages (ME ticket, travel)

The full schedule, all details, and information about media coverage are on the GGPoker website.

 

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