Overview

• Day 5 of the EPT Malta Main Event is underway with Norway’s Tom-Aksel Bedell atop the counts on about 5.7 million chips.
• Defending Malta champion Aliaksei Boika remains in contention in sixth place as he seeks back-to-back titles separated by the tour’s nine-year return to the island.
• Italy’s contingent fell from six players to one after Day 4, leaving Alessandro Barone to continue as the short stack after closing three straight days in last place.
• Paolo Boi exited despite flopping a set of kings when Juan Pardo completed a heart flush by the river, and Giuseppe Spitale also fell in a separate pot where Pardo held a made straight.
• Ukraine’s Ostash began Day 5 second with roughly 2.9 million chips, and elite pro Adrian Mateos remains in the field, with live Italian-language coverage streaming on La Gazzetta dello Sport.