Bengtsen Wins Record Festival Malta

The Festival Malta closed out its run at the Portomaso Casino with a record-breaking Main Event. The €550 buy-in tournament drew 804 entries, surpassing the previous high of 666 entries for the Malta stop. A total of 101 players reached the payout places, and Norway's Terje Bengtsen walked away with the largest share of the prize pool, taking €65,001 and his first title from The Festival Series.

Yazdanpanah Controlled the Final Day

The final day began with 16 players remaining, and Sweden's Mehdi Yazdanpanah in clear command. He had bagged 6,420,000 chips at the end of Day 2 and continued to build from there. By the time the official final table was set, he was the only player holding more than ten million chips.

Yazdanpanah's dominance carried into the closing stages. He eliminated three opponents on the final day and entered heads-up play holding roughly 80% of the chips in play. With that kind of lead, the final duel looked like a formality, and Bengtsen soon found himself on the brink of elimination.

A River That Changed Everything

The heads-up match could have ended quickly. In a preflop all-in, Bengtsen held a pair of nines against Yazdanpanah's ace-eight. The flop brought a set for the Norwegian, but the turn completed a straight for the Swede, putting Yazdanpanah one card away from the title. The river paired the board, giving Bengtsen a full house and keeping him alive.

That card dramatically shifted the momentum. Bengtsen won two consecutive double-ups, erased the deficit, and took the chip lead for the first time in the match.

In the decisive hand, the chips went in on a flop of 5-9-7. Bengtsen held seven-five for two pair, while Yazdanpanah had top pair with a straight draw. Neither the turn nor the river improved the Swede's hand. After the stacks were counted, Yazdanpanah was left with only 75,000 chips, which he was forced to commit blindly on the next hand. No last-second miracle followed, and the final board of the tournament confirmed Bengtsen's comeback victory.

Yazdanpanah accepted the defeat in good spirit, congratulated his opponent, and called him a tough and excellent adversary. He collected €40,100 for second place.

Final Table Results

• 1. Terje Bengtsen, Norway — €65,001
• 2. Mehdi Yazdanpanah, Sweden — €40,100
• 3. Sebastian Mortensen, Denmark — €28,900
• 4. Bas de Laat, Netherlands — €21,915
• 5. Davide Biondo, Italy — €17,429
• 6. Sami Pulliainen, Finland — €13,375
• 7. Pel Nieuwenhuis, Netherlands — €10,150
• 8. Jozsef Hegyi, Hungary — €8,110
• 9. Serhii Ivanenko, Ukraine — €6,810

Rounding out the top 16 were Thibaut Thevenet of France (€5,790), Ruben Lucas of Portugal (€5,110), Gabriele Sava of Italy (€4,530), Matz Lindman of Sweden (€4,070), Georgios Efthymiadis of Greece (€4,070), Barnabas Nagy of Hungary (€4,070), and Kare Hallamaa of Finland (€3,700).

A Record Week in Malta

The 804-entry field set a new record for The Festival Series' Malta stop and reflected growing interest in the series' format, which combines tournament poker with mixed games, casino contests, and a busy side schedule. The result also marked a breakthrough for Bengtsen, who had never before won a title on the series.

For players following the series, the Malta Main Event offered a familiar lesson in tournament variance: a large chip lead in heads-up play is a strong advantage, but it is not a guarantee. All-ins create the possibility of a single card reversing the direction of a match, and short stacks that double up twice can return to parity quickly. In this case, one river card kept Bengtsen alive, and he converted the opportunity into the largest score of his series career.

Complete results, photos, and updates from the Portomaso Casino are available through the official live coverage of The Festival Malta, with event photography by Mairo Toom.