Norway's Tom-Aksel Bedell is still on top at EPT Malta, where 15 players remain for Saturday's Day 5 of the Main Event.
Bedell was the chip leader at the start of Day 4 and he found his way back to a giant stack after a timely flush sent a surprised Tom Vogelsang to the rail near the end of the day. The fashionable Norwegian is almost 3 million chips clear of Mykhailo Ostash in second, but plenty of trouble lurks on the leaderboard.
Defending champ still in
Sharks circling below Bedell include Ben Heath, who went on a run from the bottom half of the counts to finish with a fifth-ranked chip stack of 2.3 million. Day 5 will kick off with 15K/30K/30K blinds, and Juan Pardo will also have a lot of them with his fourth-best 2.4 million. Pardo has already won at EPT Malta, but he still has an open spot for an EPT Main Event win on his resume.
Aliaksei Boika can still win back-to-back EPT Malta Main Events.Another history seeker is Aliaksei Boika, the defending champion of nine years. The last time EPT ran in Malta was 2016 and Boika won that event. He's sitting pretty for a shot at protracted history with 2.2 million chips.
Not to be overlooked is Adrian Mateos, a former EPT champion, and his 845K chips. Mateos last won an EPT Main in 2015, and it started a dominating career on the Euro circuit. He's long awaited a second Main Event trophy.
Hand of the day
Vogelsang was cruising along with 1.4 million after about seven hours of play and it looked like his seat for Day 5 was all but reserved. A clash with the hard-charging Bedell at the 10K/25K blind level would send him to the door in 17th place.
It was a slow walk off the stage for Tom Vogelsang.Bedell picked up 
and raised, but Vogelsang fired back a three-bet with 
. Not to be out done, Bedell fired back with 560K. Vogelsang moved in for 1.4 million and Bedell called quickly. The flop spit out 
and Bedell locked in a flush before the 
put Vogelsang away for good.
The pot sent Bedell above 5.6 million and he picked up a few more chips to finish with a little more than 5.7.
2025 EPT Malta Main Event chip counts
- Day 5 blind level: 15K/30K/30K
| Rank | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Aksel-Bedell | 5,765,000 |
| 2 | Mykhailo Ostash | 2,985,000 |
| 3 | Toni Kaukua | 2,625,000 |
| 4 | Juan Pardo | 2,495,000 |
| 5 | Ben Heath | 2,320,000 |
| 6 | Aliaksei Boika | 2,265,000 |
| 7 | Longmao Fan | 1,820,000 |
| 8 | Adria Calonge | 1,750,000 |
| 9 | Joao Tomas | 1,095,000 |
Action picks up again Saturday at 12pm Malta time with PokerStars YouTube coverage to follow on a delay.
Images courtesy of Danny Maxwell/Eloy Cabacas/Rational Intellectual Holdings, Ltd.
