Tereza Vernerova becomes the first woman to win the Battle of Malta Main Event
8 November 2026 · A 2 minute read
Tereza Vernerova from Czechia has won the Main Event of the Battle of Malta Autumn Edition at Casino Malta, and she is the first woman to win it. She took €162,635 and the Knight Trophy after a final table that ran for more than 12 hours.
Key points
- Tereza Vernerova of Czechia won the €600 Main Event of the Battle of Malta Autumn Edition 2026. No woman had won it before.
- The Main Event had 5,368 entries, and the first prize was €227,835 before the deal.
- Three players made a deal on the money, and the runner-up, Ofer Tadmor of Israel, took home the most: €175,000.
- Vernerova won €162,635 and the Knight Trophy, the biggest result of her career.
5,368 entries for a €600 Main Event
The Battle of Malta Main Event costs €600 to enter, and this autumn it drew 5,368 entries at Casino Malta. With a field that size, the first prize was set at €227,835.
Vernerova came to the final table with the most chips, and she had never played a final table this big. She told PokerNews that her husband, who was with her through the whole event, helped her get ready for it.
A long day at the final table
The final table went on for more than 12 hours. Vernerova made a hero call when James Malatynski of the United Kingdom moved all in on the river, and she lost one pot when Ofer Tadmor made a straight flush against her.
Why second place paid more than first
With three players left, Tadmor, Vernerova and Malatynski agreed an ICM deal, which shares out the prize money by what each stack is worth. They left €22,635 and the trophy to play for.
The deal gave Tadmor €175,000 and Malatynski €125,000. So Tadmor, who finished second, took home more than the winner. Vernerova's €162,635 is her share of the deal plus the €22,635 they played for.
Trip tens to finish it
Heads-up, Vernerova flopped three of a kind against Tadmor's top two pair. In the last hand Tadmor moved all in on a paired flop, Vernerova called at once with trip tens, and the turn and the river did not help him.
She said the Knight Trophy will be the biggest one in the collection she and her husband have at home.
The final table
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tereza Vernerova | Czechia | €162,635 |
| 2 | Ofer Tadmor | Israel | €175,000 |
| 3 | James Malatynski | United Kingdom | €125,000 |
| 4 | Lulei Hu | China | €62,150 |
| 5 | Marios Kapiris | Greece | €43,400 |
| 6 | Rosario Saddemi | Italy | €32,000 |
| 7 | Ivane Khazaradze | Georgia | €25,150 |
| 8 | Marco Lopez Coronado | Spain | €21,150 |
The top three prizes come from the deal. The figures are the ones PokerNews published.
A Main Event you can play online
Basepoker runs a Main Event of its own every day. The $500 Daily Main Event starts at 22:15 UTC and costs $5, and free step tournaments earlier in the day lead to it.
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