The SiGMA Poker Tour heads to Malta’s Portomaso Casino later this month for another uniquely player-friendly series that includes a €150,000 guaranteed main event.
The upcoming SiGMA Poker Tour Malta gets underway on May 27 with a tone-setting “freesat” qualifier that only requires players to pay €10 or €20 for rebuys. At least 20 players from the innovative qualifier will win a seat in Day 1A of the main event, a.k.a., the SiGMA Special, which kicks off on May 28.
From there, the twists continue, as players have six additional starting days to take a seat in the €150,000 guaranteed SiGMA Special. The twist for the main event is the tiered buy-in system.
Players who ante-up on Day 1A get a shot at the title for €170 + €30. After that, it costs €220 + €30 to enter any of the six remaining Day 1 flights. Finally, players who prefer to wait or re-enter can buy in at the start of Day 2 for €565 + €60.
Sliding Scale Makes SiGMA Poker Tour Malta More Accessible
Innovative rebuy qualifiers and discounted entry fees aren’t the only unique aspects of SiGMA Poker Tour Malta. The poker events will be running alongside an iGaming conference, featuring talks and networking events.
Creating a dual-purpose event has been SiGMA’s unique selling point since the poker tour’s debut last year. The aim has always been to run a player-friendly industry event that combined poker and networking.
In fact, the team at SiGMA HQ has described the upcoming series in Malta in just that type of language, saying that it “bridges the gap between the global poker community and the iGaming industry.”
Malta is calling 🇲🇹🃏
SPT Malta is almost here, and trust us… you don’t want to miss this one.
27 MAY – 1 JUN 2026 | €150,000 Guaranteed
Portomaso Casino, MaltaGrab your seat, pack your bags, and get ready to play some of the best poker in Europe.
The competition is real.… pic.twitter.com/TvVLtG4PCO
— SiGMA World (@SiGMAworld_) May 14, 2026
Combining conferences and poker tournaments appears to be a winning formula. Buoyed by the success of its first two SiGMA Poker Tour events in 2025, the company has added more stops to this year’s schedule.
The Malta event builds on the tour’s return to Brazil earlier this year. SiGMA will continue making waves in 2026 by taking its unique mashup of poker tournaments and networking to Manila and Mexico, too.
SiGMA Poker Tour Malta: More than Just a Main Event
For those who prefer to devote even more of their time to playing poker, the upcoming SiGMA Poker Tour Malta stop also features a selection of side events, including a mystery bounty and progressive knockout.
None of the side events cost more than €200, making them as accessible to newbies and novices as those with plenty of MTT experience. You can view the full schedule below.
The good news is that player-friendly buy-ins don’t mean budget conditions. SiGMA Poker Tour Malta will take place in the palatial Portomaso Casino. A perennial host for pro-level events, such as the European Poker Tour (EPT) and Malta Poker Festival, the team at Portomaso Casino has years of experience running top class poker events.
That means everyone who antes up at SiGMA Poker Tour Malta will be sitting in the same seats as Hossein Ensan, Adrian Mateos, and 2025 EPT Malta winner, Tomasz Brzezinski. One player who should be among those vying for victory in Malta is reigning champion, Davide Iannaco.
The Italian came through a grueling final table in 2025 to beat the aforementioned Brzezinski and pick up his first live title, a win worth €28,500.
🏆 Davide Lannaco wins the SiGMA Poker Tour Malta Main Event for €28,500
👉 After a marathon 12-hour final day, Davide Iannaco has emerged triumphant in the €400 buy-in, €150,000 guaranteed SiGMA Poker Tour Malta Main Event at Portomaso Casino.https://t.co/tBwW0iEQto
— PokerNews (@PokerNews) September 8, 2025
Iannaco may have to fight even harder to retain this title this year if the reduced buy-in attracts more players. In 2025, the main event cost €360 + €40. Unless players ante up at the start of Day 2, they can enter for almost half that amount this time around!
Smaller buy-ins don’t mean smaller payouts though. The 2026 SiGMA Poker Tour Malta main event has a €150,000 guarantee, which matches last year’s. That alone should make it a hit with poker players and conference-goers alike.
Malta’s Uniqueness, in SiGMA’s Worlds
Ahead of publishing this event preview, we also reached out to Anna Colley, Head of Conference and SiGMA Poker Tour, with a few questions, which she was kind enough to answer.
Why did the SiGMA Poker Tour decide to launch a Special Edition in Malta?
Malta has for long been one of the top homes of poker and iGaming, so launching a Special Edition here outside of having a summit ongoing felt like the natural fit. Malta being SiGMA’s home country and headquarters made it an easy choice, and nowhere do business, networking and poker come together quite like they do in Malta.
Can you give us a small hint of what’s coming next for the SiGMA Poker Tour?
We are working on expanding SPT further internationally and building stronger connections between the poker world and the wider gaming industry. Players can expect larger experiences, more entertainment elements, stronger media coverage and some exciting destination announcements still to come.
What makes Malta such an important destination for poker and iGaming?
Malta has been at the center of the iGaming industry for many years, and naturally poker became a big part of that ecosystem. You have operators, affiliates, media, suppliers and players from all over the world gathering on the island constantly. Besides its a beautiful island with lots of sunshine!
