EPT Malta: Leader Gerard Rubiralta ready to fight for the satisfaction of Live League spoils
Gerard Rubiralta’s face lights up at the first mention of the PokerStars Live League. The Spanish grinder always plays a full schedule of events at almost all EPT stops, but the year-long race to land a share of $250,000 in additional prizes has added a further dimension to recent competition.
“I always like these kinds of rankings, leader boards, things like that,” Rubiralta says. “I enjoy it a lot. It’s an extra motivation to play and for me it’s great. It’s about consistency, which is very important. These kinds of leaderboards are a proof of consistency.”
As a quick reminder, and in the official wording, the PokerStars Live League “is a Leader Board competition where players earn points by participating in eligible events. Players can win tournament entries – and the opportunity to turn those into cash – and a chance to become a Team PokerStars Pro based on their League rankings.”
Points are awarded based on three factors: buy-in, number of entries and a player’s finishing position in the tournament. Prizes include tournament entries to major PokerStars Live events for the top three players in each tier (total value of all prizes is €150,700). Plus, a chance to audition for a Team PokerStars Pro contract (worth €100,000) for the top 30 players.”
It’s easy to see why hundreds of PokerStars players thrilled by the Live League. But for the amiable Rubiralta, there’s even better news. At time of writing–Day 1B of the EPT Malta Main Event–Rubiralta is sitting pretty at the top of the “Medium” leaderboard, which ranks results in the €1K-€4,999K buy-in bracket.
The winner of that particular race will earn €25,600 in poker tournament buy-ins. And Rubiralta is paying very close attention to the race.
“I have four friends from the EPTs that are fighting a lot, and they are telling me, ‘I’m going for you!’ So I have to give my best, he says. “It’s very, very nice to have that competition.
“Honestly, to win it, it would mean more than the money you get for it. The satisfaction that I would have for winning it would be more than winning or finishing second in a tournament with a prize that’s more than that. It’s something that I would enjoy a lot.”
Gerard Rubiralta: ‘It’s very, very nice to have that competition’
He’s clearly taking it seriously. Last night, on the eve of his Main Event starting flight, Rubiralta opted to play the $1K Hyper Turbo in a bid to boost his leaderboard total once more. It was worth it: he finished third from a field of 162, earning €16,240 in real money, but 148 crucial points for the league.
“It’s changing what I play a little bit,” Rubiralta admits. “I finished third. That was great. I wouldn’t normally play because today I have to play the main event, and that’s very important to me. But having the lead is an incentive to play and I decided to play that Hyper Turbo to get some points, maybe get a good result, like I did. The main idea is to play all the tournaments that I can in that €1K-€5K buy-in. I am fighting for it because the other guys are also fighting for it a lot.”
The leaderboard race began at the PokerStars Open in Campione in March and continues through EPT Malta plus the year’s remaining EPT in Prague. PokerStars Opens in Manchester and Cannes also qualify, so the incentive to play remains through the final three months of 2025.
But the grind will be worth it for those who make it to the top. The prizes are spectacular. And the satisfaction indescribable.
LATEST STANDINGS
HIGH
1 – Klemens Roiter (Austria) – 3,044 pts
2 – Enrico Camosci (Italy) – 2,374
3 – Aleks Ponakovs (Latvia) – 1,771
4 – Jesse Lonis (USA) – 1,755
5 – Christopher Nguyen (Austria) – 1,628
MEDIUM
1 – Gerard Rubiralta (Spain) – 2,418 pts
2 – Petre Ionescu (Romania) – 2,245
3 – Kenny Hallaert (Belgium) – 2,128
4 – Jon Kyte (Norway) – 1,865
5 – Claudio Di Giacomo (Italy) – 1,757
LOW
1 – Steinn Du Karlsson (Iceland) – 738 pts
2 – Soraya Estrada (Spain) – 619
3 – Andreas Froehli (Switzerland) – 589
4 – David Docherty (UK) – 543
5 – Thomas Clack (UK) – 534
LIVE LEAGUE LEADER BOARD BREAKDOWN
The leader board tiers and prizes are as follows:
HIGH
All tournaments with a buy-in of €/£/$5,000 and above
- First place: 4 x EPT Main Event and 4 x EPT High Roller buy-ins – worth €62,400
- Second place: 4 x EPT Main Event buy-ins – worth €21,200
- Third place: 2 x EPT Main Event buy-ins – worth €10,600
MEDIUM
All tournaments with a buy-in of €/£/$1,000 to €/£/$4,999
- First place: 4 x EPT Main Event and 4 x PS Open Main Event buy-ins – worth €25,600
- Second place: 6 x PS Open Main Event buy-ins – worth €6,600
- Third place: 3 x PS Open Main Event buy-ins worth €3,300
LOW
All tournaments with a buy-in equal to or less than €/£/$999
- First place: 10 x PS Open Main Event and 10 x Cup buy-ins – worth €15,000
- Second place: 10 x PS Open Cup buy-ins – worth €4,000
- Third place: 5 x PS Open Cup buy-ins – worth €2,000
Winners can use the buy-ins whenever they choose (including as re-entries into the same event).
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