The Festival In Malta Returns To Portomaso With The Hendon Mob Championship

The Festival Series is heading back to Malta for another week of poker, mixed games, casino action and off-the-felt entertainment, with The Hendon Mob Championship kicking off the action at Portomaso Casino.

Running from September 13–20, 2026, The Festival in Malta has become a standout stop on the European poker calendar, combining accessible tournament buy-ins with an unusually broad selection of games and a hospitality program designed to make the week feel like a poker holiday rather than simply another tournament series.

For The Hendon Mob, it will be another chapter in a partnership that has seen the THMC become a regular fixture on The Festival schedule.

The Hendon Mob Championship Returns to Malta

The €250 THMC Malta is the first major event of the week, with multiple starting flights giving players several opportunities to take their shot at a THMC title, a custom THMC trophy, and a shot at a 2026 THMC South African Millions package.

Day 1A is scheduled for Sunday, September 13 at 1 pm, followed by Day 1B on Monday at 2 pm and a Turbo Day 1C on Tuesday at 7:30 pm. Day 2 takes place on Wednesday, September 16. The event has already established itself as a fan favourite within The Festival Series, and its place in Malta is part of a much bigger story.

2026 THMC Winners to be Awarded South African Millions Package

The Hendon Mob and our South African partners are offering all 2026 THMC Main Event winners a package to the THMC SA Millions, taking place later this year.

The SA Poker Open and THMC SA Millions 2026 package is worth approximately €2,500. It includes seven nights of accommodation, transfers to the venue, a €500 travel allowance, and a THMC SA Millions ticket worth R9,000.

Plenty More Than Hold’em

While the Hendon Mob Championship will be one of the first major attractions, Malta’s schedule is about as far from a one-game poker festival as you can get.

The €550 NLH Main Event remains the headline tournament, while mixed-game specialists can target the €550 T.O.R.S.E.S. Main Event. The schedule also features PLO, 8-Game, Sviten Special, Big O, Pot-Limit 2-7 Double Draw, Razzdugi and The Festival 10-Game Mix.

There are also €1,100 High Roller events, a €350 Mystery Bounty and several lower buy-in events designed to keep the action accessible throughout the week.

The 2026 schedule will also introduce several new formats, including Razzdugi, the NLH 7-2 Special and the NLH Mini Main Event.

Away from poker, players can enter Roulette, Blackjack, Slots and Sportsbook Championships. At the same time, the popular Cash Game Challenge and Franke’s Flip Flops will once again form part of the Festival atmosphere.

And that is really the point of The Festival: there is always something happening.

The Final Push for Online Qualifiers

For players still looking for a way into Malta, the online route is entering its final days.

The iPoker Network’s eight-week qualifying campaign has already massively exceeded its original target. After seven weeks, 36 packages had been awarded from an initial guarantee of 33, with every week beating its package guarantee.

The final week is now underway, with the last opportunity to join the campaign before the final seat-only Mega Final on August 31, which carries eight guaranteed seats.

The campaign has deliberately offered a low-cost route into the action, with feeder tournaments starting from just €0.01 and subsequent levels including €3 and €15 satellites.

With Malta now just around the corner, the final online qualifiers represent the last major opportunity for players to turn a small online buy-in into a Festival package.

The Festival in Malta Schedule

The Festival’s Famous Hospitality

Of course, one of the biggest reasons players return to The Festival year after year isn’t just the poker.

Hospitality has become one of the series’ defining features, with package winners allowed to experience Malta away from the casino alongside fellow players.

The 2026 hospitality schedule begins with welcome drinks on Sunday, September 13, followed by pizza and drinks at The Avenue on Monday. From there, the week becomes a mixture of beaches, competitions, dinners and nightlife.

The Malta Beach Bonanza will run on several mornings, taking players to destinations including Pretty Bay, Paradise Bay, Riviera and Golden Bay. There will also be Maxi Yatzy, Cornhole and Chicago competitions, with tournament tickets and other prizes up for grabs.

The social side continues with Italian dinners, a Malta-style Karaoke Night on Saturday and a guided tour on the final Sunday.

This approach has become synonymous with The Festival: play poker, try different games, explore the destination and, most importantly, meet people.

Malta Awaits

The Festival Malta will once again be based at Portomaso Casino in St. Julian’s, with the venue returning as host for the fourth consecutive year. Its location puts players right in the middle of Malta’s restaurants, nightlife, beaches and waterfront, making it particularly well suited to The Festival’s poker-holiday concept.

For The Hendon Mob Championship, meanwhile, Malta represents another important stop in a busy 2026 schedule that includes Festival events in Bratislava, Rozvadov, Malta and Tallinn, alongside other THMC appearances and the standalone championship series later in the year.

With the final online qualifiers now underway, the tournament schedule set, and the hospitality program ready to go, the countdown to Malta is well and truly underway.

The Festival Malta runs September 13–20, with The Hendon Mob Championship opening its tournament schedule from September 13.

For players, it promises a week of poker, sunshine, mixed games, casino action and plenty happening away from the tables — exactly what The Festival has become known for.