Matt Giannetti, a former University of Texas student, topped the 240 entrants to win €200,000 (including a $25,500 seat for the 2012 WPT World Championship at Bellagio in Las Vegas) and join the WPT Champions Club. Giannetti had his name engraved on the WPT Champions Cup and received the Tiffany and Co.® WPT Champions Award. The win was Giannetti’s first WPT title, although his deep runs in the recent $25K WPT World Championship, the WPT LA Poker Classic as well as making the WSOP November Nine mean this title is a surprise to nobody. Giannetti was naturally delighted to take down the title but, in true character, he was critical of his performance, despite the fact that he only went all-in for the first time when the action was three handed.

“I wasn’t impressed with my three handed play and it is something I don’t want to repeat,” said Matt Giannetti. “I admit that at times I definitely run good. It is fantastic to win a WPT title.”

Runner-up Prescaglini, who has some impressive results in her homeland, certainly left an impression on all those watching and became a social media sensation after seemingly busting all the high profile players over the final two days. At one point Phil Hellmuth pointed out that she was a 63% favorite to take down the title as it looked to be slipping away from Giannetti. Third place went to her fellow Italian Filippo Bianchini, cashing for €76,820, a fantastic return for the PartyPoker.it online qualifier who secured his package for Malta for just €10. Other notable deep runners included Dusk Till Dawn’s veteran UK pro Simon ‘Aces’ Trumper and serial WPT final table fixture Tristan Clemencon, cashing deep for the significant French contingent who made their way to Malta.

At the first U.S. event of Season X, World Poker Tour® announced the final table for all tour stops* this season would feature WPT Live Streaming. The WPT Malta stream looks likely to be one of the highlights of the season with Phil Hellmuth and Tony G having a riotous time in the commentary box. Did they kiss and make up? Highlights from the camera in the commentary booth on the stream will be released in the near future. Highlights from the Italian language version, led by Giovanni Rizzo, will also be available to view soon.

The action in Malta was overseen by WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage. Full details on all the hands, results and all videos can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/65g667p.

Final Table Standings
1. Matt Giannetti - €200,000
2. Cecilia Pescaglini - €116,700
3. Filippo Bianchini - €76,820
4. Simon Trumper - €53,430
5. Tristan Clemencon - €39,810
6. Fabien Sartoris - €30,730

The next stop on the World Poker Tour is the televised $10K World Poker Finals at Foxwoods Resort and Casino on October 27th, with the action then heading to France for WPT Amneville on November 1st.