2025 The Festival Bratislava Day 1

The first two ranking tournaments were completed on the opening day of The Festival in Bratislava. Both were low buy-in affairs, costing €125 to play. The first to begin was Event 7, the €60+€15+€50 Pot Limit Razz PKO, in which 55 players took their seats for some lowball action. 

It was won by Joost Melkert, claiming the first win of the week for the Dutch contingent. He defeated Lithuanian Jonas Jurksaitis heads up, to take the title and earn his first 38.75 points towards the Player of the Series Award. Ville Hakala, runner up in the POS races at both Rozvadov and Malta, also booked his first cash of the week in this event, signalling his intentions to once again be a challenger for the title.

The other tournament that completed on Tuesday was the €110+€15 NLH Tuesday Knockout, the first of the single day Hold’em events on the schedule. It had a larger field of 107 entries, but awarded the same points to those who made the money as the Razz. The champion of the event was Ylva Thorsrud, someone whom is no stranger to winning Festival Series tournaments. The Norwegian streamer defeated Swede William Meeuwisse to claim the first prize of €1,749.

Ylva also played in the Razz, but was eliminated early on, however the 1.25 participation points she received for playing in it boosts her total to 40 points, securing her the number one spot on the first Player of the Series Leaderboard of this festival. Joost Melkert sits in second place, on 38.75 points.

While these were the only ranking events to be completed on the opening day of The Festival in Bratislava, there were three multi-day tournaments that day starting day flights. No points have been added to the leaderboard for those who took part in these events, but its worth noting that Franke von Zweigbergk made it through to Day 2 of the European Chicago Championship and will have a great chance of securing a decent leaderboard score when that event reaches its conclusion on Saturday.

The first of two starting days in the €550 T.O.R.S.E.S Mixed Games Main Event also saw eight of 44 players progress to tomorrow’s final day, including chip leader Jon Kyte, who could be a leaderboard challenger this time around. Also progressing was Rolf Arne Bechstrom, a frequent POS contender.

Top 25 After Tuesday

Actually, the top 26 are listed here, as there was a four-way tie for 22nd place. All players (not listed) below 22nd place have 1.25 points.

French national Leo Hourtoulle (pictured) has bagged the biggest of the eight progressing players who have made it to Day 2 in the opening flight of The Hendon Mob Championships. A field of 63 total entrants played this flight, and long-time chipleader Dmitry Golushko claims second place. Below are the chip counts in full.

There are 75 left of 103 total entrants in the €125 Hold’em KO. Registration will be closing after the break comes to an end in 10 minutes time. Friends of the Festival Ingela Charlez and Isac Ekstrom are in the field, as is POS contender Ville Hakala.

Here are the payouts in the one and only Seniors 50+ event. Only five will be paid, and only one will have a trophy when the event comes to its conclusion later this evening.

Peder Behr, Christer Johannson, Joakim Olin, and Sviten Special Main Event Champion Ville Keranen are all in contention to take down the one and only Seniors title here at Banco Casino in Bratislava. The payouts will be released shortly.

Jon Kyte has bagged the biggest here at Banco Casino in Bratislava. He topped the 44 total entrants that took to the felt today in the marquee Mixed Game event of the week. He leads seven players who have all bagged for Day 2, which will take place on Thursday afternoon. The Festival Founder, Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk’s fortunes changed, as he went from chip-leader to out in tenth place. Below are the counts of the eight that were successful. Kyte has had success at this venue, winning the €550 H.O.R.S.E.S. Main event in 2023 for €8,825. Is a repeat victory on the cards?

In The Festival’s own Melvin Schroen’s favorite tournament on the schedule, the Razz Big Bounty, a field of 28 remain of the 32 total entrants. Many of the Player of the Series frontrunners are in the field, including Barrie Dear, Scott “Pokerbrahs” Kenyon (pictured), and Wouter Schuurbiers. Another POS contender, Ville Hakala, has departed early doors.

Of the 63 total entrants in flight 1/A of the prestigious The Hendon Mob Championships, only 8 will progress to Day 2. All players who reach Day 2 will be in the money and will have a shot at taking home the trophy, a five-figure score, and a package to the next Festival Series event. Currently, only 19 remain in the field, all of which will be hoping to lock up a stack for Day 2 on Friday afternoon.

A field of 26 remains in the one and only Seniors 50+ event here at Banco Casino in Bratislava. Peder Behr and Joakim Olin are just two of the notable names in the predominantly Scandinavian field.

Sturla Flataker of Norway has fired two bullets to no avail. No leaderboard points will be awarded in this event as it is a tournament with entry restrictions. The tournament has garnered 34 total entrants thus far, and this number can grow as registration remains open.

Dmitry Golushko has built upon his early chip lead and leads the 32 that remain in the pack after the break. Mykhailo Mikhalov was in fourth place at the first count and has chipped up into second. Below is the current top 10.

In what has been dubbed by some of the team as “the best intro video ever”, check out today’s intro video! Don’t forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe to keep up to date with all things The Festival Series.

The Festival Founder, Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk (pictured), has ascended to the top of the counts as the players are sent on break. Grzegorz Iskra has slipped down to third place. Norwegian all-rounder Jon Kyte sits in tenth place after registering a few hours ago. Registration remains open for another hour, so there is still time for the remaining 22-strong field to gain some more players. Below is the top 10.

The Super Satellite to the €550 Main Event kicks off shortly at 6 p.m. The satellite guarantees that 10 tickets will be won, and for a €60 buy-in, it offers great value for players of all bankrolls. Come down to Banco Casino and get involved to qualify for a Day 1 flight of the Main Event at a deeply discounted price!

For those who have won a Hospitality package via online qualification, there will be welcome drinks at the casino bar at 7.30 p.m. Feel free to come say hello to your fellow players and members of The Festival Team. Na zdravie!

In the €550 T.O.R.S.E.S. Main Event, Grzegorz Iskra currently leads the field, which has seen a total of 35 entrants. Remaining in the field are 29 players, and Polish national Grzegorz Iskra sits atop the counts. Paddy Schmidt is currently on his third bullet, and Chicago 1/A progressor and home team representative Fedor Stadtrucker sits in sixth. Below are the top five in the counts.

Here are the counts from 1/A of The Hendon Mob Championship. Currently, Belarusian national Dmitry Golushko leads the way in the first of four flights. German national Maximilian Meier (pictured) sits in second place.Below are the top 10 counts from the floor.

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Stephen Jarvie and Fedor Stadtrucker have progressed to Day 2 of the Chicago European Championships. They will be joined by players who progress through tonight’s 1/B flight, which starts at 11 p.m.

What time is it? It’s that time again! Time for the next edition of the Festival’s prestigious Player of the Series race to begin. It’s set to be the most exciting race yet at The Festival, due partly to the betting market on Epicbet, which has now closed, as the action is already underway (It will not be updated in-running, or at least that’s the plan). 

The excitement is of course also due to the high level of competitiveness that’s expected this week, with former champions Scott Kenyon and Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk in attendance. Many others, such as Ville Hakala, Paddy Schmitt and even Antoine Degiorgio are also expected to challenge for the title, which is sure to have an evolving storyline as the week progresses. As always, the prize for the eventual winner is a €1,600 package to the next Festival event, details of which have yet to be announced, but are expected to be revealed shortly. 

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

The best projects are evolving ones and this is very true for the Player of the Series race. There have been some minor tweaks to the rules this time, concerning the way in which the points are calculated. 

Unified Participation Points for Events €550+

Participation points for all events with buy-ins of €550 and above will now be 5. At previous editions the points for the Main Events (NLH and Mixed Games) were doubled, but this will no longer be applied. High Roller participation was previously worth 11 points, but is now reduced to 5.

Points Will No Longer Be Rounded Up

For previous editions of the Festival Series Player of the Series Race, points have been rounded up to the next whole number for each event. This was however a little unfair as players in some finishing positions benefitted, while others didn’t, as some final points scores were already on whole numbers. Points will no longer be rounded-up (or down) for each event, but will be presented as they are, with decimal points afterwards, if required.

Deals and Savers

Although this has not been stipulated for previous editions, it’s has been applied and how deals affect points allocation has now been officially incorporated into the rules. In the case of a deal, points awarded to all those involved in the deal will be equivalent to the lowest placed player.

E.g. If there is a deal with three players involved, all three are awarded 18.00 bonus points.

Savers do not affect this, so if there is a small deal to give something to the player or players  who would have been out on the bubble, points will not be frozen. However, those players benefiting from the saver will not be awarded bonus points. You can negotiate your way into the money, but not the points. 

Full rules of The Festival Player of the Series Race can be read here.

Plan Your Route to the Player of the Series Title

So you want to be the 2025 Player of the Series at The Festival in Bratislava? If so, you’ll need to figure out your path to the title, make a plan for which events you intend to play to put yourself in contention. 

The first thing you need to consider is your bankroll, to determine if you’re going for low buy-in volume or a more measured approach by selecting fewer big buy-in events? The reduction of participation points for high roller events makes the lower buy-in route a more achievable option this time, with results being prioritized over ability to buy-in to the high ticket events.

Secondly, are you targeting the Hold’em events or the non-Hold’em ones? Of course, some players play both and there’s plenty of each to get stuck into. While most previous winners of the award have taken the mixed games route, this year’s very balanced Bratislava schedule gives an equal shot to players in both camps.  

It’s now time to take your seat, buckle up and put your best game face on, cos it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!

Qualifying Events

The events that count towards the Player of the Series race have been filtered out of the schedule and are listed below, in the order in which they conclude. 

Scores will be calculated at the end of each day of play and the leaderboard of the top 25/50 will be updated daily, every morning before play begins. Only completed events will be counted in leaderboard updates, points for players who have progressed to Day 2 of multi-day events will not be included in daily updates, only being included once those events have been completed. 

A field of 20 Mixed Game players has assembled under the lights of Banco Casino in the first of two flights to Day 2 of the €550 T.O.R.S.E.S Main Event. The marquee Mixed Game event of The Festival features reigning T.O.R.S.E.S. champion Barrie Dear, who will be hoping it’s T.O.R.S.E.S for courses by making a successful defense of his title. Maltese poker legend Antoine Degiorgio, multiple Player of the Series Winner Scott “Pokerbrahs” Kenyon, and EPT winner Christer Johansoon are just four notables in this strong field. Here is the lineup in full.

A field of 16 have come together at the Banco Casino in Bratislava to play the first of four flights of the €250 The Hendon Mob Championship. Here is the field in full as the cards hit the felt for the first time in this event. The Festival Founder Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk delivered one of his trademark speeches before the off to signal the start of the world-famous event.

Action was picked up with The Festival’s very own Andreas “Wiseguy” Hoglund declaring a straight after Fedor Stadtrucker discarded two, Bas de Laat drawing three, and Ville Hakala doing the same. Hoglund scored four points as neither of the trio could best his straight.

Hoglund then broke his straight, drawing one. Stadtrucker did the same. de Laat drew three, and Hakala drew two. Hoglund got the Q face up, which he declined, receiving one more face down. Stadtrucker got the K and passed as well. No Chicago was declared.

In the trick phase, Hoglund won the last trick, and had a ten-high flush. Stadtrucker had a nine-high flush, de Laat had a trip aces, and Hakala had a pair of jacks and a missed flush draw, meaning Hoglund won the majority of the points that round.

For those in attendance or intending to attend this Festival Series stop in Bratislava, and are new to Mixed Games and want to play, here is a quick rundown of the featured games. All games featured in T.O.R.S.E.S. will be played with a Fixed Limit betting structure, and the flights will feature 30-minute levels.

Triple Draw 2-7

Triple Draw 2-7 is a lowball variant of poker, meaning the worst hand is the best hand in this game, which is 2-3-4-5-7. Aces are high only in this game, and it is played with two to seven players per table. Triple Draw uses a big blind format, instead of bring in and completes as seen in the Stud games. There are no community cards, and players get three rounds of drawing, patting, and betting. 2-7 Triple Draw is typically played as a fixed-limit game, with small bets and big bets. The big bet is twice the size of the small bet. Small bets are used during the first two betting rounds, while big bets are used during the last two.

If a player is happy with their hand, they can choose to stand pat, which means they draw no more cards.

Omaha Hi-Lo

Omaha Hi-Lo is a split pot game where each player receives four cards. Half the pot is awarded to the best low hand, and the other to the best high hand. The best low is the wheel straight, A-2-3-4-5, and can also be the best high hand. If a player has the best high and low hand, they scoop the pot. Players must use two cards from their hand and three from the board.

Players can also be quartered, meaning they share the same low or high hand, with the other player having a high hand as well as a low hand.

Razz

Razz is also a lowball game, like 2-7 Triple Draw. A-2-3-4-5 is the best hand, and this should always be your aim. You get dealt three cards at first (the first two are face down, the third is face-up, like in the Stud games) and strong starting hands are include A-2-3 or A-4-6. Flushes, straights, and pairs count against the hand strength.

Stud

In Stud, players receive two cards face down and one face up, as mentioned previously. Stud is played with a bring-in and complete structure, with the lowest card face up being designated as the bring-in for that hand. The goal is to make the best poker hand over seven potential streets of play.

Stud Hi-Lo

Stud Hi-lo, aka Stud 8, is almost like the lovechild of PLO Hi-Lo and Stud. The same bring-in structure applies in normal Stud, and the same chop pot formula as seen in PLO Hi-Lo. To qualify for a low hand, players must have five cards ranked eight or lower. Half the pot goes to the high hand, half to the low, but players could potentially scoop if making the nut low, A-2-3-4-5, as this also qualifies as a straight.

Sviten Special

Sviten Special is a special game. Players are given five cards, and it is a combination of five-card draw and PLO, with half the pot going to the best five-card draw hand and the other half going to the best PLO hand – two cards from the hand, three from the board. After a round of preflop betting, there is a round of postflop betting, before players decide whether they would like 0-5 cards. If players draw one, they get one card face up, which they can choose to accept or decline. If they decline, the player will then receive another card face down.

For more information on the above games, as well as strategy tips, check out this link to learn more. It is worth it!

The cards are in the air at the Banco Casino in Bratislava. Friend of the Festival and reigning T.O.R.S.E.S champion Barrie Dear is in the field, as is dual Player of Series runner-up Ville Hakala, who has also taken to the felt. If you happen to have your photo taken over the course of the week, take a leaf out of Dear and Hakala’s book and give the camera a double thumbs up!