2025 The Festival Bratislava Live Blog

The journey that began one week ago is already over and a new Player of the Series has risen! It was about time really, as Ville Hakala has been chasing this title for the last three Festival Series, but was thwarted twice in a row, having to settle for being the bridesmaid. But this time he’s the bride and a handsome dowry was paid for the privilege, as Ville played in an astonishing 29 of the 32 ranking tournaments.

To say it went down to the wire would be an understatement, as four of the top five turned out for the last day of the series and put on a great show of determining who the winner of the race would be. 

Fifth placed Fedor Stadtrucker, who had already won the best name at the Series competition, opted for the Open Face Chinese Pineapple as his weapon of choice, but he busted early on, ending his tilt for the Player of the Series title. 

Ville-Matti Keränen in 4th place had already absconded from the battle a day earlier and did not return on Monday, leaving it to the rest of the pack to fight it out. 

Miles Rees loaded up for the Big O and fired a couple of bullets, but also busted early, ending his late charge for the title. He ended up in 4th place overall, with 148.5 pts, just missing out on a place on the podium.

Top Two Fight it Out in Big O

That left overnight leader Krystian Nalepka and Ville Hakala as the last two standing and one of them would walk away with the title and a €1,600 package to the next Festival Series event, which will be a return to Bratislava at the end of February. By the time it got down to eight players, with just six spots in the prize money, these top two contenders were still in the Big O. 

Ville max late reg’d the OFC as a back up, as if Krystian made the money, even a win for Ville would leave him short, but participation points in the OFC would just get him over the line. If Krystian cashed in 5th or better, Ville would have needed to make the money in the OFC as well as winning the Big O to overturn the Pole. 

The drama evolved when Nalepka busted in 8th place in the Big O, but Ville still had work to do. He also needed to make the money to secure victory and did just that, taking fourth place, to win the Player of the Series title by less than a point, not needing the 5 participation points from the OFC. The Finn busted in the OFC quite quickly to end up with a grand total of 156.25 pts, just 5.75 pts ahead of Nalepka’s 150.5 pts.

Almost a Fairytale Ending for Bambi

Bambi, a player who uses a nickname due to a fear of being caught in the headlines, ironically also made the front page of this story. He won the Big O and overtook several rivals to claim 3rd place on the podium of the final leaderboard. Bambi defeated another leaderboard contender, Paddy Schmidt, heads-up in the final Omaha event of the series, to finish with the third biggest POS total of 149.5, just 1 point adrift of Krystian Nalepka in 2nd place.

Schmidt, who also made the money in the Main Event ended up in 8th place overall on 119.75pt, just 4 points behind Jarno Salonen in 6th on 123.75pts. Despite missing the last two days of the Festival in Bratislava, Ville-Matti Keranen managed to cling on to 6th place on the final leaderboard, with 129.25 pts.

No Repeat Win for Franke

Franke would have had to multi-table the OFC and the Big O and go deep in both to have had a chance to defend the title he won in Malta, but opted not to, sticking to just his preferred format, OFC. He missed the money by a couple of spots, earning just 5 participation points on the final day, to end up in 10th position with 111.25 points. 

Medal Ceremony

Now, let’s take a closer look at the routes that the top three took to get to the top of the leaderboard, in reverse order

Bronze Medal – Bambi

Bambi only began to graze in the poker meadows of Banco Casino on Wednesday, the second day of the Festival in Bratislava. But he soon made his way onto the leaderboard, after making it onto the final table of the first event he played, the €125 Half N Half.  By Friday Bambi had firmly established himself in the top ten and continued to post good results for the rest of the series. 

He boosted his score on the final day by winning the Big O, which only had 37 entries. If it had been a slightly bigger field (over 50 entries) a multiplier of 1.5 would have been applied, which would have been enough for Bambi to frolic to victory in the Player of the Series race. Instead, he remains nothing but an orphaned deer, taking the theoretical bronze medal and over €10,000 in prize money back to his forest.

• Played: 13
• Cashes: 7
• Prize Money: €10,578

Silver Medal – Krystian Nalepka

Although he narrowly missed out on taking down the title, many will see Krystian Nalepka as the most consistent performer of the series. Nalepka played in less than a third of the events than Hakala did, but ended up just six points short of winning the Player of the Series race.  The Pole cashed in six of the eight he played in, booking two runner-up spots and two third place finishes. 

Had he finished just three places higher in the Big O, or just played a handful more events, he would have emerged as the Player of the Series. He ended up with no trophies, but over €17,000 in prize money. 

• Played: 8
• Cashes: 6
• Prize Money: €17,207

Gold Medal – Ville Hakala

Having lost out to compatriot Kare Hallamaa in Rozvadov and being pipped by Franke in Malta, Ville Hakala will be pleased to have finally ended his quest to become the Bratislava Player of the Series. The Finn entered 29 of the 32 ranking events, cashing in six, for a combined total of €2,990 in prize money. He made four final tables along the way, with his best result coming in the Bomb Pot Madness, in which he took 5th for 23.75 leaderboard points.

There is indeed more to this story than meets the eye, as for the first time, a betting market on the Player of the Series was opened up, by Epicbet. Ville was one of the most heavily backed runners in the market and is rumoured to have had a fair sized bet on himself. He’s certainly cashed for a lot more than the €2,990 he officially banked at Banco. And regardless of what it cost in buy-ins, Ville now has lifetime bragging rights, he will always be the 2025 Festival in Bratislava Player of the Series!

He’s had a remarkable journey this year. With two runner up finishes and now a win, Ville Hakala is now, without a shadow of doubt, also the 2025 Festival Series Player of the Year!

• Played: 29
• Cashes: 6
• Prize Money: €2,990

The Top Three – Leaderboard Journeys

The graph below shows where each of the top three were on the leaderboard, as The Festival in Bratislava unfolded. They all spent most of the week inside the top ten.

Final Leaderboard Top 100

Andrej Tekel was all in for his last 800k with 4 2 . Sebastian Kotowicz had him dominated with J 2 .

The 7 A 8 J 9 runout sealed the deal for the Polish national, and he became the first player in the history of The Festival Series to win back-to-back Main Events at the same stop. He also usurps Michel Molenaar at the top of the All-Time Money list.

That concludes the blog coverage of this Festival Series instalment. Congratulations to Sebastian, and he will be back to defend his title in February.

That’s all for now, folks. Stay tuned for the recap that will be up tomorrow.

Until next time.

Sebastian Kotowicz raised to 2,000,000 from the button with J 5 . Andrej Tekel defended with 8 5 . Tekel check-called a bet of 1,500,000 on Q 3 5 .

The 7 turn was checked around. On the A river, Tekel checked. Kotowicz moved all in. Tekel took 30 seconds before calling, and he was shown the bad news. He was left with 800k. “Come on!” exclaimed Kotowicz, as the dealer confirmed the counts.

Sebastian Kotowicz opened A K to 2,200,000 with the blinds at 500k/1m. Andrej Tekel called with K 10 . On the Q 7 10 , Kotowicz and Tekel both checked.

Tekel then check-called a bet of 1,100,000 on the 8 turn. The 5 river was checked down, and Tekel chipped up to near parity.

After several preflop all-ins and post-flop pick-ups, Andrej Tekel has lessened the deficit to 2:1.

Sebastian Kotowicz takes a 3.5/1 chip lead into the heads-up battle with Andrej Tekel. He is looking to become the first player in Festival Series history to win back-to-back Main Events.

David Urban moved all in from the button with 9 9 for 4,600,000. Sebastian Kotowicz called with A 7 .

Urban was eliminated across the 3 4 8 A 5 runout to take play heads-up.

Andrej Tekel moved all in from the button with A 7 for 23,000,000 with the blinds at 800k/1.6m. Sebastian Kotowicz snap-called with A K .

Kotowicz reclaimed his chip-leader position as his superior kicker proved best across the A 9 3 8 2 runout.

David Urban moved all in with K 10 . Andrej Tekel called with K Q .

Tekel’s superior king held across the 5 3 3 A 2 runout to secure the double. Tekel then continued to chip up by taking down pots uncontested in preflop all-ins.

Maximilian Meier moved all in with K 10 from under the gun for 3,400,000. David Urban called with A J ,

Urban flopped top pair on J 6 9 8 2 to eliminate Meier from the tournament.

Andrej Tekel opened K 9 from under the gun. Sebastian Kotowicz defended the big blind.

Kotowicz check-raised a bet of 500,000 to 1,700,000 on the 5 5 5 flop. Tekel then four-bet jammed and was snap-called by Kotowicz with J J . The 9 turn and 8 river changed nothing, and Kotowicz retook the chiplead.

David Urban opened A K from under the gun for 1,000,000. Tomas Stvrtecky three-bet to 2,500,000. Urban four-bet jammed as the covering stack and Stvrtecky called with Q Q .

Stvrtecky was eliminated across the 10 K 4 2 7 runout.

Michel Hamacek moved all in from the button for 2,200,000 with A 2 . Andrej Tekel called in the big blind with K 9 .

He flopped two pair and rivered a boat to eliminate the Czech national across the 9 6 K 7 K runout.

Andrej Tekel opened the button to 1,000,000. Jari Maehoenen moved all in from the big blind with A 9 . Tekel snap-called with K K .

Tekel flopped quads on the K 3 K 4 4 runout to eliminate the Finnish national.

Sebastian Kotowicz opened to 1,000,000 with the blinds at 250k/500k from the cutoff. Maximilian Meier moved all in from the small blind for 3,500,000. Kotowicz called.

Meier had 8 8 versus the two overs in the form of A Q . His pair held across the 2 9 10 2 5 .

David Urban moved all in for 4,100,000 from the hijack. Michal Hamacek moved all in over the top from the button. The blinds folded.

Urban flopped a set of nines across the K 9 2 8 4 runout to secure the double up and crack the queens of Hamacek.

Andrej Tekel opened to 800,000 with the blinds at 400k/800k with A 10 . Rikard Larsson moved all in for 2,400,000. Michal Hamacek moved all in for 4,200,000. Tekel folded.

Larsson had K K but Hamacek woke up with aces, and made top set across the A 2 3 10 6 flop to stack Larsson.

Tomas Stvrtecky moved all in from early position for 950,000 with K 6 . Jari Maehoenen called with 5 3 .

Stvrtecky paired his king across the Q 7 K A A runout to stay in the game.

Tomas Stvrtecky moved all in for 2,700,000 from the cutoff with A 5 . Michal Hamacek moved all in over the top from the button and had his opponent covered.

Hamacek’s pair held across the 4 9 Q 5 10 runout to leave Stvrtecky with 550,000.

Andrej Tekel opened the button with K 6 to 600,000 with the blinds at 150k/300k. Rikard Larsson moved all in for 1,300,000 with K Q .

Both hit the river but Tekel was outkicked across the J 2 10 J K runout to secure a crucial double.

Prior to that, he was all in and at risk twice and chopped both times.

Michal Hamacek called in the small blind, and Sebastian Kotowicz checked his option in the big blind. Hamacek led out for 400,000 on 7 8 8 . Kotowicz called.

Hamacek bet again on the A turn, this time for 550,000. Kotowicz called again. Hamacek then check-called a bet of 1,100,000 on the 10 river. Kotowicz had A 9 and Michal had A 9 for top two.

Check out this interview with William Lynch. Don’t forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe to keep up to date with all things The Festival.

Daniel Gumula moved all in from middle position with K J for 2,800,000 with the blinds at 250k/500k. Michal Hamacek moved all in over the top from the hijack.

Hamacek rivered a queen on the 3 7 9 6 Q to make Gumula the first elimination of final table play.

Wouter Schuurbiers (pictured) appears to be the biggest stack in the room in the €1,100 OFC High Roller. Registration will be closing at 6.40 p.m. CET. Fabian Bartuschk remains in the field, as does the Festival Founder Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk.

Andrej Tekel opened A Q from under the gun with the blinds at 125k/250k. Rikard Larsson called in early position with A J .

Tekel check-called a bet of 700,000 on J K 10 . Tekel then led for 550,000 on the 9 turn. Larsson then folded after a moment in the tank.

Check Out This Interview With Thony Sjölund & Joel Fritz. Don’t forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe to keep up to date with all things The Festival.

Michal Hamacek moved all in for 10 big blinds from the button with 8 8 over a middle position open to 400,000 from David Urban with the blinds at 100k/200k. Urban called with A A .

Hamacek binked an eight on the turn of the 2 3 9 8 4 runout to double up.

Click the video box below to follow the coverage of the €550 Main Event! Commentary is provided by JJ Hazan and special guests.

Having run queens into aces in the previous hand, Joel Fritz was left with 2 big blinds. Andrej Tekel had the winner with pocket fives after the runout was checked down in a multiway pot with Fritz all in.

Filip Pilic was on the wrong side of a cooler and departed in 11th. He had A Q against the A K of Daniel Gumula. The runout was 4 3 J 6 A .

David Urban opened to 250,000 on the button. Bas de Laat moved all in from the small blind. Urban snap-called with A A . de Laat had K J .

There was no miracle runout for the Dutchman, and he was eliminated across the 5 6 5 8 3 runout.

Maximilian Meier opened to 250,000 with the blinds at 60,000/120,000. Tomas Stvrtecky defended the big blind before check-calling a bet of 250,000 on K 7 5 . He check-called a bet of 650,000 on the J turn before leading for 825,000 on the 8 turn.

Meier then moved all in, sending Stvrtecky into the tank for a good four minutes. Stvrtecky folded, and he had K 7 . Meier had a bluff with A 10 . He tabled the 10 , and one of the players at the table believed Meier had the A .

Tomas Stvrtecky opened from under the gun with A K . Michal Hamacek called in early position with A K . Rikard Larsson moved all in for 2,200,000 from the big blind with sixes. Stvrtecky spent some time in the tank before folding, and Michal called. He was flopped near dead across the 6 8 10 4 4 runout.

Maximilian Meier moved all in from early position with A 8 for 1,400,000, around 11 big blinds. Tomas Stvrtecky called with Q Q .

Meier made the wheel straight across the 4 5 7 2 3 runout to secure a crucial double up.

The 2023 Bratislava Main Event Champion, Gabriel Rymar, has been eliminated on the outer table.

Check Out This Interview with Hans Kleinsman & Wesley McKenzie of TheHendonMob.com. Don’t forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe to keep up to date with all things The Festival.

Another elimination has occurred at the outer table, and it was the Swedish national Siamak Tahmoresnia who became chipless.

Daniel Koloszar has been eliminated on the outer table at Banco Bratislava. There are 14 left in the field, and a live stream is available for the feature table.

After doubling up in the first hand of the session, Rakel Dahle has been eliminated on the outer table in the €550 Main Event. If you would like to follow the action of the feature table, click below.

With just one day left and three ranking events still to be completed, the Player of the Series race at The Festival in Bratislava is poised for a photo finish. No players in the top 50 are left in the Main Event, but several did play and a few made the money. In order to get the clearest picture of who’s in the running to win the title, we’ve added any points for the Main Event to all 50 players on this penultimate leaderboard and there are just 7 points separating the top two. 

With just two ranking events – the Big O and the Open Face Chinese High Roller to be played on Monday (in addition to the Main Event, which has no further bearing on the Player of the Series race), any of the players in the top 10 could still end up victorious. 

The Front Runner – Krystian Nalepka

The standout performer of the series so far, with 148 points from just seven events played, Krystian Nalepka cashed in the Main Event, finishing in 17th place*, earning him 12.5 leaderboard points. He also finished runner up in the Sunday PLO5 Turbo PKO, for 31.25 pts, to jump up from 5th place to take pole position going into the last day of action. 

_{*Please note that an earlier edition of this article incorrectly had Nalepka’s Main Event finishing position listed as 18th. This is due to a discrepancy between PokerLens, where he is listed as the 18th place finisher and Banco’s tournament clock, which has the correct finishing position of 17th listed.}

The Challenger – Miles Rees

Just 7 points behind Nalepka is the UK’s Miles Rees, who didn’t play in the Main Event, but finished 3rd in the Mystery Bounty on Sunday, to earn 38.5 leaderboard points. 

Still Chasing – Ville Hakala

Just 15.25 points behind the leader on 132.75 pts is Finn Ville Hakala, who has been runner-up in the last two Player of the Series races and has attempted to buy the win this time, playing in an unprecedented 27 events, so far. He is certain not to give up on the final day and is expected to play in both the Big O and the OFC High Roller. But he’ll have to get in the money in at least one of them to be in with a chance of winning the whole shebang! 

Given Up the Ghost – Ville-Matti Keränen

Having been the leader for several days, Ville-Matti Keränen went AWOL from the Festival in Bratislava on Sunday, failing to enter any tournaments. Did he have other plans for the day, or has he gone home already, relinquishing his chance to take down the title? He has 129.25 pts and is in 4th place and could still challenge, if he returns to the casino on Monday.

What a Long Strange Trip Its Been – Fedor Stadtrucker

Just half a point behind in 5th place on 128.75 pts is Fedor Stadtrucker, who added 13.25 pts to his total for 12th place in the Sunday PLO5 Turbo PKO. He still hasn’t got his chips cashed in and will keep truckin’ on for the win, but the cards ain’t gonna be worth a dime unless he goes deep on Monday. 

The Chasing Pack

Outside the top five, several others can still win the Player of the Series title, with a strong showing on Monday. This includes defending champion Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk, who took second place in the Sportsbook tournament and cashed in the Main Event on Sunday, to keep his dream alive of going back-to-back.

But he’s over 40 points adrift of Nalepka and will have to go deep and cash in both of the final two events to stand a chance of retaining his title. He will likely have to win one of them to do it and is up for the challenge! Good luck Franke!

The Top 50 After Sunday

The Festival Series blog will be covering the outcome, as well as the conclusion of the Main Event. Good luck to all, may the cards be with you!

Please note that all leaderboard scores are unofficial, all results will be re-checked at the end of series before the Player of the Series is officially declared.

The field is guaranteed to walk away with €4,500 in The Main Event. All in attendance will be gunning for the whopping €78,100 first-place prize.

The last day will see a winner crowned in the week’s marquee Hold’em tournament, the €550 Main Event. The €1,100 Open Face Chinese High Roller is sure to attract a field of players all gunning for crucial leaderboard points.

There is also a €60 Texas Lowroller, which has an added package to the next Festival stop in Bratislava. Additionally, there is a €250 BigO tournament, which is PLO5 Hi-Lo.

Good luck to all players who are taking to the tables today.

As the blogger did not make Day 3 of the Main Event, the blog will return in full swing for the final day of Festival Series action. See the action and drama from the Main Event on The Festival Series Instagram @TheFestivalOG, on the Facebook page The Festival Series, and on YouTube.

That’s all for now, folks. Until next time.

Here are the chip counts of the final two tables in the Main Event. It’s a Slovakian podium going into the final day, as well as the reigning Bratislava Main Event champion, Sebastian Kotowicz, and Gabriel Rymar, who won The Festival Series Main Event and the Bratislava Deepstack back in 2023. The Blogger managed to cash in 21st, with half the winnings going to The Festival Founder Martin ‘Franke ‘ von Zweigbergk, as he won the ticket in the flips yesterday. Below are the counts.

Here are some recent bust-outs of those in the money in the Mystery Bounty.

It’s cold outside, and the freezout tournament seems aptly named. Here are the payouts. A total of 24 remain of the 44 that entered.

Arsenal beat Spurs 4-1 at the Emirates, and Villa came from behind away at Leeds to win 2-1. Getafe and Atletico Madrid are tied 0-0 at halftime. Gronigen and PEC Zwolle played out a 2-2 draw under heavy snow in the Netherlands. Slovan Bratislava won 3-0 against Dukla Michalovce in the ice hockey. Union Berlin won 1-0 away from home against St Pauli.

There is still one game to play, the Milan Derby, and that kicks off at 8.45 p.m. CET.

Here are the counts in the Main Event. Maximilian Meier leads the way. Two Bratislava Main Event Champions, Sebastian Kotowicz and Gabriel Rymar remain in contention to become dual Main Event winners. A certain member of The Festival Team is still in with 262,000. Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk, The Festival Founder, has 550,000.

The only Mystery Bounty tournament is underway, and 119 remain of the 141 total entrants that have taken to the felt. The blog may be slightly neglected today, as the blogger made Day 2 of the Main Event through the Turbo flight last night.

Good luck to everyone playing today.

Representing the home team and overtaking Gabriel Rymar and Sebastian Kotowicz at the top of the chip counts, is Boris Zeleny. He will return to play Day 2 at 3 p.m. as the chip leader, unless one of the players from this morning’s Hyper-turbo flight bags a stack bigger than 1,430,000.

Zeleny has accumulated $124,138 in earnings from live tournaments according to TheHendonMob.com, and is looking for his first cash of the week at Banco Bratislava. He plays almost exclusively in Slovakia, and only one of his career cashes has come outside his homeland. His first cash also remains his biggest single score, as he finished second in the €4,400 No Limit Hold’em at a WPT Event in Bratislava back in 2009. He has secured his first Festival Series cash, having made Day 2 in the week’s marquee Hold’em event, the €550 Main Event.

Here is a rundown of the results of yesterday’s action that was missed as the blogger was occupied with finding a stack for Day 2 of the Main Event, courtesy of The Boss, Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk.

€125 NLH €15,000 GTD

The side events have been incredibly popular this stop, and the €125 NLH proved to be good value for players as a field of 172 took to the felts across the tournament floor at Banco Bratislava. The generous guarantee was eclipsed by over €3,000, and the title went to Finland. Teemu Leppalelahti took the win and a bumper payout of €4,367, a great ROI from a €125 tournament. Below are the payouts in full. Isac Ekstrom gained his first cash of the week, and POS leaderboard front-runner gained yet another cash.

€250 PLO Masters

The €250 PLO Masters attracted 83 total entrants into the four-card streets, and Swedish national Serguei Palomera took down the title and €5,141 for the win. The Hendon Mob Championship runner-up Asterios Kokompelis made his second final table of the week, and Marc Gork made his third, having final tabled the €550 T.O.R.S.E.S. and the €250 Sviten Special. Below are the payouts.

€250 8-Game

A field of 94 Mixed Game enthusiasts took to the tables in the €250 8-Game. Matteo Crapanzano cashed once more in the Mixed Game streets, having won the €125 H.O.R.S.E. earlier in the week. Imre Leibold took down the win, besting former EPT Champion Christer Johansson heads-up for the victory.

In play is the Hyper Turbo €550 Main Event flight. Currently, 43 remain of 51 players, and registration will remain open until 12.20 p.m. This is the last chance saloon to qualify for the Main Event. Members of The Festival Team, Christel Natri, Melvin Schroen and Mairo Toom have taken to the felt in pursuit of a stack for today’s Day 2 of the marquee Hold’em tournament of the week.

At 12.30 p.m. there will be flips to the Main Event, and they will be hosted by the registration desk.

At 1 p.m., there will be the cash game challenge flips to determine who is the winner in this event that has been running throughout the week. Then, 15 minutes later, Franke’s flip flops will run, and that will determine who wins a package to the next event in Bratislava worth €1,800.

With just two days to go and only eight ranking events left to be completed, the Player of the Series race is still wide open. Ville-Matti Keränen has slightly increased his lead over his nearest rivals and is now 16.25 pts clear, having earned 129.25 from just seven events played. On Saturday Ville-Matti played just two events, cashing in 12th place in Event 39, the €15k Guaranteed No Limit Hold’em. 

In joint second place now are Keränen’s Finnish compatriot Ville Hakala and Fedor Stadtrucker, who both have 113 points and are 1 point ahead of the mysteriously named “Bambi” who has 112 pts. Will he push on for the win or get stopped in his tracks, like a deer caught in headlights?

Hakala has now played in three times as many ranking events as the leader and is still poised to take control of the race, but he needs to spend more time in the queue for payouts than the one for buying-in. On Saturday the two-time Player of the Series runner-up fired in every event possible, but failed to cash in any of them.

Fedor Stadtrucker improved his chances by taking 3rd place in the 8-game, earning himself 29.5 points and jumping up from 5th to a share of second place at the top of the table.

Two other players, Krystian Nalepka (104.25) and Miles Rees (102.5), have accumulated scores of over 100 points, with seventh placed Vitalli Shcherba not far behind on 96.25 pts. With twelve players within 50 points of the lead, the race is still wide open, as a good finish in the Main Event could send one player well clear.

Leaderboard Contenders Still in the Main Event

There’s still one more flight for the Main Event, but already four of the players in the top 20 have bagged stacks for Day 2. Fifth placed Krystian Nalepka has the biggest stack of these contenders, sitting on 454k. Giorgo Mevlupishvili, who is in 16th place on the leaderboard has 353k, while 20th placed Leo Hourtoulle returns with 269k. Sneaking into Day 2 with just 94k is 11th placed Vlva “Jevakim” Thorsrud, who is very likely to be streaming her Day 2 efforts on her Twitch channel. 

Will one of these players kick-on by going deep in the Main Event? They could be joined by other leaderboard contenders, as many are sure to play in the final Main Event hyper-turbo flight, which begins at 10am.

Franke Hanging On

Martin “Franke” von Zweigbewrgk is still not entirely out of contention, but with just 67.5 points, currently in 23rd place, he will need to go deep in more than one event to have a chance to defend the title he won in Malta. His 8th place finish in the European Chicago Championship helped keep him in with an outside chance, if he has a strong finish to the series.

Player of the Series Top 100 After Saturday

There are five events that will be completed on Sunday, with the final three taking place on Sunday. It could go down to the wire! Follow the action throughout the day on The Festival Series blog, which Patrick Cole will attempt to keep updated, while also taking his seat for Day 2 of the Main Event at 2pm this afternoon. Best of luck to all!

The blog is being neglected as the fingers at the keyboard are occupied with the Main Event, courtesy of the generous Festival Founder Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk. He won multiple Main Event tickets in the flips and was kind enough to give one to me.

Thanks boss!

The penultimate flight, and the final turbo flight of the Main Event, is now in play. Of the 106 entrants, 67 remain in pursuit of a bag for Day 2. The final flight takes off tomorrow bright and early at 10 a.m., and this will be a hyper-turbo flight with 10-minute levels.

Here are the payouts in the €125 NLH €15,000 GTD tournament, where 39 remain of the 172 total entrants. Friend of The Festival Isac Ekstrom, is in pursuit of his first cash of the series at Banco Bratislava, and the team is rooting for him as we are tired of his bad beat stories. Below are the payouts.

In the €250 PLO Masters, two tables of 8 remain of the 83 entrants. T.O.R.S.E.S and Sviten Special final tablist Marc Gork is seeking his third ft of the trip. Below are the payouts.

In the €125 NLH, the €15,000 guaranteed prize pool has attracted 176 total entrants, and 67 remain. The guarantee has been smashed, and it now stands at €18,392.

Verneri Hakkinen has won the €125 Chicago European Championship at Banco Bratislava. He bested the favorite for the title and the sole Swede Per Joergen Bergstroem, and two Norwegians, John Eirik Nergaard Boine and Morten Antonsen. Chicago has been a resounding success at its first Festival Series inclusion and is bound to become a staple on the schedule. Below are the payouts.

Three ladies are now left in contention for the Queens title after Celine Nyland’s recent departure. She cashed for €250 in the first money spot. The three that remain are Lisa Andrews, Britt Roberston, and Teresia Eriksson (pictured). Riitta Liisa Sahala was the victim of the bubble. Below are the payouts.

Tomorrow’s 10 a.m. Flip and Go Main Event flight is now a Hyper-Turbo tournament with 10-minute levels and will be the last chance saloon to qualify for this week’s marquee Hold’em tournament, which boasts a €500,000 guarantee. Registration will close at 1.15 p.m. CET.

Flips to qualify for tonight’s turbo and tomorrow’s hyper-turbo are currently running for €50, and they are the cheapest and easiest way to qualify for the Main Event.

Sergii Baranov and Matteo Crapanzano are looking for their second title of the week, as Baranov won the T.O.R.S.E.S. Main Event, and Crapanazano the H.O.R.S.E. Only 16 remain of the 94 that entered here at Banco Bratislava.

Here is the lineup of the nine lovely ladies who have reached the final table of The Festival Queens event here at Banco Bratislava.

Here is the first-ever final table of the Chicago European Championship. The four players remaining are from Sweden, Norway and Finland. Here are some quotes from the players before the final table commenced.

The sole Swede, Per Joergen Bergstroem, said “it is my favourite game” and that “he has been playing for years”.

Finnish national Verneri Hakkinen said, “I got lucky to be here, I got good cards all the way through.” He considered “The Swede” to be the favorite in this tournament.

Norwegian national John Eirik Nergaard Boine, said, “I saw the schedule and thought I would give it a go. I’ve played something similar before in Norway called Poker Cool, it’s basically the same.” He also considered Bergstroem to be the favourite.

The second Norwegian, Morten Antonsen said, “My friend knows how to play, and I have been playing with them so I thought I would have a go. I don’t know who the favorite is but it won’t be me, if there’s a Swede, it is probably him. This is my first time playing properly.”

Good luck to the final tablists.

Tonight at 7.30 p.m., there will be €50 10-handed flips to the Main Event at the tables outside the registration desk. They will run for a potentially unlimited duration, depending on the level of interest in them. They represent amazing value, and is by far the cheapest and easiest way to qualify for the €550 €550,000 GTD Hold’em Main Event.

Come and get involved.

At ‘Franke’s table in Chicago, Per Joergen Bergstroem leads the way, and The Boss and Bambi have some catching up to do as they both have 11 points versus his 45. He is now discardless, meaning he cannot draw or discard any more cards. Morten Antonsen trails with 8. No Chicago has been declared.

The other table is a tight run affair. Verneri Hakkinen leads with 35, John Boine is second with 32, Niclas Fagerberg has 23 and Mattias Sundstrom has 20.

Here are the big stacks in the room in 1/E of the €550 Main Event. Registration remains open until 9.15 p.m., so there is plenty of time to register for this €500,000 guarantee event. A total of 268 have entered, and 154 remain.

Registration has closed, and 47 remain of the 94 total entrants that took to the tables at Banco Bratislava.

The field is flush with notables and regulars from the week. Including POS Winner and new Sviten champ Ville Keranen, T.O.R.S.E.S. Champion Sergii Baranov, H.O.R.S.E. winner Matteo Crapanazano, just to name a few. Below are the top 10.

Here are the final eight players in the Chicago European Championships in no particular order. These players are now in the money, and all will have their eyes on the prize of becoming the first Festival Series Chicago Champion. To learn more about Chicago, click here.

And here are the players that fell in spots 9 through 15.

As the Day 2 field is now coming together, here is a spotlight on some of the big stacks that will be returning to battle for Main Event glory from 2 p.m. tomorrow. The current chip leader is Sebastian Kotowicz, meaning it is Poland 1-2 at the top of the counts heading into Day 2 so far.

Kotowicz is the reigning The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event titleholder. No one has won two Festival Series Main Events, let alone going back-to-back at the same stop in consecutive years, and it would be a great achievement for Kotowicz and for Poland if he is successful on Monday. Currently, Kotowicz is fifth on The Festival Series all-time money list, with $82,405 in live tournament earnings.

Twelve lovely ladies have taken to the felt in the Queens tournament at Banco Bratislava. Here is a look at the lineup. Registration remains open until 6.15 p.m. CET, and more are expected to take to the tables over the course of the late registration period.

As the Day 2 field is now coming together, here is a spotlight on some of the big stacks that will be returning to battle for Main Event glory from 2 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. Gabriel Rymar is currently second in chips, and will be returning with a stack of 1,140,000.

Rymar is no stranger to success at The Festival Series, especially in Bratislava. In 2023, Rymar won the €550 Main Event for €80,000, and a few days prior to that success, he won the €250 Bratislava Deepstack for €14,400. These two scores put Rymar fourth in the all time money list for The Festival Series, bettered only by Michel Molenaar, Presiyan Tsvetanov, and Ondrej Mar, all of which have tasted victory in the premier Hold’em tournament of the series.

Rymar will be looking to become the first player in The Festival Series’ history to win two Main Events come Monday night.

Despite resetting his table to 0 points with quad sevens, he has been the most recent departure in the Chicago European Championship here at Banco Casino.

Three ladies have registered for the Queens event, and there will be a slight delay to proceedings as the field fills up.

A hand of Chicago had been dealt. Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk asked for a count of his points, and he had 27 as the cards found the hands of the players at his table.

Christer Johannson then informed “Franke” that he had zero points, as he had tabled quad sevens. Franke had been dealt a full house of fours full of aces, and his 27 points became 0. Patrik Amren also had his points reset to zero.

Time is of the essence, and opportunities to qualify for the massive €500,000 guarantee €550 Main Event are dwindling. The penultimate flight, and the last flight with 40-minute levels, is currently in play at Banco Bratislava.

So far, the Main Event has attracted 537 total entrants across all flights, and a field of 201 have qualified to Day 2 so far. Below are the counts from the 1/E flight that is in play, and this has been the most popular flight of the week so far. Can’t make this flight? Not to worry, as there is the final turbo flight tonight from 8 p.m., which will feature 20-minute long levels.

Here is the lineup of the remaining 16 players in the Chicago European Championship in no particular order. Recent departures include friend of The Festival Ingela Charlez and popular streamer and multiple POS Winner, Scott ‘Pokerbrahs’ Kenyon.

Italian duo and Sviten Special final tablists Fabio Bianchi and Carlo Braccini, as well as the champion Ville Keranen, are all in the field. Registration closes at 4.15 p.m. CET. To learn more about Mixed Games, click here.

Only 8 of the 29 that made it through to Day 2 of the €125 Chicago Championships will get paid at Banco Bratislava. Below are the payouts.

Earlier this year there was a 1-2 Finnish finish, when Kare Hallamaa topped the Rozvadov leaderboard, followed by compatriot Ville Hakala. Hakaka went on to repeat the feat in Malta, finishing second again, defeated this time by Swede Martin “Franke” von Zwiegbergk. He once again sits in second place, but its only the half-way point of the series and he has been entering every event he possibly can, in pursuit of an improvement on his last two outings. 

Ville Hakala’s total is now up to 110.5 pts, having cashed twice on Friday, in the Sviten (14th) and the Friday NLH Late Night Madness (8th). However Ville-Matti Keränen, who held the lead after Thursday, now has a 13 point lead over Hakala, as he won the Sviten, securing 40 points towards the leaderboard and a payout of €5,826. 

Keränen’s total of 113.5 points is impressive, as he has only played in five events and has a win and a second place under his belt already. Hakala has played in 14 of the 17 events that have been completed so far and his strategy seems to be working, but will he get the results needed to push on for the win?

Miles Rees maintains his 3rd place on the leaderboard, achieving a min-cash in the Friday NLH Late Night Madness and picking up participation points in a few other events. Fedor Stadtrucker moved up from 8th to 5th on the leaderboard and now has 78.5 pts, thanks to a 9th place finish in the PLO 4/5/6 Card. Fedor is another player who seems to be taking the “play everything” approach. Could he rise up to challenge the leaders over the weekend?

Just a few points further back in 6th is Jonas Jurksaitis, who had been the leader after Wednesday and remains in the hunt, with 76.25 points. He only played in one event on Friday, the Sviten Special, in which he made the money, finishing 10th for €900, adding 17.5 points to his total.

Nalepka Back in the Top 10

The mover of the day was Krystian Nalepka, who had been in 7th place on Wednesday’s leaderbiard, after taking 2nd place in the Win The Button event. However he had slipped to 32nd by Thursday, having failed to add any further points to his tally. On Friday he rectified that, claiming 11th place in The Hendon Mob Championship and 3rd place in the NLH High Roller. He now has 74.75 pts and has reclaimed the 7th place position he had on Wednesday.

Dropping Back

Giorgi Mevlupishvili didn’t have a great Friday, picking up only participation points and has slipped back from 2nd to 8th place, on 73 points. There was also no further progress on Friday for Jon Kyte, who drops back to 20th, while Franke and Scott Kenyon also failed to make an impression and now lie in 28th and 37th places respectively.

JJ on the Rise

JJ Hazan, on the other hand, is still proving that Jeraint what he does, its the way that he does it, that’s what get’s him results, such as his 12th place in the Sviten Special, which moves him up three places on the leaderboard to 24th. With the PLO Masters, which he hosts still to come, could JJ make a challenge for the Player of the Series race?

Leaderboard Top 100 After Friday

There are still 15 of the 32 events that make up the leaderboard to take place, so its still far too early to call it, but with seven events concluding on Saturday, we should have a better idea by this time tomorrow. Full coverage of Saturday’s action can be followed on The Festival Series blog and social media channels.

In the early hours of this morning, Ondrej Chlapek won The Hendon Mob Championship for €19,346, overcoming a substantial chip deficit in the process.

Ville Keranen has won the world’s largest Sviten Special tournament. He bested Riku Koivurinne heads-up to deny his compatriot the title, and in turn, the title of winning the two biggest Sviten Special tournaments in the world.

With that, the blog says goodbye. Until the morning.

Asterios Kokompelis (pictured) has over half the chips in play in the Hendon Mob Championship. Ondrej Chlapek is in second, and John Lausch is in third. Here are the payouts of the final table so far.

Marc Gork has just departed from the Sviten Special here at Banco Bratislava. He fell to Yurii Rassamakin, who had deuces full of fours in hand, which bested Gork’s in-hand trips.

Riku Koivurinne (pictured) and Ville Keranan are atop the counts, currently, and both are incentivised to go for the win for leaderboard points, and for Koivurinne, a very unique title.

Whilst writing this, Fabio Bianchi has since departed, leaving Rassamakin, Keranen, and Koivurinne.

Ville Keranen (pictured) has a dominant position in the record-breaking €250 Sviten Special. He won the Sviten Special Main Event in Tallinn in the summer, so he knows how to get it done.

Riku Koivurinne is in second, and he won the previous largest Sviten Special tournament at Kings of Tallinn. Below are the counts and the payouts so far.

Six remain in pursuit of The Hendon Mob Championship glory. Tore Pedersen, Urmas Lepik and Siamak Tahmoresnia have departed the final table. It is close between Ondrej Chlapek, Leo Hourtolle and John Lausch (pictured) at the top of the count.

The first place prize would be the largest cash in the careers of the six remaining players.

‘Franke’ is currently patrolling the tournament floor at Banco Bratislava, shouting “Chicago” to gather more entrants into the final flight of the Chicago European Championships. Currently, 23 are in the field, and a total of 111 entrants have attempted to make Day 2 in what is the largest Chicago tournament in the world.

POS contenders Bambi and Ville Hakala are still in the €250 Sviten Special field, as is T.O.R.S.E.S Final Tablist JJ Hazan and PLO High Roller winner Graham Clarkson. Riku Koivurinne is looking to be the first player in poker history to win the two largest Sviten Special tournaments in history.

Here are the most recent departures in The Hendon Mob Championship. Ten are left, meaning the final table bubble is upon the finalists.

Here is a look at the stacks of the 13 remaining players in The Hendon Mob Championship. Ondrej Chlapek (pictured) bagged the biggest stack from the opening flights, and he has taken his place at the top of the counts once again.

Hand-for-hand play is currently in operation here at Banco Bratislava. Below are the big stacks in the room. Riku Koivurinne is on short-stack duties and will need a spin-up if he is to win the record-breaking Sviten Special. He won the previous event, which held the record, and he will hold one of the most unique records in poker if he is successful today. Fabio Bianchi (pictured) is the current chip-leader.

Here is the final table lineup for the €125 Crazy Pineapple. Jiri Dusek was the unfortunate victim of the bubble. Below is the lineup and seat draw, plus the payouts of those who have departed in the money.

The 1/D Turbo Flight to the Main Event is currently running. Join the 21 entrants at the tables to get into Day 2 of this €500,000 guarantee event! There is still time to qualify at a discounted rate in the super satellite, which is €60. Currently, 14 tickets are on offer, which is 4 more than the initial guarantee.

With ten tickets up for grabs at a minimum, the €60 satellite to the €550 Main Event has proven popular with players in attendance at Banco Bratislava. A total of 119 have entered thus far and 86 remain. Currently, 12 tickets are now guaranteed, plus a cash prize of €126 for 13th place.

Expect more to come from this satellite, as time is running out to qualify for Day 2 of the marquee Hold’em event of the week. Who doesn’t want a piece of a €500,000 guaranteed prize pool, I know I do!

Only 17 are left of the 107 total entrants that took to the felt in the Crazy Pineapple. Only 13 will be paid, meaning the bubble is nearing for the players. Below are the payouts in full.

Vitalii Shcherba (pictured) is atop the counts of the 28 remaining players in The Hendon Mob Championship. He is the only player in the field with over 1,000,000 in chips. Below are the counts and recent eliminations.

Friend of the Festival Ingela Charlez (pictured), POS contender “Bambi”, and Johan Sundstrom will feature in tomorrow’s Day 2 of the Chicago European Championships here at Banco Bratislava. They progressed through the penultimate flight this morning, and tonight’s flight will be the last chance saloon to make Day 2 of the record-breaking Chicago event. So far, 87 have entered, and 20 have made it through to Day 2. Below is the current line up in no particular order, as Chicago is played with a points system instead of betting chips.

Here are the payouts in the record-breaking Sviten Special tournament. There are 57 left, and all will be vying for a slice of the €28,001 prize pool!

A field of 13 high rollers has taken to the felt in the second of three high roller events of the week. The €1,100 NLH High Roller has a €30,000 guarantee, 30-minute levels, and a generous structure. To get involved, register upstairs.

According to TheHendonMob.com, the €250 Sviten Special tournament is currently in play at Banco Bratislava, has broken the world record for the largest Sviten tournament in terms of entrants. The record stood at 127 entrants, which occurred at The Kings of Tallinn event. That tournament was won by Riku Koivurinne, who is in attendance at this Festival stop and currently in play in this tournament. The Sviten tournament has attracted 131 total entrants.

He will be looking to win this event to claim titles in the two largest Sviten tournaments in the world.

To learn more about this dynamic and nuanced game, click here. Registration for this tournament has now closed, so get practicing for the next Festival Series event, where we will push to break the record once again.

The final day of The Hendon Mob Championship is underway. There have been 14 early eliminations, meaning the next pay jump is inbound. Here are the bust-outs so far.

The Festival Series is all about kindness and community. One of our online qualifiers couldn’t make it to this event, but has donated his full package so another player can take part in the event instead. To decide who wins, we are hosting a photo competition.

TO JOIN:

Take a photo anywhere at The Festival Series. Could be on the felt, off the felt, at the casino, or elsewhere!

Tag it with #TheFestivalBratislava25

Post it on X, Instagram or Facebook.

Set your post to public so we can see it.

Daily winners on November 18–24 will get free buy-ins and special prizes, so make sure you participate!

The deadline is set on November 30, and we will pick the winner on December 11.

There are still plenty of opportunities to qualify to Day 2 of the marquee Hold’em event of the week, the €550 Main Event. This tournament features a massive €500,000 guarantee and a generous structure, with standard flights featuring 30-minute levels and turbo flights featuring 20-minute levels.

So far, 280 entrants have been made across all flights, and 112 of those have advanced to Day 2. In today’s flight, 90 remain of the 124 entrants. It is also a stack choice tournament, meaning you can play more than one flight. If you choose to reg more than once in two different flights and bag in both, your biggest stack will be moved forward into Day 2.

Here is a look at the big stacks in the room in the 1/C flight.

The €250 Sviten Special that is currently running in Banco Bratislava is on pace to break the Festival record for total entrants in a Sviten Special tournament, which was set during the Sviten Special Weekend in Tallinn this summer.

To learn more about Sviten, click here, and check out the video below. If it seems like your type of game, come and get involved!

Here is the highlights video of yesterday’s action from across the floor at the Banco Casino in Bratislava. Don’t forget to like, comment and subscribe to keep up to date with all things The Festival!

Here are the payouts for today’s final day of action in The Hendon Mob Championships here at Banco Bratislava. The winner will receive €19,346 for the win, plus a package to the next Festival Series stop in Bratislava next February.

There are 62 remaining of the 74 entrants that have taken to the tables in the €250 Sviten Special.

Festival Boss Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk, PLO High Roller winner Graham Clarkson, H.O.R.S.E winner Matteo Crapanzano (pictured) and Seniors Winner Peder Behr are just some of the notables in the field.

The second fruity tournament of the week is about to start, as players take to the tables in the Crazy Pineapple. In this variant, players receive three cards and have to discard one on the flop. This format proved popular in Malta, as the event attracted 172 total entrants that day. Jonas Rosqvist (pictured) of Sweden won the tournament and admitted that it was his first time playing the variant.

One of Sweden’s most famous exports in recent years, Sviten Special, is about to grace the felts of Banco Bratislava. This €250 tournament is bound to be popular amongst the Scandinavian players in attendance. The tournament commences at 1 p.m. CET, and registration remains open until 5.30 p.m. CET.

The game is played with a split pot format, with half the pot going to the best 5-card draw hand, and the other to the best PLO hand.

To learn more about this interesting and nuanced variant of poker, click here.

2023 Malta Festival Series Champion Victor den Houting and Bas de Laat are just two of the 23-strong field that have taken to the field in the €550 Main Event this afternoon.

It is still early days, and the field size is expected to grow over the course of the day as time runs out to make it to Day 2 of the week’s marquee Hold’em Event.

Eleven players have taken to the felt in the penultimate flight of the Chicago European Championships. POS contender “Bambi” is in the field looking to make Day 2, as is friend of The Festival, Ingela Charlez (pictured).

There was double madness last night at The Festival Series Bratislava. Here are the results tables for the PKO event, and the Bomb Pot Madness. The PKO Payout table excludes bounties.

NLH PKO Late Night Madness

Bomb Pot Madness

For the full recap of yesterday’s action, click here.

The Player of the Series Race is hotting up after the third full day of action, but its still tight at the top, with Ville-Matti Keränen posting a narrow overnight lead of less than two points over Giorgi Mevlupishvili. He goes into the middle day of The Festival in Bratislava with 71 points, just 1.75 ahead of Georgian Giorgi’s 69.25. 

Ville-Matti had been in 20th place on the leaderboard on Wednesday, having taken 4th place in the Half n Half, but cashed twice on Thursday to catapult himself to the top of the table. His first visit to the payout window was for 12th place in the Open Face Chinese Pineapple, which earned him 14.5 points. But the Finn’s big score of the day came in the early hours of Friday morning, when he finished runner-up in the Bomb Pot Madness, earning himself €1,700, in addition to 31.25 leaderboard points.

Giorgi Mevlupishvili had almost as meteoric a rise as Keränen, moving up from 17th to 2nd, thanks to two final table appearances on Thursday, having already finished 4th in the Late Night Madness on Wednesday. He took 6th place in the OFC for 23.5 points and added a further 19.25 for 8th in the Thursday Late Night Madness.

Miles Rees Moves Up to 3rd

There was a slight confusion at The Festival Series HQ yesterday regarding the ranking status of the Heads Up Tournament. The leaderboard was originally calculated without it, based on a misunderstanding that capped events do not count towards the leaderboard. The rule is that they only don’t count if the cap is reached, which it wasn’t, as 31 players took part, leaving one seat empty. It has therefore been re-instated as a ranking event and the points awarded for it have been added in. Apologies for the mistake and any distress it may have caused to any and all involved. Our bad.

This was good news for Ville Hakala, who picked up an extra 2.5 points for his fruitless participation, but even better news for Miles Rees, as he finished joint 3rd in the Heads Up, earning 20.5 leaderboard points. Rees went on to win Event 25 yesterday, the €125 NLH PKO Late Night Madness, for a further 38.75 and now sits in 3rd place on the leaderboard with 61.75 points.

Hakala Tied for 4th

Ville Hakala, is now in 4th on 61 points, having now played in 9 events. The double runner-up in the POS race at the last two festivals boosted his score on Thursday with by 23.75 points with a 5th place finish in the Bomb Pot Madness. Overnight leader Jonas Jurksaitis slips back to 5th on 58.75 points, having only added participation points to his total on Thursday.

Kyte Surfs into Top Ten

But the loudest new entry onto the leaderboard was made by Jon Kyte, who’s back-to-back 3rd place finishes in the T.O.R.S.E.S, followed by the PLO High Roller have rocketed him straight into 7th place, on 55 points. The Norwegian cashed for €13,000 in total on Thursday, making him the biggest winner of the day, both in terms of cash and leaderboard points.

Franke and Keny Simmering Outside Top 10

Sitting just outside the top ten, in 15th place is Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk, the reigning leaderboard king from September’s Festival in Malta. Like Ville Hakala, Franke employs a ‘play everything’ strategy and has currently done so 5 times in events that count towards this leaderboard. 

On Thursday Franke took 3rd place in the Open Face Chinese, an event that he has been successful in many times before. He has also qualified for the final day of the European Chicago Championship, which is yet to take place, so has a great shot of adding more points to his current total of 42 points. 

Just two points further back in joint 22nd place is double Player of the Series winner (but oh it could have been more) Scott “Pokerbrahs” Kenyon, who was the runner-up in the Open Face Chinese after a heads-up deal with Krzysztof Kordus. Scott has also bagged a seat in the Chicago final day.

The Top 75

We’ve expanded the leaderboard to the top 75 today, can you find your name?

With Hakala, Zweigbergk and Kenyon all poised to challenge once again, it’s already shaping up to be an interesting title race. With six further events concluding on Friday at Banco Casino in Bratislava, the leaderboard is certain to change again, but who will be leading the way? Will a strong contender emerge and pull away from the rest of the field? Stay tuned to the Festival Series blog to find out, where Patrick Cole will be your host, covering all the action, direct from the tournament floor. 

Here are the payouts for the first High Roller of the week. Only six will be paid out of the 46 total entrants. The Festival Founder Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk has a solid stack and has made his second final table of the day. Jon Kyte is also in the double final table club, having finished third in the T.O.R.S.E.S Main event earlier today. Kyte has invested five bullets into this tournament and needs a top-three finish to profit. Graham Clarkson appears to have a solid chip lead over the field, and will be looking for his first cash of the week. Below are the payouts.

That’s all for tonight, folks. Until next time.

Only 12 will progress through to Day 2 of The Main Event from the 97 total entrants that tried their hand at the tables today. There are currently 15 left in pursuit of a stack of a bag.

A total of 173 entrants have taken to the felts in the €175 No Limit Hold’em PKO. A field of 111 remains, and judging by the action on the floor, that number won’t stay the same for long. Stacks are being sent forth into the middle in pursuit of accruing as much value as possible from the bounty prize pool. Registration remains open until 12.55 p.m. if you would like to get involved. Of course, be gamble aware.

In what is already the largest Chicago tournament ever held, players keep coming to play to reach Day 2 in what is the penultimate day of qualification. As expected, there is a strong Swedish presence at the table, as the game has been a staple for families across the Scandinavian nation for decades.

Friends of The Festival, Ingela Charlez, Elias Eckstrom, are in the field, as is EPT winner Christer Johansson and T.O.R.S.E.S final tablist Riku Koivurinne.

To learn more about Chicago, click here.

Krzysztof Kordus (pictured) has won the €250 Open Face Chinese, besting Scott ‘Pokerbrahs’ Kenyon heads-up. Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk finished in third place. Kenyon also fired multiple bullets, and placed second on his fourth shot.

Kordus has now become a multiple Festival Series Open Face Chinese Champion, as he won the €150 OFC in Rozvadov this past summer. Below are the payouts in full.

The last member of the one bullet club in the €250 Open Face Chinese, Gilles Lamy, has been eliminated in third place. It is tight at the top between Scott Kenyon and Krzysztof Kordus. The Festival Boss “Franke” has been on the decline and will be looking to chip back up to take down his first title of the week, and crucial Player of the Series points.

In 1/C of The Hendon Mob Championship, 178 total entrants have taken to the felt in this flight. Only 31 remain, and leading the way is Joseph Saunders. He is being tailed by a British compatriot, Miles Rees. Below are the top 10 counts.

In the 1/D Turbo Flight, 109 have entered, and 63 remain. Bo Alm tops the pack currently, and he is followed by Rakel Daehle in second. Below is the top 10 in that flight.

‘Franke’ and Scott ‘Pokerbrahs’ Kenyon (pictured) are the top two in the counts in the €250 Open Face Chinese here at Banco Bratislava. There is a sizeable gap back to Gilles Lamy and Krzysztof Kordus, who won the €250 Open Face Chinese at The Festival Series Rozvadov back in the summer.

Sergeii Baranov has won the T.O.R.S.E.S. Main Event, besting JJ Hazan heads-up. Jon Kyte departed in third place, despite having a 2:1 advantage over Hazan at multiple points in the tournament. Below are the payouts in full. This is Baranov’s first Festival Series cash in his career, and this win joins his resume of Mixed Game victories, which came at EPT Barcelona this year in the €5,200 8-Game, where he won €53,600, and the €1,000 8-Game at EPT Prague last December.

The Bomb Pot Madness is due to take place here at Banco Casino. Every hand will be a bomb pot, meaning each player will contribute a big blind into the pot preflop. The tournament is half and half, half No Limit Hold’em, half PLO. Here is the lineup so far.

Flip your way to victory in Franke’s Flip Flops! Twelve flips ran on the first day, and thirteen ran yesterday. They will be held at the tables upstairs opposite the registration desk.

They cost €25 per flip, and winners will progress to the final flip-off, where a package to the next Festival Series stop will be awarded.

The fourth and final flight of the €250 The Hendon Mob Championships has commenced at Banco Bratislava.

A total of 54 entrants have taken to the tables in pursuit of Hendon Mob glory. Gabriel Rymar (pictured) is already a dual Festival Series champion, as he won the 2023 Festival Series Bratislava Main Event, and the €250 Deepstack just a few days apart, for a combined haul of €94,400.

Marc Gork has been the most recent departure in the T.O.R.S.E.S. Main Event. JJ Hazan has usurped Jon Kyte at the top of the counts, and T.O.R.S.E.S 1/A chipleader Sergii Baranov trails them both.

The remaining 10 players are in the money in the €250 Open Face Chinese tournament at Banco Bratislava. Scott ‘Pokerbrahs’ Kenyon and ‘Franke’ remain in the field, but they are both four bullets deep. Krzysztof Kordus, who won the €250 OFC in Rozvadov, is on bullet seven. Below are the players who have departed in money.

Jon Kyte has extended his chiplead in the T.O.R.S.E.S final table. Three have departed: Rolf Bechstrom, Joonas Lyttinen, and Mattia Ruebenstrunk. Below are the current chip counts, and the payouts.

The satellite to the PLO High Roller has come to an end. Here are the qualifiers, plus the sole money place. Unfortunately for Norway’s Jonas Nilsen, he was the victim of the bubble, which is one of the most painful experiences in poker, in this blogger’s opinion.

Counts are in for the second flight of the €550 Main Event. Currently, Robert Baker sits atop the counts, leading a field of 60 players. In total, this flight has attracted 88 total entries, and registration remains open until 9.15 p.m. CET. Reigning Bratislava Main Event champion Sebastian Kotowicz (pictured) remains in contention to make Day 2, and he will be gunning for a successful title defense at Banco Bratislava. Below are the top 10 in the field.