2025 The Festival Malta Day 1

Here are the full chip counts of the 19 progressors from 1/B of the Hendon Mob Championship. Having eliminated John Garratt on the button, Robert Lim has climbed up the counts to become chip leader. He has usurped Oliver Mihajlovski (pictured) who has been atop the counts twice during today’s play.

Kare Hallamaa opened from the button to 15,000 with the blinds at 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante. Robert Lim called in the small blind before John Garratt moved all in for 125,000. Hallamaa folded and Lim made the call after taking a count of his stack. He was ahead with 7 7 and Garratt had K J .

Both hit the flop, but Garratt hit it hardest, making a set on J Q 7 . Lim held across the 8 turn and 6 river.

A field of 20 remains in 1/B of the Mixed Game Main Event – T.O.R.S.E.S. here at Portomaso Casino in Malta. Registration has now closed, and play will continue until there are six players left to progress to tomorrow’s Day 2. Sascha Manns, a former Festival Series Mixed Game Main Event Champion remains in the field, as does Barrie Dear, Frank Visser, and Rozvadov Player of the Series Runner Up Ville Hakala remain in this competitive field.

Streamer and multiple Festival Player of the Series Winner Scott ‘Pokerbrahs’ Kenyon (pictured above) is also in contention.

Stay tuned to find out who progresses to the final day, which commences tomorrow afternoon.

Oliver Mihajlovski (pictured) remains at the top of the counts in 1B of the Hendon Mob Championships here at the Portomaso Casino in Malta. There are still 31 left, and play will continue until there are 18 left. The lucky 18 will progress into Day 2 and will be in the money.

Rozvadov Player of the Series Kare Hallamaa is chipping up nicely and poised to make Day 2. Here are the top 10.

The T.O.R.S.E.S. field have retaken to the tables at the Portomaso Casino in Malta. Registration has closed in 1/B of the Hendon Mob Championships, and play will cease when the field reaches 18 players. 1/B reached 149 total entrants and currently 39 remain in play.

In the 70 Win the Button, 32 remain. Ville Hakala (pictured) and Oliver Kubalek are just a couple of notables in this small field event. The field size could still grow, as there are still 4 levels of registration tomorrow.

Oliver Mihajlovski has surged to the top of the counts in 1/B of the Hendon Mob Championship. Jiany Lu, the former chip leader, has slid down the pack a few places but still has plenty to work with.

The field has been sent on a 45-minute dinner break. Here are the updated counts as the field depart to nearby restaurants. Of the 37 entrants, 30 remain, including former Mixed Game Main Event Champion Sascha Manns, and Mixed Game fanatic and professional poker reporter, Frank Visser.

A field of 30 remains from 34 entrants in the €550 Mixed Game Main Event – T.O.R.S.E.S in the second and final flight. Here is a look at the counts. Friend of the Festival Barrie Dear is in contention to find a stack for Day 2, which will commence and finish tomorrow.

Here are the updated counts from 1/B of the Hendon Mob Championship. Currently, 77 remain of the 146 total entrants that have taken to the felt at Portomaso Casino in Malta. Registration for this Flight will close soon.

There will be a chance to qualify for The Festival Series’ marquee event, the €550 Main Event, tonight at 7.30 p.m. There will be three tickets on offer, and the buy-in is 70, which represents great value for players of all bankrolls. Yesterday’s satellite to the Hendon Mob Championship garnered a lot of interest, and at least 10 tickets were given out. Come down and get involved! Levels last for 20 minutes in duration, and players will receive a starting stack of 15,000 chips and have the option for unlimited re-entries until registration closes after level 8.

Additionally, there will be a Win The Button No Limit-Hold’em tournament running from 8.30 p.m. The event is a €70 buy-in, and levels will run for 15 minutes each. Players will receive a starting stack of 15,000 chips and have the option for unlimited re-entries until registration closes after level 8.

The first instalment of the Cash Game Challenge will run from 8 p.m., register your interest at the Cash Game Area. Tonight the game will be €2/€2 No Limit-Hold’em, and the winner will be decided by the amount of big blinds won over the session. The winner will progress to the next round.

Here are the top 10 chip counts from 1/B of the Hendon Mob Championships. Currently, 99 are in play in the field of the 109 total entrants that have taken a shot to qualify for Day 2.

Tonight will see the first Hospitality Event for package winners. Tonight, from 7.30 p.m., Welcome Drinks will be hosted by the newest member of the team, the Hostess with the Mostess, Christel Natri. The drinks will be held in the Casino Tournament Area Bar from 19:30 – 20:00. Come say hello to your fellow players and members of The Festival Team!

For more information and a look at the schedule, click here.

A field of 20 has come together for the second flight of the €550 Mixed Game Main Event – T.O.R.S.E.S. In the field are the multiple Festival Series Player of the Series Scott ‘Pokerbrahs’ Kenyon, Benedict Kaiser and Fabio De Francesco, the latter of whom was the victim of the bubble in Flight 1/A yesterday. Poker reporter and Mixed Game fanatic Frank Visser has also taken to the field.

After the first hour of play at the Portomaso Casino in Malta, 76 players have entered the second Flight, Flight 1/B, of the €250 Hendon Mob Championship. All of which will be gunning to join the 11 progressors that found a bag for Day 2 of this famous worldwide event.

Some notable names in the field include The Festival Founder and four-bullet firer Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk, The Festival Series Rozvadov Main Event runner-up Oliver Kubalek, and Rozvadov Main Event third-place finisher Richard Koppel.

Maltese national Antoine Degiorgio has topped the counts of the three progressing players to Day 2 of the €550 Mixed Game Main Event – T.O.R.S.E.S at the Portomaso in Malta. Here is a look at his chip counts before the blogger goes to bed.

That’s all for now, folks. Stay tuned for continued coverage of The Festival Series, and a recap of today’s events will follow before the start of play tomorrow.

The final 11 progressing to Day 2 of the Hendon Mob Championship have been decided. Richard Sambron was the unfortunate victim of the bubble at the luxurious Portomaso Casino here in Malta for this instalment of The Festival Series. Here are the 11 and the chip counts. Jon Persent leads the way, having taken the chip lead earlier in the days play.

Fabio De Francesco has fallen to The Festival Founder Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk in the €550 Mixed Game Main Event – T.O.R.S.E.S, in a Sviten Special hand.

Action was picked up with De Francesco all in on the flop of 3 4 6 . De Francesco drew one and declined, and received one more. ‘Franke’ did the same, and was ahead on both sides of the pot with K Q Q 7 2 for an over pair to the board and a pair in hand. De Francesco had Q J 10 9 3 , having missed his in-hand straight draw. ‘Franke’ held across the 4 turn and K river.

Only 12 remain in Flight 1/A of the Hendon Mob Championships, meaning there is only one more elimination required before the remaining players bag and tag for the night. Currently, the podium is occupied by a Maltese 1-2-3. Here are the chip counts of the remaining players. The blinds are currently 4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 big blind ante.

Only four remain in the €550 Mixed Game Main Event – T.O.R.S.E.S here at the Portomaso Casino in Malta. Three will progress to Day 2, which will run in two days time.

The Festival Series Rozvadov 2025 Player of the Series 1-2, Kare Hallamaa and Ville Hakala, were eliminated in fifth and sixth, respectively. Antonie Digiorgio and Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk lead the counts, and have a considerable advantage over Fabio De Francesco and Quentin Spyckerelle in third and fourth respectively.

Whilst at the table, a 2-7 Triple Draw hand unfolded, which found De Francesco all in and at risk after he three-bet all in preflop. He drew one, and Spyckerelle drew two. Both players drew one again, and then one again. Spyckerelle paired, and he had 2 3 3 4 8 . De Francesco survived with 4 5 6 8 9 .

The registration period has come to an end at the Portomaso Casino in Malta in Flight 1/A of the €250 Hendon Mob Championships. The Flight saw a total of 88 entrants, and currently, 33 are left trying to secure a stack for Day 2. Only 11 will make Day 2 for this flight, which will also guarantee the progressors a min-cash. Below are the top ten in the counts.

Elsewhere, 37 remain of 54 in the satellite to tomorrow’s 1/B Hendon Mob Championship Flight, and in the €550 Mixed Game Main Event – T.O.R.S.E.S, a field if 14 remain. Here is a look at the field and the chip counts, which features The Festival’s Founder Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk on his second bullet. Below are the counts in full.

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The Festival Series has just begun its second event of 2025 at Portomaso Casino, St Julian’s, Malta. It’s a packed schedule with 42 events, many of which award points that count towards the Festival Series Malta Leaderboard. Players earn points for finishing in the money, the higher the finish, the more points awarded. Participation points are also awarded and once all the events have been completed, whoever tops the table, will be declared the Player of the Series, winning a package worth €1,600 to the next event, in Bratislava.

• Read More: Full details on how the leaderboard points are awarded for the Festival in Malta

The Rozvadov Player of the Series Kare Hallamaa from Finland is here this week and has already established himself as a challenger for the title, determined to go back-to-back. In a recent facebook post he challenged the entire world to come and try to stop him. Kare took the lead in the Player of the Series race halfway through the Festival in Rozvadov and more than held on to claim the title, ending up with 241 points. Kare’s nearest challenger was his friend and Finnish compatriot Ville Hakala, who ended up on 199 points.

But Kare is not the only player who may have his sights set on becoming the POS, as multiple winner Scott “Pokerbrahs” Kenyon has also returned for another week of action. Scott, who live streams his action from the tables (when permitted) won the Bratislava Player of the Series titles in 2023 and 2024 went close in both Rozvadov and Malta last year, finishing second at both. 

At The Festival in Malta Last year Scott was in pole position to win the Player of the Series title, but left the island a day early, missing the final day of action. He was pipped to the post by Aleksiy Baranovskiy who needed to win the final event of the week to overtake Kenyon…and did just that.

Scott was uncharacteristically absent from The Festival in Rozvadov this year, but he’s back in Malta to try to right the wrong of 2024, banish the memory and seek out an unprecedented 3rd Player of the Series title. 

It’s still early days so we don’t know exactly who else will turn up to play this week, but already several other possible POS contenders have been spotted at the venue.  Antoine Degiorgio was a leaderboard contender here last year, finishing in 5th place and will hope to challenge once again. Edinburgh resident Barrie Dear is also here and will be hoping for another strong challenge, having finished 6th on the Rozvadov leaderboard. 

Whether the likes of Siarhei Narohzny, Sascha Manns or Lachezar Tsenov will be in the running remains to be seen, as most players have not yet arrived. A tea-total Franke could even be the surprise package this time!

It will be a few days before the story of the race for the 2025 Festival in Malta Leaderboard takes shape, as the opening events of the week are mostly flights to multi-day events and satellites. The first tournament that awards leaderboard points to be completed will be Monday evening’s €110+€15 NLH Win the Button Midnight Madness. 

However, don’t be fooled by the event name, it actually starts at 8.30pm. The midnight part of the name refers to an unusual twist, which will see any remaining participants turned into pumpkins if they have not finished it by midnight. Madness indeed, Cinderella, eat your heart out!*

We’ll be keeping a close eye on how the Leaderboard story unfolds, scores will be updated daily from Tuesday onwards. 

*Sadly, nobody will be turned into a pumpkin, the true story is that the Midnight part of the event name is a typo.

A field of 30 have taken to the felt at the Portomaso Casino in Malta, all of which will be gunning for one of five €250 Hendon Mob Championship tickets on offer in this event. The tournament features 20-minute levels, unlimited re-entry options until registration closes, and a 20,000 starting stack for all participants.

Across the room, 14 remain of 16 in the €550 Mixed Game Main Event – T.O.R.S.E.S, and Christophe Stammet of Luxembourg and Romain Morin of France were the two early departures. In 1/A of The Hendon Mob Championships, 40 are currently left in pursuit of a stack for Day 2. The Festival Series Main Event Rozvadov runner-up, Oliver Kubalek (pictured, above) was among the early departures.

Norwegian national Jon Persent is atop the chip counts in Day 1/A of the €250 Hendon Mob Championship here at the Portomaso Casino in Malta. He is leading a field of 83 total entrants. He is sitting with a stack of around 138,000. Below are the top five chip counts in the opening Flight.

All tournament buy-ins are subject to a 5% house fee, except for the satellites and the rake-free Franke’s Flip Flops, which will run at 8 p.m. daily.

Tonight’s satellite offering starts at 6.30 p.m. local time, and it will be a €35 satellite to tomorrow’s Day 1B Flight of the €250 Hendon Mob Championship, which starts at 2 p.m. tomorrow. There is a total of 5 tickets up for grabs, with the possibility of even more if the field balloons in size. The offering of 5 tickets represents amazing value for players of all bankrolls. Come down to the Portomaso Casino in Malta and have a go!

Friends of The Festival Series are already at the tables at the Portomaso Casino on the beautiful island nation of Malta. One of whom is Maltese national and all-around nice guy Antoine Degiorgio, who is currently in play in the Mixed Game Main Event – T.O.R.S.E.S, as well as Barrie Dear from the UK. Dear and Degiorgio are seasoned Festival Series regulars, and will be gunning to take down a title or two during the course of the week.

Welcome to the first post of this year’s The Festival Series in Malta from the luxurious venue that is the Portomaso Casino. The Festival Team are here and ready to welcome everyone to this glorious spot in the Mediterranean.

Despite the series being announced to commence tomorrow, the cards are already in the air as the opening flights of the €250 Hendon Mob Championship, and the €550 Mixed Game Main Event – T.O.R.S.E.S. Currently, there is a field of 14 in the latter event, and 51 remain of the 61 entrants that took to the felt in the Hendon Mob Championship this afternoon. Players in both events will play 10 30-minute long levels, with 12.5% in each tournament progressing to Day 2, which will commence with the field being in the money come 12 p.m. on Wednesday 17th.

The second and final flight of the Mixed Game Main Event – T.O.R.S.E.S. will run tomorrow from 3.30 p.m. and this tournaments Day 2 will start and finish on Tuesday 16th. Come and get involved in the world’s first official T.O.R.S.E.S. tournament!

This is a twist on the popular Mixed Game format, H.O.R.S.E. 2-7 Triple Draw has taken the place of Limit Hold’em, and Sviten Special has been included as a new addition. To learn more about H.O.R.S.E and H.O.R.S.E.S, click here.