Fabrizio Nobile is the unfortunate victim of the bubble at the Portomaso Casino in Malta. He will not be joining the Day 2 field come Sunday afternoon, unless he decides to fire one more bullet. Chip counts will follow after the players bag and tag for the night.
Here are the payouts in full for the Big O. Currently, 22 remain in the field in the one and only Big O tournament of the week. For those who don’t know Big O, it is 5-card PLO Hi-Lo, with half the pot going to the best high hand, the other half going to the best low hand.
| Place | Payout |
|---|---|
| 1 | €2,601 |
| 2 | €1,849 |
| 3 | €1,280 |
| 4 | €1,050 |
| 5 | €850 |
| 6 | €680 |
| 7 | €520 |
| 8 | €380 |
| 9 | €300 |
| 10 – 11 | €260 |
| 12 – 13 | €210 |
Seven remain and only six will progress to Day 2 from this 1/B Flight of the Mystery Bounty. Here is the lineup.
| Name | Seat |
|---|---|
| Jon Per Persent | 2/1 |
| Aliaksei Baravik | 2/2 |
| Fabrizio Nobile | 2/3 |
| Chris-Robin Hansen | 2/4 |
| John Anthony Jacobs | 2/5 |
| Eskil Reitan Kvamvold | 2/7 |
| Fabio Berti | 2/9 |
Denise Fusciardi has won The Festival Queens event here at Portomaso Casino in Malta. She bested Cristina Balsamo heads-up in a face-off that lasted for around 45 minutes. Fusciardi had a substantial advantage over Balsamo when heads-up play was reached. Below are the payouts.
| Place | Name | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denise Fusciardi | €1,001 |
| 2 | Cristina Balsamo | €631 |
| 3 | Thea Hoivik | €420 |
| 4 | Kristina Ferusova | €310 |
| 5 | Karin Andrea Elisabeth Krantz | €250 |
Rozvadov Open Face Chinese Winner is currently heads-up against Malta POS leader and Festival Founder Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk for the first Open Face Chinese event of the week. Below are the current payouts of the field that have departed.
| Place | Name | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Ville Hakala | €1,730 |
| 4 | Tobais Andersen | €1,240 |
| 5 | Samuel Shepherd | €950 |
| 6 | Yann De Tychey De La Ferte Preval | €720 |
| 7 | Eva Jiretorn | €543 |
| 8 | Christer Johansson | €450 |
Here is some information about tomorrow’s sportsbook tournament.
This 125 buy-in event is distinctly unique to The Festival Series. Registration opens tomorrow morning and players will need to register at the tournament desk as per usual. The betting is open from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Players, bring your tickets to Andreas Hoglund (pictured above), who will be sat at the flip table located in the foyer just before the tournament area.
The games will be a selection from the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A. The games will be announced to players when they find Andreas and pass him the ticket and fill out your selections by pen and paper, like being in an actual bookies.
Those who have won a ticket to this event should be registered in the system and can collect the tickets from tomorrow morning.
Here are the top 10 stacks in the Big O tournament.
| Place | Name | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eriks Gedroics | 92,000 |
| 2 | Kamil Dariusz Maslowski | 62,000 |
| 3 | Yurii Rassamakin | 61,000 |
| 4 | Soner Mario S Vanelderen | 55,100 |
| 5 | Mariya Arabadzhieva-Todorova | 47,000 |
| 6 | Davide Bruzzese | 39,100 |
| 7 | Killian Joseph O’Brien | 28,200 |
| 8 | Hans Jorgen Moberg | 24,300 |
| 9 | Sander Floris Van Wesemael | 23,000 |
| 10 | Vincenzo Cotturri | 22,000 |
Here is a look at the final nine ladies looking to be crowned the Festival Queens champion. Despite the final table being reached, the players are not yet in the money.
| Name | Seat |
|---|---|
| Thea Hoivik | 1/1 |
| Kristina Ferusova | 1/2 |
| Denise Fusciardi | 1/3 |
| Roberta Memoli | 1/4 |
| Rachel Samuels | 1/5 |
| Virpi Ojnen | 1/6 |
| Cristina Balsamo | 1/7 |
| Karin Krantz | 1/8 |
| Liv Winell | 1/9 |
Dimitrios Panagopoulos has shot to the top of the counts in Main Event 1/D. Registration is now closed, and the total entrants figure for this flight stands at 249. A field of 91 remain, and play will resume until 31 remain.
| Rank | Name | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dimitrios Panagopoulos | 360,000 |
| 2 | Fan Sun | 290,000 |
| 3 | Niklas Sundstorm | 285,000 |
| 4 | Richard Koppel | 239,500 |
| 5 | Victor Gil Den Houting | 233,000 |
| 6 | Junior Ferreira Da Costa | 230,000 |
| 7 | Herli Olop | 230,000 |
| 8 | Hugo Menant | 224,000 |
| 9 | Stian Danielsen | 205,000 |
| 10 | Andreas Holmsten | 205,000 |
Barrie Dear has fallen just shy of the money spots in the Open Face Chinese. Scott ‘Pokerbrahs’ Kenyon informed Dear that the seat was “cursed” as that was where he was sitting when he was eliminated from the tournament in 12th place.
Here are the chip counts of the remaining players left in the first of two Open Face Chinese tournaments.
| Place | Name | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Shepherd | 220,000 |
| 2 | Fabian Bartuschk | 200,000 |
| 3 | Lars Johansson | 139,000 |
| 4 | Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk | 123,000 |
| 5 | Tobais Andersen | 120,000 |
| 6 | Ville Hakala | 111,000 |
| 7 | Yann De Tychey | 105,000 |
| 8 | Eva Jiretorn | 71,000 |
| 9 | Barrie Dear | 35,000 |
Niklas Sundstrom still sits at the top of the counts at the break of 1/D of the Main Event. Rozvadov Main Event third-place finisher Richard Koppel has surged up the counts, and previous Malta Main Event Winner Victor Gil Den Houting rounds out the podium places.
| Place | Name | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niklas Sundstorm | 285,000 |
| 2 | Richard Koppel | 239,500 |
| 3 | Victor Gil Den Houting | 233,000 |
| 4 | Junior Da Costa | 230,000 |
| 5 | Herli Olop | 230,000 |
| 6 | Stian Danielsen | 205,000 |
| 7 | Vitali Bibik | 201,500 |
| 8 | Vladmir Minarik | 196,000 |
| 9 | Michael Lech | 195,000 |
| 10 | Dimitrios Panagopoulos | 192,000 |
Here are the top 10 counts currently in play as the players return to their seats in 1/B of the Mystery Bounty.
| Place | Name | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lars Lubbers | 74,500 |
| 2 | Claudio Muller | 73,500 |
| 3 | Jon Persent | 70,000 |
| 4 | Francesco Squillaci | 52,000 |
| 5 | Dylan Codd | 44,000 |
| 6 | Thomas Degimbe | 43,300 |
| 7 | Joe Nieto Martin | 43,000 |
| 8 | Tobias Bollmann | 40,000 |
| 9 | Sebastian Mortensen | 38,000 |
| 10 | Maarten Oosterwijk | 37,500 |
Franke’s Flips is set to take place at the tables in the foyer near the tournament area.
For just €25, you can flip your way to glory in a series of “stand and goes” in a quest to win a pair of Franke’s fabled flip flops and tournament credits! Come join in the fun!
Oh, and there’s a chance to win a package worth €1,600!
The prize pool in the Open Face Chinese has reached a total of €11,703. This is how that prize pool will be distributed to the players in accordance with their finishing position. T.O.R.S.E.S Champion Barrie Dear remains in contention for his second title of the week. Popular streamer and multiple POS Winner Scott ‘Pokerbrahs’ Kenyon and The Festival Founder Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk are also still in battling it out amongst the 17 that remain. Below are the full payouts.
| Place | Amount |
|---|---|
| 1 | €3,601 |
| 2 | €2,470 |
| 3 | €1,730 |
| 4 | €1,240 |
| 5 | €950 |
| 6 | €720 |
| 7 | €543 |
| 8 | €450 |
As The Festival Series continues to grow with every stop, players are coming from far and wide to get involved with the action. Whether it is for No Limit Hold’em, or for the excellent and varied choice of Mixed Games, each stop seems to bring in a new nationality with every stop.
This Festival Series in Malta is no different, as I found out when talking to American Tim Dallas, who came with his family to play the Sviten Special. This also goes to show just how popular that game is becoming in Europe, and across the giant pond that is the Atlantic Ocean. Also known as Drawmaha in the States, Sviten is beginning to boom. Without further ado, here is a small conversation with Tim Dallas.
The Festival: What’s your story with poker? How did you get into the game initially?
Tim Dallas: I started playing poker in 1964 after watching The Cincinnati Kid. Yeah, and I’ve been playing ever since. When I moved to Seattle, Washington, I found a group of guys, and we started a home game. We’ve been playing for over 30 years. We host tournaments at home, and about 15 years ago, someone introduced a new variation called Sviten.
And then we started looking for tournaments to play in. Now I host my own home tournaments. Just this past summer, I had 21 guys playing out on my patio. Two years ago, I convinced someone to come with me to Tallinn, and we played in the Kings of Tallinn. Surprisingly, I cashed third! That was nice!
So a couple of years later, I found The Festival here in Malta. My whole family came with me—my son-in-law and I are both playing here. After this, we’re heading to Sicily for a couple of weeks before flying back.
The Festival: Was poker something you always wanted your son to get into—professionally or just for fun?
Tim Dallas: Just for fun. We just love playing. A good home game is mostly laughing. Sure, we might win or lose a hundred bucks, but it’s really about having a good time.
The Festival: Is that what drew you to The Festival—the atmosphere and the mixed games?
Tim Dallas: Absolutely. Sviten, the mixed games are the fun ones. I don’t really play Hold’em much. I mean, I will, but our home games are always mixed. The mixed games are fun—people are laughing, talking, even shouting. You don’t get that at a Hold’em table.
The Festival: Yeah, I agree. It’s such a contrast. You could split the room in half: one side with a mixed game table full of laughter, and the other with a Hold’em table—everyone wearing headphones and dead silent.
Tim Dallas: Exactly—no talking, no eye contact. “Don’t look at my cards, don’t read my mind.”
The Festival: Anything else you want to say about The Festival?
Tim Dallas: I’ll be here Friday and Saturday night playing a couple of events. But really, this is what we came for (Sviten Special).
The Festival: What’s your first impression?
Tim Dallas : It’s great—I like it a lot.
I would like to thank Tim Dallas for taking some time on his break to talk to me about his story, and wish him and his family and friends the best of luck at the tables.
The big stacks in the Open Face Chinese include OFC High Roller Rozvadov winner Fabian Bartuschk, T.O.R.S.E.S Winner Barrie Dear, Former Mixed Game Main Event winner Sascha Manns, and popular streamer and multiple Festival Player of the Series winner Scott ‘Pokerbrahs’ Kenyon.
Due to a misclick by the floor, they sent over 1/A’s counts instead of 1/C’s. Arttu Mylls has bagged the biggest of the stacks that have progressed through to Day 2 so far. 8-Game Winner Sander van Wesemael sits in second.
| Place | Name | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arttu Myllys | 1,326,000 |
| 2 | Sander van Wesemael | 975,000 |
| 3 | Nuno Leonel Ferro Morais | 868,000 |
| 4 | Alf Onnestam | 673,000 |
| 5 | Quinten Spyckerelle | 407,000 |
| 6 | Ferdinand Janssen | 393,000 |
| 7 | Thomas Jakobsen | 306,000 |
| 8 | Attila Szathmari | 304,000 |
| 9 | Jiany Lu | 293,000 |
| 10 | Domenico Tortomasi | 290,000 |
| 11 | Luke Pace | 290,000 |
| 12 | Jacqueline Cachia | 234,000 |
| 13 | Eetu Reini | 202,000 |
| 14 | Mark Vella | 125,000 |
| 15 | Kasjusz Zycinski | 117,000 |
| 16 | Jonathan Therme | 98,000 |
| 17 | Tomas Fara | 72,000 |
| 18 | Eric Bennici | 70,000 |
Here are the big stacks in 1/D of the Main Event. Hendon Mob Final Table maker Niklas Sundstrom sits atop the counts in one of the final flights to Day 2 of the Main Event, which starts tomorrow afternoon.
| # | Name | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niklas Sundstorm | 200,000 |
| 2 | Dimitrios Panagopoulos | 192,000 |
| 3 | Patrik Chrast | 170,000 |
| 4 | Antonio Palumbo | 159,000 |
| 5 | Victor Gil Den Houting | 151,000 |
| 6 | Stian Danielsen | 150,000 |
| 7 | Semen Karyi | 145,000 |
| 8 | Kim-Ove Hagerup | 141,000 |
| 9 | Junior Ferreira Da Costa | 130,000 |
| 10 | Claudio Mazza | 130,000 |
It’s Ladies Night at the Portomaso Casino in Malta, as The Festival Queens event is about to start after a slight delay to the start of proceedings. Here is a look at the lineup that will be taking to the felt. Hendon Mob final table maker Celine Nyland, Rozvadov Mystery Bounty Winner Mariya Todorova and the Festival’s Hostess with the Mostess Christel Natri are just a few of the notable names in the 13-strong field.
| # | Name | Chip Count | Seat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mariya Todorova | 25,000 | 2/5 |
| 2 | Celine Nyland | 25,000 | 1/7 |
| 3 | Thea Hoivik | 25,000 | 2/6 |
| 4 | Berith Johansson | 25,000 | 3/7 |
| 5 | Saki Kadekaru | 25,000 | 2/3 |
| 6 | Karin Krantz | 25,000 | 3/3 |
| 7 | Roberta Memoli | 25,000 | 2/1 |
| 8 | Christel Natri | 25,000 | 3/2 |
| 9 | Virpi Ojnen | 25,000 | 1/2 |
| 10 | Riin Saarts | 25,000 | 3/8 |
| 11 | Lisbeth Sunde | 25,000 | 1/6 |
| 12 | Zandra Willumsen | 25,000 | 1/5 |
| 13 | Liv Winell | 25,000 | 3/1 |
The Open Face Chinese field is still packed full of familiar names and faces here at the Portomaso Casino in Malta. Rozvadov POS runner-up Ville Hakala, Rozvadov OFC High Roller Winner Fabian Bartuschk, Razz Big Bounty runner-up Fabio De Francesco, T.O.R.S.E.S Champion Barrie Dear, PLO High Roller Winner Simeon Tsonev and 8-Game Winner Sander van Wesemael.
In the Main Event, this has been by far the most popular Flight of the week so far, with a total of 179 entrants thus far. Expect the field to grow even more, as registration remains open until the end of level 10. Levels last for half an hour each, and currently, the field is most of the way through Level 5. Notables in the field include, Peder Behr, and the Win the Button winner and the Rozvadov Main Event Runner Up Oliver Kubalek.
Here are the highlights from Day 2 of The Festival Series in Malta. Don’t forget to like comment, share and subscribe to keep up with all things The Festival.
Here are the highlights from Day 1 of The Festival Series in Malta. Don’t forget to like comment, share and subscribe to keep up with all things The Festival.
Check out this interview with Jarmo Salonen which was conducted by our Hospitality Hostess Christel Natri. Don’t forget to like, comment, share and subscribe to keep up to date with all things The Festival.
The Main Event field continues to grow here at the Portomaso Casino in Malta. Peder Behr, Hendon Mob Championship runner-up Attila Erdei and Joakim Olin are just three of the notable names in the field looking to find a bag for Day 2, which will start on Saturday.
A field of 88 are in the Main Event 1/D, and 27 have taken to the tables in The Festival Series Malta’s first Open Face Chinese event. Rozvadov Open Face Chinese High Roller winner Fabian Bartuschk is in the field, as well as T.O.R.S.E.S Champion and joint leaders in the Player of the Series race, Barrie Dear and Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk are in the field.
The race for the Festival in Malta Player of the Series is now more than half-way through, with 13 of the 22 qualifying events having been completed. Earlier today it was reported that Barrie Dear and Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk were out in front, tied on 107 points, with the Finnish duo of Ville Hakala (100pts) and defending POS Kare Hallamaa (98pts) breathing down their necks.
However, after a recount and a double checking of the work done by an AI to calculate the scores, it was found that the wrong participation points were applied to the NLH High Roller. These have now been recalculated and the end result is that in fact Franke is out in front on his own, on 115 points, six ahead of Ville Hakala on 109. There are also a some minor changes to the current standings of other players. See the table below for the full corrected top 25.
Barrie Dear had slipped back from pole position to 5th place after a lacklustre Wednesday, but returned to his usual form on Thursday, cashing twice. He took 5th place in the Razz and 13th in the PLO 4/5/6 Card event. This helped move him back up to third place, 2 points behind Ville. Franke also min-cashed in the Razz in 7th place, but played both other tournaments on Thursday, picking up participation points in the process.
Kara Hallamaa continued his fine form, cashing in 4th place in the Razz, while Ville Hakala took 10th in the PLO 4/5/6 Card. Hakala also entered the NLH High Roller, failed to cash, but leapfrogs his compatriot on the leaderboard thanks to the extra participation points and moves into second place overall on 109 points..
Benjamin Sweetman failed to make any further cashes, only adding 5 points to his total, while Martin Schamaun has given up his chance of being the Player of the Series, reportedly having already left Malta. They currently occupy the 5th and 7th places on the leaderboard, but are somewhat adrift of the top four.
Peder Behr moves up to joint 5th place with Sweetman, on 86 points, thanks to his 4th place in the NLH High Roller. He is 13 points ahead of 8th place Frank Visser, who min-cashed the PLO 4/5/6. Wouter Schuurbiers debuts in the top 10 today in 9th place on 70 pts, thanks to his victory in the Razz. Scott Kenyon, who took 3rd place in the Razz rounds out the top 10, with 68 pts to his name, tied with The Hendon Mob Champion Egi Adriaans.
| Position | Player | Points | Events Played* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk | 115 | 10 |
| 2 | Ville Hakala | 109 | 9 |
| 3 | Barrie Dear | 107 | 8 |
| 4 | Kare Hallamaa | 98 | 8 |
| 5 | Benjamin Sweetman | 86 | 5 |
| 5 | Peder Behr | 86 | 5 |
| 7 | Martin Schamaun | 81 | 4 |
| 8 | Frank Visser | 73 | 6 |
| 9 | Wouter Schuurbiers | 70 | 6 |
| 10 | Egi Adriaans | 68 | 4 |
| 10 | Scott Kenyon | 68 | 7 |
| 12 | Quinten Spyckerelle | 65 | 4 |
| 13 | Lars Johansson | 56 | 5 |
| 14 | Andreas Holmsten | 51 | 2 |
| 14 | Eva Jiretorn | 51 | 4 |
| 16 | Oliver Kubalek | 50 | 4 |
| 17 | Benedict Kaiser | 49 | 5 |
| 18 | Peter Kepplinger | 48 | 6 |
| 18 | Salvatore Incardona | 48 | 6 |
| 18 | Sander Van Wesemael | 48 | 4 |
| 21 | Kalle Kulju | 47 | 4 |
| 22 | Attila Erdei | 46 | 2 |
| 22 | Fabio De Francesco | 46 | 3 |
| 22 | Jonas Rosqvist | 46 | 2 |
| 22 | Ville-Matti Keränen | 46 | 6 |
Read More: Full details on how the leaderboard points are awarded for the Festival in Malta
There are only two events that count towards the leaderboard completing on Friday 19th September, the Open Face Chinese and this evening’s Big O. The top two are almost certain to play in both of these and many others in the top ten on the leaderboard are expected to take part. These two events could play a significant role in determining the outcome of the Player of the Series race. Follow the action throughout the day on the live blog and The Festival’s social channels.
Read More: The Festival in Malta Player of the Series Leaderboard Standings After Day 4
Read More: The Festival in Malta Player of the Series Leaderboard Standings After Day 3
Read More: The Festival in Malta Player of the Series Leaderboard Standings After Day 2
