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Live Report from The Festival Nottingham

Live Report from The Festival Nottingham

The Festival in Nottingham Live Updates

Winners Interview! 20.02.2023 14:01 by The Festival Team
Photos From Final Day of the Main Event 20.02.2023 13:18 by The Festival Team
Full Main Event Payouts 20.02.2023 12:55 by The Festival Team
PlacePlayerPrize
1Ignacio Menendez£38,595
2Sean O’Donnell£31,150
3Endrit Geci£18,250
4Gyorgy Simon£12,592
5Dmitri Dudakov£9,250
6Vegard Andreassen£7,000
7Michael O’Brien£5,500
8Mark van der Voorden£4,500
9A.V.£3,500
10Simon Griffin£3,000
11Samuel Deering£3,000
12Stuart Griffith£3,000
13Satnam Sandhu£2,500
14Jack Kent£2,500
15Sascha Manns£2,250
16Marian Dumitrache£2,250
17Ali Ayub£2,250
18Tadeas Vancura£2,250
19Thomas Garment£2,000
20Allan Arjut£2,000
21Gatis Reigass£2,000
22Chris Cunliffe£2,000
23Jari Karkkainen£1,750
24Robert Douras£1,750
25Michael Purkiss£1,750
26Teemu Leppalhti£1,750
27Aki Nevalainen£1,750
28Lars Eklund£1,500
29Shaun Halliday£1,500
30Kieran Plater£1,500
31Bart Dil£1,500
32Carlo Solazzo£1,500
33Michal Czeszel£1,500
34Christopher Wellington£1,500
35Javed Akhtar£1,500
36Jonatan Wedde£1,500
37Soni Padovani£1,250
38Antonius Samuel£1,250
39Adam Maxwell£1,250
40Saied Yolmeh£1,250
41Marko Keskel£1,250
42Vincenzo Lupoli£1,250
43Jamie Holland£1,250
44Marius Morel£1,250
45David Vesley£1,250
46Pawel Stock£1,000
47Leo Sigurdsson£1,000
48Ronnie Marland£1,000
49Oskar Wedde£1,000
50Daniel Schofield£1,000
51Kenneth Heinsvig£1,000
52Oliver Farrell£1,000
53Luke Wilby£1,000
54James Hotes£1,000
55Jav Javed£1,000
56Cnor Oldroyd£1,000
57Mark Wagstaff£1,000
58Simon Davidson£1,000
59Arian Hassankashani£1,000
60Nick Conlon£1,000
61Razma Gintautas£1,000
62Ahmed Younes£1,000
63Magnus Hofsteh£1,000
64Steven Taylor£800
65Marc Bolton£800
66Gareth Wright£800
67Rupinder Bedi£800
68Eugen Margarit£800
69Viktor Popvic£800
70David Clark£800
71John Whetton£800
72Sara Wickens£800
73Gerges Issa£800
74Mariusz Wiszowaty£800
75Philip Sewell£800
76Tuomas Kalvinmaki£800
77Jakub Matusiak£800
78Aaron Phillips£800
79Andras Bologh£800
80Alexandru Talica£800
81Russell Tarbox£800
82Paul Ephremsen£800
83Anders Wattengard£800
84Dmitrijs Meless£800
85Ian Vertefeuille£800
86Espen Baasto£800
87Max Maszlag£800
88Michael Skeldon£800
89Simon Wilson£800
90Callum Highley£800
91Oskar Ojaveer£800
92Carlo Solazzo£800




Sean O’Donnell Eliminated in 2nd Place (£31,155) 19.02.2023 21:47 by The Festival Team

Main Event Day 3
Level 33: 1,000,000/2,000,000 (2,000,000)
Entries: 1/609

Sean O’Donnell limped with A 8 from the button before he called off his stack of 37 million facing a shove by Ignacio Menendez from the big blind with K 7 .

O’Donnell improved to a flush on the 7 2 9 2 7 board. However, this wasn’t enough as Menendez nailed a full house to win the event.

Congrats to Ignacio Menendez for becoming The Festival Series Nottingham Main Event champion!

Here is a full look at the final table payouts:

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Ignacio MenendezArgentina£38,595*
2Sean O’DonnellUnited Kingdom£31,150*
3Endrit GeciUnited Kingdom£18,250
4Gyorgy SimonHungary£12,592
5Dmitri DudakovEstonia£9,250
6Vegard AndreassenNorway£7,000
7Michael O’BrienUnited Kingdom£5,500
8Mark van der VoordenNetherlands£4,500

*Reflects heads-up deal.

Recap to come on Monday as a front page article of the Main Event and another recap of the entire festival to come on Tuesday. Thank you everyone for tuning in and until the next time at The Festival Series Malta at Portomaso Casino from May 15-21.

Deal Agreed 19.02.2023 21:36 by The Festival Team

Main Event Day 3
Level 33: 1,000,000/2,000,000 (2,000,000)
Entries: 2/609

Sean O’Donnell was asking for a deal both four-handed and again three-handed. After the rollercoaster ride of the last two hands, O’Donnell finally got his wish with Ignacio Menendez agreeing to a heads-up deal as follows:

  • Ignacio Menendez – £34,345
  • Sean O’Donnell – £31,155
  • Left to play for – £4,250 and the trophy

Best of luck to both players to win the title!

Menendez Regains the Lead with Big Slick 19.02.2023 21:33 by The Festival Team

Main Event Day 3
Level 33: 1,000,000/2,000,000 (2,000,000)
Entries: 2/609

Sean O’Donnell’s chip lead only lasted one hand. Ignacio Menendez open-jammed for 18 big blinds from the button and was called by O’Donnell.

Ignacio Menendez: A K
Sean O’Donnell: A Q

Although O’Donnell was the beneficiary of a bit of luck the last hand, this time it was a bit of a cooler this time around with Menendez’s big slick holding on the 8 2 J 6 4 runout.

Ignacio Menendez – 74 million
Sean O’Donnell – 48 million

O’Donnell Cracks Menendez’s Rockets 19.02.2023 21:28 by The Festival Team

Main Event Day 3
Level 33: 1,000,000/2,000,000 (2,000,000)
Entries: 2/609

The momentum is now all with Sean O’Donnell. O’Donnell limped from the button with J 8 before Ignacio Menendez opted to slow play his A A with a check-back from the big blind.

Menendez check-raised a bet by O’Donnell from 3 million to 10 million. O’Donnell jammed for 30 million and needed some help after Menendez called.

The 5 turn followed by the 2 river improved O’Donnell to a flush to crack Menendez’s aces and was in the chip lead after the hand instead of hitting the rail.

Sean O’Donnell – 85 million
Ignacio Menendez – 37 million

Break Time 19.02.2023 21:01 by The Festival Team

Sean O’Donnell won a few smaller pots to narrow the margin. Players then went on a short 20-minute break. Here is a look at the chip counts at the break with blinds increasing to 1,000,000/2,000,000 with a 2,000,000 big blind ante.

SeatPlayerChipsBig Blinds
4Ignacio Menendez80,000,00040
7Sean O’Donnell43,000,00022
Endrit Geci Eliminated in 3rd Place (£18,250) 19.02.2023 20:54 by The Festival Team

Main Event Day 3
Level 32: 800,000/1,600,000 (1,600,000)
Entries: 2/609

Sean O’Donnell raised the button for 5 million with A 4 . Endrit Geci called off for 2.6 million from the small blind with A Q . Ignacio Menendez called from the big blind with 8 2 .

The 4 K K 7 8 board was checked down on all three streets for Menendez to eliminate Geci and win a small side pot.

Menendez will kick off heads-up action with nearly a 4:1 chip advantage over O’Donnell.

Ignacio Menendez – 95 million
Sean O’Donnell – 27 million
Endrit Geci – 0

DSC00169
Endrit Geci
Gyorgi Simon Eliminated in 4th Place (£12,592) 19.02.2023 20:29 by The Festival Team

Main Event Day 3
Level 32: 800,000/1,600,000 (1,600,000)
Entries: 3/609

What a cooler for Gyorgi Simon to hit the rail in fourth place.

Simon jammed for 8.3 million from the small blind and was called by Ignacio Menendez from the big blind.

Gyorgi Simon: 10 10
Ignacio Menendez: 9 7

Simon seemed set to double his stack after nailing a set on the 10 4 3 flop. However, the 5 turn and 6 river improved Menendez to a straight and Simon was eliminated in fourth place.

Meanwhile, Menendez took a substantial chip lead after the hand.

Ignacio Menendez – 61 million
Gyorgi Simon – 0

DSC00167
Gyorgy Simon
Updated Chip Counts to Start Level 32 19.02.2023 20:21 by The Festival Team

Main Event Day 3
Level 32: 800,000/1,600,000 (1,600,000)
Entries: 4/609

SeatPlayerChipsBig Blinds
1Endrit Geci28,000,00018
2Gyorgy Simon12,000,0008
4Ignacio Menendez49,000,00031
7Sean O’Donnell32,000,00020
Menendez Back in the Lead 19.02.2023 20:14 by The Festival Team

Main Event Day 3
Level 31: 600,000/1,200,000 (1,200,000)
Entries: 4/609

Ignacio Menendez opened for a min-raise from the button with Q 8 and was called by Sean O’Donnell from the small blind with 4 3 .

O’Donnell donk-bet for 1.4 million with his bottom pair on the 9 4 J flop and was called by Menendez. Both players checked down both the 2 turn and the A river.

Although it wasn’t a big pot, Menendez was back with the chip lead after the hand.

Ignacio Menendez – 40 million
Sean O’Donnell – 38 million

DSC00181
Ignacio Menendez
Dmitri Dudakov Eliminated in 5th Place (£9,250) 19.02.2023 20:03 by The Festival Team

Main Event Day 3
Level 31: 600,000/1,200,000 (1,200,000)
Entries: 4/609

Dmitri Dudakov jammed for 1.8 million with 9 6 from the cutoff and was called by Ignacio Menendez from the button with 5 4 , by Sean O’Donnell with J 8 , and by Endrit Geci with J 7 .

The 10 5 7 checked around. O’Donnell and Geci checked the A turn before Menendez bet 3.4 million. O’Donnell folded and Geci called with a better pair to see the 6 river completed the board.

Both Geci and Menendez checked and Geci won the hand to oust the start of the final table chip leader Dudakov in fifth place.

Sean O’Donnell – 45 million
Endrit Geci – 31 million
Ignacio Menendez – 27 million
Dmitri Dudakov – 0

the-festival-nottingham-main-event-day2-dmitri-dudakov-1119
Dmitri Dudakov
O’Donnell Wins Massive Flip to Take Lead and Leave Dudakov on Fumes 19.02.2023 19:56 by The Festival Team

Main Event Day 3
Level 31: 600,000/1,200,000 (1,200,000)
Entries: 5/609

Sean O’Donnell three-bet jammed for 25 big blinds and was called by Dmitri Dudakov for most of his stack.

Sean O’Donnell: A K
Dmitri Dudakov: 10 10

O’Donnell improved to two pair after the A 3 4 6 K ran out on the board to take the chip lead and leave the start of the final table chip leader Dudakov on fumes.

Sean O’Donnell – 47 million
Dmitri Dudakov – 1.8 million

DSC00161
Sean O’Donnell
More Final Table Photos 19.02.2023 19:51 by The Festival Team
Updated Chip Counts to Start Level 31 19.02.2023 19:43 by The Festival Team

Main Event Day 3
Level 31: 600,000/1,200,000 (1,200,000)
Entries: 5/609

SeatPlayerChipsBig Blinds
1Endrit Geci22,000,00018
2Gyorgy Simon22,000,00018
3Dmitri Dudakov31,000,00026
4Ignacio Menendez21,000,00018
7Sean O’Donnell25,000,00021
Highlights From Day 6 of The Festival Series Nottingham 19.02.2023 19:39 by The Festival Team
Vegard Andreassen Eliminated in 6th Place (£7,000) 19.02.2023 19:36 by The Festival Team

Main Event Day 3
Level 30: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 5/609

The Main Event just witnessed its third quick elimination since the break. Here is how it went down.

Vegard Andreassen jammed for about 5 big blinds from under the gun and was up against Ignacio Menendez from the small blind.

Vegard Andreassen: Q 8
Ignacio Menendez: 9 9

Andreassen was unable to improve on the 2 J 10 3 2 board and Andreassen was eliminated in sixth place for £7,000.

Ignacio Menendez – 19 million
Vegard Andreassen – 0

the-festival-nottingham-main-event-day2-vegard-andreassen-1045
Vegard Andreassen
Michael O’Brien Eliminated in 7th Place (£5,500) 19.02.2023 19:31 by The Festival Team

Main Event Day 3
Level 30: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 6/609

Michael O’Brien jammed for 6.3 million from early position. Endrit Geci three-bet shoved for 16 million from the button and the rest of the table folded.

Michael O’Brien: K K
Endrit Geci: A A

“What a cooler!” commentators Andrew Headley and George Sandford both said.

No save came from O’Brien on the 4 2 8 2 3 board and he was eliminated in seventh place on a cooler.

Endrit Geci – 25 million
Michael O’Brien – 0

Mark van der Voorden Eliminated in 8th Place (£4,500) 19.02.2023 19:19 by The Festival Team

Main Event Day 3
Level 30: 500,000/1,000,000 (1,000,000)
Entries: 7/609

Mark van der Voorden jammed from the cutoff for ten big blinds and was looked up by Sean O’Donnell from the small blind.

Mark van der Voorden: 3 3
Sean O’Donnell: 10 10

No miracle can for van der Voorden on the A 6 6 Q A board and van der Voorden was the first player eliminated at the official final table for £4,500. The remaining field each got a pay jump to £5,500. Meanwhile, O’Donnell took the chip lead after the hand.

Sean O’Donnell – 32 million
Mark van der Vordem – 0

the-festival-nottingham-main-event-day2-jack-kent-mark-van-der-voorden-1061
Mark van der Voorden