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Faces in the Crowd At the Festival in Malta


Every poker festival has its own storyline. There are players who shine, perhaps winning multiple events and going deep on several occasions. We don’t know who these players will be at the Festival in Malta, as although class is permanent in poker, form is temporary and we just don’t know who will be blessed with luck (to compliment their skill) this time round.
At the last Festival Series event in Rozvadov, several players captured our attention, repeatedly featuring in our coverage as they consistently went deep in tournaments throughout the festival week.
Here’s a reminder of some of the main protagonists from Rozvadov. Will any of them feature heavily this week as well?
Thomas Gugerbauer
Thomas was the Player of the Series at The Festival in Rozvadov, winning two events and going close on three other occasions, with a runner-up spot and two third place finishes. Thomas finished narrowly ahead of Scott Kenyon, but would have been even further ahead, but for the fact that two of his results were obtained by way of a deal, which reduced the leaderboard points he was awarded.
We’re not sure if Thomas is making the trip to Malta this time, but we’ll be looking out closely for him and will report on his progress if he does show up.

Scott Kenyon
Streamer Scott ‘Pokerbrahs’ Kenyon had been the Player of the Series at The Festival in Bratislava in 2023 and was determined to have a go at retaining his title. He fell just short, making four final tables and closed the gap considerably on the last day by winning the Open Face Chinese High Roller.
Scott is here for another crack at the cherry, arriving early to warm up with some of the tournaments on the Vamos Poker Tour.

Sascha Manns
Sascha is a Festival regular and claimed the title in the Mixed Games Main event in Rozvadov. He featured high up on the provisional leaderboard during the early part of the week, thanks to several other cashes and deep runs, but tailed off at the end of the week.
He used to be a resident of Malta and is expected to attend this week.

Siarhei Narozhny
Siarhei was like a machine in Non-Hold’em games in Rozvadov. He was runner up to Sascha Manns in the Mixed Games Main Event and also won the Seven Card Stud. He could have won more, as he was also the huge chip leader in one event, but uncharacteristically surrendered his stack before the final table.
Siarhei will be sure to be a threat again if he rocks up to The Festival in Malta.

Lachezar Tsenov
Lachezar, the smiling Bulgarian is not only a really friendly player at the tables, he’s also really good. He’s mostly a Pot Limit Omaha cash game player and he made three final tables during the week, winning one of the PLO Freezeouts.
We’re not sure if he will be here again this time, but look forward to his presence, if he graces us with it.

Rolf Arne Bechstrøm
Rolf is a Festival Series stalwart and a notable one at that. He made three final tables in Rozvadov and had minor cashes in other too. But he is better known for being the reigning two-time Franke’s Flip Flops champion. He won the event last year in Malta and also took down the same title in Rozvadov earlier this year.
Franke’s Flip Flop’s has had some changes made to its format and for the Malta version the daily winners will claim a seat on a Grand Final Flip on the last day of the series, with a €1,600 Bratislava package awarded to the winner.
Further info about the changes to the event can be read about here in this detailed article about the Festival written by the Vamos Poker Tour Main Event Day 1c bubble boy Melvin Schroen.

Ivo Gazde
Another player who shone in Rozvdov is mixed games specialist Ivo Gazde, who made two PLO final tables but took the title in the Win the Button tournament. He also cashed in the Main Event and was in contention for the Player of the Series until he crashed out in 68th, having built a decent stack.
If Ivo has made his way to Malta, he is likely to feature in the story of the festival once again.

It Could Be You?
So we’ve seen who the main characters were in the Story of The Festival in Rozvadov, but how many of them will reprise their roles here in Malta?
Stay tuned to The Festival Live Blog to find out who’s making the news this time around. There’s sure to be new characters introduced and there’s bound to at least be cameos from some of the players mentioned in this article, but will any of them retake centre stage as the story unfolds?
Perhaps the story is about you, yes you, the lonely reader who got to the end of this article. Many of the readers will be players attending the event and if that’s you and you’re still reading, you have already demonstrated one quality shared by all great poker players: perseverance in the face of adversity.
Good luck, i’m looking forward to writing about you.







