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Franke Among the Five The Festival Series Malta Champions on Day 4


Day 4 of The Festival Series Malta was rocking at Portomaso Casino with five new winners crowned including Cory Desmond, Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk, Kai Muller, William Lynch, and Tobias Bollman.
Read on to learn more:
Cory Desmond Wins High Roller (€18,000)

Cory Desmond agreed to a heads-up deal with Domenico Zappia to win the €18,000 top prize in the €1,100 NLHE High Roller. Zappia collected nearly as much with a €17,500 payout. The High Roller attracted a field of 70 entries to create a €67,200 prize pool.
Ewen Trevidy, Alberto Cigliano, Raoul van Wersch, Daniel Oliver, Gyorgy Laszlo, Alexander van Dijk, and Balazs Somodi were among the players to cash for at least a €2,200 min-cash.
Place | Player | Prize |
---|---|---|
1 | Cory Desmond | €18,000 |
2 | Domenico Zappia | €17,500 |
3 | Ewen Trevidy | €8,100 |
4 | Alberto Cigliano | €6,600 |
5 | Raoul van Wersch | €5,300 |
6 | Daniel Oliver | €4,000 |
7 | Gyorgy Laszlo | €3,000 |
8 | Alexander van Dijk | €2,500 |
9 | Balazs Somodi | €2,200 |
Franke Wins the HORSE After Four-Way Deal

The Festival Series Founder Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk has done it again. Franke was low on chips early on in the €250 HORSE event which attracted 69 entries for a €14,904 prize pool. But he ran his stack up before taking many unscheduled breaks. He even sat out the first portion of the final table.
However, when there were four players left, Franke had the chip lead and made a deal with Antti Tianen, Petri Juurikkala, and Per Gjelten where each of the four players collected a €2,850 payout.
“How easy is it?” Franke said after the win before joking. “I don’t even know all the rules and yet still won against HORSE pros like Sascha Manns.”
Franke is being modest as last year he took third place in the EPT Prague €550 HORSE. Congrats to Franke for winning the trophy and all of the players that cashed this fun mixed-game event.
Place | Player | Prize |
---|---|---|
1 | Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk | €2,850 |
2 | Antti Tianen | €2,850 |
3 | Petri Juurikkala | €2,850 |
4 | Per Gjelten | €2,850 |
5 | Julien Teissedre | €980 |
6 | Martin Smith | €790 |
7 | Eva Jiretorn | €650 |
8 | Igor Panak | €560 |
9 | Mikael Grovnik | €504 |
William Lynch Wins the PLO 4/5/6

The €250 PLO 4/5/6 attracted 72 entries to create a €15,550 prize pool. William Lynch, Sander Mets, Boon Wan Lee, Bianca Essers, and Yann de Tychey all agreed to a five-way deal. Lynch and Mets both collected the same €2,900 prize but Lynch was crowned the winner.
Place | Player | Prize |
---|---|---|
1 | William Lynch | €2,900 |
2 | Sander Mets | €2,900 |
3 | Boon Wan Lee | €2,750 |
4 | Bianca Essers | €2,200 |
5 | Yann de Tychey | €2,150 |
6 | Soner Vanelderen | €890 |
7 | Pavol Guris | €690 |
8 | Bjorne Lindberg | €570 |
9 | Mark Adams | €500 |
CasinoTogether's Tobias Bollman Wins Matching Visions Slots Tournament

CasinoTogether’s Tobias Bollman showed how it was done as he shipped the €125 Matching Visions Slot Tournament for a cool €1,000. He seemed down but out but in his final few spins hit the biggest one of them all to win the event.
Meanwhile, the runner-up Arturs Pomerancevs also had an incredible run. He normally plays micro-stakes online and won a package for €11 to The Festival Series Bratislava from our partner Optibet. This is also his first poker festival and was a pleasure to meet him while playing the Slots Tournament. Despite busting the Main Event earlier today, Pomerancevs at least has a good story to remember about his experience at The Festival Series Malta.
Nils Vadenbring also cashed after finishing in third place.
This author also took a break and played in the Slots Tournament as well. Although I didn't come close to the money, I had a fabulous time and got to meet a few new players including Pomerancevs.
Place | Player | Prize |
---|---|---|
1 | Tobias Bollman | €1,000 |
2 | Arturs Pomerancevs | €600 |
3 | Nils Vadenbring | €300 |
Kai Muller Wins Thursday Turbo Midnight Madness

Despite the title, the €125 Thursday Turbo Midnight Madness kicked off at 9 p.m. The action was still going strong at midnight and it wasn’t until slightly after 2 a.m. that Kai Muller defeated Rinalds Zimka to win the title and the €3,190 top prize.
The event attracted 112 entries to create a €11,827 prize pool. Here is a look at all of the players that cashed in the Thursday Turbo Midnight Madness:
Place | Player | Prize |
---|---|---|
1 | Kai Muller | €3,190 |
2 | Rinalds Zimka | €2,330 |
3 | Martynas Brazdzionis | €1,330 |
4 | Remy Hendrix | €1,047 |
5 | Scott “Pokerbrahs” Kenyon | €850 |
6 | Shota Burjandaze | €730 |
7 | Elon Perry | €550 |
8 | Matiss Celmis | €420 |
9 | Theodoros Konstantinidis | €290 |
10 | Salvatore Ritrovato | €240 |
11 | Or Gur | €240 |
12 | Jelmer Schuurmans | €240 |
13 | Gianni Palmisano | €240 |
14 | Markou Volgko | €130 |
Adam Briggs Wins Two Cash Game Challenge Sessions

Congrats to Adam Briggs for winning both Cash Game Challenges last night. He booked a €560 profit (280 big blinds) in the €2/€2 Omaha and another €532 profit (266 big blinds) in €2/€2 no-limit hold’em.
This is still miles behind The Festival Series Founder Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk on the Cash Game Challenge leaderboard which the winner will win a €1,600 package to The Festival Series Bratislava at Banco Casino on Nov. 27 to Dec. 3. Franke miraculously won €6,300 in the €2/€2 Omaha Cash Game Challenge on May 15 and this will be tough for anyone to beat.
Date | Game | Player | Profit | Big Blinds |
---|---|---|---|---|
May 15 | €2/€2 NLHE | Hugo Loustrau | €416 | 208 |
May 15 | €2/€2 PLO | Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk | €6,300 | 3,150 |
May 16 | €2/€2 NLHE | Tobias Bollman | €610 | 305 |
May 16 | €2/€2 PLO | Jack Holland | €637 | 318.5 |
May 17 | €2/€2 PLO | Martins Geiba | €1,008 | 504 |
May 18 | €2/€2 PLO | Adam Briggs | €560 | 280 |
May 18 | €2/€2 NLHE | Adam Briggs | €532 | 266 |
May 19th Schedule
Day 5 of The Festival Series Malta is set to be another big one. Not only will the final two flights of the €550 Main Event kick off today but today is also the start of the two-day €250 The Hendon Mob Championship. The €125 The Festival Queens, hosted by poker presenter Laura Cornelius, is bound to be tons of fun for the ladies in attendance.
Here is a look at today’s schedule. Of course, there are hospitality activities today for those with the hospitality package, Franke’s Flip Flops running from 9 p.m. until 11 p.m., and cash games running nonstop on the casino floor.
Time | Event |
---|---|
12 p.m. | Event #8: €550 Main Event Day 1d |
1 p.m. | Event #34: €250 Open Face Chinese |
4 p.m. | Event #35: €250 The Hendon Mob Championship Day 1 |
4 p.m. | Event #36: €125 The Festival Queens (Ladies Event) |
7 p.m. | Event #37: €125 Texas Surprise |
8 p.m. | Event #38: €5/€5 NLHE Cash Game Challenge |
8 p.m. | Event #8: €550 Main Event Day 1e Turbo |
9 p.m. | Event #39: €125 PLO/PLO8 |
10:30 p.m. | Event #40: €5/€5 PLO Cash Game Challenge |
11 p.m. | Event #41: €125 Texas Turbo Challenge |








