Impromptu €5k Sit-and-Go Crowns An Action-Packed Schedule on Day 3 of The Festival Weekend Tallinn
It was a full house, and all the big names were out at Olympic Park Casino on Day 3 of The Festival Weekend. A packed schedule of Mixed Games, Hold'em, and everything in between, an improvised €5,000 Sit-and-Go stole the show. Here is the rundown of the picks of the bunch as we reach the halfway point.
€5,000 "Friendly" Sit-and-Go
After numerous star appearances and big names taking to the felt over the Festival Weekend, the powers that be organised an impromptu sit-and-go. Huge names from the high-roller scene were in attendance, with three of the top 5 in Estonia's All-Time Money List taking to the feature table at Olympic Park.
The ever-elusive Vladimir "Gambledore" Korzinin is #1, High-Stakes regular Markkos Ladev is #3, and Ranno Sootla is #5. They were joined by Ossi "Monarch" Ketola, owner of the world's largest CS:GO skin casino, Aleksander Lattikas, Steven Tool, Ardo Hanschmidt, and of course, Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk.
Ketola got off to a good start, doubling through Ladev with aces against his tens. Franke was up and down the counts throughout, nothing new there, and he lost a sizeable one against Sootla, having called a jam with A J against Sootla's 7 7 . Sootla's pair became a set on the flop of 8 Q 7 . The 10 turn gave Franke Broadway and flush outs, but he couldn't bink, as the 3 gave Sootla the double up to leave the boss short.
He appeared to be in control throughout, stacking up and demolishing sushi rolls like they're nothing. He established a big stack when registration closed. Gambledore couldn't work his magic, firing six bullets without finding the money. Of the 16 total entrants, almost half of them were him, because he is that man.
Franke started to put a run together, knowing out Aleksander Lattikas and Steven Tool. Ardo Hanschmidt was atop the counts when play resumed four-handed, and Ketola had slipped down the counts. However, the tables were turned, and Ladev was left short and subsequently lost the following all-in and call, and he was out in third.
Franke then went on the decline but doubled through Ketola, as the Finnish gambling site owner jammed blind v blind versus The Boss with 8-5 off against his K 10 K 8 4 .
However, Franke couldn't maintain that momentum, and fell victim to "the biggest bubble of my life." He jammed on the button with A 3 as the shortest stack. Ardo Handschmidt called with A 5 , and Ossi Ketola called with A J . Handschmidt had both covered. The K 10 K 8 4 runout gave Ketola the pot and take play three-handed.
Franke was immensely proud of his efforts, saying, "I played my poker, I bluffed them a few times, I got called a few times. It happens." I'm sure I can say on behalf of the team that we are all proud of his efforts.
Ultimately, the play resulted in a few hands of heads-up play with Handschmidt all in and at risk with A 9 . Ketola had A J , seemingly his lucky hand this evening.The 4 Q 10 2 Q runout secured Ketola the victory and a €55,000 payday. Handschmidt left with €22,400.
€555 TORSE Main Event
Twenty-five returned for Day 2 of the premier Mixed Games event of the week, the €555 TORSES Main Event. The event fittingly attracted 55 total entrants. Spooky! Only seven were to reach the final table, and it was start-of-the-day chip leader Kjetil Flaaten who was the unfortunate victim of the bubble.
Ultimately, it was Alexander Freund who became the latest €555 TORSES Main Event champion, besting a field of 55 over the two-day stint at Olympic Park Casino in Tallinn. He took down the title in a hand of Stud Hi-Lo, making a pair of queens. Timo Lämsä was drawing to a lo and a flush draw, but could only make a pair of nines. Freund is a Mixed Games specialist with $590,941 in live tournament earnings according to our friends at thehendonmob.com. His only Festival Series cash came in the TORSES Main Event in Bratislava 2025, where he finished ninth for €1,500.
The Festival spoke to Freund shortly after winning the event, saying: "It's always fun to play these Mixed Games. I am very looking forward to playing the €1,100 10-Game Mix, which is the best mix of games, and you can definitely quote me on that."
A notable story is that Raimon Svans managed to survive the bubble three times, twice in 2-7 Triple Draw and once in Stud Hi-Lo. he has now made back-to-back TORSES Main Event final tables. Below are the payouts.
| Place | Player | Nationality | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander Freund | Germany | €9,135 |
| 2 | Timo Lämsä | Finland | €5,880 |
| 3 | Pasi Trollhjärta | Finland | €3,920 |
| 4 | Morten Antonsen | Norway | €2,610 |
| 5 | Raimonds Svans | Latvia | €1,960 |
| 6 | Riku Koivurinne | Finland | €1,440 |
| 7 | Henrik Puija | Finland | €1,180 |
€555 Main Event 1C
In the biggest and final Main Event flight of this Festival Weekend, David Santalla topped the counts of the 106 total entrants and the 13 who progressed to Day 2 and ITM status. All but one of Santalla’s career cashes have come in Estonia, with his best score this year in the €1,110 Deepstack PKO at Kings of Tallinn in February, where he finished 3rd for €6,750 excluding bounties. Below are the counts of those who made it.
| Pos | Player | Nationality | Stack |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Santalla | Spain | 957,000 |
| 2 | Timo Ruuska | Finland | 759,000 |
| 3 | Raivo Grislis | Latvia | 672,000 |
| 4 | Larry Loupolover | Bulgaria | 555,000 |
| 5 | Mantas Burba | Lithuania | 550,000 |
| 6 | Jorn Hval | Norway | 348,000 |
| 7 | Daniel Gumula | Poland | 333,000 |
| 8 | Martin Willborg | Sweden | 328,000 |
| 9 | Ruben Rahumägi | Estonia | 288,000 |
| 10 | Olli Kalso | Finland | 171,000 |
| 11 | Erik Põlluveer | Estonia | 125,000 |
| 12 | Marek Selgeveer | Estonia | 112,000 |
| 13 | Magnus Nilsen | Norway | 101,000 |
| Time | Type | Event | Total Buy-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 | NLH | Main Event Day 2 (Mystery) | N/A |
| 12:30 | MIXED | The Festival 10 Game Day 2 | €1,100 |
| 13:00 | PLO | Dealers Choice All PL (Bigo, PLO4, PLO5, PLO6, 7 Stud, Sviten Special) | €350 |
| 14:00 | NLH | NLH 7-2 Estonia Special (incl. INES rule) | €200 |
| 19:00 | CASINO | Slots | €150 |
| 21:00 | MIXED | Sviten 49 | €150 |
Today's Schedule
Stay tuned to the live blog for continued coverage of the live action and a rundown of the action from the side events; there is too much action to fit into one article! The side events attracted plenty of runners and produced plenty of winners, and there is still so much more to come heading into the final two days.
That's all for now, folks. Until next time.
