Jesse May wins Open Face Chinese at Betsafe Festival Weekend!
The final day of The Festival Weekend, powered by Betsafe, gave a very special winner of the Open Face Chinese tournament. This tournament turned out to be a massive success with 41 entries! You read that right, an Open Face Chinese tournament with this amount of entries!
The return of The Festival Series in Tallinn after three years resulted in a brand-new event named Betsafe Festival Weekend. From April 23-26, the Chesterfield Poker Club would change into the hotspot for mixed games and low buy-in hold'em tournaments and cash games. The Chesterfield Poker Club, part of the luxurious Bombay Club founded by the early cryptocurrency pioneer Tim Heath from Australia, would become the venue where Martin 'Franke' von Zweigbergk officially underlined his return to the poker grounds of Tallinn, Estonia.
Bombay Club & Chesterfield Poker Club Tallinn
The Bombay Club is without a doubt one of the main locations in Europe for high-stakes poker these days. Opened in August 2024, in the heart of Tallinn's Old Town, this venue offers luxury entertainment with exclusive gaming, fine dining, and nightlife. It features a members-only casino with plenty of gaming tables, and even has a Cantonese dining, and multiple bars including the rooftop Peacock Lounge, the Velvet nightclub, and the whiskey-focused Fox Den. The Bombay Club operates with a cashless system, similar to the Chesterfield Poker Club. It's truly unique that players can buy into tournaments and casino games by simply uploading funds to their electronic wallet, as well as withdrawing their funds to any desired bank account.
The Chesterfield Poker Club leaves no stone unturned when it comes to great service on- and off the tables. It has been an absolute pleasure to be able to host our event at their venue. The last day of this brand-new event gave us fireworks, where the Open Face Chinese tournament was attended by a record-break field of 41 entries. On top of that, the winner of the event is no stranger to the world of poker!
Photo Credits: Bombay Club
Open Face Chinese Tournament
The Open Face Chinese (OFC) tournament attracted a whopping total amount of entries, who all bought in for a reasonable buy-in of €125. They accumulated a total prize pool of €4,346 and everyone was looking ahead to that extra ADDED package for The Festival Rozvadov worth €1,600. Many mixed game enthusiasts from Estonia, Finland, and beyond, found their way to the Chesterfield Poker Club for this super event, which eventually filled up the entire venue. It resulted in epic scenes at the Betsafe Festival Weekend.
After a welcome speech of the founder of The Festival Series, Martin 'Franke' von Zweigbergk, the floor manager announced the infamous 'shuffle up and deal', and with 20 players already at the tables it was being promised to be an eventful day at the Chesterfield Poker Club. Open Face Chinese poker tournaments are perhaps the only tournaments where players are continuously talking to each other throughout the tournament. It results in plenty of banter, great discussions, and so much more.
Risto Pönniö, known for being part of inventing the game of OFC, also was part of the field. How the game is actually played these days, is thanks to him. We are always honoured when we see Risto among the players of our OFC tournaments, making it that much more special. Mati Pirn from Estonia, who is a real enthusiast of this game, busted the Main Event at first, before joining the OFC battlefield. And again he showed that he is an OFC player not to be messed with, as he finished once again as runner-up in this event.
Martin 'Franke' von Zweigbergk, who claims to be one of the best OFC players in the world, did not make it to the money spots. But still gave some great feedback about the tournament: 'It was exceptionally amazing. Such an epic turn up here in Tallinn, and yes, it's growing!'
Betsafe Festival Weekend - Open Face Chinese - Results
- Buy-in €125
- Total prize pool €4,346
- Package ADDED for The Festival Rozvadov
- 5 players ITM
| Rank | Country | Player Name | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place |  | Jesse May | €1,606 |
| 2nd Place |  | Mati Pirn | €1,110 |
| 3rd Place | | Marius Morel | €710 |
| 4th Place | | Siim Suviste | €510 |
| 5th Place | | Fabio De Franscesco | €410 |
Jesse May wins the Open Face Chinese tournament for €1,606 + The Festival Rozvadov package!
The first moment we got to know that Jesse May would be visiting our event at the Chesterfield Poker Club in Tallinn, everybody got excited right away. Jesse May, the voice of Late Night Poker, the one who got a Lifetime Achievement Award at the European Poker Awards for his work in promoting poker as a writer, commentator, and personality, visiting our little event in Tallinn.. Simply amazing! Straight from the start, Jesse had joined the OFC field and it seemed he had some sand in the engines at the beginning as he had to opt for a re-entry in the early stages. After this moment, there was no hold of him. He kept his momentum going until the money spots, and eventually even the final Heads-Up against local hero Mati Pirn.
Not only did Jesse take down the largest chunk of the prize pool with €1,606 in winnings, but he also took ownership of the ADDED The Festival Package for the next live event at King's Casino in Rozvadov. He already has confirmed his presence in Rozvadov, so better watch out for the new OFC Champion!
Whoever is not familiar with the name of Jesse May, then you might know him from being a well-known host for the TV show called Late Night Poker. Not only is he known for this great poker show, but he is also the author of a poker novel called 'Shut Up and Deal'. Besides these landmarks in his career in poker, Jessie has also done commentary for poker shows such as the William Hill Poker Grand Prix, the Irish Poker Open, and the Poker Nations Cup. He often sat down in the commentary booth alongside Padraig Parkinson, who has said it is surprising that Jesse plays so little poker because he is such a strong player. Well, Padraig, we got to see that with our own eyes as Jesse knocked all other OFC players out of the park! Besides the trophy Jessie earned himself with his victory in the Open Face Chinese tournament, he also got hold of the added Festival Series Rozvadov package, worth €1,600.
The Festival Winners get a Portrait!
If you are not aware yet that every winner of an event at The Festival Series gets an epic portrait made by Ukrainian artist 'Modernoise', then you know it now! It's really fascinating how such portraits are being made, and in the video below, you can see how it's being done. Shoutout to our great artist! He also takes any request, so do not hesitate to reach out to him through his social media channels!
Why do we still create hand-drawn trophy portraits for our winners in the AI era? Why do we even bother playing poker when the AI bots, solvers, or a phone in the crotch can do it better? Because we care, there is simply nothing like an authentic human and unpolished experience!… pic.twitter.com/YR1tFFsLi2
— The Festival Series (@TheFestivalOG) April 28, 2025
