Quick Chat with Ville Keränen: The Champion of Sviten’s Largest (Entries) Tournament in the World!
The Bratislava stop of The Festival Series is getting closer and because the previous edition has broken several attendance records for mixed games, we are curious to see if we can break these records again in 2026.
One attendance record that was broken twice in the previous year was for Sviten. During the Sviten weekend in Tallinn in July we saw 122 entries while the Bratislava Sviten event had 131 runners. Both events had 1 thing in common: they were won by the same player: Ville Keränen.
We sat down with Ville and asked a few questions on his poker journey and Sviten, to see if we can unlock some secrets on how to win Sviten events.
First of all congratulations again for being the winner of the (for now) largest Sviten tournament in the world. On your Hendon Mob results I noticed you have been playing for many years already, with cashes in hold’em and mixed games from over 15 years ago. How did you get into poker? Did you start with Texas hold’em or were you playing mixed games straight from the beginning?
Like so many other players I started with Texas Hold’em, but as I played a lot in Casino Helsinki I started studying the games that were being played there: Seven Card Stud, Sökö (a Finnish version of Five Card Stud) and a couple of Omaha variations.
In home games we started to play all possible games and invented some of our own games on the fly. That is the reason why it´s possible for me to understand new games quite quickly.
Do you prefer playing Hold’em or Mixed Games? Is Sviten your favourite game given the recent results or do you not have a favourite?
Sviten is one of the best games there is. Actually I like Open Face Chinese most, but I am not sure if that can be counted as poker? Mixed games are a good variation from time to time, but for me Texas Hold’em is still the king of games.
In Bratislava I noticed you have an aggressive playstyle, and it quickly gained you a large stack with which you cruised towards the final table and managed to take down the win. Do you approach Sviten tournaments differently in the different stages or does it not change that much?
In Sviten there are no shortcuts at early stages of the tournaments. Bluffing or playing super aggressively is not the best strategy in early stages of Sviten tournaments. That comes later when stacks are shorter and you start to know how your opponent’s play, so you anticipate their behaviour.
If you are shortstacked in Sviten, let’s say around a 10-15 BB stack, what kind of hands would you decide to go with preflop? And what kind of hands would you go with if someone has raised before you?
Opening big pairs of course. Smaller pairs are playable if you also have a suited ace in your hand. Four card flushes and straights are also good to go with. .
If there is a raise, it depends on the person that raises. Will he fire pot on almost every flop, or will he slow down sometimes. If there is a potting machine, you probably need aces, two pairs with kings or even trips to go for it. Flush- and straight draws are hands that you play if you are ready to move to cash games, where stacks are a lot deeper.
Are there any other specific tips you would like to give to players who are new to Sviten and want to get into the game?
Play tight and don’t put any chips in the pot with ‘good omaha hands’. Play it like you are playing Five Card Draw preflop, as you don’t want to be playing for only half the pot!
You had a great The Festival run in Bratislava with not only the Sviten win but also 2 final tables in other side events. Will we see you in action at The Festival Series next year to win potentially an even bigger field in Sviten? Any specific events you are looking forward to?
I build student housing for living so it's hard to travel many times a year, but when any big events are coming to Tallinn I am in! Even if I am a Finn, I think that Tallinn is the capital of live poker in Europe.
For that reason I cannot wait for the Festival Series in Tallinn, that’s going to be cool!
Anything else you would like to mention about Sviten and the future of Sviten?
I predict a bright future for Sviten!
Now let’s see in February if Villes prodictions on the future of Sviten will be true and we can break the record again! The Sviten tournament will be played on 26/2 at 13:00.
Click here for the full Festival Series Bratislava schedule.
