Richard Roger Freitas Wins Mixed Games Main Event TORSES on Day 3 of The Festival Rozvadov – Bounty Hunter Days Mystery Bounty Field Grows and Main Event Underway
Another action-packed day has come to an end at Europe's poker palace, King's Resort. A new Mixed Games Main Event champion was crowned under the lights of the feature table, and two more trophies were awarded in the Mixed Game side events: the €350 8-Game and the €125 PLO Bounty. Hold'em players took to the felt in the first flight of the €230 Bounty Hunter Days 1B and the €550 Main Event 1A. Here is the rundown.
€550 Mixed Games Main Event - TORSES
A field of 18 Mixed Games enthusiasts took to the felt in the ultimate day of the marquee Mixed Game event of the Series. Thomas Eckerstorfer came into the day atop the counts, pursued by Australian Ameer Sabri, who is here as part of an extended holiday. Matteo Crapanzano was the shortest stack of the day, and he couldn't spin it up successfully.
Somehow, a certain someone came into Day 2 with the second-shortest stack. The seat draw was not so promising: on the right was Siarehi Narozhny who came into the day with 155,000, three and a bit times the starting stack: A Festival Series regular with multiple titles under his belt in Mixed Games and over $500,000 in live tournament earnings, and on the left was Risto Pönniö, a great all-around game player and key influence on how Open Face Chinese is played today.
Pönniö came into the day at the lower end of the chip counts, and his departure came about as a result of a double knockout, with Raimonds Svans the beneficiary. In a hand of Sviten Special, with the runout being: 10 A 8 2 Q , Svans had aces in hand and a straight flush on board with A A 4 J 9 . Pönniö had tens in hand and a set on the board, and “HokusPokus” had a set of eights, the only pair in hand. Svans scooped a decent one, and the players moved on to new tournaments.
An increase in the blinds and limits saw the impeccably dressed OFC wizard Mati Pirn, Peter Kepplinger, and Jens Voertmann depart in quick succession. Play marched on for an hour, with chips being traded back and forth and big swings all round. Ruud Alsemgeest was the victim of several coolers throughout the session and not much went right for the Dutchman despite his best efforts. His exit was followed by that of his compatriot, Falk Louwers and the start of the Day chip-leader Eckerstorfer. Richard Freitas had accumulated a massive stack and was applying pressure to his tablemates throughout the opening half. The Brazilian qualified from Day 1A with 119,000 and was comfortably at the top of the counts when bubble time came around.
Day 1A biggest bagger Christophe Stammet and UK representatives Matthew Hogger and this poker writer were the short-stacks looking to survive. Unfortunately for Stammet, he couldn't get the rub of the green and he was the eventual bubble boy. Two tables were left and only eight could make it to the final table. The Festival blogger was on the down trend and blinding out, but somehow managed to scoop a pot with Broadway in PLO Hi-Lo, before trending down once again. The writer chopped a pot with friend of The Festival and former Mixed Games Main Event champion, Barrie Dear, with Dear taking the high hand with a superior two pair. 2-7 Triple Draw bailed the blogger out numerous time, but his time came to an end in a hand of Sviten Special after surviving seven all in and at risk situations across three different games. It was the most fun I have ever had at a poker table, it was an absolute treat and the players were all in good spirits.
Erik Hamre, Narozhny, and Hogger fell first at the final table. Eliminations came in pairs as Svans and Dear were stacked and departed within a matter of moments of each other. Heads-up play lasted around 30 minutes, with Freitas holding a slight advantage over Sabri. Freitas' advantage grew in a hand of Sviten Special, as he had a full house in hand and quads on board with 5 2 5 2 2 in hand on the 8 5 10 4 5 runout to scoop the pot.
The game changed after a few more hands, and it was Seven Card Stud where all the money went into the middle. Freitas made a flush on fifth to seal the deal and secure the title. Freitas calls Czechia his home and currently plays Second Division football here. Freitas has some serious Hold'em skills as well, finishing 24th in last years WSOP Main Event for $360,000. Below are the payouts.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Roger Freitas | Brazil | €7,200 |
| 2 | Ameer Sabri | Australia | €4,500 |
| 3 | Barrie Dear | United Kingdom | €3,000 |
| 4 | Raimonds Svans | Latvia | €2,100 |
| 5 | Matthew Hogger | United Kingdom | €1,600 |
| 6 | Siarhei Narozhny | €1,290 | |
| 7 | Erik Hamre | Norway | €1,182 |
| 8 | Patrick Cole | United Kingdom | €1,100 |
€230 Bounty Hunter Days 1B
173 total entrants took to the tables in pursuit of a bag to hunt for bounties on Day 2 of the €230 Bounty Hunter Days Mystery Bounty. A wide range of nationalities were represented in the counts, with the majority of the baggers coming from Romania and Germany.
Rozvadov regular and Romanian national Paul Adrian Covaciu has become the chip leader, bagging an impressive 1,531,000. Covaciu is a seasoned Hold'em player, and oddly enough, his stack is a similar number to his recorded live tournament earnings of $1,552,433. Below are the counts in full of the progressing players.
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Adrian Covaciu | Romania | 1,531,000 |
| 2 | probeers | Germany | 863,000 |
| 3 | Attila Ivacson | Romania | 609,000 |
| 4 | Pit Michels | Luxembourg | 578,000 |
| 5 | Karol Janiszewski | Poland | 542,000 |
| 6 | Karlson | Germany | 490,000 |
| 7 | Gabriel Gavrila | Romania | 431,000 |
| 8 | Hans Toftesund | Norway | 420,000 |
| 9 | Munteanu JR. | Romania | 406,000 |
| 10 | Tobias Revenäs | Sweden | 390,000 |
| 11 | King of Kings | Switzerland | 377,000 |
| 12 | Yuri Overhand | Netherlands | 374,000 |
| 13 | Stephan Kubler | Germany | 360,000 |
| 14 | Michael Strauch | Germany | 349,000 |
| 15 | Rajvi Makol | India | 290,000 |
| 16 | Christian Froehler | Germany | 242,000 |
| 17 | Francesco Senna | Italy | 203,000 |
| Andras Ivacson | Romania | 197,000 |
€550 Main Event 1A
The first flight of the Main Event ran yesterday evening, and 64 total entrants took to the felt in the marquee Hold'em tournament of the week. Only eight made it through, and it is The Hendon Mob Championship final tablist Dong He who bagged the biggest stack. Mykhailo Lohvinenko was also on the same final table, and he will be looking to make his second of the week in the Main Event.
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dong He | Germany | 597,000 |
| 2 | Dwayne Sluis | Netherlands | 581,000 |
| 3 | Mario Vuletic | Croatia | 563,000 |
| 4 | Nobody | Germany | 469,000 |
| 5 | Thomas Eckerstorfer | Austria | 429,000 |
| 6 | Grzegorz Ryszard Flak | Poland | 239,000 |
| 7 | Mykhailo Lohvinenko | Ukraine | 208,000 |
| 8 | James Rooney | Ireland | 115,000 |
€350 8-Game
Narozhny made it two final tables in one day in the €350 8-Game, which saw a field of 36 total entrants take to the tables at King's Resort in Rozvadov. Ultimately it was a nicknamed individual who struck a deal with another nicknamed individual in the early hours of this morning. Pönniö bounced back from his earlier cooler in the Mixed Games Main Event TORSES to finish third.
| Place | Player | Country | Payouts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BADIDADA | Germany | €3,261 |
| 2 | youre | Ukraine | €3,039 |
| 3 | Risto Pönniö | Finland | €1,585 |
| 4 | Jens Voertmann | Germany | €1,100 |
| 5 | Siarhei Narozhny | €849 | |
| 6 | Peter Kepplinger | Austria | €750 |
€125 PLO Bounty Madness
A big field of 114 total entrants went bounty hunting in the four card streets yesterday evening. €40 of each buy in went into the bounty prize pool, meaning there was a lot of money on the table outside of the vanilla payouts. Ultimately, another nicknamed individual took home the biggest share of the prize pool. Below are the payouts inclusive of bounties.
| Place | Player | Country | Payout (Inc Bounties) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mimosha | Ukraine | € 2,386 |
| 2 | Stephan Kramer | Germany | € 1,600 |
| 3 | Angelo Bruno | Italy | € 996 |
| 4 | Tobias Holmstroem | Sweden | € 585 |
| 5 | Eran Shchori | Israel | € 547 |
| 6 | Michal Szelka | Poland | € 444 |
| 7 | Daniel Ortlieb | Germany | € 377 |
| 8 | Daniel Maimon | Israel | € 333 |
| 9 | Orel Sabag | Israel | € 225 |
| 10 | David Trivino | Spain | € 169 |
| 11 | none | Germany | € 329 |
| 12 | Markus Drunagel | Germany | € 282 |
| 13 | SunrunPunter | Israel | € 202 |
| 14 | clou | Austria | € 155 |
| 15 | Maksim Belomestnoi | Estonia | € 235 |
| 16 | Marios Voinas | Greece | € 275 |
| 17 | Mads Holbaek | Norway | € 275 |
| 18 | Menahem Sabag | Israel | € 235 |
Today's Schedule
| Date | Time | Event | GTD | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 12.6.2026 | 12:00 | Bounty Hunter Days Mystery Bounty – Day 1C Turbo | €100,000 | €230 |
| Friday 12.6.2026 | 15:00 | Turbo Satellite to Main Event – Day 1C | €5,500 | €80 |
| Friday 12.6.2026 | 15:00 | Bounty Hunter Days Flip & Go | €100,000 | €230 |
| Friday 12.6.2026 | 18:00 | The Festival Main Event – Day 1C | €500,000 | €550 |
| Friday 12.6.2026 | 18:30 | Baby TORSES (Supreme) | €5,000 | €150 |
| Friday 12.6.2026 | 19:00 | Bounty Hunter Days – Final Day | €100,000 | — |
Prepare for another action-packed day from Rozvadov across an incredible range of events. The team and I will be here day and night to provide you with updates in video and text formats. Follow along on the live blog, The Festival Series Facebook page, and TheFestivalOG on Instagram.
That's all for now, folks. Until next time.
