The Festival in Rozvadov Player of the Series – Revealed!
The Festival in Rozvadov is now over for 2026, but will be remembered fondly by those who participated, especially those who had success on the felt. Amidst all the poker, activities, fun and frolics that is the hallmark of The Festival Series’ character, a race was on, to be the Player of the Series. It’s been an ever-present feature of The Festival Series throughout its existence and is taken quite seriously, with those who do well in the opening days often making a special effort to push on for the win.
All competitors earn a few points simply for taking part in each event, but the big points are awarded to those who finish in the money, (satellites, seniors and the Festival Queens not included). The higher you finish in a tournament, the more points you earn. The player with the most points at the end of the series is declared the Player of the Series and scoops a package to the next Festival Series event, worth €1,700.
Early Front Runners
The early pace setter was Florian Hesl, who topped the charts after the first day of the series, with just two side events being completed on the opening day. Hesl won the smaller of the tournaments that took place, but secured the most leaderboard points, thanks to a seven-way deal in the Sviten Special. When there are deals, Player of the Series points are frozen, so all players involved in the Sviten deal earned seventh place points.
On the second day four further events concluded and it was the familiar face of the Festival Series founder that led the way. Having skill-boxed his way to victory in the Blackjack tournament, Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk ended the day with 54.75pts, 2.5pts ahead of Hendon Mob Championship winner Dmitri Dudakov.
Although he didn’t play on Day 3, Franke retained his lead, picking up participation points from the Mixed Games Main Event, which wrapped up with Richard Freitas from Brazil taking the title. Belorussian Siarhei Narohzny moved into second place on the leaderboard with final tables in the Mixed Games Main Event and the 8-Game.
Key Challengers Emerge
But it was all-change on Day 4, as Austrian Thomas Eckerfstorfer stormed to the top of the table after winning the Bounty Hunter Days Mystery Bounty. He not only won that tournament, but took the biggest bounty prize as well, adding over €25k to his net worth and 65pts to his Player of the Series score. That was enough to put him on 72.5pts at the end of the day, just half a point ahead of Jens Voertmann, who was having another highly consistent series, with three final tables already at the half-way point.
Another 1.25pts further back was Paul Craciunas who was the star performer of the hump day, winning both the OFC Pineapple and the 20k NLH back-to-back. His victory in the Hold’em event was after a deal, otherwise he would have assumed the lead at the top of the table.
But on Day 5 Craciunas slipped back to seventh, as he entered the Main Event, bagging a stack into Day 2, while his rivals remained concentrated on side events. Jens Voertmann retained his consistency with another final table, taking 3rd in the Baby TORSES to assume the lead on 92.25pts. TORSES runner-Up Benedict Kaiser, who was runner-up in the BIg O, moved into second place, just a quarter of a point behind Voertmann. Maenwhile Siarhei Narozhny won the HORSE and climbed back to 3rd place overall.
Voertmann Extends Lead
On the penultimate day of The Festival in Rozvadov, the race, which has been extremely tight all the way through the week, suddenly changed pace. Voertmann, who has been bossing in mixed games for over two decades (his greatest achievement to-date being his 2008 WSOP bracelet win in $1,500 HORSE), won the 10-Game, a special Festival Mix rotation devised by Franke. This boosted his score by 27.5 points, while his nearest challengers failed to cash, enabling him to pull way from the chasing pack, establishing a 25.5 point lead over Benedict Kaiser.
Going Into the Final Day
As play got underway on the last day of The Festival in Rozvadov, Voertmann was in a similar situation to the one that Barry Dear found himself in on the last day in Bratislava. A huge lead, but still mathematical possibilities that someone could overtake him.
Most of those in the top ten were too far behind to be able to make a challenge, but with a few events left to play, a multi-tabling feat by Benedict Kaiser or Siarhei Narozhny might have got them there. Olaf Holmström, Fabian Bartuschk, Franke and Dennis Lebedevs were all well adrift and without any realistic route to victory. In fact, none of the players in the top ten made any significant progress on the final day and some had already left Rozvadov early.
But there was one player left in the Main Event, which was now down to the last 16 players, who could still get there, with a top two finish. That player was Paul Craciunas, who had not added any points since the day he won two events earlier in the week and was in 13th place overall, still on 70.75 points.
They Think It’s All Over, It Is Now - The Top 10
How did it all pan out? Did Voertmann hold on to the top spot, or did Craciunas close the gap and overtake him on the finishing line?
Barry Dear didn’t have a repeat of his successes in Bratislava, but did have another solid week, with two third place finishes and a fifth. He ended up on 73.5pts, which was good enough for 10th place.
Thomas Eckerstorfer made Day 2 of the Main Event, but busted early. Had he made it to the final day, he would also have had a shot at overtaking Voertmann, but he had to settle for 9th place overall, ending up with 75 pts. Risto Ponnio ended up with a quarter of a point more in 8th, with Dennis Lebedevs one point and one place higher up the table in 7th.
Although he led the race for a couple of days early on, Franke didn’t make any further deep runs, but still finished in a very respectable 6th place, with 77.25pts. Fabian Bartuschk had a strong week, winning the PLO High Roller, taking 4th in the Hold’em High Roller and 5th in his strongest discipline, the Open Face Chinese Pineapple. He also min-cashed the Main Event, for a final score of 79.75pts, good enough for 5th place. Just outside the podium positions in 4th was Swede Olaf Holmström on 84.75pts. He made two final tables during the week, winning the Sunday NLH Turbo.
Notable Mentions
Before we move on to the medal ceremony itself, a couple of mentions for some other strong performers at The Festival in Rozvadov are in order. They may not have challenged at the top of the leaderboard, but had very impressive weeks all the same.
The first special mention goes to Joakim Olin, who captured his third (or maybe even his fourth) Seniors title at the Series and took second place in the Sunday NLH Turbo. He also cashed in the Main Event and another Hold’em side event and finished in 26th place on the leaderboard, with 60.5pts. The Seniors does not count towards the Player of the Series Race, as it’s not an open event, but if it had been, Olin would have made it into the top ten.
The second notable mention goes to the UK’s Vanessa Webley, who won the Festival Queens. She cashed in four other events, including taking 35th in the Main Event and 5th in the Tuesday NLH Turbo Madness. She finished in 84th overall on the leaderboard with 39pts, but like Olin, would have jumped up the table considerably if the event she won carried ranking points.
Medal Ceremony
Bronze Medal: Madskills 🥉
In the bronze medal position, with 96.50pts is the anonymous Frenchman Madskills and no, it’s not Sascha Manns in disguise. Whoever he is, he lived up to his chosen nickname, winning the 5-Card PLO Bombpot event and cashing in three other events, including 3rd place in the Bounty Hunter Days Mystery Bounty and 25th in the Main Event.
| Event | Finishing Position | Field Size | Points Earned | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #8 €230 Bounty Hunter Days Mystery Bounty | 3rd | 552 | 47.5 | €6,125 |
| #36 €200 5-Card PLO Bomb Pot | 1st | 31 | 21.25 | €1,723 |
| #14 €550 The Festival Main Event | 25th | 710 | 10 | €2,500 |
| #3 €175 The Hendon Mob Championship | 39th | 351 | 5.25 | €350 |
| #2 €650 Mixed Games Main Event (TORSES) | 34th | 47 | 5 | €0 |
| #24 €1,100 PLO High Roller | 10th | 25 | 5 | €0 |
| #16 €125 Thursday PLO Bounty Madness | 19th | 114 | 1.25 | €0 |
| #35 €150 NL Texas Freezeout | 45th | 66 | 1.25 | €0 |
| 8 Events Played | 4 Cashes | 96.5 | €10,698 |
Silver Medal: Paul Craciunas 🥈
The identity of the silver medalist may be a surprise to anyone who has followed the storyline so far. According to the results and the reports Paul Craciunas did achieve a top two finish. The Romanian did better than that actually, he won the Main Event, securing his third title of a most remarkable week, cashing for €82,370 in total. Having played in four events, achieving a 75% win rate, with an astronomical ROI, one might assume he had won the Player of the Series title as well.
However, two of the events Craciunas won ended with deals, which means that in those he did not receive the full points allocation he would have received for outright wins. He needed second place in the Main Event to secure the title, but the deal was three-handed, leaving the Romanian on a final total of 120.75pts, tantalisingly close, but still a quarter of a point away from the target.
| Event | Finishing Position | Field Size | Points Earned | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #14 €550 The Festival Main Event | 1st | 710 | 50 | €71,740 |
| #17 €350 OFC Pineapple | 1st | 56 | 40 | €5,400 |
| #20 €175 20k NLH | 1st | 213 | 28.25 | €5,230 |
| #8 €230 Bounty Hunter Days Mystery Bounty | 83rd | 552 | 2.5 | €0 |
| 4 Events Played | 3 Cashes | 120.75 | €82,370 |
Gold Medal: Jens Voertmann 🥇
Jens Voertmann played the PLO but busted early and didn’t re-enter, picking up an extra 1.25 participation points to end the week on a final total of 121 points, leaving him 50.25 points ahead of Craciunas. Had he skipped the final day, he would have been pipped to the title, but he got there and won the €1,700 package to The Festival in Malta.
Gold medal winner Jens is more than a worthy winner, he won one event and cashed in five of the nine he entered. He’s amongst Europe’s most respected mixed games players and one of the few WSOP bracelet holders who regularly attends the Festival Series. They say that form is temporary and class is permanent, but when someone who already has class in abundance hits form as well, that combination is lethal.
| Event | Finishing Position | Field Size | Points Earned | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #19 €150 Baby TORSES (Supreme) | 3rd | 51 | 28.25 | €883 |
| #29 €350 The Festival 10-Game Mix | 1st | 36 | 27.5 | €3,780 |
| #13 €350 8-Game | 4th | 36 | 18.5 | €1,100 |
| #5 €150 Sviten Special | 9th | 68 | 17.75 | €310 |
| #25 €150 Big O | 9th | 61 | 17.75 | €300 |
| #2 €250 Mixed Games Main Event (TORSES) | 13th | 47 | 5 | €0 |
| #17 €350 OFC Pineapple | 32nd | 56 | 2.5 | €0 |
| #21 €350 HORSE | 33rd | 33 | 2.5 | €0 |
| #36 €200 5-Card PLO Bomb Pot | 15th | 31 | 1.25 | €0 |
| 9 Events Played | 5 Cashes | 121 | €6,373 |
Congratulations Jens, see you in Malta!
Player of the Series Top 50
| Rank | Player | Country | Played | Cashed | ITM Pts | Participation Pts | Total Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jens Voertmann |  | 9 | 5 | 101 | 20 | 121 |
| 2 | Paul Craciunas |  | 4 | 3 | 109.5 | 11.25 | 120.75 |
| 3 | Madskills |  | 8 | 4 | 74 | 22.5 | 96.5 |
| 4 | Benedict Kaiser | | 7 | 3 | 79.5 | 15 | 94.5 |
| 5 | Siarhei Narozhny |  | 14 | 4 | 65 | 27.5 | 92.5 |
| 6 | Fabian Bartuschk | | 8 | 4 | 68.5 | 23.75 | 92.25 |
| 7 | Olof Holmström |  | 9 | 4 | 73.5 | 16.25 | 89.75 |
| 8 | Thomas Eckerstorfer |  | 5 | 2 | 67.5 | 17.5 | 85 |
| 9 | Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk | | 13 | 2 | 51 | 32.5 | 83.5 |
| 10 | Deniss Lebedevs |  | 7 | 2 | 57.5 | 18.75 | 76.25 |
| 11 | Risto Ponnio |  | 10 | 3 | 54 | 21.25 | 75.25 |
| 12 | Barrie Dear |  | 12 | 3 | 51 | 23.75 | 74.75 |
| 13 | youre |  | 7 | 3 | 57.5 | 16.25 | 73.75 |
| 14 | Christian Arstad |  | 9 | 4 | 54.5 | 18.75 | 73.25 |
| 15 | Angelo Bruno |  | 5 | 5 | 58 | 11.25 | 69.25 |
| 16 | Falk Louwers |  | 10 | 2 | 44 | 25 | 69 |
| 17 | Dmitri Dudakov |  | 3 | 2 | 55 | 8.75 | 63.75 |
| 18 | Dong He | | 3 | 3 | 56 | 7.5 | 63.5 |
| 19 | Ciprian Paunescu | | 8 | 3 | 47 | 16.25 | 63.25 |
| 20 | Antonio Fragale | | 8 | 3 | 44 | 18.75 | 62.75 |
| 21 | Evert Bos | | 7 | 2 | 42 | 20 | 62 |
| 22 | Christophe Stammert | | 14 | 2 | 30 | 31.25 | 61.25 |
| 23 | Rama Prema |  | 2 | 2 | 51 | 10 | 61 |
| 24 | Koen Roos | | 4 | 2 | 49.5 | 11.25 | 60.75 |
| 25 | Maciej Lewandowski |  | 7 | 3 | 47 | 13.75 | 60.75 |
| 26 | Joakim Olin | | 9 | 3 | 44.5 | 15 | 60.5 |
| 27 | Stefan Drusca | | 4 | 3 | 46.5 | 13.75 | 60.25 |
| 28 | Rodolphe Cinirella | | 6 | 3 | 44 | 16.25 | 60.25 |
| 29 | Munteanu JR. | | 3 | 1 | 50 | 8.75 | 58.75 |
| 30 | micha88 | | 7 | 2 | 43 | 15 | 58 |
| 31 | David Vesely | | 3 | 2 | 49 | 7.5 | 56.5 |
| 32 | Nobody | | 5 | 3 | 41.5 | 15 | 56.5 |
| 33 | Ulrich Imbach |  | 7 | 3 | 38 | 17.5 | 55.5 |
| 34 | Albert Ulla |  | 5 | 3 | 44 | 11.25 | 55.25 |
| 35 | Ameer Sabri |  | 7 | 2 | 35 | 20 | 55 |
| 36 | Tony Ivanoff | | 5 | 2 | 45 | 10 | 55 |
| 37 | Ronald Woudstra | | 7 | 2 | 39 | 13.75 | 52.75 |
| 38 | AleXXe | | 10 | 2 | 39 | 13.75 | 52.75 |
| 39 | Matej Kukula | | 2 | 2 | 45 | 7.5 | 52.5 |
| 40 | NOE26 | | 7 | 2 | 35 | 17.5 | 52.5 |
| 41 | none | | 5 | 4 | 40.5 | 11.25 | 51.75 |
| 42 | Ariel Kayat |  | 4 | 3 | 41 | 10 | 51 |
| 43 | Max Mad |  | 9 | 2 | 36 | 15 | 51 |
| 44 | Alex | | 6 | 3 | 38 | 12.5 | 50.5 |
| 45 | BabuBarsch | | 1 | 1 | 45 | 5 | 50 |
| 46 | Grzegorz Flak | | 4 | 1 | 40 | 10 | 50 |
| 47 | Peter Kepplinger | | 7 | 2 | 33.5 | 16.25 | 49.75 |
| 48 | Eran Shchori | | 6 | 2 | 36.5 | 12.5 | 49 |
| 49 | Ernst Revenaes | | 9 | 3 | 25 | 23.75 | 48.75 |
| 50 | Andreas Klimmer | | 5 | 2 | 40.5 | 7.5 | 48 |
