The Festival Series Queens Qualifier – Iconic turn out!
In honor of International Women's Day, The Festival Series had a great concept ready for female poker players. On several poker clients such as Paf, Coolbet, Betfred and Guts, not only women, but also male poker players could register for the €20 buy-in qualifier event, all these poker clients make use of one collective software tool called iPoker. Men however, had to give away their tournament ticket to a female player if they would get one. No less than three packages worth €1000 would be awarded as a guarantee. Due to an ecstatic turnout of no less than 246 entries including rebuys, and 48 add-ons! Due to this great succes, FIVE packages were eventually awarded, with 23 places being in the money, unprecedented! Well done, Ladies!
The Festival Series will be held 15-21 May in sunny Malta, at the Portomaso Casino in St. Julians. During the tournament series where a dizzying number of 50+ events are organized. One of them is The Festival Queens, held on May 19, and only open to female players. As indicated, no less than FIVE packages were handed out yesterday. We spoke briefly with several of the winners of this great qualifier and asked them what made them play this event, how they experienced the final table, women in poker in general, and how happy they are with their victory:
Evely Pihela - Estonia
‘I signed up because of Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk, off course! Due to my 3rd place finish in my previous Ladies Event, I was still high on adrenaline so I decided to try it out. The first buy-in was a bust, but didn’t hesitate to try one more time as the package was a pretty good value.
Got involved in some good spots and by the time the Final Table had arrived, I was the chipleader and already 99% sure that I would have the package in my bag. Not sure if I will be able to make it though, but if it turns out I won’t be able to attend it, I will gift it to some lovely poker girl who will be crushing the tables for sure in Malta. Women Rule!’
Jill Mellström - Sweden
‘I used to play the cards game Bridge on a high level, and when I decided to leave that scene I started to look at poker and contacted a person very close to me, Linda Olofsson, and asked her to introduce me to the poker world. I like the ‘’all women’’ tournament setup, and also think that it is OK for me to try and beat us – but to pay for the chance :)
Haven’t played any poker during the pandemic, so it is exciting to have won a package! And a bit scary at the same time, like it was the first time. Celebrated it with some champagne, the first since New Year! Absolutely love Malta and looking forward to eat Calamari Fritti, together with a glass of white wine and a good book for lunch – I just cannot wait!’
Julie Whitworth - UK
‘Super happy off course. I have been to Malta already twice before with MPN. Am sure the event will be amazing as I enjoyed being back on the poker series in Nottingham.
The final table I was in 4th place I think when it came together. I was sure that I could manage to stay in the top 5. Playing satellites regularly and I try never to do anything silly when I know I only have to place. The turn out was amazing, with over 130 entries last night it was grand to be part of it. The sats begin as low as 5 euros which is great. In all the time I have played at live events as a women, I have always been made to feel welcome. I guess its a game where men and women are equal and its a fabulous way to make friends from all around the world!’
In case you have missed it, we spoke to Julie ‘Poker Mommy’ Whitworth already during our event in Nottingham last month. Make sure to check out her interview!
Susanna Lagerström - Finland
‘When Anne Bezdek called me two days ago and asked if I wanted to compete at the Ladies qualifier for The Festival Queens event, I didn’t hesitate and took the advise, off course! I do play poker sometimes, but not so often anymore.
I’m very happy to be able to go to Malta and I think my boyfriend will come along for the event, although I wasn’t sure about my chances throughout the event, to be able to make it that far to get a trip to Malta, I am very excited! Looking forward to the Sun/Sea/Beach vibe over there, and will surely playing some other events as well during The Festival Series.’
€50 Qualifier for a €1,600 package to Festival Series Malta
Thursday it was a fabulous day for Mirjam Verbo, the new internee from The Festival Series. Not only was it her first time of playing a poker tournament, it was also her debut on the official Twitch-Stream of The Festival Series. Alongside co-host Joseph Jackson, who is usually taking care of the stream by himself, had the pleasure of seeing the success Mirjam had from close by. Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk, owner of the whole event series, spoke briefly to her before it all kicked off:
Sadly, she didn’t make it to the money in the first tournament she played in the likes of the Festival Queens qualifier. Nevertheless, she didn’t go home without a trophy after all, as she managed to scoop a ticket for the upcoming Wednesday €50 Qualifier, available on Paf, Coolbet, Betfred and Guts.
We spoke to her after her excellent first performance on stream and her first experience at the poker tables and we asked her what she thought about it all. We also asked her if she would pay attention to some special preparations for the qualifier next Wednesday:
- Mirjam Verbo: ‘The stream was such an exciting experience for me! I have to admit, I was really nervous before the game started because I had never played poker in my life before and streaming was a completely new experience for me as well. But once things got going, I started focusing more on understanding the game rather than on the fact that I was doing it for the first time. Despite a couple of technical glitches, playing went by quickly and it was a lot of fun. Of course, my dear friend Joseph was a great help in helping me understand poker better so that I could make more thoughtful moves instead of just guessing. Plus, being in the same room with Joseph is always extremely fun and it's impossible not to be positive around him. I can proudly say that I was very happy with the stream and those few hours gave me a very strong desire to learn more about poker!’
- To my own surprise, I won a ticket to the next week's game. I am proud of myself, but at the same time I feel that I should familiarize myself with things a bit more before going to the new game. Since the prize is big, I will do everything in my power to play as well as possible. I will try to learn the basics and techniques of poker and various freerolls for beginners will also be a great help. If I feel like it's difficult to do it alone and I don't understand then luckily I am surrounded by people who play super well and are definitely willing to explain things to me. And if I'm not sure what to do at the table then I just put all in and hope for the best!’
Do you want to be be part of The Festival Series family as well and compete at one of European’s best poker events for recreational and regular poker players? Find your way now to one of the many qualifiers running daily on various poker providers. We have put all qualifiers in an easy overview for you!
