The Festival Weekend in Tallinn Off To a Busy Start on Day 1
An action-packed and fun-filled day of poker has elapsed under the lights of the stunning card room at Olympic Park Casino in Tallinn. Four trophies were awarded in a wide range of tournaments, from Sviten Special to Blackjack, and the first flight of the debut Mystery Bounty edition of the €555 attracted a decent field of 50. Here is the rundown on what was a day that brought players from across the globe together to play some poker.
€555 Main Event
A total of 50 entrants took to the felt during the afternoon session in Tallinn. After a slow start, the tournament snowballed in terms of entrants, but only 7 players could progress to ITM status for Day 2 to hunt for the elusive Mystery Bounties. After the 12-hour and change stint at the tables, Osaari Pal was the unfortunate victim of the bubble. When the bags were brought out, it was the Aussie Jarrod Coughtrie who had bagged the biggest. Coughtrie is a Festival Series debutant, and looked to qualify to the Main via satellite yesterday evening. He sustained a bad beat in the satellite, having his kings cracked by nine-five of spades. However, persistence in poker is imperative, and now he will come into Day 2 as a chip stack millionaire. Below are the counts.
| Seat | Player | Country | Stack |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jarrod Coughtrie | Australia | 1,001,000 |
| 2 | Johnny Hofseth | Norway | 575,000 |
| 3 | Markus Vesala | Finland | 415,000 |
| 4 | Mati Pirn | Estonia | 220,000 |
| 5 | Vladyslava Shestakova | Ukraine | 182,000 |
| 6 | Anton Komissarov | Estonia | 107,000 |
€350 Sviten Special
65 total entrants took to the felt in the €350 Sviten Special, with 15 of those playing from the very first minute of tournament play. Mixed Games enthusiasts from across the continent descended upon Tallinn for the Weekend in the week's opener. Siarhei Narozhny appeared to be in command for the majority of the day's session but found himself the bubble boy, taking play to the final table and into the money. Last year's Sviten Special Weekend €100 Main Event Winner Ville Keranen departed a place before Narozhny, and he also fell short of the money and the opportunity to earn a third Sviten Special title at The Festival Series. Ultimately won by Ville Hakala, former Festival Series Player of the Series in the small hours of the morning. A regular and friend of The Festival, he bested Terje Sirnes heads-up for the trophy and a sweet payday of just over €6,500. Below are the payouts in full.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ville Hakala | Finland | €6,513 |
| 2 | Terje Sirnes | Norway | €4,180 |
| 3 | Raymond Forsland | Norway | €2,780 |
| 4 | Max Lohse | Norway | €1,980 |
| 5 | Alexander Freund | Austria | €1,500 |
| 6 | Olav Loken | Norway | €1,210 |
| 7 | Martin Smith | Malta | €980 |
€150 Blackjack Tournament
Five players took to the gaming tables on the lush floor at Olympic Park Casino to play some Blackjack. Marko "Naxer" Keskel, a Blackjack specialist and The Festival Weekend Vilnius Blackjack Champion, couldn't go back-to-back. Mairo "EstonianWeirdo" Toom, The Festival's photographer, was running hot early on, winning split after split after split, binking blackjacks left and right. However, the tournament went to the "Wiseguy" Andreas Hoglund, The Festival's interviewer extraordinaire and Hospitality host with the most. He scooped the prizepool, taking home €618 for his efforts.
Today's Schedule
| Time | Event | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 | Main Event 1B (Mystery) – Plays until 12.5% ITM | €555 |
| 12:30 | Mixed Games Main Event – TORSES Day 1 | €555 |
| 19:00 | NLH Freezeout | €200 |
| 19:30 | Roulette | €150 |
| 20:00 | PL Baducey/Badacey | €150 |
Stay tuned to the live blog for the results of yesterday's side event action in the €200 Crazy Pineapple and the €150 PLO 4/5/6, and continued coverage of Day 2 of The Festival Series. The team and I will be here day and night to provide you with updates in video and text formats. Additionally, keep an eye on The Festival Series Facebook page, TheFestivalOG on Instagram, and The Festival Series YouTube channel.
That's all for now, folks. Until next time.
