Your Guide for The Festival Series Bratislava 2023
Our next adventure at the Banco Casino in Bratislava is just around the corner and it is the perfect moment to provide to you a guide which you can read through on your way over here. Our 6th edition of which three in the lovely capital of Slovakia. The always kind and professional tournament directors Zuzana Mikulikova and Michal Borowsky, Marketing Director Jan Packa, and their entire staff are already in full preparation and will welcome us all from November 26th onwards. Qualifiers are still running as well, with the last weekly final tonight through all partners who use the iPoker Software. See you all very soon in Bratislava!
If you want to keep up to date with everything what is going on throughout the week at Bratislava, make sure to keep an eye on our social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (X). The live blog will be aired from the get-go as well! For the live stream, head over to our Official Twitch Channel!
Hospitality Events
Experience the hospitality events of Bratislava with an customized schedule for those seeking an epic-class journey. Guided by the incomparable Anastasia, a host known for her endless enthusiasm, participants will immerse themselves in the city's rich history and can enjoy the culinary delights offered by its finest restaurants.
Our past events have had diverse events going from dinners, to city tours, to wine tasting, with some sports as well! From intensive sportive pursuits like Padel, Beach volleyball, Yoga, Bowling, Axe throwing, Go Karts, to an iconic competition of a true pool tournament (which was won last year in Bratislava by good old Ilari 'Zigmund' Sahamies), there's something for every enthusiast.
Prepare to indulge in a curated blend of historical exploration, gastronomic wonders, and thrilling activities. Your adventure in Bratislava awaits also off the poker tables! If you are interesting in joining these epic events, check at the casino with one of The Festival Series Staff!
Travel and Hotel Experience
Besides our love for Banco Casino and its surroundings, we are over the moon with the geographic location of Bratislava. From any direction it is extremely easy to reach the capital city of Slovakia. This is exactly what we are aiming for of course, having a 'home ground' which is accessible for anyone. Flights from around Europe are often direct flights to Vienna Airport (just a 40 min drive) and to Bratislava Airport. Both of the airports are easy to travel- to and from.
If you come from any surrounding country, it is very easy to come by car, bus, train, or even by bike (ask Franke and Mau).
The most popular hotels around Banco Casino are the Marriot Hotel, Tatra Hotel, and of course Crowne Plaza Hotel. All these hotels are fully booked from our side.
Live Blog and Live Stream
The live blog will be provided once again by living reporting legend Jason Glatzer. He has been with The Festival Series from the get-go and will continue showing his blogging skills at The Festival Series in Bratislava. Occasionally, you can find him as well in the commentary booth for the live stream assisting main commentators Andreas Hoglund, Jacob Dideriksen-Nielsen, alongside George Sandford. Speaking of the which; The live stream will be aired as per usual for all the cash game challenges and for the Main Event as well in the later stages of the tournament.
Live Stream Schedule as per now:
| Monday | Cash Game Challenge |
| Tuesday | Cash Game Challenge |
| Wednesday | Bratislava Deepstack Final Day |
| Thursday | Cash Game Challenge |
| Friday | PLO Masters |
| Saturday | Main Event Day 2 |
| Sunday | Main Event Final Day |
Social Media, Video material and Photography
We strongly recommend to keep track on the social media channels of The Festival Series throughout the event. As this is one of the main platforms where announcements will be made for any kind of reason if that is necessary. All the photos, interviews and highlights, you will find on Social Media, which is in the hands of Melvin Schroen.
Photography is a very important topic in live poker. Our hero Mairo Toom and local photographer Dominik Demcak will provide you all with top-class images throughout the event. These images can be found on social media, the live blog, and our official webpage.
If you have ever wondered who are the people behind the screens pushing the buttons; Team 24h Production is offering high quality content from the whole event. Day in, Day out, they are busy on recording great videos and making sure they get edited with greatness, elegance and pure epicness!
Player of the Series
This edition we will once again have a Player of the Series ranking! Driven by a calculation model, points will be handed out to players based on their results in the tournaments. Whoever scores best at the end of the series, will be crowned as winner and will receive a full package worth €1600 for the next stop of The Festival Series!
Cash Game Challenge
The Cash Game Challenge is a great asset of The Festival Series schedule. Most of the sessions will be streamed live and whoever wins most big blinds during the session, goes into the ranking of the Challenge. The player ranking at the top at the end of the series will receive a full package worth €1600 for the next stop of The Festival Series!
Franke's Flip 'n Go
Whenever you come across Martin 'Franke' von Zweigbergk during the event, you instantly see that he is walking on flip flops ALL the time! Ever since our stop in Tallinn, Franke's Flip 'n Go games have been on the schedule and it gives players a great chance on registering for our tournaments just a bit cheaper! On top of that, the player who wins most flips at the end of the week will be awarded with a full package as well for the next Festival Series stop! You can find the schedule of these flip games on our tournament schedule.
New Additions to the Schedule
You might have heard about it already; Mixed Main Event is on the schedule for the very first time in The Festival History! The format which is being played is the usual H.O.R.S.E, added with another 'S' as we have added Sviten Special as the cherry on the cake! We are extremely looking forward on how this event will be received and what feedback we will receive about this great addition to the schedule.
Another epic tournament which is part of the schedule is Pineapple poker. We believe that this format perfectly fits with The Festival Series as it gives that bit of extra dimension to the we all love so much.
Most Cashes at The Festival Series
The Festival Series is known to have many events on the schedule. Reason enough for The Hendonmob to make a list of who actually has the most registered cashes in our events. Currently in the lead is Ylva 'Jevakim' Thorsrud, followed by mixed games specialist William Lynch. When you go through the list, you can easily say that it consists only of super stars, besides the biggest fish of them all on fifth place.
| 1st |  | Ylva Thorsrud | 9 |
| 1st |  | William Lynch | 9 |
| 3rd |  | Allan Arjut | 8 |
| 3rd |  | Peder Behr | 8 |
| 5th | | Martin von Zweigbergk | 7 |
| 5th | | Björn Lindberg | 7 |
| 7th | | Marius Morel | 6 |
| 7th | | Thomas Lind | 6 |
| 9th | | Leif Iversen | 5 |
| 9th |  | Philippe Laval | 5 |
| 9th |  | Sami Pulliainen | 5 |
| 9th |  | Sascha Manns | 5 |
| 9th |  | Joshua Stewart | 5 |
| 9th | | Lars Eklund | 5 |
| 9th |  | Alexandru Talica | 5 |
The Festival Queens
The Festival Queens is a very popular tournament within our series and as the name tells us, Ladies Only! Let's go through the previous winners here!
- Buyin: €115
- Entries: 32
- Total pot: €3,072
| 1 | | Teeranan Chuennirun | €1,222 |
- Buy-In: €125
- Entries: 39
- Prize Pool: €4,076
| 1 |  | Monika Zukowicz | €1,670 |
- Buy-In: €125
- Entries: 47
- Prize Pool: €4,963
| 1 | | Beate Etim | €1,760 |
We hope to see you all in Bratislava and that you will enjoy the event as much as we do! If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to check with one of The Festival Series Staff on location. Good luck to everyone!
