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2022 The Festival Bratislava Live Blog

2022 The Festival Bratislava Live Blog

Michel Molenaar Wins the 2022 The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event 17.10.2022 12:37 by Jason Glatzer
Michel Molenaar
Michel Molenaar

On Sunday evening, Netherlands’ Michel Molenaar defeated countrymate Gerianne Dijkstra heads-up to win The Festival Series Bratislava €550 Main Event for a massive prize of €126,650 at Banco Casino Bratislava.

Molenaar came into the final day as the chip leader with 16 players left and was near the top of the pack through in what was a dominating performance to remember en route to victory.

There were a few hiccups along the way but Molenaar remained calm, cool, and collected throughout the event. He also shared before the final table and before the heads-up action that there was no chance he would make a deal under any circumstances despite the top-heavy payouts.

The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event was a massive success story with 1,271 entries coming from far and near. This generated a gigantic €603,725 prize pool to smash the generous €500,000 guarantee slapped on the event.

The Festival Series Bratislava hosted 50 events in poker, casino, and sports wagering, which we will get into more detail in a separate article later. We will also announce in that article who the Player of The Festival Series will be awarded to based on a formula taking into account all of the events to win a full package to The Festival Series Nottingham at Dusk Till Dawn poker taking place from Feb. 13-19, 2023.

The Festival Series Bratislava Final Table Payouts

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Michel MolenaarNetherlands€126,650
2Gerianne DijkstraNetherlands€77,450
3Leo SigurdssonIceland€50,550
4Slavomir RakovanCzech Republic€36,975
5Peter KamarasHungary€27,900
6Sascha MannsGermany€20,375
7Mark BermanMalta€14,350
8Yasen DichevBulgaria€9,870
9Marton LugosiHungary€6,820
The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event
The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event Final Tables

Final Day Recap

Just 16 players remained on the final day of the Main Event. After a few hours, Aaron Frese bubbled the unofficial final table of nine players after he ran his ace-nine suited into the rockets held by Gerianne Dijkstra. Although the chips went in before the flop, Frese shared after the hand that he was glad he didn’t have more chips as there was no chance he would get away from the hand with both an ace and a nine appearing on the flop.

Leo Sigurdsson took the lead to start the official final table after he eliminated Marton Lugosi in ninth place. Eventual winner Michel Molenaar wasn’t too far behind and regained the captain’s seat shortly into the action.

Dijkstra was getting amazing hands not only on the final table bubble but also near the beginning of the final table. Yasen Dichev hit the rail after running his big slick into Dijkstra’s cowboys. Shortly after, Dijkstra snagged the chip lead to the delight of the huge Dutch rail when her rockets held to eliminate Mark Berman with sixes.

Meanwhile, Sascha Manns was at the final table for a second straight The Festival Series after finishing in ninth place in The Festival Series Tallinn in July for €3,950. He nursed a short stack throughout most of final day before time ran out on a coin flip when his jacks proved to be no good against the big slick held by Slavomir Rakovan.

The always-smiling Peter Kamaras was the next to exit when his ace-eight suited didn’t get there against Sigurdsson’s jacks. Sigurdsson, who came with a small crew from Iceland, was back with the chip lead with more than half the chips in play.

The event nearly had a different winner as shortly after this hand Molenaar jammed his ace-trey suited into Sigurdsson’s jacks. An ace from space hit the board and instead of hitting the rail, Molenaar was back with the chip lead.

Molenaar then extended his chip lead when his king-jack held against king-four suited to oust a short-stacked Rakovan. Shortly after, Sigurdsson found himself short on chips and was out the door on the podium in third place when his queen-ten bricked the board against Molenaar’s ace-eight.

Gerianne Dijkstra
Gerianne Dijkstra

The heads-up action lasted just two hands. Molenaar began the action with a nearly 3:1 chip advantage before the following hand took place.

Molenaar limped the button with jack-five suited and Dijkstra checked back her option from the big blind with seven-four. Molenaar called a two big blind bet by Dijkstra after the nine-nine-deuce came on the flop. A jack paired up Molenaar on the turn and he called a bigger bet of six big blinds. A blank six completed the board. Dijkstra had less than 10 big blinds left and jammed the river. Molenaar called and the rest was history.

A huge congrats to Michel Molenaar on his epic win. While this wraps up our coverage of the Main Event, be on the lookout early this week for an overall recap of The Festival Series Bratislava, and be sure to also tune back into PokerListings for our next live-reporting stop at The Malta Poker Festival at the Portomaso Casino from Oct. 26-31.

Final Table Payouts 16.10.2022 23:19 by Jason Glatzer

Below are the full payouts of the 2022 The Festival Series Bratislava €550 Main Event at Banco Casino Bratislava.

Congrats to Michel Molenaar on the epic victory!

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Michel MolenaarNetherlands€126,650
2Gerianne DijkstraNetherlands€77,450
3Leo SigurdssonIceland€50,550
4Slavomir RakovanCzech Republic€36,975
5Peter KamarasHungary€27,900
6Sascha MannsGermany€20,375
7Mark BermanMalta€14,350
8Yasen DichevBulgaria€9,870
9Marton LugosiHungary€6,820
Gerianne Dijkstra Eliminated in 2nd Place (€77,450) 16.10.2022 23:17 by Jason Glatzer

Level 34: 250,000/500,000 (500,000)
Entries: 1/1,271

The Main Event is in the books after just two hands of heads-up play.

The final hand began simply enough with a limp by Michel Molenaar. Gerianne Dijkstra checked back to see the 2 9 9 flop.

Molenaar called a bet by Dijkstra for 1 million and the J came on the turn. Molenaar called a bigger bet by Dijkstra for 3 million.

The 6 completed the board on the river. Dijkstra jammed for less than 4 million and Molenaar quickly called. Dijkstra turned over 7 4 for a mistimed bluff and Molenaar shipped The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event for €126,650 after he tabled J 5 .

Michel Molenaar – 38 million
Gerianne Dijkstra – 0

the-festival-bratislava-main-event-d3-dijkstra-gerianne-1218
Gerianne Dijkstra Finishes in Second Place
Leo Sigurdsson Eliminated in 3rd Place (€50,550) 16.10.2022 23:02 by Jason Glatzer

Level 34: 250,000/500,000 (500,000)
Entries: 2/1,271

Michel Molenaar min-raised the button before Leo Sigurdsson three-bet jammed for 6 million from the small blind. Molenaar snap-called and Sigurdsson needed some help to stay alive.

Leo Sigurdsson: Q 10
Michel Molenaar: A 8

Sigurdsson got nowhere on the 3 A 9 5 2 board and was out in third place to Molenaar’s top pair.

Players went on a short break. Molenaar will kick off heads-up play with a nearly 3:1 chip advantage.

He shared with PokerListings that under no circumstances will he agree to a deal despite the duo playing for around €50,000.

Michel Molenaar – 27 million
Gerianne Dijkstra – 11 million
Leo Sigurdsson – 0

Leo Sigurdsson
Leo Sigurdsson
More Final Day Photos 16.10.2022 22:40 by Jason Glatzer
Molenaar Back with the Lead 16.10.2022 22:27 by Jason Glatzer

Level 33: 200,000/400,000 (400,000)
Entries: 3/1,271

Gerianne Dijkstra limped with Q 10 from the small blind before Michel Molenaar checked it back with 10 6 from the big blind.

Dijkstra check-raised from 600,000 to 1,400,000 after the 6 10 9 flop with top pair and Molenaar, with two pair, called.

Dijkstra bet 2,000,000 after the 4 came on the turn and Molenaar called. The 3 river completed the board and Dijkstra took her foot off the gas with a check. Molenaar bet 5,000,000 and Dijkstra went into the tank for a moment. She eventually called and got the bad news that her top pair didn’t stand up to two pair.

Molenaar was back with the chip lead in a rollercoaster of a ride during three-handed play.

Michel Molenaar – 20 million
Leo Sigurdsson – 10 million
Gerianne Dijkstra – 7.7 million

Dijkstra Rivers a Full House to Take Back the Lead 16.10.2022 22:12 by Jason Glatzer

Level 33: 200,000/400,000 (400,000)
Entries: 3/1,271

Gerianne Dijkstra opened for 1,000,000 from the small blind with 5 5 before Michel Molenaar defended with J 9 his big blind.

Dijkstra continued on the 10 9 4 flop for 1,000,000 and Molenaar called. The 4 paired the board on the turn and Dijkstra fired out for 2,000,000. 

Molenaar called and the 5 paired the board on the river. 

Dijkstra got her two outer to nail a full house but with four diamonds on the board, she couldn’t get any more value. She jammed for 9.9 million and won the pot to regain the chip lead and have the majority of the chips in play after Molenaar folded.

Players went on a quick toilet break after the hand.

Gerianne Dijkstra – 28 million
Michel Molenaar – 15 million

Molenaar Rockets in the Lead 16.10.2022 22:03 by Jason Glatzer

Level 33: 200,000/400,000 (400,000)
Entries: 3/1,271

Leo Sigurdsson opened for 800,000 from the button with A Q . Michel Molenaar three-bet to 2.3 million from the big blind with A A and Sigurdsson called.

Molenaar checked. Sigurdssson fired out for 900,000 on the 8 J 9 flop and Molenaar called.

The 2 followed on the turn. Molenaar fired out for 1,300,000. Sigurdsson went into the tank for a minute before he called.

The 7 river completed the board. Both players checked and Molenaar was back with the chip lead after his pocket rockets held.

Michel Molenaar – 20 million
Gerianne Dijkstra – 15 million
Leo Sigurdsson – 3.7 million

Dijkstra Doubles Through Molenaar into the Lead 16.10.2022 21:53 by Jason Glatzer

Level 32: 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Entries: 3/1,271

Michel Molenaar opened for 600,000 from the button. Gerianne Dijkstra three-bet jammed for 7,100,000 from the big blind. Molenaar asked for a count before he eventually called.

Gerianne Dijkstra: A 7
Michel Molenaar: Q J

Molenaar got nowhere on the K 6 2 8 4 ran out on the board and Dijkstra doubled up into the chip lead after the hand.

Gerianne Dijsktra – 15 million
Michel Molenaar – 14 million

Gerianne Dijkstra
Gerianne Dijkstra
Slavomir Rakovan Eliminated in 4th Place (€36,975) 16.10.2022 21:08 by Jason Glatzer

Level 32: 150,000/300,000 (300,000)
Entries: 3/1,271

On the first hand after the break, Slavomir Rakovan jammed for 2 million from under the gun and was called by Michel Molenaar from the big blind.

Slavomir Rakovan: K 4
Michel Molenaar: K J

Rakovan was nearly drawing dead after Molenaar’s jack paired up on the 8 Q J flop. The outcome was already determined after the 2 followed on the turn and Rakovan was officially eliminated in fourth place after the K river completed the board.

Michel Molenaar – 16 million
Slavomir Rakovan – 0

Slavomir Rakovan
Slavomir Rakovan
Break Time 16.10.2022 20:54 by Jason Glatzer

Players went on a quick break. The blinds will increase to 150,000/300,000 with a big blind ante of 300,000 when the action resumes.

Here is a reminder about the final table payouts.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1€126,650
2€77,450
3€50,550
4€36,975
5Peter KamarasHungary€27,900
6Sascha MannsGermany€20,375
7Mark BermanMalta€14,350
8Yasen DichevBulgaria€9,870
9Marton LugosiHungary€6,820
Molenaar Stays Alive & Takes Chip Lead After Delivering Bad Beat to Sigurdsson 16.10.2022 20:52 by Jason Glatzer

Level 31: 125,000/250,000 (250,000)
Entries: 4/1,271

We were nearly down to three players but Michel Molenaar had the Poker Gods on his side and we are still at four players.

The hand began with Leo Sigurdsson opening for 575,000 from under the gun. Michel Molenaar three-bet shoved for 6.6 million and Sigurdsson quickly made the call.

Michel Molenaar: A 3
Leo Sigurdsson: Q Q

The Dutch rail went wild after Molenaar paired his ace on the 7 5 4 A 10 board to double through Sigurdsson.

Instead of hitting the rail, Molenaar regained the chip lead with Sigurdsson not too far behind.

Michel Molenaar – 14 million
Leo Sigurdsson – 13 million

Peter Kamaras Eliminated in 5th Place (€27,900) 16.10.2022 20:25 by Jason Glatzer

Level 31: 125,000/250,000 (250,000)
Entries: 4/1,271

Peter Kamaras jammed for 3.2 million from the cutoff and was called by Leo Sigurdsson from the small blind.

Peter Kamaras: A 8
Leo Sigurdsson: J J

Kamaras needed some help but he was on the rail shaking hands after none came on the 3 3 9 3 2 board.

While the always-smiling Kamaras was on the rail, fortunes were much different for Sigurdsson as he extended his chip lead to nearly have the chips in play with four players remaining.

Leo Sigurdsson – 18 million
Peter Kamaras – 0

Peter Kamaras
Peter Kamaras
Sascha Manns Eliminated 6th Place (€20,375) 16.10.2022 19:46 by Jason Glatzer

Level 30: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 5/1,271

Sascha Manns open-jammed for 2.7 million from the cutoff. Slavomir Rakovan came in for a few chips more and the coin flip was on with Manns at risk.

Sascha Manns: J J
Slavomir Rakovan: A K

Rakovan won the flip after his ace connected with the A Q 8 2 4 board to eliminate Manns in sixth place and gain some breathing room. 

Slavomir Rakovan – 5.8 million
Sascha Manns – 0

Rockets for Molenaar 16.10.2022 19:40 by Jason Glatzer

Level 30: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 6/1,271

Gerianne Dijkstra opened for 500,000 from the cutoff with Q J and was called by Michel Molenaar with A A from the button.

Dijkstra bet 550,000 on the 9 4 5 flop and Molenaar called. 

Both players checked the 8 turn before Dijkstra fired out for 925,000 on the 2 river. Molenaar called and won the pot with his overpaid.

Michel Molenaar – 9.2 million
Gerianne Dijkstra – 8.4 million

Sigurdsson Regains the Lead 16.10.2022 19:37 by Jason Glatzer

Level 30: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 6/1,271

Leo Sigurdsson opened for a min-raise from the cutoff with K J and was called by Michel Molenaar with A Q from the small blind and Sascha Manns with Q 6 from the big blind.

Molenaar and Manns checked the 4 5 5 flop. Sigurdsson continued for 350,000. Molenaar called and Manns folded.

Molenaar checked again after the 4 double-paired the board on the turn. Sigurdsson barreled for 1.2 million. Molenaar tanked for a moment before he folded.

After the hand, Sigurdsson regained the chip lead.

Leo Sigurdsson – 12.3 million
Michel Molenaar – 6.7 million
Sascha Manns – 2.8 million

Mark Berman Eliminated in 7th Place (€14,350) 16.10.2022 19:19 by Jason Glatzer

Level 30: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 6/1,271

Mark Berman jammed from early position for 2.5 million and was called by Gerianne Dijkstra from the big blind.

Mark Berman: 6 6
Gerianne Dijkstra: A A

Dijkstra woke up with aces again. Somehow, Leo Sigurdsson escaped a catastrophic result as he was shown folding sevens before Dijkstra acted preflop from the small blind.

Dijkstra still managed to snag the chip lead and eliminated Berman at the same time after the K K Q 5 J ran out on the board.

Gerianne Dijkstra – 11 million
Mark Berman – 0

Mark Berman
Ylva Thorsrud, Mark Berman, and Michel Molenaar
Updated Chip Counts 16.10.2022 19:12 by Jason Glatzer

Level 30: 100,000/200,000 (200,000)
Entries: 7/1,271

PlacePlayerChipsBig Blinds
1Gerianne Dijkstra8,400,00042
2Michel Molenaar8,900,00045
3Mark Berman2,500,00013
4Sascha Manns3,400,00017
5Peter Kamaras3,400,00017
6Slavomir Rakovan3,200,00016
7Leo Sigurdsson8,400,00042
Total38,200,000191
Average5,457,14327
Yasen Dichev Eliminated in 8th Place (€9,870) 16.10.2022 18:57 by Jason Glatzer

Level 29: 80,000/160,000 (160,000)
Entries: 7/1,271

Yasen Dichev open-jammed for 2.3 million from middle position. Gerianne Dijkstra three-bet shoved for 5.7 million for the hijack and the rest of the table folded.

Yasen Dichev: A K
Gerianne Dijkstra: K K

Dichev bricked the 10 10 7 3 7 board and Dichev was on the rail in eighth place.

Players went on a short break after the hand.

Gerianne Dijkstra – 8.6 million
Yasen Dichev – 0

Yasen Dichev
Yasen Dichev
Dichev Doubles Through Kamaras with Big Slick 16.10.2022 18:49 by Jason Glatzer

Level 29: 80,000/160,000 (160,000)
Entries: 8/1,271

Peter Kamaras opened for 330,000 from middle position before Yasen Dichev three-bet jammed for 930,000 from the button. Kamaras snap-called and the cards were turned over.

Yasen Dichev: A K
Peter Kamaras: Q 10

Dichev was ahead with his tournament life at risk. His big slick held to double through Kamaras after the 9 8 9 6 3 ran out on the board.

Peter Kamaras – 4.0 million
Yasen Dichev – 2.3 million

Top Pair for Sigurdsson 16.10.2022 18:45 by Jason Glatzer

Level 29: 80,000/160,000 (160,000)
Entries: 8/1,271

Peter Kamaras opened the button for 330,000 with 10 10 and was called by Leo Sigurdsson with A 8 from the big blind.

Sigurdsson improved to top pair on the 4 A 2 flop and check-called a bet of 280,000 by Kamaras.

Both players checked the 7 turn before Sigurdsson led out for 425,000 on the 4 river. Kamaras went into the tank for several moments before laying his hand down.

Leo Sigurdsson – 8.1 million
Peter Kamaras – 4.9 million

Molenaar Regains Chip Lead 16.10.2022 18:25 by Jason Glatzer

Level 29: 80,000/160,000 (160,000)
Entries: 8/1,271

Leo Sigurdsson opened for 335,000 from the cutoff with 10 9 and Michel Molenaar with 5 2 defended his big blind.

Both players hit the 2 5 9 flop hard. Molenaar checked his two pair before Sigurdsson checked it back with his top pair.

Molenaar fired out for 500,000 on the J turn and Sigurdsson called. The A completed the board on the river.

Molenaar began today with the chip lead and now has it back for the first time at the final table.

Michel Molenaar – 9.3 million
Leo Sigurdsson – 7.0 million

Final Table Seat Draw 16.10.2022 17:45 by Jason Glatzer
SeatPlayerChipsBig Blinds
1Gerianne Dijkstra5,798,00036
2Michel Molenaar8,115,00051
3Mark Berman3,520,00022
4Sascha Manns2,425,00015
5Peter Kamaras5,315,00033
6Slavomir Rakovan3,175,00020
7Leo Sigurdsson8,405,00053
8Yasen Dichev1,410,0009
Total38,163,000239
Average4,770,37530
Marton Lugosi Eliminated in 9th Place (€6,820) 16.10.2022 17:43 by Jason Glatzer

Level 29: 80,000/160,000 (160,000)
Entries: 8/1,271

Marton Lugosi jammed for about 4 big blinds and was called by Leo Sigurdsson and Yasen Dichev from the blinds.

Both players checked the J 5 J flop before Dichev called bets on the 10 turn and 8 river.

Sigurdsson showed 5 5 for a full house which won the hand to eliminate Lugosi with Q 6 . Dichev also had a nice hand with queen-nine for a straight but was short on chips after Sigurdsson dominated his hand.

The final eight players went on a 30-minute break after the hand to set-up the official final table.

Leo Sigurdsson – 5 million
Yasen Dichev – 1 million
Marton Lugosi – 0

Marton Lugosi
Marton Lugosi
The Unofficial Final Table Begins 16.10.2022 17:26 by Jason Glatzer

The unofficial final table of nine players has kicked off without hole cards exposed. The official final table will begin after one elimination with eight players remaining.

Aaron Frese Eliminated in 10th Place (€5,795) 16.10.2022 16:41 by Jason Glatzer

Level 28: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 9/1,271

Gerianne Dijkstra kicked off the final hand of Level 28 by opening for 250,000 under the gun. Aaron Frese put most of his dozen big blind stack or so in the pot from the big blind. Dijkstra put him in for the rest and the Dutch rail went nuts when they saw the cards.

Aaron Frese: A 9
Gerianne Dijkstra: A A

Frese nailed two pair on the A 7 9 flop but was drawing super thin as Dijkstra improved to the top set.

“It over!” shouted the Dutch rail after Frese was drawing dead on the K turn and Frese was given his cashier slip after the 7 river completed the board.

Both the players and all the reporters took a break after this hand for the final table to be set up. We will now report on a 30-minute delay the rest of the way to not give away any spoilers.

Gerianne Dijkstra – 5.6 million
Aaron Frese – 0

the-festival-bratislava-main-event-d3-frese-aaron-marshall-1116
Berman Doubles Through Molenaar 16.10.2022 16:30 by Jason Glatzer

Level 28: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 10/1,271

Mark Berman opened for 325,000 from the small blind at the t.v. table. Michel Molenaar three-bet jammed for millions and Berman called off his stack for 1.74 million.

Mark Berman: A A
Michel Molenaar: A 3

Berman didn’t have much of a sweat with the 10 8 9 5 J board to double his stack through Molenaar.

Michel Molenaar – 6.2 million
Mark Berman – 3.7 million

Mark Berman
Ylva Thorsrud, Mark Berman, and Michel Molenaar
All Small Ball on Final Table Bubble 16.10.2022 16:23 by Jason Glatzer

Level 28: 60,000/120,000 (120,000)
Entries: 10/1,271

After a flurry of action, everything has slowed down on the final table bubble. Players are “thinking” longer with a ton on the line. We will continue to update you with any significant action.

the-festival-bratislava-main-event-d3-3489
Adi Rajkovic Eliminated in 11th Place (€5,795) 16.10.2022 15:39 by Jason Glatzer

Level 27: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 10/1,271

Adi Rajkovic was just eliminated at the t.v. table. We didn’t get that close to the action but we did see that Rajkovic jammed a short stack with A 8 and was called by Michel Molenaar with K 7 .

Rajkovic was ahead but despite pairing his eight on the K J 8 flop was behind to his opponent’s better pair. Neither the 5 turn nor the 6 river saved the day and he was ousted in 11th place.

Michel Molenaar – 7 million
Adi Rajkovic – 0

Adi Rajkovic
Adi Rajkovic
Final Day Photos 16.10.2022 15:21 by Jason Glatzer
Andrew Hanak Eliminated in 12th Place (€5,795) 16.10.2022 15:14 by Jason Glatzer

Level 27: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 11/1,271

Adi Radjkovic opened for 280,000 and was called by Peter Kamaras. Andrew Hanak three-bet jammed for close to 1,500,000. Radjkovic folded and Kamaras called.

“It was a trap?” Hanak asked.

“No, but I couldn’t fold,” responded Kamaras with a smile.

Andrew Hanak: A 5
Peter Kamaras: 9 9

Kamaras’ nines held to oust Hanak after the 3 5 10 10 K ran out on the board.

Peter Kamaras – 5.5 million
Andrew Hanak – 0

Ylva Thorsrud Eliminated in 13th Place (€4,710) 16.10.2022 15:07 by Jason Glatzer

Level 27: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 12/1,271

Coolbet streamer Ylva Thorsrud came in with a short stack. She lasted for a little while but just hit the rail on the t.v. table in a coin flip of a hand against Leo Sigurdsson.

Thorsrud held king-jack and was far behind her opponent’s sevens after the seven-eight-five flop. She was drawing dead after pairing up after a jack came on the turn and was officially eliminated in 13th place after an ace river completed the board.

Leo Sigurdsson – 5 million
Ylva Thorsrud – 0

Ylva Thorsrud
Ylva Thorsrud
Frese Makes Great Call After 10-Minute Tank 16.10.2022 15:02 by Jason Glatzer

Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 13/1,271

Peter Kamaras opened for 175,000. Aaron Frese called from the button as did the players from the blinds. The action checked to Kamaras on the 5 Q 3 flop and he fired out for 265,000. Frese raised to 630,000. The players in the blinds folded and Kamaras called to see the 10 turn.

Kamaras jammed for more than the 1,730,000 Frese had behind. Frese sighed then went silent for nearly 10 minutes before he eventually made the call.

Aaron Frese: A J
Peter Kamaras: 6 2

Frese was ahead and had the better flush draw. Kamaras bricked the 3 river and Frese doubled his stack with ace-high.

The blinds went up to 50,000/100,000 along with a 100,000 big blind ante during the hand making everyone’s stacks effectively shorter.

Aaron Frese – 5.5 million
Peter Kamaras – 4.5 million

Jari Pekka Raettyae Eliminated in 14th Place (€4,710) 16.10.2022 14:44 by Jason Glatzer

Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 13/1,271

Jari Pekka Raettyae jammed his short stack and was called Marton Lugosi.

Jari Pekka Raettyae: 8 8
Marton Lugosi: Q 10

The 10 7 5 4 7 ran out on the board to give Lugosi a better pair and the Paf Poker qualifier Raettyae’s impressive Main Event run is in the books.

Marton Lugosi – 3 million
Jari Pekka Raettyae – 0

Ronald Zapantis Eliminated in 15th Place (€4,710) 16.10.2022 14:39 by Jason Glatzer

Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 14/1,271

Ronald Zapantis was ousted on the t.v. table. We could not get to the board in time but Zapantis jammed with king-queen and was up against the nine-eight held by Berman.

Apparently, a bad beat will be waiting for you if you watch this on the stream in 30 minutes.

Mark Berman – 4 million
Ronald Zapantis – 0

Ronald Zapantis
Ronald Zapantis
Frese Doubles Through Dijkstra with Rockets 16.10.2022 14:36 by Jason Glatzer

Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 15/1,271

Aaron Frese opened for 160,000 from the cutoff before Gerianne Dijkstra three-bet to 455,000 from the button. Frese tanked for more than a minute before he jammed for 1,340,000 and Dijkstra quickly called.

Aaron Frese: A A
Gerianne Dijkstra: 10 10

Despite being ahead, Frese had a sweat as Dijkstra had a flush draw on the 2 K 7 flop. However, the 7 turn and K river were both safe for Frese and he doubled through Dijkstra.

Aaron Frese – 2.7 million
Gerianne Dijkstra – 1 million

Rajkovic Doubles Short Stack Through Hanak 16.10.2022 14:25 by Jason Glatzer

Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 15/1,271

Adi Rajkovic jammed for about six big blinds with Q 10 and was called by Andrew Hanak from the blinds with 9 4 .

Rajkovic easily doubled on the K J 2 Q 8 board to get some breathing room.

Andrew Hanak – 1.5 million
Adi Rajkovic – 1 million

Rockets for Dichev 16.10.2022 14:22 by Jason Glatzer

Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 15/1,271

Yasen Dichev bet 300,000 into a pot of a bit more with the 3 Q K 5 on the board on the turn and was check-called by Ronald Zapantis.

Zapantis jammed after the Q river paired the board. Dichev snap-called and won the hand when his A A was more than enough to win against his opponent’s J 10 .

Yasen Dichev – 2 million
Ronald Zapantis – 1.5 million

Miklos Zsuffa Eliminated in 16th Place (€4,710) 16.10.2022 14:17 by Jason Glatzer

Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 15/1,271

There were some fireworks on the first hand of the day at the t.v. table. It all began simply enough when Yasen Dichev opened for a min-raise. Miklos Zsuffa jammed for 415,000 from the hijack before Ronald Zapantis four-bet shoved for 1,460,000 from the small blind. Dichev snap-folded and the cards were turned over.

Miklos Zsuffa: A 10
Ronald Zapantis: A J

The 8 4 6 5 4 board didn’t save Zsuffa and he was on the first player on the rail today.

Ronald Zapantis – 2.2 million
Miklos Zsuffa – 0

Miklos Zsuffa
Miklos Zsuffa
Cards in the Air 16.10.2022 14:09 by Jason Glatzer

Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 16/1,271

Cards are in the air for the final 16 players of The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event.

Michel Molenaar Leads Final 16 of The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event 16.10.2022 13:17 by Jason Glatzer
Michel Molenaar
Michel Molenaar Leads Final 16 Players

The Festival Series Main Event is down to just 16 players at Banco Casino. Each player at the final two tables has locked up at least €4,710 in this €550 buy-in event with much more on the line with the top prize announced at €126,650.

Dutch poker player Michel Molenaar has locked up the chip lead heading into the final table after bagging a massive stack of 5,775,000. Molenaar picked off a bluff with big slick near the end of yesterday’s penultimate day against Ronald Zapantis and now all eyes are on whether he can parlay his chip lead into what would easily be his largest live tournament cash.

Kamaras still wound up bagging a top three chip stack with 4,820,000 in chips with Leo Sigurdsson in between the two players with 4,960,000.

Two women are left in the pack in Gerianne Dijkstra (3,105,000) and Coolbet streamer Ylva Thursrud (1,475,000). Germany’s Sascha Manns (2,225,000) has also advanced and will likely have a tight-knit crew in Malta rooting him on. Meanwhile, Paf Poker qualifier Jari Pekka Raettyae (645,000) is among the players hoping to spin up their short stacks today.

Sascha Manns
Sascha Manns is the Man

Day 2 Seat Draw

TableSeatPlayerChipsBig Blinds
11Leo Sigurdsson4,960,00062
12Miklos Zsuffa415,0005
13Ylva Thorsrud1,475,00018
14Mark Berman3,240,00041
15Michel Molenaar5,775,00072
16Ronald Zapantis1,460,00018
17Yasen Dichev1,200,00015
18Marton Lugosi1,765,00022
231Aaron Frese1,420,00018
232Gerianne Dijkstra3,105,00039
233Slavomir Rakovan3,290,00041
234Peter Kamaras4,820,00060
235Jari Pekka Raettyae645,0008
236Adi Rajkovic520,0007
237Sascha Manns2,225,00028
238Andrew Hanak1,865,00023

Final Day Plan

Today will begin with 43 minutes remaining in Level 26 with blinds at 40,000/80,000 along with a big blind ante of 80,000. After this blind level, blinds will increase every 50 minutes instead of the 40 minutes on most of the opening flights and the 45 minutes featured during yesterday’s Day 2.

There will be a live stream on a variety of channels which you will be able to check out by clicking on the Stream tab within our coverage. We will be reporting all the action in real-time until the official final table of eight players is set. At this point, we will report on the same 30-minute delay as the stream as to not give away any spoilers.

Remaining Main Event Payouts

The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event attracted a banner field of 1,271 entries. This created a tasty prize pool of €603,725 to obliterate the €500,000 guarantee. Here is a look at all of the remaining payouts for the final 16 players:

1€126,650
2€77,450
3€50,550
4€36,975
5€27,900
6€20,375
7€14,350
8€9,870
9€6,820
10-12€5,795
13-16€4,710

Cards will be in the air at 2 p.m. Stay tuned at PokerListings for all of your updates until a winner is crowned!

George Sandford
The Festival Series Commentator George Sandford
Final Day Seat Draw 16.10.2022 02:13 by Jason Glatzer
TableSeatPlayerChipsBig Blinds
11Leo Sigurdsson4,960,00062
12Miklos Zsuffa415,0005
13Ylva Thorsrud1,475,00018
14Mark Berman3,240,00041
15Michel Molenaar5,775,00072
16Ronald Zapantis1,460,00018
17Yasen Dichev1,200,00015
18Marton Lugosi1,765,00022
231Aaron Frese1,420,00018
232Gerianne Dijkstra3,105,00039
233Slavomir Rakovan3,290,00041
234Peter Kamaras4,820,00060
235Jari Pekka Raettyae645,0008
236Adi Rajkovic520,0007
237Sascha Manns2,225,00028
238Andrew Hanak1,865,00023
Michel Molenaar
Michel Molenaar Leads Final 16 Players

Two Players Quickly Hit the Rail 16.10.2022 02:10 by Jason Glatzer

Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (60,000)
Entries: 16/1,271

Day 2 is in the books after two players were quickly eliminated. Tomorrow’s final day will begin at 2 p.m. with 42 minutes remaining in Level 26 with blinds at 40,000/80,000 along with a big blind ante of 80,000.

Dimitros Lykouris was the second to last player to hit the rail today after he unsuccessfully jammed his ace-nine into the ace-jack held by Slavomir Rakovan.

Moments later, Sandeep Nene jammed queen-nine into the queens held by Leo Sigurdsson.

We will update the seat draw for tomorrow and the recap will be included in tomorrow’s Day 3 intro. Until then, have an amazing evening, and be sure to tune back into PokerListings to see who will win the 2022 The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event at Banco Casino.

Molenaar Snags Chip Lead After Picking Off Zapantis’ Bluff 16.10.2022 01:54 by Jason Glatzer

Level 25: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 18/1,271

Michel Molenar min-raised before he called a three-bet by Ronald Zapantis. Molenaar check-called a bet of 160,000 by Zapantis on the four-eight-deuce flop with two hearts before doing the same for 350,000 after an ace came on the turn.

A deuce of hearts paired the board and if either player had a potential flush draw it would have been completed on the river. Molenaar checked again. Zapantis slammed the table and fired out for 1.2 million. Molenaar paused for a few moments before he called.

Kamaras turned over pocket sevens and Molenaar took the chip lead after turning over ace-king to win the hand.

Michel Molenaar – 5.5 million
Ronald Zapantis – 2.5 million

Michel Molenaar
Michel Molenaar
Kharman Runs Nines into a Set of Tens 16.10.2022 01:13 by Jason Glatzer

Level 26: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 18/1,271

Adam Kharman min-raised before he called a three-bet to 285,000 by Ronald Zapantis. Kharman check-called for 250,000 after the 10 8 5 came on the flop before he check-jammed from 325,000 to 500,000 on the 2 turn. Zapantis called and Kharman was drawing dead.

Adam Kharman: 9 9
Ronald Zapantis: 10 10

There was no chance for Kharman to snag a miracle and he was on the rail in 20th place. Shortly after, both Fotios Ntamaris and Mario Mende were on the rail to leave just 18 players remaining in the Main Event.

Ronald Zapantis – 3 million
Adam Kharman – 0
Fotios Ntamaris – 0
Mario Mende – 0

Zapantis “Sorry” About Getting Lucky Against Kamaras 16.10.2022 00:35 by Jason Glatzer

Level 24: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 23/1,271

Day 1b chip leader Ronald Zapantis was nearly on the rail but the cards had something else in mind. Zapantis four-bet jammed for 1.1 million and was called by Peter Kamaras.

Ronald Zapantis: A 4
Peter Kamaras: K K

Kamaras remained ahead after the 6 5 10 flop but Zapantis pulled far ahead after his ace found a friend on the A turn. The Q river kept Zapantis on the winning end of the hand and he doubled his stack through Kamaras.

“I’m sorry,” said Zapantis after the hand.

“No, you’re not,” responded Kamaras. “It’s all good.”

Peter Kamaras – 4.5 million
Ronald Zapantis – 2.3 million

Ronald Zapantis
Ronald Zapantis
Payouts for €3,080 16.10.2022 00:24 by Jason Glatzer
PlacePlayerPrize
24Hans Erlandsson€ 3,080
25Luka Bojovic€ 3,080
26Giovanni Piccione€ 3,080
27Robert Laskowski€ 3,080
28Ori Elul€ 3,080
29Paul Hoefer€ 3,080
30Attila Kuna€ 3,080
31Michael Sklenicka€ 3,080
Cowboys for Sigurdsson to Oust Bojovic 16.10.2022 00:19 by Jason Glatzer

Level 24: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 24/1,271

Luka Bojovic jammed for around 20 big blinds from the small blind and was called by Leo Sigurdsson from the big blind.

Bojovic turned over ace-six and needed help with Sigurdsson waking up with cowboys.

The cowboys held on the nine-high board and Bojovic’s impressive Main Event run has come to an end.

Leo Sigurdsson – 4 million
Luka Bojovic – 0

Luka Bojovic
Luka Bojovic
Flip Flops and a Package for Vertefeuille 15.10.2022 23:59 by Jason Glatzer

Congratulations to Ian Vertefeuille for winning the most Franke’s Flip Flops. Not only does he win a €1,600 package to The Festival Series in Nottingham in February but also a unique framed pair of Franke’s flip flops to enjoy the memory.

Ian Vertefeuille
Ian Vertefeuille wins Franke’s Flip Flops
Chip Counts at Break 15.10.2022 23:42 by Jason Glatzer

Level 24: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 28/1,271

NameChipsBig Blinds
Michel Molenaar3,500,00070
Peter Kamaras3,500,00070
Andrew Hanak3,400,00068
Leo Sigurdsson2,900,00058
Gerianne Dijkstra2,100,00042
Slavomir Rakovan2,000,00040
Aaron Frese1,800,00036
Ylva Thorsrud1,800,00036
Luka Bojovic1,600,00032
Ronald Zapantis1,600,00032
Yasen Dichev1,600,00032
Miklos Zsuffa1,300,00026
Hans Erlandsson1,200,00024
Mark Berman1,000,00020
Sascha Manns1,000,00020
Fotios Ntamaris900,00018
Jari Pekka Raettyae700,00014
Marton Lugosi650,00013
Adi Rajkovic600,00012
Dimitros Lykouris500,00010
Giovanni Piccione500,00010
Sandeep Nene500,00010
Ori Elul500,00010
Are Ugland500,00010
Robert Laskowski400,0008
Mario Mende400,0008
Adam Kharman300,0006
Alf Peter Onnestam250,0005
Get Up and Stretch 15.10.2022 23:22 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on a short break. The floor announced that the day will end the sooner of four more blind levels or when the action is down to just 16 players.

We will update chip counts of all the remaining players at the break.

George Sandford & Dehlia de Jong in the Comms Booth
George Sandford & Dehlia de Jong in the Comms Booth
Cashing for €2,775 15.10.2022 23:15 by Jason Glatzer
PlacePlayerPrize
31Michael Sklenicka€ 2,775
32Johan Sundgren€ 2,775
33Giorgi Gogoladze€ 2,775
34Frank Visser€ 2,775
35Miroslav Juris€ 2,775
36Karl Sundin€ 2,775
37Peter Zolnai€ 2,775
38Marc Muller€ 2,775
39Riccardo De Rubais€ 2,775
Kamaras Wins a Flip to Oust Sklenicka 15.10.2022 23:10 by Jason Glatzer

Level 23: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 30/1,271

Michael Sklenicka is the latest player on the rail. He got his short stack in with ace-queen and was unable to win a flip against Peter Kamaras with fives after the king-jack-six-seven-six ran out on the board.

Peter Karamas – 3 million
Michael Sklenicka – 0

Peter Kamaras & Paul Groven
Peter Kamaras & Paul Groven
Players Collecting €2,295 15.10.2022 22:50 by Jason Glatzer
PlacePlayerPrize
40Michael Wehner€ 2,295
41Elod Zsombok€ 2,295
42Zsolt Lassu€ 2,295
43Vladimir Bartko€ 2,295
44Richard Miklosovic€ 2,295
45Istvan Toth€ 2,295
46Markku Tammisto€ 2,295
47Dmitri Dudakov€ 2,295
Ntamaris Loves King-Nine 15.10.2022 22:44 by Jason Glatzer

Level 22: 15,000/30,000
Entries: 37/1,271

Fotios Ntamaris was down to crumbs but now is in a better spot. He first tripled with king-nine. More recently, Ntamaris ousted a short-stacked Marc Muller when his king-nine was good against jack-ten and now has 900,000 in chips.

Players Cashing for €1,900 15.10.2022 22:21 by Jason Glatzer
PlacePlayerPrize
48Sergejs Cugainovs€ 1,900
49Thomas Naess€ 1,900
50Erik Seffer€ 1,900
51Nils Linden€ 1,900
52Sebastian Schulze€ 1,900
53Carsten Larsen€ 1,900
54Grangel Fortea€ 1,900
55David Kurbel€ 1,900
Lykouris Doubles Through Manns 15.10.2022 22:18 by Jason Glatzer

Level 22: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 40/1,271

Dimitrios Lykouris jammed his short stack on the turn with the 6 9 A 8 on the board and was called by Sascha Manns.

Dimitrios Lykouris: A J
Sascha Manns: A 3

The 9 river paired the board and Lykouris doubled through Manns with the better kickers.

Sascha Manns – 900,000
Dimitrios Lykouris – 550,000

Ntamaris Triples His Short Stack 15.10.2022 22:15 by Jason Glatzer

Level 22: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 43/1,271

Fotios Ntamaris took fifth place in the inaugural The Festival Series in Bratislava last year and is hoping for another final table appearance this time around as well.

Ntamaris jammed for five big blinds and was called by Adam Kharman. Luka Bojovic came in over the top for a bit more and Kharman laid down his hand.

Ntamaris was behind with king-nine against Bojovic’s ace-queen. However, a nine spiked the board, and Ntamaris tripled his stack.

Luka Bojovic – 1,100,000
Adam Kharman – 700,000
Fotios Ntamaris – 500,000

Fotios Ntamaris
Fotios Ntamaris
Payouts for €1,570 15.10.2022 21:54 by Jason Glatzer

The following players cashed for €1,570 in The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event.

PlacePlayerPrize
56Kenneth Aspestrand€ 1,570
57Nils Doverklint€ 1,570
58Robert Komlodi€ 1,570
59Ergo Rohi€ 1,570
60Ayrton Turudic€ 1,570
61Leif Iversen€ 1,570
62Marius Hoegtun€ 1,570
63Raymond Forsland€ 1,570
Sigurdsson Ousts Two with Rockets 15.10.2022 21:49 by Jason Glatzer

Level 21: 10,000/20,000 (20,000)
Entries: 54/1,271

Leo Sigurdsson just won a pot north of 2.5 million in chips while delivering a massive cooler to Kenneth Aspestrand and David Kurbel.

Aspestrand four-bet jammed for 600,000 before Kurbel came in over the top for 800,000. Sigurdsson had both players covered and snap-called.

Kenneth Aspestrand: Pocket Jacks
David Kurbel: Pocket Queens
Leo Sigurdsson: Pocket Aces

It was a bit of a cooler for Aspestrand and Kurbel and they were on the rail after failing to improve on a dry board.

Leo Sigurdsson – 2.6 million
Kenneth Aspestrand – 0
David Kurbel – 0

Leo Sigurdsson
Leo Sigurdsson Takes Out Two Players
Full Chip Counts at Break 15.10.2022 21:07 by Jason Glatzer
PlayerChipsBig Blinds
Michel Molenaar2,150,000108
Andrew Hanak2,150,000108
Yasen Dichev2,100,000105
Gerianne Dijkstra1,400,00070
Jari Pekka Raettyae1,300,00065
Miroslav Juris1,100,00055
Hans Erlandsson1,100,00055
Paul Hoefer1,000,00050
Sascha Manns1,000,00050
Luka Bojovic950,00048
Adam Kharman900,00045
Leo Sigurdsson850,00043
Miklos Zsuffa800,00040
Giovanni Piccione750,00038
Frank Visser750,00038
Kenneth Aspestrand750,00038
Peter Zolnai750,00038
Ronald Zapantis700,00035
Peter Kamaras700,00035
David Kurbel700,00035
Adi Rajkovic650,00033
Michael Sklenička650,00033
Robert Komlodi650,00033
Marc Muller600,00030
Dimitros Lykouris600,00030
Richard Miklosovic600,00030
Thomas Næss600,00030
Elod Zsombok550,00028
Ylva Thorsrud550,00028
Michael Wehner550,00028
Ori Elul550,00028
Alf Peter Onnestam500,00025
Slavomir Rakovan500,00025
Carsten Lund Larsen500,00025
Karl Sundin500,00025
Johan Sundgren450,00023
Nils Linden450,00023
Vladimir Bartko400,00020
Zsolt Lassu350,00018
Robert Laskowski350,00018
Riccardo de Rubeis300,00015
Aaron Frese300,00015
Fotios Ntamaris300,00015
Marton Lugosi250,00013
Erik Seffer250,00013
Dmitri Dudakov220,00011
Sebastian Schulze200,00010
Giorgi Gogoladze200,00010
Markku Tammisto200,00010
Nils Leif Doverklint200,00010
Attila Kuna200,00010
Sergejs Cugainovs200,00010
Ergo Rohi200,00010
Are Ugland200,00010
Hector Fortea Grangel200,00010
Istvan Toth200,00010
Mark Berman150,0008
Ayrton Turudic150,0008
Sandeep Nene100,0005
Mario Mende100,0005
Payouts for €1,300 15.10.2022 20:53 by Jason Glatzer

Players are still on break. In the meantime, the following players cashed for €1,300. The final 63 players each got a pay jump and will secure at least €1,570.

PlacePlayerPrize
64Savvas Papadopoulos€ 1,300
65Domenik Schlesinger€ 1,300
66Mateusz Moolhuizen€ 1,300
67Daniel Jackson€ 1,300
68Jakub Matusiak€ 1,300
69Siegfried Rath€ 1,300
70Viktor Eriksson€ 1,300
71Paul Maguire€ 1,300
Break Time 15.10.2022 20:23 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on a short break. We will provide you some of the notable chip counts when the action resumes.

Cashed for €1,085 15.10.2022 20:19 by Jason Glatzer

The following players collected €1,085 for their deep Main Event runs. The final 71 players have now each locked up at least €1,300 payout.

PlacePlayerPrize
72Szerhij Danasevszkij€ 1,085
73Yaron Amsalem€ 1,085
74Peder Behr€ 1,085
75Gyoergy Laszlo€ 1,085
76Erik Zackrisson€ 1,085
77Patrik Kunik€ 1,085
78Matus Kucera€ 1,085
79Johannes Huisman€ 1,085
Peder Behr
Peder Behr
Latest Photos by Mairo Toom 15.10.2022 20:15 by Jason Glatzer
Cashed for €935 15.10.2022 20:08 by Jason Glatzer
PlacePlayerPrize
80Alexander Moser€ 935
81Karlo Finka€ 935
82Iraklis Manikaros€ 935
83Daniyel Destici€ 935
84Alexander Van Dijk€ 935
85Kristiyan Spasov€ 935
86Jozsef Dobos€ 935
87Zdenko Slavik€ 935
Molenaar Flushes Amsalem Out of the Main Event 15.10.2022 20:04 by Jason Glatzer

Level 20: 8,000/16,000 (16,000)
Entries: 72/1,261

Yaron Amsalem bet 110,000 into a pot of approximately triple that after the J 2 10 came on the flop and was called by Michel Molenaar.

Amsalem fired out again for 115,000 after the 6 followed on the turn. Molenaar jammed over the top for heaps and Amsalem called off for about 350,000.

Yaron Amsalem: K 10
Michel Molenaar: J 4

Molenaar was ahead and eliminated Amsalem after he was unable to pull ahead on the 7 river.

Michel Molenaar – 2.4 million
Yaron Amsalem – 0

Payouts for €815 15.10.2022 19:30 by Jason Glatzer

The following players cashed for €815.

PlacePlayerPrize
88Krzysztof Nowakowski€ 815
89Holger Brueck€ 815
90Cole Maguire€ 815
91Kyrill Leutwyler€ 815
92Dragos Negrii€ 815
93Michael Zauner€ 815
94Roberts Krigers€ 815
95Stefan Bugar€ 815
96Miroslav Zitka€ 815
97Dominik Desset€ 815
98Damian Marcinkowski€ 815
99Ivan Barczi€ 815
100Emmanouil Zacharakis€ 815
101Matyas Kende€ 815
102Richard Aotaeht€ 815
103Daniel Schausberger€ 815
Dichev on Fire 15.10.2022 19:25 by Jason Glatzer

Level 19: 6,000/12,000 (12,000)
Entries: 87/1,271

Yasen Dichev was absolutely relentless on the bubble and was busy building his stack. He seems to be continuing along post-bubble and just ousted Krzysztof Nowakowski.

Nowakowski jammed for 15 big blinds with king-jack. Dichev woke up with queens and made the call. The board ran dry for Nowakowski and his impressive Main Event run is history.

Yasen Dichev – 2.5 million
Krzysztof Nowakowski – 0

Yasen Dichev
Yasen Dichev Crushing Souls
Cash for €725 in the Main Event 15.10.2022 19:09 by Jason Glatzer

The following players earned €725 in The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event.

PlacePlayerPrize
104Tibor Benko€ 725
105Ervin Kuglis€ 725
106Andreas Pavli€ 725
107Tamas Braun€ 725
108Adam Jindra€ 725
109Aalst Van€ 725
110Plamen Yakimov€ 725
111Dominik Znasik€ 725
112Johan Amren€ 725
113Sebastian Kotowicz€ 725
114Espen Gundersen€ 725
115Miroslav Druga€ 725
116David Courselles€ 725
117Robert Sloboda€ 725
118Simon Ye€ 725
119Symeon Marvakis€ 725
Cashed for €665 in the Main Event 15.10.2022 19:04 by Jason Glatzer

The following players were awarded €665 in The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event.

PlacePlayerPrize
120Christos Vettas€ 665
121Eden Azulay€ 665
122Onkioa Ankava€ 665
123Aurelie Dassi€ 665
124Attila Tarko€ 665
125Feng Li€ 665
126Chen Keren€ 665
127Konstantinos Nanos€ 665
128Emmanuel Leghait€ 665
129Wang Lu€ 665
130Kwan Lau€ 665
131Patrik Ciklamini€ 665
132Alain Berth€ 665
133Almir Koljenovic€ 665
134Filip Sramka€ 665
135Andras Matrai€ 665
Schlesinger Eliminates Braun 15.10.2022 18:59 by Jason Glatzer

Level 18: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
Entries: 106/1,271

Robert Komlodi opened for 22,000 from early position before Domenik Schlesinger jammed for 153,000 from the small blind. Tamas Braun, who came into today with just 14,000 in chips and advanced into the money, called off for 11,000 and the action was paused on Komlodi.

“I apologize,” said another player at the table. “I must call for the clock.”

Komlodi folded before the floor got to his table and Braun was at risk.

Tamas Braun: 9 2
Domenik Schlesinger: A Q

Braun paired his deuce on the 10 A 2 Q 4 board but this wasn’t nearly enough with Schlesinger also improving to top two pair to eliminate his opponent.

Robert Komlodi – 500,000
Domenik Schlesinger – 250,000
Tamas Braun – 0

Day 5 Video Highlights 15.10.2022 18:41 by Jason Glatzer
More Day 2 Photos by Mairo Toom 15.10.2022 18:36 by Jason Glatzer
Players That Min-Cashed 15.10.2022 18:31 by Jason Glatzer

Level 18: 5,000/10,000 (10,000)
Entries: 135/1,271

The following players min-cashed for €605 in the Main Event.

PlacePlayerPrize
136Robin Cornet€ 605
137Natanel Mamis€ 605
138Yordan Dichev€ 605
139Emir Jusuframic€ 605
140Slimane Mameche€ 605
141Ole Wasenius€ 605
142Sivan Mirani€ 605
143Per Lindstroem€ 605
144Jozef Bartalos€ 605
145Joel Salmirinne€ 605
146Richard Msall€ 605
147Rene Vonwald€ 605
148Morten Bremseth€ 605
149Robert Perelman€ 605
150Vojtech Paxian€ 605
151Jon Kyte€ 605
152Wessam Bitar€ 605
153Jenny Westerlund€ 605
154Andrej Kocian€ 605
155Dimitrios Nanos€ 605
156Alexandros Fixmer€ 605
157Dalil Masaud€ 605
158Branislav Ondrus€ 605
159Teodor Popovic€ 605
160Zoltan Kovacs€ 605
Break After Puglisi Bubbles Main Event 15.10.2022 18:00 by Jason Glatzer

Andrew Puglisi bubbled the Main Event after his ace-deuce was up against ten-seven and ace-king. The board ran dry for all players and Puglisi was on the rail.

Players went on a break after the money bubble broke and are now in the money.

Andrew Puglisi
Andrew Puglisi Bubbles The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event
Stone Cold Bubble Time After Tahmoresnia Hits the Rail 15.10.2022 17:18 by Jason Glatzer

Level 17: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
Entries: 161/1,271

Siamak Tahmoresnia finished in 162nd place or two spots from the money. The action is still hand-for-hand, but now the action is on the pure money bubble with just 161 players remaining and 160 finishing in the money.

Attila Leeb on the Rail 15.10.2022 16:46 by Jason Glatzer

Level 17: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
Entries: 162/1,271

Attila Leeb just hit the rail on a coinflip when his tens were no good against the big slick held by Gerianne Dijkstra after a king spiked the turn.

Clark Loses a Flip Near the Bubble 15.10.2022 16:40 by Jason Glatzer

Level 17: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
Entries: 163/1,271

Teresa Clark had a short stack throughout Day 2. She got her stack up to around 110,000 but is now on the rail. Special thanks to Mateusz Moolhuizen for recapping the action.

She lost most of her stack after getting it in with ace-queen against the tens held by Paul Maguire. She had less than a big blind left when she went in blind with four-three off and bricked the board against king-ten.

Paul Maguire – 250,000
Mateusz Moolhuizen – 240,000
Teresa Clark – 0

Teresa Clark
The normally smiling Teresa Clark out near the bubble

Clock Stopped Four Away from Bubble 15.10.2022 16:18 by Jason Glatzer

The floor stopped the clock about 10 minutes ago with 31:06 left on the clock with 164 players remaining and 160 getting paid at least a €605 min-cash.

We are now hand-for-hand as the floor decided to start it a bit earlier with many tables across two different floors. We will do our best to be on the correct floor when the bubble breaks but even this Superman of a reporter can’t be in two places at once.

Radjkovic Doubles with Broadway 15.10.2022 16:08 by Jason Glatzer

Level 17: 4,000/8,000 (8,000)
Entries: 164/1,271

The bubble is just around the corner with just 164 players remaining and 160 players slated for at least a min-cash of €605. Luka Bojovic checked the A A Q 4 10 board before Adi Radjkovic fired out about a pot-sized bet of 113,000. Radjkovic had just 1,000 chips back when Bojovic went into the tank.

Bojovic eventually called and mucked his cards after Radjkovic turned over K J for Broadway.

Adi Radjkovic – 375,000
Luka Bojovic – 330,000

Luka Bojovic
Luka Bojovic & Tihomir Yanev
Payouts Announced! 160 Paid, €126,650 for the Winner! 15.10.2022 15:36 by Jason Glatzer

Level 16: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)
Entries: 178/1,271

The payouts have been announced. The top 160 players will go home with at least a €605 min-cash with tomorrow’s eventual winner going home with €126,650.

PlacePrize
1€126,650
2€77,450
3€50,550
4€36,975
5€27,900
6€20,375
7€14,350
8€9,870
9€6,820
10-12€5,795
13-16€4,710
17-23€3,805
24-31€3,080
32-39€2,775
40-47€2,295
48-55€1,900
56-56€1,570
64-71€1,300
72-79€1,085
80-87€935
88-103€815
104-119€725
120-135€665
136-160€605
the-festival-bratislava-main-event-d2-2532
Unscheduled Break 15.10.2022 15:13 by Jason Glatzer

The floor just announced that after this hand, players will take a 10-minute break. After the break, we will likely know the payouts for the Main Event.

The reason for the break makes sense since there are 180 players remaining and it appears likely that 160 players will be in the money.

WSOP Bracelet Winner Sandvik Playing Blackjack 15.10.2022 15:11 by Jason Glatzer

Level 16: 3,000/6,000 (6,000)
Entries: 185/1,271

WSOP Bracelet winner Espen Sandvik was unable to manage a run in the Main Event and is off playing Blackjack with his friend Terje Bremseth who also hit the rail today.

Sandvik fired seven bullets but it wasn’t a lucky seven.

He shared that he got his last 44,000 in the middle with treys and was up against the deuces held by Morten Bremseth. If you recall Sandvik earlier in the tournament, he played two big hands with deuces.

This time, Sandvik hoped that the saying that “deuces never loses” wouldn’t take place but a deuce spiked the river and all of his chips went over to Bremseth.

Meanwhile, The Festival Series’ Karev Tralla is also on the rail. He shared that he lost a flip at the end with nine-seven against an underpair.

Best of luck to Sandvik and Tralla the rest of the way in side events.

Bad Beat Alert! Aces Cracked for Nauta 15.10.2022 14:51 by Jason Glatzer

Level 15: 2,000/5,000 (5,000)
Entries: 201/1,271

We checked up on Ruurd Nauta and noticed his stack dipped to 70,000 in chips. While we hear tons of bad beats stories every day, this one was particularly nasty.

A player jammed for under 15 big blinds with ace-deuce and was called by Nauta with pocket rockets. Normally there wouldn’t be much of sweat here. This time there wasn’t but for a different reason as two deuced came on the flop leaving Nauta to just one out despite being miles ahead when the chips went in. No miracle came for Nauta and but he still has enough left in his stack to potentially spin up and get back in the mix.

Ruurd Nauta
Ruurd Nauta
Day 2 Photos by Mairo Toom 15.10.2022 14:24 by Jason Glatzer
Potti-Jussi and Ziigmund on the Rail 15.10.2022 14:20 by Jason Glatzer

Level 15: 2,000/5,000 (5,000)
Entries: 246/1,271

The Main Event unofficially attracted 1,271 entries to generate a €603,725 prize pool. Although late registration is closed, it might take a blind level before everything is confirmed and the prize pool and payouts are announced but it won’t be too far off this figure if it changes.

Two of the big-name Finnish players hit the rail shortly after the start of Level 15 in Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies and Jussi “Potti-Jussi” Mattila.

While we caught how Potti-Jussi hit the rail, Sahamies stormed away with his drink but perhaps we will find out about that elimination later.

Mattila open-jammed sevens and was called by Attila Leeb with ace-queen. An ace spiked the river on the king-six-trey-jack-ace runout and the rest was history for Mattila.

Attila Leeb – 135,000
Jussi Mattila – 0
Ilari Sahamies – 0

Various Stacks at Break 15.10.2022 14:07 by Jason Glatzer
PlayerChipsBlinds
Simon Ye530,000106
Yasen Dichev500,000100
Ronald Zapantis450,00090
Hans Erlandsson410,00082
Ori Elul400,00080
Sascha Manns380,00076
Michael Sklenička365,00073
Holger Brueck360,00072
Dominik Znasik360,00072
Jari Pekka Raettyae330,00066
Giorgi Gogoladze325,00065
Eden Azulay310,00062
Filip Sramka290,00058
David Kurbel290,00058
Tibor Benko280,00056
Adi Rajkovic270,00054
Slavomir Rakovan270,00054
Erik Zackrisson260,00052
Miklos Zsuffa260,00052
Dragos-Constantin Negrii250,00050
Robert Sloboda250,00050
Matej Macejak250,00050
Michael Zauner250,00050
Panagiotis Oikonomidis230,00046
Mark Berman220,00044
Richard Miklosovic210,00042
Viktor Eriksson210,00042
Daniel Koloszar200,00040
Karlo Finka200,00040
Frank Visser200,00040
Vlada Petrovich200,00040
Sandeep Nene180,00036
First Break 15.10.2022 13:44 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on their first break of Day 2. Late registration will be closed after the break. It might take a blind level before the final entries and prize pool are finalized.

Znasik Wins a Massive Flip Against Antanaitis 15.10.2022 13:44 by Jason Glatzer

Level 14: 2,000/4,000
Entries: 264/1,264

Dominik Znasik opened for 8,000 before Danius Antanaitis three-bet to 24,000. Znasik four-bet jammed for his massive stack of around 200,000 and was called off by Antanaitis for 152,000.

Dainius Antanaitis: Q Q
Dominik Znasik: A K

Znasik pulled out ahead on the 5 A 10 flop and never looked back with the 7 turn and 3 river completing the board.

Antanaitis did re-enter today with a 30,000 stack before running it up but shared he won’t try the same again after hitting the rail. He is one of Lithuania’s most formidable mixed-game players as evidenced by his recent run at the WCOOP where he won three separate titles this year.

Dominik Znasik – 360,000
Dainius Antanaitis – 0

Manns is the Man 15.10.2022 13:23 by Jason Glatzer

Level 14: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Entries: 291/1,249

Sascha Manns began today with a top ten chip stack and has extended it further.

He first eliminated Svein Eidsaeter as follows.

Manns defended his big blind after Eidsaeter opened the hijack and both players checked the four-five-queen with two hearts flop. The two of diamonds paired the board on the turn. Manns bet 10,000. Eidsaeter jammed for more than 70,000 and Manns called.

Sascha Manns: Six-Five
Svein Eidsaeter: Ace-King

Eidsaeter still had some hope but that went into the gutter after a blank ten completed the board.

Shortly after, Manns took care of another player after winning a flip with ace-king vs. tens.

In other news, this reporter no longer has a sweat as he had a small piece in Ant Gokcek who also hit the rail. Gokcek wanted to take a break but he plans to enter the €250 NLHE Freezeout that kicks off at 3 p.m.

Sascha Manns – 380,000
Svein Eidsaeter – 0
Ant Gokcek – 0

Sascha Manns
Sascha Manns is the Man
Groedum & Sandford on the Rail 15.10.2022 13:13 by Jason Glatzer

Level 14: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Entries: 303/1,247

We caught up with Jostein Groedum who is on the rail. He shared that he three-bet jammed about 15 big blinds with ace-nine suited and was called by two players. One player with nines and another with kings.

The queen-jack-eight-eight-deuce runout didn’t help Groedum stay alive and he shared he will not be re-entering. Groedum still has a sweat as he is representing Guts Poker, who have sent about a half-a-dozen qualifiers to The Festival Bratislava. Best of luck to all of the Guts Poker players.

Meanwhile, it appears we will have our commentator available to do commentating. George Sandford entered the maximum three bullets on Day 2 and came out empty each time. Sandford is a formidable player in many poker formats and has had tons of success here at Banco Casino. We look forward to watching his commentating of the Main Event when the stream goes live later today.

George Sandford
George Sandford
Bremseth & de Jong Re-Enter 15.10.2022 13:07 by Jason Glatzer

Level 14: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Entries: 310/1,245

We decided to catch up with a few of our friends on the rail to see how they hit the felt. Terje Bremseth is the first of the crew we had a chat with.

Bremseth shared he jammed a short stack with ace-eight and was unable to win a flip against sevens.

We spoke with Dehlia de Jong next. She shared that she three-bet jammed with nines for 15 big blinds and was up against king-queen. A king came out of the window right away and the rest was history.

Both Bremseth and de Jong got immediately back into the action after their unfortunately early demises with the stacks they brought into Day 2. Best of luck to Terje and Dehlia.

Dehlia de Jong
Dehlia de Jong
Oestergaard Delivers Bad Beat to Potti-Jussi 15.10.2022 12:53 by Jason Glatzer

Level 13: 1,000/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 336/1,236

Jussi Mattila, known to friends as Potti-Jussi, limped from the small blind. Erik Oestergaard raised to 43,000 leaving him about 32,000 left in his stack. Mattila three-bet jammed and Oestergaard went into the tank before he called.

Erik Oestergaard: A 3
Jussi Mattila: A 9

Mattila remained ahead after the Q K 4 flop and after the 2 turn. However, the 3 river spiked the board to save Oestergaard. Mattila slammed the table out of frustration.

“Well played,” Mattila said sarcastically to Oestergaard.

“Thank you,” said Oestergaard.

Mattila was smiling shortly after as he has been around long enough to know anything can happen in poker.

Erik Oestergaard – 150,000
Jussi Mattila – 60,000

Erik Oestergaard
Erik Oestergaard
Gogoladze Eliminates Mohammadzadeh 15.10.2022 12:42 by Jason Glatzer

Level 13: 1,000/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 346/1,230

Georgi Gogoladze in the hijack called a three-bet jam for 32,000 by Sohrab Mohammadzadeh from the small blind.

Sohrab Mohammadzadeh: 10 10
Georgi Gogoladze: A J

The race was on and Mohammadzadeh appeared to be in good shape after the K K 7 flop and the 2 turn. However, that all changed when Gogoladze connected his ace with the A river to eliminate Mohammadzadeh.

Georgi Gogoladze – 150,000
Sohrab Mohammadzadeh – 0

Albrigtsen Doubles Through Kuna 15.10.2022 12:33 by Jason Glatzer

Level 13: 1,000/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 362/1,220

Ronny Albrigtsen re-entered before the start of the day and now has more than double a starting stack. His biggest hand came against the start-of-the-day chip leader Attila Kuna.

Albrigtsen shared that he got his short stack in with fours and was up against the ace-nine held by Kuna. Not only did the board run clean for Albrigtsen, but he rivered a four as well for good measure.

Attilas Kuna – 350,000
Ronny Albrigtsen – 76,000

Maguire Dominates Noga 15.10.2022 12:27 by Jason Glatzer

Level 13: 1,000/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 372/1,216

Jiri Noga committed his short stack from middle position and was up against Paul Maguire from the small blind.

Jiri Noga: 6 6
Paul Maguire: J J

Maguire had Noga dominated with jacks against sixes. The A 8 9 7 Q board didn’t help Noga get ahead and he will need to re-enter if he wants a chance to go deep in the Main Event.

Paul Maguire – 125,000
Jiri Noga – 0

Paul Maguire
Paul Maguire
Barbarics Ousts Kassitzky 15.10.2022 12:17 by Jason Glatzer

Level 13: 1,000/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 386/1,201

Attila Kassitzky jammed for 32,000 from the hijack and was looked up by Tamas Barbarics from the small blind.

Attila Kassitzky: Q J
Tamas Barbarics: 4 4

Barbarics’ fours did the job to eliminate his opponent after Kassitzky bricked the A 3 5 8 5 runout.

Tamas Barbarics – 190,000
Attila Kassitzky – 0

Day 2 Begins 15.10.2022 12:06 by Jason Glatzer

Level 13: 1,000/3,000 (3,000)
Entries: 395/1,200

Day 2 has just kicked off. Expect some mayhem in the beginning with players holding short stacks looking to spin them up. Among the players to re-enter before the start of the day were Ronny Albrigtsen, Dave Clark, and Greg Partridge.

The plan was originally to play down to the final table today but it is expected that we will have more players survive today. The tournament director will update the players with the Day 2 plan during the day.

Attila Kuna Leads Heading Into Day 2 of The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event 15.10.2022 11:43 by Jason Glatzer
Attila Kuna
Attila Kuna

The €500,000 guaranteed The Festival Series €550 Main Event has moved onto its second day. The event thus far has attracted 1,196 entries through the five opening flights with 380 players finding a bag.

These figures will continue to grow throughout the day as late registration will be open for those looking to get in at the very last minute for the first two blind levels today.

Attila Kuna is currently on top of the chip leaderboard after bagging a whopping 384,000 in chips on Day 1c. Pavel Svach was the only other player to bag more than 300,000 in chips after ending Day 1d with a healthy stack of 303,000.

Top 10 Chip Counts

PlacePlayerChipsBig Blinds
1Attila Kuna384,000128
2Pavel Svach303,000101
3Ronald Zapantis296,00099
4Yasen Dichev278,00093
5Hans Erlandsson263,00088
6Ongorur Mehmet261,00087
7Rickard Larsson256,00085
8Wang Lu253,00084
9Sascha Manns251,00084
10Michael Sklenička250,00083

Main Event by the Numbers

The €500,000 Main Event guarantee has already been smashed. By how much we will know around 1:30 p.m. after late registration closes but the prize pool currently stands at €562,400 and counting.

FlightEntriesSurvivorsAverageAdvancedChip LeaderChipsBlinds
Day 1a13439103,07729.1%Rikard Larsson256,00085
Day 1b18051105,88228.3%Ronald Zapantis296,00099
Day 1c2809192,30832.5%Attila Kuna384,000128
Day 1d45814197,44730.8%Pavel Svach303,000101
Day 1e1445874,48340.3%Erik Seffer183,00061
Total1,19638094,42131.8%

Day 2 will begin at noon at Level 13 with blinds at 1,000/3,000 along with a big blind ante of 3,000. The structure will be slightly deeper on Day 2 with 45-minute blind levels instead of the 40-minute levels featured during most of the opening flights.

Stay tuned at PokerListings to witness the biggest hands and bad beats throughout The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event.

Day 2 Seat Draw 15.10.2022 11:30 by Jason Glatzer

The Festival Series reporter Arved Klohn has posted the Day 2 Seat draw.

You can check it out here along with some updates from the plethora of side events throughout the week.

Day 1d Chip Counts 14.10.2022 23:06 by Jason Glatzer
Peter Bergman & Pavel Svach
Peter Bergman & Pavel Svach

Pavel Svach bagged the most out of the 141 survivors in Day 1d.

Day 1d attracted 458 entries to bring the total field size up to 1,052 entries with still more to come. A recap of the day will be included in tomorrow’s intro due to the ongoing turbo Day 1e flight. Here is a look at all of the chip counts.

PlayerChipsBlinds
Pavel Svach303,000101
Ongorur Mehmet261,00087
Sascha Manns251,00084
Riccardo de Rubeis243,00081
Iraklis Manikaros240,00080
Dragos-Constantin Negrii230,00077
David Kurbel224,00075
Eden Azulay203,00068
Miklos Bottyan197,00066
Richard Msall195,00065
Giovanni Piccione192,00064
Michael Wehner187,00062
Gerianne Dijkstra186,00062
Georgiou Vasos184,00061
Robert Komlodi170,00057
David Eschelmuller169,00056
Slavomir Rakovan166,00055
Zdenko Slavik160,00053
Sandor Dudas158,00053
Jon Kyte158,00053
Miklos Zsuffa157,00052
Are Ugland156,00052
Matus Kucera154,00051
David Safrany154,00051
Zsolt Lassu148,00049
“Potti” Jussi Matilla146,00049
David Courselles143,00048
Johannes Huisman142,00047
Sandeep Nene140,00047
Andro Scarpa139,00046
Marcin Niedzwiecki136,00045
Andreas Pavli136,00045
Alexander Moser135,00045
Aleksandre Cheishvili133,00044
Vasile Iuga132,00044
Vlantouts Kourka132,00044
Petr Litera132,00044
Holger Brueck130,00043
Andrew Hanak128,00043
Emmanouil Zacharakis127,00042
Patrick Beuter124,00041
Mark Berman123,00041
Luka Bojovic122,00041
Motel Laszlo Lajos120,00040
Hector Fortea Grangel119,00040
Sandor Leitenroth117,00039
Sebastian Schulze116,00039
Joel Holmberg115,00038
Attila Leeb115,00038
Giorgi Gogoladze114,00038
Shaher Mobarak108,00036
Ant Gokcek106,00035
Peter Varga106,00035
Marian Flesar105,00035
Karev Tralla100,00033
Nicolas Steils97,00032
David Spacek96,00032
Johan Amren95,00032
Siamak Tahmoresnia95,00032
Teresa Clark94,00031
Roni Ezra94,00031
Karlo Finka94,00031
Kwan Shun Sam Lau91,00030
Damian Marcinkowski91,00030
Albert Ostrovskij91,00030
Arnaud Dreux90,00030
Paul Rosner90,00030
Filip Sramka89,00030
Daniel Ganser88,00029
Krzysztof Otlik88,00029
Daniyel Destici87,00029
Levani Rozomashvili87,00029
John Tunstall87,00029
Sarah Strak85,00028
Cole Maguire84,00028
Kimon Fountoukidis82,00027
Marton Lugosi82,00027
Pascal Hammerl81,00027
Christopher Ibold81,00027
Dalibor-Oliver Zjacic81,00027
Mihail Popa79,00026
Roman Trnka78,00026
Noelia Ivars75,00025
Jiri Noga75,00025
Ivan Barczi74,00025
Manfred Walter74,00025
Ayrton Turudic73,00024
Gernot Asanger72,00024
Aurelie Dassi71,00024
Sebastian Kotowicz71,00024
Rene Vonwald69,00023
Kristiyan Spasov68,00023
Morten Vian67,00022
Jens Esbjoernsson66,00022
Villy Oeyen65,00022
Feng Li64,00021
Adam Kharman62,00021
Aldin Koljenovic62,00021
Adi Rajkovic62,00021
Miroslav Druga61,00020
Jozef Cajka60,00020
Svein Olav Eidsaeter60,00020
Natanel Mamis60,00020
Milos Nemeth60,00020
Richard Bathory59,00020
Yordan Dichev59,00020
Nikolaus Kovacs58,00019
Rando Pajus58,00019
Jan Hribernik55,00018
Martin Nathaniel55,00018
Paul Hoefer54,00018
Sami Pullainen54,00018
Antal Roth52,00017
Elia Ferrandina51,00017
Constantin Filip51,00017
Oerjahn Winther51,00017
Joao de Brito50,00017
David Ankava Onkioa47,00016
Arnaud Barthel45,00015
Peter Halo43,00014
Dmytro Bryndzya40,00013
Gabor Skrinyar40,00013
Patrik Kunik39,00013
Ruurd Nauta39,00013
Fredrik Oeverland39,00013
Andrew Puglisi39,00013
Declan Goulding38,00013
Tibor Nagygyoergy38,00013
Michael Zauner38,00013
Volodymyr Dolhii34,00011
Lachezar Tsenov33,00011
Alexander Oswald31,00010
Boyan Toshev27,0009
Lars Hole26,0009
Omer Ben Hamo24,0008
Bartosz Piesiewicz23,0008
Edvin Makic22,0007
Roman Okolicany17,0006
Fabian Gumz15,0005
Tamas Braun14,0005
Jan Møller Jensen5,0002
PokerListings’ Jacob Dideriksen-Nielsen (JDN) Wins Heads-Up 14.10.2022 21:01 by Jason Glatzer

Our very own Jacob Dideriksen-Nielsen (JDN) has done a fantastic job representing PokerListings as he just won the two-day €250 Heads-Up tournament for €2,700.

He was up 1-0 in a best-of-three against Ori Elul and had him on the ropes and down to just four big blinds when the final hand took place.

Elul jammed with king-eight and was called by JDN with fives. Elul pulled far out ahead after his king connected with the king-nine-four flop and it appeared the match would go on. But JDN pulled it off when a five came on the turn to give him a set and leave his opponent drawing dead. A queen completed the board on the river and JDN has represented PokerListings fantastically with a title at The Festival Series Bratislava!

Meanwhile, Day 1d of the Main Event is coming to a close with the final four hands just announced. We will provide the final chip counts of the flight as soon as it is ready.

At the same time, there are already 70 players registered in tonight’s turbo Day 1e flight. While PokerListings will not be covering this opening flight with hands, we promise to also provide chip counts of all the survivors from the final opening flight as well.

Jacob Dideriksen-Nielsen
Jacob Dideriksen-Nielsen
More Day 1d Photos by Mairo Toom 14.10.2022 20:30 by Jason Glatzer
Franke KO’s Konttinen 14.10.2022 19:27 by Jason Glatzer

Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 198/449

Juhana Konttinen had his last 25 big blinds or so in the middle with big slick and had a coin flip for his stack against The Festival Series founder Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk with jacks.

A jack came on the flop and eventually, Franke ousted Konttinen with a full house to bring his stack up to near 120,000.

Quad Fives for Krchnar 14.10.2022 19:23 by Jason Glatzer

Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 202/446

We caught up with a hand where on the turn Matus Kucera raise-jammed the turn with the 5 5 6 4 on the board for about 20 big blinds and was called by Marek Krchnar.

Marek Kchnar: 5 5
Matus Kucera: J J

Kucera would have normally had a great hand with jacks on this type of board but was already drawing dead with Kchnar waking up with quad fives. The pot was shipped over to Kchnar after the Q completed the board on the river.

Kucera was back at it again in a four-bet pot and his stack committed with A K against another players’ Q Q . Kucera won the flip after his king connected with the 5 5 K 4 8 board to double his stack.

Matus Kucera – 120,000
Marek Kchnar – 100,000

Big Stacks from Around the Room 14.10.2022 19:12 by Jason Glatzer
PlayerChipsBig Blinds
Sascha Manns220,000183
Ant Gokcek200,000167
Peter Varga200,000167
Ongorur Mehmet170,000142
Petr Litera165,000138
Are Ugland160,000133
Gerianne Dijkstra150,000125
Robert Komlodi145,000121
David Spacek140,000117
Jon Kyte130,000108
Oerjahn Winther130,000108
Sandor Dudas125,000104
Johannes Huisman125,000104
Andreas Pavli120,000100
Jens Esbjoernsson120,000100
Elia Ferrandina115,00096
Vlantouts Kourka100,00083
David Courselles100,00083
Motel Lajos Laszlo100,00083
Giovanni Piccione100,00083
Siamak Tahmoresnia100,00083
Gernot Asanger95,00079
Declan Goulding90,00075
Sami Pullainen90,00075
Michael Wehner90,00075
Mark Berman90,00075
Dalibor-Oliver Zjacic90,00075
Stevan Kusicki85,00071
Adam Kharman85,00071
Roni Ezra85,00071
Jussi Matilla80,00067
Emmanouil Zacharakis80,00067
Morten Vian80,00067
Jan Hajek75,00063
Iraklis Manikaros75,00063
Karev Tralla75,00063
Jeroen Mulder75,00063
Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk75,00063
Sandor Leitenroth70,00058
Gabor Skrinyar65,00054
Final Break 14.10.2022 18:50 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on their final 20-minute break of Day 1d.

Manns with a Stack 14.10.2022 18:47 by Jason Glatzer

Sascha Manns has one of the bigger stacks in the room with about 170,000 in chips.

He shared that he got a chunk of it during Level 8 as follows.

Manns three-bet squeezed for 5,000 from the hijack with jacks and both the original raiser and a caller came along for the ride to see the jack-five-trey flop with two clubs.

Two players checked before Manns fired out for 10,000. The original raiser folded, and the other player opted to call. The other player checked and Manns fired out for 25,000 after an eight came on the turn. The other player in the hand called to see an eight pair the board on the river.

Manns jammed for 55,000 and his opponent went into the tank before she asked if Manns would show his cards.

“I will show after you call,” Manns shared.

Manns’ opponent eventually found a call and got the bad news after she turned over her ace-jack that she was up against Manns’ full house.

Sascha Manns – 220,000

Video Highlights from Day 4 of The Festival Series Bratislava 14.10.2022 18:38 by Jason Glatzer

Check out the highlights from Day 4 of The Festival Series Bratislava.

Karev Tralla & Franke Running Up Stacks 14.10.2022 18:25 by Jason Glatzer

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 233/438

The Festival Series’ Karev Tralla has been busy, busy, busy all festival long but found some time today to get into the action on Day 1d in the Main Event.

We just had a look at his stack, and he is up to 90,000 in chips. He shared that he busted Henrik Riis en route to tripling his starting stack.

Meanwhile, The Festival Series founder Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk also is up to 90,000. The table shared that Franke four-bet jammed with ace-jack and was up against the ace-king held by Juhana Konttinen. Franke got lucky with the run-out but Konttinen, who has some history playing with Franke, shared he initially got lucky by being dealt the better hand.

Martin von Zweigbergk – 90,000
Karev Tralla – 90,000
Juhana Konttinen – 40,000

Franke Gets in the Action 14.10.2022 17:30 by Jason Glatzer

The Festival Series founder Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk has entered the Main Event for the first time. He showed us the ticket number and it read 1,015. So even though Franke will contribute towards the prize pool, he wasn’t part of making the guarantee.

Before The Festival Series Bratislava, I had Franke on our On The Road with PokerListings by Jason Glatzer. Listen to the episode by clicking on the image below.

on the road with jason gladzer franke
Ivars Delivers a Cooler to Aarts 14.10.2022 17:24 by Jason Glatzer

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 265/420

A player limped from early position before Noelia Ivars raised to 1,200 from the button. Jeroen Aarts and the early position limper called from the big blind for three players to witness the K 7 8 flop.

The action checked to Ivars who fired out for 3,500. Aarts raised to 9,000 and the player that limped folded. Ivars called and the J followed on the turn. Aarts jammed for 21,000 and Ivars snap-called.

Jeroen Aarts: 8 7
Noelia Ivars: K K

Despite flopping two pair, Aarts was already drawing dead when all the chips went into the pot. The 6 river completed the board and Aarts shared he would get some rest before deciding if he would re-enter today or on Day 2 tomorrow.

Noelia Ivars – 90,000
Jeroen Aarts – 0

Noelia Ivars
Noelia Ivars
Akenhead to Re-Enter 14.10.2022 17:12 by Jason Glatzer

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 267/416

James Akenhead is one of the biggest names in the Main Event today. Unfortunately, we witnessed him just leave the poker room but apparently, he will be coming back for another bullet.

He recapped a hand to The Festival Series reporting Dana Immanuel and shared that a player in middle position opened before he three-bet from the small blind with big slick. The big blind woke up with aces and fired in a four-bet. Akenhead five-bet jammed and didn’t get a miracle to get ahead of his opponent’s rockets after he called.

Best of luck to Akenhead on his second Main Event bullet.

Huisman Sends Hajek to the Rail 14.10.2022 17:07 by Jason Glatzer

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 267/410

Tomas Hajek three-bet jammed the button for under 25 big blinds and was called by Johannes Huisman from the cutoff.

Tomas Hajek: A J
Johannes Huisman: 9 9

Hajek let out a sigh of frustration after Huisman improved to a set on the 9 6 2 flop and was drawing dead after Huisman further improved to a full house on the 6 turn. The K river made the hand official and Hajek was on the rail.

Johannes Huisman – 80,000
Tomas Hajek – 0

€500K Main Event Guarantee Already Met! 14.10.2022 17:05 by Jason Glatzer

The €500,000 Main Event guarantee has already been met midway through Day 1d. Going into today, there were 594 entries and Day 1d thus far has attracted 409 entries to bring the field up to 1,003 entries and counting.

the-festival-bratislava-main-event-d1d-2075
Various Chip Counts at Break 14.10.2022 16:51 by Jason Glatzer
PlayerChipBlinds
David Spacek165,000275
Richard Msall140,000233
Sascha Manns135,000225
Vlantouts Kourka120,000200
Richard Bathory115,000192
Pavel Svach110,000183
Holger Brueck110,000183
Darryl Jo105,000175
Eva Farkas100,000167
Johan Amren100,000167
Alexander Moser95,000158
Ante Mazarekic90,000150
Slavomir Rakovan90,000150
Corc Ercin90,000150
Nicolas Steils90,000150
Riccardo de Rubeis90,000150
Ongorur Mehmet90,000150
Gabriel Rymar90,000150
Andrew Hanak85,000142
Knut Erik Grønli80,000133
Peter Muhlbek80,000133
Manfred Walter80,000133
Jason King80,000133
Stylianos Matsentidis80,000133
Dalibor-Oliver Zjacic80,000133
Roni Ezra80,000133
Albert Ostrovskij80,000133
Laurent Dregos75,000125
Iraklis Manikaros75,000125
Istvan Toth75,000125
Declan Goulding75,000125
Mark Berman75,000125
Stig Moen75,000125
Motel Lajos Laszlo70,000117
Dragos-Constantin Negrii70,000117
Morten Vian70,000117
Andreas Pavli70,000117
Giorgio Soceanu70,000117
Jan Hajek65,000108
Nikolaus Kovacs65,000108
Paul Rosner65,000108
Gernot Asanger65,000108
Karlo Finka60,000100
Arnaud Barthel60,000100
Terje Sirnes60,000100
Ivan Barczi55,00092
Georgiou Vasos55,00092
Antonino Karman50,00083
Attila Erdei50,00083
Second Break 14.10.2022 16:27 by Jason Glatzer

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 272/395

Players are on their second break. We will update some of the bigger stacks from around the two rooms hosting the Main Event.

The Main Event thus far has already attracted 991 entries including 395 in today’s Day 1d flight.

Big Stack Tangle on Table 44 14.10.2022 16:21 by Jason Glatzer

Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 276/392

Riccardo De Rubeis bet 2,400 into a pot of a bit more on the 2 8 9 flop. Dalibor Zjacic raised it up to 7,000 and De Rubeis called.

De Rubeis check-called a bet of 7,000 on the 2 turn by Zjacic before both players checked the 3 river. De Rubeis turned over 6 6 but didn’t win the pot with Zjacic showing down Q 9 for a better two pair.

“I was trying to bet you off the pot,” Zjacic said after the hand.

Riccardo De Rubeis – 125,000
Dalibor Zjacic – 105,000

Day 1d Photos by Mairo Toom 14.10.2022 16:03 by Jason Glatzer
The Rich Get Richer 14.10.2022 15:35 by Jason Glatzer

Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 297/351

Gernot Asanger fired out for 2,500 into a pot of exactly 5,000 after the 10 K 4 flop and was called by Natalia Chuprinskaia, Vlantouts Kourka, and Jozef Cajka.

Three players checked before Cajka bet 6,500 on the 10 turn. Chuprinskaia and Kourka both folded while Kourka called.

The 7 river completed the board. Kourka checked. Cajka jammed for 17,100 and Kourka went into the tank.

“Don’t know why I put you on a flush draw,” Kourka said more than once. “If I fold, will you show?”

Cajka remained silent the entire time.

“OK,” Kourka said. “I call.”

“Good call,” Cajka said as he turned over the Q 8 . Kourka only had 5 5 but this was good enough to win the pot and add some chips to his already big stack.

Vlantouts Kourka – 165,000
Jozef Cajka – 0

PLO Masterclass Instructor Hazan Re-Enters 14.10.2022 15:10 by Jason Glatzer

Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 297/349

J.J. Hazan hosted a PLO Masterclass earlier this week at The Festival Series Bratislava. Feedback from players was great but now he will take his chances in a two-card event. Hazan also was one of the commentators this week for The Festival Series live stream.

We know that Hazan can also play well with two cards as during the last The Festival Series Bratislava in 2021, he won the PokerListings Deepstack for €7,375.

Hazan ran into a bit of a cooler early on Day 1d of this Main Event as he held top two pair with ace-queen. However, his opponent flopped a set of tens. All the chips went into the middle and Hazan immediately re-entered.

J.J. Hazan – 30,000

PokerListings-Deepstack-Winner-JJ-Hazan
Better Kicker for De Rubeis 14.10.2022 15:02 by Jason Glatzer

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 297/342

There were already 20,000 in the pot with the J Q 2 10 on the board after the turn when Brenden Oeystein check-called a bet of 10,000 by Riccardo De Rubeis.

Both players checked the 5 river. Oeystein turned over Q 3 for top pair. De Rubeis also held top pair with A Q and was awarded the pot thanks to his ace-kicker.

Riccardo De Rubeis – 60,000
Brenden Oeystein – 30,000

Good Start for PLO Masters Champ Daniel Sahlin 14.10.2022 14:47 by Jason Glatzer

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 291/321

Day 1d is officially too big to fit into one room with the field already at 321 entries. Among the players sitting at a table in a room usually used for the side events is Daniel Sahlin, Ant Gokcek, Monika “Hey Monia” Zukowicz, and Jon Kyte.

Both Kyte and Gokcek are on their second bullets of the day but things have been going better for Sahlin. Earlier this festival, Sahlin defeated Leif Iversen heads-up to win Event #11: €250 PLO Masters for €5,482 and could be in line for much more in the Main Event if his success continues.

In a recent hand, Matyas Kende checked with 4,000 in the pot and the A 4 Q on the board. Sahlin fired out for 4,000 and Kende tanked for several minutes before he called.

Kende quickly checked after the 6 followed on the turn. Sahlin opted to jam for about 40,000. Kende, with about 20,000 left in his stack once again went into the tank. After a couple of minutes, he opted to fold and the dealer awarded Sahlin the pot.

Daniel Sahlin – 60,000
Matyas Kende – 20,000

Daniel Sahlin
Daniel Sahlin
Various Chip Counts at Break 14.10.2022 14:28 by Jason Glatzer
PlayerChipsBlinds
Emmanouil Zacharakis140,000467
Martin Gregor124,000413
Ante Mazarekic115,000383
John Tunstall85,000283
Ongorur Mehmet73,000243
Stylianos Matsentidis72,000240
David Courselles67,000223
Per Egil Kroken67,000223
Mark Berman67,000223
Knut Erik Grønli64,000213
Elia Ferrandina64,000213
Giorgio Soceanu64,000213
Miroslav Druga60,000200
Givi Baramidze60,000200
Riben Rasmussen60,000200
Stig Moen60,000200
Oerjahn Winther56,000187
Erol Hamid55,000183
Vincent Picard55,000183
Antonino Karman53,000177
Kristiyan Spasov50,000167
Zoltan Lanszki50,000167
Adnan Toric49,000163
Morten Vian49,000163
Georgiou Vasos48,000160
Sandor Leitenroth48,000160
Andreas Pavli47,000157
Oeystein Brenden46,000153
Igor Panak45,000153
Karlo Finka45,000150
Vlantouts Kourka45,000150
First Break 14.10.2022 14:05 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on their first break of Day 1d.

Rockets for Hamid 14.10.2022 14:00 by Jason Glatzer

Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 274/293

Erol Hamid was the first player on the rail during Day 1d. He hopped back into the action and it appears things are going smoother for him on his second bullet of the day.

Toni Radonic checked with the J K Q 2 2 on the board. Hamid fired out for 4,500 into a pot of around 6,000. Radonic tanked for a minute before he called. Hamid turned over A A for two pair with aces over deuces and won the pot after Radonic mucked his cards.

Erol Hamid – 45,000
Toni Radonic – 15,000

Sixes Good for Leitenroth 14.10.2022 13:42 by Jason Glatzer

Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 261/272

Three players checked with about 4,000 in the pot and the 3 8 8 on the board before Sandor Leitenroth fired out for 1,700. Jan Hajek called. Another player folded before Andreas Pavli called.

The action checked around after both the 5 turn and the 5 river. Hajek mucked his cards before anyone showed their hand. Pavli turned over A K but this wasn’t enough as Leitenroth was awarded the pot after he tabled 6 6

Jan Hajek – 25,000
Andreas Pavli – 50,000
Sandor Leitenroth – 45,000

Ladies Good for Druga 14.10.2022 13:21 by Jason Glatzer

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 249/255

Miroslav Druga bet 2,700 from the blinds into a pot of around 4,000 after the 4 8 6 landed on the flop and was called by Marcin Niedzwiecki from late position. Druga opted to check after the 5 followed on the turn. Niedzwiecki fired out for 3,000 and Druga called.

The action slowed down after the 5 paired the board on the river. Both players checked. Druga turned over Q Q and won the hand after his opponent mucked his cards.

Miroslav Druga – 75,000
Marcin Niedzwiecki – 16,000

Take Two for Gokcek 14.10.2022 13:12 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 244/249

Ant Gokcek is a close friend of this author as we are both ex-pats living in the glorious Lithuanian capital of Vilnius and have a passion for poker.

Gokcek decided on a last-minute trip and got into his car at 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning for a marathon 14-hour drive here to Banco Casino Bratislava. He has had his rest and is ready to rumble.

Unfortunately, Gokcek is among the first players to hit the rail. He shared with PokerListings that he got his chips in with cowboys on a queen-queen-ten flop and was up against ace-jack. Unfortunately for our friend, an ace spiked the river. Gokcek shared he plans to get back into the Main Event action with his second bullet shortly.

Our Very Own PokerListings Championship Begins at 1 p.m. 14.10.2022 12:39 by Jason Glatzer

While the Main Event is absolutely packed, there are also many players at the moment getting their tickets to the two-day PokerListings Championship starting at 1 p.m. in the Rome Room.

The event boasts an affordable €250 buy-in and features an amazing structure with 30,000 in opening chips and 30-minute blind levels.

Best of luck to everyone that gets into the action!

Vieilletoile Folds His Ace to Manns 14.10.2022 12:32 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 207/208

The field has already grown to more than 200 entries. Erol Hamid, who we recently reported a hand about, lost the rest of his chips and was the first player out on Day 1d.

Meanwhile, over on Table 54, Jean-Pierre Vieilletoile had a decision to make. Sascha Manns jammed for 12,100 into a pot of around 20,000 with the 3 Q A 7 J on the board after the river. Vielletoile went into the tank and there was some table talk between the duo at this point.

Eventually, Vielletoile decided to fold but not before flashing to the table he laid down A for at least top pair.

Sascha Manns – 32,000
Jean-Pierre Vieilletoile – 15,000

Main Event by the Numbers 14.10.2022 12:24 by Jason Glatzer

Here is a look at the Main Event figures after the first three opening flights:

FlightEntriesSurvivorsAverage% AdvancedChip LeaderChipsBig Blinds
Day 1a13439       103,077 29.1%Rikard Larsson256,000102
Day 1b18051       105,882 28.3%Ronald Zapantis296,000118
Day 1c28091         92,308 32.5%Attila Kuna384,000154
Total594181         98,453 30.5%
Early Flush for Dichev 14.10.2022 12:14 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 168/168

Yordan Dichev bet 2,000 into a pot of nearly double that with the J 9 2 2 on the board after the turn and was called by Erol Hamid.

The 6 completed the board on the river and Dichev fired out for a blue 5,000-denominated chip. Hamid snap-called and shook his head and mucked his cards after Dichev turned over K 8 for a flush.

Yordan Dichev – 40,000
Erol Hamid – 22,000

Cards in the Air 14.10.2022 12:02 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 149/149

Cards are in the air for Day 1d. A total of 149 entries were entered before the start of the day with many more to come.

Day 1d of the Main Event Kicks Off at Noon 14.10.2022 11:21 by Jason Glatzer

Welcome back to the coverage of The Festival Series Bratislava by PokerListings. As will be the case the entire week, our coverage will focus on the Main Event will providing some highlights and information about the plethora of side events.

The first three opening flights attracted 585 entries with 181 players finding bags. This number will grow significantly today featuring the final two opening flights of the Main Event.

€500K GTD Main Event

Attila Kuna
Attila Kuna

The poker highlight of The Festival Series Bratislava is, of course, The Festival Series Bratislava €550 Main Event from Oct. 11-16. The Main Event guarantees a whopping €500,000 but it appears based on yesterday’s Day 1a along with many more players still yet to arrive.

Players will have plenty of opportunities to build a big stack with five opening flights from Oct. 11-14 including Day 1d today starting at noon CEST. Not only can players re-enter if they lose all their chips twice per opening flight but also can re-enter (or register for the first time) during the first two blind levels of Saturday’s Day 2.

The first four opening flights will feature 40-minute blind levels with the final opening flight taking place tonight moving along twice as fast with 20-minute blind levels. Players will bag chips today on Day 1a after 12 blind levels are completed.

Attila Kuna is currently on top of the leaderboard after the first three opening flights after parlaying his 30,000 opening chip stack into a massive stack of 384,000 in chips during yesterday’s Day 1c.

Today’s Side Event

Here is a look at today’s side event schedule. It is possible that some of the starting times will be pushed back to accommodate the insatiable demand by Main Event players.

TimeEventBuy-In
12:00MAIN EVENT DAY 1D – 12 Levels
€500,000 gtd.
€550
13:00Pokerlistings Championship€250
13:00Open Face Chinese€250
14:00Heads Up Texas, CAP 32, Final 4 playersClosed
16:00The Festival Queens€125
19:00NL Texas 15.000€ gtd.
€15,000 gtd.
€125
20:00Cash Game Challenge €5/5 Texas (*)€500
20:00MAIN EVENT DAY 1E Turbo – 12 Levels
€500,000 gtd.
€550
21:00PLO/PLO8€125
23:00Texas Turbo Midnight Madness€125
22:30Cash Game Challenge €5/5 PLO4 (*)€500

PokerListings will begin its coverage when cards are in the air at noon. Stay tuned for updates throughout the day.

Attila Kuna Bags Overall Chip Lead in The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event on Day 1c 13.10.2022 23:18 by Jason Glatzer
Attila Kuna
Attila Kuna

Hungary’s Attila Kuna bagged the overall Main Event chip lead in the €500,000 guaranteed The Festival Series Bratislava €550 Main Event at Banco Casino Bratislava after parlaying his 30,000 opening chip stack on Day 1b to a massive stack of 384,000 in chips to surpass the 296,000 in chips that the Day 1b chip leader Ronald Zapantis bagged yesterday.

The Day 1c field attracted a total of 280 entries with 91 players finding a bag. When taking into account the 305 entries and 90 survivors during the first two opening flights, the field is now up to 585 entries and 181 survivors with two more opening flights to go.

Kuna was the chip leader for at least the final two hours of the day and thus far was the only player to find a bag above 300,000 in chips. However, several other players bagged more than 200,000 on Day 1c including Hans Erlandsson (263,000), Wang Lu (253,000), Markku Tammisto (219,000), Fotios Ntamaris (211,000), and Ioannis Fronimakis (209,000).

Ntamaris was on the final table of the inaugural The Festival Series Main Event here at Banco Casino last year before bowing out in fifth place for €14,000. Time will tell if he will be able to manage an even better result this time around.

Dehlia De Jong was also among the notable players to find a bag but she will have her work cut out for her as she finished the day slightly above a starting stack with 36,000 in chips.

Day 1c Top 10 Chip Stacks

1Attila Kuna384,000154
2Hans Erlandsson263,000105
3Wang Lu253,000101
4Markku Tammisto219,00088
5Fotios Ntamaris211,00084
6Ioannis Fronimakis209,00084
7Sergejs Cugainovs193,00077
8Simon Ye184,00074
9Giorgi Tqemaladze180,00072
10Krzysztof Nowakowski168,00067

The action for the Main Event will resume for Day 1d at noon on Thursday. Those looking to get into the Main Event action at the last minute will also be pleased to learn that there will also be a turbo-charged Day 1e at 8 p.m. Stay tuned at PokerListings for all your updates.

Dehlia De Jong & Mateusz Moolhuizen
Dehlia De Jong & Mateusz Moolhuizen
Final Day 1c Chip Counts 13.10.2022 22:47 by Jason Glatzer

The Day 1c field attracted 280 entries to bring the total field up to 585 entries. A total of 91 players survived. Here is a look at the chip counts.

PlayerChipsBig Blinds
Attila Kuna384,000154
Hans Erlandsson263,000105
Wang Lu253,000101
Markku Tammisto219,00088
Fotios Ntamaris211,00084
Ioannis Fronimakis209,00084
Sergejs Cugainovs193,00077
Simon Ye184,00074
Giorgi Tqemaladze180,00072
Krzysztof Nowakowski168,00067
Jari Pekka Raettyae162,00065
Niklas Klein158,00063
Espen Gundersen150,00060
Tomas Likavsky135,00054
Sivan Mirani129,00052
Mario Mende128,00051
Panagiotis Oikonomidis122,00049
Andras Vaczo121,00048
Jouni Daniel Koivula117,00047
Robert Perelman117,00047
Julian Groenendijk116,00046
Dalil Masaud115,00046
Szerhij Danasevszkij114,00046
Peter Kamaras114,00046
Younes Jarir110,00044
Kalle Ly110,00044
Savvas Papadopoulos110,00044
Miroslav Zitka106,00042
Alexandros Fixmer103,00041
Viktor Kavestam102,00041
Hlynur Sverrisson102,00041
Johan Sundgren98,00039
Erik Zackrisson98,00039
Bartosz Gorski97,00039
Emmanuel Leghait92,00037
Gabor Peteri92,00037
Veselin Petrov91,00036
Karl Sundin91,00036
Carl Marken87,00035
Miroslav Juris86,00034
Dimitrios Nanos86,00034
Konstantinos Nanos86,00034
Erik Oestergaard86,00034
Dmitri Dudakov84,00034
Janos Szappanos83,00033
Robert Laskowski81,00032
Vlada Petrovich81,00032
Iury Wolf79,00032
Vojtech Paxian76,00030
Francisco Alonso Sierra73,00029
Dezso Varga73,00029
Leif Iversen71,00028
Paul Groven70,00028
Taras Khilko67,00027
Andrej Kocian67,00027
Morten Bremseth66,00026
Jozsef Dobos63,00025
Per-Helge Gaassand63,00025
Marthe Lyngvaer63,00025
Ole Johan Wasenius62,00025
Attila Tarko60,00024
Matheo Awde59,00024
Ruben Rahumaegi59,00024
Davit Mikhanashvili58,00023
Simo Klandy55,00022
Hans Hagberg52,00021
Paul Maguire49,00020
Elod Zsombok49,00020
Anastasios Pagonakis47,00019
Roberts Krigers46,00018
Kristoffer Boerrud44,00018
Slimane Mameche44,00018
Robert Puhr42,00017
Esko Timonen41,00016
Michal Jurgielewicz39,00016
Gaspar Perasovic39,00016
Bart Timmer38,00015
Dehlia De Jong36,00014
Mikolaj Domanski36,00014
William Dorey35,00014
Adam Jindra35,00014
Tornike Manvelidze35,00014
Michael Johansson32,00013
Attila Pergel32,00013
Hanna Kjellberg31,00012
Symeon Marvakis27,00011
Jussi Siika27,00011
Przemyslaw Zielinski27,00011
Semir Mete22,0009
Krystian Nalepka21,0008
Kristaps Krapans20,0008
Final Batch of Day 1c Photos by Mairo Toom 13.10.2022 22:43 by Jason Glatzer
Bagging & Tagging 13.10.2022 21:29 by Jason Glatzer

The Day 1c survivors have begun to bag and tag their chips for Day 2. Stay tuned at PokerListings for the final chip counts of the third of five opening flights for the €500,000 guaranteed The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event.

“Potti-Jussi” Loses a Big Flip Near the End of the Day 13.10.2022 21:27 by Jason Glatzer

Level 12: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Entries: 97/280

Unfortunately for our friend Jussi Mattila, also known around the Finnish poker circles simply as Potti-Jussi, is on the rail after losing a massive pot against Espen Gunderson.

Four players limped before Mattila jacked it up to 15,000 from the big blind. Two players folded before Gunderson three-bet to 30,000. Mattila four-bet jammed for more than 100,000 and Gunderson called for about 20,000 less.

Espen Gunderson: Pocket Eights
Jussi Mattila: Ace-King

The board ran dry for Mattila and he was down to about 10 big blinds. Shortly after, he dusted this off as well and we will likely see him back in action in the Main Event before late registration closes after the second blind level of Saturday’s Day 2.

Espen Gunderson – 170,000
Jussi Mattila – 0

the-festival-bratislava-main-event-d1c-0921
Tens Don’t Hold for Nauta Against Nanos 13.10.2022 20:47 by Jason Glatzer

Level 11: 800/1,600 (1,600)
Entries: 114/279

Ruurd Nauta three-bet jammed for 14,800 and was called by Konstantinos Nanos, who originally opened with a min-raise.

Ruurd Nauta: Pocket Tens
Konstantinos Nanos: Ace-Eight

Nauta was ahead but his chances of winning the hand decreased significantly after Nanos paired his ace on the nine-ace-five flop. A king on the turn didn’t change anything and Nanos eventually ousted Nauta with two-pair after an eight completed the board on the river.

Konstantinos Nanos – 90,000
Ruurd Nauta – 0

“Some Hands Play Themselves” 13.10.2022 20:21 by Jason Glatzer

Level 11: 800/1,600 (1,600)
Entries: 127/279

Just before the blinds increased, Gregor Svetcic three-bet jammed for about 40,000 over two players and was called by Robert Perelman, who originally opened from early position for slightly less.

Robert Perelman: J J
Gregor Svetcic: A K

“Good luck,” Perelman said before adding. “But I hope I win.”

Perelman indeed won the flip to leave his opponent with crumbs in his stack after Svetcic bricked the 8 9 5 Q 6 board.

Svetcic seemed to take losing the flip well.

“Some hands play themselves,” he said to the table as the dealer began shuffling the deck for the next hand.

Robert Perelman – 75,000
Gregor Svetcic – 5,000

Nines Get There Against Aces and Kings 13.10.2022 20:08 by Jason Glatzer

Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 134/279

Szerhij Danasevskij jammed for 19,000 from early position and was called by Simon Hemsworth from the button. Panagiotis Oikonomidis three-bet jammed for more than 100,000 and Hemsworth called off his stack of 53,000.

Szerhij Danasevskij: 9 9
Simon Hemsworth: A A
Panagiotis Oikonomidis: K K

Danasevskij tripled up despite having the worse hand when the chips went into the pot after improving to a full house on the 7 9 2 2 Q board. Meanwhile, Hemsworth still managed to chip up a little bit thanks to winning the side pot against Oikonomidis.

Panagiotis Oikonomidis – 90,000
Simon Hemsworth – 68,000
Szerhij Danasevskij – 60,000

Big Slick Good for De Jong 13.10.2022 19:57 by Jason Glatzer

Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 135/279

Dehlia De Jong three-bet jammed for 31,000 and was called by a player that originally opened.

De Jong turned over ace-king and was up against king-jack. Both players improved to a pair of kings after a king fell on the board. De Jong’s ace-kicker was the difference in the hand and was awarded the pot.

Dehlia De Jong – 63,000

Dehlia De Jong
Dehlia De Jong
Various Chip Counts at Break 13.10.2022 19:31 by Jason Glatzer
PlayerCountsBlinds
Attila Kuna220,000183
Alexandros Fixmer145,000121
Mario Mende120,000100
Sergejs Cugainovs115,00096
Markku Tammisto110,00092
Adam Jindra110,00092
Wang Lu105,00088
Tornike Manvelidze100,00083
Emmanuel Leghait100,00083
Karl Sundin100,00083
Hans Erlandsson100,00083
Miroslav Juris100,00083
Fabien Niederreiter95,00079
Younes Jarir90,00075
Simon Hemsworth90,00075
Hanna Kjellberg90,00075
Hans Hagberg90,00075
Marthe Lyngvaer90,00075
Mario Galic85,00071
Savvas Papadopoulos85,00071
Petter Fjerstad85,00071
Andras Vaczo85,00071
Vlada Petrovich80,00067
Michel Leibgorin80,00067
Marian Flesar80,00067
Kristaps Krapans75,00063
Konstantinos Nanos75,00063
Julian Groenendijk75,00063
Francisco Alonso Sierra75,00063
Jozsef Dobos70,00058
Veselin Petrov70,00058
Panagiotis Oikonomidis70,00058
Niklas Klein70,00058
Fotios Ntamaris70,00058
Morten Bremseth70,00058
Dalil Masaud70,00058
Gabor Peteri65,00054
Vojtech Paxian65,00054
Jouni Daniel Koivula65,00054
Martin Szecsenyi65,00054
Elod Zsombok65,00054
Attila Tarko65,00054
Final Day 1c Break 13.10.2022 19:13 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on their final break of Day 1c. Blinds will increase to 600/1,200 along with a 1,200 big blind ante when the action resumes. We will update you with some of the chip counts from around the room during the break.

Satellite for “OptibetPoker” 13.10.2022 19:03 by Jason Glatzer

Our friend Gatis Reigass, otherwise known as “OptibetPoker” on Twitch, didn’t have much luck in the Main Event today on Day 1c after firing two bullets.

Instead of re-entering, Reigass is now next to the media area about to start a €60 Main Event satellite into tomorrow’s Day 1d. Among the players at the table is the formidable Teresa Clark.

The satellite, which guarantees at least five Main Event seats, had its start time was just pushed back 15 minutes to coincide with the start of the final break of Day 1c. It is a cheap way for a chance to play for at least a €500,000 guaranteed prize pool in the Main Event.

Gatis Reigass
Gatis Reigass
Raettyae Gets Some Back After Eliminating Tack 13.10.2022 18:55 by Jason Glatzer

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 154/274

Ruben Tack jammed for under 15 big blinds from the small blind and was called by Jari Pekka Raettyae from the big blind.

Ruben Tack: A J
Jari Pekka Raettyae: 4 4

Tack lost the flip and his stack after the 8 Q 9 8 3 ran out on the board.

Jari Pekka Raettyae – 95,000
Ruben Tack – 0

Mende Doubles Through Raettyae Set Over Set 13.10.2022 18:47 by Jason Glatzer

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 157/273

Jari Pekka Raettyae bet 12,000 into a pot of around 40,000 with the A 4 8 9 Q on the board. Mario Mende tanked for a couple of minutes before he jammed for 27,600. Raettyae snap-called only to be on the losing end of a massive cooler.

Mende turned over Q Q for a rivered set of queens to beat Raettyae, who flopped a set with 8 8 .

Jari Pekka Raettyae – 95,000
Mario Mende – 70,000

Paxian Wasn’t Bluffing Against Lahi 13.10.2022 18:25 by Jason Glatzer

Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 169/272

Fitim Lahi checked with about 20,000 in the pot and the 3 2 K 10 3 on the board. Vojtech Paxian jammed for more than the 15,000 or so Lahi had behind and his opponent went into the tank for a few minutes.

“Are you strong?” Lahi asked Paxian.

Paxian didn’t answer but this didn’t slow down Lahi’s table talk.

“Maybe you are bluffing,” Lahi said. “Especially against me.”

Some more time went by before Lahi decided to call. Paxian turned over K Q for kings over treys. Normally, we get to see an all-in showdown but we will likely never know what Lahi called with as his cards wound up in the muck instead of being exposed.

Vojtech Paxian – 65,000
Fitim Lahi – 0

Big Slick for Petrov to Oust Balogh 13.10.2022 18:08 by Jason Glatzer

Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 172/269

Peter Balogh jammed for approximately 15,000 from early position over the under-the-gun open by Pal Nemeth. Veselin Petrov cold-called from one seat over and it was a heads-up showdown after Nemeth laid down his hand.

Peter Balogh: A 7
Veselin Petrov: A K

Both players improved to the same two pair after the 3 3 A Q J rolled out on the board. Petrov’s king-kicker got the job done and Balogh was on the rail, at least for now.

Veselin Petrov – 100,000
Peter Balogh – 0

Interview with Sturla and Lisbeth Hiller 13.10.2022 17:57 by Jason Glatzer

Check out the interview below with the Norwegian poker power couple Sturla and Lisbeth Hiller. Sturla had a rough go thus far on Day 1c of the Main Event and was down to just 6,000 in chips. However, he is not only still alive, but is above 20,000 in chips.

Best of luck to both Sturla and Lisbeth at The Festival Series Bratislava at Banco Casino.

Jindra Shows a Bluff 13.10.2022 17:36 by Jason Glatzer

Level 7: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 185/269

Luka Bojovic three-bet to 5,500 from the blinds and was called by Adam Jindra, who originally opened from late position.

Bojovic fired out for 2,500 after the J 8 2 were dealt on the flop and Jindra snap-called. The foot came off the gas pedal for Bojovic as he checked the K turn. Jindra fired out for 6,000 and Bojovic called.

The 6 completed the board on the river and Bojovic checked once again. Jindra jammed for more than his opponent had behind and a few moments later Bojovic folded. Instead of mucking his cards, Jindra wanted to show his bluff and turned over the 9 7 as the dealer began to award him the pot.

Adam Jindra – 60,000
Luka Bojovic – 30,000

Vardapin Ousts Molnar with Set Over Set 13.10.2022 17:25 by Jason Glatzer

Level 7: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 187/267

It appears Table 51 is once again an action table as was the case during the first two flights of the Main Event.

We caught up to the table in the back of a fully packed room just after a big hand ended. Didier Vardapin held tens, while Roman Molnar held nines and all of Molnar’s stack went into the pot after both a ten and a nine hit the flop.

Despite flopping a set, Molnar was drawing to just one out. No miracle came and Molnar was on the rail.

Didier Vardapin – 80,000
Roman Molnar – 0

More Day 1c Photos by Mairo Toom 13.10.2022 17:11 by Jason Glatzer
Various Chip Counts 13.10.2022 16:59 by Jason Glatzer
PlayerChipsBig Blinds
Wang Lu130,000217
Marian Flesar125,000208
Miroslav Juris120,000200
Sivan Mirani100,000167
Jari Pekka Raettyae100,000167
Markku Tammisto94,000157
Kristaps Krapans91,000152
Emmanuel Leghait89,000148
Johan Sundgren85,000142
Gabor Peteri82,000137
Morten Bremseth82,000137
Veselin Petrov81,000135
Savvas Papadopoulos80,000133
Martin Szecsenyi80,000133
Simon Ye77,000128
Borbely Kovacs75,000125
Petter Fjerstad72,000120
Jozsef Dobos69,000115
Attila Kuna65,000108
Simon Hemsworth64,000107
Paul Groven63,000105
Tornike Manvelidze60,000100
Paul Maguire56,00093
Heikki Siitari50,00083
Gaspar Perasovic40,00067
Break Time 13.10.2022 16:42 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on a 30-minute break.

Blinds will increase to 300/600 with a big blind ante of 600 when the action resumes. We will also post chip counts during the break.

The Festival Series Bratislava Day 3 Highlights 13.10.2022 16:40 by Jason Glatzer
Lelek Runs Into Flesar’s Cowboys 13.10.2022 16:32 by Jason Glatzer

Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 192/256

Miroslav Lelek checked after the 8 3 9 came on the flop before Marian Flesar bet 4,300 into a pot of around 10,000. Lelek checked again on the J turn. Flesar jammed a huge stack of chips and Lelek snap-called for about 15,000.

Miroslav Lelek: A J
Marian Flesar: K K

Lelek was far behind but still had six outs that could potentially help him. The 2 river wasn’t one of the cards Lelek needed to get ahead and the chip stack went over to Flesar.

Marian Flesar – 125,000
Miroslav Lelek – 0

Marian Flesar
Marian Flesar
Optibet Poker Streamer Gatis Reigass in Action 13.10.2022 15:51 by Jason Glatzer

Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 207/244

Latvia’s Gatis Reigass is not only a long-time friend of this author but also close with many at The Festival Series including its founder Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk.

Reigass streams his action at Optibet Poker on the partypoker network on Twitch under his aptly named handle “OptibetPoker”. He live-streamed winning multiple packages to The Festival Series for both the event a few months ago in Tallinn and for the event this time around in Bratislava. We just witnessed him with a fresh stack but he shared this wasn’t his first seat of the day.

“Second bullet,” Reigass shared. “I ran my jacks into aces on a low board for my first bullet.”

We wish Reigass the best of luck on his second bullet.

Gatis
Gatis “OptibetPoker” Reigass
Lucky Cowboys for Rodleithner to Crack Wolf’s Rockets 13.10.2022 15:38 by Jason Glatzer

Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 207/240

Stefean Rodleithner four-bet jammed from the small blind for 16,100 and was snap-called by Iury Wolf from the button.

Stefean Rodleithner: K K
Iury Wolf: A A

Rodleithner was out of his seat before the 2 J 10 flop. But was sitting back down after improving to a set on the K turn.

“Queen,” Wolf requested as this would have improved him to a Broadway straight.

No queen or ace came on the river as instead the 5 completed the board for Rodleithner to double his stack through Wolf.

Iury Wolf – 40,000
Stefean Rodleithner – 35,000

Dobos Shows His Top Set 13.10.2022 15:22 by Jason Glatzer

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 206/234

Nandor Blasko checked the with about 20,000 in the pot with the 4 7 8 10 on the board after the turn before Jozsef Dobos bet 9,000. Blasko found a fold in this spot and was likely happy to see that Dobos flash the 10 10 for the top set before collecting the pot.

A few minutes later, we noticed Dobos winning another hand against Blasko. This time it was for the rest of his stack of around 20,000.

Jozsef Dobos – 75,000
Nandor Blasko – 0

Mandvilidze Gets Value from His Wheel 13.10.2022 14:57 by Jason Glatzer

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 202/222

A few more entries got into the mix during the break to bring the field up to a whopping 222 entries and counting with 20 of those entries already losing their stacks. The room is fully packed but rest assured there is still plenty of space in the poker halls designated primarily for the side events.

Shortly after the break, Tornike Manvdlidze was able to get some value from his hand as follows. Davit Mikhanashvili bet 1,000 into a pot of nearly 4,000 with the Q 2 3 4 7 already on the board. Manvdlidze raised to 8,000 and his opponent went into the tank before he called. Manvdlidze turned over A 5 for a wheel and won the hand after Mikhanashvili mucked.

Tornike Manvdlidze – 45,000
Davit Mikhanashvili – 20,000

Day 1c Photos by Mairo Toom 13.10.2022 14:34 by Jason Glatzer
Various Stacks at Break 13.10.2022 14:29 by Jason Glatzer
PlayersChipsBlinds
Sivan Mirani107,000357
Riben Rasmussen105,000350
Younes Jarir82,000273
Simon Ye80,000267
Jian Luo61,000203
Almir Koljenovic60,000200
Anastasios Pagonakis59,000197
Karol Petocz59,000197
Markku Tammisto56,000187
Michel Leibgorin56,000187
Iury Wolf55,000183
Csaba Illes54,000180
Nika Agirba54,000180
Marian Flesar54,000180
Dmitri Dudakov53,000177
Jari Pekka Raettyae49,000163
Kurt Bjoernhaug45,000150
Kristaps Krapans43,000143
First Break 13.10.2022 14:10 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on their first 30-minute break of Day 1c. We will provide some chip counts shortly from around the room.

Raettyae Ousts Woods 13.10.2022 14:08 by Jason Glatzer

Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 175/191

Rolf Woods jammed for 8,100 into a pot of a bit less after the 8 10 9 came on the flop and was called by Jari Pekka Raettyae from one seat over. Two other players saw the flop but opted to sit this one out after the action in front of them.

Rolf Woods: K Q
Jari Pekka Raettyae: A 9

“Oops,” said Woods as he began to stand up from the table.

“You still have some outs,” responded Raettyae.

Neither the 2 turn nor the 2 river saved the day for Woods and he was the latest player to lose his opening stack before the first break.

Jari Pekka Raettyae – 55,000
Rolf Woods – 0

Everyone Loves a Chop 13.10.2022 13:58 by Jason Glatzer

Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 173/182

Sturla Hiller opened for 500 from under the gun. Younes Jarir three-bet to 2,200 from the small blind. Csaba Illes cold-called from the big blind before Hiller called as well.

Jarir bet 2,000 after the A J J came on the flop. Illes called and Hiller folded. Both players checked the 2 turn before Jarir checked again on the 5 river. Illes bet 8,200 and Jarir went into the tank for close to a minute before he called. Illes turned over A K and the pot was chopped up after Jarir had the same hand with different suits with A K .

Younes Jarir – 65,000
Csaba Illes – 45,000
Sturla Hiller – 15,000

Day 1c Biggest Field Thus Far 13.10.2022 13:48 by Jason Glatzer

Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 166/174

The Day 1c is already up to 174 entries, making it already the biggest opening flight thus far with Day 1a attracting 134 entries and 39 survivors and Day 1b bringing in another 171 entries with 51 survivors.

The field will continue to grow as Day 1c hasn’t even reached the first break and players can late register all day long.

the-festival-bratislava-main-event-d1a-0300
Mohammadzdeh Rivers a Wheel 13.10.2022 13:32 by Jason Glatzer

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 158/163

Sohra Mohammadzdeh checked the river with the 3 5 9 3 2 on the board. Younes Jarir fired out for 1,200 before Stig Moen raised to 3,200. Mohammadzdeh cold-called and Jarir opted to fold.

Moen turned over A J before Mohammadzdeh showed A 4 for the wheel.

“Nice hand,” Moen politely said to his opponent after the hand.

Sohra Mohammadzdeh – 40,000
Younes Jarir – 35,000
Stig Moen – 22,000

Stig Moen
Stig Moen
Set of Nines for Mende 13.10.2022 13:16 by Jason Glatzer

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 147/151

Mario Mende bet 2,200 into a pot of 5,000 after two players checked the 10 J 3 flop. Karol Petocz folded before Giorgi Tqemaladze called.

Tqemaladze check-called a bet of 3,700 on the 9 turn before doing the same for 4,300 on the 6 river.

Mende turned over 9 9 for a set of nines. Tqemaladze opted to show his Q J shortly after for the top pair and the pot was awarded to Mende.

Mario Mende – 48,000
Giorgi Tqemaladze – 24,000

Hop on the HORSE or Maybe Play Heads-Up? 13.10.2022 13:00 by Jason Glatzer

The €250 HORSE mixed-game tournament is set to begin shortly at 1 p.m. There is now a sign informing people that the event will be a freezeout with no re-entries possible. Just in case you miss the sign, we will remind you about this here as well.

If you aren’t familiar with HORSE, it is a rotation of five different games in limit hold’em, limit Omaha hi/lo, razz, stud, and stud hi/lo.

Also starting at 1 p.m. is the €250 Heads-Up event. These aren’t common in Europe primarily due to it not being economical to dedicate one dealer to just two players and all the other staff involved. So this is your chance to play at a great price point!

Best of luck to everyone getting into the action in either of the side events!

the-festival-bratislava-main-event-d1c-0403
Lu Jams Over Sundin 13.10.2022 12:51 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 123/125

During Day 1a and Day 1b it appeared for the most part that players were playing a bit of small ball during the first two blind levels with opening stacks providing 300 big blinds.

Day 1c seems to be slightly different with two players already on the rail after Oerjahn Winther joined Simo Klandy on the rail.

There was just another player in getting a little jammy on Table 41. Karl Sundin bet 2,500 into a pot of a bit more after the 10 Q 2 flop before Wang Lu jammed a starting stack. Sundin folded and Lu flashed the A K for all sorts of draws as he collected the pot.

More Than 100 Day 1c Entries Already 13.10.2022 12:32 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 108/109

The Day 1c field has already grown past 100 entries. Now it is a question of when it will surpass 200 entries.

One player is already on the rail in Simo Klandy. As of now, Klandy hasn’t re-entered but he has plenty of time to do so if he so chooses with late registration open all day and will even still be open during the first two blind levels of Saturday’s Day 2.

Stig Moen Causing Trouble 13.10.2022 12:27 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 94/94

Stig Moen is a long-time friend of this reporter. We both have a passion for poker and love commentating live poker events.

Don’t let the title confuse you as it is mostly tongue-in-cheek.

But very early on, Moen got involved in a small pot with Sohra Mohammadzdeh. The results are fairly irrelevant as the hand itself provided some light humor for those at the table.

Post flop, Moen bet 300 out of turn. This was confusing to Mohammadzdeh about what to do. Moen first apologized for betting out of turn which can happen to anyone before explaining to Mohammadzdeh about his options.

Moen shared that if Mohammadzdeh checked, his bet would stand but if his opponent instead decided to bet that Moen would be able to act differently as this changed the action.

Although this is clearly correct, the dealer called the floor for an official ruling. As is often the case here at Banco Casino, the floor was over in just a few seconds and said the same as what Moen shared.

Mohammadzdeh let out a huge smile and checked before snap-folding. The entire table and even this reporter had a nice laugh.

Stig Moen
Stig Moen
Top Two Pair for Ugland 13.10.2022 12:20 by Jason Glatzer

Entries: 89/89
Level 1: 100/100

Are Ugland bet 3,000 into a pot of around 5,000 with the 3 J 8 8 10 on the board and was called by Jonas Sundin.

Ugland turned over the J 10 and won the pot after Sundin mucked his hand.

Are Ugland – 35,000
Jonas Sundin – 26,000

Next The Festival Series Stop Announced! 13.10.2022 12:11 by Jason Glatzer

Breaking news! The Festival Series just announced its next stop.

The Festival Series will make its triumphant returned on Feb. 13-19 at the Dusk Till Dawn Poker Club located in the heart of the United Kingdom in Nottingham from February 13–19.

We hope to see you there!

Dusk-Till-Dawn-Poker-Casino-Nottingham-Home-of-big-UK-Poker-tournaments
Action Begins 13.10.2022 12:11 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 84/84

The cards are in the air for Day 1c. It appears almost certain that Day 1c will provide the largest field size with already 4 entries before the first hand was dealt.

Welcome to Day 1c of the €500K GTD Main Event 13.10.2022 11:40 by Jason Glatzer

Welcome back to the coverage of The Festival Series Bratislava by PokerListings. As will be the case the entire week, our coverage will focus on the Main Event will providing some highlights and information about the plethora of side events.

The Festival Series was founded by Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk and is more than just a poker festival. Franke’s innovative The Festival Series focuses on much more and is more of a casino festival with blackjack, roulette, slots, and sports wagering tournaments all included in the schedule.

Main Event Guarantees €500K

Ronald Zapantis
Ronald Zapantis

The poker highlight of The Festival Series Bratislava is, of course, The Festival Series Bratislava €550 Main Event from Oct. 11-16. The Main Event guarantees a whopping €500,000 but it appears based on yesterday’s Day 1a along with many more players still yet to arrive.

Players will have plenty of opportunities to build a big stack with five opening flights from Oct. 11-14 including Day 1a today starting at noon CEST. Not only can players re-enter if they lose all their chips twice per opening flight but also can re-enter (or register for the first time) during the first two blind levels of Saturday’s Day 2.

The first four opening flights will feature 40-minute blind levels with the final opening flight on Friday moving along twice as fast with 20-minute blind levels. Players will bag chips today on Day 1a after 12 blind levels are completed.

The first two opening flights attracted 305 entries with 90 players advancing to Day 2. Ronald Zapantis is currently on top of the chip leaderboard after parlaying his 30,000-opening chip stack into a monstrous stack of 296,000.

Today’s Side Events

TimeEventBuy-inLate RegChips / Blinds
12:00MAIN EVENT DAY 1C – 12 Levels
€500,000 gtd.
€5502x per flight30k / 40
13:00Heads Up Texas, CAP 32, Day 1€250No10k / 25/20
13:00H.O.R.S.E.€2506 lvls25k / 30
17:00Half ‘n’ Half (Texas & PLO)€1254 lvls20k / 20
17:00NLH High Roller
€30,000 gtd.
€1,1008 lvls100k / 30
19:00Satellite to Main Event
5x €550 Main Event tickets gtd.
€608 lvls10k / 20
20:00PLO 4/5/6 Cards (7 Max)€2506 lvls25k / 20
21:00Matching Visions Slots Tournament€250No
21:00NL Surprise (package to next Stop added)€2506 lvls15k / 20
00:00Blackjack Championship FinalClosedClosed
Ronald Zapantis Bags Overall The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event Chip Lead on Day 1b 12.10.2022 22:43 by Jason Glatzer
Ronald Zapantis
Ronald Zapantis

Austria’s Ronald Zapantis bagged the overall Main Event chip lead in the €500,000 guaranteed The Festival Series Bratislava €550 Main Event at Banco Casino Bratislava after parlaying his 30,000 opening chip stack on Day 1b nearly 10-fold to 296,000 in chips to surpass the 256,000 in chips that the Day 1a chip leader Rikard Larsson bagged yesterday on Day 1a.

The Day 1b field attracted a total of 171 entries with 51 players finding a bag. When taking into account the 134 entries and 39 survivors on Day 1a, the field is now up to 305 entries with 90 survivors.

Zapantis was near the top of the chip counts nearly all day long and will start Day 2 with a massive stack of 118 big blinds. Also bagging more than the Day 1a chip leader Larsson was Bulgaria’s Yaron Dichev with 276,000 while Michael Sklenička wasn’t too far behind with 250,000 in chips.

Also finding big stacks on Day 1b were Siegfried Rath (201,000), Nils Linden (170,000), Tibor Benko (168,000), and good friend of PokerListings and The Festival Series Mateusz Moolhuizen (163,000).

Day 1b Top 10 Chip Stacks

PlacePlayerChipsBig Blinds
1Ronald Zapantis296,000123
2Yasen Dichev278,000116
3Michael Sklenička250,000104
4Siegfried Rath201,00084
5Nils Linden170,00071
6Tibor Benko168,00070
7Mateusz Moolhuizen163,00068
8Manuel Blaschke155,00065
9Brian Riemenscheider154,00064
10Tamas Barbarics151,00063

The action for the Main Event will resume for Day 1c at noon on Thursday. Stay tuned at PokerListings for all your updates.

Mateusz Moolhuizen
Mateusz Moolhuizen
More Day 1b Photos by Mairo Toom 12.10.2022 22:19 by Jason Glatzer
Final Day 1b Chip Counts 12.10.2022 21:45 by Jason Glatzer

Day 1b attracted 171 entries with 51 players finding bags into Day 2. When taking into account the 134 entries and 39 survivors during yesterday’s Day 1a, the field is up to 305 entries and 90 survivors with three more opening flights to go over the next two days.

PlayerChipsBlinds
Ronald Zapantis296,000123
Yasen Dichev278,000116
Michael Sklenička250,000104
Siegfried Rath201,00084
Nils Linden170,00071
Tibor Benko168,00070
Mateusz Moolhuizen163,00068
Manuel Blaschke155,00065
Brian Riemenscheider154,00064
Tamas Barbarics151,00063
Jari Karkkainen144,00060
Patric Sterner135,00056
Yaron Amsalem130,00054
Dominik Desset125,00052
Robert Sloboda125,00052
Jenny Westerlund111,00046
Plamen Yakimov106,00044
Ulf Kull105,00044
Robin Cornet103,00043
Nikolov Vasil101,00042
Raymond Forsland100,00042
Thomas Næss95,00040
Nils Leif Doverklint90,00038
Saevar Ingi Saevarsson86,00036
Terje Bremseth85,00035
Jostein Groedum84,00035
Juwan Amir79,00033
Svante Nilsson79,00033
Mario Da Silva75,00031
Mjagkov Andrei71,00030
Frank Visser69,00029
Alf Peter Onnestam67,00028
Jozef Libo63,00026
Tihomir Yanev62,00026
Znasik Dominik62,00026
Niklas Borg58,00024
Espen Sandvik55,00023
Tomas Patka54,00023
Vladimir Bartko50,00021
Roman Bederka50,00021
Johan Bengt Åke Ekdahl48,00020
Tomas Fara48,00020
Lukas Wahlster46,00019
Dan Jackson42,00018
Chen Keren42,00018
Saadia Elad41,00017
Andrej Desset38,00016
Miklos Banyasz33,00014
Attila Kassitzky32,00013
Knut Gaupset28,00012
Dmitry Golushko21,0009
Players Bagging Chips 12.10.2022 21:09 by Jason Glatzer

Players are now bagging chips for the end of Day 1b. Stay tuned at PokerListings for the final chip counts along with a quick recap of the day.

Linden Doubles with Rockets Through Jackson 12.10.2022 20:59 by Jason Glatzer

Level 12: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Entries: 54/171

Nils Linden jammed for 55,000 into a pot of around the same with the 8 10 5 3 3 on the board. Dan Jackson went into the tank for a few minutes before he called.

Linden turned over A A for aces over treys. This was good enough to win the hand with Jackson showing 10 9 for tens over threes.

“I didn’t think you would do that with aces,” Jackson said. “Nice hand!”

Nils Linden – 160,000
Dan Jackson – 40,000

Visser Doubles Through Mazumdar with Quads 12.10.2022 20:40 by Jason Glatzer

Level 12: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Entries: 60/171

Frank Visser four-bet jammed for 36,000 and was called by Akash Mazumdar, who traveled to Bratislava just for The Festival Series from the New York City metropolitan area.

Frank Visser: 9 9
Akash Mazumdar: A K

“Ace, please,” asked Mazumdar.

Not only did Mazumdar not get his requested ace but was already drawing dead after the J 9 9 flop improved Visser to quad nines.

The 3 turn and 6 rive officially completed the hand for Visser to double his stack during the final blind level of Day 1b.

Franke Visser – 75,000
Akash Mazumdar – 50,000

Akash Mazumdar
Akash Mazumdar
Bremseth Doubles Up First Hand 12.10.2022 20:13 by Jason Glatzer

Level 11: 800/1,600 (1,600)
Entries: 67/171

Terje Bremseth just entered the Main Event for the first time and immediately got into the action.

Bremseth three-bet jammed from the small blind for 30,000 and was called by Pavel Kurtulik, who originally opened from middle position.

Terje Bremseth: A 8
Pavel Kurtulik: 10 10

Bremseth was behind but that proved to not be that important as he improved to two pair to double his stack after the 6 A 2 8 4 ran out on the board.

Pavel Kurtulik – 80,000
Terje Bresmeth – 63,000

Noelia Ivars Loses Her Short Stack 12.10.2022 19:57 by Jason Glatzer

Level 11: 800/1,600 (1,600)
Entries: 69/169

Noelia Ivars was down to seven big blinds when she jammed from the small blind with nine-seven offsuit and was called by Dominik Znasik from the big blind with queen-eight.

Ivars bricked the ace-six-five-four-six runout and was on the rail.

Cash Game Challenge Begins at 8 p.m. 12.10.2022 19:49 by Jason Glatzer

The Festival Series is hosting a Cash Game Challenge throughout the week where players will be competing in front of a live-streamed audience for a chance for a future The Festival Series package valued at €1,600. How the winner is calculated is easy as the winner will be determined based on the total amount of big blinds won during any single session throughout the week.

Today will feature two challenges, first a €2/2 NLHE at 8 p.m. then a few hours later a €2/€2 PLO affair. You can check it out by clicking on the “Stream” tab within our coverage.

Fara Doubles Through Zapantis 12.10.2022 19:38 by Jason Glatzer

Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 71/166

Tomas Fara opened for 2,500 from the button before he called a three-bet by Robert Zapantis from the small blind for 6,600. Zapantis bet 7,200 on the 10 A 2 flop and Fara called.

The 5 followed on the turn and Zapantis fired out for 22,000, the exact amount left in Fara’s stack. Fara tanked for a few moments before he found a call.

Tomas Fara: A 3
Robert Zapantis: K 3

Zapantis was only drawing for a chop if a four came on the river to improve both players for a wheel. The 10 river completed the board instead for Fara to double through Zapantis.

Robert Zapantis – 180,000
Tomas Fara – 75,000

Pilgaard Doubles with Queens 12.10.2022 19:21 by Jason Glatzer

Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 75/163

Jakob Pilgaard four-bet jammed for 39,400 and was called by Knut Gaupset.

Jakob Pilgaard: Q Q
Knut Gaupset: A K

It was one of the most standard flips in tournament poker with Pilgaard at risk. He won the flip after Gaupset’s big slick didn’t get any love from the 4 5 4 9 2 board.

Jakob Pilgaard – 90,000
Knut Gaupset – 50,000

Jakob Pilgaard
Jakob Pilgaard
Various Chip Counts at Break 12.10.2022 19:08 by Jason Glatzer
PlayerChipsBig Blinds
Ronald Zapantis195,000163
Tibor Benko170,000142
Michael Sklenička160,000133
Alf Onnestam155,000129
Siegfried Rath150,000125
Jari Karkkainen150,000125
Saadia Elad110,00092
Raymond Forsland100,00083
Mario Da Silva90,00075
Yasen Dichev85,00071
Robert Perelman80,00067
Jostein Groedum80,00067
Francisco Alonso Sierra75,00063
Robert Aleksic70,00058
Robert Sloboda70,00058
Knut Gaupset70,00058
Hlynur Sverrisson65,00054
Final Break of Day 1b 12.10.2022 18:53 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on their final 20-minute break of the day. Blinds will increase to 600/1,200 with a 1,200 big blind ante when the action resumes.

Mjagkov Doubles Through Sandvik 12.10.2022 18:52 by Jason Glatzer

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 81/161

We caught up with a hand between where Espen Sandvik and Andrei Mjagkov had all their chips in the middle with the latter at risk for his stack of 33,000. There was also some dead money in the pot thanks to other players getting involved preflop before being pushed out by both players.

Andrei Mjagkov: Q Q
Espen Sandvik: A K

Mjagkov’s queens held for a double up after Sandvik was unable to connect his big slick with the 6 8 6 9 4 runout.

Andrei Mjagkov – 80,000
Espen Sandvik – 12,000

Blaschke Doubles with a Flush Through Kalikova 12.10.2022 18:43 by Jason Glatzer

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 83/161

Manuel Blaschke jammed for about a starting stack of 30,000 with a bit more already in the pot with the Q 2 6 3 4 on the board.

Aneta Kalikova went into the tank for several minutes before she found a call. Blaschke immediately turned over Q 2 for a flush and won the hand after Kalikova turned over K Q .

Manuel Blaschke – 100,000
Aneta Kalikova – 55,000

Photos from the Billiards Competition 12.10.2022 18:09 by Jason Glatzer

As we already mentioned, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies shipped the Billiards competition that was available to all players with the hospitality package. Here are some photos from the event by Mairo Toom.

Westerlund Wins a Big Pot with Big Slick 12.10.2022 17:56 by Jason Glatzer

Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 95/157

There was already more than 15,000 in the pot with the 7 Q Q on the board after the flop when Thomas Naess check-called a bet of 6,500 by Jenny Westerlund.

Both players checked the 3 turn and the K river. Westerlund quickly turned over her A K for two pair of kings over queens. This was good enough to win the pot as Naess quickly mucked his hand after seeing his opponent’s cards.

Jenny Westerlund – 100,000
Thomas Naess – 50,000

Bumba Bumps Bezdek to the Rail 12.10.2022 17:39 by Jason Glatzer

Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 97/154

Robert Perelman opened for 1,800 from under the gun. Anne Bezdek called from middle position before Peter Bumba three-bet to 4,000 from the small blind. Perelman called before Bezdek four-bet jammed for 25,100. Bumba tanked for a couple of minutes before he called and it was a heads-up showdown after Perelman folded.

Anne Bezdek: A K
Peter Bumba: 9 9

Bezdek lost the flip and was on the rail after getting nowhere on the 6 6 7 5 4 runout.

Peter Bumba – 85,000
Anne Bezdek – 0

Day 1b Photos by Mairo Toom 12.10.2022 17:17 by Jason Glatzer
Westerlund Delivers Bad Beat to Sandvik 12.10.2022 17:09 by Jason Glatzer

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 100/150

Jenny Westerlund opened for 1,500 before Espen Sandvik three-bet to 4,000. Westerlund jammed and Sandvik called off for about 18,000.

Sandvik was far ahead with queens against tens. However, Westerlund improved to a flush to win the pot and send Sandvik on the rail.

Jenny Westerlund
Jenny Westerlund


Aleksic Shows His Jacks 12.10.2022 17:02 by Jason Glatzer

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 100/145

There was already 20,000 or so in the pot before the A 5 6 came on the flop when both Stefan Kollar and Ulf Kull checked.

Robert Aleksic bet 8,000, which was good enough to win the pot with both his opponents folding. Aleksic showed he held J J .

“What am I to do?” Aleksic said about the hand as he was piling his newly found chips into his stack.

Robert Aleksic – 70,000

Various Stacks at Second Break 12.10.2022 16:52 by Jason Glatzer

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 102/145

PlayerChipsBig Blinds
Saadia Elad129,000215
Sami Borgi95,000158
Alf Onnestam90,000150
Jozef Libo87,000145
Tamas Barbarics83,000138
Yasen Dichev80,000133
Ann Carnestroem77,000128
Peter Bumba74,000123
Ronald Zapantis72,000120
Sebastian Schulze70,000117
Per-Helge Gaassand70,000117
Christopher Ibold65,000108
Raymond Forsland65,000108
Kalle Ly65,000108
David Onkioa60,000100
Second Break 12.10.2022 16:26 by Jason Glatzer

Day 1b is on its second 20-minute break of the day. Blinds will increase to 300/600 along with a 600 big blind ante when the action resumes.

Daniel Sahlin Wins PLO Masters (€5,482) 12.10.2022 16:24 by Jason Glatzer

Last night, Daniel Sahlin outlasted a field of 94 entries in the €250 PLO Masters for €5,482. Congrats to Daniel and best of luck during the rest of The Festival Series Bratislava at Banco Casino.

Daniel Sahlin Wins The Festival Series Bratislava PLO Masters
Daniel Sahlin Wins The Festival Series Bratislava PLO Masters
PlacePlayerPayout
1Daniel Sahlin€5,482
2Leif Iversen€3,365
3Miroslav Zitka€2,560
4Jakob Pilgaard€1,960
5Toni Mykkaenen€1,555
6Roy de Jonge€1,255
7Sandeep Nene€1,055
8Joel Holmberg€855
9Ville Konttinen€665
10Philippe Laval€460
11Ylva Thorsrud€460
12Stevan Kusicki€420
Sandvik Check-Jams a Flush Draw 12.10.2022 16:18 by Jason Glatzer

Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 103/142

WSOP gold bracelet winner Espen Sandvik checked the 4 Q 3 flop before Yaron Amsalem bet 3,000 into a pot of around 8,000. Sandvik jammed for 17,500 and Amsalem went into the tank before he folded.

Sandvik flashed to PokerListings he had the nut flush draw with A 9 . He shared that although he didn’t show the entire table, we were given permission by Sandvik that we could share this on the blog.

Best of luck to our Norwegian friend after a rough run in the Main Event during yesterday’s Day 1a.

Espen Sandvik – 28,500

Day 1b Already Bigger Than Day 1a 12.10.2022 16:10 by Jason Glatzer

Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 105/139

The Day 1b field has already crushed the 134 entries that got into the action on Day 1a with 139 entries in the Day 1b field and counting. There were 105 players left out of the original field, meaning that 34 players already hit the rail today.

the-festival-bratislava-main-event-d1a-jannik-erik-bengtsen-8604
Flush for Gaone 12.10.2022 15:54 by Jason Glatzer

Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 100/131

Both Leandro Gaone and Alexandros Fixmer checked after the A 5 4 came on the flop with about 8,500 already in the pot before Gaone fired out for 4,100 on the J turn. Fixmer called and the 4 completed the board on the river. Gaone checked before Fixmer fired out for 11,200.

Gaone went into the tank for more than a minute before he called. Fixmer turned over A 8 but this wasn’t good enough as Gaone won the hand with a flush after turning over Q 9 .

Leandro Gaone – 50,000
Alexandros Fixmer – 20,000

PLO High Roller Kicks Off at 5 PM 12.10.2022 15:42 by Jason Glatzer

Players are visibly enjoying themselves in the 8-game but a few spectators are sitting this one out as before long the €1,100 PLO High Roller will kick off at 5 p.m.

Currently, only Erol Hamid paid the buy-in but this will change as it gets closer to game time.

Best of luck to everyone playing the biggest PLO event of The Festival Series Bratislava.

Kalle Ly Will Try Again After a Bad Beat 12.10.2022 15:26 by Jason Glatzer

Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 102/124

During the last The Festival Series in Tallinn, Sweden’s Kalle Ly won the PokerListings Deepstack event for €10,736. We interviewed Ly after the event and enjoy his company at many events over the years.

We are sad to report that Ly busted his first bullet today and will be on his third bullet overall in the Main Event. We hope the third time is a charm.

Ly recapped how it all went down and even had a photo of the hand. He shared that he four-bet jammed for 19,000 with Q Q and was called by an opponent with 3 3 . Normally this would be an ideal spot to double but the Poker Gods had something else in mind for our Swedish friend as his opponent improved to trips on the 5 3 8 flop. Neither the 2 turn nor the J river was able to save the day for Ly and he is now at the registration desk getting ready for his third bullet.

kalle ly wins pokerlistings deepstack of the festival series in tallinn
Kalle Ly Wins PokerLIstings Deepstack
Rockets for Borgi to Oust Benko 12.10.2022 15:13 by Jason Glatzer

Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 100/119

Sami Borgi opened for 1,000 from early position. Tibor Benko raised to 3,200 from the small blind and Borgi called.

Benko bet 3,000 after the 6 8 8 came on the flop and Borgi jammed. Benko called off for about 15,000 and the cards were turned over.

Tibor Benko: Q Q
Sami Borgi: A A

Benko was in a world of hurt with his queens as Borgi had an overpair. No help came on the 10 turn and the 3 river and Benko was on the rail.

Sami Borgi – 85,000
Tibor Banko – 0

“Too Many Outs” 12.10.2022 14:59 by Jason Glatzer

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 94/107

Totti Lind was down to 400 chips. We asked him how he was so low and he shared with PokerListings that he went kamikaze with fives with tons of overcards on the board.

Maybe we just witnessed a start of a comeback for Lind after the following hand.

Lind jammed his tiny stack from early position and was called by Mario Da Silva from middle position. Dmytro Bryndzya three-bet shoved for nearly 10,000 from the small blind and the rest of the table folded.

Totti Lind: A 4
Dmytro Bryndzya: K 9

Lind was ahead but it was more or less a coin flip after the 5 J 8 flop with Bryndzya not only having both of his cards live but also a flush draw. However, Bryndzya was unable to connect with both the 6 turn and the 2 river and Lind was temporarily up to 1,800 in chips.

“Too many outs,” Da Silva said with a smile as Lind collected the pot.

Edit: Update, “Kamikaze Totti” is now on the rail. He shared that he will get back into the Main Event but just not today.

Totti Lind
Totti Lind
Last Year’s The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event Winner in the House 12.10.2022 14:45 by Jason Glatzer

Last year, former EPT dealer Martin Mauthner stunned the field while having an unlit cigarette in his mouth to win the inaugural The Festival Series Main Event here at Banco Casino Bratislava.

He made a three-way deal with Adi Rajkovic and David Vedral before going on to win the event to collect a whopping €56,870.

Mauthner is back in action on Day 1b hoping to defend his title in this year’s The Festival Series Main Event. The top prize will be significantly more thanks to the €500,000 guarantee if he can pull off another victory. Best of luck to Martin!

Matrin Mauthner
Matrin Mauthner
Ilari Sahamies Wins the Billiards Tournament 12.10.2022 14:40 by Jason Glatzer

Players have started to come back from the billiards tournament event that was available to those with the hospitality package.

We just learned that Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies just won the event for not only pride but also the same portrait those will receive for winning a poker event.

Sahamies is used to winning poker events but has yet to find a Hendon Mob flag from Bratislava. PokerListings Finnish reporter Juhani Tyrisevä jokingly asked internally whether we could report the billiards event to The Hendon Mob to get his flag, but Sahamies will have to earn that on the poker tables.

Nilsen Rivers Trips 12.10.2022 14:35 by Jason Glatzer

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 93/104

Nils Linden check-raised a bet of 2,800 by Ruben Rasmussen to 11,000 and Rasmussen called with the 7 6 A 3 on the board after the turn with around 7,000 already in the pot before the big turn action.

Linden jammed for 16,500 after the 3 paired the board on the river. Rasmussen immediately sighed before going into the tank for a minute. It appeared he was about to fold before going into the tank for two more minutes. Eventually, Rasmussen called only to wind up mucking his cards after Linden turned over Q 3 for trip treys.

Nils Linden – 62,000
Ruben Rasmussen – 16,700

Big Stacks Around the Room at First Break 12.10.2022 14:16 by Jason Glatzer
PlayerChipsBig Blinds
Mario Da Silva75,000250
Mihail Popa70,000233
Robert Aleksic70,000233
Alexandros Fixmer64,000213
Sami Borgi60,000200
Tomas Fara57,000190
Pavlovic Miodrag56,000187
First Break 12.10.2022 14:01 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on their first break. We will have some chip counts from around the room shortly after the action resumes for Level 4 with blinds at 100/300 along with a 300 big blind ante.

Blackjack Championship About to Begin 12.10.2022 13:58 by Jason Glatzer

The three opening flights for the €250 Blackjack Championship all take place today starting shortly at 2 p.m.

There is more skill involved in a Blackjack tournament than just knowing the rules of Blackjack as even though each hand is competing against the house, at the end of the day, players are competing against each other to earn a bag into Day 2.

Ladies No Good for Saevarrson 12.10.2022 13:52 by Jason Glatzer

Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 78/86

Saevar Saevarrson opened for 600 from under the gun. Robert Aleksic three-bet to 1,200 before the player on the button called. The action went back and forth with the player on the button got out of the way before Aleksic eventually jammed for about 36,000. Saevarrson made the call and the two players were flipping for a 75,000 chip pot.

Saevar Saevarsson: Q Q
Robert Aleksic: A K

The queens were ahead for Saevarsson after the 6 4 10 came on the flop. The K turn changed everything with Aleksic pulling far ahead and leaving Saevarsson drawing to just one out. The 7 river didn’t help Saevarrson and he was on the rail before the first break.

Robert Aleksic – 85,000
Saevar Saevarsson – 0

Nikravan Lays Down Top Pair to Fara 12.10.2022 13:31 by Jason Glatzer

Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 78/82

We caught up to a hand on Table 32 with 25,000 in the pot and the K 9 8 2 3 on the board. Davoud Nikravan checked before Tomas Fara fired out for 11,100.

Nikravan tanked for a minute before laying down his hand.

“It is always a flush,” said Nikravan.

Nikravan flashed the K to show the table that he laid down at least the top pair.

Tomas Fara – 45,000
Davoud Nikravan – 15,500

Set of Snowmen for Saadia 12.10.2022 13:23 by Jason Glatzer

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 75/78

Eden Azulay and Simon Wilson hit the rail during Level 2 making it three players out of the Day 1b field already.

Table 51 continues to be an action table as it was yesterday with yet another decent pot taking place.

Kjell Sterner check-called a bet of 4,500 into a pot of 7,000 by Elad Saadia with the 4 J 8 K on the board after the turn. Sterner checked again on the 9 river. Saadia fired out for 11,000 and Sterner went into the tank as the call would be for nearly all of his stack. Eventually, Sterner made the call to only to get some bad news. Saadia turned over 8 8 for a set of snowmen and won the hand after Sterner mucked his cards.

Elad Saadia – 45,000
Kjell Sterner – 2,000

Petite Pays Off Hayiannis 12.10.2022 13:02 by Jason Glatzer

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 62/63

The Day 1b field is already at 63 entries. Just 62 of these players remain after Sierra Alonso hit the rail moments ago.

At around the same time at another table, Alberto Petite Álvarez fired out for 2,500 into a pot of a bit more with the 8 J K 2 2 on the board and was called by Savvas Hayiannis. Hayiannis turned over A 8 which was good enough to win the pot after Álvarez mucked his cards.

Alberto Petite Álvarez – 50,000
Savvas Hayiannis – 40,000
Sierra Alonso – 0

Billiards at The Festival Series 12.10.2022 12:53 by Jason Glatzer

Today’s activity for those with the hospitality package is a billiards competition. Players are already enjoying playing on a different type of felt other than a poker table.

While PokerListings is not on-site to report the activity, we will provide some updates about it later in our coverage.

8-Game Anyone? 12.10.2022 12:33 by Jason Glatzer

Today’s first side event will be the €125 8-Game tournament. A bunch of players already expressed interest including our dear friend of both PokerListings and The Festival Series in Daniel Pilgrim.

Pilgrim is mostly a cash game player but in recent times has stretched his no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha strengths into other games as well.

Best of luck to Daniel and everyone else that hops into the mix.

“I Had Two Pair” 12.10.2022 12:27 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 45/45

Johan Goslings and Davoud Nikravan checked the Q 9 J flop before Roman Bederka fired out for a pot-sized bet of 1,000. Goslings and Nikravan called to see the A turn.

Goslings checked again but Nikravan opted to do something different with a bet of 1,500. Bederka called and Goslings folded. The Q completed the board on the river and Goslings fired out for 2,500. Nikravan folded and flashed the table with a shrug that he held K K .

Bederka made the correct fold as Nikravan showed the A for at least top pair.

“I had two pair,” Nikravan shared to Bederka as the dealer began shuffling the cards for the next hand.

Straight for Degros 12.10.2022 12:15 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 34/34

Yesterday, Table 51 provided tons of action early on and it appears that table once again will be an action table based on a very small sample size of one hand.

Kjell Sterner and another player checked with the 9 5 4 8 on the board on the turn and about 5,000 was already in the pot before Laurent Degros fired out for 3,400. Sterner called and the other player folded.

Sterner check-called a bigger bet of 8,000 by Degros after the K river completed the board. Degros turned over the nuts with 7 6 and was awarded the pot after Sterner mucked his hand.

Laurent Degros – 50,000
Kjell Sterner – 15,000

Action Begins 12.10.2022 12:06 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 31/31

The action has kicked off for the Main Event with a tidy field of 31 entries. This number will balloon to something much higher with late registration open throughout the day during which time players can re-enter up to two times. Late registration will also still be open during the first two blind levels of Day 2 as well.

Day 1b of The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event Kicks Off at Noon 12.10.2022 11:29 by Jason Glatzer

Welcome back to the coverage of The Festival Series Bratislava by PokerListings. As will be the case the entire week, our coverage will focus on the Main Event will providing some highlights and information about the plethora of side events.

The Festival Series was founded by Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk and is more than just a poker festival. Franke’s innovative The Festival Series focuses on much more and is more of a casino festival with blackjack, roulette, slots, and sports wagering tournaments all included in the schedule.

Main Event Guarantees €500K

Peder Behr & Rikard Larsson
Peder Behr & Rikard Larsson

The poker highlight of The Festival Series Bratislava is, of course, The Festival Series Bratislava €550 Main Event from Oct. 11-16. The Main Event guarantees a whopping €500,000 but it appears based on yesterday’s Day 1a along with many more players still yet to arrive.

Players will have plenty of opportunities to build a big stack with five opening flights from Oct. 11-14 including Day 1a today starting at noon CEST. Not only can players re-enter if they lose all their chips twice per opening flight but also can re-enter (or register for the first time) during the first two blind levels of Saturday’s Day 2.

The first four opening flights will feature 40-minute blind levels with the final opening flight on Friday moving along twice as fast with 20-minute blind levels. Players will bag chips today on Day 1a after 12 blind levels are completed.

Yesterday’s Day 1a attracted a total of 134 entries with 39 players surviving. Rikard Larsson is currently on top of the chip leaderboard after parlaying his 30,000-opening chip stack into a monstrous stack of 256,000.

Today’s Side Events

Today’s schedule features tons of events including Day 1 and Day 2 of the €250 Blackjack Championship and Day 2 of the Roulette Championship. Of course, there are plenty of poker side events on the schedule to satisfy every poker player’s

TimeEventBuy-InRe-EntryChips / Level
12:00MAIN EVENT DAY 1B – 12 Levels
€500,000 gtd.
€5502x per flight30k / 40
14:008-Game€1256 lvls10k / 20
14:00

22:00
Blackjack Championship Day 1A + B + C€2503 rounds10k / 20 hands
17:00PLO High Roller
€20,000 gtd.
€1,1008 lvls100k / 30
17:00Gambling Cabin Sportsbook Tourney€60No
19:00Satellite to Main Event
5x €550 Main Event tickets gtd.
€608 lvls10k / 20
20:00Cash Game Challenge €2/2 Texas (*)€250
21:00Turbo Sat to NL HR (2 Tickets gtd)
2x €1,100 NLH High Roller tickets gtd.
€1508 lvls10k / 15
22:00Roulette Championship Day 2
22:00Texas Progressive Knockout€2506 lvls15k / 20
22:30Cash Game Challenge €2/2 PLO4 (*)€250
00:00Blackjack Championship Day 2

Our coverage will begin at the start of the Main Event at noon. Stay tuned at PokerListings to get updates on the biggest hands, bad beats, and more!

Rikard Larsson Bags the Day 1a Chip Lead in the €500K GTD The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event 11.10.2022 22:16 by Jason Glatzer
Rikard Larsson & Peder Behr
Peder Behr & Rikard Larsson

Sweden’s Rikard Larsson bagged the Day 1a chip lead in the €500,000 guaranteed The Festival Series Bratislava €550 Main Event at Banco Casino Bratislava.

The field attracted a total of 134 entries to surpass the 108 entries attracted on Day 1a during last year’s The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event with four more opening flights to go.

Larsson was in cruise control most of Day 1a with the chip lead for most of the latter half of the day. At one point, Larsson had about 380,000 but things began to slow down after he doubled up Peder Behr to 160,000 in chips. Behr ended Day 1a with nearly the same with a stack of 156,000 in chips, while Larsson lost a few more chips before managing to bag a healthy chip-leading stack of 256,000. Carsten Larsen was just behind the Day 1a chip leader with 245,000 in chips and was the only other player on the day to surpass 200,000 in chips.

Meanwhile, Aaron Frese (194,000), Kenneth Aspestrand (180,000), Eirik Kristiansen (177,000), and Michel Molenaar (177,000) also ended Day 1a with big stacks for Day 2.

Day 1a Top 10 Chip Stacks

PlacePlayerChipsBig Blinds
1Rickard Larsson256,000107
2Carsten Larsen245,000102
3Aaron Frese194,00081
4Kenneth Aspestrand180,00075
5Eirik Kristiansen177,00074
6Michel Molenaar177,00074
7Peter Behr156,00065
8Ian Vertefeuille145,00060
9Istvan Kovács141,00059
10Wessam Bitar140,00058

The action for the Main Event will resume for Day 1b at noon on Wednesday. Stay tuned at PokerListings for all your updates.

Final Day 1a Chip Counts 11.10.2022 22:00 by Jason Glatzer

Day 1a attracted 134 entries with 39 players finding bags into Day 2. Here are the final chip counts from the Day 1a field.

PlayerChipsBig Blinds
Rickard Larsson256,000107
Carsten Larsen245,000102
Aaron Frese194,00081
Kenneth Aspestrand180,00075
Eirik Kristiansen177,00074
Michel Molenaar177,00074
Peter Behr156,00065
Ian Vertefeuille145,00060
Istvan Kovács141,00059
Wessam Bitar140,00058
Matej Macejak138,00058
Danyila Szizov125,00052
Vasyl Laba114,00048
Marius Hoegtun113,00047
Joel Salmirinne103,00043
Domenik Schlesinger103,00043
Bernhard Haider97,00040
Ronshyn Maksym95,00040
Kristoffer Winterstein94,00039
Stefan Bugar91,00038
Joshua Stewart84,00035
Jakub Matusiak82,00034
Daniel Koloszar78,00033
Alexander Van Dijk78,00033
Terje Jahn73,00030
Dimitros Lykouris70,00029
Thuy Machatzek69,00029
Martin Malones69,00029
Igor Gorej67,00028
Viktor Eriksson66,00028
Branislav Ondrus65,00027
Julian Herold62,00026
Ota Steinninger59,00025
Patrik Ciklamini54,00023
Patrick Pfeiffer53,00022
Izet Faytin46,00019
Jonatan Wedde38,00016
Hilde Rodsand21,0009
Taras Khilko17,0007
Final 5 Hands 11.10.2022 20:57 by Jason Glatzer

The floor has announced that the action will end on Day 1a after five more hands are played at each table. Players will bag chips as soon as the fifth hand has been completed and PokerListings will provide you all the final chip counts on the day.

Stay tuned to see who will be the chip leader on Day 1a of the 2022 The Festival Series Bratislava €500K GTD Main Event.

Niederreiter Heads to Broadway 11.10.2022 20:49 by Jason Glatzer

Level 12: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Entries: 40/134

Carsten Larsen bet 17,500 into a pot of nearly twice as much with the K Q 9 6 10 on the board and was called by Fabian Niederreiter.

Larsen turned over A J for a rivered Broadway and Niederreiter appeared disgusted as he tossed his hand into the muck.

Carsten Larsen – 225,000
Fabian Niederreiter – 8,000

Final Blind Level of Day 1a 11.10.2022 20:30 by Jason Glatzer

Level 12: 1,000/2,000 (2,000)
Entries: 43/134

The final blind level has kicked off for Day 1a with blinds at 1,000/2,000 along with a 2,000 big blind ante. Players that survive this level will bag up their stacks into Saturday’s Day 2.

Behr Makes a Small Dent in Larsson’s Stack 11.10.2022 20:25 by Jason Glatzer

Level 11: 800/1,600 (1,600)
Entries: 43/134

Shortly after Rikard Larsson eliminated Shalom Yitshak, the Swede was at it again trying to eliminate fellow Swede Peder Behr.

Behr open-jammed for about a pot-sized bet of 60,000 with the 3 10 4 A 3 on the board and Larsson found a call. Larsson turned over K 10 for two pair. But Behr held a stronger two pair with A K to win the hand and double his stack.

Rikard Larsson – 300,000
Peder Behr – 180,000

Rikard Larsson & Peder Behr
Rikard Larsson & Peder Behr
Big Slick for Larsson 11.10.2022 20:21 by Jason Glatzer

Level 11: 800/1,600 (1,600)
Entries: 44/134

Yitshak Shalom jammed after the A Q 7 flop for about 25,000 and was called by Rikard Larsson.

Yitshak Shalom: Q J
Rikard Larsson: A K

Shalom was behind and was out of chips after the 10 turn and 5 river completed the board. Meanwhile, Larsson appeared to be in the chip lead after the hand with about 380,000 in chips.

Rikard Larsson – 380,000
Yitshak Shalom – 0

Hoegtun Picks Off Winterstein’s Bluff 11.10.2022 19:58 by Jason Glatzer

Level 11: 800/1,600 (1,600)
Entries: 48/131

Marius Hoegtun checked the river with the 8 3 6 8 7 on the board. Kristoffer Winterstein bet 21,000 into a pot of a bit more and Hoegtun went into the tank for about a minute before he called.

Winterstein turned over A 5 . Hoegtun subsequently showed J 6 to pick off his opponent’s bluff to win the hand.

Marius Hoegtun – 100,000
Kristoffer Winterstein – 70,000

Zolnai Wins The Hendon Mob Championship 11.10.2022 19:42 by Jason Glatzer
Peter Zolnai
Peter Zolnai wins The Hendon Mob Championship at The Festival Series Bratislava

Peter Zolnai just defeated a field of 131 entries to win the €250 buy-in The Hendon Mob Championship for €7,000 after defeating Simon Wilson heads-up. Here is a look at the full results of the event.

PlacePlayerPrize Money
1Peter Zolnai€7,000
2Simon Wilson€4,410
3Alexander Oswald€3,430
4Mark Berman€2,660
5Kristoffer Boerrud€2,100
6Riben Rasmussen€1,680
7Sandor Leitenroth€1,260
8Niklas Klein€980
9Jeroen Aarts€770
10Jakob Pilgaard€630
11Espen Gundersen€630
12Brian Riemenscheider€630
13Michel Molenaar€490
14Julian Herold€490
15Teemu Hietala€490
16Ruben Baardsen€350
Deuces Back to Never Loses for Sandvik 11.10.2022 19:37 by Jason Glatzer

Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 54/130

We joked about how deuces sometimes loses less than an hour ago after Espen Sandvik lost his first stack with deuces.

Sandvik re-entered and was sitting on 53,000 when we caught up with him. He shared that he three-bet jammed with deuces but this time got there to eliminate an opponent who had about 20 big blinds with kings after a deuce spiked the turn.

So, maybe Sandvik’s first hand was a glitch as he has proven on his second bullet that the “deuces never loses” saying holds true.

Espen Sandvik – 53,000

Kristiansen Improves to Trips to Oust Ciklamini 11.10.2022 19:30 by Jason Glatzer

Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 57/130

Patrik Ciklamini jammed for 14,700 from under the gun and was called by Erik Kristiansen.

Patrik Ciklamini: A J
Erik Kristiansen: 10 9

Kristiansen was behind but improved to trips to send Ciklamini packing after the 9 8 9 6 4 ran out on the board.

Erik Kristiansen – 90,000
Patrik Ciklamini – 0

Deuces Sometimes Loses 11.10.2022 19:19 by Jason Glatzer

Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 59/129

There is a famous saying in poker that “deuces never loses.” Sometimes this is true but this wasn’t the case for WSOP bracelet winner Espen Sandvik.

Sandvik jammed the button for 20 big blinds and was called by Matej Macejak from the big blind.

Espen Sandvik: 2 2
Matej Macejak: J J

Sandvik needed some help but none was on its way with the 7 9 3 8 5 running out on the board.

Matej Macejak – 55,000
Espen Sandvik – 0

Stacks From Around the Room at the Break 11.10.2022 19:08 by Jason Glatzer
PlayerChipsBlinds
Ian Vertefeuille270,000225
Rickard Larsson250,000208
Michel Molenaar140,000117
Danyila Szizov137,000114
Peter Behr125,000104
Wessam Bitar122,000102
Istvan Kovács105,00088
Izet Faytin100,00083
Kristoffer Winterstein95,00079
Aaron Frese95,00079
Kristiansen Eirik80,00067
Ota Steinninger80,00067
Bernhard Haider80,00067
Daniel Koloszar75,00063
Erik Bengtsen70,00058
Fabien Niederreiter66,00055
Ivan Sebeledi63,00053
Vasyl Laba62,00052
Thuy Machatzek60,00050
Stefan Bugar60,00050
Domenik Schlesinger60,00050
Final Break of Day 1a 11.10.2022 18:52 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on their final break of Day 1a. Blinds will increase to 600/1,200 with a big blind ante of 1,200 when the action resumes.

PokerListings Deepstacks Champion Kalle Ly Will Get Back in Tomorrow 11.10.2022 18:51 by Jason Glatzer

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 61/129

Kalle Ly won the PokerListings Deepstacks during the last The Festival Series in Tallinn but he is now on the rail after busting out of the Main Event today. We sent our sympathies but he took it well and simply said: “I am used to it.”

Ly recapped the hand for PokerListings.

Ly check-called a bet of 3,000 into a pot of 7,000 after the eight-seven-deuce flop. Ly checked again after a four hit the turn. His opponent jammed and Ly called off for about 14,000.

Ly held seven-five and had some outs against his opponent’s cowboys. Ly’s opponent improved to trips after a king came on the river and Ly was on the rail. Ly shared with PokerListings that he plans to play the Cash Game Challenge tonight and get back into the Main Event tomorrow.

kalle ly wins pokerlistings deepstack of the festival series in tallinn
Kalle Ly Wins PokerLIstings Deepstack
Manns Off to Play PLO after Niedzwiecki Delivers a Bad Beat 11.10.2022 18:46 by Jason Glatzer

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 62/129

A player opened for 2,000. Sascha Manns three-bet jammed for 12,000. Marcin Niedzwiecki thought that Manns just called and tossed an extra chip to make it 2,000 from the big blind. Niedzwiecki was then informed it was for 12,000 and tossed in 10,000 more. The opening player folded and it appeared that Manns had Niedzwiecki dominated.

Sascha Manns: J 10
Marcin Niedzwiecki: J 4

Manns was ahead after the 7 8 3 flop and still ahead after the 5 turn. However, Niedzwiecki spiked his three-outer on the river with the 4 completing the board and Manns was on the rail.

Manns shared with PokerListings that instead of re-entering the Main Event today he would instead enter the €250 PLO event that began at 5 p.m. Best of luck to Sascha!

Marcin Niedzwiecki – 50,000
Sascha Manns – 0

Marcin Niedzwiecki
Marcin Niedzwiecki
Strujic Doubles Through Larsen with Cowboys 11.10.2022 18:28 by Jason Glatzer

Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 68/126

Igor Strujic called off his stack of about 13 big blinds facing a three-bet jam by Carsten Larsen for about 30 big blinds.

Igor Strujic: K K
Carsten Larsen: A Q

Strujic’s cowboys held after the J 3 8 6 6 ran out on the board to double back to near a starting stack.

Igor Strujic – 28,500
Carsten Larsen – 15,000

Final Day of the Sviten Special Event Begins at 7 p.m. 11.10.2022 18:16 by Jason Glatzer

The final day of the €250 Sviten Special Event kicks off at 7 p.m. CEST. Peter Johansson leads the way with just a final table of seven players remaining. Each of the seven remaining players have locked up €580 already. Tonight’s winner is slated to receive a bit more with a €4,616 top prize on the line.

SeatPlayerChipsBig Blinds
1Totti Lind       151,000 8
2Ed Furniss       202,000 10
3Peter Johansson       550,000 28
4Barrie Dear       348,000 17
5Erik Risberg       306,000 15
6Matteo Crapanzano         82,000 4
7Joshua Steward       112,000 6
Sviten Special
Sviten Special
Full House for Grabics to Win Battle of Short Stacks 11.10.2022 18:00 by Jason Glatzer

Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 76/126

Tamas Grabics open-jammed for about 7,000 from under the gun. Nicola Karl three-bet shoved over the top for about 17,000 from two seats over and the rest of the table folded.

Tamas Grabics: 10 10
Nicola Karl: 9 9

Grabics was far ahead and had his opponent drawing super thin after improving to a set on the 10 6 3 flop. The 3 paired the board on the turn to further improve to a full house and Karl was drawing dead.

The inconsequential 2 completed the board on the river to make Grabics’ double-up official.

Tamas Grabics – 17,000
Nicola Karl – 10,000

Lucky Cowboys for Molenaar to Double Through Kvasai 11.10.2022 17:42 by Jason Glatzer

Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 79/124

Michel Molenaar checked with about 40,000 in the pot and the 2 Q 10 9 on the board after the turn. Nikolas Kvasai bet 16,500. Molenaar jammed for nearly 60,000 and Kvasai, who had Molenaar covered, found a call.

Michel Molenaar: K K
Nikolas Kvasai: 10 10

Kvasai was far ahead with a set of tens but Molenaar still had outs for a better set or a straight. It was the latter that came to fruition with the J spiking the river to improve Molenaar to a straight to double his stack.

Michel Molenaar – 160,000
Nikolas Kvasai – 25,000

Nikolas Kvasai
Nikolas Kvasai
Rockets for Behr 11.10.2022 17:16 by Jason Glatzer

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 82/121

Kasper Nielsen four-bet jammed for about 23,000 and was called by Peder Behr.

Kasper Nielsen: A K
Peder Behr: A A

Nielsen was far behind with his big slick but had some hope after the Q 4 10 flop with a gutshot Broadway draw. No jack came the rest of the way. Instead, the 6 turn and 8 river completed the board and Nielsen was on the rail.

Peder Behr – 95,000
Kasper Nielsen – 0

Rikard Larsson & Peder Behr
Rikard Larsson & Peder Behr
Vladar Ousts Sebeledi 11.10.2022 17:07 by Jason Glatzer

Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 85/119

Richard Vladar had his last 14 big blinds or so committed into the pot and was up against Ivan Sebeledi.

Richard Vladar: A K
Ivan Sebeledi: 7 7

Vladar won the flip to send Sebeledi to the rail after improving to a better flush than his opponent on the 3 8 J Q 8 board.

Richard Vladar – 40,000
Ivan Sebeledi – 0

PLO Masters Begins at 5 p.m. 11.10.2022 16:59 by Jason Glatzer

The €250 PLO Masters is about to begin. If you want some advice from a pro, J.J. Hazan is hosting PLO Masterclasses throughout the week.

The Masterclass costs €50 but you will get €25 back if entering one of the €250 PLO events on the schedule.

Stacks from Around the Room at Break 11.10.2022 16:47 by Jason Glatzer
PlayerChipsBig Blinds
Rickard Larsson200,000333
Aaron Frese120,000200
Alexander Van Dijk110,000183
Kristoffer Winterstein83,000138
Peter Behr77,000128
Mikael Zackariasson75,000125
Daniel Koloszar74,000123
Izet Faytin72,000120
Bernhard Haider72,000120
Michel Molenaar70,000117
Yasen Mladenov70,000117
Francisco Sierra70,000117
Viktor Eriksson67,000112
Jakub Matusiak64,000107
Ian Vertefeuille64,000107
Peter Muhlbek62,000103
Igor Gorej61,000102
Nikolas Kvasai60,000100
Marcin Niedzwiecki57,00095
Harri Lehtiniemi50,00083
David Safrany50,00083
Dainius Antanaitis48,00080
Thomas Lindström47,00078
Erik Suchy47,00078
Jonatan Wedde44,00073
Second Break 11.10.2022 16:27 by Jason Glatzer

Players are on their second break of Day 1b. Blinds will increase to 300/600 with a big blind ante of 600 when the action resumes in 20 minutes.

PokerListings will provide some of the chip counts from around the room shortly after the break.

Just Six Players Remaining in The Hendon Mob Championship 11.10.2022 16:19 by Jason Glatzer

The action is down to just six players in the €250 buy-in The Hendon Mob Championship. Here is a look at some semi-recent chip counts.

PlayerChips
Alexander Oswald612,000
Kristoffer Boerrud599,000
Peter Zolnai598,000
Simon Wilson330,000
Mark Berman220,000
Ruben Rasmussen220,000

The final six players have each locked up €1,680 with today’s winner slated to be rewarded a €7,000 top prize. Of course, all players that cashed will also receive a special Hendon Mob flag on their profile.

The Hendon Mob Championship Final Table at The Festival Series Bratislava
The Hendon Mob Championship Final Table at The Festival Series Bratislava
Vertefeville Felts Mertz 11.10.2022 16:12 by Jason Glatzer

Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 86/114

Jesper Mertz had crumbs left in his stack and they were already in the pot by the time we caught up with the hand with the 4 5 2 on the flop.

There was a bigger side pot between Thomas Lindstrom and Ian Vertefeville and both players checked after the 7 came on the turn. Lindstrom check-called a bet by Vertefeville for 3,000 after the 3 completed the board on the river.

Mertz turned over Q 5 and his pair of fives was better than the pair of fours held by Lindstrom with 10 4 . However, Verteville won both the main and side pots after he turned over A K for a wheel.

Thomas Lindstrom – 55,000
Ian Vertefeville – 40,000
Jesper Mertz – 0

Frese Wins Massive Pot with Queens 11.10.2022 15:58 by Jason Glatzer

Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 88/113

Igor Panak five-bet jammed for about 57,000 and was called by Aaron Frese.

Igor Panak: A K
Aaron Frese: Q Q

A major flip was on and likely the winner would be the chip leader after perusing other stacks from around the room. Panak was unable to connect with the 6 8 4 6 2 runout and will need to re-enter if he wishes to advance to Day 2 via the Day 1a field.

Aaron Frese – 125,000
Igor Panak – 0

Rodsand Doubles Through Haider 11.10.2022 15:47 by Jason Glatzer

Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 91/111

Hilde Rodsand check-jammed for 12,100 after the 5 10 8 came on the flop with about 6,000 already in the pot. Bernhard Haider called and the cards were turned over.

Hilde Rodsand: A 10
Bernhard Haider: K 10

Both players had top pair but Rodsand was in the lead with her ace kicker. The J turn was blank for both players, while the A river further improved Rodsand to two pair to double her stack through Haider.

Bernhard Haider – 55,000
Hilde Rodsand – 30,000

Hilde Rodsand
Hilde Rodsand
Better Flush for Kvasai 11.10.2022 15:16 by Jason Glatzer

Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 90/106

Nikolas Kvasai bet 5,000 into a pot of 8,000 with the 9 4 6 5 on the board. Michel Molenaar folded before Thanh Bui jammed for 20,500. Kvasai snap-called and the cards were turned over.

Nikolas Kvasai: A 7
Thanh Bui: K 8

“You even have the seven,” said Bui when he saw he wasn’t even alive for the one-outer for a straight flush.

The blank 5 completed the board and Bui will need to re-enter if he wishes to advance to Day 2 in the Main Event.

Nikolas Kvasai – 90,000
Thanh Bui – 0

Quad Sevens for Groenendijk 11.10.2022 15:08 by Jason Glatzer

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 90/103

The Day 1a field has already grown to more than 100 entries and will continue to grow throughout the day.

Julien Groenendijk lost some of his opening stack but got his chips back and then some as follows.

Domenik Schlesinger jammed for less than 5,000 into a pot of a bit more with the Q 7 7 10 10 on the board. Groenendijk snap-called and turned over 7 7 for quad sevens. Despite it being an all-in and a call, we were unable to see what Schlesinger held.

Julien Groenendijk – 35,000
Domenik Schlesinger – 0

Dijkstra Ousts Bielich 11.10.2022 14:50 by Jason Glatzer

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 84/95

Stefan Bielich got his last 10,000 in chips or so in the pot with 10 10 and was up against Gerianne Dijkstra with K K .

Dijkstra eliminated her opponent and was back to a starting stack after the 3 5 8 5 8 ran out on the board.

Gerianne Dijkstra – 30,000
Stefan Bielich – 0

Get Involved with the Sportsbook Freeroll 11.10.2022 14:39 by Jason Glatzer

The Festival Series has set up a freeroll for its €25 Low Roller Sports Betting Championship. Click on the link below to get involved!

Sports Betting Freeroll here: https://play.thefestival.com

sports-betting-freeroll-tweet
Trip Aces for Brunfeldt 11.10.2022 14:36 by Jason Glatzer

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 85/92

Miklos Banyasz opened for 800 from the cutoff and was called by Thuy Machatzek from the small blind and Walter Brunfeldt from the big blind.

Both Machatzek and Brunfeldt checked the 7 3 A flop before Banyasz continued for 1,100. Machatzek called and Brunfeldt folded. Machatzek was looking down at his phone as the 8 came on the turn and was still looking at his phone after he bet 3,000. Brunfeldt check-called and the A paired the board on the river.

Brunfeldt checked again and Banyasz tanked for close to a minute before he checked back. Brunfeldt turned over A 10 for trips and this was good enough to win the pot as Banyasz mucked his hand.

Walter Brunfeldt – 36,000
Miklos Banyasz – 30,000

Big Stacks from Around the Room 11.10.2022 14:24 by Jason Glatzer

Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 80/87

NameChipsBig Blinds
Rickard Larsson109,000363
Aaron Frese88,000293
Izet Faytin65,000217
Vincze Baranyi60,000200
Martin Malones57,000190
Nikolas Kvasai55,000183
Igor Gorej51,000170
Erik Suchy46,000153
First Break 11.10.2022 14:05 by Jason Glatzer

Main Event players are on their first break of the day. We will share some of the bigger stacks from around the room after the break.

Blinds will increase to 100/300 with a big blind ante of 300 when the action resumes.

Roulette Championship About to Begin 11.10.2022 13:55 by Jason Glatzer

The €250 Roulette Championship has three opening flights today. The first one is about to kick off at 2 p.m. CEST.

If curious as to how this works, players will play 60 spins with betting taking place in order with a button moving after each spin. The player with the most chips at each table at the end will advance to Day 2.

Kvasai Ousts Da Silva 11.10.2022 13:53 by Jason Glatzer

Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 79/81

Sierra Da Silva lost a good portion of his stack before he got his chips in with ace-ten. Unfortunately for Da Silva, he was up against the ace-queen held by Nikolas Kvasai. An ace was part of the flop to give both players top pair. However, Da Silva was unable to improve any further to get ahead of ace-queen and was the second player on the rail during Day 1a.

Nikolas Kvasai – 47,000
Sierra Da Silva – 0

Machatzek Takes One Off Brunfeldt 11.10.2022 13:43 by Jason Glatzer

Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 78/79

Three players checked with the J A 3 on the board and about 4,000 in the pot when Thuy Machatzek bet 3,500. Walter Brunfeldt called and the action was heads-up after the other players folded.

Both players checked both the 4 turn and the 3 river. Brunfeldt turned over K Q for the best possible hand without connecting with the board. Unfortunately for Brunfeldt, Machatzek did connect with the ace and won the hand after she turned over A 2 .

Thuy Machatzek – 30,000
Walter Brunfeldt – 24,000

Patridge Exploring Roulette Championship After Bubbling The Hendon Mob Championship 11.10.2022 13:32 by Jason Glatzer

Greg Partridge, who won a free Main Event seat thanks to his amazing run in The Festival Series Tallinn to win the last longer contest held by Luxon Pay, dropped the media desk for a quick chat.

Partridge didn’t have the best of news to share with us as he mentioned he just bubbled The Hendon Mob Championship after his queens ran into kings. He asked us some questions about the upcoming roulette tournament and we secretly shared that a decent strategy would be to play small in the beginning and take some risks closer to the end of the day if needed. We wish Greg the best of luck if he decides to play in the Roulette Championship starting today at 2 p.m.

Pfeiffer Wins a Three-Way Pot 11.10.2022 13:24 by Jason Glatzer

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 70/71

There was 2,500 in the pot when four players checked the J J 2 flop. It checked around again on the 9 turn before the 4 river completed the board. Andreas Roeder fired out for 700 and got called by both Patrick Pfeiffer and Lars Hole.

Roeder shrugged as he turned over A 8 . Pfeiffer then turned over 10 9 which was good enough to win the hand after Hole tossed his cards into the muck.

Meanwhile, David Safrany was the first player on the rail in the Main Event.

Patrick Pfeiffer – 35,000
Lars Hole – 35,000
Andreas Roeder – 25,000

Zackarisson Shows His Bluff 11.10.2022 12:59 by Jason Glatzer

Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 54/54

The field has already grown beyond 50 players when Mikael Zackarisson showed a bluff on Table 33.

It was a five-way pot with close to 2,000 in the middle when two players checked. Zackarisson fired out for 1,700. Christian Arstad called before the other three players that saw the flop folded.

Zackariasson then fired out for 3,500 on the 3 turn. Arstad quickly folded. Rather than mucking his hand, Zackariasson showed that he was bluffing players off the pot after revealing he was holding 10 9 .

Mikael Zackariasson – 37,000
Christian Arstad – 32,000

Michael Molenaar Leads The Hendon Mob Championship 11.10.2022 12:40 by Jason Glatzer

The Hendon Mob Championship, boasting a €250 buy-in, kicked off yesterday with a field of 131 entries. The action is down to just 18 hopefuls for the title with Michael Molenaar leading the way with 352,000.

Players are near the money with the top 16 players guaranteed at least a €350 min-cash with the winner getting 20-times as much with a €7,000 top prize on the line.

The action resumes at 1 p.m. today with blinds starting at 3,000/6,000 along with a big blind ante of 6,000 and will play down to a winner.

King-Four Suited Gets the Job Done for Muller 11.10.2022 12:31 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 37/37

Sascha Manns opened for 300 from the hijack and was called by Viktor Eriksson from the small blind. Alfred Muller three-bet to 600 from the big blind and both Manns and Eriksson called.

Eriksson and Muller checked the 6 7 K flop before Manns fired out for 1,000. Eriksson folded and Muller called. Muller checked the 8 turn. Manns bet 2,000 and Muller called to see the 6 river. Muller fired out for 2,000 and Manns quickly called.

Muller turned over K 4 to win the hand with the top pair. Manns shook his head in disgust as he flashed the table Q Q .

Alfred Muller – 35,000
Sascha Manns – 25,000

Larsson Takes it on the River 11.10.2022 12:20 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 30/30

Richard Larsson bet 2,700 into a pot of a bit more with the 6 A A 2 on the board after the turn. Jonas Kovacs called and the 4 completed the board on the river.

Larsson fired out for 5,500 and Kovacs went into the tank. Eventually, Kovacs laid down his hand and the pot was awarded to Larrsson.

Richard Larsson – 35,000
Jonas Kovacs – 27,000

Main Event Begins 11.10.2022 12:08 by Jason Glatzer

Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 24/24

Cards are in the air for Day 1a of the Main Event. Day 1a began with 24 entries. This will grow significantly with late registration open throughout the day.

The Festival Series Bratislava €500K GTD Main Event Begins at Noon 11.10.2022 10:39 by Jason Glatzer
the festival series bratislava header image

Welcome to the coverage of The Festival Series Bratislava by PokerListings. The Festival Series is more than just an ordinary poker festival. In fact, The Festival Series founder Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk has dubbed his tour as a casino festival with not only a no-limit hold’em poker Main Event but also Main Events for blackjack, roulette, slots, and sports wagering tournaments.

Our coverage will focus mainly on the poker Main Event but we promise to sprinkle in some general coverage from some of the side events including the casino side event throughout the week.

The Festival Series boasts a whopping 50 events from Oct. 10-16 in the heart of the Slovakian capital at Banco Casino Bratislava and has something for everyone. If tournaments aren’t your thing, then rest assured there is juicy cash game action running around the clock including live-streamed games.

Main Event Guarantees €500K

The poker highlight of The Festival Series Bratislava is, of course, The Festival Series Bratislava €550 Main Event from Oct. 11-16. The Main Event guarantees a whopping €500,000 but we will be surprised if that isn’t met based on the big crowd already here for the opening events yesterday and the plans of many more to come including a plethora of satellite qualifiers from the more than a dozen partners held by The Festival Series.

Players will have plenty of opportunities to build a big stack with five opening flights from Oct. 11-14 including Day 1a today starting at noon CEST. Not only can players re-enter if they lose all their chips twice per opening flight but also can re-enter (or register for the first time) during the first two blind levels of Saturday’s Day 2.

The first four opening flights will feature 40-minute blind levels with the final opening flight on Friday moving along twice as fast with 20-minute blind levels. Players will bag chips today on Day 1a after 12 blind levels are completed.

Side Events Galore

Tuesday boasts eight side events on top of the start of the Main Event. Two of those events are already closed for registration as they have progressed to their second and final day in the €250 Sviten Special event and The Hendon Mob €250 Championship.

New events kicking off today are the first three opening flights of the €250 Roulette Championship, the €250 PLO Masters, the €1,000 invite-only Acroud Charity Invitational, and the €125 Win the Button. In addition, there is a Main Event satellite costing just €60 at 7 p.m. and a €150 PLO High Roller satellite at 9 p.m.

TimeEvent #EventBuy-in
12:008The Festival Series Main Event€550
13:002The HendonMob Championship Day 2€250
14:00 – 22:0010Roulette Championship Day 1A + B + C€250
17:0011PLO Masters€250
19:007Satellite to Main Event€60
19:001Sviten Special Day 2/FT€250
20:0012Acroud Charity Invitational€1,000
21:0014PLO High Roller Satellite€150
22:0013Win the Button, Texas€125

Our coverage will begin at the start of the Main Event at noon. Stay tuned at PokerListings to get updates on the biggest hands, bad beats, and more!

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