2025 The Festival Bratislava Day 3

The Player of the Series Race is hotting up after the third full day of action, but its still tight at the top, with Ville-Matti Keränen posting a narrow overnight lead of less than two points over Giorgi Mevlupishvili. He goes into the middle day of The Festival in Bratislava with 71 points, just 1.75 ahead of Georgian Giorgi’s 69.25. 

Ville-Matti had been in 20th place on the leaderboard on Wednesday, having taken 4th place in the Half n Half, but cashed twice on Thursday to catapult himself to the top of the table. His first visit to the payout window was for 12th place in the Open Face Chinese Pineapple, which earned him 14.5 points. But the Finn’s big score of the day came in the early hours of Friday morning, when he finished runner-up in the Bomb Pot Madness, earning himself €1,700, in addition to 31.25 leaderboard points.

Giorgi Mevlupishvili had almost as meteoric a rise as Keränen, moving up from 17th to 2nd, thanks to two final table appearances on Thursday, having already finished 4th in the Late Night Madness on Wednesday. He took 6th place in the OFC for 23.5 points and added a further 19.25 for 8th in the Thursday Late Night Madness.

Miles Rees Moves Up to 3rd

There was a slight confusion at The Festival Series HQ yesterday regarding the ranking status of the Heads Up Tournament. The leaderboard was originally calculated without it, based on a misunderstanding that capped events do not count towards the leaderboard. The rule is that they only don’t count if the cap is reached, which it wasn’t, as 31 players took part, leaving one seat empty. It has therefore been re-instated as a ranking event and the points awarded for it have been added in. Apologies for the mistake and any distress it may have caused to any and all involved. Our bad.

This was good news for Ville Hakala, who picked up an extra 2.5 points for his fruitless participation, but even better news for Miles Rees, as he finished joint 3rd in the Heads Up, earning 20.5 leaderboard points. Rees went on to win Event 25 yesterday, the €125 NLH PKO Late Night Madness, for a further 38.75 and now sits in 3rd place on the leaderboard with 61.75 points.

Hakala Tied for 4th

Ville Hakala, is now in 4th on 61 points, having now played in 9 events. The double runner-up in the POS race at the last two festivals boosted his score on Thursday with by 23.75 points with a 5th place finish in the Bomb Pot Madness. Overnight leader Jonas Jurksaitis slips back to 5th on 58.75 points, having only added participation points to his total on Thursday.

Kyte Surfs into Top Ten

But the loudest new entry onto the leaderboard was made by Jon Kyte, who’s back-to-back 3rd place finishes in the T.O.R.S.E.S, followed by the PLO High Roller have rocketed him straight into 7th place, on 55 points. The Norwegian cashed for €13,000 in total on Thursday, making him the biggest winner of the day, both in terms of cash and leaderboard points.

Franke and Keny Simmering Outside Top 10

Sitting just outside the top ten, in 15th place is Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk, the reigning leaderboard king from September’s Festival in Malta. Like Ville Hakala, Franke employs a ‘play everything’ strategy and has currently done so 5 times in events that count towards this leaderboard. 

On Thursday Franke took 3rd place in the Open Face Chinese, an event that he has been successful in many times before. He has also qualified for the final day of the European Chicago Championship, which is yet to take place, so has a great shot of adding more points to his current total of 42 points. 

Just two points further back in joint 22nd place is double Player of the Series winner (but oh it could have been more) Scott “Pokerbrahs” Kenyon, who was the runner-up in the Open Face Chinese after a heads-up deal with Krzysztof Kordus. Scott has also bagged a seat in the Chicago final day.

The Top 75

We’ve expanded the leaderboard to the top 75 today, can you find your name?

With Hakala, Zweigbergk and Kenyon all poised to challenge once again, it’s already shaping up to be an interesting title race. With six further events concluding on Friday at Banco Casino in Bratislava, the leaderboard is certain to change again, but who will be leading the way? Will a strong contender emerge and pull away from the rest of the field? Stay tuned to the Festival Series blog to find out, where Patrick Cole will be your host, covering all the action, direct from the tournament floor. 

Here are the payouts for the first High Roller of the week. Only six will be paid out of the 46 total entrants. The Festival Founder Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk has a solid stack and has made his second final table of the day. Jon Kyte is also in the double final table club, having finished third in the T.O.R.S.E.S Main event earlier today. Kyte has invested five bullets into this tournament and needs a top-three finish to profit. Graham Clarkson appears to have a solid chip lead over the field, and will be looking for his first cash of the week. Below are the payouts.

That’s all for tonight, folks. Until next time.

Only 12 will progress through to Day 2 of The Main Event from the 97 total entrants that tried their hand at the tables today. There are currently 15 left in pursuit of a stack of a bag.

A total of 173 entrants have taken to the felts in the €175 No Limit Hold’em PKO. A field of 111 remains, and judging by the action on the floor, that number won’t stay the same for long. Stacks are being sent forth into the middle in pursuit of accruing as much value as possible from the bounty prize pool. Registration remains open until 12.55 p.m. if you would like to get involved. Of course, be gamble aware.

In what is already the largest Chicago tournament ever held, players keep coming to play to reach Day 2 in what is the penultimate day of qualification. As expected, there is a strong Swedish presence at the table, as the game has been a staple for families across the Scandinavian nation for decades.

Friends of The Festival, Ingela Charlez, Elias Eckstrom, are in the field, as is EPT winner Christer Johansson and T.O.R.S.E.S final tablist Riku Koivurinne.

To learn more about Chicago, click here.

Krzysztof Kordus (pictured) has won the €250 Open Face Chinese, besting Scott ‘Pokerbrahs’ Kenyon heads-up. Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk finished in third place. Kenyon also fired multiple bullets, and placed second on his fourth shot.

Kordus has now become a multiple Festival Series Open Face Chinese Champion, as he won the €150 OFC in Rozvadov this past summer. Below are the payouts in full.

The last member of the one bullet club in the €250 Open Face Chinese, Gilles Lamy, has been eliminated in third place. It is tight at the top between Scott Kenyon and Krzysztof Kordus. The Festival Boss “Franke” has been on the decline and will be looking to chip back up to take down his first title of the week, and crucial Player of the Series points.

In 1/C of The Hendon Mob Championship, 178 total entrants have taken to the felt in this flight. Only 31 remain, and leading the way is Joseph Saunders. He is being tailed by a British compatriot, Miles Rees. Below are the top 10 counts.

In the 1/D Turbo Flight, 109 have entered, and 63 remain. Bo Alm tops the pack currently, and he is followed by Rakel Daehle in second. Below is the top 10 in that flight.

‘Franke’ and Scott ‘Pokerbrahs’ Kenyon (pictured) are the top two in the counts in the €250 Open Face Chinese here at Banco Bratislava. There is a sizeable gap back to Gilles Lamy and Krzysztof Kordus, who won the €250 Open Face Chinese at The Festival Series Rozvadov back in the summer.

Sergeii Baranov has won the T.O.R.S.E.S. Main Event, besting JJ Hazan heads-up. Jon Kyte departed in third place, despite having a 2:1 advantage over Hazan at multiple points in the tournament. Below are the payouts in full. This is Baranov’s first Festival Series cash in his career, and this win joins his resume of Mixed Game victories, which came at EPT Barcelona this year in the €5,200 8-Game, where he won €53,600, and the €1,000 8-Game at EPT Prague last December.

The Bomb Pot Madness is due to take place here at Banco Casino. Every hand will be a bomb pot, meaning each player will contribute a big blind into the pot preflop. The tournament is half and half, half No Limit Hold’em, half PLO. Here is the lineup so far.

Flip your way to victory in Franke’s Flip Flops! Twelve flips ran on the first day, and thirteen ran yesterday. They will be held at the tables upstairs opposite the registration desk.

They cost €25 per flip, and winners will progress to the final flip-off, where a package to the next Festival Series stop will be awarded.

The fourth and final flight of the €250 The Hendon Mob Championships has commenced at Banco Bratislava.

A total of 54 entrants have taken to the tables in pursuit of Hendon Mob glory. Gabriel Rymar (pictured) is already a dual Festival Series champion, as he won the 2023 Festival Series Bratislava Main Event, and the €250 Deepstack just a few days apart, for a combined haul of €94,400.

Marc Gork has been the most recent departure in the T.O.R.S.E.S. Main Event. JJ Hazan has usurped Jon Kyte at the top of the counts, and T.O.R.S.E.S 1/A chipleader Sergii Baranov trails them both.

The remaining 10 players are in the money in the €250 Open Face Chinese tournament at Banco Bratislava. Scott ‘Pokerbrahs’ Kenyon and ‘Franke’ remain in the field, but they are both four bullets deep. Krzysztof Kordus, who won the €250 OFC in Rozvadov, is on bullet seven. Below are the players who have departed in money.

Jon Kyte has extended his chiplead in the T.O.R.S.E.S final table. Three have departed: Rolf Bechstrom, Joonas Lyttinen, and Mattia Ruebenstrunk. Below are the current chip counts, and the payouts.

The satellite to the PLO High Roller has come to an end. Here are the qualifiers, plus the sole money place. Unfortunately for Norway’s Jonas Nilsen, he was the victim of the bubble, which is one of the most painful experiences in poker, in this blogger’s opinion.

Counts are in for the second flight of the €550 Main Event. Currently, Robert Baker sits atop the counts, leading a field of 60 players. In total, this flight has attracted 88 total entries, and registration remains open until 9.15 p.m. CET. Reigning Bratislava Main Event champion Sebastian Kotowicz (pictured) remains in contention to make Day 2, and he will be gunning for a successful title defense at Banco Bratislava. Below are the top 10 in the field.

Here is a look at the lineup for the final table of the marquee Mixed Game Event of the week, the €550 T.O.R.S.E.S. Mixed Game Main Event. Jon Kyte still holds a dominant position over the field, and he will be looking to add a second Festival Series title to his impressive resume. Mixed Game enthusiast JJ Hazan is always a force to be reckoned with at the tables, and none of the field can be completely written off in this Mixed Game format.

The first High Roller of the week is currently delayed due to the satellite players remaining in play in pursuit of a ticket to the biggest PLO event of this Festival Series. This is the lineup so far.

The €150 PLO High Roller Satellite started this afternoon with a guarantee of two €1,100 tickets. With 54 total entrants, the total number of tickets being offered has risen to 8, plus a €164 cash price for ninth, a decent rebate for missing out on the ticket.

The High Roller kicks off in 15 minutes, and 8 players from this satellite will get in at a vastly discounted rate. Currently, The Festival Founder Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweighbergk is the sole entrant, and he will be multitabling between this event and the €250 Open Face Chinese.

Check Out This Interview with Mauritz Altikardes, who invented the tournament format that has been played this week at The Festival Series in Bratislava. Don’t forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe to keep up to date with all things The Festival.

Here are the official updated counts at the break in the €550 T.O.R.S.E.S. Mixed Game Main Event. Jon Kyte is in a commanding position to claim his second Festival Series title.

Friend of the Festival and Mixed Game enthusiast Barrie Dear (pictured) will not be able to mount a successful defence of his €550 T.O.R.S.E.S. Main Event victory in Malta. He was the victim of the bubble at Banco Bratislava. He has since hopped into the €250 Open Face Chinese Pineapple.

In the T.O.R.S.E.S., Jon Kyte has a substantial chip lead and is in a prime position to take down his second Festival Series Mixed Game Main Event title. Riku Koivurinne, Phillip Kreiger and JJ Hazan all have healthy stacks.

These are the biggest stacks currently in the field in 1/B of the €550 Main Event. Peretz Madmon leads the way, and Malta 2024 Main Event Winner Victor den Houting is currently in fifth.

For the newcomers to Chicago, check out this video to learn more about the dynamics and gameplay of this Swedish staple home game. Don’t forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe to keep up to date with all things The Festival.

Scott ‘Pokerbrahs’ Kenyon, Christer Johansson, and Gia Carnestrom have all fired one bullet to no avail in the €250 Open Face Chinese Pineapple. Kenyon and Johansson have since rebought and will be battling with OFC Specialist Fabian Bartuschk (pictured), Ville Keranen, and The Boss ‘Franke’, to name a few.

To learn more about OFC, click here.

The first High Roller tournament of the week, the €1,100 PLO High Roller, is scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. CET. However, those looking to qualify at a discount should consider the €150 Turbo Satellite, which will have a guarantee of two tickets.

The tournament itself has a guarantee of €25,000, so the satellite represents great value for the PLO players in attendance at Banco Bratislava. Last year, The Boss Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk took down the title and a score of €14,300 for besting the 39 total entrants.

Position	Player	Country	Payout (€)
1	Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk		€14,300
2	Marc Gork		€9,250
3	Fabian Riebau Schmithals		€6,000
4	Riku Matias Koivurinne		€4,500
5	Jarkko Juhani Suokas		€3,000

A field of 25 will soon be battling it out in the €550 T.O.R.S.E.S. Main Event. Of the returning players, 14 will cash, and only one will receive a beautiful trophy courtesy of our in-house artist, Modernoise. Below are the payouts.

The finale of the marquee Mixed Game event of the week is about to get underway as the field returns to the felt for Day 2 of the €550 T.O.R.S.E.S. Mixed Game Main Event. Below are the top 10 counts of the players returning to the field this afternoon. Mixed Game crusher Jon Kyte leads the way, and he will be looking for his second The Festival Series Mixed Game Main Event title.

The world-famous €250 The Hendon Mob Championship continues its Day 1 flights. This is the penultimate flight of the Championship, and is sure to attract a decent field as opportunities dwindle to make Day 2 of this tournament.

Yesterday, 14 players advanced, and Kyristian Nepalka (pictured) bagged the biggest. Below are the chip counts from that flight.

Place	Name	Country	Chips
1	Krystian Nalepka		499,000
2	John Lausch		385,000
3	Rogillio Reijme		341,000
4	Stribor Gruicic		302,000
5	Ott Kaarli Toome		287,000
6	Jonathan Christensen		240,000
7	Asterios Kokompelis		224,000
8	Siamak Tahmoresnia		222,000
9	Simon Kuntz		204,000
10	Patrik Chrast		158,000
11	Joel Fritz		154,000
12	Freddy Rolland		154,000
13	Tony Danielsen		126,000
14	Michael Morrissey		118,000

The first of two Open Face Chinese (OFC) tournaments will be kicking off in 30 minutes. OFC at The Festival is played with the Crazy Pineapple format, meaning after the first five cards that players receive, players then get three at a time and have to discard one per draw.

Currently, three are registered for this interesting and increasingly popular poker variant, and the field size is guaranteed to grow as time marches on towards the cards hitting the felt. To learn more about this variant, including strategy and general tips, click this link.

€250 Heads-Up Tournament

The only heads-up tournament of the week resulted in a victory for Croatian national Mladen Stojanovic, who bested the 31-strong field to take home just shy of €3,000.

€125 Half n Half NLH/PLO Bomb Pot Feature

The half and half proved popular, as 91 took to the felt to battle it out in the second most explosive tournament of the week. Yuri Overhand took down the first of two tournaments featuring the bomb pot dynamic, with the second scheduled to take place today. In yesterday’s tournament, there was a bomb pot every nine hands, and in the one to come, every hand is a bomb pot hand.

€115 H.O.R.S.E.

Matteo Crapanzano (pictured) took down the first standalone Mixed Game tournament of the week, besting a field of 75 total entrants in the small hours of this morning.

€125 Win the Button

A field of 91 took to the felt to Win the Button in the Win the Button tournament. Vitalii Shcherba won it in the wee hours of this morning, and Hendon Mob 1/B chipleader Kyrstian Napelka (pictured) finished second.

The second full day of The Festival in Bratislava featured another three tournaments that count towards the Player of the Series rankings. The Heads Up tournament, as a capped field event, does not count towards the scores. With five ranking events now consigned to the results pages, a new leader has emerged.  

Lithuanian Jonas Jurksaitis had been in joint third place after the first day of the series, thanks to his runner-up finish in the Razz. On Wednesday he made the final table of the H.O.R.S.E, finishing 5th, to net himself a further 23.85, taking his score up to 55 points, a full 15 points clear of the rest of the pack. Jonas is already a Festival Series winner, as he won the 8-Game title earlier this year at The Festival in Rozvadov. He’s clearly still in good form, with two strong finishes so far in Bratislava.

In joint second place, on 40 points each are Matteo Crapanzano and Yuri Overhand, who both won titles at The Festival on Wednesday. Crapanzano’s victory came in the H.O.R.S.E,  cashing for €1,925, securing 38.75 points towards the POS race. Yuri Overhand won the Half n Half, taking €2,735 for the win and the same points total.

Boost for Joost

Apologies, there was a mistake in yesterday’s top 25, as it came to light after being published that there has been a saver in one of Tuesday’s events and a deal in the other. As a result of this, the bonus points awarded to Wouter Schuurbiers have now been removed, as he was the player who benefitted from the saver in the Razz. 

The deal was a heads up one, made between Ylva Thorsrud and William Meeuwisse in the Tuesday Knockout, which means that both players receive 2nd place points. Ylva was therefore awarded 7.5 points too many and these have now been deducted from her total. It means that actually, she wasn’t the overnight leader after day 1, as that honour has now been re-assigned to Dutchman Joost Melkert, winner of the Razz. 

Joost didn’t cash again on Wednesday and has now slipped down to fourth place, tied with Vitalii Shcherba, champion of the Win the Button event on Wednesday.

But there’s still a long way to go before the true identity of the Player of the Series is revealed. Are those near the top imposters, or genuine contenders for the title? The story will develop further on Thursday, when a further five ranking events will be concluded, including the Mixed Games Main Event final day and the Open Face Chinese.

Could this be the day that Franke begins his challenge to defend the title he won in Malta? Stay tuned to the Festival in Bratislava blog to find out the answer to this question and many more, that we haven’t even asked yet!

The Top 50 After Wednesday