2025 The Festival Bratislava Day 7

The journey that began one week ago is already over and a new Player of the Series has risen! It was about time really, as Ville Hakala has been chasing this title for the last three Festival Series, but was thwarted twice in a row, having to settle for being the bridesmaid. But this time he’s the bride and a handsome dowry was paid for the privilege, as Ville played in an astonishing 29 of the 32 ranking tournaments.

To say it went down to the wire would be an understatement, as four of the top five turned out for the last day of the series and put on a great show of determining who the winner of the race would be. 

Fifth placed Fedor Stadtrucker, who had already won the best name at the Series competition, opted for the Open Face Chinese Pineapple as his weapon of choice, but he busted early on, ending his tilt for the Player of the Series title. 

Ville-Matti Keränen in 4th place had already absconded from the battle a day earlier and did not return on Monday, leaving it to the rest of the pack to fight it out. 

Miles Rees loaded up for the Big O and fired a couple of bullets, but also busted early, ending his late charge for the title. He ended up in 4th place overall, with 148.5 pts, just missing out on a place on the podium.

Top Two Fight it Out in Big O

That left overnight leader Krystian Nalepka and Ville Hakala as the last two standing and one of them would walk away with the title and a €1,600 package to the next Festival Series event, which will be a return to Bratislava at the end of February. By the time it got down to eight players, with just six spots in the prize money, these top two contenders were still in the Big O. 

Ville max late reg’d the OFC as a back up, as if Krystian made the money, even a win for Ville would leave him short, but participation points in the OFC would just get him over the line. If Krystian cashed in 5th or better, Ville would have needed to make the money in the OFC as well as winning the Big O to overturn the Pole. 

The drama evolved when Nalepka busted in 8th place in the Big O, but Ville still had work to do. He also needed to make the money to secure victory and did just that, taking fourth place, to win the Player of the Series title by less than a point, not needing the 5 participation points from the OFC. The Finn busted in the OFC quite quickly to end up with a grand total of 156.25 pts, just 5.75 pts ahead of Nalepka’s 150.5 pts.

Almost a Fairytale Ending for Bambi

Bambi, a player who uses a nickname due to a fear of being caught in the headlines, ironically also made the front page of this story. He won the Big O and overtook several rivals to claim 3rd place on the podium of the final leaderboard. Bambi defeated another leaderboard contender, Paddy Schmidt, heads-up in the final Omaha event of the series, to finish with the third biggest POS total of 149.5, just 1 point adrift of Krystian Nalepka in 2nd place.

Schmidt, who also made the money in the Main Event ended up in 8th place overall on 119.75pt, just 4 points behind Jarno Salonen in 6th on 123.75pts. Despite missing the last two days of the Festival in Bratislava, Ville-Matti Keranen managed to cling on to 6th place on the final leaderboard, with 129.25 pts.

No Repeat Win for Franke

Franke would have had to multi-table the OFC and the Big O and go deep in both to have had a chance to defend the title he won in Malta, but opted not to, sticking to just his preferred format, OFC. He missed the money by a couple of spots, earning just 5 participation points on the final day, to end up in 10th position with 111.25 points. 

Medal Ceremony

Now, let’s take a closer look at the routes that the top three took to get to the top of the leaderboard, in reverse order

Bronze Medal – Bambi

Bambi only began to graze in the poker meadows of Banco Casino on Wednesday, the second day of the Festival in Bratislava. But he soon made his way onto the leaderboard, after making it onto the final table of the first event he played, the €125 Half N Half.  By Friday Bambi had firmly established himself in the top ten and continued to post good results for the rest of the series. 

He boosted his score on the final day by winning the Big O, which only had 37 entries. If it had been a slightly bigger field (over 50 entries) a multiplier of 1.5 would have been applied, which would have been enough for Bambi to frolic to victory in the Player of the Series race. Instead, he remains nothing but an orphaned deer, taking the theoretical bronze medal and over €10,000 in prize money back to his forest.

• Played: 13
• Cashes: 7
• Prize Money: €10,578

Silver Medal – Krystian Nalepka

Although he narrowly missed out on taking down the title, many will see Krystian Nalepka as the most consistent performer of the series. Nalepka played in less than a third of the events than Hakala did, but ended up just six points short of winning the Player of the Series race.  The Pole cashed in six of the eight he played in, booking two runner-up spots and two third place finishes. 

Had he finished just three places higher in the Big O, or just played a handful more events, he would have emerged as the Player of the Series. He ended up with no trophies, but over €17,000 in prize money. 

• Played: 8
• Cashes: 6
• Prize Money: €17,207

Gold Medal – Ville Hakala

Having lost out to compatriot Kare Hallamaa in Rozvadov and being pipped by Franke in Malta, Ville Hakala will be pleased to have finally ended his quest to become the Bratislava Player of the Series. The Finn entered 29 of the 32 ranking events, cashing in six, for a combined total of €2,990 in prize money. He made four final tables along the way, with his best result coming in the Bomb Pot Madness, in which he took 5th for 23.75 leaderboard points.

There is indeed more to this story than meets the eye, as for the first time, a betting market on the Player of the Series was opened up, by Epicbet. Ville was one of the most heavily backed runners in the market and is rumoured to have had a fair sized bet on himself. He’s certainly cashed for a lot more than the €2,990 he officially banked at Banco. And regardless of what it cost in buy-ins, Ville now has lifetime bragging rights, he will always be the 2025 Festival in Bratislava Player of the Series!

He’s had a remarkable journey this year. With two runner up finishes and now a win, Ville Hakala is now, without a shadow of doubt, also the 2025 Festival Series Player of the Year!

• Played: 29
• Cashes: 6
• Prize Money: €2,990

The Top Three – Leaderboard Journeys

The graph below shows where each of the top three were on the leaderboard, as The Festival in Bratislava unfolded. They all spent most of the week inside the top ten.

Final Leaderboard Top 100

Andrej Tekel was all in for his last 800k with 4 2 . Sebastian Kotowicz had him dominated with J 2 .

The 7 A 8 J 9 runout sealed the deal for the Polish national, and he became the first player in the history of The Festival Series to win back-to-back Main Events at the same stop. He also usurps Michel Molenaar at the top of the All-Time Money list.

That concludes the blog coverage of this Festival Series instalment. Congratulations to Sebastian, and he will be back to defend his title in February.

That’s all for now, folks. Stay tuned for the recap that will be up tomorrow.

Until next time.

Sebastian Kotowicz raised to 2,000,000 from the button with J 5 . Andrej Tekel defended with 8 5 . Tekel check-called a bet of 1,500,000 on Q 3 5 .

The 7 turn was checked around. On the A river, Tekel checked. Kotowicz moved all in. Tekel took 30 seconds before calling, and he was shown the bad news. He was left with 800k. “Come on!” exclaimed Kotowicz, as the dealer confirmed the counts.

Sebastian Kotowicz opened A K to 2,200,000 with the blinds at 500k/1m. Andrej Tekel called with K 10 . On the Q 7 10 , Kotowicz and Tekel both checked.

Tekel then check-called a bet of 1,100,000 on the 8 turn. The 5 river was checked down, and Tekel chipped up to near parity.

After several preflop all-ins and post-flop pick-ups, Andrej Tekel has lessened the deficit to 2:1.

Sebastian Kotowicz takes a 3.5/1 chip lead into the heads-up battle with Andrej Tekel. He is looking to become the first player in Festival Series history to win back-to-back Main Events.

David Urban moved all in from the button with 9 9 for 4,600,000. Sebastian Kotowicz called with A 7 .

Urban was eliminated across the 3 4 8 A 5 runout to take play heads-up.

Andrej Tekel moved all in from the button with A 7 for 23,000,000 with the blinds at 800k/1.6m. Sebastian Kotowicz snap-called with A K .

Kotowicz reclaimed his chip-leader position as his superior kicker proved best across the A 9 3 8 2 runout.

David Urban moved all in with K 10 . Andrej Tekel called with K Q .

Tekel’s superior king held across the 5 3 3 A 2 runout to secure the double. Tekel then continued to chip up by taking down pots uncontested in preflop all-ins.

Maximilian Meier moved all in with K 10 from under the gun for 3,400,000. David Urban called with A J ,

Urban flopped top pair on J 6 9 8 2 to eliminate Meier from the tournament.

Andrej Tekel opened K 9 from under the gun. Sebastian Kotowicz defended the big blind.

Kotowicz check-raised a bet of 500,000 to 1,700,000 on the 5 5 5 flop. Tekel then four-bet jammed and was snap-called by Kotowicz with J J . The 9 turn and 8 river changed nothing, and Kotowicz retook the chiplead.

David Urban opened A K from under the gun for 1,000,000. Tomas Stvrtecky three-bet to 2,500,000. Urban four-bet jammed as the covering stack and Stvrtecky called with Q Q .

Stvrtecky was eliminated across the 10 K 4 2 7 runout.

Michel Hamacek moved all in from the button for 2,200,000 with A 2 . Andrej Tekel called in the big blind with K 9 .

He flopped two pair and rivered a boat to eliminate the Czech national across the 9 6 K 7 K runout.

Andrej Tekel opened the button to 1,000,000. Jari Maehoenen moved all in from the big blind with A 9 . Tekel snap-called with K K .

Tekel flopped quads on the K 3 K 4 4 runout to eliminate the Finnish national.

Sebastian Kotowicz opened to 1,000,000 with the blinds at 250k/500k from the cutoff. Maximilian Meier moved all in from the small blind for 3,500,000. Kotowicz called.

Meier had 8 8 versus the two overs in the form of A Q . His pair held across the 2 9 10 2 5 .

David Urban moved all in for 4,100,000 from the hijack. Michal Hamacek moved all in over the top from the button. The blinds folded.

Urban flopped a set of nines across the K 9 2 8 4 runout to secure the double up and crack the queens of Hamacek.

Andrej Tekel opened to 800,000 with the blinds at 400k/800k with A 10 . Rikard Larsson moved all in for 2,400,000. Michal Hamacek moved all in for 4,200,000. Tekel folded.

Larsson had K K but Hamacek woke up with aces, and made top set across the A 2 3 10 6 flop to stack Larsson.

Tomas Stvrtecky moved all in from early position for 950,000 with K 6 . Jari Maehoenen called with 5 3 .

Stvrtecky paired his king across the Q 7 K A A runout to stay in the game.

Tomas Stvrtecky moved all in for 2,700,000 from the cutoff with A 5 . Michal Hamacek moved all in over the top from the button and had his opponent covered.

Hamacek’s pair held across the 4 9 Q 5 10 runout to leave Stvrtecky with 550,000.

Andrej Tekel opened the button with K 6 to 600,000 with the blinds at 150k/300k. Rikard Larsson moved all in for 1,300,000 with K Q .

Both hit the river but Tekel was outkicked across the J 2 10 J K runout to secure a crucial double.

Prior to that, he was all in and at risk twice and chopped both times.

Michal Hamacek called in the small blind, and Sebastian Kotowicz checked his option in the big blind. Hamacek led out for 400,000 on 7 8 8 . Kotowicz called.

Hamacek bet again on the A turn, this time for 550,000. Kotowicz called again. Hamacek then check-called a bet of 1,100,000 on the 10 river. Kotowicz had A 9 and Michal had A 9 for top two.

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Daniel Gumula moved all in from middle position with K J for 2,800,000 with the blinds at 250k/500k. Michal Hamacek moved all in over the top from the hijack.

Hamacek rivered a queen on the 3 7 9 6 Q to make Gumula the first elimination of final table play.

Wouter Schuurbiers (pictured) appears to be the biggest stack in the room in the €1,100 OFC High Roller. Registration will be closing at 6.40 p.m. CET. Fabian Bartuschk remains in the field, as does the Festival Founder Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk.

Andrej Tekel opened A Q from under the gun with the blinds at 125k/250k. Rikard Larsson called in early position with A J .

Tekel check-called a bet of 700,000 on J K 10 . Tekel then led for 550,000 on the 9 turn. Larsson then folded after a moment in the tank.

Check Out This Interview With Thony Sjölund & Joel Fritz. Don’t forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe to keep up to date with all things The Festival.

Michal Hamacek moved all in for 10 big blinds from the button with 8 8 over a middle position open to 400,000 from David Urban with the blinds at 100k/200k. Urban called with A A .

Hamacek binked an eight on the turn of the 2 3 9 8 4 runout to double up.

Click the video box below to follow the coverage of the €550 Main Event! Commentary is provided by JJ Hazan and special guests.

Having run queens into aces in the previous hand, Joel Fritz was left with 2 big blinds. Andrej Tekel had the winner with pocket fives after the runout was checked down in a multiway pot with Fritz all in.

Filip Pilic was on the wrong side of a cooler and departed in 11th. He had A Q against the A K of Daniel Gumula. The runout was 4 3 J 6 A .

David Urban opened to 250,000 on the button. Bas de Laat moved all in from the small blind. Urban snap-called with A A . de Laat had K J .

There was no miracle runout for the Dutchman, and he was eliminated across the 5 6 5 8 3 runout.

Maximilian Meier opened to 250,000 with the blinds at 60,000/120,000. Tomas Stvrtecky defended the big blind before check-calling a bet of 250,000 on K 7 5 . He check-called a bet of 650,000 on the J turn before leading for 825,000 on the 8 turn.

Meier then moved all in, sending Stvrtecky into the tank for a good four minutes. Stvrtecky folded, and he had K 7 . Meier had a bluff with A 10 . He tabled the 10 , and one of the players at the table believed Meier had the A .

Tomas Stvrtecky opened from under the gun with A K . Michal Hamacek called in early position with A K . Rikard Larsson moved all in for 2,200,000 from the big blind with sixes. Stvrtecky spent some time in the tank before folding, and Michal called. He was flopped near dead across the 6 8 10 4 4 runout.

Maximilian Meier moved all in from early position with A 8 for 1,400,000, around 11 big blinds. Tomas Stvrtecky called with Q Q .

Meier made the wheel straight across the 4 5 7 2 3 runout to secure a crucial double up.

The 2023 Bratislava Main Event Champion, Gabriel Rymar, has been eliminated on the outer table.

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Another elimination has occurred at the outer table, and it was the Swedish national Siamak Tahmoresnia who became chipless.

Daniel Koloszar has been eliminated on the outer table at Banco Bratislava. There are 14 left in the field, and a live stream is available for the feature table.

After doubling up in the first hand of the session, Rakel Dahle has been eliminated on the outer table in the €550 Main Event. If you would like to follow the action of the feature table, click below.

With just one day left and three ranking events still to be completed, the Player of the Series race at The Festival in Bratislava is poised for a photo finish. No players in the top 50 are left in the Main Event, but several did play and a few made the money. In order to get the clearest picture of who’s in the running to win the title, we’ve added any points for the Main Event to all 50 players on this penultimate leaderboard and there are just 7 points separating the top two. 

With just two ranking events – the Big O and the Open Face Chinese High Roller to be played on Monday (in addition to the Main Event, which has no further bearing on the Player of the Series race), any of the players in the top 10 could still end up victorious. 

The Front Runner – Krystian Nalepka

The standout performer of the series so far, with 148 points from just seven events played, Krystian Nalepka cashed in the Main Event, finishing in 17th place*, earning him 12.5 leaderboard points. He also finished runner up in the Sunday PLO5 Turbo PKO, for 31.25 pts, to jump up from 5th place to take pole position going into the last day of action. 

_{*Please note that an earlier edition of this article incorrectly had Nalepka’s Main Event finishing position listed as 18th. This is due to a discrepancy between PokerLens, where he is listed as the 18th place finisher and Banco’s tournament clock, which has the correct finishing position of 17th listed.}

The Challenger – Miles Rees

Just 7 points behind Nalepka is the UK’s Miles Rees, who didn’t play in the Main Event, but finished 3rd in the Mystery Bounty on Sunday, to earn 38.5 leaderboard points. 

Still Chasing – Ville Hakala

Just 15.25 points behind the leader on 132.75 pts is Finn Ville Hakala, who has been runner-up in the last two Player of the Series races and has attempted to buy the win this time, playing in an unprecedented 27 events, so far. He is certain not to give up on the final day and is expected to play in both the Big O and the OFC High Roller. But he’ll have to get in the money in at least one of them to be in with a chance of winning the whole shebang! 

Given Up the Ghost – Ville-Matti Keränen

Having been the leader for several days, Ville-Matti Keränen went AWOL from the Festival in Bratislava on Sunday, failing to enter any tournaments. Did he have other plans for the day, or has he gone home already, relinquishing his chance to take down the title? He has 129.25 pts and is in 4th place and could still challenge, if he returns to the casino on Monday.

What a Long Strange Trip Its Been – Fedor Stadtrucker

Just half a point behind in 5th place on 128.75 pts is Fedor Stadtrucker, who added 13.25 pts to his total for 12th place in the Sunday PLO5 Turbo PKO. He still hasn’t got his chips cashed in and will keep truckin’ on for the win, but the cards ain’t gonna be worth a dime unless he goes deep on Monday. 

The Chasing Pack

Outside the top five, several others can still win the Player of the Series title, with a strong showing on Monday. This includes defending champion Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk, who took second place in the Sportsbook tournament and cashed in the Main Event on Sunday, to keep his dream alive of going back-to-back.

But he’s over 40 points adrift of Nalepka and will have to go deep and cash in both of the final two events to stand a chance of retaining his title. He will likely have to win one of them to do it and is up for the challenge! Good luck Franke!

The Top 50 After Sunday

The Festival Series blog will be covering the outcome, as well as the conclusion of the Main Event. Good luck to all, may the cards be with you!

Please note that all leaderboard scores are unofficial, all results will be re-checked at the end of series before the Player of the Series is officially declared.

The field is guaranteed to walk away with €4,500 in The Main Event. All in attendance will be gunning for the whopping €78,100 first-place prize.

The last day will see a winner crowned in the week’s marquee Hold’em tournament, the €550 Main Event. The €1,100 Open Face Chinese High Roller is sure to attract a field of players all gunning for crucial leaderboard points.

There is also a €60 Texas Lowroller, which has an added package to the next Festival stop in Bratislava. Additionally, there is a €250 BigO tournament, which is PLO5 Hi-Lo.

Good luck to all players who are taking to the tables today.