2025 The Festival Malta Day 3

The chip counts will be released upon the conclusion of this evening’s remaining tournaments.

Until next time.

The payouts have been announced in the 1,100 PLO High Roller. Only 13 remain of the 35 total entrants that have tried their luck in the first High Roller of this Festival Series in Malta.

Below are the chip counts of the remaining field. Olesandr Sadovyi leads the way, with Rozvadov Open Face Chinese winner Fabian Bartuschk tailing him in second.

Mixed Game madness continues at the Portomaso Casino as 85 remain in Crazy Pineapple PKO. The field is filled with familiar names that have taken to the felt over the first three days.

Ingela Charlez, Barrie Dear, Elias Eckstrom and Antoine Degiorgio are just a few notable names and Festival friends that remain in contention to win the fruitiest title of the week.

Atilla Erdei was all in and at risk versus the covering stack of Egi Adriaans. Adriaans had been applying max pressure since the deal and had retaken the chip lead after drawing close to parity before the deal was made.

Erdei had K Q and Adriaans had 10 9 . Adriaans binked a ten on the turn to secure the victory, trophy and 1,850 Cape Town package across the 5 6 8 10 4 .

Neither player could hardly believe it. Both exchange a handshake and an embrace. “Twenty years in the making”, said Adriaans in disbelief as both players went their separate ways.

There are nine left battling it out for the 350 8-Game title. As things stand, it is close at the top of the tree, with Johnny Andreassen, Ville Hakala and Markus Binder occupying the podium spots.

Last nights Sviten Special winner Martin Schamaun is currently fourth. Here are the current rankings as the final table approaches.

And this table below are the payouts.

Egi Adriaans and Attila Erdei have settled on a deal which will secure both players €11,400 apiece for their efforts.

They are now playing for the first-place prize of €14,271 plus the trophy €1,850 package to The Hendon Mob Championships in Cape Town, plus merchandise.

The first €1,100 tournament of this Festival Series Malta is currently in play. The PLO High Roller has 19 players remaining in the field and a level or so of registration left.

The Festival Series Rozvadov Open Face Chinese High Roller Winner Fabian Bartuschk is currently in the field, as well as Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk who is gunning for leaderboard points by the looks of things.

In a limped pot, the 2 9 5 flop was checked around. Egi Adriaans bet 300,000 on the 10 turn. Attila Erdei called. On the 6 river, Adriaans moved all in and was snap-called.

Erdei had two pair 9 6 but Adriaans had a straight with 8 7 .

He then made the nut flush in a preflop all in, going runner-runner after Erdei flopped a pair.

Adriaans then doubled again after getting it in with jacks on a queen high flop, versus a pair of sevens from Erdei.

Attila Erdei moved all in preflop. Egi Adriaans called after a moment in the tank. His Q 10 made trips to best Erdei’s K 7 across the 7 A 4 Q Q .

Adriaans then chipped down again across a couple of pots, before doubling up to 1,800,000 with K 3 versus Q 8 of Erdei. Erdei has at least a 5:1 advantage.

Action was picked up with Attila Erdei all in and at risk versus the covering stack of Egi Adriaans, who had taken the lead from Erdei. They were all in on the flop of 5 8 J . Adriaans had J 5 for two pair and Erdei was open-ended with 7 6 .

Erdei made his straight across the 7 turn and the 4 river.

Adriaans then stuck it to Erdei, winning numerous limped pots by jamming flop. A few hands later, he scored a 2,000,000 pot with 6 5 against Erdei’s A 5 . Adriaans had a straight across the 4 A 7 3 4 runout.

Due to being preoccupied by the Hendon Mob Championship, some events have gone slightly neglected this afternoon. One of them being the Blackjack Tournament that ran this afternoon in the foyer outside the tournament area.

The tournament attracted 21 total entrants, of which, only four found the money. Below are the payouts. Laur Sibold topped the small field event, and The Festival Founder Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk also found the money.

The field was in good spirits all round, as they were in the roulette tournament that took place yesterday. Below is a collection of photos from the event.

Robert Lim jammed for around 1,000,000 on the button. Attila Erdei called in the big blind. He had A Q , Lim had 7 6 . Lim turned a flush draw on 2 9 5 10 but couldn’t find a club, six or seven on the A river. Erdei and Adriaans decided to take a break before head-up begins.

Daniel Kuhlmann opened from early position to 300,000. Egi Adriaans moved all in for 1,975,000. Kuhlmann went into the tank before making the call. He had A Q and Adriaans had K J .

Adriaans took the lead and held across the J 7 8 3 9 to draw close to even with Attila Erdei.

Egi Adriaans opened from the small blind and Attila Erdei defended the big blind. Adriaans led for 350,000 on the flop of 8 7 Q . The 8 was checked around quickly before Adriaans led for 575,000 on the 5 river. Erdei then took a moment before announcing all in.

Adriaans went into the tank before folding. The players then took a 15 minute break and the chip race and counts were completed by the floor staff. Here is the state of play as the players retake their seats. Play resumes with the blinds at 50,000/125,000 with a 125,000 big blind ante.

Dennis Zetterman moved all in from under the gun for around 5 big blinds. Action folded around to Attila Erdei who moved all in from the small blind. Robert Lim folded in the big blind. Zetterman had 9 8 and Erdei had A A .

Zetterman flopped two pair on 9 8 2 before Erdei hit the A turn. The 7 was inconsequential and Erdei took the pot to take play four-handed.

Action was picked up with Kare Hallamaa all in and at risk versus the covering stack of Daniel Kuhlmann, who has managed to spin up his short stack to keep the pressure on the leaders. His 9 9 held against Hallamaa’s two overs in the form of A 10 across the Q 7 8 3 8 in what became a case of too many outs.

A field of 76 total entrants have become 24 in the 8-Game this afternoon. In the field are T.O.R.S.E.S Runner Up and third-place finisher Ben Sweetman and Ville Hakala (pictured), as well as Sviten Special Fourth Place Finisher Frank Visser.

T.O.R.S.E.S. Champion Barrie Dear, Antoine Degiorgio and Sviten Special Main Event Champion Ville Keranen have fallen short.

Dennis Zetterman opened to 160,000 from early position with the blinds at 40,000/80,000. Niklas Sundstorm moved all in from the cutoff for around 550,000. Egi Adriaans wasted little time in moving all in. Zetterman folded and the players showed down.

Adriaans had his favorite hand, 8 8 against Sundstrom’s A 10 . There was no sweat for Adriaans as the 4 6 7 7 9 gave him two pair and the remainder of Sundstrom’s stack.

Celine Helen Eidsto-Nyland moved all in from the big blind over a button open from Robert Lim. Nyland made the call, and she was ahead with 9 9 against Lim’s A Q .

Lim took the lead on the flop of 4 8 Q 4 5 runout to send Nyland to the rail. With this hand, amongst an accumulation of smaller pots, Lim has chipped up to rival Egi Adriaans for the chip lead, and is in second place by this blogger’s estimation.

Dennis Zetterman opened to 120,000 from early position. Kare Hallamaa jammed for 780,000 on the button. Zetterman tanked before calling. His 8 8 couldn’t crack the J J of Hallamaa across the 10 K 10 4 A runout.

After opening a few pots and getting jammed on, Kare Hallamaa’s stack has been on the decline. Celine Helen Eidsto-Nyland and Dennis Zetterman have been two of the beneficiaries of applying pressure.

Action was then picked up with Brian Calleja all in and at risk versus Egi Adriaans. Calleja had J J and Adriaans had K K . He held across the 10 Q 10 8 4 to eliminate the last remaining representative of the home team.

With that hand, Adriaans extended his chip-lead, and he has over 4,000,000 in front of him.

Egi Adriaans opened from early position to 105,000 with the blinds at 25,000/50,000 50,000 big blind ante. Daniel Kuhlmann moved all in for 415,000 from the small blind. Adriaans called.

Kuhlmann made a full house with Q Q across the 4 9 5 4 4 runout to hold against Adriaans A 2 .

Here is what is at stake in The Hendon Mob Championships.

Here is the payout table, which shows who has cashed for what in The Festival Series Malta Hendon Mob Championship.

Here is the official line-up of The Festival Series Malta Hendon Mob Championships.

The final table has already been reached in The Hendon Mob Championships. Peder Behr was the unlucky player to miss out on final table play, as he was eliminated by Egi Adriaans in a preflop all-in situation.

The players have two minutes left of Level 23, where the blinds are 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 big blind ante. The players are taking their 15-minute break as the final table is being set up and decorated. Chip counts and seat draw will be up when the floor have completed the chip race and updated the counts.

Kare Hallamaa has claimed the stacks of Sebastian Mortensen and Maria Koutsouki in two separate hands. Against Mortensen, who had K Q , Hallamaa eliminated him with A 8 across the 8 Q A J 9 runout.

Versus Koutsouki, he had pocket fours. Koutsouki had ace-eight suited. Hallamaa flopped a set leaving Koutsouki drawing to runner-runner for a straight. Her run came to an end when she was drawing dead on the turn.

The Festival Series’ Blackjack Tournament is currently in play in the foyer area outside the tournament area at the Portomaso Casino in Malta.

Last year, 29 entered the tournament based on the classic casino table game, and it was won by Marko Keskel of Estonia, who took home €1,280 for his efforts. Below are the payouts from last years event.

Currently in the field is Festival Team Member Melvin Schroen, The Festival Founder Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk, and Ingela Charlez, to name just a few of the 22-strong field.

Giuseppe Tredici moved all in for 230,000 from under the gun with the blinds at 15,000/30,000. Peder Behr called. Tredici flopped trips with A 6 on A 10 A . The turn 8 changed nothing, but Behr then spiked the 7 on the river to leave Tredici with 10,000.

He was then all in the big blind on the next hand. Kare Hallamaa opened to 60,000 in the cutoff. Dennis Zetterman three-bet to 160,000 from the small blind. Hallamaa called before folding to a flop bet of 100,000 on 5 5 3 . Zetterman had A K and Tredici had 9 2 . He found nothing to keep him alive on the 10 turn and A .

Brian Calleja jammed from the button and was called by Daniel Kuhlmann in the small blind. Calleja had him covered but both stacks were on the shorter end of the spectrum. Calleja’s J 5 was called by Kuhlmann’s K 6 .

Kuhlmann won the hand across the 9 J K 9 10 runout.

On the adjacent table, Maria Koutsouski doubled through Peder Behr. She had 2 2 which held against Behr’s K J across the 3 3 9 A 7 runout. The very next hand, Behr was all in for his last 100,000, and he doubled with A 4 versus Egi Adriaans 6 4 . The runout was 8 7 J J K .

Action was picked up with the dealer counting out 655,000 from the stack of Kare Hallamaa. Dennis Zetterman was the beneficiary, as he had top set on J 9 10 4 2 .

Action was picked up with Niklas Nyman all in and at risk versus suspected chip leader Kare Hallamaa. Nyman had K J and Hallamaa had him in bad shape with A K .

Nyman had the tables turned in his favour on the flop of J J A . The 8 changed nothing and the J upgraded both players hands, but quads for Nyman secured him a double up to 640,000, which is just shy of the average stack of 745,000.

In the 41-strong field in the 8-Game, there is a host of familiar faces, including but not limited to: home nation representative Antoine Degiorgio, newly crowned T.O.R.S.E.S Champion Barrie Dear, Sviten Special Weekend Main Event Champion Ville Keranen, last night’s Sviten Special fourth-place finisher Frank Visser, and friend of The Festival and fellow Brit Dan Pilgrim.

Currently the biggest stacks in the room belong to Kare Hallamaa, Attila Erdei and Dennis Zetterman, all of whom are sitting at just over the 1,000,000 mark.

On short-stack duties are the two remaining women in the field, Celine Helen Eidsto-Nyland and Maria Koutsouki, as well as Christophe Stammet.

Almost half the initial field that took to the felt today in the Hendon Mob Championships have departed the tournament area. Only 24 now remain fighting it out for the Hendon Mob Championship title.

Kare Hallaama has chipped up to contend, or has the chip lead in this event. The chip counts will be conducted at the break in a few minutes time.

Here is a round of bust outs from Day 2 of The Hendon Mob Championships here at Portomasso Casino in Malta.

Field continues to thin fast as The Hendon Mob Championships have reached the four-table redraw point. This means there are only 32 now remaining in the field of the 47 that took to the felt this afternoon. Here are the payouts in full.

The field has already decreased by 11 players here at the Portomaso Casino in Malta in Day 2 of the Hendon Mob Championships. Oliver Kubalek (pictured right), Martin ‘Franke’ von Zweigbergk and Oliver Mihajlovski are just three of those amongst the early departures. The trio all secured a min-cash of €400.

In 1/B of the Main Event, a field of 40 are at the tables from flag fall.

The race for the Festival in Malta Player of the Series is heating up, with four further qualifying events concluding on Tuesday at Portomaso Casino. However Oliver Kubalek, the overnight leader after Monday was not involved in any of these and he has now been usurped as the front-runner to take down the €1,600 Bratislava package. 

Mixed Main Event winner Barrie Dear laid down a challenge to the other glory hunters by winning the TORSES Mixed Games Main Event, which earned him 49 leaderboard points. He also took part in both the Sviten and the 2-7 Double Draw, however he failed to cash in either, but closed out the day with a total of 54 ranking points. 

But 54 points was not enough to put Barrie in pole position in the leaderboard race, as the TORSES runner up Benjamin Sweetman has claimed that honour. In addition to the 41 points he received for that, Sweetman also notched up an additional 20 points when finishing in 3rd place in the 2-7 Double Draw and now has the highest total so far, on 61 points.

Sviten winner Martin Schamaun is not far behind in 3rd on 51 points, but was one place away from topping the leaderboard, as he was the bubble boy in the TORSES. If he finished just one place higher, he would have been on 69 points.

Player of the Series Top 25

Read More: Full details on how the leaderboard points are awarded for the Festival in Malta

The Rozvadov Player of the Series top two Kare Hallamaa and Ville Hakala are also prominent on the leaderboard at this early stage in the proceedings. Hallamaa sits just outside the top ten in 11th place and once again seems to be employing the volume tactic of playing in as many events as he can, to rack up the participation points. His third place in Tuesday’s roulette tournament helped him to add 20 points to the 16 participation points he has racked up so far, bringing his total score up to 36. 

Hakala is doing slightly better, currently in 5th place with 45 points, earning most of his points so far from his 3rd place finish in the TORSES, but he is also playing the volume game and has participation points from three other events.

Frank Visser is in 6th place on 40 points, one point ahead of Oliver Kubalek and Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk, who both have 39 points. Franke earned most of his points thanks to his 5th place finish in the TORSES, but he has also made Day 2 of TheHendonMob Championship, so will be sure to have further points to add after Wednesday’s action has been completed. Other POS hopefuls Scott Kenyon and Antoine Degiorgio also both cashed yesterday and lie in joint 14th place with 33 points. 

It’s already shaping up to be quite a competitive race and there’s bound to be further changes at the top over the course of the next few days. No flicking, stay tuned to the Festival Series blog to follow all the action!

Read More: The Festival in Malta Player of the Series Leaderboard Standings After Day 2