A Look Back at The Festival Bratislava!
As The Festival Series has come to an end for this year, and the walls of Banco Bratislava have stopped shaking from the raucous laughter of Martin 'Franke' von Zweigbergk, the staff and players in attendance, now seems like the perfect time to look back at some of the highlights from on and off the felt. Here is a look back on the week's events from The Festival Bratislava.
€125 Chicago European Championships
The Festival Series hosted the record-breaking Chicago European Championships last week. Over 10 starting flights, 129 entrants played for points and tricks in Sweden's favourite family game, setting a world-record field in the process. The family game-come-poker tournament has proved to be popular amongst an eclectic range of nationalities. The Chicago School held, on Day 2 of this instalment, definitely helped sell the game to players, and everyone who has taken to the tables in this event has enjoyed their experience. The school was hosted by our very own hostess with the mostess, Christel Natri and interviewer extraordinaire Andreas "Wiseguy" Hoglund.
The event proved a hit. Over 30 players participated, and those in attendance came from the UK, Estonia, and everywhere in between. As expected, there was a strong Scandinavian presence at the tables, and all who partook had a blast learning this dynamic and nuanced game. That day's flight saw 24 entrants take to the felt at 11 p.m., a massive turnout! Here are the numbers from the flights, which saw a total prizepool of €11,913 being generated!
| Event | Entries | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1/A 18/11/25 | 8 | 2 |
| Day 1/B 18/11/25 | 8 | 2 |
| Day 1/C 19/11/25 | 4 | 1 |
| Day 1/D 19/11/25 | 24 | 6 |
| Day 1/E 20/11/25 | 8 | 2 |
| Day 1/F 20/11/25 | 24 | 6 |
| Day 1/G 21/11/25 | 11 | 3 |
| Day 1/H 21/11/25 | 27 | 7 |
And The Title Goes To...Finland!
The record-breaking event saw 29 return for the final Day, and only 8 players would find the money, meaning the points were at a premium. The final four were comprised of one Swede, two Norwegians and one Finnish national. Here are some quotes from the final tablists.
The sole Swede, Per Jörgen Bergström, said "it is my favourite game" and that "he has been playing for years".
Finnish national Verneri Hakkinen said, "I got lucky to be here, I got good cards all the way through." He considered "The Swede" to be the favourite in this tournament.
Norwegian national John Boine said, "I saw the schedule and thought I would give it a go. I've played something similar before in Norway called Poker Cool; it's basically the same." He also considered Bergstroem to be the favourite.
The second Norwegian, Morten Antonsen, said, "My friend knows how to play, and I have been playing with them, so I thought I would have a go. I don't know who the favourite is, but it won't be me. If there's a Swede, it is probably him. This is my first time playing properly."
Ultimately, the title went to Finland, and Veneri Hakkinen became the first The Festival Series champion in the Chicago Championships! Congratulations to Verneri, and we hope to see him back to defend his title, and that more come to play this great game. To learn more about Chicago, click here. Below are the payouts and a demonstration video, showing a hand of Chicago!
€125 Chicago European Championship Payouts
| Position | Name | Country | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verneri Hakkinen | | €3,513 |
| 2 | Morten Antonsen | | €2,400 |
| 3 | John Boine | | €1,800 |
| 4 | Per Jörgen Bergström | | €1,200 |
| 5 | Bambi | | €900 |
| 6 | Mattias Sundstrom | | €900 |
| 7 | Niclas Fagerberg | | €600 |
| 8 | Martin 'Franke' von Zweigbergk | | €600 |
"Franke" the "Fish" Flips His Way To Victory
A staple of The Festival Series is Franke's Flip Flops, a series of stand-and-go flips in which players compete to make the best hand to win ranking points. The more flips you win, the more points you get. The flips are played with four cards per player; each player reveals one card preflop, then one card per preflop street. The top-performing flippers then go into a final flip-off, and of course, the Boss had to be there. He flipped his way to victory and won himself a package to the next Festival stop in Bratislava, worth €1,800. Even better news for 'Franke' is that he gets to keep his beloved footwear, which has been a prize on offer throughout the history of The Festival Series.
There were also flips for Main Event tickets, to get into one of the €550 starting flights, or straight into Day 2 itself. 'Franke' was at the centre of it all again, and he won two Main Event tickets to the final Day 1 flights. On the eve of Day 2's start, he flipped his way into the field and came into play with a stack of 400,000, worth around average. At The Festival Series, it's all about opportunities and taking them as offered. 'Franke' is a generous man, and he donated his Main Event tickets to a few team members so they could play in the week's marquee Hold'em Tournament. I was the fortunate recipient of one of these tickets, as 'Franke' made a full house in a full ten-handed flip. To cut a long story short, this poker writer made a run and cashed in 21st place for €3,600, with half the winnings going back to the boss, which goes to show even when he doesn't play, he still wins!
Record-Breaking €250 Sviten Special
Sviten Special is quickly becoming one of Sweden's most popular exports in recent years, as evidenced by the bumper fields that are taking to the felts in these tournaments at The Festival Series. The Festival Series Malta saw 101 take to the felt, and this time, 131 entrants tried their hand at this split-pot game, setting a new world record for the most entrants in a Sviten tournament, according to thehendonmob.com.
Within 45 minutes of the tournament start, 74 total entrants had already made their way to the tables, setting a good pace to break the record. The record was set at the Kings of Tallinn in a €250 Pot-Limit Six-Max event.
Riku Koivurinne won that tournament in Estonia, and he was in the field here in Bratislava. He was made aware that history and prestige were on the line, as he would hold one of, if not the most unique titles in poker history, if he were to win the two biggest Sviten tournaments to date.
Koivurinne got his shot at glory. He made it to the final table of this event after a marathon session at the tables. He had some work to do to catch the then-current POS leader, and Sviten Special Weekend Main Event champion Ville Keränen, if he was to take down the title.
The two Finns ended up heads-up, and Koivurinne had clawed back some of the deficit. However, it was Keranen's day, and he managed to take down Koivurinne within an hour of head-up play, denying Koivurinne his unique accolade. Keränen secured his place at the top of the POS Leaderboard and his third Festival Series title. Below are the final table payouts. To learn more about this amazing game, click this link here, and check out the video below the payout table, where Sascha Manns and Alari Renas play out a hand.
Sviten Final Table Payouts
| Place | Name | Country | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ville Keränen | | €5,826 |
| 2 | Riku Koivurinne | | €4,075 |
| 3 | Yurii Rassamakin | | €2,975 |
| 4 | Fabio Bianchi | | €2,250 |
| 5 | Marc Gork | | €1,775 |
| 6 | Bambi | | €1,425 |
| 7 | Carlo Braccini | | €1,175 |
The Bridesmaid Becomes the Bride! Ville Hakala Wins POS
Over the course of the week, leaderboard points were on the players' minds at Banco Bratislava. The player with the most points at the end of the stop wins a package to the next Festival Series stop. However, there was one man who had it on his mind more than most, and that man was Ville Hakala. Hakala has had the unfortunate accolade of finishing second in back-to-back Player of the Series leaderboards. He finished second to his good friend and compatriot Kare Hallamaa in Rozvadov in the summer, and then again to Martin 'Franke' von Zweigbergk at the previous stop in Malta. Hallamaa was a runaway winner in Rozvadov, but he was much closer to 'Franke' in Malta.
Hakala made the most of his time at Banco Bratislava, playing 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. He was also at the top of the market on Epicbet for the POS title, and he was one of the most backed players to take it down over the week. It is rumoured that he had a healthy wager on himself, and he will be a happy man to round off the year as the Player of the Series. Congratulations Ville! Below are the top 10 finishers from this year's leaderboard. Click here for a more in-depth look at the final day of POS action, and here to see how the points are calculated.
Final POS Leaderboard Top 10
| Position | Player | Total Points | Events Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ville Hakala | 156.25 | 29 |
| 2 | Krystian Nalepka | 150.5 | 8 |
| 3 | Bambi | 149.5 | 13 |
| 4 | Miles Rees | 148.5 | 12 |
| 5 | Fedor Stadtrucker | 133.75 | 16 |
| 6 | Ville Keränen | 129.25 | 7 |
| 7 | Jarmo Salonen | 123.75 | 15 |
| 8 | Paddy Schmidt | 119.75 | 16 |
| 9 | Asterios Kokompelis | 117.25 | 9 |
| 10 | Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk | 111.25 | 16 |
Hospitality Events
There is a lot more to The Festival Series than just poker. Every schedule comes packed with off-the-felt activities, and this time in Bratislava was no different. As part of the online package, winners are entitled to take part in Hospitality Events. They were treated to a myriad of events, starting with welcome drinks at the casino and the very popular Chicago School. On Thursday, players were treated to lunch and a brewery tour at The Flagship, one of the largest restaurants in Europe. On Friday, players participated in a Treasure Hunt through the scenic Old Town in Bratislava, searching for clues and riddles. These events offer players the chance to get to know their fellow tablemates better; these experiences are ones that players are sure not to forget. On Saturday, competitive spirits flared as players took to the lanes in the annual bowling bonanza. Players enjoyed friendly competition and banter as they pursued bowling supremacy throughout the afternoon. Sunday saw players visit the home of HC Slovan Bratislava, the capital city's Ice Hockey team. Bratislava won 3-0 that day, beating HK Dukla Michalovce. The Hospitality schedule rounded off with a Guided Tour & Goodbye Toast, so players had a chance to say a warm goodbye in the Bratislavan cold over a glass of mulled wine. A brilliant way to end any trip!
Feedback From the Players
Several players in attendance have been kind enough to leave some positive feedback about their experiences during the week.
Riitta Sahala of Finland said: "It was very well organised, and great communication about the schedule. I enjoyed bowling the most as it was really a group activity, and I made new friends. It was fun to see that people were competitive but still cheered for everyone."
Half Norwegian, half South African Francois Mouton said: "The hospitality package transformed The Festival in Bratislava into more than a poker event. It turned the week into an actual holiday, with poker as only one part of a fantastic overall experience."
French-Finnish national, Frédéric Janik, said, "I enjoyed the hospitality events very much. Friendly people all around, will come back."
The brothers Ekstrom, Isac and Elias of Sweden, had some kind words in general about The Festival. Elias said, "I love The Festival because of the amazing people you meet along the way." Isac added: "I like The Festival because of all the people you meet and the whole atmosphere, the vibe is great, and of course, all the different poker games."
Riko Penttinen said: "I had to prioritise sleep and skip most of the events after the first few days, but still left a good vibe about the Package. MTT's + cash games until 6 am isn't the best with early mornings."
What's Next?
The Festival Series has come to an end for 2025, but it will return in 2026 bigger and better than ever, with seven live stops and two online events. There will be action aplenty across the card rooms of Europe next year for The Festival Series. We hope to welcome you all back to Bratislava from February 23rd to March 1st. To check out the full schedule for next year's stops, click here.
That's all for now, folks. Until next time.
