Sergii Baranov Wins The Biggest €550 Mixed Game Event in Festival Series History – Two FT’s for ‘Franke’ and Kyte on Day 3 of The Festival Bratislava
A bumper schedule saw a jam-packed Banco Bratislava in full swing as The Festival Bratislava Day 3 passed. Winners were crowned in a myriad of different events in terms of format and buy-in, and there was truly something for everyone on yesterday's lineup. A Mixed Game Main Event champion was crowned, as was the first winner in Open Face Chinese, and in the first High Roller Event of the week, the €1,100 PLO High Roller. The Hendon Mob Championship field was also determined, as the final two flights ran yesterday. Here is a look at what happened.
€550 T.O.R.S.E.S. Main Event
The marquee Mixed Game Event of the week came to its conclusion, and 25 players all returned with Mixed Game Main Event glory on their mind, but only 14 would find the money, and only one trophy could be awarded. The event became the biggest Mixed Game event in The Festival Series history by a wide margin, eclipsing the 69 total entrants that came together in Malta for the first T.O.R.S.E.S. Main Event. The switch from H.O.R.S.E.S. to T.O.R.S.E.S. has clearly paid off, as this event attracted 102 total entrants across two flights, which just goes to show the increasing popularity of the Mixed Game scene in Europe. These entrants generated a total prize pool of €48,450.
Norwegian Mixed Game crusher Jon Kyte came into the day with the chip lead, and Finnish national Riku Koivurinne was his closest rival. The first Festival Series T.O.R.S.E.S. champion, Barrie Dear, couldn't put up a successful title defense from his victory last time out in Malta, and he was the unfortunate victim of the bubble.
Kyte kept chipping up and extended his lead by the time the 30-minute dinner break rolled around. Sergeii Baranov moved into second, and Koivurinne into third.
Unfortunately for the latter, he was to miss out on the final table. Kyte still had the lead, and within around 40 minutes, the field had cut from 7 to 4. Kyte had a 2:1 advantage on Baranov, and even more on the field, and it was Rolf Bechstrom, Joonas Lyttinen and Mattia Ruebenstrunk who departed in positions 5,6 and 7 respectively.
Gork was next to depart, and Hazan had retaken the chip lead. Hazan was feeling vocal, and during a hand between Baranov and Kyte, he occasionally sang songs, much to the dismay of his two opponents. The floor was called, and Hazan was no longer allowed to sing.
Kyte was next to go, leaving Hazan and Baranov heads-up. This didn't last long, and by the time this writer returned to the desk, Baranov had triumphed. Remarkably, this is his first Festival Series cash in his career, and he took home the €12,950 top prize on bullet number six. This win joins his resume of Mixed Game victories, which includes victories 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. Below are the payouts.
T.O.R.S.E.S. Main Event Payouts
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergii Baranov |  | €12,950 |
| 2 | JJ Hazan |  | €9,500 |
| 3 | Jon Kyte |  | €6,250 |
| 4 | Marc Gork |  | €4,250 |
| 5 | Rolf Bechstrom | | €3,000 |
| 6 | Joonas Lyttinen |  | €2,250 |
| 7 | Mattia Ruebenstrunk | | €1,750 |
| 8 | Riku Koivurinne | | €1,500 |
| 9 | Alexander Freund |  | €1,500 |
| 10 | Philipp Krieger | | €1,250 |
| 11 | Asgejr Lund | | €1,250 |
| 12 | Fedor Stadtrucker |  | €1,000 |
| 13 | Aaron Thiel | | €1,000 |
| 14 | "Bambi" | N/A | €1,000 |
€250 The Hendon Mob Championships
The Day 2 field in the €250 The Hendon Mob Championships has been confirmed, as the final two flights to the prestigious tournament ran yesterday. Vitalii Shcherba bagged the biggest stack from Flight 1/C, which saw 172 total entrants take to the felt. Scherba has already tasted victory this trip, as he won the Win the Button tournament on Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Twenty-two players from that flight progressed.
The 1/D Turbo Flight was the last chance saloon for the players in attendance. This flight saw 112 total entrants and 14 progressors. Ondrej Chlapek bagged the most chips and will come into Day 2 as the overall chip leader. Leo Hourtoulle (pictured) rounds out the podium, and he qualified through 1/A. The field will be back at 4 p.m. CET with the blinds at 4,000/8,000. Below are the top 10 counts that will be in the Day 2 field.
The Hendon Mob Championship Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Country | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ondrej Chlapek |  | 815,000 |
| 2 | Vitalii Shcherba | | 683,000 |
| 3 | Leo Hourtoulle |  | 668,000 |
| 4 | Arjen Witteveen |  | 610,000 |
| 5 | Krystian Nalepka |  | 499,000 |
| 6 | Tor Mienna | | 419,000 |
| 7 | John Lausch |  | 385,000 |
| 8 | Dmitry Golushko |  | 364,000 |
| 9 | Magnus Eidshaug | | 361,000 |
| 10 | Jakob Andersen |  | 353,000 |
€250 Open Face Chinese
The first of two Open Face Chinese events took place yesterday, and it proved popular with the players in attendance at this Festival Series stop. The tournament attracted 92 total entrants across the afternoon, and the tournament was won by Polish national Krzysztof Kordus, (pictured below) who fired six bullets into the event. With this victory, he becomes a multiple Festival Series Open Face Chinese champion, having won the €150 OFC in Rozvadov this summer. Popular streamer Scott 'Pokerbrahs' Kenyon was in for four bullets, finishing second, and The Festival Founder Martin 'Franke' von Zweigbergk was in for the same amount, and rounded out the podium. Here are the payouts.
OFC Payouts
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Krzysztof Kordus | | €3,900 |
| 2 | Scott Kenyon | | €3,615 |
| 3 | Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk | | €2,250 |
| 4 | Gilles Lamy | | €1,500 |
| 5 | Jarmo Salonen | | €1,500 |
| 6 | Giorgi Mevlupishvili |  | €1,050 |
| 7 | Mats Rosqvist | | €1,050 |
| 8 | Lena Bjorn | | €1,050 |
| 9 | Tomasz Walkowiak | | €750 |
| 10 | "Bambi" | NA | €750 |
| 11 | Simon Wilenius | | €750 |
| 12 | Ville Keraenen | | €500 |
| 13 | Thomas Lechner | | €500 |
| 14 | "Doncologne" | | €500 |
€1,100 PLO High Roller
The first High Roller of the week saw 46 total entrants, 8 of which qualified through the €150 Satellite that ran before the start of the tournament. It proved popular as the satellite guaranteed two tickets before the off. Martin 'Franke' von Zweigbergk found himself at his second final table of the day, but he was the victim of the bubble, having been all in and at risk three times. He won his first two all ins, but couldn't hit the third to make the money. Jon Kyte was also in the dual final table club, but he needed a top three finish to profit, having invested five bullets into this event. Fourtunately for Kyte, he made the first podium place.
Ultimately the event was won by a player from the satellite. Scottish national Graham Clarkson (pictured above) won €13,700, having done a deal with his heads-up opponent Simon Keating. Below are the payouts.
PLO High Roller Payouts
| Place | Name | Country | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Graham Clarkson | | €13,700 |
| 2 | Simon Keating |  | €11,500 |
| 3 | Jon Kyte | | €6,750 |
| 4 | Steven Tool |  | €5,000 |
| 5 | Dwayne Sluis | | €3,750 |
| 6 | Tomas Szabo | | €3,000 |
What's Next?
Another jam-packed day is on the cards here at Banco Bratislava. Check out today's schedule below to see what is on across the tournament floor today.
That's all for now, folks. Until next time.
