Stay tuned to the recap of today’s action from here at the King’s Resort in Rozvadov, Czechia.
Stay tuned to the recap of today’s action from here at the King’s Resort in Rozvadov, Czechia.
Oleksandr Saovyi of Ukraine has won the €250 PLO Masters tournament here at the King’s Resort in Rozvadov.
He overcame Kare Valtteri Hallamaa of Finland heads-up, overcoming a decent sized chip deficit in the process and bagging a score of €4,909 players after around seven hours of play here at The Festival series and becomes our second PLO champion. Below is the payouts table.
| Position | Player | Nationality | Payout |
| 1 | Oleksandr Sadovyi | Ukraine | €4,909 |
| 2 | Kare Valtteri Hallamaa | Finland | €3,490 |
| 3 | Manuel Koeberl | Austria | €2,285 |
| 4 | Volodymyr Hera | Ukraine | €1,758 |
| 5 | Martin “Franke” Von Zweigbergk | Sweden | €1,392 |
| 6 | Joaquim Ferreira | Portugal | €1,089 |
| 7 | Hermanus Rutten | Netherlands | €857 |
| 8 | Christopher Berthold | €669 | |
| 9 | Allan Arjut | Estonia | €509 |
| 10 | Danail Lyubomirov Zhelev | Bulgaria | €446 |
| 11 | Tolga Karakaya | €446 |
The PLO Masters is down to its final three players, who have all secured a four-figure score for their efforts here at King’s Resort in Rozvadov.
Festival founder “Franke” Von Zweigbergk fell in fifth place, securing the second of six four-figure sums for his efforts. Below is the current payout list.
| Position | Player | Nationality | Payout |
| 1 | €4,909 | ||
| 2 | €3,490 | ||
| 3 | €2,285 | ||
| 4 | Volodymyr Hera | Ukraine | €1,758 |
| 5 | Martin “Franke” Von Zweigbergk | Sweden | €1,392 |
| 6 | Joaquim Ferreira | Portugal | €1,089 |
| 7 | Hermanus Rutten | Netherlands | €857 |
| 8 | Christopher Berthold | €669 | |
| 9 | Allan Arjut | Estonia | €509 |
| 10 | Danail Lyubomirov Zhelev | Bulgaria | €446 |
| 11 | Tolga Karakaya | €446 |
The final three players are: Manuel Koeberl, Oleksandr Sadovyi and Kare Valtteri Hallamaa. Who will come out on top?
It’s official! The Festival Series here in Rozvadov, Czechia, has hosted the largest ever field assembled for The Hendon Mob Championships! Not just in Europe, but the entire world!
The total entrants currently stands at 1,611 players, eclipsing the record set at the Lincoln Resort in the United States of America in 2023.
Only 9 remain in the €250 PLO Masters tournament here at King’s Resort in Rozvadov. One of which is The Festival’s very own head honcho, Martin “Franke” Von Zweigbergk!
Here is the final table seat draw.
| Seat | Player | Nationality |
| 1 | Manuel Koeberl | Austria |
| 2 | Christopher Berthold | |
| 3 | Joaquim Ferreira | Portugal |
| 4 | Allan Arjut | Estonia |
| 5 | Martin “Franke” Von Zweigbergk | Sweden |
| 6 | Oleksandr Sadovyi | Ukraine |
| 7 | Volodymyr Hera | Ukraine |
| 8 | Kare Valtteri Hallamaa | Finland |
| 9 | Hermanus Rutten | Netherlands |
Below is the payout structure.
| Position | Player | Nationality | Payout |
| 1 | €4,909 | ||
| 2 | €3,490 | ||
| 3 | €2,285 | ||
| 4 | €1,758 | ||
| 5 | €1,392 | ||
| 6 | €1,089 | ||
| 7 | €857 | ||
| 8 | €669 | ||
| 9 | €509 | ||
| 10 | Danail Lyubomirov Zhelev | Bulgaria | €446 |
| 11 | Tolga Karakaya | €446 |
Across all flights, a total of 1,550 have entered this year’s Hendon Mob Championship here in Rozvadov!
Currently in Flight 1C, 71 players are remaining of 501 at the start of Level 17. The blinds are at 8,000/16,000 with a 16,000 big blind ante.
In Flight 1D, 267 remain of 346 players. The field is retaking their seats as they were sent on break ten minutes ago. The blinds will resume at 400/800 with an 800 big blind ante, and registration remains open for six more levels, so there is still plenty of time for the record to be broken today!
In 15-minutes, one of the highlight events of The Festival is set to start at 8 p.m.
Franke’s Flips Flops is set to take place at the tables near the tournament registration area! For just €25, you can flip your way to glory in a series of “stand and goes” in a quest to win a pair of Franke’s fabled flip flops and tournament credits! Come in the fun!
The flips will take place at tables 18 and 19.
Half way through the third level of the Hendon Mob Championship here at King’s Resort, Rozvadov, a field of 243 are in play and a total of 273 entries have been made on the final flight of the day!
Across all flights, a grand total of 1,500 have entered into the Hendon Mob Championship, meaning the record of 1,605 is at threat of being smashed.
There are currently only four entries to the €80 Super Satellite here in Rozvadov, meaning registration remains open for the time being.
Half way through the start of Level 1 here in King’s Resort, Rozvadov, a field of 160 have assembled to battle it out in Flight 1D of the Hendon Mob Championship.
The field consists of 19 qualifiers via the €40 satellite that ran from 3 p.m. till 6 p.m. today.
The results are in from the satellite to 1D of the Hendon Mob Championship here in Rozvadov.
Maximilian Leopold Drechsel missed out on the €140 cash, which would have meant he only needed to add €10 to the cash to buy-in to the flight directly. Below are the full results.
| Position | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Franz Dominik Fischer | €150 Ticket |
| 2 | Arthur Theodor Szczap | €150 Ticket |
| 3 | Thierry Emile C Garin | €150 Ticket |
| 4 | Jose Manuel Zorrilla Benitez | €150 Ticket |
| 5 | Roei Yamin | €150 Ticket |
| 6 | Quoc Khanh Nguyen | €150 Ticket |
| 7 | Mario Wagner | €150 Ticket |
| 8 | Rudolf Johann Wagner | €150 Ticket |
| 9 | Lucas Aaron Wilson | €150 Ticket |
| 10 | Sven Josef Gensmueller | €150 Ticket |
| 11 | Emmanouil Saloustros | €150 Ticket |
| 12 | Laviniu Manea | €150 Ticket |
| 13 | Martin Krizak | €150 Ticket |
| 14 | Jussi Petteri Pohjanharju | €150 Ticket |
| 15 | Mario Nobile | €150 Ticket |
| 16 | Dennis Fieberg | €150 Ticket |
| 17 | Jamal I F Ali | €150 Ticket |
| 18 | Tanja Fischer | €150 Ticket |
| 19 | Perica Maric | €150 Ticket |
| 20 | Matthias Wieser | €140 Cash |
Only 21 are left in the field in the €40 satellite for Flight 1D of the Hendon Mob Championships, which is scheduled to take place tonight at 6 p.m.
With just two-minutes left to in Flight 1C of the Hendon Mob Championship here in Rozvadov, the flight has received a total of 501 entrants over the first 10-levels of play. A field of 197 remain in this flight.
Of the 89 entrants into the satellite to Flight 1D of the Hendon Mob Championship, 45 remain in pursuit of a ticket to the €150 event. Below are the payouts.
| Position | Prize |
| 1-19 | €150 Ticket |
| 20 | €140 Cash |
The field of 249 have retaken their seats as play as resumed here in Rozvadov in flight 1C of the Hendon Mob Championship.
This flight’s total entries has reached a total of 464 players and registration remains open for two levels, inclusive of the one that is currently in play now. Action resumes at Level 9 with the blinds at 1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 big blind ante.
The second PLO of this installment of The Festival series in Rozvadov is about to get underway shortly.
This event has currently attracted 17 players so far, including yesterday’s €150 PLO Championship winner Horst Boeschen. Last years Rozvadov Mixed Game Main Event winner Sascha Manns is also ed to take to the felt in five-minutes time.
The field in Day 1C of the Hendon Mob Championship have been sent on a 40-minute break. Currently, 252 remain of a total of 446 entrants. This flight has seen 330 unique player entries. When play resumes, there will be two levels of late registration, and the blinds will be 1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 big blind ante.
In the satellite to 1D, 49 of the 55 remain of the total entrants. Of the total, 52 are unique entrants. Registration remains open for four more levels, and level 4 is about to start with the blinds at 200/400 with a 400 big blind ante.
A field of 27 is about to take to the felt in the €40 satellite to flight 1D of the Hendon Mob Championship. Late registration is open for 8 levels and with unlimited reentries.
1D itself starts at 6 p.m today.
Currently 276 are in the field of the first Hendon Mob Championship flight of the Day!
Flight 1C has attracted 405 total entrants, 320 of which are unique! There are still 3 Levels of registration left, approximately an hour and a half in duration.
Across all flights so far, The Hendon Mob Championship has seen a resounding 1,113 total entrants!
Last years Schafkopf champion Dieter Josef Stapfer has taken to the felt to defend his title!
A field of 169 have assembled to play in the King’s Europa Schafkopf that is scheduled to commence at 2 p.m.
Lat year the event saw Dieter Stapfer of best a field of 248 entrants to take home the first place prize of €7,100!
For the next 45-minutes to an hour, come down to the Fan Zone to challenge Mairo at Air Hockey, Andreas at Darts, or me at Foosball!
Up for grabs are 6 tickets per event worth €25 each to Frankes Flips, which take place tonight at 8 p.m. Up for grabs is a priceless, timeless award, a pair of Franke’s very own flip flops.The flips will take place at the tables near to the tournament registration desk.
Everyone is welcome to in the Fan Zone fun to take on The Festival team. Will you take up the challenge?
A field of 257 remaining players have gone on a break for 20-minutes. The total number of entrants stands at 318!
Of the €300,000 guaranteed prize pool, a total of €150,900 has been collected so far across all flights to the Hendon Mob Championship Day 2!
After just an hour and a half of play has elapsed here in Rozvadov, and already Flight 1C has reached 245 unique player entries. There have been 17 re-entries, taking the total to 262!
Day 2 of The Festival is already underway here in Rozvadov, with The Hendon Mob Championship Flight 1C up and running.
The first flight of the Day has already attracted 163 entrants since the cards were first shuffled up and dealt at 11 a.m. local time. Expect this number to grow exponentially, and it would be no surprise if the 500 runner mark is met.
Presiyan Georgiev Tsvetanov, the reigning Main Event Champion, has taken to the felt once more in the Hendon Mob Championships to try and bag a stack for Day 2. Tsevtanov played Day 1A yesterday, but to no avail.
At 2 p.m., the King’s Schafkopf Europa Meisterschaft gets underway. Schafkopf is known as “The King of Bavarian card games” in its country of origin, .
The event is expected to see a solid turnout, and it would be no surprise to see the reigning champion Dieter Josef Stapfer take to the felt to defend his title.
For more information on Schafkopf, and a peek at the trophy, click here.
The second PLO tournament of The Festival also commences today. The €250 Pot Limit Omaha Masters starts at 4 p.m. with a €20,000 prize pool. Horst Boeschen took the first PLO title down yesterday, winning €3,246 after just over seven hours of play. Maybe he will return today and take down another title in the four-card streets.
Two satellites will also be running today; firstly, at 3 p.m., there will be a satellite to Day 1D of the Hendon Mob Championships, which also starts later on today from 6 p.m. Entry to the Hendon Mob 1D satellite is €40, and registration is open and unlimited for 8 levels.
The second satellite of the day is the €80 super satellite to the Main Event, which starts at 7 p.m. Unlimited re-entries for 8 levels also feature in this structure.
Stay tuned to the live blog and social media platforms for continued coverage from The Festival here in Rozvadov.
Registration has closed in Flight 1B of the Hendon Mob Championships. This flight saw 313 total entries, 232 unique buy-ins and 81 re-entries.
Of the 227 entries, 164 were unique and 63 were re-entries in the first flight here in Rozvadov. Of the total, 29 have bagged and tagged for Day 2.
Adrijan Bat of Serbia has secured a stack of 1,015,000, a Main Event ticket worth €550, plus a guaranteed cash of €300.
Suren Saiian of Ukraine took place with 828,000 and the second Main Event ticket on offer, as well as €300.
In third, is Johann Gabriel Cintea of , who secured a stack 603,000.
After just over seven hours, the €150 PLO Championship has found a winner, and the first winner of The Festival in Rozvadov!
German national Horst Guenter Boeschen has won the event for a total score of €3,246, besting Tiago Martins heads-up. Martins claimed second for €2,255 and Ville Hakala claimed the third podium spot with a score of €1,491. Below is the full table of payouts.
| Position | Player | Country | Payout |
| 1 | Horst Guenter Boeschen | €3,246 | |
| 2 | Tiago Santos Martins | Portugal | €2,255 |
| 3 | Ville Hakala | Finland | €1,491 |
| 4 | Yurii Rassamakin | Ukraine | €1,167 |
| 5 | Victor Joachim Bubak | €941 | |
| 6 | Alexander Hofmann | €733 | |
| 7 | Aviv Cohen | Israel | €581 |
| 8 | Yehuda Cohen | Israel | €452 |
| 9 | Volker Markus David Bloehs | €342 | |
| 10 | Jochen Rahmer | €263 | |
| 11 | Eddie Erik Cronholm | Sweden | €263 |
| 12 | Mindaugas Gudzinskas | Lithuania | €244 |
| 13 | Johannes Goossens | Netherlands | €244 |
Yurii Rassamakin from Ukraine was eliminated just before the break. He bagged a score of €1,167 for his efforts.
The final three are: Horst Guenter Boeschen from , Ville Hakala of Finland and Tiago Martins (pictured, right) of Portugal.
| Position | Player | Country | Payout |
| 1 | €3,246 | ||
| 2 | €2,255 | ||
| 3 | €1,491 | ||
| 4 | Yurii Rassamakin | Ukraine | €1,167 |
| 5 | Victor Joachim Bubak | €941 | |
| 6 | Alexander Hofmann | €733 | |
| 7 | Aviv Cohen | Israel | €581 |
| 8 | Yehuda Cohen | Israel | €452 |
| 9 | Volker Markus David Bloehs | €342 | |
| 10 | Jochen Rahmer | €263 | |
| 11 | Eddie Erik Cronholm | Sweden | €263 |
| 12 | Mindaugas Gudzinskas | Lithuania | €244 |
| 13 | Johannes Goossens | Netherlands | €244 |
The final five is now the final four in the €150 PLO Championship. German national Victor Joachim Bubak is the latest player to hit the rail, meaning the remaining players are guaranteed a four-figure payout.
| Position | Player | Country | Payout |
| 1 | €3,246 | ||
| 2 | €2,255 | ||
| 3 | €1,491 | ||
| 4 | €1,167 | ||
| 5 | Victor Joachim Bubak | €941 | |
| 6 | Alexander Hofmann | €733 | |
| 7 | Aviv Cohen | Israel | €581 |
| 8 | Yehuda Cohen | Israel | €452 |
| 9 | Volker Markus David Bloehs | €342 | |
| 10 | Jochen Rahmer | €263 | |
| 11 | Eddie Erik Cronholm | Sweden | €263 |
| 12 | Mindaugas Gudzinskas | Lithuania | €244 |
| 13 | Johannes Goossens | Netherlands | €244 |
The final table of nine has quickly become five in the PLO Championship! Since reaching the final table, it has taken around a level for the remaining players to be whittled down and for play to continue five-handed. Here is an updated payout table, with the final five guaranteed €941 for their effort thus far.
| Position | Player | Country | Payout |
| 1 | €3,246 | ||
| 2 | €2,255 | ||
| 3 | €1,491 | ||
| 4 | €1,167 | ||
| 5 | €941 | ||
| 6 | Alexander Hofmann | €733 | |
| 7 | Aviv Cohen | Israel | €581 |
| 8 | Yehuda Cohen | Israel | €452 |
| 9 | Volker Markus David Bloehs | €342 | |
| 10 | Jochen Rahmer | €263 | |
| 11 | Eddie Erik Cronholm | Sweden | €263 |
| 12 | Mindaugas Gudzinskas | Lithuania | €244 |
| 13 | Johannes Goossens | Netherlands | €244 |
In the Hendon Mob Championship Flight 1B, 177 players remain of the 257 total entrants! With three levels left of registration, that number is bound to grow over the next hour or so.
Currently the tournament is at Level 6 with the blinds at 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante. Flight 1A saw a total of 227 entrants, and only 40 remain at Level 15 with the blinds at 5,000/10.000 with a 10,000 big blind ante.
In Prague, 52 players are currently in Day 1B in the King’s Casino at the Hilton Hotel, with 61 entrants being made. There, the blinds are also at 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante during Level 6 of play.
Only 10 remain in the PLO! Here is the updated payout table and with the players now on the final table bubble.
The 2023 Coolbet €550 Main Event Bratislava Champion Ville Hakala (pictured below) is in the field, and he will be looking to add another title to his collection here at The Festival.
| Position | Player | Country | Payout |
| 1 | €3,246 | ||
| 2 | €2,255 | ||
| 3 | €1,491 | ||
| 4 | €1,167 | ||
| 5 | €941 | ||
| 6 | €733 | ||
| 7 | €581 | ||
| 8 | €452 | ||
| 9 | €342 | ||
| 10 | €263 | ||
| 11 | Eddie Erik Cronholm | Sweden | €263 |
| 12 | Mindaugas Gudzinskas | Lithuania | €244 |
| 13 | Johannes Goossens | Netherlands | €244 |
The players in the PLO Championships are now in the money!
Unfortunately for Helga Droege, she missed out on the money as she was eliminated by chip leader Tiago Martins.
Action was picked up with Droege at risk for around 45,000 against Martins, who as an estimated stack of around 275,000.
Helga Droege: A K 6 6
TIago Martins: A 4 Q J
The J 5 K Q 3 runout provided two pair for Martins and Droege was sent to the rail.
Only 15 remain of the 97 entrants in the €150 PLO Championship, with only the top 13 being paid. Here are the payouts.
| Position | Payout |
| 1 | €3,246 |
| 2 | €2,255 |
| 3 | €1,491 |
| 4 | €1,167 |
| 5 | €941 |
| 6 | €733 |
| 7 | €581 |
| 8 | €452 |
| 9 | €342 |
| 10-11 | €263 |
| 12-13 | €244 |
The results are in from King’s Casino in Prague! Seventeen have progressed to Day 1 through the satellite.
Unfortunately for Benjamin Hiller, he missed out on the €120 cash prize and a €150 ticket as he fell victim to the bubble. Below are the full results.
| Player | Country | Payout |
| Tomas Prokop | Czechia | €150 Ticket |
| Ondrej Bohm | Czechia | €150 Ticket |
| Viktor Kostik | Czechia | €150 Ticket |
| Vasyl Ravlyk | Ukraine | €150 Ticket |
| Martin Kuba | Czechia | €150 Ticket |
| Pavel Novak | Czechia | €150 Ticket |
| Patrik Kabrna | Czechia | €150 Ticket |
| Kamil Kotera | Czechia | €150 Ticket |
| Ivo Masek | Czechia | €150 Ticket |
| Radek Suntil | Czechia | €150 Ticket |
| Miroslav Otava | Czechia | €150 Ticket |
| Valerii Kalynych | Ukraine | €150 Ticket |
| Roman Holota | Czechia | €150 Ticket |
| Martin Dolezalek | Czechia | €150 Ticket |
| Marek Petric | Slovakia | €150 Ticket |
| Adam Charles Placek | United Kingdom | €150 Ticket |
| Siegfried Dold | €120 |
In Prague, 18 remain in the first satellite to the Hendon Mob Championship. One player will leave empty-handed, with 17th place receiving €120 for their efforts. The top 16 will receive a ticket to the €150 Hendon Mob Championship.
The €150 PLO Championship and the 1A Flight to the €150 Hendon Mob Championship has now closed.
The PLO Championship attracted a field of 93 players with 28 remaining when play resumes in 15-minutes at Level 9 with the blinds at 1,000/2,000 with a big blind ante.
1A of the Hendon Mob Championship saw 227 total entries and 89 remain to battle it out for a place at the table come Day 2. The blinds are currently set at 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 big blind ante at the start of Level 11.
Flight 1B of The Hendon Mob Championship is underway here in Rozvadov and has already attracted a total of 100 entrants over the first 45-minutes of play.
With late registration closed in 1A, the field size could grow in this flight as players hit the rail after their first attempt at making Day 2.
The blinds are currently at 200/400 with a 400 big blind ante in Level 2, meaning there is plenty of time to and get involved!
King’s Resort in Rozvadov isn’t the only venue where you can qualify for the prestigious Hendon Mob Championship.
Registration has closed in the first satellite running in the Czech capital, which has seen 56 total entries. If you are in the capital and want to get involved, then the next satellite to 1B of the Hendon Mob Championship runs today at 7 p.m. local time.
The 115 players in 1A of the Hendon Mob Championship were sent on dinner break around 30-minutes ago. Here are some of the biggest stacks in the field as play resumes in a few minutes.
| Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
| Achim Prinzing | 252,000 | 252 | |
| Tiago Martins | Portugal | 240,000 | 240 |
| Sergiy Bikyetov | Ukraine | 223,000 | 223 |
| Christoph Tanner | Switzerland | 209,000 | 209 |
| Payam Ansarian | United Kingdom | 187,000 | 187 |
Level 9 will see the blinds increase to 1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 big blind ante.
Day 1A of the Hendon Mob Championship has seen a total of 200 entrants so far, with 112 still in the field and Level 9 fast approaching. The blinds are currently 800/1600 with a 1600 big blind ante, meaning a starting stack is good for 31 big blinds. There are still two more levels of registration left for this flight, with 1B starting at 6 p.m.
In the €150 PLO Championship, 67 have entered and 40 remain. Blinds are at 300/600 with a 600 big blind ante, meaning the 20,000 starting stack is now the equivalent of 33 big blinds.
The late registration period for the €30 satellite to Flight 1B of the Hendon Mob Championship is almost at a close and 45 remain in the battle for a €150 ticket. Blinds are currently posted at 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante.
The Festival 2024 Main Event has taken to the field in Day 1A of The Hendon Mob Championship. Bulgarian Presiyan Georgiev Tsvetanov took down the title last year at this very venue in the €550 Main Event and won €90,350 for his effort, €10,350 of which consisted of a Main Event seat to the WSOPE event which ran last October. This score still stands as Tsevetanov’s largest career cash.
Tsevetanov also played Day 1C of the Hendon Mob Championship last year and took a massive chip lead into Day 2 of last year’s installment, but despite this, he failed to secure a cash. He did claim another podium finish last year, finishing 2nd for €1,587 in the €125 PLO/PLO8 or Better Event two days later. Maybe this year it could be different, and the Bulgarian will be wanting to secure a piece of hardware from Rozvadov and another special portrait.
The King’s Schafkopf Trophy has been revealed ahead of Day 1 of the tournament, which starts at 2 p.m. local time tomorrow, Saturday, June 7th. The €190 buy-in event has a €25,000 prize pool, and only one entry is allowed per player. Day 2 starts bright and early at 11 a.m. on Sunday, June 8th.
Last year, German national Dieter Josef Stapfer topped a world-record-breaking field of 248 players and the lion’s share of the €38,464 prize pool. Stapfer took home €7,100 for his victory in Rozvadov, and it would be no surprise to see him return to King’s to defend his title.
Known as the “King of Bavarian card games”, the classic German card game is sure to prove popular again this year. Schafkopf is played by four people with a special 32-card German deck. The game is all about winning tricks (rounds of cards) and collecting points. The card rankings are displayed below:
The goal is to score at least 61 points out of a total of 120. Points come from the cards you win in tricks: Aces are worth 11 points, Tens are worth 10, Kings are worth 4, Obers are worth 3, and Unters are worth 2. The other cards (9, 8, 7) don’t have any points.
For additional information on this historic German pastime, check out this article here.
The Festival’s first foray into PLO this installment commences shortly with the €150 PLO Championship. The tournament offers a €10,000 guaranteed prize pool and unlimited re-entries for the first 8 levels of play. Currently, nine players are ed, and all entrants will receive a 20,000 chip starting stack, good for 100 big blinds.
The second and final satellite running today for the Hendon Mob Championship is currently in play, with registration still open and unlimited until the end of Level 10. Forty-five players are currently battling it out for a €150 ticket.
The Hendon Mob Championship has been revealed! This year’s winner will be taking home this impressive piece of glassware to add to, or start, their trophy collection!
The first satellite to the Hendon Mob Championship has finished, and the top 20 players have merged into the existing field.
| Player | Country | Prize |
| Thierry Emile C Garin | Belgium | €150 Ticket |
| Tolunay Karakaya | €150 Ticket | |
| Andreas Drefahl | €150 Ticket | |
| Ralf Hildebrandt | €150 Ticket | |
| Nicolas Keller | €150 Ticket | |
| Gholamreza Ranaie | €150 Ticket | |
| Robert Waberski | €150 Ticket | |
| Jaye Matthew Bakalars | USA | €150 Ticket |
| Georgios Toumpoulis | Greece | €150 Ticket |
| Filipp Fomenko | Ukraine | €150 Ticket |
| Werner Rozbicki | €150 Ticket | |
| Nick Bogaert | Belgium | €150 Ticket |
| Martijn Arslan | Netherlands | €150 Ticket |
| Behrooz Taghizadeh Niknam | €150 Ticket | |
| Dieter Wilhelm Bauer | €150 Ticket | |
| Antje Henschel Schmidt | €150 Ticket | |
| Hans Leopold Bergmann | €150 Ticket | |
| Alexander Bugram | Austria | €150 Ticket |
| Andrei Ghita | Romania | €150 Ticket |
| Marek Jozef Mleczko | Poland | €150 Ticket |
| Daniel Maucher | €24 |
One of the marquee events of the entire Festival kicks us off with a bang. The ever-popular Hendon Mob Championship is hosting its first Day 1A here in Rozvadov with the cards first hitting the felt at 1 p.m. local time.
This year has the potential to see the world’s largest Hendon Mob Championship, with a staggering €300,000 prize pool on offer from just a €150 buy-in.
Day 1A is scheduled to play down to 12.5% of the field remaining, with a €300 min cash guaranteed for those who progress to Day 2 on Sunday night.
The top two chip leaders from each flight will receive a Festival Main Event ticket worth €550 each, a nice juicer for anyone looking to get involved.
Currently in the field is a previous €2,000 Cape Town Package winner, Hermann Schweiger (pictured above on the right). The very same package is also up for grabs for the winner of this installment.
At the time of writing, 86 players are in the field of 92 entrants, but expect that number to grow as more entries filter in through the satellite and direct buy-ins throughout the 10-level long late registration period.
The stage is set and the cards are in the air for The Festival from here in Rozvadov, Czechia. Held at King’s Resort in the border town, The Festival promises to be a fun-filled and action-packed event over the following 11-day stretch.
At 11 a.m. this morning local time, players took their seats for the day’s first event and The Festival in general, the €30 satellite to The Hendon Mob Championship.
The €3,000 guarantee was hit, with 120 players taking a chance at qualifying for the €300,000 guaranteed event. At the time of writing, 32 remain in the field, with the top 20 receiving a ticket to the €150 buy-in event. Twenty-first will receive €24, a small rebate from the €30 buy-in.
Satellites to The Hendon Mob Championship will continue to run daily until Sunday. For those who missed out this morning, a satellite to Day 1B commences at 3 p.m. local time, with 1B commencing three hours later at 6 p.m.
After a successful run last year in Rozvadov, The Festival returns once again to the Czech town for its first event of the year. Hosted at the palace of poker that is King’s Resort, the event will run from the 6-16th of June and attract players of all creeds and colours from all four corners of the world throughout the scheduled 11-day stint here.
Action will be plentiful, and the place will be packed to the rafters with players all seeking their chance at a title. The Festival will be offering over €1,000,000 in total prize pool across all the tournaments on the schedule, indicating substantial value for all who want to take their chances at a shot at poker glory.
This year will see 72 unique tournaments, 12 more than last year’s installment, and is equally as diverse in of game selection, as you will see from the get-go when the Festival officially kicks off at 11am on the 6th June with a €30 satellite into The Hendon Mob Championship. That being said, let’s dive into the schedule over the opening weekend in a little more depth.
The Hendon Mob Championship (THMC) starts the festival with a flourish. The six-flight €300,000 guaranteed event will run from June 6-8th and will be the largest installment of the THMC to date across any venue. Two flights have already run at the King’s Casino in Prague, situated inside the luxurious Hilton Hotel in the nation’s capital. This is the fourth location that the THMC has hosted with The Festival, having run at Dusk Til Dawn (DTD) Nottingham, Portomaso Casino Malta, Banco Casino Bratislava, and King’s Resort Rozvadov.
The tournament will feature 30-minute levels in all flights other than the turbo flight, which will have 15-minute levels. These final flights run on Sunday, which offers a last chance for players looking for a share of the gigantic prize pool. All players will start with a stack of 50,000.
In the last installment in Rozvadov, Iranian win the title. The duo chopped the money and took home €35,250 each, and a seat at the WSOPE Main event worth €10,350. Alimoradpour also secured a €2,000 package to The Hendon Mob Championship in Cape Town along with the win. Remarkably, this was Alimoradpour’s first recorded cash. Perhaps a similar story could emerge this year?
| Position | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Majid Alimoradpour | Iran | € 35,250* + €2,000 Cape Town THMC Package |
| 2 | Marek Soukup | Czech Republic | € 35,250* |
| 3 | Tomas Svec | Czech Republic | € 23,850** |
| 4 | Matthias Steinberg | € 10,400 | |
| 5 | Robert Palasz | Poland | € 8,200 |
| 6 | Martin Wolf | € 6,400 | |
| 7 | Visa Kiviharju | Finland | € 4,700 |
| 8 | Rainer Sollfrank | € 3,200 | |
| 9 | Ivica Malovan | Croatia | € 2,530 |
*Denotes deal and includes a €10,350 WSOPE seat ** Includes a €10,350 WSOPE seat
Day 1a: 1pm Friday 6th June.
Day 1b: 6pm Friday 6th June.
Day 1c: 11am Saturday 7th June.
Day 1d: 6pm Saturday 7th June.
Day 1e Turbo: 11am Sunday 8th June.
Day 1 Flip and Go Pineapple: 2pm Sunday 8th June.
Day 2 Final Day: 5pm Sunday 8th June.
Day 1A of the €250 Mystery Bounty kicks off on Sunday, the 8th of June. Of the €250 buy-in, €100 will be placed into the bounty prize pool. There is a slight discount on the buy-in from last year, and the prize pool remains the same at €100,000 guaranteed. There will be four flights to Day 2 with registration being open for the first 10 levels of play, which will run for 30-minutes apiece. Players will receive a 50,000 starting stack from their buy-in. The final flight however, is a turbo with a 15-minute level blind structure, and Day 2 will commence the same day, similar to the final flight of the THMC.
Day 1a: 6pm Sunday 8th June.
Day 1b: 6pm Monday 9th June.
Day 1c: 6pm Tuesday 10th June.
Day 1d: 11am Wednesday 11th June.
Day 2: 6pm Wednesday 11th June.
The Festival will also see two PLO events run over the first weekend: the €150 PLO Championship starts at 4pm on Friday June 6th. The prize pool is set at a €10,000 guarantee and players will have access to unlimited registration throughout the first 8 levels of play, which are set at 20-minutes each. Players will receive a 20,000 chip starting stack.
The second PLO tournament, the €250 PLO Masters, will have a €20,000 prize pool on offer and also features unlimited registration throughout the first 8 levels and levels will also run at 20-minutes each, so a very similar structure to the Championship the day before. The tournament starts at 4pm with a 20,000 starting stack.
For those who want to dabble in a bit of two-card and four-card action in the same tournament, the €125 Half ‘n’ Half (Texas & PLO) is the one for you to kick off The Festival. Running on Sunday 8th from 9pm, the tournament will have a €5,000 guaranteed prize pool and unlimited reentries up until Level 10 and feature 20-minute levels.
If you’re playing a smaller roll and looking to spin up, or just looking to bag some extra bang for your buck, there are Super Satellites to the Main Event starting from the get-go. For the €80 buy-in, players can win a seat to the €550 Main Event, which will feature a staggering €500,000 guaranteed prize pool. The satellites will offer a minimum of 10 seats each and start at 7pm daily up until Wednesday, 11th of June. The last satellite runs on Wednesday at 3pm, with the Main Event Day 1 kicking off at 6pm the very same day.
And last, but certainly not least, in what is sure to be an immensely popular event, the Mixed Game Main Event HORSES will kick off on Monday 4pm. The €550 buy-in will see a €25,000 guaranteed prize pool, and players will be allowed to re-enter once per flight. Players will receive a 40,000 starting stack, and levels will run for 30-minutes.
The Festival isn’t just about the cards. There will be an eclectic range of activities for online qualifiers, with the hospitality deal included in their package. The activities are on from flag fall, the first of which is a Boule school hosted by The Festival’s main man, Franke! This activity runs from 2pm to 4pm and offers an introduction to the classic French lawn game.
The following day, qualifiers will get to learn about Molky, a Finnish game that combines bowling and strategy. Franke hosts again and will guide you through the game, which involves throwing a stick at numbered pins. Players must score exactly 50 points, no more, no less, or they are penalised. This activity also runs from 2pm to 4pm.
On Sunday, another Scandinavian game takes centre stage in the form of Kubb. Also known as “Viking Chess”, the game involves throwing wooden sticks at opposing teams’ blocks. Franke takes to the helm on hosting duties again in what is sure to be a fun-filled afternoon in the fresh air, running from 2pm to 4pm. For additional information on the Hospitality Events throughout the week, click here.
For those who may be unfamiliar with Rozvadov, the Czech town is home to the largest poker room in Europe, the aforementioned King’s Resort. It is located close to the Czech-German border. It is approximately a 45-minute drive from Plzen and around an hour and a half drive from the Czech capital of Prague. From , Kings can be reached in around an hour and a half from Nuremberg, two hours from Munich, and three hours from Stuttgart. Kings offer a transport service which can be ed on +420 777 281 804. For general enquiries, +420 605 000 888 or visit the website https://www.kings-resort.com/
That’s all for now folks, until The Festival kicks off in a few days time. Stay tuned to the live blog for continued updates of the tournament action and the hospitality events taking place off the felt.
