Home

Austria's Martin Mauthner came out of nowhere on the final day and the final table to win the €300,000 guaranteed The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event for €47,600 at Banco Casino Bratislava after agreeing to a three-way deal with Adi Rajkovic and David Vedral which left an extra €13,000 to the winner.

Mauthner was the short stack entering the final table and came back from a huge deficit heads-up on the way to the title.

The Austrian was a former dealer, most notably at EPTs, and was visibly having the most fun throughout the final table. Mauthner had a cigarette hanging from his mouth the entire festival and will forever be known by The Festival Series as the Austrian Sammy Farha.

The victory was by far the biggest live score for Mauthner, who had a shade under $10,000 in total tournament earnings according to The Hendon Mob entering the event.

The Festival Series Bratislava Final Table Results

*Reflects three-way deal.

Final Day Recap

The Festival Series Bratislava €550 Main Event was a massive success with 621 entries getting into the action. The action was down to just 31 hopefuls to start the final day.

After a few hours, the action was down to a final table of nine hopefuls with runner-up Adi Rajkovic kicking things off as the table captain and Martin Mauthner starting as the short stack.

Mauthner doubled up very early into the final table to the middle of the pack while Rajkovic and David Vedral swapping the lead back and forth.

Peter Hanke, Dushko Bogoevski, Viktor Eriksson, and Erik Seffer all hit the rail while Henry Mania bluffed off a bit of his stack before the dinner break.

Mania was a maniac after the dinner break and went from just four big blinds to more than half the chips in play during a short time. Day 2 chip leader during which time he sent Greek strategy streamer Fotios Ntamaris to the rail in fifth place. Mania's time in the limelight didn't last long as he lost two big hands to Rajkovic to give him back the lead before Verdal finished him off.

The final three players agreed to a deal to flatten the payouts while leaving €13,000 and the trophy to be played for. Rajkovic ousted Vedral and had a 3:1 chip advantage against Mauthner before heads-up play began.

Mauthner mounted a comeback by doubling up twice and had more than triple the stack of his opponent before winning the event with trips against two pair.

Tons of Fun Outside Poker

In addition to the Main Event and tons of poker side events, The Festival Series also featured many other fun casino-related events including a roulette tournament, a blackjack event, a slots tournament, and two sports wagering contests.

The Festival Series founder Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk was on top of the world after winning both of the sports wagering competitions while also running deep in the first of two open-face Chinese poker events.

While the PokerNews coverage of the Main Event is a wrap, The Festival Series Bratislava has one more day of events on Sunday including a short deck tournament.

Be sure to come back to PokerNews as we cover many of the biggest events around the world including the 2021 World Series of Poker.

*Reflects three-way deal.

Martin Mauthner limped from the button with and Adi Rajkovic checked his option from the big blind with .

Rajkovic check-called for 500,000 on the flop before he check-called again for 1,000,000 on the turn,

The river completed the board and Rajkovic checked again. Mauthner jammed and won the tournament after Rajkovic called off for his remaining stack of 2,800,000.

Thanks to the deal, Rajkovic collected €45,130 for his runner-up performance while Mauthner won the trophy along with a massive prize of €47,600 for his biggest live poker tournament victory.

Martin Mauthner opened for 950,000 from the button with . Adi Rajkovic jammed with and it was a coinflip after Mauthner called off for 6,700,000.

Rajkovic bricked the board and Mauthner doubled into a big lead.

Martin Mauthner has won a few small pots to chip up.

Martin Mauthner jammed for about 2 million from the small blind with and was called by Adi Rajkovic with .

Mauthner celebrated as he doubled through Rajkovic after nailing two pair on the board.

Adi Rajkovic limped from the small blind with . David Vedral jammed for 3.5 million from the big blind with and Rajkovic called.

The board gave Vedral top pair but this didn't beat a set of jacks. Thanks to the deal, Vedral collected €38,270 instead of the scheduled third-place prize of €29,000.

Adi Rajkovic has been pushing around the two smaller stacks the last few hands and has increased his stack to 13 million.

The final three players have made a deal with leaving €13,000 left to play for to the winner as follows:

• Adi Rajkovic - €45,130
• David Vedran - €38,270
• Martin Mauthner - €34,600

The final three took a short break before they will play for the remaining cash and the coveted Main Event trophy. Blind levels have also been reduced from 45 minutes to 25 minutes after the deal was made.

Henry Mania jammed for 1.3 million from the button and was called by David Vedral from the big blind.

Henry Mania:
David Vedral:

Mania was unable to connect with the board and went from zero to hero back to out of the tournament in a quick fashion in fourth place for €20,500.

Henry Mania limped from the small blind with and Adi Rajkovic checked his option from the big blind with

Mania check-called for 300,000 the flop before he checked again on the turn. Rajkovic bet 1,000,000 with his nut flush and Mania jammed. Rajkovic made the quick call for his stack of 4,600,000 and took a massive chip lead after the river completed the board.

Adi Rajkovic opened for 400,000 from under the gun with and was called by Henry Mania from the big blind with .

Mania bet 400,000 on the flop and Rajkovic called. Rajkovic then called another bet of 400,000 on the turn. The completed the board on the river and Mania checked. Rajkovic bet 2,000,000 and was unable to get further value from his flush after Mania folded.

A deal was discussed by the final four players. But play went on after they weren't able to agree to numbers.

Fotios Ntamaris jammed for 2.1 million from the small blind and was called by Henry Mania from the big blind.

Fotios Ntamaris:
Henry Mania:

The board didn't help Ntamaris and he was eliminated in fifth place for €14,000.

Meanwhile, Mania went from being on crumbs to the chip lead since the dinner break.

Henry Mania stole the blinds a couple of times before the following hand took place.

Fotios Ntamaris jammed from the small blind with and Mania called off for 1.8 million from the big blind with .

Mania's jack connected with the board to double through Ntamaris.

Fotios Ntamaris opened for 500,000 with from the small blind before Henry Mania called with from the big blind.

Ntamaris continued for 300,000 on the flop. Mania raised to 600,000 and Ntamaris called. Ntamaris checked the turn. Mania bet 500,000 and Ntamaris jammed for 780,000.

Mania opted to fold and the players went on a 45-minute dinner break.

Peter Hanke jammed from the hijack for 2 million. Adi Rajkovic came in over the top for 2.1 million from the cutoff and the rest of the table folded.

Peter Hanke:
Adi Rajkovic:

Hanke lost the flip after he bricked the board and headed to the cashier to collect his sixth-place prize of €10,000.

David Vedral opened for 320,000 from the button with and Fotios Ntamaris defended his big blind with .

Ntamaris check-called the flop a bet of 250,000 by Vedral before both the turn and river were checked down to give Ntamaris the pot.

David Vedral jammed from the small blind with before Dushko Bogoevski called off for 1 million from the big blind with .

Bogoevski bricked the board to hit the rail in seventh place for €7,500.

Dushko Bogoevski opened for 250,000 from the hijack with and David Vedral defended his big blind with .

Vedral check-called the flop for 125,000 before both players checked the turn. The river gave Vedral two pair and he fired out for 450,000. Bogoevski tanked for a couple of minutes before he folded.

Adi Rajkovic opened from the hijack with for 250,000. Fotios Ntamaris three-bet shoved for 780,000 from the small blind with and Rajkovic called.

Ntamaris earned a double-up with Broadway after the ran out on the board.

Viktor Eriksson opened for 1,000,000 with just 155,000 behind with from early position. Martin Mauthner put him in for the rest with from the big blind.

Eriksson got nowhere on the runout and was eliminated in eighth place for €5,975. Shortly after, players went on a short break.

Viktor Eriksson opened for 200,000 with from under the gun before David Vedral jammed for 1,300,000 with from the button.

The action paused on Martin Mauthner in the small blind with before he folded. Eriksson though, found a call.

The ran out on the board and Vedral doubled through Eriksson.

Henry Mania opened for 200,000 from under the gun with . Adi Rajkovic three-bet to 500,000 with from two seats over and Mania called.

Both players checked the flop before Mania jammed for 1,500,000 on the turn. Rajkovic thought for a moment before he folded top pair to give Mania the pot.

David Vedral opened for 160,000 from the hijack with . Viktor Eriksson three-bet shoved with for 1,000,000 and Vedral called.

Eriksson nailed a full house on the flop and doubled up after the turn and river completed the board.

Dushko Bogoevski opened for 160,000 from the hijack with . Adi Rajkovic three-bet shoved for 3,900,000 from the small blind with .

Bogoevski thought things over for less than a minute before he folded.

Fotios Ntamaris opened for 120,000 from early position with and was called by Adi Rajkovic from the big blind with .

Rajkovic check-raised the flop from 60,000 to 200,000 and Ntmaris called. Both the turn and river were checked down and the dealer awarded Ntamaris the pot.

David Vedral opened for 120,000 from early position. Erik Seffer three-bet shoved for 465,000 from the small blind and Vedral called.

The board gave Verdal trips and Seffer was on the rail in ninth place for €4,600.

Henry Mania opened for 180,000 from middle position with and was called by Erik Seffer from the hijack with and Peter Hanke from the cutoff with . Martin Mauthner then jammed from the big blind with for 880,000. Mania folded, Seffer called and Hanke folded.

The ran out on the board to give Mauthner trips to chip up early at the final table, while Seffer is down to under 10 big blinds.

Dushko Bogoevski opened from the hijack with and was called by Henry Mania with .

Bogoevski check-called for 150,000 on the flop before checking again on the turn. Mania bet 260,000 bet Bogoevski called.

Mania improved to Broadway on the river and Bogoevski checked. Mania bet 360,000 and Bogoevski tanked for several minutes. Bogoevski called and got the bad news that Mania rivered the nuts to win the hand.

The final table stream has just kicked off. You can check out the action by either clicking on the Live Stream tab within our coverage or by heading to TheFestivalOG Twitch channel.

Igor Panak jammed for 650,000 from the button and was called by Peter Hanke from the small blind.

Igor Panak:
Peter Hanke:

The board gave Hanke Broadway to eliminate Panak in 10th place.

Players went on a break before the final table. The rest of the PokerNews coverage will be on a 20-minute delay as to not give away spoilers on the final table stream.

Bernhard Haider jammed for about 10 big blinds from the small blind and was called by Peter Hanke from the big blind.

Bernhard Haider:
Peter Hanke:

The board gave Hanke two pair to send Mania to the rail. The action is down to 10 players and PokerNews has been informed by the tournament director that we will likely see a winner crowned today.

Tor Welo jammed for about 600,000 and was called by Peter Hanke.

Tor Welo:
Peter Hanke:

Hanke paired his queen on the board to eliminate Welo in 12th place.

Oleksander Lizanets had a handful of big blinds and got them in with a premium hand against Igor Panak, who held something even better.

Oleksander Lizanets:
Igor Panak:

The board gave Panak a flush to eliminate Lizanets on a bad beat.

Aare Haapsal was short on chips when he jammed for a handful of big blinds. Dushko Bogoevski, who just eliminated a player a few moments before, found a call.

Aare Haapsal:
Dushko Bogoevski:

Haapsal bricked the board to go out in 14th place. Not a bad run for the Estonian considering it was his first live tournament after qualifying to the event via Paf Poker.

Michael Uguccioni four-bet jammed 700,000 and was called by Dushko Bogoevski.

Michael Uguccioni:
Dushko Bogoevski:

Things went from bad to worse for Uguccioni and he hit the rail in 15th place after the board gave Bogoevski quads.

Marjan Mitrovski was down to just three big blinds when he jammed them in from under the gun.

Martin Mauthner, who has had an unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth Sammy Farha style throughout the entire tournament, looked at one card before the action paused.

"I have an ace," said Mauthner.

"That's not good enough," replied Mitrovski.

Mauthner looked at the other card and made the call.

Marjan Mitrovski:
Martin Mauthner:

Mitrovski had a flush draw on the flop.

"Heart!" Mitrovski shouted before the came on the turn.

"Heart!" Mitrovski again shouted but the river completed the board to eliminate Mitrovski in 16th place.

Frank Reichel opened for 100,000 from under the gun and was called by the player on the button before Fotios Ntamaris three-bet jammed for around 850,000 from the small blind. Reichel called for a little bit less and the other player folded.

Frank Reichel:
Fotios Ntamaris:

Reichel was unable to get queens ahead of kings on the board and was eliminated in 17th place.

Carl Hansson three-bet jammed for about 400,000 from the big blind and was called by David Vedral from the button.

Carl Hansson:
David Vedral:

Vedral paired his king on the board to eliminate Hansson in 18th place.

There was about 300,000 in the pot on the flop when Thomas DeRooij jammed for nearly a pot-sized bet. Viktor Eriksson made the call and players showed their cards.

Thomas DeRooij:
Viktor Eriksson:

Eriksson had DeRooij drawing dead after the turn gave him a straight and DeRooij was officially eliminated in 19th place after the river completed the board.

There were 19 players remaining at the first break of Day 3. PokerNews will provide a chip count update after the break.

Miroslav Lelek lost most of his stack when his was no good against .

Lelek then jammed for about two big blinds with and was up against the held by Fotios Ntamaris.

The table got excited flop as Lelek had an open-ended straight draw. Neither turn and the river helped Lelek and he was eliminated 20th place.

Mario Eder check-raised the flop with not so much already in the pot from 75,000 to 220,000 and David Vedral called.

Mario Eder:
David Vedral:

The turn completed Vedral's flush and Eder was unable to hit a full house or quads on the river to hit the rail in 21st place.

Michal Janczarski three-bet jammed for about 200,000 from the big blind over the under the gun open by Marjan Mitrovski.

Michal Janczarski:
Marjan Mitrovski:

Mitrovski loudly celebrated after he paired his trey on the board while Janczarski was out in 23rd place. Moments later, Andras Matrai followed Janczarski to the rail.

Aleksandar Tomovic jammed for 250,000 from under the gun and was called by Dushko Bogoevski from the cutoff.

Aleksandar Tomovic:
Dushko Bogoevski:

The board didn't get Tomovic ahead of ace-queen and he was eliminated in 25th place. Meanwhile, Day 1a chip leader Pavol Melichar also went out moments later to leave 23 players remaining.

Michael Ekdahl had his stack in the middle against Michael Uguccioni on the board.

Michael Ekdahl:
Michael Uguccioni:

Ekdahl couldn't get beyond his opponent's set of snowmen with the completing the board on the river and hit the rail in 26th place.

Carl Hansson opened for 60,000 from under the gun before he called a jam of 600,000 by Filip Sramka from the big blind.

Filip Sramka:
Carl Hansson:

The board gave Sramka top pair. But this wasn't good enough to survive as Hansson improved to a straight.

Coolbet had a last longer competition amongst their players in Main Event. The contest was won by Mattias Eklund on Day 2, who´ll get a €550 ticket to Coolbet Open later on in November. Furthermore, has organized a daily raffle with a €110 ticket in the pot just for Coolbet players.

Carl Hansson opened from under the gun before Thomas DeRooij three-bet shoved for about 500,000 from middle position. Jozef Krajan called off for about 175,000 from one seat over and it was a heads-up showdown after Hansson opted to fold.

Jozef Krajan:
Thomas DeRooij :

"A seven always comes," said Krajan.

No seven came on the board and Krajan was eliminated in 29th place.

Meanwhile, Mihaly Jancso was eliminated at around the same time in 30th place at another table and Tomche Spaseski also hit the rail in 28th place.

Erik Seffer also has chipped up during the first half of the first blind level of the day to take the chip lead.

Jozef Krajan jammed for about 550,000 from middle position. Panagiotis Chantzaras called off for about 150,000 from one seat over. Viktor Eriksson also got in the mix calling off for his stack of under 400,000.

Jozef Krajan:
Panagiotis Chantzaras:
Viktor Eriksson:

Eriksson's tens got the job done on the board to eliminate Chantzaras in 31st place while also doubling through Krajan.

Frank Reichel three-bet jammed from the small blind for 310,000 and was called. by Panagiotis Chantzaras, who initially opened from the button.

Frank Reichel:
Panagiotis Chantzaras:

Reichel initially thought that he was out the door after the came on the board before he noticed he improved to a straight to double his stack.

Day 3 has kicked off with blinds at 10,000/20,000.

Welcome to Day 3 of the €300,000 guaranteed The Festival Series Bratislava €550 Main Event at Banco Casino Bratislava.

The field of 621 entries is down to just 31 players, each returning with at least a €1,800 payout with their eyes on the €59,000 top prize.

Fotios Ntamaris kicks off the day with the chip lead after amassing a massive stack of 1,665,000 in chips on Day 2.

Michael Uguccioni, Carl Hansson, and Igor Panak also advanced to Day 3 with more than 1 million in chips with Adi Rajkovic rounding out the top five players.

Top Ten Chip Counts

Plan for Day 3

Day 3 will begin downstairs in the casino instead of on the first floor like the rest of the event. Blinds will begin at Level 21 (10,000/20,000) and increase every 45 minutes.

The plan initially is to play down to a final table of nine players. Depending on how fast this takes, it is possible that play will continue down to six players and it is even possible a winner will be crowned today. This is entirely at the discretion of the tournament director and event organizers and PokerNews will update during our coverage today.

Remaining Payouts

The 31 returning players are each guaranteed at least a €1,800 payout with the eventual winner going home with a massive €59,000 payday for their €550 buy-in.

Stay tuned at PokerNews to see who will win the €300,000 guaranteed The Festival Series Bratislava Main Event.