The Festival Main Event attracted a total of 196 players to Flight 1D and 25 of them advanced. The biggest stack of 1,422,000 was taken by Markus Gaulhofer. The last opportunity to qualify for tomorrow’s Day 2 is Flight 1F, which starts at 11:00. The Main Event continues with Day 2 tomorrow from 15:00 and the daily schedule can be found below. We look forward to seeing you!
Chipcounts 1D:
Sobota:
23:34 Four Minutes and the Bubble Bursts
Maciej Michalec pushed his roughly 100,000 from the button with Ax 9x and Teemu Haellfors from the SB called with Kx Kx. The board Jx Jx 6x 5x Qx brought an explosion of joy in the poker room and all remaining players bag their stacks for tomorrow’s Day 2!
23:30 We Begin Playing Hand for Hand!
Level 20: 10,000 – 20,000 / 20,000, avg. 476,923, ent.: 26/196
Gallery:
Level 15: 3,000 – 6,000 / 6,000, avg. 178,182, ent.: 55/196
20:40 Mladen Stojanovic tank-folds to a 4-bet
Christopher Alexander Francis Briggs opened to 10,000 and Mladen Stojanovic 3-bet to 28,000. Briggs tanked and then 4-bet to 75,000. Stojanovic, playing a 230,000 stack, went into a long tank before eventually making a slow fold.
20:30 Gani Weiss out against Aces
Gani Weiss got all-in pre-flop for 60,000 with 5x 5x. He ran straight into the Ax Ax of Adam Jakub Lawniczak. The board offered no help to the smaller pair, and since Lawniczak had him covered, Weiss was sent to the rail.
Level 14: 2 000 - 5 000 / 5 000, avg.: 150 769, ent.: 65/196
19:45 Lars Stefan Wredh successful on the flop
Martin Ilavsky opened to 8,000 and was called by both Niclas Laurin Thumm and Maksym Ronshyn from the big blind. The flop came Kd Qd 9d. Lars Stefan Wredh bet 15,000, forcing both opponents to fold quickly.
Sideevents info:
The 250€ 8-Game Mix registration is closed with 43 players remaining in the field. Grzegorz Iskra is currently sitting on the chip lead. Players like Ari Engel, Barrie Dear, and Scott Kenyon are still in the hunt for the 5,295€ first-place prize, while Wouter Schuurbiers and Ivo Petkov have already been eliminated. The top 14 players will reach the money, with a min-cash worth 450€.
The PLO 4/5/6 event has seen 23 entries so far, featuring players like Daniel Pilgrim and Henrik Brun. The Festival Queens ladies event has gathered 13 entries up to this point, with Jenny Westerlund and Teresa Newton among the contenders. The evening 125€ NLH with a 15,000€ guarantee has also just kicked off with 9 players registered at the start and late registration open for the first 8 levels.
During the early morning hours, Jaroslav Stulhofer took down the Crazy Pineapple tournament, claiming the trophy and 2,705€ after defeating Jenny Westerlund (1,860€) in second place. Andreas Hoglund finished third for 1,260€. The two-day Bratislava Deepstack was conquered by Sourlas Georgios, who took home 3,327€, leaving Jari Rattya in second place with 2,030€.
Level 13: 2,000 - 4,000 / 4,000, avg. 124,051, ent.: 79/196
19:10 Sebastian Bogdan Stefanski doubles through Stojanovic
Jozsef Hegyi opened to 10,000 and Mladen Stojanovic shoved for 50,000. Hegyi called with As Wh but was behind against Stojanovic's Ac Jc. The board Jd 7x Tx 8c held for Stojanovic, leaving Hegyi with 20,000 chips.
18:50 Tristan Philippe Laverdet takes the pot on the turn
Tristan Philippe Laverdet opened for 6,000 and Efim Dorfman called. On the Kx 3c Ah flop, Laverdet bet 5,000 and Dorfman called. The Td turn prompted an 18,000 second barrel from Laverdet, which forced a fold from Dorfman.
Level 12: 1 500 - 3 000 / 3 000, avg.: 118 125, ent.: 80/189
Gallery:
18:40 Efim Dorfman takes it down
With 10,000 in the pot, the flop came Kh Jh 3h. Efim Dorfman fired 6,500 and both opponents folded immediately.
18:30 Barnabas Nagy vs. Tamas Toth
On a flop of 4s Kh 5c, Tamas Toth checked from the small blind and Barnabas Nagy bet 3,500. Toth then shoved for about 50,000, which Nagy called with Kx Jx. Toth revealed a straight draw with 2x 3x. Neither the 9c turn nor the Kc river helped Toth, but since he had a slightly larger stack, he remains in the tournament.
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Level 11: 1 000 - 2 500 / 2 500, avg.: 90 404, ent.: 99/179
18:10 Olli Jalmari Vahala takes a small pot
Olli Jalmari Vahala opened to 4,000 and Jiri Kocab called. On the flop As Tc 2d Vahala continued for 5,000, which Kocab snap-folded to.
18:20 3-way action for Niclas Laurin Thumm
Maksym Ronshyn opened to 4,000 and Markus Gaulhofer reacted with a raise to 16,000. Niclas Laurin Thumm cold-4bet to 48,000 from the big blind. Ronshyn tank-folded. Gaulhofer with Ax 6x was up against Ad Qd held by Thumm. The board Qx 7x Jx Ax Kx held for the better hand.
Level 10: 1,000 - 2,000 / 2,000, avg. 80,000, ent.: 105/185
17:40 Jacob Victorious
On the flop Kx Jx Jx, Jacob bet 15,000 into a pot of about 25,000. After a long consideration, his opponent folded.
17:30 Ondrej Double Up
Ondrej got into a preflop all in for about 20bb with pocket nines against his opponent’s pocket eights. After a blank board, he secured a double up.
Level 9: 1,000 – 1,500 / 1,500, avg. 76,442, ent.: 104/159
Break 60 min
16:17 Koivusalo úspešne na rivri
Timo Heikki Koivusalo otvára za 2,500 a Bo Markus Lindahl na big blinde dorovnáva. Flop 8c 4c 5h obaja hráči precheckujú. Po turnovom 5c Lindahl vsádza 1,600, čo Koivusalo dorovnáva. Na riveri Tx Lindahl checkne, na čo Koivusalo reaguje masívnou stávkou 10,000. Lindahl svoje karty okamžite posiela do mucku.
16:07 Ilavský berie tučný pot s esami
Markus Gaulhofer otvára hru za 3,000, na čo Eran Lin reaguje dorovnaním. Harald Redl následne navyšuje na 15,000, čo dorovnáva už len Martin Ilavský. Ostatní hráči zahadzujú. Flop Qd 9c 8s aj turnová 6s neprinášajú žiadnu stávkovú akciu. Na riveri 4s Ilavský posiela all-in 50,000 a Redl dorovnáva. Ilavský víťazne odkrýva Ax Ax, zatiaľ čo Redl drží len Ak Kx.
Level 8: 600 - 1,200 / 1,200, avg.: 72,897, ent.: 107/156
Gallery:
15:40 Kokocha wins the showdown
On a 4d 3h Qc flop, Michal Kokocha bets 7,000, prompting a fold from Markus Gaulhofer. Eran Lin then moves all-in for approximately 25,000 effective, and Kokocha calls with Qx Jx. Lin shows Jc Tc and needs to improve. The Qs turn seals the deal for Kokocha, and after the 6h river, Eran Lin is left with roughly 40,000.
Level 7: 500 - 1 000 / 1 000, avg.: 64,348, ent.: 115/148
15:30 Nick Boots hits the river to double up
On the turn board of Kx Ax Tx 2x, Oleksii Lezhepokov shoves all-in for 26,000. Nick Boots makes the call holding Ax Qx. Lezhepokov reveals two pair with Ax Tx, looking in great shape to score an elimination. However, a dramatic Qx lands on the river, shifting the momentum completely. The card improves Boots to a better two pair, securing him a crucial double up.
15:15 Massive 5-bet by Tamas Toth
The action kicked off with Gani Weiss opening from the button. Tamas Toth responded with a 3-bet to 4,300, but Anastasios Apostolou quickly turned up the heat with a 4-bet to 12,000. Weiss got out of the way, but Toth wasn't backing down and announced a massive 5-bet of around 75,000. Apostolou went deep into the tank for several minutes until the clock was called. Halfway through the countdown, Apostolou finally decided to fold his hand.
Level 6: 400 – 800 / 800, avg. 58,794, ent.: 116/138
14:35 Weiss Gani secures a nice double up
With roughly 15,000 in the pot on a turn board of Kc 3c 7h Ks, Anastasios Apostolou took some time before putting Gani Weiss all-in for an effective 26,200. Weiss snap-called and tabled 7x 7x, comfortably ahead of Apostolou's Kx Qx. The 4x on the river changed nothing, handing Weiss a crucial double up.
14:20 Ilavsky applies pressure and takes it down
With the board reading Td 7h 9c Ac and about 15,000 in the middle, Eran Lin led out for 6,700 from the blinds. Martin Ilavsky responded with an uncompromising all-in for roughly 21,000. Lin went into the tank for about a minute before finally sending his cards to the muck.
Level 5: 300 – 600 / 600, avg. 56,796, ent. :103/117
Break 15 min
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13:45 Turn Raise
On the turn Kx 8x Qx Ax there was about 7,000 in the pot and Guy bet 4,000. His Serbian opponent, however, decided to raise to 11,000 and after a long consideration, Guy folded.
Level 4: 200 - 500 / 500, avg. 54,348, ent.: 92/100
13:35 Jacob Climbs
On the flop Kx 8x 6x, Jacob bet 2,200 into a pot of about 4,000. His opponents folded immediately.
13:25 Big Bets
On the turn Ac Qc Ts 4s there was 4,500 in the pot and Jacek Piontke bet 5,000. Marco Herman called at a slow pace. On the river 5d, Jacek bet 15,000 and Marco thought for several minutes. In the end, however, he decided to give up his hand.
Level 3: 200 – 400 / 400, avg. 52,532, ent.: 79/83
13:10 Michael Gehrmann Eliminated
Michael got into a preflop all in for about 30,000 with Jx Jx. Markus Gaulhofer held Ax Kx and after a board of Ax 7x 9x 5x Ax, Markus claims his opponent’s scalp.
13:00 Efim Dorfman Victorious
On the river Qx 4x 2x Qx 3x there was just under 8,000 in the pot and Efim bet 7,500. Arjan thought for a while but eventually folded.
Level 2: 100 – 300 / 300, avg. 51,515, ent.: 66/68
12:25 Tamas Adds Chips
Tamas opened to 500 from EP and Michael called. On the flop Ax 8x Tx, Tamas bet 600 and Michael called again. On the turn Qx, however, Tamas bet 1,800 and that convinced his opponent that folding was the correct option.
12:10 Battling at the Start of Flight 1D
Singh, Aroudi, Sajnog, Watson, Gaulhofer, Flešár and many others are in action from the start.
Friday schedule:
Level 1: 100 – 200 / 200, avg. 50,000, ent.: 52/52
The Festival Main Event
Buy-in: 500€
Fee : 50€
Starting Stack: 50k
Late reg.: 12 lvls
12.5% of the field advanced for Day 2
All players qualified for Day 2 are ITM
5% Staff deducted from the prize pool
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Novinka: €xtra Poker Jackpot – trafte 4 of kind / quads a Banco Vás odmení až do výšky 300€
Cash Game High Hand Jackpot - každý deň!
CASH GAME TOUR at Banco Bratislava – February 2026!
The Festival Returns to Banco Bratislava for the Sixth Time! Get Ready for a Special Winter Edition Like Never Before
Norwegian Poker Championships 2026 at Banco Bratislava — Celebrating the 25th Anniversary!
The 4th Edition of the Slovak Poker Open Main Event €300,000 GTD for €250 Kicks Off in Early April!
The Second Edition of the Euro Poker Championship with a €250,000 GTD Main Event at the End of April!
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