Swede Mark Twin won the €555 Main Event at The Festival Weekend in Riga

The Festival Weekend has concluded in Riga: Swedish player Mark Twin won the main poker tournament with a €555 buy-in and received a €9,850 prize.

The final stage of the year for The Festival Weekend series, organized in partnership with Olybet, has concluded in Riga. Over four action-packed days at the Olympic Voodoo Casino Riga, nine champions were crowned across various disciplines. The main event was a No Limit Hold’em tournament with a €555 buy-in and a Mystery Bounty format, where Swedish player Mark Twin claimed victory. He took home the top prize of €9,850, along with additional payouts for bounties collected during the tournament. Main Event: €555 NLHE Main Event Mystery Bounty The No Limit Hold’em tournament with a Mystery Bounty element attracted 153 entries, spread across three starting days. The total prize pool reached €42,075, with €30,600 allocated for bounty payouts. The Mystery Bounty format means that when a player knocks out an opponent, they receive a random envelope with a cash prize, which in this tournament ranged from €600 to €6,000. Nineteen players returned for the second and final day, and play resumed already in the money: the minimum payout was €630. From this point, each eliminated player drew an envelope with a mystery bounty, adding intrigue and extra motivation for aggressive play. Final Table: Local Dominance and an International Winner Six Latvian players made it to the final nine, but none managed to reach the top three. The last Latvian standing was Juris Bonders , who finished in 4th place and received €3,700. Estonian player Dmitri Dudakov exited in third place, earning €4,740. The heads-up battle was between Finnish player Mikko Heikkala and final day chip leader Mark Twin from Sweden. In the end, Heikkala took second place with €6,555, while Mark Twin, who confidently maintained his lead throughout the final day, secured the win and the top prize. Main Event Final Table Results (€555 NLHE Mystery Bounty) Prizes do not include Mystery Bounty payouts 1st place — Mark Twin (Sweden): €9,850 2nd place — Mikko Heikkala (Finland): €6,555 3rd place — Dmitri Dudakov (Estonia): €4,740 4th place — Juris Bonders (Latvia): €3,700 5th place — Vladislavs Petrovs (Latvia): €2,900 6th place — Martins Pommers (Latvia): €2,200 7th place — Arturs Krumins (Latvia): €1,650 8th place — Aleksandrs Bels (Latvia): €1,250 9th place — Maksims Kiselovs (Latvia): €950 Famous Players and Side Events One of the world’s most decorated players — Main Event WSOP champion and five-time bracelet winner Scotty Nguyen — attended The Festival Weekend in Riga. He, along with well-known poker commentator Andreas “Wiseguy” Höglund , took part in the main event, but neither managed to make the money. Local player Eduards Rakuss also made his mark at the series, finishing second in the €350 Dealers Choice All PLO tournament, which was played in a mixed Omaha format. Mixed Games and Unique Formats The Festival Weekend in Riga featured not only classic Hold’em and Omaha tournaments, but also rarer disciplines. Among them were Omahajack , Dealers Choice PLO , and the special format 7-2 Game Estonia Special . The latter is a home game with a bounty on the 7-2 hand, but with two Estonian twists: A player who wins a hand with 7-2 offsuit receives a big blind from every participant remaining in the tournament, not just from players at their table. The "INES" rule applies: between the end of late registration and the start of the money bubble, eliminated players can re-enter once and receive two starting stacks. Such formats are rarely seen outside the Balkans, making the series especially attractive for fans of unusual poker disciplines. Upcoming Events at Olympic Voodoo Casino Riga Poker action at Olympic Voodoo Casino Riga doesn’t stop after The Festival Weekend. From September 19 to 27, the OlyBet Showdown Riga will take place here, featuring more than 25 tournaments. The main event will be a tournament with a €1,100 buy-in, starting on September 23. Results of The Festival Weekend - Riga The Festival Weekend series in Riga covered a wide range of disciplines and formats, bringing together players from different countries and offering the chance to shine in both classic and unusual poker games. Here are the main results from the main event: Winner: Mark Twin (Sweden) — €9,850 2nd place: Mikko Heikkala (Finland) — €6,555 3rd place: Dmitri Dudakov (Estonia) — €4,740 4th place: Juris Bonders (Latvia) — €3,700 5th place: Vladislavs Petrovs (Latvia) — €2,900 6th place: Martins Pommers (Latvia) — €2,200 7th place: Arturs Krumins (Latvia) — €1,650 8th place: Aleksandrs Bels (Latvia) — €1,250 9th place: Maksims Kiselovs (Latvia) — €950 Prizes do not include Mystery Bounty payouts. What This Means for PPPoker Club Players For PPPoker club members, the news from The Festival Weekend in Riga can be a great motivation to explore new formats. Mystery Bounty tournaments and rare disciplines like the 7-2 Game Estonia Special show that modern poker series are actively introducing innovative and entertaining elements. This is a great reason to try similar formats in online clubs, to diversify your game and prepare for live events. It’s also worth paying attention to strategy in Mystery Bounty tournaments: smart use of aggression and calculating knockout probabilities can significantly increase your total winnings. Practicing in such tournaments on PPPoker will help you better prepare for live series, where these formats are becoming increasingly popular. Finally, the participation of famous players like Scotty Nguyen and Andreas “Wiseguy” Höglund highlights the high level and prestige of such events. For PPPoker club players, this is an extra incentive to develop their skills and aim for participation in major offline tournaments, where you can share the table with real poker stars.