Players from across the globe have descended on the Latvian capital as the OlyBet Voodoo Casino in Riga kicked off the 2025 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Autumn Edition in style from Sept. 20-28. The festival wasted no time delivering action. Saturday’s opening day was buzzing with two satellites, two trophy events, and a packed house of poker enthusiasts ready to battle for glory.
Finland’s Semi Rantanen was the first player to find Riga gold this series after winning Event #4: €150 NLH for €1,720. This wasn’t the first time Rantanen was witnessed hoisting a trophy at an OlyBet event. Last year, in 2024, he won the €150 PLO 4/5/6 at the WSOP Circuit Tallinn for €2,582.
In other news, the 2024 WSOP Circuit Tallinn ring winner Ēriks Krūmiņš bagged the overnight chip lead in the two-day Event #2: €250 NLH Opening Event. With just eight players left chasing the €6,780 top prize from a 130-entry field that generated a €27,170 prize pool, Krūmiņš is in prime position to add another title to his growing résumé.
The opening day also featured a pair of €20 satellites that awarded seats in the €250 Opening Event and Sunday’s anticipated €350 NLH DeepStack Progressive Bounty.
Read on to learn more about the 2025 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Autumn Edition opening day at Olympic Voodoo Casino.
- Read more: 2025 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition Establishes New Gold Standard in Latvia
- Read more: The 2025 OlyBet Showdown Riga Autumn Edition Brings the Heat to Riga
- Read more: Nine Days in Poker Heaven at the 2025 OlyBet Showdown Riga Autumn Edition
Semi Rantanen Wins Event #4: €150 NLH (€1,720)
While the home crowd was busy crushing the two-day €250 NLH Opening Event, with half the field from Latvia, the same wasn’t true for the only event awarding a trophy on Saturday, the €150 NLH, which witnessed Latvians shut out from the payouts.
The €150 NLH attracted 39 entries, creating a €4,817 prize pool. Raimonds Ozoliņš was the last remaining Latvian in the field, but he bowed out in seventh place, with the final five players in the money, after Finland’s Roope Keminen finished in sixth place on the stone-cold bubble.
The 2025 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker €555 Main Event champion Rasmus Sihvonen is looking to repeat his success in the winter at another Baltic capital. He was the first player to hit the rail in the money in fifth place for €430.
Spain’s Jose Fernando Soriano Jiminez (third – €860) and Sergey Lozovskiy (fourth – €590) were the next to collect payouts before Rantanen won the €1,720 top prize and the 2025 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Autumn Edition’s first trophy after defeating Alexander Borisenko (second – €1,216) during heads-up play.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Semi Rantanen | Finland | €1,720 |
| 2 |  Alexander Borisenko | Russia | €1,216 |
| 3 |  Jose Fernando Soriano Jiminez | Spain | €860 |
| 4 | Sergey Lozovskiy | Russia | €590 |
| 5 | Rasmus Sihvonen | Finland | €430 |
Ēriks Krūmiņš Leads Final 8 in €250 NLH Opening Event
The €250 NLH Opening Event established a new Latvian record for this event with 130 entries battling for a €27,170 prize pool. This was four more entries when this event was hosted in March during the 2025 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition, when Latvia’s Raivis Pučurs won the title and the €6,740 top prize.
The action played deep into the money with 17 players earning at least a €430 min-cash after Lithuania’s Linas Bulkšas lost his stack on the money bubble. The 2024 Queens of Tallinn champion Saara Benlamine was the final player eliminated on Day 1 in ninth place for €780.
The eight returning players have already locked up €960, and they have much more to play for. Half the remaining field is from Latvia, including the overall chip leader Ēriks Krūmiņš (731,000), Dmitrijs Mihejevs (665,000), Dmitrijs Popovs (299,000), and Mārcis Mednis (142,000).
Three Finns also are still in contention, including Vili Turunen (493,000), Alex Heinonen (220,000), and Anu Lilja (196,000). Estonia’s Henri Vosokovski (514,000) rounds out the field with blinds starting at 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante and increasing every 25 minutes until a winner is crowned.
€250 NLH Opening Event Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Dmitrijs Popovs | Latvia | 299,000 | 15 |
| 2 |  Henri Vosokovski | Estonia | 514,000 | 26 |
| 3 | Alex Heinonen | Finland | 220,000 | 11 |
| 4 | Ēriks Krūmiņš | Latvia | 731,000 | 37 |
| 5 | Vili Turunen | Finland | 493,000 | 25 |
| 6 | Anu Lilja | Finland | 196,000 | 10 |
| 7 | Mārcis Mednis | Latvia | 142,000 | 7 |
| 8 | Dmitrijs Mihejevs | Latvia | 665,000 | 33 |
| Total | 3,260,000 | 164 | ||
| Average | 407,500 | 20 |
2025 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Autumn Edition Schedule (Sunday, Sept. 21)
Players will have three chances to win trophies on Sunday, beginning with the conclusion of the €250 Opening Event and the start of the one-day €350 NLH DeepStacks Progressive Bounty at 12 p.m.
Later in the day, players will compete in a €80 satellite, which guarantees at least four seats to the €555 Championship at 5 p.m., followed by the final event of the evening, the €200 PLO4/PLO5 at 8 p.m.
Check out Sunday’s schedule below or head to the 2025 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition landing page at OlyBetEvents to check out the full schedule and more.
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 12 p.m. | Event #2: €250 NLH Opening Event Day 2 (Final Day) |
| 12 p.m. | Event #5: €350 NLH Deepstack Progressive Bounty |
| 5 p.m. | Event #6: €80 Mega Satellite to €555 NLH Championship Day 1a (Four Seats Guaranteed) |
| 8 p.m. | Event #7: €200 PLO4/5 8-Handed |
