OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Welcomes Amazing Opening Day Crowd

The 2026 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo burst into life on Saturday, March 14, with Olympic Voodoo Casino once again transforming into the heartbeat of Baltic poker from March 14-22. From the moment the doors opened, players funneled into the property from across Latvia and the wider region, eager to kick off nine days of poker with a packed opening-day schedule. The energy in the room felt more like a long-awaited reunion than the first cards in the air of a new festival, as familiar faces from previous OlyBet Showdown stops mixed with first-timers experiencing Riga’s flagship live series for the first time.​

By the time the first event in the €20 satellite to the €250 NLH Opening Event got underway, every table in the main poker area was buzzing with short stacks, big dreams, and friendly table talk as players tried to spin a small buy-in into a festival-launching score. The first day of the two-day €250 NLH Opening Event quickly took center stage later in the day, drawing a robust field that set an early tone for what promises to be another record-chasing week at Voodoo. The action attracted 136 entries on the opening day with friend of poker.pro Eric Wasylenko is making the most from his trip from Canada, holding onto the overnight chip lead with the final table of nine set to play for a €7,020 top prize.

Nearby, the €250 PLO4/PLO5 Progressive Bounty added a splashy, action-heavy option to the schedule, with chips and bounties flying from the very first level as four-card and five-card specialists jumped into the mix. Greece’s Vangelis Kaimakamis denied local hero Ēriks Krūmiņš another trophy for his collection after defeating his opponent heads-up to win the €1,215 plus bounties.

What makes this year’s Voodoo Spring Edition feel particularly special is the sense of momentum carrying over from last year’s breakthroughs in Riga, as OlyBet continues to cement the city’s reputation as a true regional poker hub. With more than 30 tournaments on the agenda, round-the-clock cash games, and the €1,100 Main Event looming later in the week, opening Saturday delivered exactly what players were hoping for: a festival start that felt big from the first shuffle and deal. If Day 1 is any indication, the 2026 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo is on course to once again raise the bar for live poker in the Baltics.

• Read more: €1,100 Main Event Headlines the 2026 OlyBet Showdown Voodoo Riga Spring Edition (March 14-22)

Vangelis Kaimakamis Wins First Trophy

The €250 PLO4/PLO5 Progressive Bounty attracted 34 entries to create €7,106 in prizes, including €3,400 in bounties. WSOP Circuit Tallinn ring winner Ēriks Krūmiņš was going for an OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo trifecta, having previously earned side event trophies in Riga in 2024 and 2025.

Krūmiņš and Greece’s Vangelis Kaimakamis were heads-up with the top prize of €1,215 locked up after Finland’s Tony Kokko (third – €766 + bounties) and Latvia’s Juris Bonders (fourth – €510 + bounties) exited in the money. The trifecta dreams will have to wait for Krūmiņš as instead, Kaimakamis earned his first trophy and the big bounty at the end.

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Vangelis Kaimakamis	Greece	€1,215
2	Ēriks Krūmiņš	Latvia	€1,215
3	Tony Kokko	Finland	€766
4	Juris Bonders	Latvia	€510

Eric Wasylenko Leads €250 Opening Event Final Table

The €250 NLH Opening Event attracted 136 entries, creating a healthy €28,424 prize pool. Lithaunia’s Tomas Jagela was the final player to earn a payout slip in the evening after bubbling in 10th place for €680. The final nine players have each locked up €810, with Sunday’s champion taking down a €7,020 top prize.

Nearly all eyes outside the Baltics are currently on Canada’s Eric Wasylenko, who has taken another trip to Europe in hopes of bringing home a suitcase full of hardware. The Canadian leads the way among the top nine players, with Latvia’s Jevgēnijs Kritiņins not too far behind. There is a big gap between the leading duo and the rest of the field, but it just takes one or two double-ups for the table dynamics to change.

Place	Player	Country	Chips	Big Blinds
1	Eric Wasylenko	Canada	995,000	83
2	Jevgēnijs Kritiņins	Latvia	818,000	68
3	Karl-Martin Marrandi	Estonia	361,000	30
4	Vasilijs Aleksejenko	Latvia	316,000	26
5	Georgios Orestidis	Greece	296,000	25
6	Dmitrijs Skibjuks	Latvia	224,000	19
7	Sergej Šivcov	Lithuania	218,000	18
8	Kristaps Vītiņš	Latvia	108,000	9
9	Kristaps Zarāns	Latvia	60,000	5

OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Schedule (March 15)

Three trophies are on tap on Sunday with the second and final day of the €250 Opening Event kicking off the action at Noon alongside the one-day €350 NLH DeepStack Progressive Bounty.

The evening brings a €80 satellite to the €555 NLH Championship Day 1a at 5 p.m., followed by the €200 NLH at 8 p.m.

*Article originally produced at poker.pro.