The snow-covered streets of Vilnius set the stage for nine thrilling days of poker action as the 2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker kicked off on Saturday at Olympic Casino Lietuva. From Jan. 10–18, players from across the region are set to chase glory in a festival highlighted by the €1,100 Main Event and the three-day €555 NLH Championship, both of which will be live reported at poker.pro.
The festival opened in style with the €250 NLH Opening Event drawing a perfect centurion field of 100 entries to build a handsome €20,900 prize pool. Finland’s Rasmus Sihvonen, who stole the spotlight last year by winning the 2025 €555 Main Event for €28,760 and following up with a runner-up finish in the 2025 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius €1,100 Main Event in May, is back making headlines once again. Sihvonen bagged a commanding chip lead heading into Sunday’s final table, eyeing an early repeat victory to start his 2026 campaign.
Meanwhile, Lithuania’s Andrej Michailov ensured the first trophy stayed home after taking down the €200 PLO5 Bounty for €894 plus bounties. The event featured a truly international flair, with the top five finishers each representing a different country, representing a fitting reflection of the festival’s growing draw across the region.
Stay tuned as poker.pro continues bringing you all the key moments and stories from the 2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker.
- Read more: Start Your 2026 Poker Calendar With OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker
- Read more: Rasmus Sihvonen Wins 2025 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker Main Event
International Flavor on €250 Opening Event Final Table
The €250 Opening Event kept the cards flying deep into Saturday night before the bubble finally burst when Paulius Kostickis bowed out in 14th place. The remaining 13 players were guaranteed at least a €460 min-cash as the action pushed toward the finish line of the festival’s first event.
Local players dominated the payouts after the bubble with Remigijus Veikalas (10th – €500), Viktorija Rakejevaitė (11th – €500), Matas Zvirėnas (12th – €460), and Vilius Zabarauskas (13th – €460) all securing early festival cashes before hitting the rail.
The final nine locked up at least €610 but will have their eyes firmly set on the €5,560 top prize when the action resumes on Sunday. Finland’s Rasmus Sihvonen continues his hot run in Vilnius, bagging a massive 646,000 to lead the way — nearly twice that of his closest challenger, Algirdas Saveikis (385,000).
And it’s not just Sihvonen carrying the international banner. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Bezverkhyi (293,000), Norway’s Monica Thingboe (153,000), and Estonia’s Ralf Mikk (107,000) are all in contention alongside a strong Lithuanian contingent that includes Saveikis, Albertas Voišnarovič (313,000), Gerardas Lukšėnas (210,000), Egidijus Matonis (210,000), and Simonas Aleksius(202,000). Together, they’ll battle for the festival’s first multi-day title on Sunday at Olympic Casino Lietuva.
| Seat | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Volodymyr Bezverkhyi | Ukraine | 293,000 | 29 |
| 2 |  Algirdas Saveikis | Lithuania | 385,000 | 39 |
| 3 |  Ralf Mikk | Estonia | 107,000 | 11 |
| 4 | Gerardas Lukšėnas | Lithuania | 210,000 | 21 |
| 5 | Simonas Aleksius | Lithuania | 202,000 | 20 |
| 6 | Albertas Voišnarovič | Lithuania | 313,000 | 31 |
| 7 |  Rasmus Sihvonen | Finland | 646,000 | 65 |
| 8 | Egidijus Matonis | Lithuania | 210,000 | 21 |
| 9 |  Monica Thingboe | Norway | 153,000 | 15 |
Andrej Michailov Wins First Trophy
The €200 PLO5 Bounty witnessed 16 entries chasing a share of the €2,584 prize pool, which included €800 in bounties. The international field ran deep, and by the time Sweden’s Michael Doverklint hit the rail in fourth place, three players from three different countries were left eyeing the podium.
Finland’s Phenporn Laatikainen, making her return to Vilnius after competing at the 2025 Kings of Vilnius, notched her first cash of the series after bowing out in third place for €355 plus bounties. That set the stage for a Lithuania-versus-Israel heads-up battle between Andrej Michailov and Nikolay Kaplunov for the first trophy of the 2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker.
Michailov prevailed on home turf, securing the title along with the €894 top prize and bounties, while Kaplunov walked away as runner-up for €535 plus bounties.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrej Michailov | Lithuania | €894 |
| 2 |  Nikolay Kaplunov | Israel | €535 |
| 3 | Phenporn Laatikainen | Finland | €355 |
2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker Schedule (Sunday, January 11)
The first weekend of the 2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker is set to wrap up in style with three trophy winners scheduled to be crowned on Sunday.
The initial excitement will surround the final table of the €250 NLH Opening Event at Noon before many of the players battling previously in that field along with others getting ready for the €350 NLH DeepStack Progressive Bounty at 1 p.m.
The €80 Mega Satellite at 4 p.m. will bring in at least five new players to the three-day €555 NLH Championship, while the evening brings the €200 PLO4/PLO5 Button Round of Each at 8 p.m.
Check out today’s schedule below or head to the OlyBet Events website for the full schedule.
| `Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 12:00 | Event #2: €250 NLH Opening Event, Final Day |
| 13:00 | Event #5: €350 NLH DeepStack Progressive Bounty, €100 Progressive Bounties |
| 16:00 | Event #6: €80 Mega Satellite to €555 NLH Championship 1A, 5 x €555 Seats GTD! |
| 20:00 | Event #7: €200 PLO4/PLO5, Button Round Each, 8-handed |
- Images courtesy of OlyBetEvents / Viktorija Makovskaja
- Article originally produced at poker.pro
