The poker action is heating up in the Lithuanian capital as the first weekend is in the books at the 2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker, taking place at Lithuania’s iconic Olympic Casino Vilnius. The festival is off to a fast start after an exciting weekend that saw players from near and far dive into the first events of the schedule, setting the stage for another week of high-level competition and memorable moments.
The spotlight early on belonged to Rasmus Sihvonen, who picked up right where he left off last year. The defending Vilnius Ace Breaker Main Event champion captured the first major trophy of the series after outlasting a strong field in the €250 NLH Opening Event to claim the top prize of €5,560. His repeat success adds another highlight to what has already become quite the track record for the Finnish pro in Vilnius.
Sihvonen wasn’t the only player celebrating on Sunday, as two more champions emerged to round out the festival’s opening weekend. Estonia’s Kristjan Maasalu won the €350 NLH DeepStack Progressive Bounty for €3,288 plus bounties, while Paulius Gaidulevičius shipped the €200 PLO4/PLO5 for €1,725 to cap off Sunday evening.
With the warm-up events now complete, attention turns to the marquee tournaments on the horizon, promising even bigger turnouts and prize pools as the 2026 edition of the OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker shifts into full gear.
Stay tuned as poker.pro continues bringing you all the key moments and stories from the 2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker, including live reporting of the €555 NLH Championship and the €1,100 Main Event.
- 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
- Read more: Rasmus Sihvonen Looking to Add to Vilnius Legacy at the OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker
Sihvonen Parlays Chip Lead Into Victory in €250 NLH Opening Event
The two-day €250 NLH Opening Event attracted 100 entries on its opening day, creating a €20,900 prize pool. The final table returned with nine hopefuls, with Rasmus Sihvonen starting as the table captain with a significant chip lead.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Bezverkhyi (sixth – €1,190), Lithuania’s Albertas Voišnarovič (seventh – €960), Norway’s Monica Thingboe (€770), and Estonia’s Ralf Mikk (ninth – €610) were the first players collecting payout slips at the final table, leaving Sihvonen with four Lithuanians between him and the title.
Simonas Aleksius (fourth – €1,930) and Egidijus Matonis (fifth – €1,470) ran out of chips before the charismatic Algirdas Saveikis (third – €2,640) exited on the podium. Shortly after, Sihvonen defeated Gerardas Lukšėnas (second – €3,850) to win his second international title and the second in Vilnius.
Sihvonen has visited Vilnius several times during the pandemic and has recorded his two highest scores, according to The Hendon Mob. Last year, Sihvonen won the 2025 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker €555 Main Event for €28,760, becoming the final player to win an Ace Breaker Main Event with this year’s buy-in with it doubling to €1,100. A few months later, Sihvonen finished runner-up in the 2025 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius €1,100 Main Event for €33,325, which still stands today as his largest cash in a live poker tournament.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Rasmus Sihvonen | Finland | €5,560 |
| 2 |  Gerardas Lukšėnas | Lithuania | €3,850 |
| 3 | Algirdas Saveikis | Lithuania | €2,640 |
| 4 | Simonas Aleksius | Lithuania | €1,930 |
| 5 | Egidijus Matonis | Lithuania | €1,470 |
| 6 | Volodymyr Bezverkhyi | Ukraine | €1,190 |
| 7 | Albertas Voišnarovič | Lithuania | €960 |
| 8 |  Monica Thingboe | Norway | €770 |
| 9 |  Ralf Mikk | Estonia | €610 |
| 10 | Remigijus Veikalas | Lithuania | €500 |
| 11 | Viktorija Rakejevaitė | Lithuania | €500 |
| 12 | Matas Zvirenas | Lithuania | €460 |
| 13 | Vilius Zabarauskas | Lithuania | €460 |
Kristjan Maasalu Wins €350 NLH DeepStack Progressive Bounty
The one-day €350 NLH DeepStack Progressive Bounty attracted 68 entries to create €20,026 in prizes, including €6,800 in bounties.
Players were collecting bounties from the opening bell; however, the payouts from the prize pool began after Lithuania’s Justinas Adomauskas bubbled at the final table in ninth place. France’s Baptiste Caim was the first player out in the money in eighth place for €490 plus bounties, leaving Estonia’s Kristjan Maasalu as the only player remaining from outside the home country of Lithuania.
Maasalu battled on while he and others collected bounties before finding himself heads-up against Lithuania’s Vytautas Jurkus, with both players locking up the top €3,288 top prize from the prize pool. Maasalu defeated his opponent to collect the final massive bounty and will bring back a coveted trophy to Estonia.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kristjan Maasalu | Estonia | €3,288 |
| 2 | Vytautas Jurkus | Lithuania | €3,288 |
| 3 | Egidijus Matonis | Lithuania | €2,130 |
| 4 | Ignas Lasauskas | Lithuania | €1,470 |
| 5 | Mindaugas Murauskas | Lithuania | €1,070 |
| 6 | Stanislovas Viničenka | Lithuania | €850 |
| 7 | Vilius Zabarauskas | Lithuania | €640 |
| 8 |  Baptiste Caim | France | €490 |
Paulius Gaidulevičius Wins €200 PLO4/PLO5
The €200 PLO4/PLO5 kicked off Sunday evening with 30 entries battling for a share of a €4,845 prize pool. Lithuania’s Mykolas Jasaitis exited on the bubble in fifth place, leaving the final four players in the money for at least a €680 min-cash for more than triple the buy-in.
It was beginning to look like players from Lithuania would be blanked from earning a trophy on Sunday after Lithuania’s Algimantas Jablonskas (third – €870) and Erikas Fominas (fourth – €680) exited, leaving Lithuania’s Paulius Gaidulevičius and Finland’s Junjie Wu battling for the title. The duo agreed to a deal before Gaidulevičius earned the trophy and the €1,725 top prize, while Wu ended the weekend with a healthy runner-up finish worth €1,570.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paulius Gaidulevičius | Lithuania | €1,725 |
| 2 | Junjie Wu | Finland | €1,570 |
| 3 | Algimantas Jablonskas | Lithuania | €870 |
| 4 | Erikas Fominas | Lithuania | €680 |
2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker Schedule (Monday, January 12)
The 2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker is heating up after the first weekend is in the books. The €555 NLH Championship hosts its first of two opening flights at 4 p.m., with players having a chance to get in for just €30 in a live satellite at 12 p.m. that guarantees at least two seats to one of the marquee events on the schedule.
Two more players will earn trophies on Monday with the €250 PLO5 at 6 p.m. and €200 NLH at 8 p.m., crowning winners Monday evening. The day caps off with a €30 qualifier to the €1,100 Main Event at 9:30 p.m.
Check out today’s schedule below or head to the OlyBet Events website for the full schedule.
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 12:00 | Event #8: €30 NLH Satellite to €555 NLH Championship, 2 x €555 Seats GTD! |
| 16:00 | Event #9: €555 NLH Championship Flight 1A, Plays 12 Levels Day 1 |
| 18:00 | Event #10: €250 PLO5 |
| 20:00 | Event #11: €200 NLH |
| 21:30 | Event #12: €30 Satellite to The €1,100 Main Event 1A, 2 x €1100 Seats GTD! |
- Images courtesy of OlyBetEvents / Viktorija Makovskaja
- Article originally produced at poker.pro
