Väino Ketvell and Fabian Bartuschk Win Gold on Final Day of 2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker

January 19, 2026

The 2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker delivered as promised, with many new heroes crowned at Olympic Casino Lietuva from Jan. 10-18, including Finland’s Jarmo Luokkala winning the 2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker €1,100 Main Event for €39,260.

The final two champions hoisted their trophies on Sunday, a familiar sight for both players. Finland’s Väino Ketvell defeated Lithuania’s Marek Žigel to win the two-day €350 NLH OlyBet Special for €7,362. This was Ketvell’s second trophy of the festival, having previously earned a trophy in the €200 PLO4/PLO5 for €1,610.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Fabian Bartuschk might shed his title of flag hunter into a trophy hunter as he shipped the €250 NLH Wrap-Up for €2,421. This represents Bartuschk’s ninth country he earned a title according to The Hendon Mob.

Bartuschk was among the players traveling around the world last year trying to obtain flags at The Hendon Mob. He had a fantastic run that ended tied for third place with the 2024 The Hendon Mob Flag Hunter Leaderboard champion from Canada, Dominick French, after amassing cashes in 21 different countries. While this was close to second place, with American Wayne McGregor cashing in 23 countries, this pales in comparison to the achievement of the Netherlands’ Koen Roos, who remarkably cashed in 50 countries, including at OlyBet poker festivals in all three Baltic countries.

Väino Ketvell Wins Second Trophy in €350 OlyBet Special

The two-day €350 OlyBet Special boasted 85 entries, creating €25,033 in prizes, with the top 11 players earning at least a €650 min-cash.

The final four players all hailed from different countries, with Lithuania still in the mix for one of the final trophies after Denmark’s Mathies Boesen (third – €3,300) and Sweden’s Johan Ekdahl (fourth – €2,400) ended their deep runs.

Marek Žigel, a local player who typically attends all major poker festivals in Vilnius, nearly earned one of the largest top prizes this festival. However, Finland’s Väino Ketvell had other ideas and earned his second trophy, this time with a massive €7,362 top prize, while Žigel earned a healthy €4,780 for his runner-up performance.

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Väino Ketvell	Finland	€7,362
2	Marek Žigel	Lithuania	€4,780
3	Mathies Boesen	Denmark	€3,300
4	Johan Ekdahl	Sweden	€2,400
5	Šarūnas Reklaitis	Lithuania	€1,780
6	Vidar Assersen	Norway	€1,340
7	Jami Juutila	Finland	€1,100
8	Mindaugas Autukevičius	Lithuania	€910
9	Grigorij Rudnik	Lithuania	€760
10	Mitchell Hynam	United Kingdom	€650
11	Paulius Gaidulevičius	Lithuania	€650

Fabian Bartuschk Collecting Flags (and Trophies)

Perhaps a new hobby as a trophy hunter instead of a flag hunter is in order for Fabian Bartuschk, as he has a propensity to find himself in the winner’s circle and trophy photo.

The German poker player is always on the grind, whether it is two-card games like no-limit hold’em or more cards in mixed games and pot-limit Omaha. The poker grinder added another trophy to his collection, which includes victories from nine different countries, after defeating Sweden’sMichael Doverklint (second – €1,1700) to win the €250 NLH Wrap-Up for €2,421.

The Lithuanian duo of Raimondas Žilėnas (third – €1,090) and Jonas Lapinskas (fourth – €850) both earned a cash in the final event, which attracted 29 entries for a €6,061 prize pool.

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Fabian Bartuschk	Germany	€2,421
2	Michael Doverklint	Sweden	€1,700
3	Raimondas Žilėnas	Lithuania	€1,090
4	Jonas Lapinskas	Lithuania	€850

Kings of Tallinn Next

The action doesn’t slow down after the 2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker, as many players are already setting their sights on the 2026 Kings of Tallinn, powered by OlyBet, at Olympic Park Casino and Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel in Estonia’s capital. The festival returns from Feb. 5-15, 2026, with a record-breaking schedule and is once again expected to attract players from across Northern Europe and beyond.

The centerpiece is the €1,100 Kings of Tallinn Main Event, which features a massive €1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool and runs Feb. 11-15, giving Ace Breaker heroes and hopefuls alike a natural next stop on their 2026 live poker calendar. In total, the festival boasts 70+ numbered events across no-limit hold’em and mixed games, alongside 24/7 cash games and the popular OlyBet Team Challenge, ensuring there is always something to jump into no matter the bankroll or preferred format.

Players can qualify for Kings of Tallinn online at OlyBet Poker through a wide tree of satellites feeding into the €1,100 Main Event and key side events, including low buy-in steps starting from centrolls. Live satellites also run across flagship Olympic Casino venues in Tallinn, Vilnius, Kaunas, and Riga, making it easy for Baltic grinders fresh off the Vilnius Ace Breaker to parlay their momentum into a shot at Kings of Tallinn glory.