The founder of The Festival has been off to a hectic start this year. Not only is the season’s first event of his live poker series done and dusted since roughly one week ago, but the poker entrepreneur has also found some time to enjoy some cards himself. It’s been the start to the year all poker players dream of, and considering the month of March has only just begun, there really is no limit to what the Swedish Mixed Games enthusiast can accomplish in 2026.
Three Titles in Three Countries
Three months, three countries, three titles; now, how does that sound? That has become the reality of poker entrepreneur Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk, a close friend of poker.pro, who’s been off to a great start in 2026. One starts to question whether Franke’s days have 24 hours, as is the case for mortals; he appears to constantly have something going on, and his ability to juggle all his different projects is nothing short of admirable. The 2026 Festival Bratislava, i.e., his lovechild, wrapped up roughly one week ago, and there was no rest for Franke, as he went straight to Grand Casino Liechtenstein for the 2026 WSOP Circuit Liechtenstein, taking the scenic route and doing some sightseeing through the train windows on the way.
- Read more: Theodosiou Wins the €550 Main Event During the 2026 Festival Bratislava; Morstol and More Captures Side Event Titles
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Franke’s first title of the year came when he paid Olympic Casino Vilnius a visit. The Festival is scheduled to touch Lithuanian soil for the first time this year, seeing as the aforementioned casino will roll out the red carpet for the 2026 Festival Weekend Vilnius, May 28-31. Franke visited the Baroque Pearl to scout the terrain, and he picked a good time doing so, seeing as the 2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker was in full flare.
- Read more: The Festival Weekend Presents the First Stop of 2026: Vilnius!
- Read more: Jarmo Luokkala Wins 2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius €1,100 Main Event (€39,260)
While Jarmo Luokkala took down the €1,100 Main Event, Franke decided to enter one of the side events, the €200 PL Sviten. It’s his favorite game, and he’s undoubtedly the biggest factor in the game’s expansion outside of Sweden.
The five-card draw/PLO5 Frankenstein of a game scored a total of 32 entries, creating a €5,168 prize pool. During the earlier stages of the tournament, Franke’s catch phrase, “Rebuy!” echoed through Olympic Casino Lithuania. He wasn’t off to the greatest of starts, seeing as four of the earliest bullets in the tournament were courtesy of him. Franke’s not known for surrendering easily, though, and, eventually, he flipped the script.
He soon found himself amongst the final four competitors. Even though he had secured a €720 min-cash, he still needed to climb two pay-jumps to secure a €450 profit. He locked in, and being a superb Sviten player, he already had great presumptions and a realistic shot at the title. The fact that he and Finn Väino Ketvell were also (more or less) tied at the top of the chip counts was just a bonus. The two of them soon collided in what would prove to be the biggest pot of the tournament, which saw Franke pulling the bigger straw and scooping the pot. He eliminated Ketvell in fourth place, taking a chip lead almost as humongous as his love for Mixed Games. He then sent poker.pro CEO Jason Glatzer to the rail, which saw Franke getting in the green. He made quick work of Lithuanian Linas Jautakis, and with that, Franke claimed the €2,068 first-place prize and his first trophy of 2026.
2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius – €200 PL Sviten Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk | Sweden | €2,068 |
| 2 |  Linas Jautakis | Lithuania | €1,450 |
| 3 | Jason Glatzer | Lithuania | €930 |
| 4 |  Väino Ketvell | Finland | €720 |
Fast forward roughly one month, and switch one of the Baltic States for another. The 2026 Kings of Tallinn is one of – if not the biggest – live poker festivals in Northern Europe. This is not by coincidence; tournament director Teresa Nousainen and her superb crew are working all year long ensuring the event always will break new records, and this year’s edition was no exception. Everything about the 2026 Kings of Tallinn was nothing short of perfect, and Veli-pekka Penttinen’s €1,100 Main Event was just one act, albeit an impressive one, of the 11-day-long performance at the metaphorical theatre that is the Olympic Park Casino and Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel.
Tallinn is where Franke currently lives, and he always tries to pay the Kings of Tallinn a visit. Even though not being a dedicated Texas NLH fan, Franke managed a semi-deep run in the Main Event, finishing one-hundred-twenty-fourth out of 1,033 entries. That wouldn’t be his peak during the festival, though. He entered various Mixed Games tournaments, and the one he had the biggest success in was the €200 PL Sviten/PLO5.
Just like in Vilnius, Franke shouted “Rebuy!” across the tournament floor during the earlier stages of the event, and it wasn’t until the sixth bullet that he started to get things rolling. Then, he activated bulldozer mode, swiftly navigating his way through the field that consisted of 130 entries. Eventually, he found himself at the final table – surrounded by five Finnish players. All gas and no breaks from Franke, who not only showed why Swedes are sublime Sviten players, but also that he possesses great knowledge of PLO5. One by one, they fell, and when the dust settled, Franke once again found himself at the podium, claiming the biggest slice of the €20,553 prize pool.
2026 Kings of Tallinn – €200 PL Sviten/PLO5 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk | Sweden | €4,550 |
| 2 | Miika Töyräs | Finland | €3,270 |
| 3 | Jarkko Suokas | Finland | €2,490 |
| 4 | Veikko Oittinen | Finland | €1,940 |
| 5 | Andreas Backlund | Finland | €1,510 |
| 6 | Semi Rantanen | Finland | €1,200 |
Fast forward to just a couple of days ago, when Franke left Slovakia after the beyond successful 2026 Festival Bratislava for Liechtenstein. The 2026 WSOP Circuit Liechtenstein lured, and Franke answered for (at least) one of the 29 entries registered in the SFr500 8-Game. Soon enough, the Mixed Games virtuoso found himself in the money, along with four very experienced competitors. Germany’s Fabian Bartuschk had followed Franke to Liechtenstein from Bratislava, and he was another contender for the title. Claiming titles during the 2026 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker (€250 NLH Wrap-Up), the 2026 WSOP Circuit Marrakech (درهم 6,000 PLO), and the 2026 Kings of Tallinn (€350 Open-Face Chinese Pineapple), Bartuschk was in fine form, hunting yet another title.
Bartuschk managed to secure one pay-jump before finishing fourth in the Liechtenstein Mixed Games bonanza. It’s an educated guess that the down-to-earth German still is pleased with how his year is going so far, considering he recently passed $1,000,000 in lifetime earnings on The Hendon Mob.
Franke still had his work cut out for him, as Ivo Donev was still in the mix. “The Chess Master”, who is a WSOP holder, eventually went out in third, leaving Franke heads-up against Andreas Fröhli. A heads-up duel versus Franke in 8-Game is somewhat of a nightmare, and even though being an exceptional Mixed Games player himself, Fröhli eventually came up short. With that, Franke claimed his third title of the year – in a third country – during the third month of the year.
2026 WSOP Circuit Liechtenstein – SFr500 8-Game Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (SFr) | Prize ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk | Sweden | SFr3,704 | $4,747 |
| 2 |  Andreas Fröhli | Austria | SFr3,500 | $4,485 |
| 3 | Ivo Donev | Austria | SFr2,684 | $3,439 |
| 4 |  Fabian Bartuschk | Germany | SFr1,420 | $1,820 |
| 5 |  Kent Ballegaard | Denmark | SFr1,090 | $1,397 |
Whatever Franke is having for breakfast, this poker.pro journalist wants the same, with a glass of orange juice on the side. A world-class live poker event organizer, a skillful and diversified player, a genuine good guy…rumors even has it he’s phenomenal on the padel court. Perhaps, he will get some well-deserved rest before paying the 2026 Irish Poker Open a visit. It’s the first time the legendary event on the Emerald Isle features a Sviten event, and it’s all thanks to Franke. You’d better believe “Rebuy!” will be heard multiple times through the Royal Dublin Society, March 26-April 6.
