Jõgioja Makes it Rain! Wins the Cash Game Festival Tallinn Trophy
The Cash Game Festival Tallinn at Olympic Park Casino ended the festival's 2018 season in style with plenty of action both on and away from the tables.
The Cash Game Festival hosted televised feature tables twice per day, commentated on by Cash Game Festival's new host Christin Mäemets. As is always the case in the 24-event history of the Cash Game Festival, there were also plenty of guests joining the booth.
Estonia's Rain Jõgioja, who has been to many Cash Game Festivals in his home country but never abroad, now has a very good reason to travel to the next Cash Game Festival at Aspers Casino Westfield Stratford City on Jan. 30 to Feb. 2, 2019 thanks to winning the Cash Game Festival Tallinn trophy. Along with the trophy, Jõgioja also won a package valued at €1,000 for London.
Jõgioja earned the trophy by winning the most big blinds out of any of the players on the ten official feature tables. He booked a big win of €1,845 (922.5 big blinds) on Day 1's €2/€2 pot-limit Omaha feature table, and never looked back.
After his big Day 1 win, Jogioja credited both luck and timing for his big win. "I got a bit lucky early on, especially with garbage hands," shared Jogioga to PokerNews. "Then I won a huge hand calling off a bluff by Franke (Cash Game Festival Co-Founder Martin von Zweigbergk) to put myself in a good position to be the biggest winner at the table."
While Jogioja booked the biggest win in terms of big blinds, it was Barry McGleenon who won the most in terms of money during a single feature table. He won €3,605 (721 big blinds) on Day 4's €5/€5 pot-limit Omaha feature table.
McGleenon has been to a bunch of Cash Game Festivals in the past along with two-time Cash Game Festival trophy winner Kevin Malone, but is usually in attendance for the vibe and partying and played very little poker so far. That all changed this festival for McGleenon and it all came down to switching from alcohol to water.
"You look surprised that I was the biggest winner," McGleenon said to PokerNews with a big smile. "See what water can do?"
Also noteworthy was Michelangelo Scalcione working his way to two big wins at the feature tables at his very first Cash Game Festival.
A handful of qualifiers from 32Red Poker also managed their way to big wins at feature tables including Christian Bauer and Stephen Groom. Meanwhile, Oliver Florea, Rikard Relander, Anton Dzhelali, Jens Henrik Riis, and Fraser MacIntyre also won their feature tables.
Cash Game Festival Tallinn Feature Table Winners
| Day | Player | Game | Profit | Big Blinds Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Oliver Florea | €1/€1 NLHE | €204 | 204.0 |
| Day 1 | Rain Jõgioja | €2/€2 PLO | €1,845 | 922.5 |
| Day 2 | Rikard Relander | €1/€1 NLHE | €756 | 756.0 |
| Day 2 | Anton Dzhelali | €2/€2 PLO | €359 | 179.5 |
| Day 3 | Jens Henrik Riis | €2/€2 Mixed Games | €573 | 286.5* |
| Day 3 | Michelangelo Scalcione | €2/€2 NLHE | €348 | 174.0 |
| Day 3 | Christian Braeuer | €2/€2 PLO | €1,256 | 628.0 |
| Day 4 | Barry McGleenon | €5/€5 PLO | €3,605 | 721.0 |
| Day 4 | Michelangelo Scalcione | €5/€5 NLHE | €475 | 95.0 |
| Day 5 | Stephen Groom | €2/€2 NLHE | €576 | 288.0 |
| Day 5 | Fraser MacIntyre | €2/€2 PLO | €1,240 | 620.0 |
* Designates unofficial feature table.
Jõgioja joined an exclusive Cash Game Festival club that has awarded a total of ten trophies. Von Zweigbergk, Malone, and Norwegian poker pro Jon Kyte have all won the trophy twice while Heiti Riisberg, Gang Wang, and Unibet Poker Ambassador David Lappin have each won the trophy once.
Cash Game Festival Trophy Winners
| Festival | Date | Winner | Game | Amount Won | Big Blinds Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CGF London | Sept. 20-24, 2017 | Jon Kyte | £2/£5 NLHE | £4,265 | 853.0 |
| CGF Dublin | Oct. 11-15, 2017 | Kevin Malone | €1/€2 PLO | €1,735 | 867.5 |
| CGF Tallinn | Nov. 15-19, 2017 | Heiti Riisberg | €1/€2 NLHE | €3,364 | 1,682.0 |
| CGF London | Jan. 3-7, 2018 | Gang Wang | £5/£5 PLO | £9,064 | 1,812.8 |
| CGF Bratislava | April 4-8, 2018 | Martin von Zweigbergk | €1/€2 PLO | €1,563 | 781.5 |
| CGF Tallinn | April 25-29, 2018 | Jon Kyte | €2/€2 PLO8 | €2,698 | 1,349.0 |
| CGF London | July 11-15, 2018 | Martin von Zweigbergk | £2/£2 PLO | £1,500 | 750.0 |
| CGF Bulgaria | Aug. 8-12, 2018 | Kevin Malone | €2/€2 PLO | €1,620 | 810.0 |
| CGF Bratislava | Sept. 19-23 | David Lappin | €5/€5 PLO | €4,162 | 832.8 |
| CGF Tallinn | Nov. 21-25 | Rain Jõgioja | €2/€2 PLO | €1,845 | 922.5 |
The action was equally exciting away from the tables, especially for those with the hospitality package compliment to those who won a package at a previous festival or through the festival's partners 32Red Poker, Unibet Poker, betsafe Poker, and Olybet Poker.
Organized activities included welcome drinks, pole dancing, a pub trip, a players' party, a VIP dinner, a city tour, and beer tasting. In addition, Olympic Casino provided top-notch service by award-winning staff for players each evening.
Don't Miss London
If you were unable to make it out to Tallinn, rest assured you will not have to wait too long to enjoy the next festival.
On Jan. 30 to Feb. 3, the Cash Game Festival heads back to the British capital of London at Aspers Casino Westfield Stratford City for another five days of nonstop cash game action. This marks the seventh-time the festival will be visiting London; the poker action always attracts many players from around the globe.
As usual, the PokerNews live reporting team will be on hand to report on all the events both on and away from the tables.
Photos courtesy of Natalie Black/Cash Game Festival.
