"ZeiKo" Goes From Zero to Hero in the $100K Gtd The Festival Online Opening Event at 888poker
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The Festival Online at 888poker may only be a couple of days old, but it has already awarded more than $208,000 in prize money! A substantial chunk of that sum, $100,000 to be exact, was dished out in Event #02 Opening Event, with the bulk awarded at the final table.
Lithuania's "ZeiKo" sat down at the eight-handed final table with a meager ten big blind stack, the shortest of all the finalists. However, less than 90 minutes later, "ZeiKo" had all of the chips in play, and they banked a $14,860 top prize after a heads-up deal with "Ghost164," who won $11,909.
The Festival Online #02 Opening Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ZeiKo | Lithuania | $14,860* |
| 2 | Ghost164 | United Kingdom | $11,909* |
| 3 | Mukogna | Lithuania | $8,300 |
| 4 | kiskutya23 | $6,150 | |
| 5 | altavistt | Belarus | $4,550 |
| 6 | serg0013 | Ukraine | $3,400 |
| 7 | 11011983vb | Ukraine | $2,560 |
| 8 | s.totuli | Brazil | $1,940 |
*reflects a heads-up deal
Brazil's "s.totuli" busted in eighth place during the opening minutes of the final table. The action folded to "altavistt" on the button, and they jammed for just under 10.5 big blinds with ace-queen of clubs. "s.totuli" called all-in for less from the small blind with pocket tens, and lost courtesy of a queen on the river.
Moments later, "ZeiKo" was fortunate to double through "Mukogna" when their ace-six turned tips sixes to melt their fellow Lithuanian's snowmen. It was a much-needed double for the "ZeiKo", and ultimately set them on the path to glory.
"ZeiKo" helped themselves to the stack of Ukrainian "11011983vb" when they open-shoved for ten big blinds from the small blind with ace-four, and "ZeiKo" called with ace-eight. The eight-kicker played, and the final table was suddenly down to only six players.
Those six became five when "serg0013" came unstuck. They open-shoved for 8.5 big blinds from late position with king-queen and lost a coinflip against the pocket eights of 888poker regular "kiskutya23," who started the final table as the chip leader.
The field thinned further when "altavistt" of Belarus fell by the wayside. "altavistt" had been nursing a short stack for a while before making a move for their last seven big blinds with pocket nines. "ZeiKo" called with pocket sevens, and looked set to hand over a chunk of their stack. However, the Poker Gods had other plans, and allowed "ZeiKo" to turn an eight-high straight.
"kiskutya23"'s latest deep run ended in a fourth-place finish. After letting the best hand go to a "ZeiKo" bluff on a draw-heavy board, "kiskutya23" jammed for 10.7 big blinds from the small blind with queen-six. "Mukogna" called with king-nine, and "kiskutya23 was gone after neither player connected with the community cards.
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Heads-up was set with "Mukogna" came off worse with their fellow Lithuanian "ZeiKo." From the button, "ZeiKo" min-raised with queen-jack of diamonds, and "Mukogna" called in the big blind with jack-ten of spades. The flop fell four-seven-ten with two diamonds, and it was obvious the players' chips would end up in the middle of the table. That happened when "Mukogna" checked, "ZeiKo" bet two big blinds, only for "Mukogna to check-raise all-in for 21 big blinds. After a brief pause, "ZeiKo" called, and was rewarded with a flush-completing diamond on the turn.
"ZeiKo" went into their one-on-one clash with "Ghost164" holding a 54.5 big blind to 33.1 big blind chip advantage. The players made a deal that slightly lessened the pay jump before resuming the tournament.
The final hand saw "Ghost164" make it 2.5 big blinds with king-ten, "ZeiKo" three-bet to seven big blinds with pocket queens, and "Ghost164" rip in their entire 17.2 big blind stack. "ZeiKo" snap-called, flopped a boat to leave their opponent drawing dead, and helped themselves to a $14,860 prize. The runner-up headed home with $11,909 to show for their impressive deep run.
The Festival Online Results So Far
Nine The Festival Online events have crowned their champions, and "ZeiKo"'s score is the largest to date.
| Event | Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #01 Mini High Roller Opening Event | $215 | 66 | $13,200 | BeHappyyy | $3,960 |
| #02 Opening Event | $109 | 876 | $100,000 | ZeiKo | $14,860 |
| #03 Mini Opening Event | $22 | 842 | $20,000 | coldzebra | $3,740 |
| #04 PLO Opening Event | $55 | 59 | $4,000 | BuddyLuv | $1,480 |
| #05 High Roller Opening Event | $525 | 56 | $28,000 | altavistt | $8,400 |
| #06 PKO 6-Max Mini | $22 | 459 | $9,180 | NoraB23 | $1,702* |
| #07 PKO 7-Max High Roller | $215 | 61 | $12,200 | nottodaybro | $3,498* |
| #08 Mystery Bounty 6-Max | $22 | 643 | $12,860 | Prof3sorul | $2,233* |
| #09 PKO 6-Max | $109 | 89 | $8,900 | idkhtp | $2,625* |
*includes bounty payments
888poker The Festival Remaining Schedule
Do not be disappointed if you missed out on some glory during the opening handful of The Festival Online events because there are dozens more tournaments to get your teeth into over the next couple of weeks.
Every The Festival Online tournament deserves your attention, but two, in particular, stand out from the crowd.
Be sure to check out Event #31, the $160 buy-in $150,000 guaranteed Mystery Bounty tournament, plus Event #51, which is the $250 buy-in Main Event that comes with an incredible $200,000 guaranteed prize pool!
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If you want to make sure you never miss a series like The Festival, you should give the PokerNews Online Tournament Calendar a try. This free-to-use tool keeps track of the poker tournaments on major online poker sites like 888poker.
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