2025 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius – Ace Breaker: €555 NLH Main Event

Vygerdas Jonikas opened to 31,000 from the lo-jack. When it came around to Darius Liesis, he moved all in for 340,000 from the small blind. After recieving the count, Jonikas called.

Vygerdas Jonikas: A♠K♥
Darius Liesis: J♠J♦

Fortunate 8♥3♣A♥3♦2♠ board for Jonikas, as he eliminated Liesis in 15th place. Shortly thereafter on the other table, Dalius Ulevičius busted in 14th. Liesis and Ulevičius both recieved €2,150.

Vygerdas Jonikas: 1,000,000
Darius Liesis: 0
Dalius Ulevičius: 0

As Marijus Dirgela was eliminated in 17th place and collected his €1,910 paycheck, the final 16 players now have moved down to two tables. Roughly 40 minutes of play remain for Day 2.

There were 610,000 in the middle, and the board read 8♦10♠3♠7♥Q♦. Aklilu Laitinen was faced with a 210,000 all in-bet from Nerius Rutkauskas. Eventually, he made the call.

Nerius Rutkauskas: A♦Q♥
Aklilu Laitinen: A♣8♣

A queen on the river meaning Rutkauskas now has more than one million in chips.

Nerius Rutkauskas: 1,200,000
Aklilu Laitinen: 285,000

As the final level of Day 2 has commenced, Aurimas Stanevičius has busted in 18th place for €1,710. The WSOP Circuit-winner can be pleased with his performance and he’s been showcasing some great poker skills all throughout the tournament.

A short-stacked Kasparas Drazdauskas had 25,000 in chips, having already committed half of his ownings to the big blind and ante. He faced an under the gun-opening from Gordon Goodall and decided to go for it.

Gordon Goodall: 6♥6♦
Kasparas Drazdauskas: Q♥10♦

The only thing we know about the runout is that it didnt’ feature a queen or a ten. Drazdauskas fought well in the tournament and was praised by Goodall who’s sitting at a healty stack.

Gordon Goodall: 660,000
Kasparas Drazdauskas: 0

Seated in the cut-off, Rasmus Sihvonen opened to 25,000. Aurimas Stanevičius defended his big blind.

The flop came 7♦3♠Q♣ and Stanevičius check-called a 16,000 bet from Sihvonen. Stanevičius checked again on the J♥ turn, and Sihvonen now bet 65,000.

Stanevičius called and the K♠ fell on the river. Sihvonen went all in for 175,000 and Stanevičius called fairly quickly.

Rasmus Sihvonen: A♠10♠
Aurimas Stanevičius: 3♦3♥

An unfortunate runout from Stanevičius whom, although losing a big chunk of his stack, could be the most merited player still left in the field.

Rasmus Sihvonen: 580,000
Aurimas Stanevičius: 200,000

Vilius Zabarauskas opened to 25,000 from the button. Egidijus Liutkevičius went all in from the small blind and after Aklilu Laitinen got out of the way, Zabarauskas called with Liutkevičius being the player at risk.

Egidijus Liutkevičius: K♥K♦
Vilius Zabarauskas: A♠K♣

The 4♠Q♣4♥9♣3♦ runout saw Liutkevičius doubling up, somewhat evening out the stacks between them two.

Egidijus Liutkevičius: 620,000
Vilius Zabarauskas: 530,000

Ernestas Taunys opened to 25,000 from the cut-off. Aurimas Stanevičius called from the button and the two of them were treated with a flop.

Taunys checked the 6♣7♥2♠ flop before Stanevičius bet 27,000. Taunys called which brought the turn 4♣. Taunys once again checked and Stanevičius this time sized up to 82,000, enough to make Taunys fold.

Ernestas Taunys: 550,000
Aurimas Stanevičius: 500,000

While this played out, Raivo Grislis busted on another table. He collected €1,710 for his feat.

While the remaining 20 players are on their last 15-minute break for the day, the staff are doing full chip counts. Poker.pro will update the chip counts in the live blog as soon as possible.

2 more 60-minute levels will be played before Day 2 is over.

The blinds are high and you can tell there’s been some short-stacked players; in just a matter of minutes Mindaugas Simkus, Aurimas Bagdonas, Ian Morris, and Jari Mähönen all busted.

At table 2, Raivis Pucurs opened to 25,000 from UTG+1. Darius Liesis decided to defend his big blind and the 2 were heads-up to the flop.

On Q♣10♦6♦, Liesis check-called 25,000 from Pucurs. Action repeated itself on the 10♣, only difference was that the sizing from Pucurs this time was 50,000.

Liesis checked for a third time when the 5♦ fell on the river. Pucurs wasn’t afraid of a flush; he bet 125,000 and Liesis cards hit the much fairly quickly.

Raivis Pucurs: 820,000
Darius Liesis: 364,000

Position	Player	Country	Payout
21	Jari Mähönen	Finland	€1,550
22	Ian Morris	England	€1,550
23	Aurimas Bagdonas	Lithuania	€1,550
24	Mindaugas Simkus	Lithuania	€1,420

A short-stacked Aleksandr Naumov moved all in for 35,000 UTG. Action folded to Ian Morris who called from the big blind.

Aleksandr Naumov: A♥6♦
Ian Morris: 10♣2♥

The Doyle Brunson-hand didn’t suck out as the board ran out in Naumov’s favour. Just before this hand, Deividas Peleckas busted from the tournament, collecting €1,300.

Ian Morris: 145,000
Aleksandr Naumov: 85,000

From the cut-off, Ričardas Bartašius moved all in for 125,000. Darius Liesis isolated the blinds and he met Bartašius at showdown.

Ričardas Bartašius: A♣J♠
Darius Liesis: K♥K♠

Liesis didn’t need to improve, but the board ran out 5♥J♦K♦7♣5♣ – he flopped a set for good measure, while Bartašius left the table to collect €1,300 for his 29th place finish.

Darius Liesis: 540,000
Ričardas Bartašius: 0

A total 29 players have entered Level 29 after Arminas Skardžius and Dominykas Jezerys with a €1,300 pay check each.

Day 2 will end after Level 22 or, if it happens earlier, a final table is reached.

In a blind vs blind scenario, Aklilu Laitinen and Marijus Dirgela clashed all in. Dirgela was the player at risk with 136,000 in his stack.

Aklilu Laitinen: A♥Q♥
Marijus Dirgela: 10♠10♥

A bad start but a good finish for Dirgela as the board spelled out A♣3♦6♣10♣7♠. He’s still alive in the main event. However, that is not the case for Robertas Jasnauskas, who was the first player to collect a paycheck.

Marijus Dirgela: 280,000
Aklilu Laitinen: 230,000

After a classic coinflip situation, the bubble has now burst in the tournament.

Rasmus Sihvonen opened to 16,000 from the cut-off. From the button, Vasilijus Piskunovas raised to 60,000 – leaving himself only 43,000 behind. Action was folded back to Sihvonen who forced Piskunovas all in. Piskunovas called in a heartbeat.

Rasmus Sihvonen: 10♠10♦
Vasilijus Piskunovas: A♠J♥

Tension in the air as the dealer slowly dealt out the 3♣8♠K♦9♠4♠ board. The 2 players shaked hands in a very respectful manor; Piskunovas left the tournament area and the remaining 34 players are now in the money, guaranteed a €1,190 min-cash.

Rasmus Sihvonen: 487,000
Vasilijus Piskunovas: 0

The dinner break is over and the 35 players remaining in the tournament have returned to their seats. Bubble play still goes on.

Despite a handful all ins, the bubble didn’t burst prior to the dinner break. The 35 remaining players will return in 45 minutes, hopefully fueled up.

On the second to last hand before the break, Aurimas Stanevičius – who poker.pro interviewed earlier – raised to 15,000 from the button. In the big blind, Marijus Dirgela forced Stanevičius all in for 67,000 in total. Stanevičius made the call.

Marijus Dirgela: K♥J♥
Aurimas Stanevičius: A♠A♣

Aces on the bubble for Stanevičius who managed to dodge a flush on the 2♠7♦5♥Q♥9♣ board.

Marijus Dirgela: 162,000
Aurimas Stanevičius: 150,000

Poker.pro will soon be back with full chip counts and after the dinner break, we’ll see the conclusion to the bubble.

Vilius Zabarauskas raised to 15,000 from UTG+1. Action was folded to big stack Raivis Pucurs who forced Zabarauskas all in for 103,000. Zabarauskas made the call.

Raivis Pucurs: A♦J♠
Vilius Zabarauskas: K♥K♠

Zabarauskas let out a sigh of relief after the board completed 9♣2♠10♥4♣J♦. The bubble-play goes on!

Raivis Pucurs: 610,000
Vilius Zabarauskas: 230,000

Martynas Kaulakys busted from Table 2 in 36th place, which means that the remaining 35 players now are on the bubble.

Vilius Zabarauskas opened to 12,000 from UTG, and Tadas Šimas called from UTG+1. When action came to Raivis Pucurs in the small blind, he raised to 43,000. Zabarauskas got out of the way, but Šimas went all in for 95,000. Pucurs made the call.

Tadas Šimas: A♥Q♠
Raivis Pucurs: Q♣9♠

Šimas wasn’t too pleased with the 9♦A♦7♠9♣J♦ runout. He busted in 37th place as Pucurs’ stack soars to the top.

Raivis Pucurs: 666,000
Tadas Šimas: 0

Marko Hynynen went all in for 34,000 and got called by Jurgis Beinoras who had him covered.

Marko Hynynen: 10♠10♣
Jurgis Beinoras: J♥J♦

The board ran out 7♦2♥8♦Q♣K♥ meaning Hynynen busted in 39th. There’s now only 3 players waving the Finnish flag remaining in the tournament: Jari Mähönen, Aklilu Laitinen, and Rasmus Sihvonen.

Jurgis Beinoras: 144,000
Marko Hynynen: 0

During the last few hands Paulius Kostickis, Jaroslav Filipov, Vadims Milovs and Darius Kvedaras all busted, taking the number of players still alive in the Main Event down to 39. In other words, only 3 more players will go out before the remaining warriors are in the money.

Darius Liesis opened to 11,000 from early position. It was folded to Andrius Mažeika in the big blind who went all in for 60,000. It was an easy call for Liesis.

Andrius Mažeika: A♣Q♦
Darius Liesis: A♦K♣

No queen on the J♦4♠2♣7♠6♠ board which meant Mažeika had to leave in 44th place. Prior to him, Aivaras Kerušauskas and Jonas Lapinskas also busted.

Darius Liesis: 380,000
Andrius Mažeika: 0

The second 15-minute break of Day 2 just started. Just minutes before the last hand was dealt Tomas Bassus, Bartosz Gorski, and Augustas Bareiša bust from the tournament, which means the total number of players in right now is at 46.

One who’s not out of the tournament though is Aurimas Stanevičius. The Lithuanian came to OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker with a lot of confidence; at the end of 2024, he won the €1,100 Kings of Vilnius Main Event for €61,455. During the first minutes of the break, this reporter, Christoffer Karlén, had a small chat with Stanevičius.

Stanevičius recognizes the heater but shared he hasn’t changed much other than high confidence and consistency.

“I think so, I’ve been in really good shape recently,” shared Stanevičius about his recent amazing run. “I haven’t been doing anything differently but I’m playing with much confidence; I’ve been playing good consistently and now I’m harvesting the fruits.”

Stanevičius had a deep run two days ago in the €1,100 High Roller but eventually bowed out in 10th place for €2,550 on the final table bubble. Regardless, his love of OlyBet events in the Baltics including the 2025 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker always shines.

“It’s awesome,” Stanevičius said about the Vilnius Ace Breaker. “I always love playing the OlyBet events in Vilnius, Tallinn, etc. They are my favourite events!”

Meanwhile, Stanevičius is alive and well with the money bubble approaching with 150,000 in chips on his third bullet of the event. Will the trifecta of OlyBet Main Event titles be completed in less than a year? There is still a long way to go, but one thing we won’t do is ever count Stanevičius out as long as he has chips.

There’s no exaggeration that Stanevičius came to Vilnius with a lot of confidence. When asked if there’s been any memorable hand during the week, he recalls a spot in the €1,100 High Roller where I called down a tripple-barrel bluff with king high and winning at showdown. Stanevičius knows what he’s doing at the poker table and he has another poker trip coming up soon to Cambodia.

Thanks to Aurimas Stanevičius for the chat, and we wish him good luck in the tournament!

As the 45 minute dinner break is approaching, 49 players are currently alive in the tournament. The 5 players who most recently hit the rail were Arūnas Kontautas, Matas Budginas, Edvinas Grimalis, Ofir Yakim, and Vytautas Kačerauskas.

Ofir Yakim opened to 8,000 UTG. From the hi-jack, Martynas Kaulakys went all in for 66,000. Yakim made the call – naturally.

Martynas Kaulakys: Q♥Q♠
Ofir Yakim: A♥A♣

Absolutely brutal for Yakim to see the board run out Q♣K♠K♣7♥3♠ at this stage of the tournament. He survived, but barely.

Martynas Kaulakys: 132,000
Ofir Yakim: 14,500

The most recent players to bid farewell from the tournament are Aurelijus Sipavičius, Ridas Bitauskas, and Dmytro Bryndzya.

Aurelijus Sipavičius went all in for 46,000 from the lo-jack. Action was folded to Mindaugas Simkus in the big blind; he looked down on his 2 cards and called as fast as he could.

Aurelijus Sipavičius: 5♥5♠
Mindaugas Simkus: Q♥Q♣

The board ran out 6♣10♣J♥2♥10♦ and Sipavičius had been eliminated in 57th place. Before him, Sergejs Piratovs and Vincas Tamasauskas also had seen their tournament life come to an end.

Mindaugas Simkus: 189,000
Aurelijus Sipavičius: 0

Aivaras Kerušauskas opened to 6,000 from UTG and got called by Vasilijus Piskunovas from the cut-off.

Action went check-check on the 3♣A♣2♣ flop. On the turn 7♣, Kerušauskas bet 5,500 and Piskunovas med the call. Both players then checked the K♣ river.

Aivaras Kerušauskas: A♠7♠
Vasilijus Piskunovas: A♦Q♥

With neither player holding a club, they shared the pot in a friendly manner.

Aivaras Kerušauskas: 128,000
Vasilijus Piskunovas: 125,000

Prior to this hand Virginijus Lapėnas, Michailas Miserkejevas, Aki Pyysing, Sarunas Leonavicius, Serhii Leonov, Aleksandras Rusinovas, Grzegorz Zimnoch, Tal Shani, Elvinas Vitkevicius, Edgaras Truskauskas, Dominykas Rimkevičius, and Modestas Kryžanauskas had to bid farewell from the tournament.

From UTG+1, Vasilijus Piskunovas opened to 6,000. To his left, Jonas Lapinskas raised to 12,000. Piskunovas 4-bet to 24,000 and Lapinskas made the call.

Piskunovas was first to act on the 2♠8♦10♦ flop and went all in for 45,000. After recieving the count, Lapinskas made the call.

Vasilijus Piskunovas: A♣J♦
Jonas Lapinskas: 9♥9♠

Lapinskas had Piskunovas in rough shape, but the runout 2♠8♦10♦A♦3♣ saw Piskunovas doubling up.

Prior to this hand, Alexey Mishuk busted out from the tournament in 73rd place.

Jonas Lapinskas: 240,000
Vasilijus Piskunovas: 130,000

Since late registration closed Andrius Mazurkevicius, Kęstutis Jungevičius, Jevgenijs Sapronenko, Alenas Pelegrimas, Mindaugas Murauskas, Marius Verikas, Arūnas Garunkštis, and Mantas Urbonas all have been eliminated from the tournament.

After late registration has closed and the prize pool has reached an impressive €140,600, reigning champion Aurimas Stanevičius is still in the mix.

He opened to 6,000 from early position and Marius Verikas proceeded to go all in for 42,000. Everyone else at the table folded and when action came back to Stanevičius, he made the call in an instant.

Marius Verikas: 9♣9♦
Aurimas Stanevičius: A♥K♠

The board J♣K♣5♠6♠J♥ favored Stanevičius who is a very serious contender for the Main Event title.

Aurimas Stanevičius: 100,000
Marius Verikas: 0

The 2 first 60-minute levels of today have been played, and the players are now on a 15-minute break. After this break, late registration will be over.

Poker.pro will soon return with the biggest stacks, as well as payouts.

Jonas Lapinskas was seated in the cut-off when he decided to open to 6,500. Dmytro Bryndzya decided to call from the button, and the blinds folded.

Lapinskas continued the aggression on the 10♥8♦9♣ flop firing a 5,500 bet. Bryndzya called and the turn brought the 2♦. Lapinskas didn’t slow down; he put out 12,500 and was once again called by Bryndza.

The river was the Q♣ and Lapinskas sized down, betting 6,000. Bryndza took his time, and then, he raised to 26,000. This move seemed to catch Lapinskas off guard; he leaned back in his chair and contemplated for roughly 2 minutes before he decided to let his cards hit the muck.

Jonas Lapinskas: 220,000
Dmytro Bryndzya: 165,000

Grzegorz Zimnoch made it 5,500 from the lo-jack. From the cut-off, Dominykas Rimkevičius raised to 11,000. Zimnoch was having none of it and pumped it back to 24,500. Rimkevičius called.

The flop came J♠4♣Q♦ and Zimnoch bet 26,500 into the 56,000 already in the middle. Rimkevičius folded and Zimnoch collected the pot.

Grzegorz Zimnoch: 155,000
Dominykas Rimkevičius: 140,000

Under the gun, Algis Griškevičius went all in for not much more than 8,000. Nerius Rutkauskas called from the button, and Vasilijus Piskunovas decided to call from the big blind.

Rutkauskas fired a continuation bet on the 10♥Q♠9♠ flop. Piskunovas got out of the way; Rutkauskas and Griškevičius went to showdown.

Nerius Rutkauskas: A♦Q♣
Algis Griškevičius: K♦6♦

No help from Griškevičius as the board completed 3♣Q♥. Rutkauskas had a top 5 stack entering Day 2 and he just keeps winning chips.

Nerius Rutkauskas: 216,000
Algis Griškevičius: 0

From the hi-jack, Dominykas Chrypa went all in for 22,000. Action folded to Charles Goodall who went all in himself for 89,000. From the big blind, Serhii Leonov couldn’t have called any faster.

Dominykas Chrypa: Q♥J♠
Charles Goodall: 10♦10♠
Serhii Leonov: A♥A♠

Quite the rollercoaster on the A♦Q♠K♠10♣5♣ runout, which saw Chrypa taking home the bigger main pot.

Dominykas Chrypa: 73,000
Serhii Leonov: 40,000
Charles Goodall: 32,000

From the lo-jack, Egidijus Oleinik min-raised to 4,000. Aleksandras Rusinovas and Vitalijus Briazkala called from the small- and big blind.

The flop came 7♠6♣8♣. Rusinovas and Briazkala checked this fairly wet board prior to Oleinik betting 4,500. Rusinovas folded but Briazkala decided to stick around.

On the turn 10♥, Briazkala check-called a 7,000 bet from Oleinik. Both players decided to check the 2♣ river.

Vitalijus Briazkala: 7♦5♣
Egidijus Oleinik: A♠9♠

Oleinik got the better of Briazkala and he’s off to a decent start in Day 2.

Egidijus Oleinik: 150,000
Vitalijus Briazkala: 39,000

The players have taken their seats, the Day 1-advancers have opened their bags, and a handful of new players have justregistered.

The first level of the day has the same blinds as the last level for the Day 1 flights. Play will end after 10 levels today, or when a final table is reached.

After 3 Day 1-flights, it’s time for Day 2 of the €555 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker Main Event.

There’s been some good poker at Olympic Casino Vilnius during the last couple of days, and 99 players have advanced to Day 2 which kicks off today at 12:00. The prize pool currently sits at a staggering €125,280, and this will continue to grow; late registration is open until after the first break for the first two blind levels of Day 2.

Speaking of the levels, the structure for today looks as follows:

Payouts will, of course, be announced after late registration is over. Leading the field going in to Day 2 is Marius Verikas. Together with his 265,000 chip stack, the Lithuanian will do everything in his power to get his biggest career title. The competition is tough though and there are many well-respected poker players still in the mix.

Our team at poker.pro will be with you all throughout Day 2, delivering live updates. Make sure to tune in to the live blog frequently to get all the latest updates!