Our team at poker.pro is on-site at the 2026 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition at the Olympic Voodoo Casino in Riga, covering key hands and the biggest moments from the €555 Championship and €1,100 NLH Main Event.
Yehven Pavlenko opened to 12,000 from early position, and Tero Hokkanen defended the big blind.
Hokkanen checked the J♠8♣4♣ flop to Pavlenko, who continued with a bet of 15,000. Hokkanen responded with a jam for around 100,000, and Pavlenko quickly folded.
Audrius Navickas, Askolds Uldrikis and Jan Risberg have all hit the buffers after the second break as we approach the bubble, with 23 places to be paid.
Eriks Krumins opened to 8,000 under the gun, and received a call from Askolds Uldrikis in the next seat, before Darius Narmontas three-bet jammed from the button for 32,000.
Action folded back to Krumins, who rejammed, forcing out Uldrikis.
Darius Narmontas: Q♠Q♦ Eriks Krumins: K♠Q♣
Narmontas was in a dominating position, but the king was in the window on the K♣8♣3♦ flop, and Narmontas could not find a one-outer on the 5♣ turn or 7♥ river.
Michael Ibba moved all in from early position for 42,000, and Kristaps Deksnis took a peek at his cards on the button before promptly moving his 27,000 stack into the middle.
Kristaps Deksnis: A♦A♣ Michael Ibba: A♠Q♣
Deksnis had woken up with the goods, and there was no unlikely escape for Ibba on the 7♠5♥2♠5♦K♦ runout.
Audrius Navickas jammed from the button for 21,000, and received a customer in Mantas Bagocius from the small blind, who slightly covered his opponent.
Audrius Navickas: 8♥7♣ Mantas Bagocius: Q♣J♦
Navickas needed some help, and looked to be heading for the exits after the J♣9♥5♦ flop and Q♥ turn gave Bagocius top two pair, but a miracle 10♥ appeared on the river to give Navickas the straight and a double-up.
Ralf Mikk opened to 5,000 from early position, and was faced with a three-bet to 13,500 from Jorgen Andersen from the small blind. Action folded back to Mikk, who called.
On the J♣6♥2♠ flop, Andersen fired out a further bet of 13,500, leading to a swift fold from Mikk.
Artjoms Urušadze opened to 5,000 from the hijack, and was met with a three-bet to 13,500 from Jan Risberg on the button.
Action folded back to Urušadze, who made the call.
Urušadze checked to Risberg on the 8♥5♠4♦ flop, who fired out a substantial bet of 21,000. Urušadze looked troubled by the sizing, and took a good 90 seconds for thought, before flicking his cards into the muck.
Around 18,000 had made its way into the middle by the river, on a board of A♠A♥3♠4♣9♠, in a hand between Yaniv Peretz in the hijack and Axel Saarniala in the big blind.
Saarniala checked, and Peretz fired out a bet of 11,000. Saarniala responded with a check-raise to 30,000, covering Peretz’s remaining stack.
Peretz took a good 90 seconds to consider his options, and made the call.
He was shown the bad news when Saarniala tabled A♦4♠ for the full house, and Peretz tapped the table and showed 6♥6♠, before heading to the cash desk to reenter.
Play is underway here in Day 2 of the €555 NLH Championship, with five additional entries at the start of the day – Juris Bonders, Davis Daugavins, Jan-Mikael Kesanen, Jesse Kokkonen and Axel Saarniala, all of whom sit down with a starting stack of 30,000.
The OlyBet Showdown Spring Edition is already well underway at the Olympic Voodoo Casino, set in the heart of the historic Latvian capital, Riga, with players from all over the world flocking to the venue in search of poker action and glory.
Six champions have already been crowned, and the poker.pro reporting team will be on the floor covering all the action for the remainder of the festival as attention turns to the showpiece events, the €555 NLH Championship and the €1,100 Main Event.
Two starting flights of the €555 NLH Championship have already been completed, and we will pick up the action from the start of Day 2, which kicks off at noon today, 18 March. The starting flights attracted a total of 154 entries, creating a substantial €73,150 prize pool, with 43 players managing to negotiate twelve 40-minute levels to progress to Day 2.
Registration remains open until the start of Level 15. Players taking advantage of late registration will sit down with a starting stack of 30,000, with the clock set to 40-minute levels.
The event may surpass last year’s figures, when Jānis Meņģelis of Latvia overcame a 185-entry field to bag the trophy and first-place prize of €19,845,
Danish player Jorgen Anderson (285,000) takes the chip lead into Day 2 after storming to the top of the standings in Day 1b, and he is closely followed by two Latvian players, Daniels Viskina (260,000) and Edgars Hauks (207,000). Max Jafaripour of Sweden (200,000) topped the standings in Day 1a.
Opening Event champion Eric Wasylenko of Canada (148,500) is in a strong position to capture a duo of titles, while Linas Bulksas of Lithuania (100,000) is chasing another OlyBet NLH Championship title after triumphing in the equivalent event at the Kings of Vilnius festival. Matīss Celmiņš of Latvia (179,000) will be another dangerman.
Eric Wasylenko (Photo: OlyBet)
€555 NLH Championship Day 2 Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chips
Big Blinds
1
Jorgen Andersen
Denmark
285,000
142
2
Daniels Viksna
Latvia
260,000
130
3
Edgars Hauks
Latvia
207,000
103
4
Max Jafaripour
Sweden
200,000
100
5
Sergejs Piratovs
Latvia
193,000
97
6
Marijus Dirgela
Lithuania
187,500
93
7
Matīss Celmiņš
Latvia
179,000
90
8
Normunds Rumba
Latvia
154,500
77
9
Tero Hokkanen
Finland
152,000
76
10
Eric Wasylenko
Canada
148,500
74
11
Mateusz Oscilowski
Poland
145,000
73
12
Ralf Mikk
Estonia
139,500
69
13
Nauris Jansons
Latvia
138,000
69
14
Eriks Krumins
Latvia
133,500
66
15
Cyril Peralez
France
130,000
65
16
Michael Ibba
Italy
123,500
62
17
Pāvels Spirins
Latvia
113,500
57
18
Gediminas Guzelis
Lithuania
112,000
56
19
Askolds Uldriķis
Latvia
108,000
54
20
Yehven Pavlenko
Ukraine
103,500
51
21
Vladislavs Petrovs
Latvia
103,500
51
22
Linas Bulkšas
Lithuania
100,000
50
23
Jan Risberg
Sweden
96,500
48
24
Kristaps Zarāns
Latvia
88,500
44
25
Roberts Krīgers
Latvia
84,000
42
26
Rami Amuri
Latvia
81,000
40
27
Iļja Sluckers
Latvia
78,000
39
28
Algirdas Saveikis
Lithuania
77,500
38
29
Audrius Navickas
Lithuania
76,500
38
30
Hryhorii Meleshenko
Ukraine
69,500
35
31
Baptiste Caim
France
63,500
32
32
Rūdolfs Vosvenieks
Latvia
57,000
29
33
Kristoffer Winterstein
Sweden
54,000
27
34
Garijs Rozkalns
Latvia
53,500
26
35
Andreas Backlund
Finland
51,500
25
36
Michal Goral
Poland
49,000
25
37
Viesturs Ošis
Latvia
45,500
23
38
Yaniv Peretz
Latvia
42,000
21
39
Patriks Švinka
Latvia
34,000
17
40
Artjoms Urušadze
Latvia
33,500
17
41
Kristaps Deksnis
Latvia
33,000
17
42
Roberts Rumba
Latvia
30,000
15
43
Jevgenijs Kritinins
Latvia
26,500
13
Prize pool and payout information will be confirmed after late registration is closed and numbers are finalized.
Stay tuned to poker.pro for all your coverage of the OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition, as we see who can capture the €555 NLH Championship title.
2026 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition – €1,100 Main Event Structure