Boguzas and Priede Earn Trophies at the OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Bounty

The Olympic Voodoo Casino, located in the heart of the Latvian capital of Riga, had a full house on Tuesday. The electric atmosphere throughout the poker room in the 2024 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Bounty was clear both during the second and final day of the two-day €250 NLH Deep Stack Mystery Bounty and later in the evening in the €150 Celebrity Special, which featured many local celebrities, each with a bounty on their heads, for players to win a special gift.

Lithuania’s Rimantas Boguzas broke the Latvian trend of keeping the trophies on home soil in Latvia after shipping the €250 Mystery Bounty for €4,181, while Latvia’s Martins Priede continued the Latvian poker community’s dominance after winning the €150 Celebrity Special for €3,680.

Read on to learn more about Tuesday’s action at the 2024 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Bounty.

Rimantas Boguzas Wins €250 Mystery Bounty

The €250 NLH Deep Stack Mystery Bounty attracted 76 entries on its opening day to create a €8,451 prize pool and €7,600 in mystery bounty prizes. The action was down to just 11 hopefuls, each already in the money for at least a €220 min-cash.

The final table was reached after Lithuania’s Andrius Mazeika and Latvia’s Vasilijs Aleksejenko hit the rail. It was an action-packed affair with players hungry to collect mystery bounty tokens for pulls on the first break of the final table.

The final five players were ready to choose their bounty envelopes after Lativa’s Janis Velkeris, Estonia’s Martin Lehesalu, Ukraine’s Mykyta Ivanov, and Finland’s Jarmo Luokkala were out of chips. A creative deal was reached that didn’t affect the prize pool payouts allowing the final few players to keep their own bounty tokens. This allowed all the mystery bounty envelopes to be opened at one time with tons of excitement as the biggest bounties of €1,000 and €2,000 were pulled.

Although Latvia’s Gatis Popovs didn’t make it past fifth place, he was one of the biggest winners of the event after selecting the two largest envelopes to add €3,000 to his €600 payout.

The battle resumed after the break with Estonia’s Raimo Reimann and Latvia’s Ilvars Gudrimovics following Popovs to the rail leaving 2024 WSOP Circuit ring winner Harijs Erglis competing for his second trophy of the festival. Boguzas had other plans, and earned the first trophy to a player not from Latvia.

Martins Priede Wins Celebrity Special

The €150 Celebrity Special was warmed up with a meet and greet open to all with a live DJ along with food and beverages. This certainly helped spark a vibrant and fun atmosphere that carried into the poker event with laughter and fun taking place at every table throughout the event.

The event itself was a huge success with 127 entries creating a €15,850 prize pool. The top 20 players locking up at least a €220 min-cash.

Special gifts were awarded to any player who eliminated a celebrity. The celebrities themselves visibly enjoyed their interactions with the poker community and were true ambassadors to the home country of Latvia.

The final three players were an all-Latvian affair after Estonia’s Martin Lehesalu bowed out in fourth place for his second final table of the day after previously securing seventh place in the €250 NLH Deep Stack Mystery Bounty.

Sergejs Piratovs and Janis Multinieks came close to earning the trophy but, instead, Priede had the honors of becoming the latest champion at the 2024 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Bounty.

Day 5 Schedule (September 18)

History will be made on Wednesday with the OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Bounty €350 Main Event kicking off the first of its three opening flights at 4 p.m. with 40-minute blind levels. Players will start with 30,000 in chips with tons of excitement after the money is reached in this three-day affair with the mystery bounty prizes awarded to players who eliminated opponents.

A €20 satellite to this event, guaranteeing three seats starts the day at 1 p.m., while players can also battle in the one-day €150 NLH Wednesday Rush with 15,000 in chips and 15-minute blinds at 9 p.m.