Electrifying Start to Inaugural Kings of Vilnius

The opening day of the inaugural 2024 Kings of Vilnius at Olympic Casino Lietuva on November 15, 2024, marked a historic moment for Lithuanian poker, as the festival kicked off with an electrifying atmosphere and a lineup of events that promised to set new records.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, players from across the globe gathered at the prestigious venue nestled within the Radisson Blu Lietuva Hotel. The excitement was palpable as they prepared to compete in the €555 NLH Kings of Vilnius Championship, the inaugural event of this landmark festival. This three-day tournament features three opening flights, including a turbo structure on Saturday evening, ensuring that players have ample opportunities to secure their seats and make their mark in this historic setting.

The festival’s robust schedule boasts 31 events in various tournament formats from November 15-24 along with cash games running throughout the day and evening. The highlight is undoubtedly the €1,100 Main Event, which will run from November 21-24 and features a historic €250,000 guaranteed prize pool—the largest ever seen in Lithuania.

Marijus Grigonis, Head of Poker Operations Baltic at Olympic Entertainment Group, expressed his enthusiasm: “We are incredibly excited to bring the Kings of Festival to Vilnius. This festival will not only set new records for Lithuanian poker but will also attract a diverse field of players.”

The opening event in the three-day Event #1: €555 NLH Kings of Vilnius Championship is already looking to establish new records for an event of this buy-in range on Lithuanian soil with 131 entries eagerly battling on Friday’s first of three opening flights. Saturday and Sunday will boast two more opening flights with late registration remaining open during the first two blind levels of Day 2 on Sunday.

The top 16 players out of the 37 survivors represented the home country of Lithuania led by Day 1a chip leader Nerius Rutkauskas, who parlayed his 30,000 opening stack more than ten-fold into 301,500 in chips. Countrymates Vitalijus Kuzmičius (247,000) and Marek Zigel (242,000) each bagged more than 200,000, while Edvinas Grimalis (181,500) and Tomas Kovalenka (171,000) rounded out the top five on the Day 1a leaderboard.

Meanwhile, it wasn’t just Lithuanians bagging chips on Day 1 of the opening multi-day event as two players from the United Kingdom including 2022 Kings of Tallinn Summer Showdown champion Glen Gaines, chipped up to 99,000. Gaines made the phrase “The Reading Nuts” more internationally recognized after referring to this as his winning hand during the event.

United Kingdom’s Simon Henry bagged a smaller stack of 72,000 while Greece’s Enea Subashi (65,500), who recently earned his biggest score in live poker according to The Hendon Mob after taking third place in the 2024 Kings of Tallinn Autumn Edition Main Event for €55,200. Canada’s Gintas Dirse, who calls Lithuania his home, also broke up the Lithuanian flag mix after advancing with 41,500.

In other news, Event #2: #30 Satellite to €555 Championship attracted 63 entries with eight players earning tickets into Day 1b starting on Saturday at Noon.

Event #1: €555 NLH Kings of Vilnius Championship Day 1a Chip Counts

2024 Kings of Vilnius Day 2 Schedule (Saturday, November 16)

The second day of the 2024 Kings of Vilnius boasts four different events including the final two opening flights of Event #1: €555 NLH Kings of Vilnius Championship at noon and 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, two trophies will be awarded on Saturday in Event #3: €250 NLH Knockout starting at 6 p.m. followed by Event #4: €150 Pot Limit Omaha at 8 p.m.

While the evening will bring plenty of cash action, others will enjoy getting a cheap path into the €1,100 Kings of Vilnius Main Event in the €30 satellite guaranteeing two seats to the €250,000 guaranteed affair starting at 10 p.m.