OlyBet Vilnius Showdown Jacks of June Establishes New Lithuanian Gold Standard

As players from all corners of the world eagerly anticipate their shot at one of a dozen rings at the upcoming second edition of the WSOP Circuit Tallinn, many others have already made their claim to fame in the record-breaking OlyBet Vilnius Showdown Jacks of June at Olympic Casino Vilnius.

The nine-day festival, held from June 1-9, boasted 31 action-packed events and satellites. The festival not only set numerous OlyBet Vilnius Showdown records but also created an exciting atmosphere, with a combined €498,018 prize pools and new gold standards in both the €555 Main Event and €1,100 High Roller.

The two biggest trophies stayed home on Lithuanian soil with Ovidijus Berenis shipping the Main Event for €34,950 before poker pro Vytautas Semaska won the High Roller for €22,470.

Read on to learn more about the highlights of the 2024 OlyBet Vilnius Showdown Jacks of June.

Arturas Dauksevic Early Jacks of June Hero

The festival began with two local players winning early trophies. Andrejs Krasovskis won the €150 Pot Limit Omaha 5 for €1,334, followed by Vitalijus Kuzmicius, who won €1,274 plus bounties in the €150 Saturday Express Knockout.

However, soon after, another Lithuanian in Arturas Dauksevic became the early hero of the festival after shipping the two-day €350 Warm-Up Progressive Bounty. Players who cashed in the Warm-Up were treated to extra value as approximately €5,000 was added to the prize pool thanks to the generous €50,000 guarantee slapped on this early event.

Dauksevic and Kestutis Jungevicius each locked up at least €7,290 from the prize pool before battling it out heads-up for the title. Dauksevic came out on top to win the big bounties at the end and the coveted trophy to complement the one he won at the 2023 Vilnius Ace Breaker €1,100 High Roller.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Tautvydas Stavinskas also won a healthy €4,032 top prize in the €250 NLH Deepstack for €4,032 and Eugenijus Cernius continued the Lithuanian domination by emerging victorious in the €120 NLH/PLO Two-Games Turbo for €1,282.

The following day, players were eagerly awaiting the €150,000 guaranteed Jacks of June €555 Main Event. During that time, three more Lithuanians won side events, including Raimondas Zilenas (€350 NLH Bounty Hunter – €5,321 plus bounties), Igor Grimuta (€150 Pot Limit Omaha Knockout – €684 plus bounties), and Vilius Zamzickas (€120 Monday Express – €1,426).

Lithuanians Continue to Dominate With One Exception

The following two days boasted the three opening flights of the €150,000 guaranteed Main Event, which was live reported from the beginning until the end at OlyBet.tv by this author Jason Glatzer. Rytis Sandaras was the early chip leader, during which time, two players won side event trophies.

Denmark’s Jacob Kitt broke the Lithuanian streak of trophies after shipping the €120 NL Tuesday Knockout for €448 plus bounties, while Zigmas Pekarskas put the local country back on track for its utter domination during the festival after banking €1,039 plus bounties in the €150 NL Win the Button Progressive Knockout.

The second day of the three-day Main Event witnessed a new record broken for the OlyBet Vilnius Showdown brand, as the field grew to 390 entries for a €187,200 prize pool. Rytis Sandaras survived the day and was in the top half of the 21 survivors entering the final day alongside his brother Aistis Sandaras who was in the bottom half. Meanwhile, the event had a new chip leader in Martynas Kaukakys.

Players who busted out of the Main Event on Day 2, along with many others, helped celebrate OlyBet’s partnership with the Euroleague. A handful of players were awarded autographed basketballs from some of the league’s greatest. However, Matas Sabulis had the biggest reason to celebrate in this event as he won the trophy along with the €3,474 top prize in the €150 Celebrating OlyBet X Euroleague Basketball Premium Sponsorship.

On the same day, Jimmy Dewerdt and Liutauras Armanavicius punched their seats to the €1 million guaranteed WSOP Circuit Tallinn €1,500 Main Event via a satellite. Players can still qualify live at their local Olympic Casinos as well as online at OlyBet for this event and other ring events during the festival.

While poker fans eagerly awaited to see who would win the Main Event title, Sabulis was the first player to win a second trophy, as he shipped the €80 Low Roller the following day for €655. Meanwhile, Vilnius resident Yauheni Novik was on his way to also earning two trophies as he won his first in the €250 NLH Deepstack for €2,950. Later in the evening, Nikita Amosenko won the €150 Friday Mix Turbo for €450.

Ovidijus Berenis Comes Back to Win Main Event

Martynas Kaulakys was the odds-on favorite entering the final day of the Main Event with the chip lead but bowed out in fifth place. Meanwhile, it was another Martynas in 2020 Fisherman Challenge champion Martynas Racinskas, who dazzled the rail with a strong performance, witnessing him dominating the final table.

Racinskas’s once insurmountable chip lead vanished when he was heads-up against Ovidijus Berenis. The duo agreed to a deal with each player locking up at least a cool €30,000. A hero call decided it at the end after Berenis called with the third pair on the board to pick off Racinskas’s attempt to steal the pot after he bricked his flush draw to enter his name in the Lithuanian poker history books, along with winning the beautiful trophy and the €34,950 top prize.

• Read the blow-by-blow details of the Main Event at the OlyBet.tv blog.

Vytautas Semaska Wins High Roller

The Jacks of June €1,100 High Roller, which was live reported at OlyBet.tv, established another new record under the OlyBet Vilnius Showdown brand with 86 entries, creating a tasty €82,560 prize pool.

Klaudijus Bajoras led the way heading into the second and final day of the event but was unable to parlay his big stack into cash, which was awarded to all of the players who advanced to the final table.

Meanwhile, there was a Cinderella story in the making. Vasilijus Piskunovas, who entered the High Roller after finishing in fifth place in the Main Event for €10,480 was down to just two big blinds. He doubled several times and managed to take the chip lead before the final table began.

The lead bounced back and forth between Piskunovas and eventual champion Vytautas Semaska. However, Piskunovas had the lead before the start of heads-up play with the duo agreeing to a deal awarding Piskunovas at least €18,000 and Semaska at least €17,740.

Shortly after, Semaska snagged the chip lead before winning the event when his jacks were good against king-trey suited for the €22,470 top prize. Regardless, it was an amazing couple of days for Piskunovas, who nearly won €30,000 for his efforts between his Main Event and High Roller final table performances.

• Read the blow-by-blow details of the High Roller at the OlyBet.tv blog.

Meanwhile, Indre Martoviciute won her second Queens title in a row after shipping the €60 Queens of Vilnius for €150. Also winning titles on the penultimate day were Gediminas Bartkus banking €1,269 in the €250 Deepstack Omaha 4/5 Cards and Renaldas Mankauskas going home with €1,120 in the €150 Saturday Express.

Two more players won trophies on the final day. Arturas Dauksevic bagged the overnight chip lead in the €350 NLH OlyBet Special and was aiming to become the second player to win two titles after becoming the early hero of the festival winning a different two-day event. However, he bowed out in fourth place for €2,160. Instead, Yauheni Novik earned his second trophy and the €6,318 top prize after defeating Vladmiras Meckovskis heads-up for the title.

Meanwhile, Kazimieras Ramaska won the final trophy for €1,990 plus bounties after defeating the formidable Jonas Lapinskas heads-up.

2024 OlyBet Vilnius Showdown Jacks of June Results

World Series of Poker Circuit Tallinn Up Next (July 19-28, 2024)

The excitement doesn’t stop here as things will heat up in the summer with the return of the World Series of Poker Circuit Tallinn at our flagship casino Olympic Tallinn Park.

The festival boasts 53 action-packed events from July 19-28, 2024, including a dozen opportunities for entering poker immortality with 12 ring events.

The festival’s highlight is the $1 million guaranteed WSOP Circuit Tallinn €1,500 Main Event. Several players have already secured their seats to ring events in Tallinn, while many more will continue to win satellites online at OlyBet Poker and at Olympic Casinos across the Baltics.