Sunday was a bitter sweet day at the 2025 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker as it was the final day of the 29-event schedule at Olympic Casino Lietuva. Goodbyes were sent and three trophies were earned on the final day.
Finland’s Rasmus Sihvonen was easily the star of the final day as he became the first player in recent memory outside of Lithuania to win a major Main Event on Lithuanian soil as he cruised to victory in the OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker €555 Main Event to earn the trophy and the €28,760 top prize. This nearly doubled the live earnings the former poker dealer had coming into the event according to The Hendon Mob but we expect to see Sihvonen’s name again in headlines in the near future, perhaps at the upcoming tenth anniversary of the Kings of Tallinn, which boasts nearly 70 events including a €1 million guaranteed Kings of Tallinn €1,100 Main Event from Feb. 21 to March 2.
Sihvonen snagged the chip lead with four players remaining and never looked back. He was offered a deal by Vygerdas Jonikas during heads-up play and turned it down due to having “student loans.” It turns out that might be a bluff.
“That was also a bluff,” Sihvonen said with a smirk to poker.pro live reporter Christoffer Karlén as he had no interest in making a deal.
While most would consider going out to celebrate after a big win, Sihvonen had work Monday morning to get back to. He shared that most of the money would go towards his bankroll.
“I started this journey as a poker dealer in 2017 or 2018 at a smaller casino in Finland before they shut it down,” Sihvonen shared about his poker results only dating back to 2023. “I always liked poker and it was only natural to move to the other side of the table. I’ve been studying a lot recently and taking it more professionally for about two years.”
Sihvonen’s journey as a player began in the Baltics and Vilnius will always hold a special place in his heart for poker.
“I’ve been to Vilnius three times recently,” shared Sihvonen. “In fact, I think I got my first live result in Vilnius taking third place in a €400 High Roller. It was a nice start to The Hendon Mob. I always liked it here. The people are quite similar to Finnish people and it is pretty easy to get to as well.”
Meanwhile, perhaps we will see a show like Aurimas Stanevičius pulled off in 2024 when he shipped the WSOP Circuit €1,500 Main Event for €167,600 before winning the Kings of Vilnius €1,100 Main Event for €61,455 just a few months later, as Sihvonen will keep the poker show at OlyBet events on the road.
“I definitely will be at Kings of Tallinn,” said Sihvonen whose first cash actually came in the 2023 Kings of Tallinn before his cash in Vilnius. “I am looking forward to the Team Challenge.”
While the Main Event took up most of the limelight on Sunday, Edgaras Pipinė defeated a field of 44 entries in the one-day Event #28: €250 NLH Progressive Knockout for €1,600 and the big bounty at the end after he denied Pasi Rantanen a trophy during heads-up play. Lithuania’s Mindaugas Murauskas navigated through a field of 55 entries in the two-day Event #25: €350 OlyBoost Special for €5,599.
A fourth player also collected their trophy as Saturday night, Lukas “Gronke” Račkauskas defeated a field of 43 players creating a €6,020 prize pool online at OlyBet Poker to win the €150 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Online Progressive Bounty for €825.
Read on to learn more about the final day of the OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker Main Event at Olympic Casino Lietuva or click on the links below to read about the action during the first five days and be sure to check out the poker.pro coverage of the Main Event.
- Read more: PokerPro to Cover OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker Live
- Read more: Vilnius Zabarauskas Wins First Trophy
- Read more: Vilius Zabarauskas Wins Second Trophy
- Read more: Out-of-Towners Break Local Streak
- Read more: Steinn Thanh Du Karlsson Defeats WSOP Bracelet Winner
- Read more: Jonas Lapinskas Goes From Cracked Aces to a Trophy
- Read more: Roman Kulijev Wins High Roller
- Read more: Mahonen and Kerušauskas Find Weekend Gold
- Read more: Lukas Kviecinskas Leads Dirty Dozen in Main Event
2025 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker €555 Main Event Results
The 2025 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker €555 Main Event attracted 296 entries to create a €140,600 prize pool. The top 34 players earned at least a €1,190 min-cash. Check out the final table payouts below or click on the “Payouts” button in our 2025 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker Main Event coverage at poker.pro.
| Position | Player | Country | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Rasmus Sihvonen | Finland | €28,760 |
| 2 |  Vygerdas Jonikas | Lithuania | €19,310 |
| 3 | Nerius Rutkauskas | Lithuania | €13,670 |
| 4 | Lukas Kviecinskas | Lithuania | €10,200 |
| 5 |  Raivis Pucurs | Latvia | €7,810 |
| 6 | Julius Griežė | Lithuania | €6,080 |
| 7 | Egidijus Liutkevičius | Lithuania | €4,830 |
| 8 | Vilius Žamžickas | Lithuania | €3,920 |
| 9 | Ernestas Taunys | Lithuania | €3,290 |
Lukas Kviecinskas Leads to Start Day
The third and final day began with Lukas Kviecinskas leading the way among the 13 hopefuls with eventual champion Rasmus Sihvonen near the top of the pack in fifth place. Kviecinskas had the early momentum as his queens held to send Finland’s Aklilu Laitinen (13th – €2,420) first to the rail with king-nine suited.
Kviecinskas kept the early momentum while delivering a massive cooler to Paal Vermundsdammen (12th – €2,420) when his opponent ran his kings into aces to end his Main Event run in a spot destined for the chips to get into the pot before the flop.
Shortly after, Vilius Zabarauskas (11th – €2,770) lost his short stack with ace-jack against the king-queen held by Ernestas Taunys before Egidijus Oleinik (10th – €2,770) lost the battle of Egidijus’s when his king-queen was no good against the ace-queen tabled by Egidijus Liutkevičius before players went on a break for the final table photo.
Sihvonen Climbs the Ranks at the Deep-Stacked Final Table
Kviecinskas still held the lead to start the deep-stacked final table with 80 big blinds with eventual champion Sihvonen holding one of the shorter stacks with 28 big blinds and eventual runner-up Vygerdas Jonikas with the shortest stack with 20 big blinds.
The chip leader Kviecinskas was hot out of the gate and padded his lead with cowboys against ace-ten while eliminating Taunys in ninth place for €3,290.
Shortly after, the eventual champion Sihvonen have been the second player on the rail but instead won a flip after improving to a flush to double his stack against Kviecinskas with ace-nine suited against sevens. Sihvonen kept this momentum going and catapulted to near the top of the chip counts when his kings held strong against queens to eliminate Vilius Žamžickas in eighth place for €3,920.
The temporary role as the table terminator continued for Sihvonen as he eliminated the short-stacked Liutkevičius in seventh place for €4,830 with king-nine suited against ace-deuce after the duo got it in on a five-trey-five flop.
Nerius Rutkauskas snagged the chip lead after waking up with aces to eliminate Julius Griežė in sixth place for €6,080 after his ace-jack was unable to pull off a miracle before players went on their first break at the final table.
The deep run for Latvia’s Raivis Pucurs ended soon after in fifth place for €7,810 that as he jammed 10 big blinds with ace-six and was unable to improve against the fish hooks held by Jonikas.
Sihvonen went on a run during four-handed play and took the chip lead and continued his momentum while leaving Rutkauskas short on chips after picking off his opponent’s bluff with trips with straights and other possibilities on the board.
Rutkauskas’s amazing Main Event run could have easily continued from here as he jammed for 15 big blinds from the small blind with ace-jack and was called by Sihvonen in the big blind with ace-seven. A seven on the flop ended Rutkauskas’s dreams of a title and instead was the first to collect a five-figure prize after earning the fourth-place prize of €10,200.
Shortly after, the final three players went on their second and final break of the final table with Sihvonen in control with more than half the chips in play. Once again, Lady Luck was on Sihvonen’s side when the action resumed as he jammed from the small blind with seven-deuce and got there to send Rutkauskas to the rail in third place for €13,670 after his opponent called off good with jack-ten suited.
Sihvonen began the heads-up action with triple the stack of Jonikas. He let his opponent do all the work as very soon into the heads-up battle he called down all three streets with top pair holding ten-eight suited and was crowned the champion after Jonikas tabled ace-high with ace-seven. Despite not being able to come back heads-up, a congrats is also in order for Jonikas as he began the final table with the shortest stack and earned the second-largest prize of €19,310 for his runner-up performance.
While this is a wrap on the 2025 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius, poker.pro will be back at the 2025 Kings of Tallinn from February 21 to March 2 at Olympic Park Casino and the luxurious Hilton Tallinn Park. The 64-event schedule is highlight by the €1 million guaranteed Kings of Tallinn €1,100 Main Event with plenty of extra surprises in store for the tenth anniversary including add-ons for the Team Challenge and more. See you in Tallinn and be sure to come back to poker.pro as we cover events around Europe, Canada, and across the globe.
*Photos courtesy of OlyBet Poker
