Riga is quickly growing into a mecca of poker action thanks to OlyBet relaunching international poker action in the Latvian capital at Olympic Voodoo Casino. The first international event of 2025 began on Saturday, March 22 with the inaugural OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition for nine days of poker action with dozens of trophies on the line until the final winners are crowned on March 30.
The opening day began with a €20 satellite to the two-day €250 NLH Opening Event which guaranteed five seats. The event attracted 61 players and instead awarded 12 seats to blow away the guarantee.
The €250 NLH Opening Event proved popular on Saturday afternoon with 126 entries creating a €26,334 prize pool with Latvia’s Raivis Pučurs leading the final nine players when the action resumes at noon.
Later in the evening, Latvia’s Kaspars Mallons earned the first trophy of the festival after defeating a field of 77 entries in the €150 NLH to win the €2,850 top prize. Mallons earned his first international trophy around this time last year after he shipped the €150 Estonian Independence Day Special as part of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn for €7,720.
Read on to learn more about the opening day of the 2025 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition at Olympic Voodoo Casino.
- Read more: OlyBet Showdown Riga Sets a New Gold Standard for Latvia (March 22-30)
- Read more: 2025 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition landing page at OlyBetEvents
Kaspars Mallons Wins Event #3: €150 NLH
The one-day €150 NLH was an action-packed affair with 77 entries getting into the mix to create a €9,510 prize pool. The final table of nine players were all in the money for at least a €310 min-cash after Latvia’s Jānis Velkeris bubbled the final table. Velkeris and this author late-registered at the last minute and were placed at the same table. Velkeris had a better excuse for waiting than this author as he was the first player out in the money for a €522 min-cash in the two-day Event #2: €250 NLH Opening Event.
Meanwhile, five different countries were represented at the final table, but at the end, it was between the two neighborly Baltic countries in Lithuania and Latvia, with the Albert Ostrovskij making the trip up north to battle against Kaspars Mallons. Mallons got the job done to earn the €2,850 top prize and earn a trophy to go alongside the one he won during the 2024 Kings of Tallinn, while Ostrovskij earned a tasty €1,900 runner-up prize for his efforts.
Event #3: €150 NLH Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kaspars Mallons | Latvia | €2,850 |
| 2 |  Albert Ostrovskij | Lithuania | €1,900 |
| 3 | Aleksejs Horohorins | Latvia | €1,330 |
| 4 | Renārs Krastiņš | Latvia | €970 |
| 5 |  Pauli Saares | Finland | €710 |
| 6 |  Oleksandr Tarashevskyi | Ukraine | €580 |
| 7 | Vadims Ivanovs | Latvia | €480 |
| 8 |  Philip Huxley | United Kingdom | €380 |
| 9 | Kristaps Zālītis | Latvia | €310 |
Raivis Pučurs Leads Final Table of Event #2: €250 NLH Opening Event
The €250 NLH Opening Event was down to the money bubble after dinner time with the final 15 players in the money for at least a €522 min-cash after Latvia’s Irina Liepina bubbled the event.
Three Latvians were the first to hit the rail after reaching the money in Kristaps Zarāns (13th – €595), Kaspars Avots (14th – €522), and the already mentioned Jānis Velkeris (15th – €522) before a pair of Ukrainians followed in Hryhorii Meleshenko (11th – €680) and Valeriy Hrachov (12th – €595).
The first of two days ended after Lithuania’s Vygerdas Jonikas (10th – €680) bubbled the final table leaving just nine hopefuls remaining for the trophy on Sunday.
The dynamic will be interesting with two players seemingly holding the majority of the chips with Raivis Pučurs leading the way with a 63 big blind stack of 1,265,000. Estonia’s Ott Jaakson also ended the opening day as a chip millionaire giving him an enviable spot with all the returning players each locking up €800 while playing for the €6,740 top prize and the rights to the trophy.
Four players, including the 2025 Kings of Tallinn €555 Championship winner Benyamin Canatan, 2024 WSOP Circuit Tallinn ring winner Ēriks Krūmiņš, Edgaras Pipine, and Gatis Reigass will begin the final day with stacks between 12 big blinds and 18 big blinds while three other players, Jevgēnijs Kritiņins, Jurijs Zaslavskis, and Yaniv Peretz will start with five to seven big blinds.
Event #2: €250 NLH Opening Event Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ott Jaakson | Estonia | 1,005,000 | 50 |
| 2 | Jevgēnijs Kritiņins | Latvia | 135,000 | 7 |
| 3 |  Benyamin Canatan | Denmark | 245,000 | 12 |
| 4 | Raivis Pučurs | Latvia | 1,265,000 | 63 |
| 5 | Jurijs Zaslavskis | Latvia | 90,000 | 5 |
| 6 | Gatis Reigass | Latvia | 260,000 | 13 |
| 7 | Yaniv Peretz | Latvia | 135,000 | 7 |
| 8 | Ēriks Krūmiņš | Latvia | 365,000 | 18 |
| 9 | Edgaras Pipine | Lithuania | 280,000 | 14 |
2025 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition Schedule (Sunday, March 23)
Players will have three chances to win trophies on Sunday with the day beginning with both the conclusion of the €250 Opening Event and the start of the one-day €350 NLH DeepStacks Progressive Bounty at 12 p.m.
Later in the day, players will compete in a €80 satellite, which guarantees at least five seats to the €555 Championship at 6 p.m. followed by the final event of the evening in the €150 PLO4/PLO5.
Check out Sunday’s schedule below or head to the 2025 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition landing page at OlyBetEvents to check out the full schedule and more.
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 12:00 | Event #2: €250 NLH Opening Event Final Day |
| 12:00 | Event #4: €350 NLH DeepStack Progressive Bounty |
| 18:00 | Event #5: €80 Mega Satellite to €555 NLH Championship 1a (5x Seats GTD) |
| 21:00 | Event #6: €150 PLO4/PLO5 |
