The OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker marked the first major poker festival of 2024 in the Baltic region, hosted with grandeur at the Olympic Casino Lietuva. Following the success of the 2023 festival, high expectations were set for this year, and it certainly did not disappoint. The Ace Breaker festival once again showed impressive turnouts with record-breaking numbers.
Two marquee events highlighted the festival: the €555 Main Event and the €1,100 High Roller. The Main Event attracted a diverse field of 371 entries from 14 different countries, generating a prize pool of €178,080. Local player Paulius Zilinskas was emerging victorious, clinched the title, and €34,805 after a heads-up deal with Titas Gancierius.
The High Roller event saw an equally impressive turnout, with 78 entries creating a prize pool of €74,880. Edgaras Kausinis kept the High Roller trophy in Lithuania, defeating Deividas Daubaris to secure a €22,390 prize.
Paulius Zilinskas Wins 2024 Ace Breaker Main Event
From the initial 371 entries, 14 players advanced to the final day, swiftly narrowing down to the final table within two hours of play. Egidijius Dovidaitis initially led as the chip leader, with Zilinskas firm in third place after a great start to the day.
Zilinskas propelled into the lead when the field was reduced to five. His eliminations included Audrius Laimelis in fifth place with an inferior straight and Dovidaitis in third after winning a classic coin flip with ace-king against Dovidaitis’s pocket queens.
Titas Gancierius also made waves, eliminating Day 3’s initial chip leader, Rolandas Aglisnkas, in a hand where Gancierius’s ace-three triumphed over Aglisnkas’s pocket nines.
Before the final duel, Zilinskas and Gancierius struck a deal, securing €29,800 and €28,000, respectively. €5,005, the Ace Breaker trophy and the glory were still left on the tables.
Zilinskas had a slight lead, which he never let go. In the final hand, Gancierius tried to bluff his way out of the hand with king-three on an ace-high board. Unfortunately for him, Zilinskas held an ace and quickly called the all-in bluff, clinching the Main Event title.
2024 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Paulius Zilinskas | Lithuania | €34,805 * |
| 2 | Titas Gancierius | Lithuania | €28,000 * |
| 3 | Egidijius Dovidaitis | Lithuania | €16,950 |
| 4 | Rolandas Aglinskas | Lithuania | €12,865 |
| 5 | Audrius Laimelis | Lithuania | €9,890 |
| 6 | Dominik Ostrowski | Poland | €7,660 |
| 7 | Arnas Bazys | Lithuania | €5,755 |
| 8 | Robertas Sakinis | Lithuania | €4,375 |
| 9 | Bahadir Hatipoglu | Turkey | €3,340 |
Edgaras Kausinis Dominates 2024 Ace Breaker High Roller
The High Roller event set a new regional record with 78 entries, amassing a €74,880 prize pool. Edgaras Kausinis entered the final table as the chip leader and dominated from the outset. But before that, an early money ladder to all final table participants’ winnings came unexpectedly, as Paulius Zapolskas’s disqualification guaranteed everyone a minimum cash of €3,130.
Kausinis’s dominance was evident from the start, as he swiftly eliminated short-stacked Lukas Parednis in eighth place. His relentless assault continued, taking down Laurynas Cerniauskas and Vasilijus Piskunovas in sixth and fifth place, respectively, amassing a commanding three-quarters of the chips in play.
A brief pause in Kausinis’s domination occurred as Elvinas Vitkevicius and Eriks Krumins, two shorter stacked players, clashed, with Vitkevicius bowing out in fourth place. Krumins’s tournament run ended shortly after, falling to Kausinis’s second nut flush, while he called an all-in with the third nut flush.
As expected, the heads-up play was brief. On the last hand, Daubaris went all-in with jack-ten against Kausinis’s king-ten. The turn sealed Daubaris’s fate with a king, crowning Kausinis as the High Roller champion, concluding a night where everything seemed to align perfectly for him.
2024 OlyBet Showdown Vilnius Ace Breaker Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Edgaras Kausinis | Lithuania | €22,390 |
| 2 | Deividas Daubaris | Lithuania | €14,980 |
| 3 | Eriks Krumins | Latvia | €9,540 |
| 4 | Elvinas Vitkevicius | Lithuania | €7,640 |
| 5 | Vasilijus Piskunovas | Lithuania | €6,030 |
| 6 | Laurynas Cerniauskas | Lithuania | €4,830 |
| 7 | Ignas Jasinevicius | Lithuania | €3,970 |
| 8 | Lukas Parednis | Lithuania | €3,130 |
| 9 | Paulius Zapolskas | Lithuania | €2,340 |
* Images and hands courtesy of the OlyBet.tv and Jason Glatzer
