€550 Main Event, €125,000 GTD
Day 3 Completed
2021 Pokercode Festival Bratislava
€550 Main Event, €125,000 GTD
Day: 3
Maximilian Silz Wins the Pokercode Festival Bratislava Main Event (€23,169)
Level 29
: 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Germany's Maximilian Silz won the €125,000 guaranteed Pokercode Festival Bratislava €550 Main Event for €23,169 after agreeing to a heads-up deal with his friend Tim Van Loo and then coming from behind to win the festival's inaugural Main Event trophy.
Silz more than doubled his live tournament earnings with the win but this does not mean he wasn't a very experienced player.
"I’m usually not playing live, I am playing mostly cash games online," Silz shared with PokerNews. "I have played some tournaments in Germany but this is my biggest cash by far. It was great to get heads-up against my friend Tim (Van Loo) and to ship the event. It was an amazing finish to a special festival and it was a great trip.”
2021 Pokercode Bratislava Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maximilian Silz | Germany | €23,169* |
| 2 | Tim Van Loo | Germany | €19,395* |
| 3 | Alexander Baier | Germany | €11,950 |
| 4 | Fabian Bernhauser | Austria | €9,735 |
| 5 | Leonard Hermann | Germany | €7,270 |
| 6 | Isuf Hoxha | Czech Republic | €6,010 |
| 7 | Filip Jurga | Germany | €4,805 |
| 8 | Konstantin Hammermueller | Austria | €3,785 |
| 9 | Vladimir Bednar | Slovakia | €3,005 |
*Reflects heads-up deal.
Silz didn't necessarily come out to Banco Casino Bratislava to play poker. For him, it was more about having a great experience after he was invited to come by some of the Pokercode crew.
“I am friends with Steffen Sontheimer, Fedor Holz, and Rainer Kempe," Silz explained. "They asked me to join and I just wanted to come out and have a fun weekend. Poker wasn’t a priority for this trip but the cash games were great."
Nearly every poker player PokerNews chatted with during the festival had a common message about how friendly the atmosphere was. Pokercode made the festival as fun as possible for the Pokercode community and others visiting with not only an amazing tournament schedule but also many side activities including a pub quiz, a party, and a football competition. Silz shared this sentiment as well.
"The festival was great because the focus wasn’t on the poker side of things but the community and the hanging out," Silz said. "I think more festivals should have this focus to give players a fun poker holiday and a break from the grind."
Final Table Action
The Pokercode Festival Bratislava Main Event attracted 253 entries. The final table of nine players began on Sunday after Pokercode cash game coach Steffen Sontheimer hit the rail in 10th place.
Alexander Baier began the final table with the chip lead. Baier had an interesting path to even come to the event. First, Baier won a three-month subscription at Pokercode during Sontheimer's cash promo. As if this wasn't enough, Baier won a package for Bratislava through an MTT promo hosted in the Pokercode community Slack channel hosted by Pokercode tournament coach Simon Rønnow.
The chip lead bounced around early on between Baier, Van Loo, and Leonard Hermann during which time Isuf Hoxha, Filip Jurga, Konstantin Hammermueller, and Vladimir Bednar all hit the rail.
Silz got his first taste of the lead during five-handed action. Van Loo was back with the chip lead during three-handed play after both Fabian Bernhauser and Hermann hit the rail.
Baier continued to hang on but eventually, time ran out for the German student after he got it in with top pair holding jack-eight only to have kicker issues against Van Loo with queen-jack.
While Baier didn't win, the third-place prize of €11,950 certainly will make life easier for him as he is a self-described broke student. He was even worried about how to pay for his parking ticket in Bratislava.
Heads-Up Action
Van Loo entered heads-up play with a nearly 3:1 chip advantage against Silz. Almost immediately after heads-up action began, Silz was able to get two big bluffs through successfully to even up the stacks with his friend Van Loo.
The duo asked the tournament director to pause the clock as they discussed a deal. They eventually agreed to a deal awarding €19,395 for Van Loo and €18,913 for Silz with €4,256 and the trophy left to play for.
Silz held a 2:1 chip advantage against Van Loo when the final hand took place.
Tim Van Loo limped from the small blind and Maximilian Silz checked back from the big blind.
Both players checked the 
flop before pandemonium broke loose on the 
turn. Silz check-raised from 200,000 to 1,000,000. Van Loo jammed for 4,000,000 and Silz called.
Tim Van Loo: 
Maximilian Silz: 
Van Loo had the better flush draw but Silz paired up his deuce. The 
river completed the board and Maximilian Silz won the inaugural Pokercode Festival Main Event.
This brings an end to the PokerNews coverage of the Pokercode Festival Bratislava Main Event. Be sure to come back to PokerNews as we follow the biggest poker action around the world.
Final Table Payouts
Level 29
: 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maximilian Silz | Germany | €23,169* |
| 2 | Tim Van Loo | Germany | €19,395* |
| 3 | Alexander Baier | Germany | €11,950 |
| 4 | Fabian Bernhauser | Austria | €9,735 |
| 5 | Leonard Hermann | Germany | €7,270 |
| 6 | Isuf Hoxha | Czech Republic | €6,010 |
| 7 | Filip Jurga | Germany | €4,805 |
| 8 | Konstantin Hammermueller | Austria | €3,785 |
| 9 | Vladimir Bednar | Slovakia | €3,005 |
*Reflects heads-up deal.
Tim Van Loo Eliminated in 2nd Place (€19,395)
Level 29
: 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Tim Van Loo limped from the small blind and Maximilian Silz checked back from the big blind.
Both players checked the flop before pandemonium broke loose on the turn. Silz check-raised from 200,000 to 1,000,000. Van Loo jammed for 4,000,000 and Silz called.
Tim Van Loo:
Maximilian Silz:
Van Loo had the better flush draw but Silz paired up his deuce. The river completed the board and Maximilian Silz won the inaugural Pokercode Festival Main Event for €23,651 thanks to the heads-up deal, while Van Loo banked €19,395 for finishing runner-up.
Stay tuned at PokerNews for the recap of the Pokercode Festival Bratislava Main Event.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
12,700,000
4,200,000
|
4,200,000 |
|
Busted |
Silz Back on Top
Level 29
: 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Maximilian Silz opened the button with 
and was called by Tim Van Loo with 
from the big blind.
Both players checked the 
flop before Van Loo fired out for 550,000 on the 
turn. Silz called and the 
river completed the board.
Van Loo bet three-quarters of the pot for 1,500,000. Silz jammed for 5,000,000 and retook the chip lead after Van Loo folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,500,000
2,565,000
|
2,565,000 |
|
|
4,200,000
-2,530,000
|
-2,530,000 |
Heads-Up Deal Agreed
Level 29
: 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Players just paused the action to agree on the following heads-up deal with €4,256 and the trophy to play for.
| Player | Chips | Deal Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Tim Van Loo | 6,730,000 | €19,395 |
| Maximilian Silz | 5,935,000 | €18,913 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,730,000
430,000
|
430,000 |
|
|
5,935,000
-465,000
|
-465,000 |
Silz Takes the Lead
Level 29
: 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Maximilian Silz just took the lead as follows.
Tim Van Loo opened for 350,000 from the button with and Silz defended his big blind with 
. Both players checked the 
flop before Silz check-called for 350,000 on the 
turn. Both players checked the 
river and Silz took the chip lead after winning the hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,400,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
|
|
6,300,000
-300,000
|
-300,000 |
Silz Steals Another From Van Loo
Level 29
: 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Tim Van Loo opened the button for 350,000 with and Maximilian Silz called from the big blind with 
.
Silz check-raised the 
flop from 200,000 to 700,000 and Van Loo called. Silz continued his aggression with a bet of 700,000 on the 
turn and Van Loo called again.
The 
river completed the board and Silz jammed for 2,400,000. It could have been all over if Van Loo was able to find a call. But Van Loo folded the best hand and the stacks were close to even after the hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,600,000
-2,400,000
|
-2,400,000 |
|
|
6,100,000
2,400,000
|
2,400,000 |
Silz Chips Up
Level 29
: 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Maximilian Silz limped from the button with and Tim Van Loo checked back his option from the big blind with 
.
Van Loo check-called a bet by Silz for 150,000 on the flop before he checked again on the 
turn. Silz fired out a pot-sized bet of 750,000 and got Van Loo to fold the best hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
9,000,000
-500,000
|
-500,000 |
|
|
3,700,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
Alexander Baier Eliminated in 3rd Place (€11,950)
Level 29
: 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Tim Van Loo opened the button for 300,000 and Alexander Baier defended his big blind.
Van Loo bet 275,000 on the 
flop. Baier jammed for 2,500,000 and Van Loo called.
Alexander Baier: 
Tim Van Loo: 
Both players flopped top pair but Baier had some kicker issues to resolve in order to stay alive. Baier was drawing dead after Van Loo improved to top two pair on the turn and was officially eliminated in third place for €11,950.
Van Loo will begin heads-up play with a nearly 3:1 chip advantage against Maximilian Silz.
The final two went on a short break after the hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
9,500,000
2,700,000
|
2,700,000 |
|
|
3,200,000 | |
|
Busted | |
|
||