The €555 NLH Championship, part of the Olybet Showdown Vilnius series, attracted 169 entries and generated a prize pool of €80,275. Nine players returned for the final day, with Kisielius not starting in an ideal position. He was in the middle of the pack, while Ville Keranen held the best starting stack ahead of Sigitas Raila and Andrej Sidinevskij.
Kisielius picked up momentum early on, winning a big cooler with aces against Onni Harmaala's queens. The Finnish player was left short and became the first to leave the final table. Shortly after, more eliminations followed, with the final table moving swiftly as chips changed hands among the most active players.
A crucial moment came when Kisielius doubled up with AK against Robertas Visockas's AQ. At a point when the eventual champion found himself under pressure, this hand gave him room to maneuver. Sigitas Raila also played a significant role. He found aces at the perfect moment in a 3-way all-in against Ville Keranen and Andrej Sidinevskij. However, he later fell victim to one of the biggest coolers of the tournament. Sidinevskij held aces, Raila had jacks, and after a board offered no help, Raila was eliminated in 4th place for €7,000.
An Unexpected Deal and a Swift Turnaround
After Robertas Visockas's elimination in 3rd place, it seemed Andrej Sidinevskij had the tournament firmly in his grasp. Entering heads-up against Kisielius with a commanding lead of 4,900,000 to 1,860,000, the two quickly agreed on a deal. Both players secured €14,000, leaving €3,100 and the trophy up for grabs.
This might have been just the break Kisielius needed. Without the pressure of a significant pay jump, he began turning the tide of the heads-up. Sidinevskij started losing chips in multiple 3-bet folds, leading to the decisive play. Sidinevskij went all-in with K d 8 h, and Kisielius called with 7 h 5 c. The board J d 7 s 3 h 5 h 3 c decided the outcome by the turn. Kisielius hit two pairs, leaving his opponent drawing dead, and finally lifted the long-awaited trophy.
A Victory with Personal Significance
Following his triumph, Kisielius admitted the heads-up deal surprised him a bit. Even with Sidinevskij's significant lead, the champion speculated that fatigue after three days of play might have played a role. He also stressed that he's not a professional in the full sense — considering himself more a dedicated amateur who plays for enjoyment, balancing it with business commitments.
That's why this title carries extra weight. Kisielius had previously secured second and third places, but the winning photograph was missing from his career. In Vilnius, he finally claimed it. Amid a strong field, in his home, through a challenging final table, and after a comeback in heads-up against an opponent on the verge of winning.
Final Table Results:
| Position | Player Name | Country | Prize |
| 1. | Paulius Kisielius | Lithuania | €17,100* |
| 2. | Andrej Sidinevskij | Lithuania | €14,000* |
| 3. | Robertas Visockas | Lithuania | €8,990 |
| 4. | Sigitas Raila | Lithuania | €7,000 |
| 5. | Tomas Kovalenka | Lithuania | €5,440 |
| 6. | Ville Keranen | Finland | €4,230 |
| 7. | Alex Heinonen | Finland | €3,290 |
| 8. | Algirdas Saveikis | Lithuania | €2,670 |
| 9. | Onni Harmaala | Finland | €2,140 |
Find a detailed live report and photo gallery of this event on our partner's site poker.pro here
Sources – OlyBetEvents, PokerPro. Photo by Viktorija Makovskaja / Mantas Repecka
