Meet Tomislav Savov, the Recent Sunday Party Champion

It has been quite a couple of months for Bulgaria’s Tomislav Savov in the poker world. Savov is deep in a rich vein of form that has seen him win his way to the PartyPoker LIVE MILLIONS Malta festival and take down the $100,000 guaranteed Sunday Party. Savov is showing no signs of slowing down, although he did take some time out of his busy schedule to chat with the PartyPoker Blog.

Savov is a professional poker player hailing from Bulgaria. When he’s not bulldozing his way to final tables, Savov is incredibly active and fit, regularly heading to the gym to perform calisthenic and gymnastic rings workouts and playing several sports, including football, tennis, and beach volleyball.

The Start of a Glistening Poker Career

Like many poker players, Savov discovered poker in his late teens, as he explained to the PartyPoker Blog.

“I got introduced to poker a few years after high school. We played with friends using the smallest denomination of our currency’s coins. Gradually, we increased the stakes we were playing with, and I started to love the game, wanted to learn more, and become a better player.”

Savov’s poker career took off in 2014 when a successful poker-playing friend he used to play online video games with offered to coach and stake him. He began playing six-max sit & go tournaments before progressing to multi-table tournaments within a few months.

“I was having a lot of success from the very beginning, starting at micro-stakes to beating mid-stakes in just a few months. I decided to quit my job as a real estate agent and fully commit to poker.”

These days, Savov is usually found playing PartyPoker tournaments with buy-ins of $11 to $109 during the morning and afternoon, where the fields are smaller and the variance is less.

Travelling is another of Savov’s passions, so when PartyPoker announced its LIVE tour was heading to Malta, he had to get involved.

Sun, Sea, and Poker for Only €8.80!

“The reason I actually decided to try and qualify for the event was I really wanted one more warm seaside trip in late September, and I knew Malta was perfect for this. Plus, playing live poker is always a good time. I registered for an €8.80 Phase satellite and made it to the final tournament on my first try. I finished eighth with five places awarding packages, which was disappointing, but I continued playing and managed to win a package from another €8.80 satellite.”

Everyone who attended MILLIONS Malta returned home having loved the experience, including Savov.

“Malta as a destination was fantastic. Good weather, and great parties and nightlife. I had a one-day cruise to the Comino Islands, the Blue Lagoon, and Crystal Bay; I fell in love with the place.”

“The event itself was very well organized. The staff were friendly and helped the players. The tournaments and formats were very good. Unfortunately, I soft-bubbled both the Main Event and €250 side event. However, I finished on the final table in a €60 tournament, busting seventh for €260, if I remember correctly. Nonetheless, I had a great time, met new friends, and decided to come back to the island for another poker festival, mainly because I wanted to visit the Blue Lagoon one more time!”

Taking Down the $100,000 Guaranteed Sunday Party

Back on home soil, Savov dived straight back into the online poker grind and did so successfully. Savov became the latest champion of our $109 Sunday Party, a $100,000 guaranteed PKO event running every Sunday.

“The Sunday Party is a great two-day tournament with a very good, slow structure. It’s my favorite PartyPoker tournament and is a must-play on a Sunday. I always play satellites and manage to win my seats for the tournament. The Phase satellites are very nice and easy; there is a $5.50 satellite that I win a ticket from almost every week.”

Savov’s success came in the one-day turbo special edition of the Sunday Party, a format all those six-handed SNG will have primed him for. A combination of running well and playing well resulted in the Bulgarian cruising towards a victory.

“I was pretty confident I would reach the final table at around 50-60 players left. I was one of the chip leaders and had full control of my table. Things were clicking for me, and I was feeling it. Of course, I had some rough periods and my stack wasn’t the biggest all of the time, but I managed to keep composed, patience, and play my best game.”

Savov’s Future Plans

A determined and dedicated person like Savov will always put their winnings to good use. Savov plans to continue grinding the tournaments he excels in while adding a few more higher buy-in events to his schedule.

“I’ve also planned a few live trips; some are poker-related. I just got back from my second trip to Malta, which I was able to do thanks to my Sunday Party win. I had another amazing time, cashed for €1,400 in a couple of events, before chopping a fourth tournament four ways for €7,000; I only took the deal because I was about to miss my flight!”

“My next poker trip is in Nottingham in late December to play at the magnificent Dusk Till Dawn poker room, which is my favorite place to play poker in Europe. Then I plan to visit Bali, Indonesia, for a month in January 2024, where a friend of mine will host me – fun times are ahead!”

Before Savov left our chat and got back to his day, he left us with some sound advice for his fellow poker players.

“Don’t be hyper-focused on only studying and grinding online poker. Take care of your health, workout, have fun, and travel to more events. Live poker is always an amazing time!”