2024 WSOPC Tallinn Day 5: Linda Nguyen Wins Inaugural Queens Ring

The excitement continued at the 2024 World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Tallinn at Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park on Day 5. Many were thrilled about the start of the €1 million guaranteed WSOP Circuit Tallinn €1,500 Main Event, while others were battling it out on Day 2 of the three-day Event #3: €555 No-Limit Hold’em ring event, while a select crew of nine female players were busy battling it out on the live-streamed final table of the two-day Event #3: €250 Queens. Of course, plenty of side events and cash games gave players options 24 hours a day.

Linda Nguyen was the star of the day as she made Baltic history in becoming the first ring winner in a ladies-only event after dazzling the final table in the €250 Queens. Nguyen was multi-tabling most of the day as she also had a stack in play on Day 2 of the €555 NLH, which she eventually bowed out in 71^st place for €1,100.

Meanwhile, the charismatic German Phil Gross has the overnight chip lead in the €555 NLH, followed by Finland’s Roope Tarmi, who has attended all the big festivals at Olympic Park Casino for many years. You can follow the action in this event both in our blog and our live stream with hole cards displayed on a 30-minute delay.

Meanwhile, Finland’s Tom Arovaara transformed his 50,000 opening stack into a whopping pile of 365,000 on the first of six opening flights on Tuesday of the Main Event. Estonia’s Evgeny Vyal bagged the Day 2 chip lead with 276,500 to advance as the Day 1b chip leader. Thus far 157 entries got into the mix with many more to come with four more opening flights and late registration remaining open for the first few blind levels of Friday’s Day 2 when our reporting will kick off for this prestigious event.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s Peter Kvisthammar defeated a field of 44 entires in Event #31: €555 Seniors, including Finland’s Jarmo Salonen heads-up, to win the €7,180 top prize.

Event #32: €150 NLH WSOPC Special proved to be popular, with 408 entries. Players received added value by receiving a special bounty prize if they ousted one of the many celebrities in play. Eunan Doyle came out on top for €7,788 and the trophy after agreeing to a three-way deal with Tomi Arponen (second – €6,710) and Nikodemas Staniukaitis (third – €6,710).

Linda Nguyen Wins a Ring While Multi-Tabling

Picture this. You make Day 2 of the €555 No-Limit Hold’em ring event and you see you have a chance to play in the first-ever WSOP Circuit €250 Queens ladies-only affair. You hop into that and all of a sudden you bag a stack into a final table the same day as Day 2.

The feature table used for the live stream commentated by George Sandford and guests including Andreas “Wiseguy” Hoglund, Maureen Bloechlinger, Daiva Byrne, and Scott “Pokerbrahs” Kenyon at OlyBet.tv was in a different room that the €555 NLH. This didn’t stop Nguyen from running deep in both as she would double up in the Queens and then try to get something going in the €555 NLH. She eventually ran out of gas in the €555 NLH in 71^st place and was able to focus on the end-game of the €250 Queens, which she shipped for a tasty €5,570 top prize after defeating Linda Lahdenpaa heads-up after a back-and-forth battle between the two Lindas where each had the chip lead no less than three times.

Sweden’s Jenny Westerlund led the way to start of the action with a substantial chip lead. She was very active and aggressive with Lithuanian Queens of Tallinn Main Event champion Marta Porter also strutting some moves and timely aggression.

The final table action started hot and heavy at the feature table with two players eliminated on the first two hands, each with queen-jack. Ruth Guper’s queen-jack resulted in her being the first out the door in ninth place for €580 after running into Lahdenpaa’s big slick.

Meanwhile, Westerlund padded her chip lead after her king-seven held against Estonia’s Mirjam Jalak (eighth – €690). A few hands later, popular Finnish player Anu Lilja was down to just a few big blinds and got them in unsuccessfully to exit in seventh place for €830 after running into Lahdenpaa’s ace-trey in a blind vs. blind situation.

Westerlund was cruising along and padding her chip lead before doubling Lahdenpaa into the lead in a three-bet pot when the duo got it in with Lahdenpaa holding the top set with jacks and Westerlund bricking a nut-flush draw.

Shortly after, Romania’s Cristina Jugastru was down to less than one big blind after losing a big hand to Estonia’s Kristiina Sultangarejev-Tuder. She dusted off the rest to Porter after her queen-trey didn’t get there against ace-seven suited to earn the sixth-place prize of €1,020.

Westerlund chipped back up as it was her turn to eliminate someone while holding ace-seven. Sultangarejev-Tuder held jack-ten suited and didn’t pull ahead to hit the rail in fifth place for €1,350.

The action was soon down to three players after Porter (fourth – €1,820) unsuccessfully jammed her ten big blind stack with king-eight into Lahdenpaa’s ace-five.

The chip lead then bounced around to all three players with short stacks consistently doubling up. Time eventually ran out for Westerlund who had to settle for the third-place prize of €2,510 after nine-blind three-bet jam with ten-eight suited didn’t pull ahead of Lahdenpaa’s ace-queen.

Lahdenpaa began the heads-up battle of the Lindas with nearly double the stack of Nguyen. It was an amazing battle with both players holding the chip lead no less than three times. Eventually, Nguyen had Lahdenpaa on the ropes. Lahdenpaa did manage to double her short stack twice but the third time was the charm for Nguyen as her king-jack suited hit a jack on the turn to seal the victory with Lahdenpaa not able to connect with her ace-deuce suited.

While Lahdenpaa understandably wanted the ring, the top prize, and the invited to the $1 million guaranteed WSOP Tournament of Champions freeroll where a bracelet will be on the line next summer, she instead banked a healthy €3,630.

A massive congrats to Nguyen for her epic victory and making Baltic history in the €250 Queens ladies-only affair.

WSOP Circuit Tallinn Day 6 Schedule (July 24)

The Main Event Continues with two more opening flights with the final two opening flights taking place on Thursday. Meanwhile, the €555 NLH will play down to a winner on the live stream at OlyBet.tv and on our live reporting blog.

A new ring event in the two-day Event #7: €1,100 PLO 4&5 begins on Wednesday at 1 p.m. and will play down to a live-streamed final table, while there are a handful of other events and satellites along with nonstop cash games for players to enjoy throughout the day.

Head to OlyBetEvents.com for the full schedule of the 2024 WSOP Circuit Tallinn, and check out Wednesday’s schedule below: