Daily Recap | Kings of Tallinn 2024

Don’t miss the daily video and editorial recaps that capture the essence of Northern Europe’s biggest poker festival.

Schedule

• Day 1: Friday, 23 February
• Day 2: Saturday, 24 February
• Day 3: Sunday, 25 February
• Day 4: Monday, 26 February
• Day 5: Tuesday, 27 February
• Day 6: Wednesday, 28 February
• Day 7: Thursday, 29 February
• Day 8: Friday, 1 March
• Day 9: Saturday, 2 March
• Day 10: Sunday, 3 March

Day 10: Sunday, 3 March

Edgaras Kausinis Crowned King of Tallinn After Conquering Record-Breaking Main Event

The final day of the Kings of Tallinn was an emotional day for many players at Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park.

Goodbyes were said, hugs were exchanged, and promises to see each other next time were witnessed throughout the day. We witnessed two Lithuanian heads-up for the Main Event title before Edgaras Kausinis forever etched his name in Kings of Tallinn folklore as the 10^th Main Event champion.

The flag of Cyprus was literally waving high and this was even before Georgios Tsouloftas defeated local Estonian hero Ermo Kosk heads-up in the €3K NLH. In addition, four other players, including Ronny Albrigtsen becoming the only player to win two trophies this festival after shipping the final event, were crowned champions including two in multi-day mystery bounty events.

Read on to learn more about what transpired on the final day of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn:

Kausinis Making History

The 2024 Kings of Tallinn €1,100 Main Event drew a massive field of 914 entries, absolutely obliterating the previous record of 716 entries, stemming from last year. An equally gigantic prize pool of €859,160 was created, and when all was said and done, Edgaras Kausinis was the first-ever Lithuanian Kings of Tallinn Main Event winner taking home the lion’s share of €120,910, the trophy, and the ever-lasting glory of becoming a Kings of Tallinn champion.

Kausinis’ live breakout was just a month ago at OlyBet Ace Breaker Vilnius, where he won the €1,100 High Roller, though it has been said that Kausinis has plenty of experience playing tournaments online. This event was live reported, and witnessed one of the most commanding performances with Kausinis holding a massive chip lead with five players remaining before cruising to victory.

While this alone likely didn’t catch the attention of players around the world his epic victory on Sunday will put Kausinis on the poker map of players on the rise to top-tier stardom.

Kausinis made a three-way deal with his fellow countryman Mantas Tamulevicius, whom he defeated heads up after a short but swingy battle, and Aleksi Naksi from Finland, who was on his second consecutive Kings of Tallinn Main Event final table after finishing sixth in 2023. They both took home €105,000, while 2023 €550 Championship winner Benjamin Gros and businessman and high roller Paul Newey secured a five-figure payout on the final table of eight.

• Read every big hand of the final table at the dedicated Kings of Tallinn blog powered by OlyBet.tv.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #29: €1,100 Main Event Final Table Results

914 entries, €859,160 prize pool

1. Edgaras Kausinis (Lithuania) – €120,910
2. Mantas Tamulevicius (Lithuania) – €105,000
3. Aleksi Naski (Finland) – €105,000
4. Benjamin Gros (France) – €54,800
5. Even Rislov (Norway) – €39,600
6. Greger Aktell (Sweden) – €30,350
7. Wissam Polus (Finland) – €23,100
8. Paul Newey (United Kingdom) – €17,800

Cypriot Flag Waving Proud in €3K NLH

The two-day Event #58: €3,000 NLH drew 58 runners on its opening day before playing down to seven players battling for their share of the €158,280 prize pool.

Ermo Kosk began the day with a small chip lead over Finland’s Pasi Sormunen. However, it appeared to be Kosk’s match to lose after he delivered a cooler that eliminated Sormunen in the opening moments of the final table to take a commanding chip lead when his set of sevens held against pocket kings on a queen-high board after the turn. This also benefited Latvia’s Viktor Chaikin who came into the final table with crumbs in his stack and laddered up one spot to sixth place.

Tsouloftas quickly mounted his charge and doubled through Kosk on a coin flip when his top pair held against a flush draw and an overcard. Eventually, Tsouloftas snagged the chip lead while a trio of Finnish players Luka Sorainen, Jan-Mikael Kesanan, and Touko Berndtson all hit the rail.

During the break before the heads-up action, Tsouloftas approached Kosk for a deal publicly at the final table. Kosk didn’t appear open to discussion, at least not while his opponent had a nearly 2:1 chip advantage.

It was anyone’s match and we could have easily witnessed the local country of Estonia keep both high roller trophies home after fellow Estonian Markkos Ladov shipped the 2024 Kings of Tallinn €5,000 High Roller the day before. This would have softened the blow for what some in the Estonian community are labeling a colossal failure after no Estonians either on the final table of the €1,100 Main Event as well as no Estonians present with 34 players remaining in the €555 Championship earlier in the week.

However, Kosk was unable to win a flip at the end. He three-bet jammed for 20 big blinds pocket deuces over the 3 big blind open by Tsouloftas. The Cypriot counted out his chips before deciding to call with queen-jack. Tsouloftas improved to two pair to win the trophy and the €52,430 top prize.

• Read every big hand of the final table at the dedicated Kings of Tallinn blog powered by OlyBet.tv.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #49: €3,000 NLH Results

58 entries, €154,280 prize pool

1. Georgios Tsouloftas (Cyprus) – €52,430
2. Ermo Kosk (Estonia) – €33,700
3. Luka Sorainen (Finland) – €22,450
4. Jan-Mikael Kesanen (Finland) – €15,950
5. Touko Berndtson (Finland) – €12,100
6. Viktor Chaikin (Latvia) – €9,700
7. Pasi Surmonen (Finland) – €7,950

Other Results on Sunday, March 3

Ronny Albrigtsen won the €250 Progressive Bounty earlier in the week for his second trophy in as many years at the Kings of Tallinn. He then became the only player to win two trophies at the 2024 Kings of Tallinn after winning the €150 NLH Turbo Version of the Main Event after defeating a field of 128 entries to bank a clean €3,000. While Albrigtsen was awarded the hardware, he wasn’t awarded the top prize as he made a heads-up deal with Latvia’s Davis Kruskops which awarded his opponent €3,520.

While Estonians were left disappointed with Kosk coming close to winning a huge event and the lack of Estonians on the final tables of two of the bigger events, they can take solace that they were represented in the winner’s circle on the final day by Aleksandr Hlabov as he defeated Israel’s Albert Gil heads-up in the €250 NLH Progressive Bounty for €2,900 plus the many bounties he earned along the way.

Germany’s Heiko Hinkelmann shipped the €555 Mystery Bounty for €7,660 plus a lot more in bounties, while Finland’s Jarkko Suokas won the €150 OlyBet Flip & Go Mystery Bounty for €5,410 plus bounties.

This concludes our coverage of the daily recaps of the Kings of Tallinn. We look forward to seeing you again in Tallinn for the next big poker festival at our flagship home at Olympic Park Casino.

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Day 9: Saturday, 2 March

Get Ready for a Bitter Sweet Final Day at the 2024 Kings of Tallinn

 
Sunday will be a bitter sweet day at the 2024 Kings of Tallinn at Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park. Many players will be saying their goodbyes, but at the same time the biggest prizes of the festival are yet to come with Sunday crowning winners in multiple events including the Kings of Tallinn €1,100 Main Event, which will award €151,860 to the eventual champion.

Lithuania’s Edgaras Kausinis recently put on a dazzling and commanding performance en route to winning the Vilnius Ace Breaker €1,100 High Roller and now has a chance to do something even more special as he leads the Kings of Tallinn €1,100 Main Event with just 11 players remaining.

In other news, 2020 Kings of Tallinn Main Event runner-up Ermo Kosk leads the final 7 in the €3,000 NLH.

Meanwhile, Estonia’s Markkos Ladev, Finland’s Henri Antikainen, and Lithuania’s Indre Martoviciute all won trophies playing live events on Saturday at the Kings of Tallinn, while Finland’s “Skumi” shipped the €150 Kings of Tallinn Online Progressive Bounty at OlyBet Poker for a €844.37 top prize in addition to €1,688.75 in bounties.

Read on to learn more about what transpired on Saturday’s Day 9 of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn.

Edgaras Kausinis Leads Final 11 in KoT Main Event

The action got hot and serious in the 2024 Kings of Tallinn Main Event with Day 3 witnessing the 118 players that started the day in the money whittle down to just 11 hopefuls in pursuit of the title on Sunday.

 
Lithuania’s Edgaras Kausinis shined the brightest and will kick off the final day with a chip leading stack of 4,600,000 with Finnish poker superstar Aleksi Naski (4,230,000) and Sweden’s Greger Aktell (3,725,000) not too far behind.

Some big names remain including former Olympic poker manager Herli Olop (2,120,000), super high roller Paul Newey (1,565,000), and 2023 €555 Championship winner Benjamin Gros (1,365,000).

Others still in the mix include Even Rislow (2,995,000), Wissam Polus (2,340,000), Mantas Tamulevicius (1,895,000), Mindaugas Jonaitis (1,325,000), and Frederik Brink (1,240,000).

You can check out the action of Day 3 and the earlier days at our dedicated blog at OlyBet.tv. We will also be live reporting the final day and the good news for poker aficionados that the final day will also be broadcast from beginning to end on a 30-minute delay at OlyBet.tv as well.

https://youtube.com/live/Rv5Hu2uDgTk
 

Ermo Kosk Leads €3,000 NLH

The stage has been set for the final table of the two-day €3,000 NLH with the 58 entry field down to just seven hopefuls looking to earn the title while winning their share of the €154,280 prize pool.

Estonia’s Ermo Kosk is in the driver’s seat after bagging up a chip-leading stack on Saturday of 925,000. Kosk is one of a few people to ever win a six-figure prize in a single event at the Kings of Tallinn. He achieved this milestone when he took runner-up to Sweden’s Johan Karlsson in the 2020 Kings of Tallinn €1,100 Main Event with the assistance of a three-way deal at the final table.

Pasi Sormunen (770,000) isn’t too far behind Kosk but after that there is a gap between this duo and the rest of the field with Georgios Tsouloftas (325,000), Touko Berndtson (290,000), Jan-Mikael Kesanen (260,000), Luka Sorainen (235,000), and Viktor Chaikin (95,000) taking their chances with their shorter stacks.

All seven final table players each locked up at least a min-cash of €7,950 when the action resumes on Sunday at 1 p.m. However, all eyes are on the coveted trophy and the €52,430 top prize to the winner.

Saturday Trophy Winners

Estonia’s Markkos Ladev was easily the biggest winner on Saturday as he defeated a field of 29 big names in the €5,000 High Roller including Italy’s Federico Cipollini heads-up to win the €47,290 top prize.

 
Finland’s Henri Antikainen dispatched Estonia’s Mati Pirn heads-up in the €350 Open Face Chinese Pineapple to win the €4,750 top prize with the event attracting 52 entries for a €15,397 prize pool.

Lithuania’s Indre Martoviciute has began to make a name for herself in Estonia as she followed up a third-place podium performance in the Queens of Tallinn Main Event a couple of months ago with a win in the €150 Queens of Tallinn Mystery Bounty worth €1,560 plus bounties after defeating Karin Ehala heads-up. This event proved to be one of the most popular ladies events ever hosted in Europe with 89 entries creating a €11,107 prize pool.

Finland’s “Skumi” performed the brightest in the Kings of Tallinn €150 Online Progressive Event having outlasted 44 players including defeating Estonia’s “Hennu43” heads-up to win the title.

Final Day Schedule (March 3)

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Day 8: Friday, 1 March

Main Event Makes Kings of Tallinn History

It is hard to believe that the atmosphere could have improved from earlier this week but Friday proved this wrong as the excitement and anticipation about who would make the money in the record-breaking Kings of Tallinn €1,100 Main Event. Finnish WSOP bracelet winner Jani Vilmunen leads the way with many other big names still in the mix.

The record for the Main Event grew and grew throughout the second day until late registration was closed with eventually a huge field of 914 entries got into the mix to create a €859,160 prize pool. All returning 118 players are in the money for at least a €2,100 min-cash with hopes for something much bigger with a €151,860 top prize on the line for Sunday’s winner.

Meanwhile, another Finn Pasi Sormunen, leads the final seven players in the €5,000 High Roller. We will be live reporting this event alongside the Main Event. We will also broadcast the entire final table with commentator Andreas “Wiseguy” Hoglund delivering the play-by-play to your doorstep. Both the live stream and the blog can easily be found in the poker section of the OlyBet.tv website.

This is not all as Lithuania’s Saulius Tumosa, Sweden’s Bjorne Lindberg, and Finland’s Matias Kesanen all won trophies on Friday evening.

Read on to learn more about what transpired on Friday’s Day 8 of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn.

Jani Vilmunen Leads Main Event

The action was intense on Day 2 of the Main Event where slightly more than eight blind levels of one hour each was enough to bring the 914-entry field down to just 118 survivors already in the money for at least a €2,100 min-cash.

Finland’s Jani Vilmunen shined the brightest after bagging up a huge stack of 968,000. Vilmunen has been in this spot before as he is a well-experienced pro with nearly $900,000 in cashes tracked at The Hendon Mob. The Finn also won a WSOP Europe in the £5,250 Pot Limit Omaha back in 2009.

Meanwhile, Lithuania’s Mantas Tamulevicius fired his very first bullet on Day 2 and waited to the very last second to start the day with 12 big blinds. He made the most of his decision as he catapulted his 30,000 stack to 777,000 to finish just behind Vilmunen.

Kasper Mellanen (757,000), Osku Karttunen (654,000), and 2024 Kings of Tallinn €555 Championship runner-up Andrius Bielskis (600,000) round out the top five.

Former Olympic poker manager Herli Olop (530,000), Maximilian Sanders (502,000), Steven Tool (400,000), OG online poker legend Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies (381,000), Josep Pastor (373,000), 2023 WSOP Circuit Tallinn Main Event champ Ignacio Garrido (357,000), Dominik Ostrowski (313,000), Tarmo Tammel (291,000), 2023 Kings of Tallinn €555 Championship winner Benjamin Gros (235,000), super high roller Paul Newey (219,000), 2024 Kings of Tallinn €555 PLO Mystery Bounty champ Paul Koppe (213,000), and Roope Tarmi (167,000) were just some of the players still in the mix.

Our new hero Christian Rysgaard began Day 2 with the chip lead but now may have a new nickname from Sleeping Beauty that he earned during the €555 Championship to Cinderella if he manages to mount a comeback after bagging a single chip worth 1,000.

• Follow along with the action in our live blog at OlyBet.tv.

Pasi Sormunen Leads High Roller

The €5,000 High Roller represents the largest buy-in event featured on the 2024 Kings of Tallinn schedule. It was thus no surprise that the best of the best Nordic and Baltic poker players showed up at Olympic Park Casino in Tallinn to create a field of 29 entries and a prize pool of €132,240.

On Day 1, they played down to a final table of seven players, seeing as the tournament was played six-max, before bagging and tagging. Pasi Sormunen accumulated the most chips during that process, securing a bag with 756,000 chips, more than seven and a half starting stacks and nearly 100 big blinds at the start of Day 2. Sormunen is best known for his third place at EPT Barcelona 2013, where he donned an iconic shiny hat together with fellow Finn Kimmo Kurko, who ended up as runner-up.

However, Sormunen is also a Kings of Tallinn champion, winning a €550 Turbo Six-Max back in 2021, and is in a prime position to win another six-max trophy in the High Roller today.

In close pursuit are high-stakes PLO crusher and Finnish WSOP bracelet winner Eelis Parssinen, who won the Kings of Tallinn High Roller in 2018 and starts Day 2 with 692,000 chips in pursuit of his second title. Lithuanian regular Marius Kudzmanas, meanwhile, completes the podium with a stack of 466,000.

Estonian hopeful Markkos Ladev is also in contention with a below-average stack of 316,000, as is Frederico Cipollini (306,000) from Italy. The Finnish pair of Mikael Haapaniemi (267,000) and Torsti Ketulla (92,000) find themselves at the bottom of the leaderboard, the latter being the absolute short stack with less than a starting stack.

• Follow along with the action in our live blog at OlyBet.tv.

Three Trophy Winners on Friday

Two Lithuanians found themselves heads-up for the title in Event #41: €150 NLH Deepstack before Saulius Tumosa defeated Kestutis Jungevicius heads-up to win the trophy and the €10,945 top prize. The event itself was a true testament to the success of this year’s Kings of Tallinn festival with 439 entries creating a €53,645 prize pool.

Meanwhile, one of Sweden’s most popular players Bjorne Lindberg worked his Sviten Special magic in Event #43: €250 5 Card Draw & PLO after defeating Norway’s Kjetil Lageraaen heads-up to win the €4,220 top prize. Lindberg agreed to a three-way deal with Lageraaen (€3,900) and Pekka Ikonen (€3,900) before cruising along to victory. This event not only set a record for the Kings of Tallinn with 103 entries creating a €21,300 in the prize pool, but is believed to be one of the largest if not the largest Sviten Special tournament open to all players ever to take place in poker history.

Meanwhile, Event #44: €250 NLH/PLO4/PLO5/PLO6 Mix was a new event on the schedule and attracted 176 entries to create a €36,396 prize pool. Finland’s Matias Kesanen bagged a decent stack in the Main Event but his day didn’t end there as after he bagged he went on to win Event #44 for €8,880.

Kings of Tallinn Day 8 Schedule (Friday, March 1)

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Day 7: Thursday, 29 February

Kings of Tallinn Main Event Shatters Record

Yet another big record was broken on Thursday at the Kings of Tallinn at Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park.

The €1,100 Main Event already attracted 731 entries for a €687,140 prize pool to not only shatter the €500,000 guarantee but to set a new record with many more entries still to come with late registration open for the first four one-hour blind levels on Day 2.

Christian Rysgaard, who earned the nickname “Sleeping Beauty” during the €555 Championship, bagged the chip lead on Day 1a, and will start Day 2 with the overall chip lead.

Meanwhile, Maximillian Sanders, who bagged a big stack in the Main Event, won a trophy last night as did Mikael Haapaniemi and Artturi Hannula. You can follow along the Main Event action in our dedicated blog at OlyBet.tv.

Read on to learn more about what transpired on Wednesday’s Day 7 of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn.

Maximillian Sanders Wins €250 NLH

United Kingdom’s Maximillian Sanders battled it out in Tallinn in September during the inaugural WSOP Circuit. He is likely thrilled to have made the trip back to Estonia and not only due to the ambiance.

Sanders not only bagged up a top five stack in the Main Event but he made the most of his day off by winning the one-day Event #36: €250 NLH for €7,280 after defeating Axel Saarniala in heads-up play.

The event attracted 175 entries to create a €36,190 prize pool with the top 24 players earning at least a €245.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #36: €250 NLH Final Table Results

175 entries, €36,190 prize pool

1. Maximillian Sanders (United Kingdom) – €7,280
2. Axel Saarniala (Finland) – €5,350
3. Rytis Pranarauskas (Lithuania) – €4,120
4. Janis Vailjevs (Latvia) – €3,190
5. Andrius Mazeika (Lithuania) – €2,470
6. Henri Tanskanen (Lithuania) – €1,930
7. Peter Jaksland (Denmark) – €1,505
8. Vytatutas Laurinaitis (Lithuania) – €1,240
9. Kimi Sipala (Finland) – €1,015

Mikael Happaniemi Wins €350 PLO 4/5 Progressive Bounties

The one-day Event #37: €350 PLO 4/5 Progressive Bounties attracted 235 runners to add €46,083 to the prize pool and another €23,500 to the progressive bounty pool for €69,583 in total prizes on tap.

Poker streamer Scott “Pokerbrahs” Kenyon advanced to the podium but had to settle for a third-place finish of €4,970 leaving Mikael Haapaniemi and Kaspars Dvinskis heads-up for the title with each player locking up €7,050 from the prize pool.

Although the prize pool was fully allocated at this point, the big bounty at the end and the trophy were still up for grabs. It took close to an hour before Haapaniemi defeated Dvinskis to earn his name in the King of Tallinn history books.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #37: €350 PLO 4/5 PKO Final Table Results

235 entries, €69,583 prize pool (including bounties)

1. Mikael Haapaniemi (Finland) – €7,050
2. Kaspars Dvinskis (Latvia) – €7,050
3. Scott Kenyon (United Kingdom) – €4,970
4. Joel Ylismaki (Finland) – €3,820
5. Roni Berg (Finland) – €3,080
6. Eduards Rakuss (Latvia) – €2,390
7. Gisle Olsen (Denmark) – €1,930
8. Mykhailo Chekarev (Ukraine) – €1,534
9. Ari Hissa (Sweden) – €1,200

In other news, Event #38: €350 NLH Short Handed attracted 87 runners to create a €25,760 prize pool. The final three players were from Finland. Arturri Hannula was the star of the show after he defeated Simo Raikkonen to win the €7,050 top prize.

Kings of Tallinn Day 8 Schedule (Friday, March 1)

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Wednesday, 28 February

Five Players Win Kings of Tallinn Trophies on Wednesday

Wednesday boasted tons of poker action both in the cash games and at the poker tables at the 2024 Kings of Tallinn at Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park.

In addition to the Main Event kicking off with Lithuania’s Christian “Sleeping Beauty” Rysgaard leading the way, five players earned trophies.

Finland’s Mikko Ylamaki agreed to a heads-up deal with Andrius “Benislovas” Bielskis before winning the €58,835 top prize for the largest single poker tournament prize awarded this year at Olympic Park Casino.

Per-Thorben Kasten, Ronny Albrigtsen, Oleksandr Tarashevskyi, and Roope Tarmi also found gold on Wednesday.

Read on to learn more about what transpired on Tuesday’s Day 5 of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn.

Mikko Ylamaki Wins Record Breaking €555 Championship

The €555 Kings of Tallinn Championship easily set a new record for this event with 700 entries creating a massive prize pool of €329,000.

After three days of battle, Finland’s Mikko Ylamaki won all the chips to bank €58,835 after a heads-up deal with Andrius Bielskis, who walked away with €49,875 after a nearly two-hour heads-up battle played out live in front of the lights and cameras at OlyBet.tv where we also hosted the live reporting coverage.

Ylamaki, who was crowned Finnish champion after winning the €560 Main Event in Helsinki back in October, secured his largest-ever recorded cash with the victory, with his previous largest being set in Tallinn as well. The Finnish player is a regularly seen guest in the Estonian capital, most recently finishing in fifth place in the €3,000 High Roller at Kings of Tallinn 2023.

Ylamaki defeated some tough competition on his way to victory, not only beating the very accomplished Bielskis heads-up but also defeating the likes of long-time Finnish crusher Joonas Helin and Kings of Tallinn trophy owner Touko Berndtson at the final table.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #12: €555 Championship Final Table Results

700 entries, €329,000 prize pool

1. Mikko Ylamaki (Finland) – €58,835*
2. Andrius Bielskis (Lithuania) – €49,875*
3. Joonas Helin (Finland) – €27,900
4. Oscar Peleg (Sweden) – €20,100
5. Jordi Baixas (Spain) – €15,200
6. Aleksandrs Krumins (Latvia) – €11,250
7. Touko Berndtson (Finland) – €8,700
8. Matte Karjalainen (Finland) – €7,200
9. Knut Trulsen (Norway) – €5,890

Per-Thorben Kasten Wins €1,100 PLO Championship

The two-day Event #26: €1,100 PLO 4/5 Championship was the other multiday event to conclude on Thursday and was another record breaker with 108 entries creating a €101,520 prize pool.

Per-Thorben Kasten and Jacob Reinholdt agreed to a deal before Kasten stormed ahead to victory about 30 minutes later to win €21,150. While Reinholdt was unable to earn the trophy, he did win the biggest cash prize in this event as thanks to the deal he earned €21,250.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #26: €1,100 PLO Championship Final Table Results

108 entries, €101,250 prize pool

1. Per-Thorben Kasten (Germany) – €21,150*
2. Jacob Reinholdt (Denmark) – €21,250*
3. David Modens (Latvia) – €12,750
4. Heikki Piira (Finland) – €10,150
5. Matias Kesanen (Finland) – €7,750
6. Robert Relander (Finland) – €5,800
7. Torsti Kettula (Finland) – €4,250

Other Results on Wednesday

The €250 NLH Progressive Bounties attracted a huge crowd of 291 entries to create a €31,078 prize pool in addition to the €29,100 in progressive bounties on the line. Ronny Albrigtsen earned a trophy for a second straight year after defeating Sweden’s Gia Carnestrom heads-up. Both players earned the €5,100 top prize. However, Albrigtsen also won the big bounty and added another trophy to his collection.

Oleksandr Tarashevskiy finished in third place for €3,800 in the €250 NLH on Tuesday and followed that up with an even better performance on Wednesday after he defeated a field of 215 entries including Juuso Kauppi heads-up to win the €5,050.

Meanwhile, the €555 NLH Short-Handed attracted 111 entries to create a €52,170 prize pool. The trophy was guaranteed to be awarded to a player from Finland with five players left before Roope Tarmi defeated Kalle Parkkinen heads-up to win the juicy €13,800 top prize.

Kings of Tallinn Day 7 Schedule (Thursday, Feb. 29)

Day 5: 27 February, Tuesday

Salonen and Sinnos Wins Trophies on Wednesday at Kings of Tallinn

While players are anticipating Wednesday’s launch of the €500,000 guaranteed Kings of Tallinn €1,100 Main Event, the atmosphere has been through the roof, especially on Tuesday when the Celebrity Special took place.

Records were not only broken in that event but in others as well including the €555 Championship and the €1,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship.

Read on to learn more about what transpired on Tuesday’s Day 5 of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn.

Jarmo Salonen Wins the €250 NLH

Finland’s Jarmo Salonen won the €250 Short Handed during the 2023 Kings of Tallinn for €7,450.

Fast forward a year and Salonen won another trophy on Tuesday evening after defeating Sweden’s Robin Lovgren heads-up to win the €7,020 top prize.

The 11 hour event attracted 165 entries to create a €34,122 prize pool and created a ton of excitement even though the event we are about to hop into generated the most buzz of the day.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #25: €250 NLH Final Table Results

165 entries, €34,122 prize pool

1. Jarmo Salonen (Finland) – €7,020
2. Robin Lovgren (Sweden) – €4,950
3. Oleksandr Tarashebskyi (Ukraine) – €3,800
4. Bo Janzen (Sweden) – €3,050
5. Christopher Barlow (United Kingdom) – €2,280
6. Roman Jezov (Estonia) – €1,750
7. Jani Halenius (Finland) – €1,430
8. Joonatan Maenpaa (Finland) – €1,150
9. Siim Suviste (Estonia) – €920

Eleftherios Simmon Wins the €150 Celebrity Special

The €150 Celebrity Special is a staple at the Kings of Tallinn was designed to be fun with dozens of local celebrities from Estonia and Finland invited to join in on the poker party. There were special prizes awarded as added bounties every time a player eliminated a celebrity.

Kings of Tallinn founder Teresa Nousiainen introduced all the celebrities one-by-one, each greeted with a heart-felt round of applause.

Former Estonian basketball hero Merike Anderson and former Finnish boxer Amin Asikainen performed the best of the celebrities before bowing out just before the podium at the final table.

However, Cyprus’s Eleftherios Sinnos was the hero of the day after defeating Finland’s Juho Suutari heads-up to win the trophy along with the hefty €10,500 top prize for a nice return on his €150 buy-in.

The event attracted a clean 500 entries for a €61,000 prize pool to establish a new gold standard for this event.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #27: €150 Celebrity Special Final Table Results

500 entries, €61,000 prize pool

1. Eleftherios Sinnos (Cyprus) – €10,500
2. Juho Suutari (Finland) – €7,050
3. Viktor Blinov (Estonia) – €5,250
4. Amin Asikainen (Finland) – €4,220
5. Merike Anderson (Estonia) – €3,320
6. Daniel Palsson (Iceland) – €2,570
7. Tomi Arponen (Finland) – €1,980
8. Aleksi Lindholm (Finland) – €1,490
9. Anne Bezdek (Finland) – €1,120

Ongoing Events

The €555 Championship established a new record on Tuesday with the field growing to 700 entries for a €329,000 prize pool to set a new Estonian record for a €555 Championship.

Players battled down to just 13 hopefuls, led by Lithuanian poker hero Andrius Bielskis. You can read more in our dedicated blog at OlyBet.tv about how the action went down until today.

The final day will be live-streamed at OlyBet.tv and we will also be live reporting the biggest hands and bad beats of the day at OlyBet.tv as well.

Meanwhile, the €1,100 Pot Limit Omaha Championship also smashed previous records with 108 entries creating a €101,520 prize pool. Just 14 players remain led by Finland’s Heikki Piira.

Wednesday boasts plenty of action. Check out the schedule below:

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Day 4: 26 February, Monday

Rudnik, Ikonen, and Miettinen Win Kings of Tallinn Trophies on Monday

The atmosphere continues to blossom with electricity and action flying with many more people heading to Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park with the anticipation of the €500,000 guaranteed Kings of Tallinn €1,100 Main Event on Wednesday.

Yesterday featured three more players earning their stamp into the Kings of Tallinn history books on Monday thanks to winning side events.

Monday also boasted the final two of four opening flights of the €555 Championship, which is on path to become the largest €555 Championship in Kings of Tallinn history.

In addition, the one-hand flips began in the €150 Flip & Go Mystery Bounty with 10 players already punching their tickets to Day 2, when one player will win a €10,000 top mystery bounty on March 3.

Read on to learn more about what transpired on Monday’s Day 4 of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn.

Grigorij Rudnik Wins €150 NLH/PLO4/PLO5 Mix

Lithuania’s Grigorij Rudnik is well known in Vilnius, Lithuania as he is often seen battling it out at Olympic Casino Lietuva in both local and international events.

His international recognition was lacking, at least until now. The local legend has dozens of wins over the past couple of decades but until now was unable to get the job done at least according to The Hendon Mob outside of his home in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.

Rudnik last night had a massive smile on his face after coming out on top of a 181 entries field to win Event #19: €150 NLH/PLO4/PLO5 Mix for €4,450.

This event had another big story as Rudnik was facing off heads-up against Norway’s Tobias Napel. Napel was still busy in all his glory celebrating his back-to-back wins in the €350 8-Game from the night before and was on his third top four finish at a final table this festival going for his second win. He fell one player shy of winning his second trophy of the day and settled for the runner-up prize of €4,450. This still proved to be better than his countrymates with five different Norwegian players advancing to the final table with three of them earning their way to the final four.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #19: €150 NLH/PLO4/PLO5 Mix Final Table Results

181 entries, €22,118 prize pool

1. Grigorij Rudnik (Lithuania) – €4,450
2. Tobias Napel (Norway) – €3,270
3. Morten Norland (Norway) – €2,520
4. Jorg Bru (Norway) – €1,950
5. Junjie Wu (Finland) – €1,510
6. Henri Tanskanen (Finland) – €1,180
7. Robert Kontkanen (Finland) – €920
8. Stein Naerland (Norway) – €758
9. Thomas Larsen (Norway) – €620

Pekka Ikonen Wins €350 NLH Progressive Bounty

Event #20: €350 NLH Progressive Bounty attracted 235 entries to create a €46,084 prize pool along with another €23,500 in progressive bounties on the line to bring the total up to €69,584.

Four out of the five final players were from Finland after Sweden’s Gia Carnestrom hit the rail in sixth place. However, Estonia had a chance to keep the trophy home with the formidable Tarmo Tammel in the mix.

Tammel advanced all the way to heads-up play and was guaranteed the top €7,400 prize from the prize pool. However, Finland’s Pekka Ikonen upset the local crowd by winning the trophy along with the massive final progressive bounty.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #20: €350 NLH PKO Final Table Results

235 entries, €69,584 prize pool including bounties

1. Pekka Ikonen (Finland) – €7,400
2. Tarmo Tammel (Estonia) – €7,400
3. Luka Sorainen (Finland) – €4,600
4. Eetu Porkka (Finland) – €3,520
5. Juho Suutari (Finland) – €2,830
6. Gia Carnestrom (Sweden) – €2,390
7. George Sandford (United Kingdom) – €1,970
8. Van Akram Marcus (Sweden) – €1,580
9. Rinalds Zimka (Latvia) – €1,254

Miko Miettinen Wins €250 PL 2-7 Triple Draw

Event #22: €250 Pot-Limit Deuce to Seven Triple Draw is one event you will be hard pressed to find anywhere else and is a staple at the Kings of Tallinn. OlyBet and Olympic Park Casino even boasted a WSOP Circuit ring event during the inaugural festival last year.

The event attracted 52 entries for a €10,754 prize pool and was a true test of mental wits.

“I soft-bubbled the tournament,” said Eva “Chic” Jiretorn last night after hitting the rail. “I stood pat against Sebastian (Wahl) with nine-seven after starting my hand with 2-3-4-4-7 on my second draw and not sure if that was correct.”

We chatted about the dynamics of this hand for some time while other players were chatting about other spots they encountered. Regardless of experience in poker, few can consider themselves experts in this format.

Perhaps Finland’s Miko Miettinen will consider himself and expert last night. He at least earned himself a trophy and the €3,614 top prize after defeating local hero Marius Morel heads-up. Two other local players went deep with former General Manager of Olympic Entertainment Group Jaan Vaabel and Allan Arjut also finished in the top four. In addition to Miettinen, three Finnish players also earned a cashier slip with Wahl performing the best of the group with a fifth-place finish.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #22: €250 PL 2-7 Triple Draw Results

52 entries, €10,754 prize pool including bounties

1. Miko Miettinen (Finland) – €3,614
2. Marius Morel (Estonia) – €2,540
3. Jaan Vaabel (Estonia) – €1,700
4. Allan Arjut (Estonia) – €1,050
5. Sebastian Wahl (Finland) – €750
6. Tommi Lankinen (Finland) – €600
7. Ville Turja (Finland) – €500

Bengt-Anders Johnsson Leads Kings of Tallinn €555 Championship

As already mentioned, the four opening flights of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn €555 Championship are in the books with 528 entries creating a €242,880 prize pool and counting.

The 250 players that advanced will be joined by others with late registration and re-entries permitted during the first three blind levels of the day.Sweden’s Bengt-Anders Johnsson (212,600) leads the way as the only player above 200,000 in chips. Estonian’s Martti Keel (183,700), Ukraine’s Mykhailo Mikhalov (180,600), Bulgaria’s Presiyan Tsvetanov (179,200), and Estonia’s Magnus Pukk (177,800) round out the top five heading into Day 2, which kicks off at 12 p.m.

Today’s action will play down to a final table of nine hopefuls. You can read more about the opening days and follow along with the action the rest of the way in our dedicated blog at OlyBet.tv.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #12: Kings of Tallinn €555 Championship Top 10 Chip Counts

2024 Kings of Tallinn Day 5 Schedule (Feb. 27)

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Day 3: 25 February, Sunday

Paul Koppe Wins €555 PLO Mystery Bounty With a Royal Flush

Royal flushes are quite rare. Winning a poker tournament with a royal flush is nearly unheard of.  However, the 2024 Kings of Tallinn powered by OlyBet at Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park is proving this is possible as thus far there are not one but two different players that won events with a royal flush as their final hand.

On Saturday, Finland’s Valeri Khrapel won Event #8: €150 Open Face Chinese Pineapple with a royal flush on the bottom hand. Royal flushes in this format are a bit more common than they are in other games including hold’em and Omaha but not as unheard of.

However, Sunday was a different story. There was already a tremendous buzz around the poker room with Event #7: €555 PL Omaha 4 & 5 Cards Mystery Bounty kicking off the day with players pulling mystery bounty envelopes. However, something even more special occurred with Estonia’s Paul Koppe defeating Finland’s Janne Nevalainen heads-up after flopping a Royal Flush to make it the second time in the first three days that a player has won a tournament with the best poker hand.

Several other players found gold on Sunday at the 2024 Kings of Tallinn including Norway’s Tobias Napel, Finland’s Jukka Moisio, and another Finnish player Rasmus Ekstrom.

Meanwhile, the €555 Championship set a new record for the largest attendance for the first two opening flights with 242 entries already in the mix.

Read on to learn more about what transpired on Sunday’s Day 3 of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn.

Paul Koppe Wins PLO Mystery Bounty in Style

The final day in Event #7: €555 PL Omaha 4 & 5 Cards Mystery Bounty was down to 13 hopefuls from the original clean field of 100 players. All players were in the money to start the day with mystery bounty envelopes also introduced.

Estonia’s Paul Koppe accomplished a feat that he and many others will remember for years to come after defeating Janne Nevalainen’s full house with a royal flush. There were six mystery bounties left to pick after the tournament with Koppe holding five tokens and Nevalainen holding one. Nevalainen asked Koppe if he wouldn’t mind picking the first five envelopes after the win. All the big ones, including the biggest mystery bounty prize of €5,000 went over to Koppe. Koppe already had a handful of bounty prizes before this and won a total of €13,500 to go along with his €6,020 top prize to bring his total haul up to €19,520.

Meanwhile, Nevalainen added to his runner-up cooler and was stuck with the last €500 bounty. He won a total of €2,000 in bounties when taking into account two previous pulls for a total haul of €6,330 when taking into account the runner-up prize of €4,330.

Meanwhile, Norway’s Tobias Napel just missed the podium with a fourth-place performance, however, he improved upon that result in a big way later in the day.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #7: €555 PLO Mystery Bounty Results

100 entries, €47,000 prize pool

1. Paul Koppe (Estonia) – €6,020
2. Janne Nevalainen (Finland) – €4,330
3. Tomas Berzinskas (Lithuania) – €2,970
4. Tobias Napel (Norway) – €2,170
5. Maher Mahmoud (Sweden) – €1,680
6. Airidas Dauska (Lithuania) – €1,340
7. Serguei Palomera (Sweden) – €1,070
8. Kimmo Kurko (Finland) – €870
9. Jani Vilmunen (Finland) – €730
10. Eetu Porkka (Finland) – €610
11. Joonas Helin (Finland) – €610
12. Heiko Hinkelmann (Germany) – €550
13. Miro Lehtinen (Finland) – €550

Prizes excluding mystery bounties.

Tobias Napel Wins 8-Game

Mixed-game enthusiasts were in for a treat as there were eight different games in limit hold’em, limit Omaha h/l, stud, razz, stud h/l, deuce-to-seven triple draw, no-limit hold’em, and pot-limit Omaha in Event #13: €350 8-Game.

Tobias Napel had a day to remember as not only did he finish in fourth place in the €555 PLO Mystery Bounty but late entered the €350 8-Game before cruising along to earn the coveted trophy and the €6,440 top prize.

Estonia’s Kairit Leibold was the last lady standing in sixth place but one Estonian did a bit better with Andres Abakanov finishing one player shy of the win.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #13: €350 8-Game Results

64 entries, €18,950 prize pool

1. Tobias Napel (Norway) – €6,440
2. Andres Abakanov (Estonia) – €4,140
3. Heikki Piira (Finland) – €2,760
4. Jukka Juvonen (Finland) – €1,960
5. Max Rotko (Finland) – €1,490
6. Kairit Leibold (Estonia) – €1,190
7. Stanislav Parkhomenko (Bulgaria) – €970

Jukka Moisio Wins €150 NLH Bounty

Event #14: €150 NLH Bounty attracted 221 entries to create €15,926 in the prize pool in addition to the €11,050 in the bounty pool with each player starting with a €50 bounty on their heads.

It was somewhat of a marathon as it took 12 hours for Jukka Moiso to defeat Ukraine’s Oleksandr Tarashevskiy heads-up to win the €3,620 top prize in addition to any bounties he won along the way.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #14: €150 NLH Results

221 entries, €26,976 prize pool including bounties

1. Jukka Moisio (Finland) – €3,620
2. Oleksandr Tarashevskiy (Ukraine) – €2,565
3. Dmitri Zatsik (Estonia) – €1,875

Prizes excluding bounties.

Read here for full results.

Rasmus Ekstrom Wins €555 PLO Progressive Bounty

Event #15: €555 PL Omaha 4 & 5 Cards Progressive Bounty was nearly as popular as the two-day mystery bounty version of this event with 93 entries creating a €34,410 prize pool in addition to the €100 progressive bounties adding another €9,300 in payouts.

Estonia’s Tarmo Tammel came close to adding another trophy to his already impressive poker resume but settled for a podium third-place finish leaving just Rasmus Ekstrom and Henrik Pulja heads-up with both players already earning €7,800 plus any bounties collected. Ekstrom won the huge progressive bounty at the end after defeating Pullja en route to victory.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #15: €555 PLO Progressive Bounty Results

93 entries, €43,710 prize pool including bounties

1. Jukka Moisio (Finland) – €3,620
2. Oleksandr Tarashevskiy (Ukraine) – €2,565
3. Dmitri Zatsik (Estonia) – €1,875

Prizes excluding bounties.

Read here for full results.

Myhailo Mikhalov Leads €555 Championship

Event #12: €555 Championship is already big with just the first of two of four opening flights adding 242 entries for €111,320 already in the prize pool. Monday boasts the final two opening flights with late registration also open for the first three blind levels of Tuesday’s Day 2.

Ukraine’s Myhailo Mihalov leads the 108 players to find a bag after leading Day 1b with 180,600 in chips. Estonia’s Magnus Pukk (177,800) and Cyprus’s Georgios Tsouloftas (170,100) aren’t too far behind after advancing with big stacks on Day 1a.

The action will continue on Monday with the final two opening flights. Day 1c kicks off at noon followed by the turbo Day 1d at 9 p.m. You can follow the action at our dedicated blog at OlyBet.tv in both English and Estonian with Finnish coverage beginning on Tuesday for Day 2.

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Day 2: 24 February, Saturday

Sven Omland Wins Inaugural Kings of Tallinn Cup (€19,200)

Saturday’s Day 2 of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn powered by OlyBet didn’t disappoint with huge crowds on hand to battle for glory and more at Olympic Park Casino.

Sven Omland was the biggest winner of the day after shipping the two-day €350 Kings of Tallinn Cup for €19,200 before Valeri Khrapel shipped the one-day €150 Open Face Chinese Pineapple.

Yesterday was a special day as the Kings of Tallinn poker community helped celebrate Estonian Independence Day with the €150 Estonian Independence Day Special. Latvia’s Kaspars Mallons now has reasons to celebrate this special day in two countries after winning this vibrant and fun event.

The cash games were hopping on the casino floor with 15 tables witnessed running at around midnight across a variety of stakes and games.

Read on to learn more about what transpired on Saturday’s Day 2 of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn.

Omland Makes History

The two-day Event #3: €350 Kings of Tallinn Cup was a new event on the schedule. Players responded enthusiastically to the new addition with 313 entries, including 96 Day 2 entries, creating a €92,679 prize pool.

Norway’s Sven Omland came into the final day in second place before he earned his place in the Kings of Tallinn history books by defeating Finland’s Akseli Paalanen to win the title along with the huge €19,200 top prize.

This event was live reported in Estonian, but the local crowd was left disappointed with just one local player remaining with 17 players still in the field. Estonia’s Dmitri Dudakov held on to take sixth place with the remaining field consisting of four Finnish players and one player from Norway before Omland earned the trophy.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #3: €350 Kings of Tallinn Cup Final Table Results

313 entries, €92,679 prize pool

1. Sven Omland (Norway) – €19,200
2. Akseli Paalanen (Finland) – €13,100
3. Juhana Konttinen (Finland) – €9,500
4. Jukka Moisio (Finland) – €7,380
5. Max Rotko (Finland) – €5,490
6. Dmitri Dudakov (Estonia) – €4,120
7. Heikki Piira (Finland) – €3,210
8. Arto Lehtonen (Finland) – €2,450
9. Marko Hynynen (Finland) – €1,890

Valeri Khrapel Wins €150 Open Face Chinese

Event #6: €150 Open Face Chinese Pineapple was a new event added to the schedule last year to complement the €350 Open Face Chinese Pineapple taking place later in the week.

Another new record was shattered early in the 2024 Kings of Tallinn with 71 entries creating a €8,676 prize pool to best the 69 entries that came out in full force during the 2023 Kings of Tallinn Summer Showdown.

The final table was set after Latvia’s Janis Zablovskis hit the rail in fifth place. At this point, the title was guaranteed to go to a player with Finland with just four players remaining. Valeri Khrapel won this historic marathon of an event lasting nearly 12 ½ hours after Hannu Seppala, Ville-Matti Keranen, and Tommi Lankinen all lost their stacks. A deal was made by the final two players before the final cards were dealt which resulted in a €2,520 top prize for Khrapel and €2,300 for Seppala.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #6: €150 Open Face Chinese Results

313 entries, €92,679 prize pool

1. Valeri Khrapel (Finland) – €2,520
2. Hannu Seppala (Finland) – €2,300
3. Ville-Matti Keranen (Finland) – €1,350
4. Tommi Lankinen (Finland) – €820
5. Janis Zablovskis (Latvia) – €606
6. Robert Schiffbauer (United States) – €430
7. Veli Hyttinen (Finland) – €350
8. Ville-Oskari Turja (Finland) – €150
9. Kristjan Abakanov (Estonia) – €150

Kaspars Mallons Wins €150 Estonian Independence Day Special

Saturday was a special day at the Kings of Tallinn as players from around the world Estonia’s independence with a special event in the one-day Event #8: €150 Estonian Independence Day Special.

Olympic Park Casino added value for the record-breaking field of 345 entries for this event with draws for €555 tickets.

While the local crowd didn’t prove to have any super deep runs in the early events, this was not the case in this event with five Estonians advancing to the final table. However, the Estonians dropped one-by-one. Hendrik Eibo became the first Estonian to reach the podium at the 2024 Kings of Tallinn but had to settle for a third-place finish. Latvia’s Kaspars Mallons and Poland’s Marcin Niedzwiecki then agreed to a heads-up deal. Shortly after, Mallons defeated Niedzwiecki heads-up to win the €7,720 top prize.

While Niedzwiecki was unable to win the title, he can wipe away any tears as he also made out well thanks to the deal collecting a healthy €7,000 runner-up prize for a nice return on his €150 buy-in.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #8: €150 Estonian Independence Day Special

345 entries, €42,159 prize pool

1. Kaspars Mallons (Latvia) – €7,720
2. Marcin Niedzwiecki (Poland) – €7,000
3. Hendrik Eibo (Estonia) – €4,230
4. Stanislav Smeljov (Estonia) – €3,030
5. Mikael Haapaniemi (Finland) – €2,250
6. Hendry Kullamae (Estonia) – €1,690
7. Jusso Kauppi (Finland) – €1,330
8. Kait Hinn (Estonia) – €1,090
9. Ruslan Stserbjuk (Estonia) – €920

Day 2 of the €555 PLO Mystery Bounty & More on Day 3 (Sunday, Feb. 25)

Sunday will be another busy day at the Kings of Tallinn. Many eyes will be on the final day of Event #7: €555 PL Omaha 4 & 5 Card Mystery Bounty with just 13 players remaining from the clean field of 100 entries. Players are already in the money with a min-cash of €550 and will be playing for a top prize of €6,020. However, the excitement comes in with players also collecting mystery bounty envelopes for each player they eliminate.

The three-day Event #13: €555 Kings of Tallinn Championship also begins on Sunday with two flights at 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. OlyBet.tv will be live reporting this event until a winner is crowned in both English and Estonian.

Sunday also boasts the €350 8-Game for mixed-game enthusiasts alongside another €555 Omaha 4 & 5 Cards event, this one boasting progressive bounties. Hold’em players not choosing to play the €555 Championship can enjoy a €150 NLH Bounty instead or in a satellite.

The cash games will also be rocking throughout the day and evening for what promises to be another exciting day at the 2024 Kings of Tallinn.

Check out the full schedule for Sunday, Feb. 25.

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Day 1: 23 February, Friday

Hot Start in the 2024 Kings of Tallinn powered by OlyBet

The tenth anniversary of the Kings of Tallinn kicked off yesterday with the first of 10 days of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn powered by OlyBet at Olympic Park Casino.

The festival boasts a robust schedule of 55 numbered events from Feb. 23 to March 3 with most of the bigger events yet to come. The attendance was through the roof on the opening day with a packed house of players coming from all corners of the globe.

Finland’s Daniel Lakka earned the first trophy after coming out on top of a banner field of 305 entries in Event #2: €250 Opening Event, while Event #3: €350 Kings of Tallinn Cup attracted 213 entries with more to come with late registration remaining open during the first three blind levels of Saturday’s Day 2.

Read on to learn more about what transpired on Friday’s opening day of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn.

Daniel Lakka Wins First Trophy

Event #2: €250 Opening Event created a vibrant atmosphere with 305 entries creating a €63,074 prize pool. The event was one of many that added value with the top nine players earning a free €150 ticket to the OlyBet Flip & Go Mystery Bounty tournament, which boasts one-hand opening flights from Feb. 25 to March 2 before players will play for both mystery bounty prizes and will be in the money when the final day plays out on March 3 to a winner.

It took nearly seven hours for the money bubble to break with the final 39 players in the money for at least a €480 min-cash after Estonia’s Vjatseslav Jakusin hit the rail short of the money.

The final table bubble broke about 9 ½ hours into play with the final nine players going home with the extra ticket after France’s Joakim Brochard exited in 10^th place.

Two women advanced to the final table but they were also the first two players on the rail with Anna Astahhova and Indre Martoviciute, who recently finished in third place in the Queens of Tallinn €350 Main Event, leaving an all-male field in the hunt for the title.

The action continued before Poland’s Dominik Ostrowski exited on the podium in third place. The final two players Daniel Lakka and United Kingdom’s Jonathan Walker agreed to a heads-up deal that guaranteed each player €10,000 with €1,044 and the coveted trophy still on the line. A few minutes later, Lakka earned the extra money to bring his final prize up to €11,044 and will forever be known as the first player to win a trophy at the 2024 Kings of Tallinn.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Event #2: €250 Opening Event Final Table Results

305 entries, €63,074 prize pool

1. Daniel Lakka (Finland) – €11,044
2. Jonathan Walker (United Kingdom) – €10,000
3. Dominik Ostrowski (Poland) – €6,770
4. Paulius Jucys (Lithuania) – €5,130
5. Lukasz Fraczek (Poland) – €3,900
6. Kanstantsin Iodis (Belarus) – €2,910
7. Jose Koistinen (Finland) – €2,220
8. Anna Astahhova (Estonia) – €1,700
9. Indre Martoviciute (Lithuania) – €1,320

Joel Happio Leads Kings of Tallinn Cup

Event #3: €350 Kings of Tallinn Cup was one of the new events on the schedule with already €63,069 in the prize pool from the 213 entries on the opening day. Both of these figures will grow with late registration remaining open for the first three 30-minute blind levels of the day.

Four players parlayed their 30,000 opening stacks into more than 100,000 in chips on the opening day. Finland’s Joel Happio bagged the overnight chip lead with 132,000 followed by Norway’s Sven Omland (115,500), Finland’s Kasper Mellanen (114,500), and Estonia’s Kevin Didvig (111,000).

A total of 117 players survived the opening day with an exciting day to come when the action resumes at 12 p.m. on Saturday.

2024 Kings of Tallinn Day 2 Schedule (Saturday, Feb. 24)

Saturday boasts a robust schedule for the second day of the 2024 Kings of Tallinn. Check out the full schedule below:

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