Kings of Tallinn is celebrating its tenth anniversary this edition and, while a lot of returning faces are wandering the halls of Olympic Park Casino, the promises of big fields, a good atmosphere, and plenty of events also draw new names to the Estonian capital.
Ahmet Canatan is one of the players experiencing the festival for the first time, and he made sure it would be one to never forget as he stood victorious at the end of the €555 Championship. A record field of 710 entries was recorded for this event, with Canatan defeating his final opponent, Michel Karim, another newcomer to Tallinn, after a dominating heads-up performance. Canatan took home €66,050 along with the shiny Kings of Tallinn trophy, while Karim received €41,650 as a consolation prize, both scores being the largest-ever recorded cash for the players.
Other players who made the final table include Hanna Heinlo (4th – €20,150), who achieved the feat of being the highest-placing Estonian for the second Championship in a row, and 2023 Main Event champion Priit Parmasto (5th – €15,250).
€555 Kings of Tallinn Championship Final Table Result
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ahmet Canatan | Denmark | €66,050 |
| 2 |  Michel Karim | Sweden | €41,650 |
| 3 |  Tommy Piiroinen | Finland | €28,000 |
| 4 |  Hanna Heinlo | Estonia | €20,150 |
| 5 | Priit Parmasto | Estonia | €15,250 |
| 6 | Jonas Silfver | Sweden | €11,300 |
| 7 | Siim Nikopensius | Estonia | €8,750 |
| 8 |  Yurii Zabrodotskyi | Ukraine | €7,200 |
| 9 |  Morten Olsen | Norway | €5,900 |
Final Day Action
Long before Canatan would be crowned champion, 24 players returned for the third and final day of the tournament. English high roller Paul Newey (24th – €1,800) was immediately eliminated as his Ace-King got sucked out on by Ace-Queen on the first hand. Newey’s fellow high-stakes regular Martin Kabrhel ran his top pair into aces before surrendering his final few blinds and ending in 18th place for €2,150.
Following the rapid pace of eliminations, the final two tables were reached within an hour. Bodhan Hyshko (16th – €2,150) could not hold on much longer than that after his aces were cracked in a pre-flop all-in against Mounir Tajiou. Not much later, Tajiou found aces himself and used them to eliminate Marius Hakonsen in 12th, taking home €3,600. Tajiou could not put the chips to much use, however, as he was next to depart in 11th, being awarded €4,700, leaving the field on the final table bubble.
Stanislav Smeljov was looking to make his second final table appearance of the series, having taken down the €350 Cup for €26,100 earlier this week. However, short-handed Smeljov ran his jacks into the kings of Canatan, sending him packing in tenth for €4,700, denying him a second victory and creating a final table of nine players.
Final Table
Norwegian Morten Olsen (9th – €5,900) started the final table as the shortest stack, and it was thus no surprise when he was the first to fall on the final table. The final departure before dinner break was Yurii Zabrodotskyi, who was Ukraine’s best performer with an eight-place finish for €7,200.
Siim Nikopensius started the final table with the chip lead, but parked his ace-king into the kings of Canatan, who covered him at that point, to end up in seventh place for €8,750. Shortly thereafter, Karim started a hot run for the books. Karim eliminated Jonas Silfver (6th – €11,300), Parmasto (5th – €15,250), Heinlo (4th – €20,150), and Tommy Piiroinen (3rd – €28,000) within the span of half an hour, leaving him heads-up with Cantan with a four-to-one chip lead.
Kareem was looking unstoppable, even widening the chip discrepancy to six-to-one early on in the heads-up. Canatan was unfazed by Kareem’s display of power, however, and clawed his way back by winning most of the small pots the pair played. Without an all-in and a call, Canatan suddenly found himself with a two-to-one chip advantage, which he put to full use when Karim three-bet jammed his second pair on the turn.
Canatan was patiently waiting with top set and had his opponent drawing dead. About 45 minutes after the heads-up had started, Karim and Canatan shook hands as, against all odds, Canatan was the one who hoisted the trophy. His rail cheered on as he was presented as the winner, taking home his largest-ever live score which more than doubled his total live earnings.
That concludes the live report for the €555 Championship, but many more tournaments are scheduled for the tenth-anniversary Kings of Tallinn, so come back to this space tomorrow to find more poker action straight from the Estonian capital.
