Yesterday, the second-biggest buy-in of the tenth-anniversary Kings of Tallinn, the €3,000 NLH, drew a respectable crowd of 65 entries to Olympic Park Casino, of which 14 made it through to Day 2. Estonia’s very own Mauri Dorbek crushed Day 1 and ended on top with 568,000 in chips, good for 95 big blinds at the start of the day.
Dorbek is a long-time player whose first recorded cash stems from 2008. He has accrued nearly half a million in lifetime earnings since then, but a Kings of Tallinn trophy still eludes him.
2024’s €555 Kings of Tallinn Championship winner Mikko Ylamaki follows Dorbek at a respectable distance with a stack of 433,000. Finnish regular Luka Sorainen came in third in this event last year and finds himself on the lowest spot of the podium again at the start of Day 2, starting with 348,000 chips.
Ninth on Estonia’s all-time money list, Igor Pihela Sr., closely follows Sorainen with 343,000. Pihela Sr. will have to forego watching his son at the Main Event final table as his eyes are set on winning his own tournament first. Other players who have a last-minute shot at glory are Blaz Zerjav (301,000), who is looking for his second trophy this week, and Finnish legend of the game Juha Helppi (166,000).
€3,000 NLH Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mauri Dorbek | Estonia | 568,000 | 95 |
| 2 |  Mikko Ylamaki | Finland | 433,000 | 72 |
| 3 | Luka Sorainen | Finland | 348,000 | 58 |
| 4 | Igor Pihela Sr. | Estonia | 343,000 | 57 |
| 5 |  Blaz Zerjav | Slovenia | 301,000 | 50 |
| 6 | Joni Rantamaki | Finland | 224,000 | 37 |
| 7 |  Theodoros Ampelikiotis | Greece | 222,000 | 37 |
| 8 | Juha Helppi | Finland | 166,000 | 28 |
| 9 |  Henning Andre | Sweden | 139,000 | 23 |
| 10 |  Martin Tsvetanov | Bulgaria | 121,000 | 20 |
With only nine places paid in this six-max tournament, five more people will not receive a portion of the €172,900 prize pool. Those who do make the money are guaranteed at least €6,000, with a pay jump every elimination until the top prize of €51,200 has been reached.
€3,000 NLH Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €51,200 |
| 2 | €34,500 |
| 3 | €24,250 |
| 4 | €17,700 |
| 5 | €12,900 |
| 6 | €10,600 |
| 7 | €8,650 |
| 8 | €7,100 |
| 9 | €6,000 |
The tournament will restart at noon local time with blinds at 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante. The levels will be 30 minutes in length throughout the day, with a break after every four levels. As it is the last day of the festival, the event will conclude only when a champion is crowned.
Stay tuned to the live reporting as the €3,000 NLH provides the last of this year’s Kings of Tallin’s high-stakes action.
