It was another amazing day at the 2025 OlyBet Kings of Tallinn as it celebrates its glorious decade of history with a 64-event celebration at Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park.
Denmark’s Gisle Olsen dazzled in front of the lights and cameras of the TV table to defeat a record field of 271 entries to win the €52,280 top prize, his largest cash to date according to The Hendon Mob.
Four other players found gold on Thursday including Finland’s Samuel Saariaho winning Event #40: €200 NLH 8-handed for €8,680, Norway’s Tarjei Forus shipped Event #41: €350 PLO4/PLO5/PLO6 Progressive Bounty for €6,210 plus bounties, Ville-Tapio Mesiranta hoisted the trophy in Event #42: €200 PL Sökö Nullo for €3,330, and Henri Kettunen won Event #43: €555 NLH for €13,645.
The cash games on the casino floor were packed. While the atmosphere was already electric, it picked up a notch when the bad beat jackpot was triggered. Klaus G nailed a straight flush in five-card Omaha and won the hand and an additional €10,175 from the jackpot. Miko M had an amazing hand with quad kings and was thrilled that he didn’t win the pot as this meant he earned the top bad beat jackpot prize of €20,350. Five other players at the table each earned €2,035 with one player nearly missing out as he was about to leave before deciding to play one final hand.
Read on to learn more about Day 8 of the 2025 Kings of Tallinn at Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park, or click on the links below to read about the event.
- Read more: Live Reporting of the 2025 Kings of Tallinn
- Read more: 2025 Kings of Tallinn Landing Page and Team Challenge Sign-Up at OlyBetEvents.com
- Read more: Kings of Tallinn Celebrating 10 Year Anniversary in Style
- Read more: Kings of Tallinn Main Event Holds a €1 Million GTD – Bigger than Ever Before
- Read more: Ten Multi-Day Events During the 2025 Kings of Tallinn
- Read more: OlyBet Rolls Out Red Carpet for Kings of Tallinn 10th Anniversary
- Read more: Your Guide to Mixed Games at the 2025 Kings of Tallinn
- Read more: Redtooth Poker Tour Heads to Tallinn for European Leg of the 2024/25 Season
- Read more: 2025 Kings of Tallinn Day 1: Packed House Kicks the Action Off
- Read more: 2025 Kings of Tallinn Day 2: Two Finns Win First Two Titles
- Read more: 2025 Kings of Tallinn Day 3: Stanislav Smeljov Wins Largest of 5 Titles on Saturday
- Read more: 2025 Kings of Tallinn Day 4: Poker Journalist Among Five Trophy Winners on Sunday
- Read more: 2025 Kings of Tallinn Day 5: Finns Go 3 for 3 to Sweep the Board
- Read more: 2025 Kings of Tallinn Day 6: Ahmet Canatan Wins €555 KoT Championship (€66,050)
- Read more: 2025 Kings of Tallinn Day 7: Kestutis Jungevicius Wins €5K High Roller (€90,380)
15 Years in the Making: Gisle Olsen Dominates Final Table of Record-Breaking Kings of Tallinn PLO Championship for First-Ever Trophy (€52,280)
The Kings of Tallinn €1,100 PLO Championship broke all records by attracting a field of 271 entries. After two days of play, only Gisle Olsen was left standing, hoisting the trophy. Having lost five heads-up battles in his long career, this marks Olsen’s first-ever recorded live tournament victory. The Danish player, whose first recorded cash stems from 2010, was awarded €52,280 for his efforts, a new all-time best score.
Olsen started the final table in the middle of the pack but quickly rose to the top as he wrapped up the final table in under 90 minutes of play. The last hurdle on his way to victory was heads-up opponent Tero Laurilla, who only lasted a few hands in the duel and had to console himself with the runner-up prize of €34,350.
Meanwhile, 2019 Main Event finalist Jussi Mattila finished in fifth for €14,400, while start-of-day chipleader Tobias Leknes was the first to bow out from the final table, receiving €8,650 for his seventh place.
€1,100 PLO4/PLO5 Championship Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gisle Olsen | €52,280 |
| 2 |  Tero Laurila | €34,350 |
| 3 |  Alexander Holmberg | €24,500 |
| 4 | Fredrik Lindstrom | €18,600 |
| 5 | Jussi Mattila | €14,400 |
| 6 | Kristian Kostiander | €11,250 |
| 7 |  Tobias Leknes | €8,650 |
| 8 | Jyri Merivirta | €6,650 |
| 9 | Aklilu Laitinen | €6,650 |
| 10 |  Renars Skanis | €5,000 |
| 11 | Hans Holst | €5,000 |
| 12 | Mikael Koistinen | €3,950 |
| 13 |  Henrik Puija | €3,950 |
| 14 | Frederik Brink | €3,950 |
| 15 | Tony Westby | €3,350 |
| 16 | Mathias Siljander | €3,350 |
| 17 | Espen Sandvik | €3,350 |
| 18 | Jonas Juhlen | €2,950 |
| 19 | Jussi Perlinen | €2,950 |
| 20 | Michal Danka | €2,600 |
| 21 |  Joakim Brochard | €2,600 |
| 22 | Riku Piiroinen | €2,600 |
| 23 | Seppo Parkkinen | €2,600 |
| 24 | Kai Lehto | €2,350 |
| 25 | Tobias Napel | €2,350 |
| 26 | Juha Helppi | €2,350 |
| 27 | Teemu Toikkanen | €2,350 |
| 28 | Tran Xuan | €2,350 |
| 29 | Minh Thang Ngo | €2,350 |
| 30 | Jarkko Suokas | €2,100 |
| 31 | Ranno Sootla | €2,100 |
| 32 |  Vivian Saliba | €2,100 |
| 33 | Niko Heikkinen | €2,100 |
| 34 |  Filip Jambresic | €2,100 |
| 35 |  Michal Rudnik | €2,100 |
Day 2 Action
At the start of Day 2, 52 players remained, all eyeing a piece of the €252,030 prize pool. However, such luck was only reserved for the top 35 finishers, meaning 17 players had to leave the field empty-handed. Sebastian Wahl was the first casualty of the day, and he was soon followed by the likes of Mystery Bounty winner Robert Kagerud and Pot-Limit Razz champion Blaz Zerjav.
Igor Pihela Jr. busted five spots from the money, and, after about an hour and a half of play, the bubble burst as Mikael Haapaniemi was eliminated in 36th before the tournament even went hand-for-hand.
Min-cashes were picked up by Vivian Saliba (32nd – €2,100) and first-ever Kings of Tallinn Main Event champion Ranno Sootla (31st – €2,100). Sootla’s fellow Tallinn royalty Juha Helppi (26th – €2,350) and Kai Lehto (24th – €2,340) picked up some pay jumps, while Espen Sandvik (17th – €3,350) and Mathias Siljander (16th – €3,350) waved goodbye at the final three tables. The best Estonian player was Henrik Puija, who finished in 13th place for €3,950.
After three levels of play with two tables, the short-stacked Jyri Merivirta was eliminated in eighth place, setting the final table of seven in stone. Leknes had lost a big pot just before the start of the final table, leaving him as the shortest stack. He tried to claw back, but his fate as a seventh-place finisher was sealed when he jammed into the flush of Fredrik Lindstrom.
Kristian Kostiander (6th – €11,250) soon followed after losing out on a chop pot thanks to a flushy river. It was at this point that Olsen started to heat up. First, he eliminated Matilla in a preflop confrontation before winning a big pot from a bluffing Lindstrom.
Lindstrom was left short after the encounter with Olsen. The double-suited aces he was dealt looked like a promising way out of the hole, but Laurila’s kings turned quads to eliminate Lindstrom in fourth instead, receiving €18,600.
Not much later, Olsen cracked the kings of Alexander Holmberg to eliminate him in third for €24,500. Olsen started the heads-up with about three times as many chips as Laurila and finished the job within a couple of hands. Olsen got it in with aces preflop against the queens of Laurila. Olsen made a set on the flop and turned a full house to win the tournament without much of a sweat, ending a 15-year-long drought.
Event #40: €200 NLH 8-Handed Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Saariaho | Finland | €8,680 |
| 2 | Toni Vuolle | Finland | €5,930 |
| 3 | Siim Niido | Estonia | €4,200 |
| 4 | Miska Vihervuori | Finland | €3,130 |
| 5 | Thomas Rott | Norway | €2,400 |
| 6 | Dmitri Damaskin | Estonia | €1,860 |
| 7 | Kare Hallamaa | Finland | €1,480 |
| 8 | Peder Behr | Sweden | €1,200 |
| 9 | Jerry Villa | Finland | €1,011 |
| 10 |  Richard Bauer | Germany | €850 |
| 11 |  Mindaugas Grigaitis | Lithuania | €850 |
| 12 | Roope Keminen | Finland | €740 |
| 13 | Arto Lehtonen | Finland | €740 |
| 14 | Viktors Caikins | Latvia | €660 |
| 15 | Joel Haapio | Finland | €660 |
| 16 | Joonas Laamanen | Finland | €590 |
| 17 | Alex Heinonen | Finland | €590 |
| 18 |  Ziga Klopcic | Slovenia | €530 |
| 19 | Sampo Aalto | Finland | €530 |
| 20 | Evaldas Katinas | Lithuania | €530 |
| 21 |  Athanasios Kostouros | Greece | €480 |
| 22 | Eriks Krumins | Latvia | €480 |
| 23 | Roope Tarmi | Finland | €480 |
| 24 |  Tim Van Kemenade | Netherlands | €440 |
| 25 | Tarmo Tammel | Estonia | €440 |
| 26 | Mehdi Saidi | France | €440 |
| 27 | Valentin Francois | France | €440 |
| 28 | Sarah Link | Germany | €400 |
| 29 | Anton Askolin | Finland | €400 |
| 30 | Pertti Salakari | Finland | €400 |
| 31 | Tobias Lundgren | Sweden | €400 |
| 32 | Ahmet Canatan | Denmark | €400 |
| 33 | Kalle Toivonen | Finland | €400 |
| 34 | Constantin Lau | France | €400 |
Event #41: €350 PLO4/PLO5/PLO6 Progressive Bounty Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tarjei Forus | Norway | €6,210 |
| 2 | Veli-Pekka Penttinen | Finland | €6,210 |
| 3 |  Barrie Dear | United Kingdom | €4,190 |
| 4 | Ricardas Vymeris | Lithuania | €3,050 |
| 5 | Tobias Napel | Norway | €2,250 |
| 6 |  Rustam Havryliuk | Ukraine | €1,770 |
| 7 | Kim-Erik Pihl | Finland | €1,385 |
| 8 | Jack Karadas | Norway | €1,100 |
| 9 | Hans Fernkvist | Sweden | €1,100 |
| 10 | Joona Nyholm | Finland | €890 |
| 11 | Michel Leibgorin | France | €890 |
| 12 | Henri Ojala | Finland | €730 |
| 13 | Henrik Puija | Estonia | €730 |
| 14 | Martti Ojala | Finland | €730 |
| 15 |  Darren Floyd | Ireland | €610 |
| 16 | Marko Voutilainen | Finland | €610 |
| 17 | Teemu Toikkanen | Finland | €610 |
| 18 | Lee Horton | United Kingdom | €530 |
| 19 | Frank Stüken | Germany | €530 |
| 20 | Tomasz Gluszko | Poland | €460 |
| 21 | Nikolay Ponomarev | United Kingdom | €460 |
| 22 | Connor Oakley | United Kingdom | €460 |
| 23 |  Tomas Szabo | Slovakia | €460 |
Event #42 €200 PL Sökö Nullo Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ville-Tapio Mesiranta | Finland | €3,330 |
| 2 | Jukka Ylitalo | Finland | €2,730 |
| 3 | Jari Mähönen | Finland | €1,710 |
| 4 | Jyri Merivirta | Finland | €1,250 |
| 5 | Timo Lehikoinen | Finland | €910 |
| 6 | John Carroll | Ireland | €750 |
| 7 | Santtu Leinonen | Finland | €610 |
| 8 | Artturi Hannula | Finland | €490 |
| 9 | Jari Kalenius | Finland | €394 |
Event #43: €555 NLH Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henri Kettunen | Finland | €13,645 |
| 2 | Daniel Mccormack | United Kingdom | €9,200 |
| 3 | Luka Sorainen | Finland | €6,390 |
| 4 | Sondre Stormyr | Norway | €4,650 |
| 5 | Morten Norland | Norway | €3,580 |
| 6 | Gisle Olsen | Denmark | €2,810 |
| 7 | Tobias Leknes | Norway | €2,300 |
| 8 | Nils Linden | Sweden | €1,930 |
| 9 | Andreas Werner | Sweden | €1,630 |
| 10 | Mantas Liachauskas | Lithuania | €1,390 |
| 11 | Ernestas Stalemekas | Lithuania | €1,390 |
| 12 | Eriks Krumins | Latvia | €1,210 |
| 13 | Noelia Ivars Rico | Sweden | €1,210 |
| 14 | Juha Nikkola | Finland | €1,070 |
| 15 | Isak Bergström | Sweden | €1,070 |
2025 Kings of Tallinn Schedule Day 9 (Friday, Feb. 28)
Friday will boast a busy start with hundreds of players battling on Day 2 of the Main Event starting at Noon with late registration remaining open until around 4:30 p.m.
Two trophies will be awarded on Friday in the €200 NLH Progressive Bounty at 3 p.m. and the €150 NLH/PLO4/PLO5 Turbo at 10 p.m.
In addition, two multi-day events kick off on Friday including the €555 PL Sviten Championship at 5 p.m. and the €1,100 NLH DeepStack Progressive Bounty at 8 p.m.
Check out Thursday’s schedule below or head to the OlyBetEvents.com landing page to see the full schedule and more.
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 12:00 | Event #25: €1,100 Kings of Tallinn Main Event Day 2 |
| 15:00 | Event #46: €200 NLH Progressive Bounty |
| 17:00 | Event #47: €555 PL Sviten Championship Day 1 |
| 19:00 | Event #48: €150 Satellite to €3,000 NLH (3 Seats GTD) |
| 20:00 | Event #49: €1,100 NLH DeepStack Progressive Bounty Day 1 |
| 22:00 | Event #50: €150 NLH/PLO4/PLO5 Turbo |
*Images (other than bad beat jackpot) courtesy of Elena Kask
