2026 Coolbet Open

Day 1b of the €550 Main Event has come to an end.

Just as predicted, the second (out of a total three) starting-day flights became bigger than Day 1a. In total, Day 1b registered 242 entries. Another €113,050 was collected towards the prize pool; the total one currently reads €218,975; that number can be expected to grow significantly, considering Day 1c (which just kicked off) is still to go. Late registration will also be open during the first four levels of Day 2.

When Level 9 concluded, 103 players received a Day 2 bag. Sweden’s Jawad Habib bagged the chip lead with 219,500, the only player to secure more than 200,000. Other notable names who made it through includes prominent Estonian player Martin Piik, reigning champion Guillermo “GGordo” Gordo, 2025 WSOP Circuit Tallinn €350 Mini Main Event winner Simon Hesserud Persson, and US poker professional Robert Perelman.

They’ve all made it through to Day 2, which will kick off tomorrow (Friday, September 4) at 12:00. Before that though, as previously mentioned, there’s 1c. Day 2 will play down to the money; it’s going to be a wild ride.

Thanks to everyone who’s been following along with today’s live coverage. Around noon tomorrow, poker.pro content manager Jason Glatzer will upload a recap of everything that went down today, including side event results. Tomorrow’s live coverage will kick off at 12:00 when cards are in the air for Day 2.

Thanks again, and see you all tomorrow.

Day 1b of the €550 Main Event attracted 242 entries. Below are the chip counts for those 103 who made it through to Day 2.

Position	Name	Country	Chips
1	Yevhen Pavlenko	Ukraina	283 000
2	Jawad Habib	Sverige	219 500
3	Oystein Stai	Norge	191 700
4	Jan Holte	Norge	171 200
5	Kristaps Renga	Lettland	170 000
6	Ranel Käsi	Estland	157 000
7	Atle Larsen	Norge	149 100
8	Arild Haugland	Norge	147 200
9	Edgars Hauks	Lettland	136 000
10	Martin Piik	Estland	131 600
11	Manuel Lopes	Portugal	130 100
12	Borge Dypvik	Norge	125 300
13	Daniel Åkesson	Sverige	122 000
14	Jukka Juvonen	Finland	121 400
15	Kenneth Olaisen	Norge	106 700
16	Granit Haziraj	Norge	100 000
17	Pyry Kekäläinen	Finland	98 400
18	Ivar Rolstad	Norge	96 700
19	Keimo Suominen	Finland	96 700
20	Brage Aasen	Norge	95 500
21	Sigve Enes	Norge	95 400
22	Tom Roernes	Norge	94 000
23	Erik Sonsteby	Norge	93 900
24	Joni Tielinen	Finland	92 600
25	Karol Olszewski	Polen	89 200
26	Anders Bjorkheim	Norge	89 000
27	Per Indersund	Norge	88 000
28	Rohan Oberoi	Sverige	86 200
29	Jari Rättyä	Finland	85 600
30	Xavier Lyu	USA	84 900
31	Lauri Tuominen	Finland	84 600
32	Magnus Kristiansen	Norge	84 200
33	Julia Kuusijärvi	Finland	84 000
34	Peeter Talviste	Estland	83 600
35	Eskil Kvamvold	Norge	82 700
36	Mart Rinken	Estland	82 200
37	Enea Subashi	Grekland	78 000
38	Peter Sbertoli	Norge	77 800
39	Mark Metsla	Estland	76 600
40	Marko Vest	Estland	76 500
41	Arto Pihlaja	Finland	74 800
42	Sigmar Leppik	Estland	74 500
43	Frederico Santos	Brasilien	70 900
44	Axel Hilmisson	Island	70 400
45	Marek Kõiv	Estland	68 700
46	Greger Larsson	Sverige	67 100
47	Ole Wasenius	Norge	64 600
48	Kalle Kulju	Finland	63 600
49	Andre Sivertsen	Norge	63 600
50	Arasch Mirzai	Sverige	63 000
51	Matti Lasanen	Finland	62 900
52	David Battersby	Ireland	62 100
53	Rolf Landberg	Sverige	61 700
54	Atte Franssila	Finland	61 500
55	Vytautas Rubezius	Iceland	60 400
56	Yrjoe Pirhonen	Finland	58 900
57	Reidar Sveen	Norge	58 100
58	Pasi Sallinen	Finland	57 400
59	Paul Le Cheviller	Frankrike	57 200
60	Luis Palma	Chile	56 900
61	Joonas Helin	Finland	55 100
62	William Aravena	Chile	54 900
63	Isabell Rodriguez	Norge	54 900
64	Konstantinos Kroustalakis	Grekland	54 300
65	Toivo Ojasoo	Estland	53 500
66	Stefan Olofsson	Sverige	51 200
67	Gunnar Lie	Norge	50 400
68	Guillermo Gordo	Spanien	50 100
69	Beate Etim	Norge	48 500
70	Henri Schalin	Finland	47 900
71	Richard Store	Norge	47 000
72	Aurimas Stanevicius	Litauen	46 600
73	Jonas Lapinskas	Litauen	46 300
74	Leif Iversen	Norge	45 500
75	Viacheslav Novoselov	Ryssland	43 700
76	Espen Brukstuen	Norge	42 700
77	Niko Penttinen	Finland	42 700
78	Jukka Moisio	Finland	40 800
79	Teemu Leppälahti	Finland	40 000
80	Timo Ruuska	Finland	40 000
81	Laur Sibold	Estland	40 000
82	Marita Mägi	Estland	39 900
83	Madis Ormisson	Estland	38 000
84	Bjorn Ophaug	Norge	34 100
85	Atso Lindell	Finland	33 900
86	Payam Seyedzadeh	Norge	33 600
87	Maria Ling	Sverige	32 300
88	Anders Karlsen	Norge	31 000
89	Jarno Mäkelä	Finland	30 800
90	Dominykas Buda	Litauen	28 200
91	Henri Wagner	Finland	27 500
92	Viktor Aslaksen	Norge	26 900
93	Kristian Dahl	Norge	25 500
94	Robert Perelman	USA	24 700
95	Gretar Steindorsson	Island	24 000
96	Roar Wang	Norge	23 500
97	David Marfil	Spanien	22 000
98	Christer Larsson	Sverige	20 700
99	Adria Roura	Spanien	20 000
100	Jonathan Christensen	Danmark	17 300
101	Simon Hesserud Persson	Sverige	16 400
102	Kjersti Jocumsen	Norge	15 900
103	Birkir Kristinsson	Island	11 900

Day 1b of the €550 Main Event has come to an end. Out of the 242 entries, 103 advanced to Day 2. Another €113,050 was contributed to the prize pool which currently reads €197,125; Day 1c is still to come today.

That wraps up today’s live coverage, bu stay tuned; the chip counts from Day 1b will soon be posted, and a recap of the second starting-day flight will follow.

It has been announced that four more hands will be played in Day 1b of the €550 Main Event.

Seated in the Lo-jack, Einar Einarsson open-shoved 14,000. Arasch Mirzai re-shoved for perhaps 30,000 from the Hi-jack, and the two contestants soon tabled their holdings.

Einar Einarsson: 10♣10♠
Arasch Mirzai: Q♣Q♥

Einarsson was dominated, and he received no help on the 5♠9♦3♦8♥8♦ board.

Arasch Mirzai: 49,000
Einar Einarsson: 0

The board read K♠8♣4♠ with 4,200 in the middle. Oystein Stai (Big Blind) checked it over to Coolbet Ambassador Ylva Thorsrud, who bet 2,000. After staring his opponent down, Stai forced Thorsrud all in for 12,900. After a minute’s worth of consideration, Thorsrud made the call.

Oystein Stai: K♣3♣
Ylva Thorsrud: A♣Q♣

Things were looking slim for Thorsrud, and the board finished with 6♥J♣ to eliminate her. Perhaps, she will rebuy.

Oystein Stai: 83,500
Ylva Thorsrud: 0

There are two former champions currently chasing their second €550 Main Event title in Day 1b. Reigning champion Guillermo “GGordo” Gordo is seated at Table 1, whilst Anders Björkheim is locking horns with his opponents at Table 5.

Below is a breakdown of all former Coolbet Open Main Event champions.

Dates	Venue	Event	Winner	Country	First-Place Payout	Entries	Prize Pool
11–17 augusti 2025	Chesterfield Poker Club, Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Guillermo Gordo	Spain	€48,400	493	€234,175
26 augusti–1 september 2024	Chesterfield Poker Club, Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Anders Bjørkheim	Norway	€50,000	504	€244,440
4–10 september 2023	Banco Casino Bratislava	€550 Main Event	Ville Hakala	Finland	€60,000	620	€300,000
23–29 maj 2022	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Kaido Mikk	Estonia	€65,700	652	€312,960
13–17 november 2019	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Ott Toome	Estonia	€71,700	686	€332,710
7–12 maj 2019	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Mathias Siljander	Finland	€60,100	531	€252,685
16–21 oktober 2018	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Mats Albertsen	Norway	€60,510	712	€285,665
1–6 maj 2018	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Sebastian Wahl	Finland	€50,100	425	€205,525

Yesterday (Wednesday, September 2) was the second day of the 2026 Coolbet Open. It was an action-packed day; take a look at the recap video of yesterday’s action through the embedded player above.

Frederico Dos Santos min-raised to 1,600 from the Cut-off. The sole caller was Niklas Wernersson, who defended his Big Blind.

Wernersson checked the 6♠3♦Q♥ flop, and Dos Santos continued for 1,200. “Bet,” Wernersson said, putting out a blue 5,000 chip. The floor was called over for a ruling; after consultating a colleague, he deemed that it, indeed, was a raise o 5,000. Dos Santos made the call. Wernersson check-called 5,000 from Dos Santos on the A♣ turn, then another 9,200 on the 8♠ river.

Frederico Dos Santos: A♦6♣
Niklas Wernersson: Q♠3♥

With a superior two-pair, Dos Santos was awarded the pot.

Frederico Dos Santos: 72,500
Niklas Wernersson: 7,500

The second (and final) 15-minute break of the day has just concluded. Below are the biggest stacks in the room as of now.

Position	Player	Country	Chips	Big Blinds
1	Jawad Habib	Sweden	178,500	223
2	Peeter Talviste	Estonia	113,500	142
3	Kenneth Olaisen	Norway	111,500	139
4	Kristaps Renga	Latvia	107,500	134
5	Kristian Dahl	Norway	102,000	128
6	Keimo Suominen	Finland	97,000	121
7	Brage Aasen	Norway	96,800	121
8	Jari Rattya	Finland	96,000	120
9	Brenden Oystein	Norway	87,000	109
10	Sigve Enes	Norway	83,500	104

Kristen Merila opened to 1,000 from the Hi-jack. Jukka Moisio (Small Blind) and Jukka Juvonen (Big Blind) both made the call.

All three players checked the 5♠5♦2♥ flop before Moisio bet 2,500 on the 8♥ turn. Juvonen swiftly mucked before Merila made the call. Merila then called another 5,000 from Moisio on the 3♣ river.

Jukka Moisio: 7♦7♠
Kristen Merila: A♥K♥

Ace high couldn’ beat the walking sticks; Moisio claimed the pot.

Jukka Moisio: 31,700
Kristen Merila: 22,000

The board read 2♥10♣7♥2♦6♠ with a whopping 47,000 in the middle. Swedish poker legend Anders Hansson (Lo-jack) checked it over to Payam Seyedzadeh (Hi-jack) who bet 17,000. Hansson moaned, double-checked his hole cards, then mucked his hand.

“Jacks or kings?” Hansson asked his opponent. No answer. “I had ace-queen,” Hansson claimed.

Payam Zeyedzadeh: 71,000
Anders Hansson: 15,500

Kaur Ajamaa opened to 1,000 from UTG+1. Seated right next to him, Jonas Lapinskas (Lo-jack) was the sole caller.

After both players checked the 8♠K♣K♥ flop, Lapinskas called 1,500 from Ajamaa on the 10♣ turn. Ajamaa fired 2,000 on the 8♥ river and was faced with a raise to 4,500 from Lapinskas. After only 10 seconds, Ajamaa let his hand go.

Jonas Lapinskas: 47,900
Kaur Ajamaa: 34,100

It’s the first break of the day i Day 1b of the €550 Main Event. Below are the biggest stacks in the room that this poker.pro live reporter was able to identify during the 15-minute hiatus.

Position	Player	Country	Chips	Big Blinds
1	Laur Sibold	Estonia	91,400	229
2	Lauri Tuominen	Finland	83,000	208
3	Jawad Habib	Sweden	80,400	201
4	Tatu Toivanen	Finland	72,300	181
5	Brage Aasen	Norway	68,800	172
6	Andre Sivertsen	Norway	65,200	163
7	Einar Einarsson	Iceland	61,000	153
8	Magnus Kristiansen	Norway	61,000	153
9	Martin Piik	Estonia	57,500	144
10	Felipe Barrios	Chile	55,000	138

Simon Hesserud Persson (who won the €350 Mini Main Event during the 2025 WSOP Circuit Tallinn) opened to 700 UTG. Yanis Sahli (Lo-jack) and Stian Johannessen (Button) both made the call.

Action was checked to Johannesson on the K♠5♥A♦ flop, and he bet 700. Hesserud Persson then completed a check-raise move to 2,500, big enough to scare both of his opponents away.

Simon Hesserud Persson: 20,000

The number of players in Day 1b of the €550 Main Event is increasing at a rapid speed. Below are the players with the most total live earnings (according to The Hendon Mob).

Player	Country	Total Live Earnings (THM)	Best Live Cash (THM)
Mario Colavita	Italy	$1,582,574	$350,370 (Second-place finish in the $1,500 NLH Closer during the 2024 WSOP)
Rob Perelman	USA	$521,722	$158,755 (Winner in the $1,100 NLH Main Event during the 2011 Heartland Poker Tour Las Vegas)
Sascha Manns	Germany	$413,590	$30,866 (Winner in the A$2,500 Limit H.O.R.S.E. during the 2026 Aussie Millions Melbourne)
Stian Johannessen	Norway	$276,774	€151,848 (Winner in the €800 NLH Main Event during the 2010 Norwegian Championships)
Stefan Olofsson	Sweden	$186,857	€64,240 (Winner in the €1,100 NLH during the 2022 EPT Barcelona)

Ranel Käsi opened to 300 from toe Lo-jack. Glenn Hansen (Button) and Gunnar Leifsson (Big Blind) both made the call.

After an initial check from Leifsson, Käsi continued for 500 on the 3♠4♠K♣ flop. Hansen folded before Leifsson made the call. Both players checked the 5♣ turn before Leifsson check-called a 2,100 bet from Käsi on the 8♦ river.

Käsi tabled K♠Q♥ and Leifsson acknowledged the winning hand.

Gunnar Leifsson: 39,500
Ranel Käsi: 38,500

Day 1b of the €550 Main Event has kicked off, and poker.pro live reporter has installed himself at the tournament area.

There are 63 players in from the get-go. Today’s goal for all players is to survive nine levels and bag for Day 2. That being said, late registration will be open Day 1b throughout, and during the first few levels of Day 2.

Rise and shine, fellow poker enthusiasts. It’s another sunny day in Tallinn, and it’s Day 3 of the 2026 Coolbet Open.

Yesterday’s live poker action did not disappoint; the atmosphere at Olympic Park Casino & Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel was electrifying, to say the least. Day 1a of the €550 Main Event was the highlight; 169 entries and €84,075 collected to the prize pool were respectable numbers. All signs point to today being even more action-packed.

Today’s schedule features both Day 1b and Day 1c of the Main Event. Day 1b will kick things off at 12:00, while 1c serves as the evening flight, commencing at 19:30. The presumptions are the same as yesterday; the goal for all contestants is to survive nine levels and find a Day 2 bag. That being said, late registration will be open during the first few levels of Day 2 as well. Nevertheless, a big turnout in today’s two flights is expected.

Intriguing side events on today’s menu include Event #16: €250 PLO4/5 Progressive Bounty. It’s an educated guess there’ll be a fair share of multiway pots when the players have five cards with bounties on the line. Speaking of five cards, Event #18: €200 Five Card Mix will announce “Shuffle up and deal” at 19:00. With button-rounds each of PLO5, Sviten, and Five-Card Triple Draw, this tournament will declare who is the ultimate five-card master of the 2026 Coolbet Open. Before that event, though, all Texas enthusiasts will lock horns in Event #17: €200 NLH, which starts at 16:00.

The last “regular” tournament on today’s schedule is Event #19: €200 NLH Leffern’s Hyper Turbo, set to begin at 20:00. Other than the aforementioned events, there are also two satellites on the schedule, as well as Event #15: €100 NLH Icelandic Private Tournament which, as the name indicates, is a private affair for all the players on-site who are playing under the Icelandic flag.

2026 Coolbet Open – Wednesday, September 2 Schedule

Long story short, the stage is set for yet another day of unparalleled live poker action in the Estonian capital. The poker.pro live blog will go live at 12:00 when Day 1B of the Main Event kicks off, and wrap up when the players in said flight bag and tag.

In oher words, see you all at 12:00.

Day 1a of the €550 Main Event attracted 169 entries. Below are the chip counts for those 67 players who made it through to Day 2.

Position	Player	Country	Chips
1	Baldvin Borgarsson	Iceland	179,000
2	Jon Thorvaldsson	Iceland	173,700
3	Sergi Kapanadze	Georgia	157,000
4	Andreas Backlund	Finland	150,100
5	Steven Tool	Estonia	143,000
6	Skuli Sigfusson	Iceland	141,200
7	Sigurdur Fridriksson	Iceland	140,100
8	Markus Volk	Finland	118,900
9	Benny Hagberg	Sweden	118,400
10	Lukas Kasparavicius	Lithuania	114,200
11	Igor Pihela Sr	Estonia	111,400
12	Pal Koppegodt	Norway	104,300
13	Jarmo Salonen	Finland	103,900
14	Kert Hallik	Estonia	102,900
15	Daiva Byrne	Lithuania	100,500
16	Magnus Pukk	Estonia	100,000
17	Halldor Sverrisson	Iceland	99,500
18	Petter Berg	Norway	97,700
19	Alessandro Barone	Canada	96,900
20	Timo Rantamäki	Finland	95,500
21	Konstantin Färber	Germany	95,000
22	Daniel Rantanen	Finland	93,900
23	Erik Põlluveer	Estonia	93,200
24	Denise Fodor	Denmark	89,300
25	Thomas Jakobsen	Norway	89,300
26	Olaf Larssen	Norway	85,800
27	Jari Hurri	Finland	82,300
28	Erlend Nilsen	Norway	79,900
29	Ville Keränen	Finland	77,600
30	Sindre Rönquist	Norway	77,600
31	Andrei Mjagkov	Estonia	72,800
32	Jere Laitinen	Finland	72,000
33	Lauri Laast	Estonia	71,800
34	Robert Kallikorm	Estonia	69,200
35	Raivo Grislis	Latvia	66,800
36	Tarmo Tammel	Estonia	64,000
37	Joni Nenonen	Finland	63,100
38	Mounir Tajiou	Sweden	61,400
39	Timo Koivusalo	Finland	60,800
40	Alger Pissarev	Estonia	60,700
41	Tarvi Apsolon	Estonia	57,700
42	Örjan Johnsen	Norway	56,000
43	Markus Huiskonen	Finland	55,100
44	Kjetil Hanstvedt	Norway	53,800
45	Lluis Grano	Spain	53,000
46	Mar Wardum	Iceland	51,900
47	Egidijus Matonis	Lithuania	51,400
48	Ingi Hallgrimsson	Iceland	51,100
49	Johan Storåkers	Sweden	50,100
50	Christian Arstad	Norway	49,300
51	Stein Pedersen	Norway	49,300
52	Kristjan Arsaelsson	Iceland	48,300
53	Jonatan Wedde	Norway	44,800
54	Petter Richardsen	Norway	41,400
55	Yngve Lommerud	Norway	38,800
56	Hannes Gudmundsson	Iceland	38,500
57	Joakim Fjar	Norway	38,400
58	Daniel Axelsson	Iceland	37,700
59	Andrew Paterson	Canada	36,200
60	Martin Zobel	Germany	36,000
61	Frode Toft	Norway	33,000
62	Sigurdur Thengilsson	Iceland	32,200
63	Patrick Lunderbye	Norway	29,800
64	Alejandro Ruiz	Spain	29,000
65	Maksim Petrov	Estonia	22,200
66	Elisabeth Harestad	Norway	13,600
67	Lisbeth Sunde	Norway	11,400

Day 1a of the €550 Main Event in the books, then. It’s safe to say that the 2026 Coolbet Open has not been off to a slow start; quite the contrary.

Take the Main Event in particular; the first starting-day flight out of a total of three attracted 169 entries, meaning that €83,600 was contributed to the prize pool. These are great numbers for the first day; it’s an educated that tomorrow’s Day 1b will get even bigger. Day 1c is also featured on tomorrow’s schedule; it’s going to be yet another action-packed day at Olympic Park Casino & Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel. Reminder that late registration will be open during the first few levels of Day 2 as well; it wouldnn’t be surprising to see a total prize pool bigger than the €234,175 (last year’s prizes).

Back to today. There were multiple familiar names in the Day 1a field, such as Swedish poker legend Johan Storåkers, No Filter Poker Series founder Mounir Tajiou, former Kings of Tallinn Main Event winner Johan Creutz, Estonian poker virtuoso Tarmo Tammel, Fantastic Ladies in Poker (FLIP)-founder Daiva Byrne, and prominent Lithuanian player Egidijus Matonis. Some of them, but not all of them, were amongst the 67 who were fortunate and skillful enough to find a Day 2 bag. They will be reunited with their ceramic chips on Friday, September 4, when the penultimate day of the tournament kicks off at 12:00. The one who has earned him the best presumptions is Iceland’s Baldvin Borgarsson; with 179,000 in the bag, he is the current tournament chip leader.

Considering there are two more starting-day flights to go, there will undoubtedly be more prominent names in the mix. The arguably biggest name who paid Olympic Park Casino & Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel a visit on Wednesday was 1998 WSOP Main Event winner Scotty Nguyen. While Nguyen spent the day getting familiar with the venue, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him begin his Main Event venture tomorrow.

The theme of the Tuesday was, indeed, Coolbet with a capital C. A big shoutout to the Coolbet crew and everyone else who’ve been working setting up a stunning atmosphere at the venue; they’ve managed to create something unique, and it’s amazing to see the Coolbet Open being played where it was founded nine years ago.

Also, thanks to all who’ve been tuning into the live blog today. It was indeed a light day, but fear not; as the Main Event reaches its more crucial stages, no significant action will go missed. Tomorrow’s coverage will kick off at 12:00 when Day 1b commences, and just like today, poker.pro live reporter Christoffer Karlén will not rest until the last hand has been played.

That wraps up today’s blog…well, almost. Tune back in approximately 10 minutes for the Day 1a chip counts. Tomorrow around noon, poker.pro media coordinator Jason Glatzer will upload a longer recap which will include not only the highlights from Day 1a of the Main Event, but also the results and key numbers from all the side events that were played during the Tuesday. Last but not least, a report similar to the one on account of Glatzer will be posted on the Swedish sister site, se.poker.pro, which will focus on the Swedish results from today. That one will, of course, be written in Swedish.

Thanks again, and see you all tomorrow for the third day of the 2026 Coolbet Open.

Day 1a of the €550 Main Event has concluded. A total of 169 players made it through to Day 2.

That wraps up today’s live coverage, but in roughly 30 minutes, a shorter recap of today’s Main Event action will be posted here on the blog. Stay tuned!

The clock is paused with 10 minutes left of Level 9; the floor will now draw for last amount of hands for Day 1a.

The dealer was distributing the cards for a new hand at Table 13, and was just about to finish. As she was about to place the second card in front of the empty Seat 7, Mounir Tajiou came running at a speed that would make a gazelle look like a snail. He made it just in time, and immediately opened to 2,400 from the Cut-off. Pekka Ikonen defended his Big Blind, and after both players checked the Q♣2♥5♠, he then checked-folded to a 2,000 bet from Tajiou on the 10♣ turn.

Today has been fillied to the brim with entertaining poker action, but Tajiou’s 10-meter sprint takes the prize.

Mounir Tajiou: 47,000

Skuli Sigfusson limped from the Cut-off before Yevhen Pavlenko made it 4,000 on the Button. Seated right next to him, Raivo Grislis raised it up to 10,000; there was a pot brewing. When the decision was back on Sigfusson, he moved all in for 31,000. After a minute’s worth of consideration, Pavlenko re-shoved for 22,000. “What is this?!” Grislis monologued as he contemplated his decision. “It looks too strong,” he ultimately concluded, and let his hand go.

Skuli Sigfusson: 3♠3♣
Yevhen Pavlenko: A♣J♦

As Sigfusson and Pavlenko tabled their holdings, Grislis looked astonished; he couldn’t believe it. The whole table burst out laughing, and Grislis joined in; he obviously folded the best hand. Nevertheless, he was happy that he did; Sigfusson hit a set on the 10♠3♦9♣ flop, and as the board completed with 2♣J♥, Pavlenko’s tournament life came to an end.

Raivo Grislis: 77,500
Skuli Sigfusson: 61,000
Yevhen Pavlenko: 0

The board read 6♥7♦9♦J♣ with what looked to be 44,000 in the middle. Tarmo Tammel (UTG) was already all in (presumably on the flop), and now, Johan Storåkers was all in for 30,9000 on the turn. The decision was on Runar Runarsson who, after spending some time in the tank, decided to let his hand go.

Johan Storåkers: Q♣Q♠
Tarmo Tammel: Q♦2♦

The river was the 3♠; Storåkers secured the significant pot, while Tammel made his way out of the tournament area.

Johan Storåkers: 75,300
Tarmo Tammel: 0

A small update from Event #2: €350 NLH Deepstack Mystery Bounty. The tournament is now down to seven players after Sweden’s Simon Hesserud Persson recently was eliminated in eighth place.

After losing the majority of his stack with pocket jacks against pocket queens, Hesserud Persson was left with 115,000. He got it all in UTG the very next hand. Big-stacked Dmitri Dudakov (Lo-jack) and Simon Stenbäck (Big Blind) both made the call, hoping to get another bounty.

Dudakov and Stenbäck both checked every street of the 2♦5♠4♥10♠8♠ board.

Simon Hesserud Persson: A♥9♥
Simon Stenbäck: J♠2♣
Dmitri Dudakov: 9♠6♣

A pair of deuces was enough for Stenbäck to claim the pot, which saw Hesserud Persson’s impressive tournament run come to an end. With his pulled bounties included, he cashed for €3,340.

Kristjan Arasaelsson opened to 1,600 UTG. Baldvin Borgarsson (Hi-jack), Tarvi Apsolon (Cut-off) and Sindre Rönquist (Big Blind) all made the call.

Action was checked to Apsolon on the 8♥4♣6♣ flop, and he bet 4,000. Borgarsson was the sole caller, which brought the A♣ turn to the table. Borgarsson check-called 5,000 from Apsolon, and on the 2♥ river, Borgarson wasted little time before forcing his opponent all in for 12,700. Apsolon sighed, counted his stack, then made the call.

Baldvin Borgarsson: Q♥9♣
Tarvi Apsolon: 7♠6♥

A correct read by Apsolon, who more than doubled.

Baldvin Borgarsson: 95,000
Tarvi Apsolon: 50,000

It’s time for the second (and final) break of the day. Play will soon resume on Level 7; below are the biggest stacks in the room as of now.

Player	Country	Chips	Big Blinds
Andreas Backlund	Finland	183,000	229
Thomas Jakobsen	Norway	175,000	219
Yngve Lommerud	Norway	146,400	183
Alger Pissarev	Estonia	141,000	176
Ville Keränen	Finland	129,000	161
Benny Hagberg	Sweden	128,000	160
Baldvin Borgarsson	Iceland	124,500	156
Sindre Rönquist	Norway	115,000	144
Jon Thorvaldsson	Iceland	95,700	120
Pal Koppegodt	Norway	95,400	119

Erlend Nilsen min-raised to 1,200 from the Hi-jack. Joakim Fjar (Cut-off), Lisbeth Sunde (Button) and Markus Volk (Small Blind) all made the call before Steven Tool moved all in for roughly 15,000 from the Big Blind. Action folded to Volk who made the call, having Tool covered.

Steven Tool: A♣5♦
Markus Volk: A♦Q♠

Volk had his opponent dominated, and he maintained his lead on the 8♥3♠6♥ flop. Tool was open-ended on the 4♣ turn, but the 8♠ ultimately sealed his fate.

Markus Volk: 116,000
Steven Tool: 0

Last year, it was Spaniard Guillermo “GGordo” Gordo who won the €550 Main Event during the 2025 Coolbet Open. The ongoing festival is the ninth edition of the event that has grown to become one of the highlights of the annual north European live poker calendar, and the expectations are high for the Main Event to break new records.

Below is a breakdown of the previous Coolbet Open Main Events.

Dates	Venue	Event	Winner	Country	First-Place Payout	Entries	Prize Pool
11–17 augusti 2025	Chesterfield Poker Club, Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Guillermo Gordo	Spain	€48,400	493	€234,175
26 augusti–1 september 2024	Chesterfield Poker Club, Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Anders Bjørkheim	Norway	€50,000	504	€244,440
4–10 september 2023	Banco Casino Bratislava	€550 Main Event	Ville Hakala	Finland	€60,000	620	€300,000
23–29 maj 2022	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Kaido Mikk	Estonia	€65,700	652	€312,960
13–17 november 2019	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Ott Toome	Estonia	€71,700	686	€332,710
7–12 maj 2019	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Mathias Siljander	Finland	€60,100	531	€252,685
16–21 oktober 2018	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Mats Albertsen	Norway	€60,510	712	€285,665
1–6 maj 2018	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Sebastian Wahl	Finland	€50,100	425	€205,525

Swedish poker legend Mounir Tajiou walked in to the main tournament area 10 minutes ago, and has taken his seat in Day 1a of the €550 Main Event.

Reminder that late registration for the tournament will be open until the start of Level 14. That will be a few levels in on Day 2; all three starting-day flights are playing nine levels.

Dennis Holst opened to 1,000 from the Lo-jack. Bjarki Vidarsson (Small Blind) and Igor Pihela Sr (Big Blind) both made the call.

Action wasn checked to Holst, who continued for 1,200 on the 9♦10♦K♠ flop. Vidarsson made the call before Pihela Sr mucked, and the two contestants both checked the 2♦ turn. Vidarsson bet 7,500 on the 2♠ river, and snap-called.

Bjarki Vidarsson: Q♣8♣
Dennis Holst: K♣10♠

Top-two for Holst was more than good, and he secured the pot.

Dennis Holst: 51,500
Bjarki Vidarsson: 16,500

Let’s interrupt the live coverage of Day 1a of the €550 Main Event for just one minute. Event #2: €350 NLH Deepstack Mystery Bounty is down to its final two tables. The first break is in just a couple of minutes, and that is when the first mystery bounty envelopes will be pulled. Below are all the results from the tournament thus far.

Place	Player	Country	Prize
17	Robert Perelman	United States	€550
18	Per Indersund	Norway	€490
19	Atte Franssila	Finland	€490
20	Toni Vuolle	Finland	€490
21	Ole Karlsen	Norway	€440
22	Mario Jürgens	Estonia	€440
23	Rune Greaker	Norway	€440
24	Martin Zobel	Germany	€400
25	Olaf Eriksen Larssen	Norway	€400
26	Yanis Sahli	France	€400
27	Frederico Dos Santos	Brazil	€400
28	Atso Lindell	Finland	€370
29	Heikki Haapasaari	Finland	€370
30	Andrei Mjagkov	Estonia	€370
31	Conny Eriksson	Finland	€370
32	Erik Põlluveer	Estonia	€350
33	Viacheslav Novoselov	Russia	€350
34	Kasso Laasik	Estonia	€350
35	Danil Lebedev	Russia	€350
36	Keimo Suominen	Finland	€350
37	Martin Häidberg	Estonia	€350
38	Benny Hagberg	Sweden	€350
39	Adrian Keshish Ghezerian	Sweden	€350

As play resumed after the first 15-minute break of the day, the biggest stacks belonged to the following players.

Player	Country	Chips	Big Blinds
Joni Nenonen	Finland	110,000	275
Markus Volk	Finland	92,000	230
Pal Koppegodt	Norway	82,000	205
Sigurdur Fridriksson	Iceland	76,800	192
Denise Fodor	Denmark	76,500	191

Matti Käronen opened to 600 UTG, and Raivo Grislis immediately three-bet to 1,700 from UTG+1. Gustav Kjellgren made the call from the Big Blind, and so did Käronen.

All three players checked the K♥7♥10♥ flop. After another check from Kjellgren, Käronen bet 1,300 on the 5♠ turn. Both of his players made the call, and the dealer revealed the 8♦ river. Kjellgren checked and Käronen bet 2,500. Grislis then fancied a raise to a whopping 13,200. Kjellgren swiftly mucked before Käronen made the call after a minute’s worth of consideration.

Raivo Grislis: A♥6♥
Matti Käronen: J♣9♣

“Good flop for me,” Grislis said before the players left the tournament area to enjoy the first 15-minute break of the day.

Raivo Grislis: 58,000
Matti Käronen: 18,700

More and more players are joining Day 1a of the €550 Main Event by the minute. There are some prominent names in the mix thus far; below are the five with the most lifetime earnings (according to The Hendon Mob).

Player	Country	Total Live Earnings (THM)	Best Live Cash (THM)
Johan Storåkers	Sweden	$3,871,671	$486,000 (Second-place finish in the $5,500 NLH during the 2008 UltimateBet Arube Poker Classic Palm Beach)
Igor Pihela Sr	Estonia	$1,134,486	€204,250 (Second-place finish in the €2,700 NLH Second Chance during the 2024 EPT Barcelona)
Runar Runarsson	Iceland	$380,648	€224,480 (Second-place finish in the €10,000 Grand Prix De Paris NLH during the 2007 Rendez Vous A Paris)
Johan Creutz	Sweden	$353,157	€100,000 (Third-place finish in the €2,200 Main Event during the 2017 PartyPoker Nordic Poker Championships Prague)
Ville Keränen	Finland	$327,562	€34,900 (Fourth-place finish in the €1,100 Main Event during the 2023 Kings of Tallinn)

The numbers of players in Day 1a of the €550 Main Event is increasing at a rapid speed. One of the arguably most familiar names in the mix as of right now is Swedish professional Johan Storåkers, who is looking for his first-ever result from the Coolbet Open.

It’s 12:00, and Day 1a of Event #7: €550 Main Event is officially underway at Olympic Park Casino & Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel. It’s the first out of a total of three starting-day flights, and it’s going to be the highlight of the schedule this second day of the 2026 Coolbet Open.

For the first hour, the poker.pro live blog will provide some more general updates from the event. From roughly 13:00 and onwards, there will also be some hands coverage.

The atmosphere at Olympic Park Casino & Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel is electrifying, and there are rumors of a white polar bear roaming around the Estonian capital. These signs can only point to one thing. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2026 Coolbet Open.

After four years, the Coolbet Open is back at its birthplace, at the same venue where the festival once came to life back in 2018. Throughout the years, the Coolbet Open has grown to become one of the most appreciated live poker festivals on Northern European soil, and it reflects everything that Coolbet, as a brand, stands for.

The 2026 Coolbet Open is a six-day festival, and the festivities kicked off yesterday (Tuesday, September 1) with five events on the schedule, including a freebuy satellite to the ever-so prestigious Event #2: 350 NLH Deepstack Mystery Bounty. The poker.pro live reporter Christoffer Karlén (i.e., yours truly) arrived in Tallinn around 15:00 yesterday; while he’ll hit the ground running today, everyone who wants to know the highlights from the first day can read the recap written by poker.pro media coordinator Jason Glatzer. The recap will be published around noon, and it’ll be a recurring feature the festival throughout.

The star on the 2026 Coolbet Open schedule is, hands down, Event #7: €550 Main Event. The tournament is a three-day affair with three starting-day flights, and the first one is scheduled to commence today at 12:00. This particular tournament will be the main focus here on the poker.pro live blog all the way until a winner is crowned on Day 3 (which will be played Saturday, September 5). Last year, the tournament attracted 493 entries, which translated to a €234,175 prize pool. Guillermo “GGordo” Gordo won the bonanza for €48,400; perhaps, similar numbers are to be expected this time around.

While Karlén, as previously mentioned, will dedicate most of his time following the action from the Main Event, the various side events will also receive their fair share of love. The “Results” tab will be updated as the event goes on with all the key numbers from the various tournaments. Meanwhile, the “Photos” tab will be filled with all the marvelous photos taken during the week by stellar poker photographer Elena Kask. Around noon every day, Glatzer will upload a thorough recap of the previous day’s action in the form of a full-length article on poker.pro. Meanwhile, Karlén will provide a similar piece of content on the Swedish sister site, se.poker.pro, which will focus more on the Swedes’ achievements. The articles on se.poker.pro will, of course, be written in Swedish.

Those are the presumptions. Now then, what’s in store for today? As previously mentioned, Day 1a of the Main Event will kick the action off at noon, as it’s the first scheduled tournament of the day. At 13:00, there will be a Mega Satellite to the Main Event with 10 tickets guaranteed, and at the same time, Day 2 of Event #2: €350 NLH Deepstack Mystery Bounty will pick up the action where Day 1 wrapped things up yesterday. The tournament scored a total of 303 entries, which has yielded a €43,784 prize pool. Thirty-nine players will return for Day 2, and they are all in the money, guaranteed €350. Sweden’s Bo Göthlin is the chip leader going into the final day, having great presumptions to claim the €8,884 first-place payout. Let’s not forget that this is a Mysery Bounty, though; the envelopes will be introduced today, and the biggest one is valued at €8,000.

At 14:00, all Mixed Games enthusiasts will take it to the tables and lock horns in Event #9: €250 T.O.R.S.E.S. That is the first of two Mixed Games tournaments on Tuesday’s schedule, seeing as Event #11: €200 PLO5/PLO5 Hi-Lo will commence at 18:00. In between the two tournaments that are played with more than two cards, there’s Event #10: €250 Progressive Bounty.

Event #12: €350 Deepstack is scheduled at 20:00, before the last golden nugget on the Monday menu, Event #13: €200 Jevakim’s Hyper Turbo, will wrap up Day 2 of the 2026 Coolbet Open. The tournament will start at 21:30, and you’d better believe that Coolbet Ambassador Ylva “Jevakim” Thorsrud will be in the field.

2026 Coolbet Open – Wednesday, September 2 Schedule

All in all, it’s going to be an amazing day of live poker at Olympic Park Casino & Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel. All the presumptions are there, and chips are guaranteed to trade owners at a rapid speed. The poker.pro editorial office is grateful for being a part of the 2026 Coolbet Open, and the wait until today’s action kicks off is unbearable. The blog will go live at 12:00 when cards are in the air for Day 1a of the Main Event; see you all then.

The 2026 Coolbet Open has kicked off in style, with strong turnouts across the board on a busy opening day at Olympic Park Casino.

The €350 NLH Deepstack Mystery Bounty drew a healthy 303 entries on Day 1, building a regular prize pool of €43,784 on top of an additional €45,450 in bounties. Play continues until the field reaches the money, with 39 players guaranteed a payday. Currently 58 players remain in contention, while the mystery envelopes come into play on Day 2 tomorrow.

Over in the €200 PL Sviten, 52 players took their shot at the mixed-game trophy, creating a €8,398 prize pool. The field has been whittled down to just 9 with seven spots paid, and whoever comes out on top will collect €2,858 for the win.

The €200 NLH Warm Up, billed as the one-day fast version of the Main Event, attracted 97 entries for a €15,666 prize pool. Eleven players will make the money, and with 22 still in the field, there’s still plenty of play left before a winner is crowned and the champion will walk away with a trophy and €4,605.

Registration has also wrapped up for the four-card crowd, with 56 players buying into the €250 PLO4 for a prize pool of €11,704. The eventual winner will bank €4,009 for the top spot.

The Coolbet Open is back where it belongs. Eight years after Sebastian Wahl won the very first edition here, the festival returns to Olympic Park Casino Tallinn today, marking its first appearance at the venue since 2022. Six days, more than 30 tournaments, and a Main Event field that should top last year’s 493 entries at the now shuttered Chesterfield Poker Club.

Day 1 sets the tone with a proper mixed-games opener. The €350 NLH Deepstack Mystery Bounty kicks off its first of two days at 15:00, with the mystery envelopes not in play until Day 2 tomorrow. Right behind it, the €200 PL Sviten gives the Baltic mixed-game crowd their moment at 18:00, while two satellites feed seats in both the Bounty and Saturday’s €550 Main Event.

For those who want a taste of the Main Event without the multi-day grind, the €200 NLH Warm Up at 20:00 offers a fast, one-day version of the real thing. The Omaha crowd gets its turn right after at 21:00 with the €250 PLO4.

Schedule for Tuesday, September 1

Day 1b of the €550 Main Event has come to an end.

Just as predicted, the second (out of a total three) starting-day flights became bigger than Day 1a. In total, Day 1b registered 242 entries. Another €113,050 was collected towards the prize pool; the total one currently reads €218,975; that number can be expected to grow significantly, considering Day 1c (which just kicked off) is still to go. Late registration will also be open during the first four levels of Day 2.

When Level 9 concluded, 103 players received a Day 2 bag. Sweden’s Jawad Habib bagged the chip lead with 219,500, the only player to secure more than 200,000. Other notable names who made it through includes prominent Estonian player Martin Piik, reigning champion Guillermo “GGordo” Gordo, 2025 WSOP Circuit Tallinn €350 Mini Main Event winner Simon Hesserud Persson, and US poker professional Robert Perelman.

They’ve all made it through to Day 2, which will kick off tomorrow (Friday, September 4) at 12:00. Before that though, as previously mentioned, there’s 1c. Day 2 will play down to the money; it’s going to be a wild ride.

Thanks to everyone who’s been following along with today’s live coverage. Around noon tomorrow, poker.pro content manager Jason Glatzer will upload a recap of everything that went down today, including side event results. Tomorrow’s live coverage will kick off at 12:00 when cards are in the air for Day 2.

Thanks again, and see you all tomorrow.

Day 1b of the €550 Main Event attracted 242 entries. Below are the chip counts for those 103 who made it through to Day 2.

Position	Name	Country	Chips
1	Yevhen Pavlenko	Ukraina	283 000
2	Jawad Habib	Sverige	219 500
3	Oystein Stai	Norge	191 700
4	Jan Holte	Norge	171 200
5	Kristaps Renga	Lettland	170 000
6	Ranel Käsi	Estland	157 000
7	Atle Larsen	Norge	149 100
8	Arild Haugland	Norge	147 200
9	Edgars Hauks	Lettland	136 000
10	Martin Piik	Estland	131 600
11	Manuel Lopes	Portugal	130 100
12	Borge Dypvik	Norge	125 300
13	Daniel Åkesson	Sverige	122 000
14	Jukka Juvonen	Finland	121 400
15	Kenneth Olaisen	Norge	106 700
16	Granit Haziraj	Norge	100 000
17	Pyry Kekäläinen	Finland	98 400
18	Ivar Rolstad	Norge	96 700
19	Keimo Suominen	Finland	96 700
20	Brage Aasen	Norge	95 500
21	Sigve Enes	Norge	95 400
22	Tom Roernes	Norge	94 000
23	Erik Sonsteby	Norge	93 900
24	Joni Tielinen	Finland	92 600
25	Karol Olszewski	Polen	89 200
26	Anders Bjorkheim	Norge	89 000
27	Per Indersund	Norge	88 000
28	Rohan Oberoi	Sverige	86 200
29	Jari Rättyä	Finland	85 600
30	Xavier Lyu	USA	84 900
31	Lauri Tuominen	Finland	84 600
32	Magnus Kristiansen	Norge	84 200
33	Julia Kuusijärvi	Finland	84 000
34	Peeter Talviste	Estland	83 600
35	Eskil Kvamvold	Norge	82 700
36	Mart Rinken	Estland	82 200
37	Enea Subashi	Grekland	78 000
38	Peter Sbertoli	Norge	77 800
39	Mark Metsla	Estland	76 600
40	Marko Vest	Estland	76 500
41	Arto Pihlaja	Finland	74 800
42	Sigmar Leppik	Estland	74 500
43	Frederico Santos	Brasilien	70 900
44	Axel Hilmisson	Island	70 400
45	Marek Kõiv	Estland	68 700
46	Greger Larsson	Sverige	67 100
47	Ole Wasenius	Norge	64 600
48	Kalle Kulju	Finland	63 600
49	Andre Sivertsen	Norge	63 600
50	Arasch Mirzai	Sverige	63 000
51	Matti Lasanen	Finland	62 900
52	David Battersby	Ireland	62 100
53	Rolf Landberg	Sverige	61 700
54	Atte Franssila	Finland	61 500
55	Vytautas Rubezius	Iceland	60 400
56	Yrjoe Pirhonen	Finland	58 900
57	Reidar Sveen	Norge	58 100
58	Pasi Sallinen	Finland	57 400
59	Paul Le Cheviller	Frankrike	57 200
60	Luis Palma	Chile	56 900
61	Joonas Helin	Finland	55 100
62	William Aravena	Chile	54 900
63	Isabell Rodriguez	Norge	54 900
64	Konstantinos Kroustalakis	Grekland	54 300
65	Toivo Ojasoo	Estland	53 500
66	Stefan Olofsson	Sverige	51 200
67	Gunnar Lie	Norge	50 400
68	Guillermo Gordo	Spanien	50 100
69	Beate Etim	Norge	48 500
70	Henri Schalin	Finland	47 900
71	Richard Store	Norge	47 000
72	Aurimas Stanevicius	Litauen	46 600
73	Jonas Lapinskas	Litauen	46 300
74	Leif Iversen	Norge	45 500
75	Viacheslav Novoselov	Ryssland	43 700
76	Espen Brukstuen	Norge	42 700
77	Niko Penttinen	Finland	42 700
78	Jukka Moisio	Finland	40 800
79	Teemu Leppälahti	Finland	40 000
80	Timo Ruuska	Finland	40 000
81	Laur Sibold	Estland	40 000
82	Marita Mägi	Estland	39 900
83	Madis Ormisson	Estland	38 000
84	Bjorn Ophaug	Norge	34 100
85	Atso Lindell	Finland	33 900
86	Payam Seyedzadeh	Norge	33 600
87	Maria Ling	Sverige	32 300
88	Anders Karlsen	Norge	31 000
89	Jarno Mäkelä	Finland	30 800
90	Dominykas Buda	Litauen	28 200
91	Henri Wagner	Finland	27 500
92	Viktor Aslaksen	Norge	26 900
93	Kristian Dahl	Norge	25 500
94	Robert Perelman	USA	24 700
95	Gretar Steindorsson	Island	24 000
96	Roar Wang	Norge	23 500
97	David Marfil	Spanien	22 000
98	Christer Larsson	Sverige	20 700
99	Adria Roura	Spanien	20 000
100	Jonathan Christensen	Danmark	17 300
101	Simon Hesserud Persson	Sverige	16 400
102	Kjersti Jocumsen	Norge	15 900
103	Birkir Kristinsson	Island	11 900

Day 1b of the €550 Main Event has come to an end. Out of the 242 entries, 103 advanced to Day 2. Another €113,050 was contributed to the prize pool which currently reads €197,125; Day 1c is still to come today.

That wraps up today’s live coverage, bu stay tuned; the chip counts from Day 1b will soon be posted, and a recap of the second starting-day flight will follow.

It has been announced that four more hands will be played in Day 1b of the €550 Main Event.

Seated in the Lo-jack, Einar Einarsson open-shoved 14,000. Arasch Mirzai re-shoved for perhaps 30,000 from the Hi-jack, and the two contestants soon tabled their holdings.

Einar Einarsson: 10♣10♠
Arasch Mirzai: Q♣Q♥

Einarsson was dominated, and he received no help on the 5♠9♦3♦8♥8♦ board.

Arasch Mirzai: 49,000
Einar Einarsson: 0

The board read K♠8♣4♠ with 4,200 in the middle. Oystein Stai (Big Blind) checked it over to Coolbet Ambassador Ylva Thorsrud, who bet 2,000. After staring his opponent down, Stai forced Thorsrud all in for 12,900. After a minute’s worth of consideration, Thorsrud made the call.

Oystein Stai: K♣3♣
Ylva Thorsrud: A♣Q♣

Things were looking slim for Thorsrud, and the board finished with 6♥J♣ to eliminate her. Perhaps, she will rebuy.

Oystein Stai: 83,500
Ylva Thorsrud: 0

There are two former champions currently chasing their second €550 Main Event title in Day 1b. Reigning champion Guillermo “GGordo” Gordo is seated at Table 1, whilst Anders Björkheim is locking horns with his opponents at Table 5.

Below is a breakdown of all former Coolbet Open Main Event champions.

Dates	Venue	Event	Winner	Country	First-Place Payout	Entries	Prize Pool
11–17 augusti 2025	Chesterfield Poker Club, Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Guillermo Gordo	Spain	€48,400	493	€234,175
26 augusti–1 september 2024	Chesterfield Poker Club, Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Anders Bjørkheim	Norway	€50,000	504	€244,440
4–10 september 2023	Banco Casino Bratislava	€550 Main Event	Ville Hakala	Finland	€60,000	620	€300,000
23–29 maj 2022	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Kaido Mikk	Estonia	€65,700	652	€312,960
13–17 november 2019	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Ott Toome	Estonia	€71,700	686	€332,710
7–12 maj 2019	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Mathias Siljander	Finland	€60,100	531	€252,685
16–21 oktober 2018	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Mats Albertsen	Norway	€60,510	712	€285,665
1–6 maj 2018	Olympic Park Casino Tallinn	€550 Main Event	Sebastian Wahl	Finland	€50,100	425	€205,525

Yesterday (Wednesday, September 2) was the second day of the 2026 Coolbet Open. It was an action-packed day; take a look at the recap video of yesterday’s action through the embedded player above.

Frederico Dos Santos min-raised to 1,600 from the Cut-off. The sole caller was Niklas Wernersson, who defended his Big Blind.

Wernersson checked the 6♠3♦Q♥ flop, and Dos Santos continued for 1,200. “Bet,” Wernersson said, putting out a blue 5,000 chip. The floor was called over for a ruling; after consultating a colleague, he deemed that it, indeed, was a raise o 5,000. Dos Santos made the call. Wernersson check-called 5,000 from Dos Santos on the A♣ turn, then another 9,200 on the 8♠ river.

Frederico Dos Santos: A♦6♣
Niklas Wernersson: Q♠3♥

With a superior two-pair, Dos Santos was awarded the pot.

Frederico Dos Santos: 72,500
Niklas Wernersson: 7,500

The second (and final) 15-minute break of the day has just concluded. Below are the biggest stacks in the room as of now.

Position	Player	Country	Chips	Big Blinds
1	Jawad Habib	Sweden	178,500	223
2	Peeter Talviste	Estonia	113,500	142
3	Kenneth Olaisen	Norway	111,500	139
4	Kristaps Renga	Latvia	107,500	134
5	Kristian Dahl	Norway	102,000	128
6	Keimo Suominen	Finland	97,000	121
7	Brage Aasen	Norway	96,800	121
8	Jari Rattya	Finland	96,000	120
9	Brenden Oystein	Norway	87,000	109
10	Sigve Enes	Norway	83,500	104

Kristen Merila opened to 1,000 from the Hi-jack. Jukka Moisio (Small Blind) and Jukka Juvonen (Big Blind) both made the call.

All three players checked the 5♠5♦2♥ flop before Moisio bet 2,500 on the 8♥ turn. Juvonen swiftly mucked before Merila made the call. Merila then called another 5,000 from Moisio on the 3♣ river.

Jukka Moisio: 7♦7♠
Kristen Merila: A♥K♥

Ace high couldn’ beat the walking sticks; Moisio claimed the pot.

Jukka Moisio: 31,700
Kristen Merila: 22,000

The board read 2♥10♣7♥2♦6♠ with a whopping 47,000 in the middle. Swedish poker legend Anders Hansson (Lo-jack) checked it over to Payam Seyedzadeh (Hi-jack) who bet 17,000. Hansson moaned, double-checked his hole cards, then mucked his hand.

“Jacks or kings?” Hansson asked his opponent. No answer. “I had ace-queen,” Hansson claimed.

Payam Zeyedzadeh: 71,000
Anders Hansson: 15,500

Kaur Ajamaa opened to 1,000 from UTG+1. Seated right next to him, Jonas Lapinskas (Lo-jack) was the sole caller.

After both players checked the 8♠K♣K♥ flop, Lapinskas called 1,500 from Ajamaa on the 10♣ turn. Ajamaa fired 2,000 on the 8♥ river and was faced with a raise to 4,500 from Lapinskas. After only 10 seconds, Ajamaa let his hand go.

Jonas Lapinskas: 47,900
Kaur Ajamaa: 34,100

It’s the first break of the day i Day 1b of the €550 Main Event. Below are the biggest stacks in the room that this poker.pro live reporter was able to identify during the 15-minute hiatus.

Position	Player	Country	Chips	Big Blinds
1	Laur Sibold	Estonia	91,400	229
2	Lauri Tuominen	Finland	83,000	208
3	Jawad Habib	Sweden	80,400	201
4	Tatu Toivanen	Finland	72,300	181
5	Brage Aasen	Norway	68,800	172
6	Andre Sivertsen	Norway	65,200	163
7	Einar Einarsson	Iceland	61,000	153
8	Magnus Kristiansen	Norway	61,000	153
9	Martin Piik	Estonia	57,500	144
10	Felipe Barrios	Chile	55,000	138

Simon Hesserud Persson (who won the €350 Mini Main Event during the 2025 WSOP Circuit Tallinn) opened to 700 UTG. Yanis Sahli (Lo-jack) and Stian Johannessen (Button) both made the call.

Action was checked to Johannesson on the K♠5♥A♦ flop, and he bet 700. Hesserud Persson then completed a check-raise move to 2,500, big enough to scare both of his opponents away.

Simon Hesserud Persson: 20,000

The number of players in Day 1b of the €550 Main Event is increasing at a rapid speed. Below are the players with the most total live earnings (according to The Hendon Mob).

Player	Country	Total Live Earnings (THM)	Best Live Cash (THM)
Mario Colavita	Italy	$1,582,574	$350,370 (Second-place finish in the $1,500 NLH Closer during the 2024 WSOP)
Rob Perelman	USA	$521,722	$158,755 (Winner in the $1,100 NLH Main Event during the 2011 Heartland Poker Tour Las Vegas)
Sascha Manns	Germany	$413,590	$30,866 (Winner in the A$2,500 Limit H.O.R.S.E. during the 2026 Aussie Millions Melbourne)
Stian Johannessen	Norway	$276,774	€151,848 (Winner in the €800 NLH Main Event during the 2010 Norwegian Championships)
Stefan Olofsson	Sweden	$186,857	€64,240 (Winner in the €1,100 NLH during the 2022 EPT Barcelona)

Ranel Käsi opened to 300 from toe Lo-jack. Glenn Hansen (Button) and Gunnar Leifsson (Big Blind) both made the call.

After an initial check from Leifsson, Käsi continued for 500 on the 3♠4♠K♣ flop. Hansen folded before Leifsson made the call. Both players checked the 5♣ turn before Leifsson check-called a 2,100 bet from Käsi on the 8♦ river.

Käsi tabled K♠Q♥ and Leifsson acknowledged the winning hand.

Gunnar Leifsson: 39,500
Ranel Käsi: 38,500