2026 Coolbet Open

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