An eventful day at Olympic Park Casino brought the 113 players who returned for Day 3 of the €1,100 Kings of Tallinn Main Event down to the final table of nine. After 12 hours of play, Kaspars Butans bagged the chip lead as the lion’s share of the €1,098,330 prize pool will be divided tomorrow.
Not much is known about Butans, although his rail could be overheard today stating that Butans “plays online 24/7” and “wins everything”. Time will tell if “everything” includes the tenth-anniversary Kings of Tallin Main Event, which would net Butans the top prize of €182,000.
Butans ended Day 3 with 6,400,000 in chips, good for 80 big blinds when the final table commences tomorrow. Ahmet Canatan sits in second place with 5,230,000 and is looking for his second trophy this week after shipping the €555 Championship for a career-best €66,050. If Canatan finishes third or higher in the Main Event, he will once again claim a new high score.
Estonia still has two horses in the race with Igor Pihela Jr. (4,040,000) and Priit Parmasto (2,840,000). Pihela Jr. is known for traveling the European circuit with his father and would need to finish sixth for a new all-time best score. Meanwhile, Parmasto can become the first-ever two-time Kings of Tallinn champion, having shipped the Main Event in 2023 for €97,400.
Meanwhile, English grinder and friend of poker.pro Chris Da Silva will start the final table as the shortest stack as he is looking to add to his seven figures in lifetime earnings, although with 1,500,000 in chips, he will still have plenty of maneuverability.
Final Table Seat Draw and Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Chris Da Silva | United Kingdom | 1,500,000 | 19 |
| 2 |  Eldars Sadih-Zade | Latvia | 3,400,000 | 43 |
| 3 | Kaspars Butans | Latvia | 6,400,000 | 80 |
| 4 |  Igor Pihela Jr. | Estonia | 4,040,000 | 51 |
| 5 |  Mounir Tajiou | Sweden | 4,890,000 | 61 |
| 6 | Priit Parmasto | Estonia | 2,840,000 | 36 |
| 7 | Isak Bergstrom | Sweden | 4,330,000 | 54 |
| 8 |  Pasi Laihinen | Finland | 2,735,000 | 34 |
| 9 |  Ahmet Canatan | Denmark | 5,230,000 | 65 |
Day 3 Action
The day started with 113 of the record-breaking 1,181 entries returning with hopes of making the final table. However, only nine spots were available, thus, many big names had to leave throughout the day.
Elias Suhonen (110th – €2,450) was one of the first eliminations of the day. Ryan Mandara squeaked in the top 100 but finished in 93rd for €2,800. Tommi Lankinen received the same amount for his 81st place, while former champions Juha Helppi (66th) and Mathias Siljander (58th) got a pay jump to €3,200.
Kai Lehto would soon make Parmasto the only Main Event champion left standing as he fell in 41st for €3,650. Eventually, Sebastian Wahl (29th – €5,100) and Finnish poker legend Ilari Sahamies (26th – €5,600) fell just a few spots away from making the three-table redraw.
Oleh Pritsak was Ukraine’s final hope but was eliminated in 24th place for €5,600, while Italy and Poland also lost their last representatives at the final three tables in Mirco De Martini (22nd – €6,500) and Piotr Sztenkiel (18th – €7,500). Start-of-day chipleader Mikael Haapaniemi then finished in 17th for €8,515 to set up the final two tables.
Irishman Michael Dwyer (16th – €8,515) was the first to depart from the final two tables, which is also where Iceland’s Steinn Karlsson (13th – €11,400) and France’s Thomas De Leiris (11th – €13,500) met their end. The clock had just struck midnight when Robertas Smolskis (10th – €13,500) lost his all-in flip against Tajiou, eliminating the final Lithuanian from the tournament and declaring Smolskis the official final table bubble.
The final nine will return at noon local time tomorrow to battle for the title. They have guaranteed themselves a payday of at least €16,800, which is already some players’ best-ever performance. However, alluring six-figure prizes are only reserved for the final two players.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €182,000 |
| 2 | €115,000 |
| 3 | €80,000 |
| 4 | €61,000 |
| 5 | €47,000 |
| 6 | €36,500 |
| 7 | €28,000 |
| 8 | €21,800 |
| 9 | €16,800 |
The final table will start with almost the entirety of Level 20: 40,000/80,000 (80,000) still to play. The levels will be 60 minutes long throughout the final table, with a break scheduled after every two.
Becoming a Kings of Tallinn Main Event champion is what dreams are made of, and one player’s dream will become a reality tomorrow. Tune back in then to not miss the thrilling conclusion of the biggest-ever Kings of Tallinn Main Event.
