Friday’s official launch at the 2026 Kings of Tallinn delivered pure electric energy across Olympic Park Casino and Hilton Tallinn Park, with two multi-day marathons firing off three opening flights, three turbo one-day blasts, four satellites humming, and non-stop cash game action lighting up the floor all day and deep into the night.
Sweden’s Thomas Grähs shipped the first hardware of the fest, outdueling 2017 Main Event champ Matias Knaapinen heads-up in the €200 PLO5/PLO Hi-Lo for a sweet €4,650 payday. Not far behind, Lena Björn turned the tables on her poker pal Eva “Chic” Jiretorn to claim the €200 Baduci/Badacey trophy and the €2,450 top prize.
Then came the local fireworks: Estonian hero Taago Tamm notched his 40th recorded cash on The Hendon Mob in style, railing the United Kingdom’s Lawrence Cook for the €10,200 top prize. No Filter Poker Series founder Mounir Tajiou, who jetted in fresh off the plane, ripped through the field and bowed out in eighth for €1,420 for a warm welcome to Tallinn.
Over in the €200 NLH Mini Main Event, things went nuclear: the final two flights swelled the field to a whopping 694 entries, smashing together a €109,721 prize pool that’s still climbing. Late reg stays open through the first three 30-minute levels of Saturday’s Day 2, cards flying at noon. Finland’s Ville Heiskanen roars in as the overnight boss with 325,000 after exploding his 30k stack, nudging Norway’s Day 1a chip daddy Espen Hagen (291,000) to second. The poker.pro live reporting crew is all-in on the Mini Main tomorrow, sticking with it until we crown a champ.
Meanwhile, Day 1a of the €350 NLH Kings Cup drew a healthy 111 runners for €31,913 in the pot already, with Sweden’s John Ivares bagging the big stack at 139,000 to lead the charge.
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Thomas Grähs Wins First Trophy
The €200 PLO5/PLO Hi Lo was the first event not played with just two cards at the 2026 Kings of Tallinn. The event proved to be popular with 115 entries, creating €18,182 in prizes. The event awarded the top 15 players at least a €360 min-cash.
Sweden’s Thomas Grähs shone the brightest after defeating Finland’s Matias Knaapinen heads-up to win the trophy and the €4,650 top prize.
Despite many knowing Knaapinen for his hold’em prowess after his victory at the 2017 Kings of Tallinn nearly a decade ago, the Finn has also had plenty of deep results in pot-limit Omaha events as well over the years. Knaapinen came into the event with career cashes of nearly $1 million at The Hendon Mob and added another €3,130 to bring him within $35K of achieving that goal.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Thomas Grähs | Sweden | €4,650 |
| 2 |  Matias Knaapinen | Finland | €3,130 |
| 3 |  Deniss Lebedevs | Latvia | €2,170 |
| 4 |  Benedict Kaiser | Germany | €1,580 |
| 5 | Jari Mähönen | Finland | €1,220 |
| 6 | Jukka Juvonen | Finland | €960 |
| 7 | Julius Kettunen | Finland | €780 |
| 8 | Kaspars Renga | Latvia | €660 |
| 9 |  Hanno Kerem | Estonia | €552 |
| 10 | Joona Nyholm | Finland | €470 |
| 11 |  Geir Neset | Norway | €470 |
| 12 |  Edward Johnson | United Kingdom | €410 |
| 13 | Juho Härkönen | Finland | €410 |
| 14 | Runar Skjemstad | Norway | €360 |
| 15 | Jake Marston | United Kingdom | €360 |
Lena Björn Wins Second Trophy From Sweden
The €200 Baducey/Badacey attracted 44 entries, creating €6,956 in prizes. Sweden was guaranteed to go two for two for the first two trophies after the United Kingdom’s Barrie Dear hit the rail in third place for €1,270, leaving a pair of close Swedish poker pals, Lena Björn and Eva “Chic” Jiretorn, heads-up for the title.
Björn will go home with the trophy, the €2,450, and, of course, bragging rights on her friend after defeating her opponent, while Jiretorn was all smiles with her friend at the end and had €1,740 reasons to be happy with her runner-up performance.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lena Björn | Sweden | €2,450 |
| 2 | Eva Jiretorn | Sweden | €1,740 |
| 3 | Barrie Dear | United Kingdom | €1,270 |
| 4 | Klaus Grönberg | Finland | €870 |
| 5 | Phil Gross | Germany | €626 |
Taago Tamm Notches 40th THM Recorded Cash at Olympic Park Casino in Style
Estonia boasts tons of strong poker players. One relatively unsung hero is the formidable Taago Tamm, quietly getting it done over the years, mostly in the shadows.
Tamm has plenty to be proud of over the years, including on Friday, where he won the one-day €555 NLH for €10,200 for his 40th recorded cash at Olympic Park Casino at The Hendon Mob after defeating the United Kingdom’s Lawrence Cook (second – €8,740) for the title.
Meanwhile, two-time WSOP Circuit Tallinn ring winner Roope Tarmi nearly earned another piece of OlyBet hardware before bowing out on the podium in third place for €5,150.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taago Tamm | Estonia | €10,200 |
| 2 | Lawrence Cook | United Kingdom | €8,740 |
| 3 | Roope Tarmi | Finland | €5,150 |
| 4 | Onni Huttunen | Finland | €3,750 |
| 5 | Janne Eeronaho | Finland | €2,770 |
| 6 | Espen Hagen | Norway | €2,090 |
| 7 | Mikko Ylämäki | Finland | €1,710 |
| 8 | Mounir Tajiou | Sweden | €1,420 |
| 9 | Paul Newey | United Kingdom | €1,190 |
| 10 | Karri Uusi-Äijö | Finland | €1,020 |
| 11 | Warsame Osman | Sweden | €1,020 |
2026 Kings of Tallinn Schedule (February 7)
Saturday’s slate cranks up the heat as the first payouts, trophies, and crucial OlyBet Team Competition points hit the board. Kicking things off at noon: Day 2 of the massive €200 Kings of Tallinn Mini Main, where late entry stays open through the initial three 30-minute levels before the prize pool locks in and we crown the fest’s first multi-day champ amid a raucous weekend rail.
The menu’s stacked with variety. Three multi-day beasts are still ramping up, including Day 1 of the €1,100 PLO4/PLO5 DeepStack Mystery Bounty at 5 p.m., the opener for the €555 Kings of Tallinn Championship at 7 p.m., which was won last year by Denmark’s Benyamin Canatan for €66,050, and the final two flights of the €350 Kings Cup at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. That Championship also feeds via an €80 Mega Satellite at 5:30 p.m., locking in at least 10 seats.
Mixed-game grinders get love too: €350 Open Face Chinese Pineapple fires at 1 p.m., plus the rare pot-limit 2-7 Triple Draw, a true OlyBet specialty. Capping the night, the €200 NLH Turbo blasts off at 10 p.m.
Check out the full schedule for Saturday below and head to the Kings of Tallinn landing page at OlyBetEvents.com to review the full schedule, sign up for the OlyBet Team Challenge, a player’s guide, and more.
Check out the full schedule for Friday below and head to the Kings of Tallinn landing page at OlyBetEvents.com to review the full schedule, sign up for the OlyBet Team Challenge, a player’s guide, and more.
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 12:00 | Event #2: €200 NLH Kings of Tallinn Mini Main Final Day, Late Reg. Closing at 13:50 |
| 13:00 | Event #11: €350 Open Face Chinese Pineapple, 3-handed, Final 4 Play with One Sitting out |
| 14:30 | Event #9: €350 NLH Kings of Tallinn Cup Flight 1B, Plays 10 Levels Day 1 |
| 17:00 | Event #12: €1,100 PLO4/PLO5 DeepStack Mystery Bounty Day 1, Button Round Each, Mystery Envelopes Introduced Day 2, 8-handed |
| 17:30 | Event #13: €80 NLH Mega Satellite to €555 Kings of Tallinn Championship, 10 x €555 SEATS GTD! |
| 19:00 | Event #14: €555 NLH Kings of Tallinn Championship Flight 1A, Plays 9 Levels Day 1 |
| 19:00 | Event #15: €200 PL 2-7 Triple Draw, 6-handed |
| 20:00 | Event #9: €350 NLH Kings of Tallinn Cup Flight 1C, Plays 10 Levels Day 1 |
| 22:00 | Event #16: €200 NLH Turbo |
- Photos courtesy of Elena Kask / OlyBet Poker
- Article originally produced at poker.pro.
