Veli-Pekka Penttinen Wins the 2026 Kings of Tallinn Main Event (€149,775)

The curtains have fallen on the 11th edition of the OlyBet Kings of Tallinn, once again proving why it stands as the premier poker festival in Northern Europe. Over 11 days of action at Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel, players battled across a packed schedule of more than 70 events that delivered thrilling moments and a new wave of champions etching their names into the festival’s history.

On Sunday, the spotlight belonged to Finland’s Veli-Pekka Penttinen. The Finn put together a commanding performance on the final day of the €1,100 Main Event, entering the final table as chip leader and never truly relinquishing control. After four days of play, Penttinen was crowned champion, ultimately taking home €149,775 following a three-way deal with Tal Barasofsky and Gary Fisher.

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2026 Kings of Tallinn Final Day Action

Sixteen players returned for the final day, led by Spain’s Guillermo “GGordo” Gordo at the top of the chip counts. With the overnight lead he looked well positioned to make a deep run. But poker can be cruel. Despite starting out front, the Spaniard’s stack slipped away, and he ultimately fell short of the final table, bowing out in 12th place.

After roughly four hours of play, the final table was set when Miro Sankala was eliminated in 10th place. His king-ten went all-in preflop against Athanasios Kostouros’ ace-eight suited that held up, bringing the field down to the final nine.

Among the key moments on the final table was the elimination of Kostouros in eighth place. The Greek had just lost a massive pot after a mistimed hero bluff against Barasofsky, and Penttinen soon picked up the rest of his chips. The Finn also delivered the knockout blow to Christina Solli, who qualified via a €80 satellite, in seventh place. The Norwegian had started the final table second in chips, having been the biggest beneficiary of Gordo’s loss of stack, but had quite a rollercoaster ride, eventually running into Penttinen’s pocket Jacks with eight-seven suited.

Throughout the day, Penttinen used his stack to near perfection, constantly applying pressure and also finding help when needed, including a crucial river ace against Shaul Weinstein’s pocket sixes that sent him home in fourth place, after which the remaining three players began discussing a deal.

Penttinen secured the largest share of the deal, locking up €113,820, while Barasofsky collected €112,775 and Fisher €97,000. With €35,955 and the prestigious title still left in play, the trio continued to battle it out.

Fisher exited in third place, setting up a kind of fitting heads-up duel between Penttinen and Barasofsky, probably the two most aggressive and active players throughout the final table.

In the end, a bottom pair of threes and a miss-call from Barasofskym turned the match in Penttinen’s direction, who kept his composure and closed it out shortly after to claim the title, walking away as the 2026 Kings of Tallinn Main Event champion, €149,775 richer and with the trophy firmly in his hands.

2026 Kings of Tallinn Main Event Full Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Veli-Pekka Penttinen	Finland	€149,770 *
2	Tal Barasofsky	Israel	€112,770 *
3	Gary Fisher	England	€97,000 *
4	Shaul Weinstein	Israel	€60,900
5	Alexis Lucarini	France	€46,250
6	Petteri Laiho	Finland	€35,450
7	Christina Solli	Norway	€27,250
8	Athanasios Kostouros	Greece	€20,950
9	Habib Brahim	Sweden	€16,200
10	Miro Sankala	Finland	€12,800
11	Paul Newey	England	€12,800
12	Guillermo Gordo	Spain	€10,750
13	Lev Margolin	Israel	€10,750
14	Girts Zarins	Latvia	€8,950
15	Ville-Matti Keränen	Finland	€8,950
16	John Dwyer	Ireland	€7,750
17	Mathieu Choffardet	France	€7,750
18	Johan Storåkers	Sweden	€6,750
19	Egidijus Matonis	Lithuania	€6,750
20	Magnus Pukk	Estonia	€6,750
21	Paulius Kisielius	Lithuania	€5,900
22	Davis Mihelsons	Latvia	€5,900
23	Yevhen Sukhov	Ukraine	€5,900
24	Antoine Vranken	Netherlands	€5,100
25	Nikolaos Oikonomou	Greece	€5,100
26	Arturs Daugis	Latvia	€5,100
27	Christoffer Bering	Denmark	€5,100
28	Anthon Burvall	Sweden	€4,450
29	Deividas Daubaris	Lithuania	€4,450
30	Vidar Assersen	Norway	€4,450
31	Oleh Pritsak	Ukraine	€4,450
32	Ville Myllymäki	Finland	€3,850
33	Oleksandr Sybirtsev	Ukraine	€3,850
34	Deividas Butnoras	Latvia	€3,850
35	Kristoffer WInterstein	Sweden	€3,850
36	Alberto Gonzalez	Spain	€3,850
37	Jonas Eriksson Silfver	Sweden	€3,850
38	Bernd Reich	Germany	€3,850
39	Henry-Jörgen Rautits	Estonia	€3,850
40	Peer Zahl	Norway	€3,350
41	Jari Nikunlassi	Finland	€3,350
42	Antti Raasu	Finland	€3,350
43	Justas Vaiciulionis	Lithuania	€3,350
44	Risto Pärmat	Estonia	€3,350
45	Luka Sorainen	Finland	€3,350
46	Marks Sergins	Latvia	€3,350
47	Vu Vuong	Finland	€3,350
48	Otto Pukk	Estonia	€3,350
49	Rauno Kiviloo	Estonia	€3,350
50	Sebastian Wahl	Finland	€3,350
51	Kauno Jäppinen	Finland	€3,350
52	Helge Bjorlow	Norway	€3,350
53	Algirdas Saveikis	Lithuania	€3,350
54	Joel Jimenez	Spain	€3,350
55	Christian Hoffmann	Germany	€3,350
56	Benny Hagberg	Sweden	€2,900
57	Ionel Serbu	Romania	€2,900
58	Ridas Bitauskas	Lithuania	€2,900
59	Aigars Petrovs	Latvia	€2,900
60	Christopher Vernon	England	€2,900
61	Edvinas Balciunas	Lithuania	€2,900
62	Rudolfs Sadrins	Latvia	€2,900
63	Eduards Rakuss	Latvia	€2,900
64	Baptiste Caim	France	€2,900
65	Pekka Ikonen	Finland	€2,900
66	Linas Bulksas	Lithuania	€2,900
67	Elvijs Kergalvis	Latvia	€2,900
68	Glen Keogh	Ireland	€2,900
69	Peter Jaksland	Denmark	€2,900
70	Sander Leigri	Estonia	€2,900
71	Emil Jäger	Finland	€2,900
72	Joel Holmberg	Finland	€2,550
73	Stanislovas Vinicenka	Lithuania	€2,550
74	James Wynne	Ireland	€2,550
75	Antti Pietarinen	Finland	€2,550
76	Leo Pietilä	Finland	€2,550
77	Henri Piironen	Finland	€2,550
78	Oskar Ojaveer	Estonia	€2,550
79	Paavo Korkka	Estonia	€2,550
80	Ishak Noyan	Sweden	€2,550
81	Andres Allsalu	Estonia	€2,550
82	Kevin Whelan	England	€2,550
83	Arkadiusz Liszewski	Poland	€2,550
84	Maksim Petrov	Estonia	€2,550
85	Juha Nikkola	Finland	€2,550
86	Martin Piik	Estonia	€2,550
87	Seppo Parkkinen	Finland	€2,550
88	Marius Bareisis	Lithuania	€2,550
89	Ranno Sootla	Estonia	€2,550
90	Wouter Beltz	Netherlands	€2,550
91	Eli Danielsson Barca	Sweden	€2,550
92	Hassan Halil	Cyprus	€2,550
93	Remy Mägi	Estonia	€2,550
94	Vladas Burneikis	Lithuania	€2,550
95	Aleksandras Rusinovas	Lithuania	€2,550
96	Aleksi Naski	Finland	€2,200
97	Vladyslav Taran	Ukraine	€2,200
98	Linda Nguyen	Norway	€2,200
99	Martin Zobel	Denmark	€2,200
100	Michael Rolt	ENgland	€2,200
101	Yaniv Peretz	Israel	€2,200
102	Henri Schalin	Finland	€2,200
103	Ole Hov	Norway	€2,200
104	Meelis Ahman	Estonia	€2,200
105	Vegard Nygaard	Norway	€2,200
106	Jari Kurikka	Finland	€2,200
107	Juha Helppi	Finland	€2,200
108	Ernestas Stalemekas	Lithuania	€2,200
109	Gintautas Danilevicius	Lithuania	€2,200
110	Jonatan Fors	Finland	€2,200
111	Lars Ottesen	Denmark	€2,200
112	Ismo Bärlund	Finland	€2,200
113	Juho Suutari	Finland	€2,200
114	Jukka Moisio	Finland	€2,200
115	Stephen Woodhead	England	€2,200
116	Perttu Kvist	Finland	€2,200
117	Andreas Werner	Sweden	€2,200
118	Totti Arosuo	Finland	€2,200
119	Dmitri Damaskin	Estonia	€2,200
120	Michal Zagrodnik	Poland	€2,000
121	Even Rislov	Norway	€2,000
122	Janis Vasiljevs	Latvia	€2,000
123	Frode Alfredsen	Norway	€2,000
124	Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk	Sweden	€2,000
125	Samuli Hietala	Finland	€2,000
126	Jari-Pekka Juhola	Finland	€2,000
127	Viacheslav Sultanov	Ukraine	€2,000
128	Joonas Haapala	Finland	€2,000
129	Eimantas Adomavicius	Lithuania	€2,000
130	Carl Falk	Sweden	€2,000
131	Miika Töyräs	Finland	€2,000
132	Mairo Tori	Estonia	€2,000
133	Sami Pulliainen	Finland	€2,000
134	Erik Friberg	Sweden	€2,000
135	Martynas Mockevicius	Lithuania	€2,000

2026 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition Up Next

As the doors close on the triumphant 2026 OlyBet Kings of Tallinn, the poker trail heats up with the OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition set for March 14-22 at Olympic Voodoo Casino in Riga, Latvia.​

This Baltic powerhouse features over 30 tournaments, spotlighting the €1,100 NLH Main Event with multiple starting flights and a €555 NLHE Championship, alongside satellites, progressive bounties, Omaha mixes, and Mystery Bounties—all with unlimited re-entries during late reg. Expect tons of fun, a robust tournament schedule with TDA rules, round-the-clock cash games, and easy access via OlyBet Poker online qualifiers starting from centrolls.​

Satellite seats for the Main Event and Championship are already firing, with hotel deals at nearby Radisson properties from €70 per night using promo code POKER26, perfect for grinding deep stacks in Riga’s vibrant scene.

• Photos courtesy of Elena Kask / OlyBet Poker
• Article originally produced at poker.pro.