Krisjanis “Young Bee” Stankevics Stings His Way to No Filter Main Event Victory

October 23, 2025

The final cards have hit the felt, and the curtain has dropped on the 2025 No Filter Poker Series Nordic & Baltic Championship Open, leaving OlyBet‘s flagship home, Olympic Park Casino, and the Hilton Tallinn Park buzzing with the echoes of unforgettable moments, songs, camaraderie, and competition. What started as a gathering of poker hopefuls and legends, including the likes of 2025 WSOP Main Event champion Michael Mizrachi, five-time WSOP bracelet winner Scott Nguyen, Estonian poker hero Ranno Sootla, two-time Finnish bracelet winner Juha Helppi, No Filter founder Mounir Tajiou, and Duncan “Singing Cowboy” Blake, grew into six days of pure adrenaline and electric energy, every hand played, every bluff caught, and every river card delivered became part of a new chapter in Europe’s poker legacy. From the inaugural €3,500 Legends of the Game, won by Finland’s Mikko Ylämäki, to the high-voltage €1,100 Main Event finale, the field was stacked with stars and rising talents chasing glory across the felt.

As the lights dimmed and champions claimed their hard-earned victories, the No Filter Poker Series didn’t just crown winners. It redefined how poker can bring together a tight community via its unique path. With its player-first ethos, unpredictable action, and a vibrant and friendly festival atmosphere, No Filter stamped its mark in the halls of Olympic Park Casino with plenty of positive fanfare. For those who took their shot, shared their stories, or soaked up the vibe, these days will linger long after the chips are bagged and the trophies polished. The Nordic & Baltic Championship Open sets a fresh standard, reminding every player and fan that in Tallinn, poker always comes with a little extra spark

The event ended in style with a new legend born in Latvia’s Krisjanis Stankevics winning the three-day €1,100 No Filter Main Event for €79,110 after agreeing a deal with Spanish poker beast Guillermo Gordo Cifuentes, where there was €14,000, the trophy, and the honor of becoming the first official No Filter champion after its pilot run in June.

Stankevics handled the demeanor and moves of a seasoned pro in front of his family and friends on the OlyBet Poker live stream, who were supporting in heavy numbers and sharing his “Young Bee” nickname with us. This is a true hero story as Stankevics punched his way into the event for free through a competition giveaway at OlyBet Poker.

In true No Filter style, Tajiou announced after the victory that Stankevics would need to come to the players’ party to collect the trophy, or it would be demolished in front of everyone with a sledgehammer. Stankevics happily came to the party, and players and staff congratulated him on his amazing accomplishment.

Meanwhile, No Filter’s social media guru Lina Oloffson will bring a trophy home to Sweden on the final day after defeating a field of 35 women in the €150 NLH Women-Only for €1,540. Another Swede, Marcus Hallabro, who was recently interviewed at poker.pro about his path to becoming a professional poker player, defeated a field of 40 entries in the €555 NLH Progressive Bounty for €3,210 plus bounties.

Young Bee’s Road to Victory

The €1,100 No Filter Main Event attracted 358 players for €340,100 in prizes. The top prize was officially €100,000 as advertised, with OlyBet Poker generously adding €25,000 to bring the total prizes up to €365,100.

The final day began with South Korea’s Jae Han Kim holding a substantial chip lead. Krisjanis Stankevics started the day with a below-average stack but still near 40 big blinds.

Stankevics instantly took care of one of the two former Kings of Tallinn Main Event champions, with the 2020 champ Johan Karlsson losing his short stack to become the first player on the rail in 16th place for €4,100, with Karlsson sharing with a smile at the payout desk that he lost a flip with fives against big slick.

Shortly after, Kim three-bet shoved with king-four and doubled Stankevics to a top-three stack after his opponent called with queens and got a hold. Stankevics was still in third place by the time the final table began after Sweden’s Daniyel Destici (10th – €6,350), New Zealand’s Tomas Graham (11th – €6,350), Sweden’s Alnd Shamoun (12th – €5,450), and the Finnish trio of Elias Suhonen (13th – €5,450), Torsti Kettula (14th – €4,650), and Jonatan Fors (15th – €4,650) lost their stacks.

Sweden’s Kalle Ly led the way when the final table began with eventual runner-up Guillermo Gordo Cifuentes in second place. However, Stankevics had his first taste as the table captain soon after the short-stacked Joel Torres Jimenez exited in ninth place for €7,450. Stankevics jammed a jack-high flop with queens, and eliminated the start-of-the-day chip leader Kim in eighth place for €8,750 when he reluctantly called with tens.

Stankevics was still in the lead after the 2023 Kings of Tallinn Summer Showdown Main Event champion Kai Lehto eliminated the popular Ville-Tapio Mesiranta in seventh place for €10,250 after flopping a straight with queen-ten suited against jack-nine suited. However, the chip lead headed over to Cifuentes a moment later when his aces were more than enough to hold against ace-jack suited, resulting in Finland’s Mikael Haapaniemi heading to the payout desk to collect his sixth-place prize of €12,450.

Stankevics was back in action, eliminating the short-stacked Otto Kiiskinen in fifth place for €15,350 before regaining the lead shortly after. While Stankevics continued to pile on trips, Cifuentes was going nowhere. Cifuentes was a hair behind the chip lead when his sevens won a flip against jack-eight to oust Ly in fourth place for €20,350, while creating an interesting dynamic of two big stacks and two short stacks with four players remaining.

Cifuentes regained the lead and was still ahead by a few big blinds after Stankevics picked off the short-stacked Lehto (third – €29,750) when his nines were good against ten-five.

The players went on a break to set up the feature table for the heads-up battle. During the break, the duo agreed to a deal guaranteeing Cifuentes €66,790 and Stankevics €65,110, with €14,000, the trophy, and the honor left to be played for.

Stankevics steamrolled ahead and eventually had his Cifuentes on the ropes despite several small comebacks, including one that resulted in a chip lead change for a hand or two. Cifuentes displayed what appeared to be the right combination of aggression and restraint throughout the day. However, it was all over for Cifuentes after an ill-timed bluff in his opponent’s nuts, and Stankevics was crowned the €1,100 No Filter Main Event champion for €79,110.

Guillermo Gordo Cifuentes and Krisjanis Stankevics

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Krisjanis Stankevics	Latvia	€79,110
2	Guillermo Gordo Cifuentes	Spain	€66,790
3	Kai Lehto	Finland	€29,750
4	Kalle Ly	Sweden	€20,350
5	Otto Kiiskinen	Finland	€15,350
6	Mikael Haapaniemi	Finland	€12,450
7	Ville-Tapio Mesiranta	Finland	€10,250
8	Jae Han Kim	Norway	€8,750
9	Joel Torres Jimenez	Spain	€7,450
10	Daniyel Destici	Sweden	€6,350
11	Tomas Graham	New Zealand	€6,350
12	Alnd Shamoun	Sweden	€5,450
13	Elias Suhonen	Finland	€5,450
14	Torsti Kettula	Finland	€4,650
15	Jonatan Fors	Finland	€4,650
16	Johan Karlsson	Sweden	€4,100
17	Juha Helppi	Finland	€4,100
18	Jose Koistinen	Finland	€3,550
19	Antti-Mikael Mäki-Fränti	Finland	€3,550
20	Linda Lahdenpää	Finland	€3,550
21	Adria Comas I Roura	Spain	€3,100
22	Peeter Talviste	Estonia	€3,100
23	Vasilis Nikolas	Sweden	€3,100
24	Martin Keskküla	Estonia	€2,650
25	Ranno Sootla	Estonia	€2,650
26	Rasmus Lundström	Finland	€2,650
27	Adrian Jimenez Ruano	Spain	€2,650
28	Munkhjargal Balgan	Mongolia	€2,400
29	Petteri Miettinen	Finland	€2,400
30	Lauri Laast	Estonia	€2,400
31	Henri Antikainen	Finland	€2,400
32	Darius Narmontas	Lithuania	€2,200
33	Janis Erglis	Latvia	€2,200
34	Luka Sorainen	Finland	€2,200
35	Alf Önnestam	Sweden	€2,200
36	Yuhanon Bahar	Sweden	€2,200
37	Baptiste Caim	France	€2,200
38	Henri Katila	Finland	€2,200
39	Aki Pyysing	Finland	€2,200
40	Kim Hjellvik	Norway	€2,000
41	Gatis Popovs	Latvia	€2,000
42	Joonas Helin	Finland	€2,000
43	Anne Bezdek	Finland	€2,000
44	Marcus Wuttke	Sweden	€2,000
45	Jyri Merivirta	Finland	€2,000
46	Jevgenijs Kritinins	Latvia	€2,000
47	Jukka Ylitalo	Finland	€2,000

Lina Oloffsson Wins €150 NLH Women’s Only

Swedish poker journalist Lina Oloffson had many reasons to enjoy the No Filter party after the conclusion of the poker tournament action. None likely as big as her going back to Sweden with a trophy after defeating Portugal’s Agnes Arabela Marques heads-up to win the €1,540 top prize. Sweden’s Lisa-Maria Jadbäck, Estonia’s Liis Rogov, and OlyBet veteran from Finland Anne Bezdek also earned payout slips.

The event attracted 35 runners to create a €4,323 prize pool with the top five players earning at least €393.

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Lina Olofsson	Sweden	€1,540
2	Agnes Arabela Marques	Portugal	€1,080
3	Lisa-Maria Jadbäck	Sweden	€780
4	Liis Rogov	Estonia	€530
5	Anne Bezdek	Finland	€393

Marcus Hallabro Wins €555 NLH Progressive Bounty

The one-day €555 NLH Progressive Bounty attracted 40 entries, creating €19,000 in prizes, including €8,000 in bounties. Sweden’s Christer Larsson (third – €2,060), Denmark’s Peter Jakslund (fourth – €1,460), and Latvia’s Raivo Grislis (fifth – €1,060) were the first officially out in the money, with others also collecting bounties before the money bubble broke.

Sweden’s Marcus Hallabro and Finland’s Torsti Kettula each locked in €3,210 from the prize pool before battling for the big bounty at the end. Hallabro won the heads-up affair to earn one of the final trophies as a good memory of a promising festival for the Swedish poker pro.

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Marcus Hallabro	Sweden	€3,210
2	Torsti Kettula	Finland	€3,210
3	Christer Larsson	Sweden	€2,060
4	Peter Jaksland	Denmark	€1,460
5	Raivo Grislis	Latvia	€1,060

Kings of Vilnius and Kings of Tallinn Up Next

Just as the final echoes of celebration fade from the Hilton Tallinn Park, the Baltic poker scene barely takes a breath before the cards hit the air again. In less than a month, the action shifts south to the heart of Lithuania for the 2025 Kings of Vilnius, with more than 30 events at Olympic Casino Lietuva on Nov. 14-23. Expect another festival packed with deep structures, vibrant side events, and a community that can mix serious poker with serious fun. Many familiar faces from the No Filter battlefield are already confirmed in hopes of a title before the year winds down.

But the 2025 calendar still has one more royal chapter to play. After Vilnius, all eyes turn back north for the Kings of Tallinn, Estonia’s flagship poker festival and a cornerstone of Nordic and Baltic pride, from Feb. 6-15, 2026. The schedule is coming shortly.

So, as Krisjanis Stankevics basks in his newly earned hero status, the stage is already being built for the next set of champions. The Kings are calling. First in Vilnius and then in Tallinn, for anyone chasing poker glory, the royal road runs right through the Baltics.