The Hilton Tallinn Park and Olympic Park Casino boasted tons of action on Sunday with four champions crowned on the third day of the 2025 No Filter Poker Series Nordic & Baltic Championship Open.
Finland’s Mikko Ylämäki entered his name in the poker history books after becoming the inaugural champion of the €3,500 No Filter Legends of the Game in front of a live-streamed audience. Ylämäki agreed to a deal with the start-of-the-day chip leader, Pasi Sormunen, with €14,000, the trophy, and bragging rights still on the line. Sormunen collected €68,393 thanks to the deal, while Ylämäki earned the €76,657 top prize.
Ylämäki nearly earned a second trophy on the same day in the €555 PLO4/5 Progressive Bounty. A two-time winner was guaranteed by the time the action progressed to heads-up play with €1,100 PLO4/PLO5 champion Deniss Lebedevs and Ylämäki competing for the title. Both players locked in €2,645 from the prize pool before Lebedevs earned his second trophy of the festival and the big bounty at the end.
Meanwhile, the one-day €5,000 NLH 6-Handed witnessed three huge names in poker on the podium in the money. Estonian poker beast Markkos Ladev shipped the bacon for €41,828 after defeating two-time WSOP bracelet winner Juha Helppi (second – €27,080) heads-up. Five-time bracelet winner Scotty Nguyen earned his Estonian flag at The Hendon Mob after taking third place for €14,900.
Last, but not least, Alevtina Bubnova won the title in the €350 NLH Progressive Bounty for €3,230 plus bounties after defeating OlyBet poker veteran Enea Subashi from Greece during heads-up play.
While players were busy winning trophies, many others were busy trying to find a bag for Day 2 of the €1,100 No Filter Main Event, which will boast at least a €100,000 top prize to the winner. The field was up to 141 entries after the first three opening flights, with two more to go on Monday and late registration remaining open during the first three 40-minute blind levels of Tuesday’s Day 2. The final day of this event will be broadcast live on OlyBet social media channels and at its media partner poker.pro, with live reports taking place at PokerNews.
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- Read more: Pasi Sormunen Leads Final 13 in €3,500 No Filter Legends of Game
Nearly All Finnish Affair in the €3,500 No Filter Legends of the Game
The €3,500 No Filter Legends of the Game attracted 101 entries to create a €323,301 prize pool. The first day ended with players in the money, with Finland’s Pasi Sormunen leading the way to start the day.
The action was live-streamed on OlyBet Poker social media with a mixture of Andreas “Wiseguy” Hoglund and the poker.pro duo of Glenn Brown and Jason Glatzer.
Seven Finns miraculously advanced to the final table, and Duncan “Singing Cowboy” Blake noted at the table after Guillermo Gordo Cifuentes hit the rail in ninth place for €9,451, that he was surrounded by a “block of Finnish energy.”
The table was in good spirits while the short-stacked WSOP Circuit Tallinn ring winner Mathias Siljander (seventh – €14,850) and two-time WSOP Circuit Tallinn ring winner Roope Tarmi (eighth – €11,950) headed to the payout desk. Despite not getting another victory, Tarmi shared he was pleased with his result, coming in with one of the shortest stacks to start the final day.
The Singing Cowboy was next to take sixth place for €18,450, guaranteeing that a Finnish champion would be featured in the inaugural €3,500 No Filter Legends of the Game.
A heads-up deal between Mikko Ylämäki and Pasi Sormunen was agreed upon, leaving €14,000 to play for after Tommi Lankinen (third – €40,850), Pasi Laihinen (fourth – €29,850), and Antti-Mikael Mäki-Fränti (fifth – €22,850) were eliminated.
About 25 minutes later, Ylämäki came from behind to defeat Sormunen to win the trophy and the €76,657 top prize, while Sormunen walked away with a healthy €68,393 for his efforts.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mikko Ylämäki | Finland | €76,657 |
| 2 | Pasi Sormunen | Finland | €68,393 |
| 3 | Tommi Lankinen | Finland | €40,850 |
| 4 | Pasi Laihinen | Finland | €29,850 |
| 5 | Antti-Mikael Mäki-Fränti | Finland | €22,850 |
| 6 |  Duncan Blake | United States | €18,450 |
| 7 | Mathias Siljander | Finland | €14,850 |
| 8 | Roope Tarmi | Finland | €11,950 |
| 9 |  Guillermo Gordo Cifuentes | Spain | €9,451 |
| 10 |  Felix Seelentag | Germany | €7,950 |
| 11 |  Rusen Yilmaz | Sweden | €7,950 |
| 12 | Christer Larsson | Sweden | €7,050 |
| 13 | Jesper Nordkvist | Sweden | €7,050 |
Markkos Ladev Defeats Juha Helppi to Win €5,000 NLH
The €5,000 NLH 6-Handed attracted 18 entries to create a €83,808 prize pool. The 2025 WSOP Main Event champion, Michael Mizrachi, and No Filter Poker Series founder Mounir Tajiou were in the field but could not get any traction.
However, three other legends were in the money. Scotty Nguyen tripled his buy-in with a third-place performance worth €14,900, leaving Markkos Ladev and Juha Helppi heads-up for the title and glory. Ladev got the job done to earn the €41,828 top prize, while Helppi earned a healthy €27,080 for finishing one spot shy of taking a winner’s photo with OlyBet photographer Elena Kask.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Markkos Ladev | Estonia | €41,828 |
| 2 | Juha Helppi | Finland | €27,080 |
| 3 | Scotty Nguyen | United States | €14,900 |
Deniss Lebedevs Wins Second Trophy This Festival
The Latvian poker community was represented by a handful of players, but they made their voices heard thanks to Deniss Lebedevs, a one-man band.
Lebedevs won a trophy on Saturday in the €1,100 PLO4/PLO5 for €8,550. This would have made most players go home happy, but now Lebedevs will likely be attempting the unheard of trifecta of winning a third trophy after shipping the €555 PLO4/5 Progressive Bounty for €2,645 plus bounties. Time will tell if Lebedevs can shine once more to complete a hat-trick of trophies with plenty of action still to come.
We could have easily been telling another amazing story, as Mikko Ylämäki entered this event shortly after being crowned the €3,500 No Filter Legends of the Game champion. However, Lebedevs denied Ylämäki a chance at winning two trophies in a single day, and Ylämäki settled for two top-two performances in a day instead, still a great feat.
The €555 PLO4/5 attracted 33 entries to generate €15,675 in prizes including €6,600 in progressive bounties. Check out the payouts without bounties below:
| Place | Player | Coutnry | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Deniss Lebedevs | Latvia | €2,645 |
| 2 | Mikko Ylämäki | Finland | €2,645 |
| 3 | Karl Klingberg | Sweden | €1,700 |
| 4 | Jyri Merivirta | Finland | €1,210 |
| 5 | Pasi Laihinen | Finland | €875 |
Alevtina Bubnova Wins €350 NLH Progressive Bounty
The one-day €350 NLH Progressive Bounty attracted 73 entries, creating €21,499 in prizes, including €7,300 in bounties. Alevtina Bubnova and Enea Subashi each were guaranteed €3,230 from the prize pool, but there was still a big bounty to be played for during heads-up action after James Noonan exited in third place for €2,160 plus bounties. Bubnova earned all the chips to win the trophy after defeating a talented final table.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Alevtina Bubnova | Russia | €3,230 |
| 2 |  Enea Subashi | Greece | €3,230 |
| 3 |  James Noonan | Ireland | €2,160 |
| 4 | Miro Sankala | Finland | €1,520 |
| 5 | Jim Andersson | Sweden | €1,178 |
| 6 | Tapio Aaltonen | Finland | €960 |
| 7 | Henri Katila | Finland | €780 |
| 8 | Anastasios Kiorpanagiotis | Sweden | €630 |
| 9 | Tuomas Punkkinen | Finland | €510 |
2025 No Filter Poker Series Day 4 Schedule (Monday, Oct. 20)
Monday will be bustling with action as players try to build big stacks in the €1,100 No Filter Main Event, with Day 1d kicking off at Noon, followed by the final opening flight at 7:30 p.m. The €350 NLH Deep Stack kicks off at 3 p.m. followed by the €555 NLH Progressive Bounty at 9 p.m., which also boasts an €80 Satellite at 1 p.m. The tournament action will conclude with a €150 Satellite guaranteeing three seats to the €3,000 NLH.
Meanwhile, a cash game on the OlyBet Poker live stream is planned for Monday at 6:30 p.m., but the time is subject to change.
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| 12:00 | Event #5: €1,100 NLH No Filter Main Event Flight 1D, €100,000 GTD for Winner |
| 13:00 | Event #11: €80 Satellite to NLH €555, 4 x €555 SEATS GTD! |
| 15:00 | Event #12: €350 NLH Deep Stack |
| 19:30 | Event #5: €1,100 NLH No Filter Main Event Flight 1E, €100,000 GTD for Winner |
| 21:00 | Event #13: €555 NLH Progressive Bounty, €200 Bounties, 8-handed |
| 22:00 | Event #14: €150 Satellite to NLH €3,000, 3 x €3,000 SEATS GTD! |
- Photos courtesy of Elena Kask / OlyBet Poker / No Filter Poker
