Saturday was buzzing at Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park. Thanks to the 2025 No Filter Poker Series Nordic & Baltic Championship Open in town, every corner of the venue brimmed with action. Both the Hilton tournament arena and the casino’s cash-game tables were packed, creating that unmistakable friendly Tallinn poker vibe.
Day 1 of the inaugural €3,500 No Filter Legends of the Game didn’t just meet expectations; it set the tone for something special. The No Filter Poker Series treated fans to a live-streamed spectacle packed with fearless moves and high-stakes fireworks. A whopping field of 101 entries entered the mix to create a €323,301 prize pool.
The day concluded after Finland’s Pasi Laihinen ousted his countrymate Viljami Salakari on the money bubble in 14th place, with the remaining 13 players in the money for at least a €7,050 min-cash with a whopping €85,400 top prize and bragging rights of winning the first event of its kind.
While Pasi Laihenen ended the day with a second-place stack of 1,590,000, another Pasi, in Pasi Sormunen, led the way when the action resumes at Noon for the second and final day. You can follow along the action with OIyBet Host Andreas “Wiseguy” Hoglund and poker.pro CEO Jason Glatzer, 30 minutes later, with hole cards exposed on OlyBet Poker social media channels, including YouTube and Facebook.
In other news, the No Filter €1,100 Main Event attracted 31 entries on its first of five opening days with Ruslan Lipnikov leading the way with 240,500 from his 50,000 opening stack. This event will uniquely guarantee at least €100,000 to the winner. Players will have plenty of time to build a deep stack, as in addition to the opening flights, players can still hop in during the first three levels of Tuesday’s Day 2, with the final day on Wednesday live-streamed, similar to today’s conclusion of the €3,500 Legends of the Game.
Two players also won trophies on Saturday, including Estonia’s Martin Piik, who shipped the two-day €350 NLH Opening Event for €11,590, and Latvia’s Deniss Lebedevs, who found gold in the €1,100 PLO/PLO4 for €8,550.
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Hard Day for Legends
Day 1 of the €3,500 League of Legends kicked off with a heartfelt video introduction before the legends were introduced one by one. All eyes were on the TV table, as not only was the eight-time bracelet winner, four-time Poker Players Championship winner, and the 2025 WSOP Main Event champion, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi. But it wasn’t just about Michael, as his son, Paul Mizrachi, recently turned 21 and was playing casino poker for the first time, seeming more than comfortable battling against some of poker’s biggest legends.
Paul eventually ousted his Dad, with the Singing Cowboy, Duncan Blake, serenading both the TV table and the live-streamed audience. Despite the good start, neither Mizrachi found a bag, with both players happy to casually talk to players and poker fans.
The Mizrachis weren’t the only introduced legends to fall on the opening day. In fact, they all did, including the founder of the No Filter Poker Series, Mounir Tajiou. Things went no better for two-time WSOP bracelet winner Juha Helppi, five-time bracelet winner Scotty Nguyen, Sweden Hall of Fame member Noelia Ivars, and Estonian poker legend and all-around chill guy Ranno Sootla.
Meanwhile, Horst not only bagged but was only behind the previously mentioned Pasi duo in the intro in the chip counts. He will start Day 2 as a chip millionaire with 1,230,000 in chips, with Antti-Mikael Mäki-Fränti just below seven figures in his stack with 940,000. Horst was witnessed during the 2025 WSOP Main Event serenading at the tables and was busy singing throughout the event while accumulating a healthy stack.
Finland’s Mathias Siljander is primed to add another notch to his impressive resume with 920,000. Siljander not only earned bragging rights after earning a WSOP Circuit Tallinn ring, but is the only player in poker history to win both the Tallinn Summer Showdown and the Kings of Tallinn, making him a true local legend regardless of his result on Sunday.
Christer Larsson had a roller-coaster ride on Saturday, both on and off stream, as he went from big stack to short stack a handful of times. However, Larsson managed to end the day in the middle of the pack with 775,000, with Rusan Yilmaz (475,000), Tommi Lankinen (470,000), Mikko Ylämäki (460,000), two-time WSOP Circuit Tallinn ring winner Roope Tarmi (400,000), Felix Seelentag (315,000), Jesper Nordqvist (260,000), and Guillermo Cifuentes (235,000) all still in contention.
The action will resume on Sunday at noon, with 14 minutes remaining for Level 19. Blinds will be 10,000/25,000 (25,000) and increase every 30 minutes until a winner is crowned. Check out the live stream below and the seat draw to start the day.
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 1 |  Mikko Ylämäki | Finland | 460,000 | 18 |
| 17 | 2 | Pasi Sormunen | Finland | 2,025,000 | 81 |
| 17 | 3 |  Felix Seelentag | Germany | 315,000 | 13 |
| 17 | 4 |  Christer Larsson | Sweden | 775,000 | 31 |
| 17 | 5 | Roope Tarmi | Finland | 400,000 | 16 |
| 17 | 6 | Mathias Siljander | Finland | 920,000 | 37 |
| 17 | 7 |  Guillermo Cifuentes | Estonia | 235,000 | 9 |
| 18 | 2 | Tommi Lankinen | Finland | 470,000 | 19 |
| 18 | 3 | Jesper Nordqvist | Sweden | 260,000 | 10 |
| 18 | 4 | Pasi Laihinen | Finland | 1,590,000 | 64 |
| 18 | 5 |  Duncan Horst | United States | 1,235,000 | 49 |
| 18 | 6 | Antti-Mikael Mäki-Fränti | Finland | 940,000 | 38 |
| 18 | 7 | Rusen Yilmaz | Sweden | 475,000 | 19 |
Martin Piik Developing Legendary Status
We can say a lot about Estonia’s Martin Piik, and it’s all good. Piik was known amongst friends to grind poker before he was the driving force behind OlyBet Poker’s online product a few years ago. The Estonian moved on and immediately won a live event in Madrid before the pandemic changed not only the live poker landscape but the entire world.
Piik is a quiet and friendly grinder who goes about his business. He has now earned his second trophy at Olympic Park Casino after defeating Finland’s Antti Raasu (second – €7,710) heads-up to win the two-day €350 NLH Opening Event for €11,590.
Poker veterans Dmitri Dudakov (third- €5,570), Finland’s Ville-Matti Keränen (fourth – €4,340), and Ireland’s James Noonan (fifth – €3,370) managed deep runs after the story for the Valgemäe family concluded.
In the late summer, Giedre Valgemäe had a run to remember by winning the $150 GGMasters at OlyBet Poker for more than $142,000 before following that up with an epic 2025 Queens of Tallinn victory for €5,690. Giedre Valgemäe was not only at the final table once again, but so was her husband, Ardi Valgemäe. Giedre busted in €1,650 and remained on the rail, witnessing Ardi ladder up after Miki Vea Garcia hit the rail in seventh place for €2,040. However, Ardi could not find the road to victory and bowed out shortly after in sixth place for €2,620.
The €350 NLH Opening Event attracted 169 runners to create a €49,771 prize pool. Check out all the payouts from the first trophy event on the schedule below:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Piik | Estonia | €11,590 |
| 2 | Antti Raasu | Finland | €7,710 |
| 3 | Dmitri Dudakov | Estonia | €5,570 |
| 4 | Ville-Matti Keränen | Finland | €4,340 |
| 5 |  James Noonan | Ireland | €3,370 |
| 6 | Ardi Valgemäe | Estonia | €2,620 |
| 7 |  Miki Vea Garcia | Spain | €2,040 |
| 8 |  Giedre Valgemäe | Lithuania | €1,650 |
| 9 |  Helmuts Smutovs | Latvia | €1,331 |
| 10 |  Mody Rubinstein | Israel | €1,100 |
| 11 | Manuel Akbari | Sweden | €1,100 |
| 12 | Miro Sankala | Finland | €970 |
| 13 | Mark Metsla | Estonia | €970 |
| 14 | Hendrik Uibo | Estonia | €860 |
| 15 | Simon Hassan | Sweden | €860 |
| 16 | Jose Capacete | Spain | €780 |
| 17 |  David Bright | England | €780 |
| 18 | Gints Ozols | Latvia | €710 |
| 19 | Roman Jezov | Estonia | €710 |
| 20 | Phenporn Laatikainen | Finland | €710 |
Deniss Lebedevs Wins Trophy to Latvia
Two trophies have been awarded thus far in this festival: one to the home country of Estonia, as mentioned, with Martin Piik earning a five-figure score along with his bragging rights, and one to Latvia’s Deniss Lebedevs for defeating Veli-Pekka Penttinen (second – €5,130) to win the trophy and the €8,550 top prize.
Henri Antikainen (third – €3,420) was the only other player to earn a payout slip. The event attracted 18 entries for a €17,100 prize pool.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deniss Lebedevs | Latvia | €8,550 |
| 2 | Veli-Pekka Penttinen | Finland | €5,130 |
| 3 | Henri Antikainen | Finland | €3,420 |
2025 No Filter Poker Series Day 3 Schedule (Sunday, Oct. 19)
Sunday will be bustling with action at Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park, with four trophies awarded.
The conclusion of the €3,500 No Filter Legends of the Game will be live-streamed starting at 12:30 with players kicking off the action at Noon alongside Day 1b of the €1,100 No Filter Main Event, with Day 1c also taking place later in the day at 7 p.m.
Sandwiched in between is an action-packed, six-max €5,000 NLH at 2 p.m., with others battling in the €350 NLH Progressive Bounty starting at the same time.
The evening brings the €555 PLO4/PLO5 Progressive Bounty at 9 p.m., followed by a €80 satellite at 10 p.m., which guarantees at least five seats to the €1,100 No Filter Main Event.
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 12:00 | Event #5: €1,100 NLH No Filter Main Event Flight 1B, €100,000 GTD for Winner, Plays 10 Levels Day 1 |
| 12:00 | Event #3: €3,500 NLH No Filter Legends of the Game Final Day |
| 14:00 | Event #7: €5,000 NLH, 6-handed |
| 14:00 | Event #8: €350 NLH Progressive Bounty, €100 Bounties |
| 19:00 | Event #5: €1,100 NLH No Filter Main Event Flight 1C, €100,000 GTD for Winner, Plays 10 Levels Day 1 |
| 21:00 | Event #9: €555 PLO4/PLO5 Progressive Bounty, €200 Bounties, Button Round Each, 8-handed |
| 22:00 | Event #10: €80 Satellite to No Filter Main Event, 5 x €1,100 SEATS GTD! |
- Photos courtesy of Elena Kask / OlyBet Poker / No Filter Poker
