The 2025 WSOP Circuit Tallinn has reached its midway point. A total of 12 WSOP Circuit Rings will be distributed throughout the 11-day festival, and as of July 29, five of them have already found new owners.
Ring Event #3: €555 NLH was always destined to be a big one; that has been the case in the past, and that proved to be the case this time as well. Players could compete in four starting-day flights or register during the first two levels of Day 2. All in all, the tournament drew 677 entries, resulting in a €321,575 prize pool. One hundred two players made the money, and were all guaranteed a €1,120 min cash. Day 2 then continued until only 16 players remained; they would return on Wednesday, July 29, and resume the fight for the prestigious title, the coveted trophy, the €59,465 first-place prize, the $5,000 package to the 2026 WSOP Paradise, and eternal poker glory.
The Lord of the Rings
Sweden’s Arasch Mirzari was the chip leader going into the final day, but it would not be a walk in the park. There were many prominent players still in the mix, such as Finnish old school player Jari Mähönen, Estonian professional Martin Piik, and the 2025 WSOP Europe €1,500 Mystery Million winner Darius Neagoe. After roughly two and a half hours, Theis Nielsen busted in tenth place for €3,270, meaning the nine-handed final table was set.
It didn’t take long before Juan Duenas became the first casualty of the final table. After an opening to 160,000 from Mairo Tori from the Hi-jack (Blinds 40,000/80,000) and a call by Mehdi Yazdanpanah (Button), Duenas moved all in for 680,000 on the Big Blind. Tori utilized his 6,000,000 and re-shoved; Yazdanpanah folded, and Duenas’ K♥Q♠ was looking to produce a miracle against Tori’s A♥K♣. That wasn’t the case on the 2♦6♦3♠5♠2♥ flop, and Duenas went to collect his €4,140 paycheck for finishing ninth.
The next one to go would be the sole Lithuanian in the field, Sigitas Raila. In a Blind-Versus-Blind encounter, he got his 1,500,000 stack in against Sweden’s Arasch Mirzai, who had him just covered. Raila was flipping with K♠Q♣ against J♣J♦, but the A♣J♠7♠10♣7♣ flop didn’t help him secure the win. He went out in eighth place for €5,370. It’s worth mentioning that Raila bubbled Ring Event #1: €350 Mini Main Event in the Day 1c flight a few days ago; even though exiting the final table early, he got some redemption.
The remaining seven players soon went on a break, with Estonian Mairo Tori and Swede Mehdi Yazdanpanah tied at the top of the chip counts with 33 Big Blinds each. At the bottom of the charts was Finland’s Janne Ojala, who eventually shoved 800,000 from the Small Blind after an initial raise to 325,000 from Mirzai UTG (Blinds 75,000/150,000). Mirzai made the call with K♣J♥, and was looking to get the job done against Ojala’s A♣Q♣. That became the case on the 8♠5♠J♣K♠Q♦ board, and Ojala bid farewell in seventh place for €7,100.
Tori wasn’t the only Estonian player left in the field, as Magnus Pukk was also still in the mix. With the Big Blind being 150,000, Pukk was in dire need, though, and open-shoved 500,000 from the Hi-jack. Yazdanpanah, who had claimed the chip lead after some standard pots, re-shoved for around 7,000,000 from the Small Blind. Unlucky for him, Spaniard Gonzalo Soriano woke up with K♣K♦ in the Big Blind, and had an easy call on his hands. Pukk’s 10♦9♠ and Yazdanpanah’s 9♦7♣ couldn’t get the job done on the 4♥6♣6♠3♣K♥ flop; it all resulted in Soriano more or less tripling up, while Pukk was out in sixth place for €9,600.
The Blinds soon went up to 100,000/200,000, and after a min-raise to 400,000 from Yazdanpanah, it was Soriano who three-bet shoved for 1,700,000. Yazdanpanah made the call and tabled A♦Q♦, hopeful to get the job done against Soriano’s 9♠9♥. The nut flush on the K♦7♦3♥9♦2♦ board got the job done, and the Spaniard finished fifth for €13,250.
Romanian Darius Neagoe was arguably the most experienced player on the final table, considering he has two WSOP Europe Bracelets to his name. Still at the same Blinds level, Mirzai open-shoved 4,200,000 from the Small Blind. Neagoe was in the Big Blind and committed his 3,350,000 to make the call with his tournament life at risk. With K♦Q♠, he took a solid lead on the6♦10♦K♠ against the Swede’s A♦7♠, but the Mirzai caught up on the A♣4♦ runout. That meant Neagoe finished fourth for €18,670; he’ll have to wait for a WSOP Circuit Ring to put next to his Bracelets.
Three-handed, then: two Swedes against one Estonian. Tori was the shortest stack at this point, and the Swedish rail was hopeful for an all-Scandinavian heads-up affair. Tori wasn’t a big fan of that idea, though, and he displayed great patience to build his stack up, slowly but steadily. Eventually, he doubled up, and then won another big pot against Yazdanpanah. Faster than you could say “Sünnipäevanädalalõpupeopär,” he claimed the chip lead, making Mirzai the shortest stack. After a min-raise from Tori on the Button to 500,000 (Blinds 125,000/250,000), Mirzai moved all in for 3,500,000. Tori called without hesitation and was delighted to see that he was in good shape with Q♣Q♥ against the 10♦10♣ of Mirzai. As Mirzai didn’t improve his hand on the 9♦4♥K♥J♦8♣ flop, he went out in third place for €26,830, and the stage was now set for a heads-up: Tori against Yazdanpanah, Estonia against Sweden.
Tori had a three-to-one chip lead, but anything could happen. Little did the players (or the crowd, for that matter) know that they were in for a wild ride. Tori was the one who started the one-versus-one duel the best, getting Yazdanpanah down to 3,000,000 on Blinds 150,000/300,000. Yazdanpanah then shoved the aforementioned stack on the Button with 9♠5♥ and was called by Tori’s A♣6♠. The first four cards on the board spelled Q♠4♣6♥, and it was very close to being over, but the miraculous 9♣ river had the Swedish rail cheering with joy as their countryman doubled up to stay in it. Yazdanpanah won another pot or two before Tori turned the tables once again to take a decent chip lead.
Perhaps 30minutes into the heads-up, still on the same Blinds, Tori limped the Button, and Yazdanpanah checked to see a free flop. The Swede check-called 400,000 on the 7♦10♣Q♥ flop, then checked again on the K♦ turn. Tori bet 1,000,000, and Yazdanpanah then moved all in for 4,600,000. Having his opponent covered, Tori made the call and tabled Q♠10♦ for two pairs. Yazdanpanah was trailing with K♠6♠, but once again, the river was kind to him, as the Poker Gods delivered the 6♣. The Swedish rail erupted once again, and Yazdanpanah was now the chip leader, albeit by the smallest of margins.
Soon thereafter, on Blinds 200,000/400,000, Tori min-raised to 800,000 on the Button. Yazdanpanah utilized his 10,560,000 stack to force Tori all in for 9,750,000, and the Estonian made the call. Yazdanpanah had Q♥3♥, Tori had K♦J♥, and virtually all the chips were in the middle. Tori’s king high was still good on the 6♦3♦8♣ flop, but Yazdanpanah took a very solid lead on the Q♣ turn. The 10♣ river ultimately settled it: Tori was declared the runner-up for €39,330, while Yazdanpanah let out a mighty roar. He claimed the €59,465 first-place payout and is now crowned the winner of Ring Event #3: €555 NLH during the 2026 WSOP Circuit Tallinn.
2026 WSOP Circuit Tallinn – Ring Event #3: €555 NLH Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mehdi Yazdanpanah | Sweden | €59,465 |
| 2 |  Mairo Tori | Estonia | €39,330 |
| 3 | Arasch Mirzai | Sweden | €26,830 |
| 4 |  Darius Neagoe | Romania | €18,670 |
| 5 |  Gonzalo Soriano | Spain | €13,250 |
| 6 | Magnus Pukk | Estonia | €9,600 |
| 7 |  Janne Ojala | Finland | €7,100 |
| 8 |  Sigitas Raila | Lithuania | €5,370 |
| 9 | Juan Duenas | Spain | €4,140 |
Ring Event #3: €555 NLH might be done and dusted, but there’s still many prestigious rings to be distributed during the 2026 WSOP Circuit Tallinn. The €1,500 Main Event is, obviously, the most intriguing tournament, with its €1,000,000 guarantee. Time will tell if Jenny Westerlund will defend her title or not, but one thing’s for sure: it’s going to be a very exciting tournament to follow. poker.pro journalist Christoffer Karlén is on-site, live blogging from the various events. Make sure to follow the poker.pro live blog in order not to miss any of the action.
