Why Kings of Tallinn Belongs on Every Poker Player’s Calendar
Working in the poker industry for nearly five years, I’ve been to more poker festivals than I can count.
Some live long in the memory. Others blur together and disappear pretty quickly once the bags are packed and the flight home is booked. Heading into Kings of Tallinn last year, I wasn’t quite sure what kind of experience it would be. What I didn’t expect was how much it would reignite my love for the game.
Like anyone who writes and talks about poker for a living, I’d started to feel a bit fatigued by it all. When your job and your favourite pastime overlap, burnout can creep in quietly. Kings of Tallinn turned out to be the antidote. It reminded me why I fell in love with poker in the first place, why I enjoy sitting at the table, and what this game has given me over the years.
That feeling is exactly what OlyBet’s Kings of Tallinn 2026 is hoping to deliver again this February. Running from February 6–15, Northern Europe’s biggest poker festival returns with a massive 74-event schedule at Olympic Park Casino in Tallinn, alongside 24/7 cash games and buy-ins to suit every bankroll.
At the heart of it all sits the €1,100 Main Event, once again carrying a €1,000,000 guarantee.
I was lucky enough to experience Kings of Tallinn firsthand in 2025, invited courtesy of OlyBet Poker to play the Main Event. I arrived a little unsure of what to expect and left completely sold. Here’s why Kings of Tallinn has become one of the most enjoyable poker festivals I’ve played, and why it deserves a spot on your calendar.
1. The Main Event Is a Really Enjoyable Tournament
The Kings of Tallinn Main Event was the first €1k buy-in I’d ever played. Before that, my biggest tournament had been a $600 WSOP event, so it initially felt like a step up.
Once I sat down, it was obvious the field was a proper mix and any nerves soon disappeared. Plenty of players had qualified through satellites, and there were lots of recreational players. If you're a pro, you'd never feel like you’re sitting down in the wrong room. There's plenty of edges to be found.
The structure helps a lot too. One-hour levels mean you don’t feel rushed into doing anything silly. I spent most of Day 1 hovering around starting stack, and even then, it never felt uncomfortable. You can be card-dead for long stretches and still stay in the tournament without panicking. You can get your moneys worth still even if the cards aren't as cooperating.
Thankfully I picked up some momentum late and booked my spot for Day 2, bagging close to three starting stacks by the end of the night, and still managed to get out at a reasonable hour.
2. You Might Play With Players You’ve Only Seen on TV
For the final few levels of my Day 1 flight, I had online poker legend and High Stakes Poker star Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies at my table. That’s one of those sentences that still feels a bit odd to write.
Kings of Tallinn also has a habit of attracting big names. Former KoT Main Event winner Juha Helppi was around, Martin Kabrhel was in the mix, and there were plenty of other familiar faces dotted around the room, such as Anton "WhatIfGod" Bergstrom.
It does add that extra bit of excitement when you glance around and realise you might get to play with someone you’ve watched for years.
3. Competitive, But Not Draining
Day 2 for me was all about the bubble, but I didn’t quite make it through, exiting around ten spots short of the €2k min-cash.
I’d built an above-average stack, but a few flips went the wrong way and suddenly I was all-in for my last two big blinds with pocket deuces… straight into aces.
The table draw wasn’t exactly friendly. Kaspars Butans, who busted me before going on to win the tournament, was on my right, and Pasi Laihinen, who finished third, was on my left.
Even so, it never felt miserable. This wasn’t one of those supposed, tense “euro grind” tables. There was plenty of table talk, a few beers going around, and a generally relaxed atmosphere. Even busting near the bubble, it was hard to stay annoyed for long because I’d actually enjoyed myself.
4. Tallinn Is a Great Place to Spend a Week
Tallinn does a lot of the heavy lifting without really trying.
It’s a beautiful city, easy to get around, and has just the right amount going on. If you want late nights and a bit of buzz after play, you’ll find it. If you’d rather take things slower, there’s great food, coffee, and plenty to explore during the day.
5. A Schedule That Lets You Play Your Way
The 2026 schedule is big: 74 events over 11 days.
There are obvious centrepieces like the €1,100 Main Event, the €555 Championship, and the €3,000 High Roller, but there’s also a steady stream of smaller events, turbos, and side tournaments running throughout the day.
You can fire big events, pick and choose spots, or just keep yourself busy without ever feeling forced into something. There’s always another option around the corner.
Kings of Tallinn 2026 Schedule
6. Mixed Games Without the Fear Factor
One thing Kings of Tallinn does exceptionally well is mixed games.
I’m a big believer that players should try other formats, but the usual response is: “Yeah, sounds fun… but I don’t want to burn a load of money learning.”
Here, the buy-ins make it an easy decision.
You’ve got affordable options like:
- €200 PLO5 / PLO5 Hi-Lo
- €200 PL Baducey / Badacey
- €200 PL Razz
- €350 8-Game
- €350 Dealer’s Choice
- €350 TORSE
It feels like a low-risk way to branch out, and the cost of tuition won't set you back too much either. My colleague Brad Whitehouse even managed to pick up a trophy there, and he might be the worst poker player I've ever seen!
7. Lots of Ways to Qualify (Including for Free)
Kings of Tallinn is also very easy to play into.
There are online satellites through OlyBet Poker, live satellites at Olympic Casino venues across the region, and plenty running on-site during the festival itself. Some of the early events even include freebuy mega-satellites, which is always a nice sentence to read.
If you don’t want to buy straight into a €1,100 Main Event, you don’t have to.
8. It’s Clear the People Running It Care
You can usually tell pretty quickly whether a festival is being run by people who genuinely care, and Kings of Tallinn falls firmly into that category.
Between Christer Larsson on the OlyBet side and Teresa Nousiainen running the tournament floor, everything felt organised, fair, and consistent. Questions were handled quickly, rulings were clear, and nothing felt rushed or improvised. It makes a big difference, especially if you're out there grinding everyday.
9. Poker, But With a Bit of Team Spirit
The OlyBet Team Challenge is one of those ideas that sounds small but ends up adding a lot to the week for players.
It’s free to enter, teams earn points for results across the festival, and for 2026 every event counts. You end up sweating friends, jumping into events you might otherwise skip, and forming little rivalries along the way.
At one point, high-roller Blaz Zerjav jumped into a low-stakes Razz event purely to chase points for his team, despite it clearly not being the most lucrative use of his time. That alone tells you everything you need to know about the vibe.
Last year’s top prize was an all-expenses-paid trip to an ACF Fiorentina football match, shared by the entire team.
10. A Player Party Worth Sticking Around For
The festival finishes with the OlyBet Player Party, and this is where Kings of Tallinn really leans into the social side.
People actually mingle. Players, staff, organizers, everyone’s in the same room, and it never felt awkward or forced. The food and drink flowed freely, which helped, but the atmosphere did a lot of the work on its own.
The live band was genuinely excellent, fronted by pop star Laura Põldvere, with a lineup of professional musicians that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a proper stage. The surprise appearance of tournament director Olivier Franceschi on bass only added to it.
By the time karaoke started, nobody was pretending they had an early start. The night wound down around 3 a.m., and it felt like a fitting end to a festival that never takes itself too seriously, but still does everything properly.
It was a solid 10/10 night and perfectly capped off a 10/10 poker festival.
