button in SafariThe Queens of Tallinn is the Festival That Keeps on Growing
The fourth edition of Queens of Tallinn set a new record for its Main Event, but the numbers only tell part of the story. In Tallinn, women are finding a place to compete, connect and, perhaps most importantly, keep playing poker.
There are poker tournaments, and then there are poker events that feel like something bigger. The fourth edition of Queens of Tallinn was certainly the latter as the event continues to grow.
For four days at Olympic Park Casino in Tallinn, women from across Europe and beyond came together to play poker, compete for trophies and prize money, and, perhaps most importantly, spend time in a room where everyone seemed to understand why they were there.
Women-only poker events under Olybet Poker are not new, but they are often treated as an addition to a much bigger festival. Queens of Tallinn has taken a different approach. It has its own identity, its own community and a schedule designed around the women who actually play the game.
And after four editions, the numbers are beginning to show just how much that matters.
A Festival That Keeps Growing
The inaugural Main Event in 2023 had a €350 buy-in and attracted 65 entries. The following year, the buy-in was €250 and 85 entries were recorded. In 2025, the tournament grew to 96 entries at €350.
This year, the buy-in increased to €555. Instead of shrinking, the field grew again.
A total of 108 entries produced a €50,220 prize pool, making it the biggest Main Event in Queens of Tallinn history and, according to the organizers, the largest women-only poker tournament ever held in Estonia.
Latvia's Agnese Barca ultimately became the fourth Queen of Tallinn, defeating Germany's Annika Abmayr heads-up to win €11,650 and the festival's now-iconic gold necklace.
2026 Queens of Tallinn Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agnese Barca | Latvia | € 11,650 |
| 2 | Annika Abmayr | Germany | € 8,465 |
| 3 | Indre Martoviciute-Kasten | Lithuania | € 8,855 |
| 4 | Saara Fatiha Benlamine | Finland | € 4,630 |
| 5 | Anne Bezdek | Finland | € 3,540 |
| 6 | Noelia Ivars Rico | Sweden | € 2,870 |
| 7 | Outi Reinilä | Finland | € 2,300 |
| 8 | Giedre Valgemäe | Estonia | € 1,860 |
| 9 | Celine Rolando | France | € 1,470 |
For Daiva Byrne, who has attended all four editions and is the founder of FLIP, Fantastic Ladies in Poker, the international growth is just as significant as the record field.
"I'm so happy to see that growth in the prize pool and in the players coming from different countries," Byrne said. "It's nice to see, you know, not only Baltics, but people traveling from outside the Baltics."
Players from Norway, Ireland, the UK, Germany and elsewhere made the trip to Tallinn this year. The festival is no longer drawing primarily from the local and Baltic poker scene. Women are increasingly traveling specifically to be part of it.
A Schedule Built for Different Players
The growth is not happening by accident.
Queens of Tallinn has developed a schedule that looks more like a full poker festival than a single women's tournament surrounded by a couple of side events.
The 2026 schedule featured deep stacks, progressive bounties, mixed games, freezeouts, PLO, and tournaments with buy-ins starting at just €80. There were also multiple Freebuy Satellites, giving players a route into the €555 Main Event without having to pay the full buy-in.
Byrne sees the variety of the schedule as one of the festival's biggest strengths. "I don't think there is a ladies-only festival in the world where you have so many different side events."
She also highlighted the satellite structure, particularly for players who may not yet have the bankroll or confidence to jump straight into a €555 tournament. "You can literally get your seat for free and practice your game."
For Byrne, that accessibility is part of what makes the festival work. She also credits Tournament Director Teresa Nousiainen with listening to players and adapting the schedule based on their feedback.
"Teresa is doing an amazing job in terms of promoting it and putting a lot of passion into it and growing the community," Byrne said. "She's always adjusting the schedule to kind of meet the needs of all the players."
Making Space for Women in Poker
Byrne has spent years working toward the same goal outside Tallinn.
She founded FLIP in 2017 after an early experience at a poker tournament in Birmingham, where she was struck by how few women were in the room.
"I walked into the casino, and literally it was 100 guys and only two of us girls playing, two or three, like just a handful of ladies," she recalled.
"I was like, I don't understand. This is weird. There's no reason why more women don't play poker."
FLIP has since grown to around 9,300 members, while Byrne continues to focus on increasing female participation both live and online.
Queens of Tallinn is tackling the same issue from a different direction. Rather than trying to convince women to enter an unfamiliar environment, it creates an event where female players are already the majority.
For Anca Eggenberger, that can make a meaningful difference.
Eggenberger has been playing poker since 2001, initially as a hobby, and has since become a more serious player. She arrived in Tallinn as the reigning WSOP Europe Ladies champion and still sees an important role for women-only events.
"It's more comfortable to play, and you can make friendships. And it's great for the beginning, I would say."
That does not mean the poker itself is taken any less seriously. Queens of Tallinn attracts experienced tournament players alongside recreational players and women who are still learning the live game.
Eggenberger is also part of Wicked Alliance, a group of female players built around poker, friendship and helping one another. "We do it also to have fun," she said. "And especially, we do it to get to know ladies and to help."
That idea runs through Queens of Tallinn as well, from the opening Meet and Greet to the Team Challenge and the tournaments themselves.
More Than One Way to Win
The Team Challenge adds another dimension to the festival.
Two percent of each tournament's prize pool goes toward the Team Challenge, with 60% awarded to the winning team and 40% to the runners-up.
This year, Swedish Fish, made up of Noelia Rico, Jenny Westerlund and Lisa Jadbäck, took the title. Westerlund also collected three podium finishes during the festival, while Rico reached the Main Event final table.
The festival's returning champions added another layer to the week. Marta Porter, Saara Benlamine and Giedre Valgemäe, the three previous Main Event winners, all returned to defend their titles. Benlamine and Valgemäe both reached the final table.
Then there was Barca.
Just over a year after taking up poker, the Latvian went on to win the biggest Main Event in Queens of Tallinn history.
Her victory is a fitting snapshot of what the festival has become. A relatively new player can arrive in Tallinn, sit alongside established names and leave as the Queen of Tallinn.
Why the Growth Matters
Women have always been able to play open poker tournaments. The point of a festival like Queens of Tallinn is not to suggest otherwise. It is to create another route into the game.
For an experienced player, that can mean having a festival worth traveling for. For someone newer to live poker, it can mean starting with an €80 tournament or a satellite rather than walking into a large open event where she may be one of very few women in the room.
And for the players who return year after year, it provides an opportunity to compete, build relationships and bring more women into the game.
Four editions in, the numbers suggest that approach is working.
The Main Event has grown from 65 entries to 108. The buy-in has increased, the field has become more international, and the schedule has continued to expand. But perhaps the most telling sign is what happens next.
The goal is not simply to fill the tables in Tallinn once a year. It is to make sure more women are sitting at poker tables long after the Queens of Tallinn necklaces have been handed out.
And if the fourth edition is any indication, that process is already well underway.
Images courtesy of Elena Kask
