Day 1a of the Coolbet Open Main Event hosted by Olympic Park Casino and Hilton Tallinn Park was a huge success with 182 entrants ponying up the €550 buy-in.
This represents a larger turnout than the record 130 entrants that participated in Day 1a of the last Coolbet Open in May. Tomorrow's action is expected to be much bigger for the second and final opening flight with many players just getting to town today and most of the online qualifiers yet to join the action.
Players kicked off today's deep-stacked action with 30,000 in chips and competed for ten blinds levels of 45 minutes each. Unlimited reentries remained open throughout the day and will stay open until the end of the first blind level on Friday's Day 2.
A total of 63 players survived the first of two opening flights with Finland's Mikko Tiitinen in the chip lead with 245,000 in chips followed by Estonia's Kaido Koorits in second place for 213,500.
Closely behind was defending Coolbet Open Main Event champion Mathias Siljander from Finland with a stack of 195,500. PokerNews interviewed Siljander at the end of Level 6 when he had just 18,000 in chips. He mentioned he wanted to bag a big stack and went on a tear during the next blind level to get most of the chips he wound up bagging.
Also bagging big stacks were Sweden's Vishal Joshi (fourth - 182,200) and Norway's Lise Hoyforslett (fifth - 178,000).
Day 1b of the Main Event will kick off at 12 p.m. local time tomorrow with many new players and many of the same players from today that were unable to survive.
As was the case today, the PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the floor to provide complete coverage tomorrow and beyond until a winner is declared.
*Lead image courtesy of Natalie Black / Coolbet Open.
Juha Helppi was just eliminated from the tournament and shared about his demise which was later confirmed by his opponent Mathias Siljander.
Siljander opened from early position and Helppi defended from the big blind. Helppi check-called bets from his opponent after the came on the flop and after the followed on the turn. Helppi then jammed the remainder of his chips after the paired the board on the river and was called.
Helppi turned over for trips but had kicker issues and was eliminated at least for now after the Siljander turned over .
Helppi shared he won't reenter today but expects to get back into the action during tomorrow's Day 1b.
Kaido Kooritz had his 35,000 in chips in the middle with against Mathias Siljander with , who has built his stack up during the last blind level.
The flop put Kooritz ahead on the flip with the on the turn being another safe card.
"Not a ten!" shouted Kooritz as this card would give both players a straight, although Siljander with a better broadway straight.
As fate would have it, the came on the river and Kooritz was felted. The entire table including Kooritz had a good laugh and Siljander became one of the chip leaders in the room with a stack of around 120,000 in chips.
A player opened for 1,000 from early position. Joel Lindpere three-bet to 3,200 from the button before Kristian Zitting four-bet jammed for a huge stack covering both players. The early position opener folded and Lindpere called.
Kristian Zitting:
Joel Lindpere:
Lindpere was in a flip situation with his tournament life on the line. The flop gave Lindpere a decent advantage in the hand. He doubled up after the came on the turn followed by the on the river to give him a straight.
The Day 1a field has already grown to 130 entrants with the day not even halfway over. This matches the amount of entrants Day 1a attracted during the last Coolbet Open Main Event in May.
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Welcome to the Coolbet Open €550 Main Event at Olympic Park Casino and Hilton Park Hotel on Nov. 13-16.
As has been the case in the past, players are flocking in from all around Europe, especially from Scandinavian and Baltic countries with many already in the house last night for the Coolbet €220 WarmUp Event and to play in satellites for today's Main Event.
The first of the two opening days of the Main Event kicks off today at 12 p.m. EET. The tournament boasts an amazing structure with players kicking off the action with 30,000 in chips and blinds increasing every 45 minutes.
Coolbet Open Main Event Day 1a Blind Structure
Level
Small Blind
Big Blind
Big Blind Ante
1
25
50
2
50
100
3
75
150
4
100
200
200
5
150
300
300
6
200
400
400
7
300
600
600
8
400
800
800
9
500
1,000
1,000
10
600
1,200
1,200
Players are scheduled to play ten blind levels today and can re-enter an unlimited amount of times up until the end of the first blind level of Day 2 on Nov. 15. Those advancing to Day 2 or buying in before the late-registration period closes. Players that survive the second day will compete for the title in one final day on Nov. 16.
This is the fourth-ever Coolbet Poker festival and the second this year. The inaugural festival took place in May 2018 and was a huge success both in terms of how many players attended and the fun atmosphere surrounding the event. Finland's Sebastian Wahl outlasted a field of 425 entrants to win the inaugural Coolbet Open Main Event for €50,100.
The Main Event then set an Estonian record for the largest field in a €550 Main Event during its second edition in October 2018 when 587 entrants generated a €285,665 prize pool. Norway's Mats Albertsen won the event for €60,510 after agreeing to a heads-up deal with country-mate Nicolai Aubert (second - €47,190). Finland's Mathias Siljander was also on the podium to collect the third-place prize of €26,700.
The third Coolbet Open Main Event in May 2019 attracted 531 entrants to generate a €252,685 prize pool. Albertsen had a chance to win back-to-back Main Events but bowed out in third place for €25,100. He instead swapped places with Siljander who put on a commanding performance to win the trophy and the €60,100 top prize.
Coolbet Open Schedule
Another big event kicks off today with the two-day €330 Coolbet Championship starting at 9 p.m. EET. The schedule was organized in a way to allow surviving Main Event players to join in on the action.
Here is a look at the entire schedule of the Coolbet Open:
Date
Time (EEST)
Event #
Event
Buy-in
Nov. 12
5 p.m.
1
Freebuy Satellite to Coolbet Opening Event (seven seats gtd.)