Coolbet Ambassador Joel Lindpere and Coolbet COO Anders Karlsen are among the early entrants in the field.
Lindpere is better known as Estonia's most famous footballer than for his hobby as a poker player. Before he retired he not only was a prolific player on the national team but played professionally in Europe and the United States including for the New York Red Bulls and Chicago Fire.
Meanwhile, Karlsen has found success before at the Coolbet Open with the Norwegian taking 23rd place in the inaugural Main Event last year for €1,550.
Welcome to the 2018 Coolbet Open €550 Main Event at Olympic Park Casino and Hilton Park Hotel on Oct. 17-20.
The festival is expected to attract players 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 1 p.m. EEST. 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
Players are scheduled to play nine 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 May 10. Those advancing to Day 2 or buying in before the late-registration period closes will play in an even deeper structure of 60-minute blind levels. Players that survive the second day will compete for the title in one final day on May 11.
This is the third-ever Coolbet Poker festival. 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 with Finland's Sebastian Wahl outlasting a field of 425 entrants in the Main Event to win the top prize of €50,100 ($60,267).
The event was even bigger for its second edition in October, with the 589 entrants and the €285,665 prize pool smashing a casino record for the most entrants in an international poker event. Norway's Mats Albertsen shipped the event for a massive top prize €60,510 after agreeing to a heads-up deal with countrymate Nicolai Aubert.
In addition to the Main Event, there are a whopping 30 side events on the schedule to complement the Main Event giving something for everyone. Today's action includes the opening day of the two-day Coolbet €330 NLHE Deepstack at 9 p.m. and the Coolbet Open €60 Wednesday Turbo at 11 p.m. along with a pair of satellites.
Coolbet Open Schedule
Date
Time (EEST)
Event #
Event
Buy-in
May 7
5 p.m.
1
Freebuy Satellite to Coolbet Opening Event (seven seats gtd.)