The 2025 Coolbet Open €550 Main Event kicked off with Day 1a today, and a crowd of 157 entries made their way to the Chesterfield Poker Club in Tallinn. At the end of the nine levels of play, Norwegian player Edd-Christian Gerhardsen had gathered the most chips of the 62 survivors, bagging 247,000, more than eight times the starting stack of 30,000 and 165 big blinds at the start of Day 2.
As always with the Coolbet Open, the poker room had a friendly and fun atmosphere throughout the day. Aside from collecting chips, Gerhardsen was seen laughing and bantering with the other players at his table, among whom was hometown hero Jaanus Kippel, who ended the day as second in chips with 220,000.
Finland's Jonny Raninen had to reenter early, but grinded his way to the podium as he ended with 217,000, scoring a double knock-out along the way. Frenchman Anthony Lesoismier-Geniaux needed three bullets before he started to pick up steam, eventually ending with 216,500. Sweden's best performer was Tomas Kaarvall with 164,500, while Iceland's Runar Runarsson also made the international top ten with a stack of 130,500.
End of Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edd-Christian Gerhardsen | Norway | 247,000 | 165 |
| 2 | Jaanus Kippel | Estonia | 220,000 | 147 |
| 3 | Jonny Raninen | Finland | 217,000 | 145 |
| 4 | Anthony Lesoismier-Geniaux | France | 216,500 | 144 |
| 5 | Andre Sorm | Estonia | 175,000 | 117 |
| 6 | Tomas Kaarvall | Sweden | 164,500 | 110 |
| 7 | Maksim Belomestnoi | Estonia | 137,500 | 92 |
| 8 | Isabelle Winther | Norway | 137,500 | 92 |
| 9 | Runar Runarsson | Iceland | 130,500 | 87 |
| 10 | Markus Markusson | Norway | 130,000 | 87 |
Twitch streamer Ylva "Jevakim" Thorsrud also made it through to Day 2, increasing her stack to 40,500. Meanwhile, Diego Rodriguez Cantillana (32,000) was the only survivor of a small Chilean delegation, who traveled halfway across the world to travel the Coolbet Open in Tallinn.
Last year's champion Anders Bjorkheim was less fortunate and booked an early exit after shoving into a flush. 2022 Coolbet Open winner Kaido Mikk also departed before the day's end, but they and every other interested player can try again as Day 1b, the second and final starting flight, will take place Thursday, August 14.
Day 1b will start at noon local time and follow the same structure as Day 1a, meaning nine levels of 45 minutes are in the cards, with a 15-minute break planned after Level 3 and Level 6. Those who are unsuccessful on Day 1b still have more opportunities to become a Coolbet Open champion, as late registration and unlimited reentries will be possible until the conclusion of the first level of Day 2.
A bumper crowd is expected for Day 1b, so make sure to tune back in to PokerNews to not miss anything from the 2025 Coolbet Open Main Event.
