In 2016, Estonia's Rauno Tahvonen commentated the final table for the Kings of Tallinn Main Event. Last year, he missed the event entirely and was dubbed "Estonian Jesus" after his first big live tournament final table appearance at the Unibet Open London.
This year, Tahvonen is hoping to make a bigger name for himself in his home country by winning the Kings of Tallinn Main Event where a victory would more than double his career live tournament poker earnings. He shared his festival is off to a slow start after firing a couple of bullets in the €550 NLHE side event yesterday and failing to bag chips for Day 2 which begins at 8 p.m. today.
Finnish poker superstar Juha Helppi, who has more than $7.1 million in live tournament cashes, has just taken his seat and is relaxing with an early massage.
Before the event started, he shared with Kings of Tallinn organizers that his plan in the event was "bum-hunting Ville Wahlbeck.”
Wahlbeck has yet to take his seat but is expected to join the action today and it will be an interesting dynamic if the duo are on the same table during the event.
The action began with the player under the gun raising to 300 before Rauno Tahvonen from one seat over three-bet to 900. Jaanus Veste in the next seat called and everyone else at the table folded.
Tahvonen though for a minute after the flop came before he fired out a bet for 800. Veste was the next to think for a minute before he raised the action to 2,200. Tahvonen went into the tank again before he eventually folded.
Veste showed the table he held for an overpair and Tahvonen gave a smile and looked relieved the damage wasn't worse.
Janar Kokk is also at the same table as this duo with all three players at around the starting stack.
The Kings of Tallinn features many unique events but one specifically designed for Feb. 14 may take the cake.
The Kings of Tallinn Event #16: €110 Valentine's Day Special takes place at 7 p.m. Players will start with 5,000 in chips with 15 minute blind levels and the action in no-limit hold'em.
So far this might sound a bit standard. However, the event lives up to its title with the queen of hearts being a wild card. This will create an interesting dynamic as a player having it in their hand will have a monster right away and whenever it hits the board it gives every player a little bit of something. The game will also alter how players look at ranging their opponents and the timing of firing out bluffs.
Kings of Tallinn organizers have also promised a special prize added to the first place prize for the winner of this unique Valentine's Day themed event.
All non-satellite tournaments at the Kings of Tallinn award points for a team leaderboard. These tournaments each have two percent removed from the prize pool. Last year the winning team won around €16,000.
Kings of Tallinn Tournament co-founder Teresa Nousiainen just made an announcement for players to see her during the first break if they need help forming a team.
Players are now on their first 15-minute break of the day. During the break, PokerNews plans to interview Rauno Tahvonen on Facebook Live about his experiences at the Kings of Tallinn.
Registration for the Main Event keeps growing and is now at 163 entrants. This figure will continue to grow with late-registration open until the beginning of Day 2.
Players have returned from break and after a short speech from the festival's tournament director Teresa Nousiainen, the dealers were instructed to resume action with blinds at 75/150.
before he fired out a bet for 800. Veste was the next to think for a minute before he raised the action to 2,200. Tahvonen went into the tank again before he eventually folded.
for an overpair and Tahvonen gave a smile and looked relieved the damage wasn't worse.
