€1,100 Main Event
Day 1 Started
2018 OlyBet Kings of Tallinn
€1,100 Main Event
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2018 OlyBet Kings of Tallinn
Buy-in
€1,100
Prize Pool
€254,600
Entries
268
Level
28
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
10,000
Welcome to Day 1 of the 2018 Kings of Tallinn Main Event
The Kings of Tallinn at Olympic Park Casino is the biggest live poker tournament festival in the Baltics and Nordics of the year. It has grown each year since its inception in 2015 with this year's edition featuring 46 action-packed events from Feb. 12-18.
The showcase of the festival, the Kings of Tallinn €1,100 Main Event, kicks off the first of its five days of action today at 12 p.m. Some of the biggest names in poker, especially from Finland, are expected to be part of today's action including Patrik Antonius, Jani Vilmunen, Juha Helppi, Ville Wahlbeck and Theo Jorgensen.
The Main Event boasts an amazing structure with players kicking off the action with 30,000 in chips and blinds increasing every 60 minutes. Players are scheduled to play seven blind levels today and can re-enter an unlimited amount of times up until the start of Day 2.
Players bagging chips after Day 1 will compete for four more days on Feb. 15-18 until a winner is crowned. Last year, Finland's Matias Knaapinen banked €45,007 and the coveted trophy after agreeing to a three-way deal with Estonia's Roland Luik (second place - €46,667) and Finland's Kasper Mellanen (third place - €36,016).
Kings of Tallinn Main Event Day 1 Blind Structure
| Level | Small blind | Big blind | Ante |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | 50 | |
| 2 | 50 | 100 | |
| 3 | 75 | 150 | |
| 4 | 100 | 200 | 25 |
| 5 | 150 | 300 | 25 |
| 6 | 200 | 400 | 50 |
| 7 | 300 | 600 | 75 |
Stay tuned as The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor to provide all the action until a champion is crowned.
Crowd Gathers for One Chip Flips
A few dozen players have entered the tournament area in hopes of winning an entry into the Kings of Tallinn Main Event for just €10. Players are seated at 10-max tables and are all-in preflop. The winner of hand receives a ticket to the next round valued at €100.
A little while later, all of the players that either pony up €100 or won tickets in the previous round, will flip once again. This time the winner will walk away with a ticket valued at €1,100 to the Kings of Tallinn Main Event.
Robert Kallikorm Wins the Flip
Estonia's Robert Kallikorm can now play for his first-ever Kings of Tallinn cash after he turned €10 into a Main Event seat in just a few minutes time by winning back-to-back flips. While all flips require luck,
Kallikorm, holding 
seemed unlikely to win after the flop required him to hit a pair of runners with one heart on the board. However, two more hearts came on the turn and river to give him the best hand and will now get a chance to see if he can turn €10 into a five-figure payday.
Players Filing In
Players are beginning to take their seats. The tournament director informed estimates that the tournament will begin at around 12:15 p.m. if not earlier.
Level: 1
Blinds: 25/50
Ante: 0
Shuffle Up and Deal
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
Dealers have been instructed to shuffle up and deal if they have at least three players at the table. The field currently stands at 83 players, however, this will grow in a big way with many players sharing last night they planned to late-enter the tournament.
Stacks are super deep to start the tournament with players kicking off the action with 30,000 in chips and blinds at 25/50.
Update Your Own Chip Count Using the PokerNews My Stack App!
Level 2
: 50/100, 0 ante
PokerNews has activated the MyStack App for this event, allowing you to directly adjust your chip counts in our live reporting blog using your iPhone or Android phone.
You can download the app for iPhone or Android now to get started. Then, create a new PokerNews account or update your current one to start updating your status immediately. Your followers can see all the live action that you're involved in.
Click here to download the My Stack app for iPhone, or click here to download the My Stack app for Android.
Aki Pyysing and Tero Kilkanen in the Field
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
The field has slightly grown in the first few minutes to nearly 100 players. Among the players in their seats are Pokeritieto co-founders Aki Taisto Olavi Pyyssing and Tero Petteri Kilkanen.
Other players getting involved in early action include Janar Kokk, Mati Pern and Veli-Pekka Alakorva.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
Veli-Pekka Alakorva Fires Bullet #2
Level 1
: 25/50, 0 ante
Veli-Pekka Alakorva has the honor of being the first player eliminated after scattering his chips around the table to a variety of his opponents.
The Finn opted the re-enter and his second bullet thus far is going a bit better and just won his biggest pot of the day.
Alakorva started the hand with a little more than a starting stack. With a pile of chips already in the pot, Alakorva check-called a bet of 1,000 from his opponent on a 
flop.
He turned up the gas and check-raised from 1,500 to 4,000 when the 
appeared on the turn. Alakorva's opponent thought about it for a minute before he called.
Alakorva then fired out for 8,000 after the 
completed the board on the river. His opponent went into the tank for about four minutes and seemed to be frustrated by the bet. After a little mumbling, Alakorva's opponent folded.
Alakorva then showed the table he didn't bet with air and turned over the 
for all players to see.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
38,000 | 8,000 |