Jae Kim Dominates Field to Lead No Filter Nordic & Baltic Championship Open Main Event
After thirteen 40-minute levels of play here in Day 2 at Olympic Park Casino, Tallinn, the field in the €1,100 buy-in No Filter Nordic & Baltic Championship Open Main Event has been reduced to the final 16 players, all hunting the trophy and huge €100,000 first-place prize money.
Jae Kim of Norway is in pole position for the final day, after he ran riot in the final session of Day 2, knocking out four opponents after the three-table redraw.
Kim bagged a huge stack of 4,365,000, miles ahead of his closest challengers, Mikael Haapaniemi (1,640,000) and Otto Kiiskinen (1,575,000), both of Finland.
Kim would appear to have already secured a career-best score, while Haapaniemi is a regular at Olympic Park Casino, having racked up no fewer than 20 cashes at the venue among total recorded results of $144,723, including a win in a progressive bounty event at the inaugural No Filter Poker Series event in June.
Kiiskinen has also already secured a career-best cash, and is chasing his first recorded live tournament victory. (All figures courtesy of The Hendon Mob).
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jae Kim | Norway | 4,365,000 | 218 |
| 2 | Mikael Haapaniemi | Finland | 1,640,000 | 82 |
| 3 | Otto Kiiskinen | Finland | 1,575,000 | 79 |
| 4 | Joel Torres Jimenez | Spain | 1,500,000 | 75 |
| 5 | Guillermo Gordo | Spain | 1,495,000 | 75 |
| 6 | Kai Lehto | Finland | 930,000 | 47 |
| 7 | Tomas Graham | New Zealand | 880,000 | 44 |
| 8 | Ville Mesiranta | Finland | 835,000 | 42 |
| 9 | Jamil Shamoun | Sweden | 820,000 | 41 |
| 10 | Krisjanis Stankevics | Latvia | 765,000 | 38 |
Plenty of talented players remain in the field ready to strike, with Spanish pair Joel Torres Jimenez (1,500,000) and Guillermo Gordo (1,490,000) just behind the top three, while Daniyel Destici of Sweden (350,000) brings up the rear.
There are also two Kings of Tallinn Main Event winners still standing, 2023 winner Kai Lehto of Finland (930,000), and 2020 champion Johan Karlsson of Sweden (540,000).
Day 2 Action
A total of 73 registrations in Day 2 brought the total field to 358 entrants, creating a €340,100 prize pool, with 47 places to be paid and a minimum cash good for €2,000.
The first-place prize from the prize pool was €75,000, and in line with the guarantee, Olybet topped that up by €25,000 to make a six-figure first-place prize.
The action was fast and furious at the start of the day, and numerous big names fell by the wayside, including current WSOP Main Event champion Michael Mizrachi, who fell victim to a two-outer, and Scotty Nguyen.
Haapaniemi led the way at the first break, and the eliminations kept coming when the players returned, with Legends of the Game event winner Mikko Ylamaki, Tommi Lankinen and Jon Vallinas Santos among those to bust before the money.
The players went on dinner break on the stone bubble, and it was Linda Lahdenpää who led the way at that point, turning a set against an opponent's rockets in the last hand before the break to storm to the top of the standings.
The bubble was relatively short, and it was short-stack Andrei Silencov who was the unfortunate player to depart empty-handed, after he lost a flip against Elias Suhonen. Kiiskinen got moving at this stage, finding a two-outer to bust Kim Hjellvik, while Gordo flopped the joint to crack Baptiste Caim shortly after.
Start of day chip leader Ranno Sootla, the 2015 Kings of Tallinn Main Event winner, was last to exit before the three-table redraw, and it was at this point that Kim began to run amok.
First, Kim busted Martin Keskkula's pocket jacks with a single overcard after four-bet jamming, and proceeded to win a flip to bust Peeter Talviste. Kim was on the right end of another flip to finish Lahdenpää, and he proceeded to dodge the numerous outs of Antti Maki-Franti to send him to the rail in a monster pot.
Gordo then claimed the scalps of Jose Koistinen, after turning a straight, and Juha Helppi, after winning a flip, to bring play to a close.
All players have secured a minimum payday of €4,100, and the remaining payouts are listed below.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €100,000 | 8 | €8,750 |
| 2 | €45,900 | 9 | €7,450 |
| 3 | €29,750 | 10-11 | €6,350 |
| 4 | €20,350 | 12-13 | €5,450 |
| 5 | €15,350 | 14-15 | €4,650 |
| 6 | €12,450 | 16 | €4,100 |
| 7 | €10,250 |
The players will return at noon on October 22 for the final day to do battle for the trophy, with six minutes left in Level 23 and blinds at 10,000/20,000, with a 20,000 big blind ante.
Play will continue until a winner is crowned, with the final day set to be streamed with a 30-minute delay on OlyBet Poker's YouTube channel. Our coverage will be similarly delayed to sync with the stream.
Be sure to stick with us at PokerNews as we see who can get their hands on the title and juicy six-figure first-place prize.