Kings of Tallinn – or KoT, as it’s often abbreviated – is the popular reoccurring live poker event in Estonia’s beautiful capital. The first Kings of Tallinn was held in 2015 and since then the event has only kept on growing at rapid speed.
Olympic Park Casino and Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel has always acted as host for Kings of Tallinn, and February 23rd - March 3 2024, they will once again roll out the red carpet when the Kings of Tallinn poker festival celebrates its 10 year anniversary. The event has grown over the years and is arguably the most popular live poker stops on North European soil.
OlyBet and Olympic Casino are the masterminds behind Kings of Tallinn, launching the first event back in 2015, when a total of 140 players signed up for the Main Event. Estonian Ranno Sootla eventually won the event and earned himself a €37 330. With that, Kings of Tallinn was born!
Since then, the organizers have not hit the brake pedal and there are more and more people travelling to Estonia to enjoy some Tallinn poker. In collaboration with Olympic Casino, poker tournament director (and Kings of Tallinn founder) Teresa Nousiainen and her crew, OlyBet Poker are always finding new ways to innovate Kings of Tallinn. For example, Kings of Tallinn 2024 features a team competition concept where players earn points for their team when cashing any of the 50+ tournaments during the event.
During the first five years of Kings of Tallinn, the Main Event averaged around 250 participants. In 2020, things really took off when 674 players threw their names into the competition. This almost doubled the prize pool compared to the 2019 edition, which generated 268 entries. Kings of Tallinn 2020 became legendary not only because of how big the event was, but also for the dramatic Heads Up battle for the title. It was during this Heads Up when Swedens Johan Karlsson pulled off one of the sickest bluffs of all time against opponent Ermo Kosk, when he raised all in on the river with three-high. This saw Johan securing an overwhelming chip-lead and he eventually claimed the title.
Karlsson’s €126 900 still remains the biggest paycheck ever to be handed out for winning the Kings of Tallinn Main Event. Still, the 2023 Kings of Tallinn edition saw the tournament breaking new records in terms of the number of participants. 716 players registered in hopes of becoming the King/Queen of Tallinn, and eventually it was home player Priit Parmasto who emerged on top earning himself €673 040.
At this point, Kings of Tallinn has already become a very appreciated live poker tournament stop for some of the most well-renowned poker players that reside in northern Europe, for example Finnish poker legends Juha Helppi and Aki Pyysing.
Again, the Kings of Tallinn crew is a very innovative bunch of folks and the event just keeps improving. The Kings of Tallinn schedule has grown a lot over the years and does not only include a Main Event. The Kings of Tallinn 2024 schedule features more than 50 different tournaments with Buy-Ins ranging from €150 all the way up to €5 000, which is the Buy-In for the 6-handed Tallinn High Roller.
It is obvious that Kings of Tallinn 2024 strives to be an inclusive poker festival, and this becomes evident when looking at the tournament schedule. Mixed Games are very popular in Europe and if you’re looking for a poker tournament, the Tallinn Mixed Games adventure, Kings of Tallinn is the event for you. February 23rd-March 3rd, KoT players will be able to enjoy popular Mixed Games such as Sviten (Drawmaha), PLO 4, PLO 5, and Deuce to Seven Triple Draw.
However, the Main Event will be where the real king or queen of Tallinn is crowned. The tournament has a €1 100 Buy-In and three different Day 1 flights. The start stack is 30 000 and play on Day 1 will last eight 60 minute levels (apart from 1C which is a turbo with 30 minute levels). Players also have the opportunity to buy in straight into Day 2.
As you probably can tell, the KoT Main Event structure is quite beneficial. Considering Kings of Tallinn’s growing popularity, there are good chances the €500 000 GTD will be exceeded.
There are a lot of gems in the 2024 schedule. It’s common knowledge by now that mystery bounty tournaments has been one of the most popular poker formats during the last couple of years, a trend that OlyBet and Olympic Casino has picked up on. The €555 Mystery Bounty event will surely be one of the most exciting events.
The 2024 Kings of Tallinn schedule sets the bar for what tournaments players can expect when participating in Kings of Tallinn for years to come!
There are excellent opportunities to qualify for Kings of Tallinn through OlyBet Poker. Olybet is a part of GGPoker, so essentially players are partaking in GGPoker satellites. Until the start of the Kings of Tallinn 2024 Main Event, a minimum 100 seats will be distributed through the OlyBet online satellites.
Every Thursday and Sunday, seat-only-satellites are running on the online poker client for the €555 Kings of Tallinn Championship and the €1 100 Main Event. There’s also satellites running to other Kings of Tallinn tournaments on OlyBet Poker. Don’t miss out on your chance: qualify at GGPoker to Kings of Tallinn!
There are also live satellites running for Kings of Tallinn on all Olympic Casinos. These are located in Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn and Bratislava.
Kings of Tallinn is played on the second floor of Hilton Tallinn, and this is where the registration desk is. Here, players can buy in for various Kings of Tallinn events. Online satellites winners must also collect their tournament tickets from the registration desk. Before players can access the second floor and the registration desk, they must register at the bottom floor where the casino is. Valid ID is a requirement.
A couple of years ago, Olympic Casino partnered up with Luxon Pay to create an effortless buy-in experience for poker players. Luxon Pay Tallinn users can use utilize Luxon Pay in order to register for all Kings of Tallinn tournaments, and this is the preferred option.
Every day, players are required to fetch themselves a new wristband from the casino floor that is valid for that day. This is a must in order to access the second floor of the hotel where all Kings of Tallinn tournaments will be played.
Olympic Casino is, as previously mentioned, located at the bottom floor of Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel. The beautiful hotel is located about 10 minutes away from the nearest airport by car, and the view is astounding. Kings of Tallinn is played at the second floor of the hotel, while the casino bottom floor is a dedicated cash game area during the event. There’s also top-class spa facilities in the building, allowing poker players to relax after a hard day of grinding it out at the tables.
| Event | Winner | Payout | Total Prize Pool | Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kings of Tallinn 2023 |  Priit Parmasto | €97 400 | €673 040 | 716 |
| Kings of Tallinn 2022 |  Adam Kharman | €64 280 | €308 320 | 328 |
| Kings of Tallinn 2021 |  Claudio Di Giacomo | €58 440 | €280 120 | 298 |
| Kings of Tallinn 2020 |  Johan Karlsson | €126 900 | €640 300 | 674 |
| Kings of Tallinn 2019 |  Vitalijs Zavorotnijs | €85 300 | €356 250 | 375 |
| Kings of Tallinn 2018 |  Juha Helppi | €62 00 | €254 600 | 268 |
| Kings of Tallinn 2017 | Matias Knaapinen | €45 007 | €234 650 | 247 |
| Kings of Tallinn 2016 | Johan Creutz | €52 200 | €240 100 | 198 |
| Kings of Tallinn 2015 | Ranno Sootla | €37 330 | €137 200 | 140 |
