Ensure you have February 21 through March 2, 2025, free in your diaries because those are the dates the 2025 Kings of Tallinn festival takes place at the Olympic Park Casino and Hilton Tallinn in Estonia. The popular poker festival is celebrating its 10th birthday, having first run in February 2015, and OlyBet is planning to celebrate the occasion with a €1 million guaranteed Main Event.
The Kings of Tallinn Main Event first ran in February 2015, and Ranno Sootla outlasted 139 opponents and banked €37,730 for his €1,100 investment. The tournament's popularity has continued growing, with 268 players competing in February 2018, when Juha Helppi emerged victoriously, and a cool 674 entering in 2020. That year, Sweden's Karl Karlsson collected the €126,900 top prize, the largest payout in the festival's ten-year history.
More recently, in February 2024, a record-breaking crowd of 914 entries created a €859,160 prize pool, and Edgaras Kausinis, after a three-handed deal, got his hands on €120,910 of that princely sum.
To celebrate ten years of the Kings of Tallinn Main Event, OlyBet is placing a €1 million guarantee on the prize pool, meaning the €1,100 buy-in tournament's attendance will have to break this year's record.
Live satellites will become available before and during the 2025 Kings of Tallinn festival, and at flagship Olympic Casinos in Tallinn, Vilnius, Kaunas, and Riga, starting January 2025. Online satellites should also run on OlyBet if you live in a region where OlyBet is available.
| Year | Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 2015 | €1,100 | 140 | €137,200 | Ranno Sootla | €37,730 |
| Feb. 2016 | €1,100 | 245 | €240,100 | Johan Creutz | €52,200 |
| Feb. 2017 | €1,100 | 247 | €234,650 | Matias Knappinen | €45,007 |
| Feb. 2018 | €1,100 | 268 | €254,600 | Juha Helppi | €62,000 |
| Feb. 2019 | €1,100 | 375 | €356,250 | Vitalijs Zavorotnijs | €85,300 |
| Feb. 2020 | €1,100 | 674 | €640,300 | Karl Karlsson | €126,900 |
| Feb. 2021 | €1,100 | 298 | €280,120 | Claudio Di Giacomo | €58,440 |
| Feb. 2022 | €1,100 | 328 | €308,320 | Adam Kharman | €64,280 |
| Feb. 2023 | €1,100 | 716 | €673,040 | Piriit Parmasto | €97,400 |
| Feb. 2024 | €1,100 | 914 | €859,160 | Edgaras Kausinis | €120,910 |
Although the full 2025 Kings of Tallinn schedule is yet to be announced, our OlyBet friends have let us enjoy a sneak peek at some of the events and variants they will host. Over 60 events and satellites will adorn the schedule, including:
As mentioned, OlyBet is still figuring out the finer details of the 2025 Kings of Tallinn schedule. PokerNewswill bring all the details once they become publicly available.
Although No-Limit Hold'em features predominantly, PokerNews has learned that mixed games lover will be well-catered for. Expect to see 8-Game, H.O.R.S.E., various Stud formats, Dealer's Choice, Open Face Chinese, Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo, Soko Lo, and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball; the festival is going to be great.
Learn how to play mixed games with PokerNews
The Kings of Tallinn festival would not be complete without the ever-popular Team Competition. Team of up to four players are invited to enter for free. They earn points based on their finishing positions in qualifying events, with the top five points earners sharing the prize pool. That prize pool can and does grow significantly because it is funded by 2% of all eligible tournament buy-ins.
The 2025 edition of the Team Competition will have even more value thanks to OlyBet giving away extra prizes via daily prize draws and prizes given to the best-performing teams daily. If you don't have a team, the tournament directors will help find you suitable teammates when you arrive at the venue.
Stay tuned to PokerNewsto keep up-to-date with everything related to the upcoming 2025 Kings of Tallinn festival.
