Day 1b is down to the final three hands of the day. The Day 1b surviving players will soon bag their stacks. We will share the end-of-the-day chip counts in an hour or less along with a short recap of the day.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 11: 800/1,600 (1,600)
Entries: 44/105

Estonian poker legend Ranno Sootla appears to be the chip leader with about 220,000 in chips. He just eliminated a player with the nickname "Zarev" as follows.

Zarev opened for 3,200. Sootla jammed his massive stack and asked Zarev to call. Zarev obliged and turned over ace-queen and was in a race for his tournament life against sevens. The board was all blanks for Zarev and he was eliminated late on Day 1b.

"I can't believe he called with only one pair," Zarev joked after the hand.

A few moments later, Sootla's friend came by with a burger.

"Burger bounty!" we said as we are friendly with both Sootla and Zarev. 

Sootla laughed before repeating: "burger bounty!"

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 11: 800/1,600 (1,600)
Entries: 45/105

As we were watching a few hands unfold, Masse Mirza asked us to "write this" in back-to-back hands with a smile and we are happy to oblige.

Masse Mirza opened for 5,000 from the button. Linus Lauermann three-bet jammed for more than a starting stack. Mirza checked his cards again before he folded.

"Write about this," Mirza said while flashing the . I had fours, which was a hand we witnessed him with earlier today.

Mirza was back at it again the next hand with an open for 4,000 from the button Lauermann three-bet to 10,000 from the small blind. Mirza jammed and a short while later his opponent folded.

"Write about this," Mirza said again.

Normally we don't write about hands during opening days when there is no showdown but we have no shame as he promised to read the blog if we posted.

Day 1b has advanced to its final blind level of the day. Players will bag and tag chips in about 40 minutes.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 48/105

Igor Pihela Sr. was cruising along on his seventh bullet in this event but more recently he was below a starting stack.

Priit Brikker opened for 2,500 from the button. Pihela three-bet to 7,500 from the big blind and Brikker called.

Pihela fired out for 5,500 on the flop. Brikker called and both players checked the turn. Pihela then jammed for more than the 43,000 Brikker had behind after the river completed the board.

Brikker went into the tank for several minutes before he found a hero-call. Pihela reluctantly turned over for a bluff which was picked off lightly by Brikker with .

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries: 50/104

Markku Koplimaa wasn't able to get much going today and just lost his second bullet on a pair of bad beats to Marko Keskel.

Keskel explained in the first hand, Keskel check-jammed with eights on a jack-nine-seven flop and was up against Koplimaa's top pair with queen-jack. A ten came on the turn to improve Keskel to a straight and Koplimaa's stack was down to just a handful of big blinds.

Shortly after, Koplimaa got it in good with ace-king against Keskel's ace-five. Keskel eventually improved to a wheel and Koplimaa has yet to re-enter today for a third time.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 10: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 52/104

We caught up with a couple of the players that used to be in the Day 1b field of the €555 Championship.

We first chatted with Jimmy Dewerdt who shared the following hand:

A player opened for min-raise before Dewerdt three-bet to seven big blinds from the big blind. Dewerdt open-jammed for about 30 big blinds after the came on the flop. his opponent called and Dewerdt was in trouble with his dominated by his opponent's . No miracle came the rest of the way and Dewerdt shared that he plans to get back into the event tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Vytautas Kacerauskas is not coming back from the break. He shared with us a video of the hand along with a brief recap. A player min-raised from under the gun. Three players called including Kacerauskas from the big blind.

Kacerauskas checked the flop. The original opener bet 2,500. Two players folded before Kacerauskas jammed for 15,000. His opponent called and the cards were turned over.

Vytautas Kacerauskas:
Opponent:

Neither the turn nor the river saved the day for Kacerauskas and he has also opted not to re-enter this late in the day.

Day 1b is on its final break of the day. The action will continue for two more blind levels after the break before surviving players bag their stacks into Tuesday's Day 2.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 56/103

Bartosz Mielczarek jammed the button for less than 20 big blinds. Igor Pihela Sr., who built up a stack at least once before, is now on his fourth bullet of the day, called for slightly more.

Bartosz Mielczarek:
Igor Pihela Sr.:

It was looking like Pihela was going to head out of the Day 1b field for the fourth time today and for the seventh time overall after also firing three bullets during yesterday's Day 1a.

Mielczarek remained ahead after the flop and the turn. But Pihela nailed his two outer to improve to a set and snag his opponent's stack after the spiked the river to complete the hand.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 9: 500/1,000 (1,000)
Entries: 60/101

Magnus Pukk open-jammed for about 20 big blinds from under the gun. Risto Pärnat paused for a moment before calling from the small blind.

Magnus Pukk:
Risto Pärnat:

Pukk was ahead on the flip after the flop but fell far behind after the turn. His two outer didn't come with the river completing the board and the dealer awarded Pärnat the pot with Pukk still able to re-enter if he so chooses.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 61/100

The Day 1b field has just grown to 100 entries with Victor Prior Fernandez Amat appearing to be in the chip lead.

We asked Amat if there were any memorable hands, but before he could respond a few others at the table including Masse Mirza implied that he won tons of big hands.

"He won eight big hands," Mirza said with a smile.

Amat went on to explain that he won a massive pot with a flush with three others along for a ride and also won a big pot when his ace-queen held against ace-ten.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 64/98

While reporting the previous hand involving Lithuania's Andrius Bielskis, we noticed another Lithuanian leaving his seat and heading to the rail in Vygerdas Jonikas.

Jonikas shared he had some bad luck on his first bullet after getting his ace-queen in good against ace-jack. He explained the board was clean until a jack spiked the river.

He was still in good spirits and immediately re-entered the action.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 8: 400/800 (800)
Entries: 64/98

Stanislav Smeljov checked with the on the board after the turn with nearly 20,000 in the pot. Priit Oja fired out for 12,000 before Andrius Bielskis jammed for 20,400. Smeljov quickly folded before Oja just as quickly called.

Andrius Bielskis:
Priit Oja:

Oja seemed less than thrilled this his top pair was up against Bielskis' two pair and slammed the table lightly once. He slammed the table slightly harder the second time after the blank river completed the board.

€250 PLO/PLO5 Round of Each
Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 36/37

The €250 PLO/PLO5 Round of Each has kicked off. It has literally just started but a player is already on the rail after Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk eliminated Iiro Kettunen.

Kettunen is already back in the field alongside many others including Lithuanian mixed-game hero Danius Antanaitis, Anu Lilja, Risto Pönniö, and Jari Porkka.

We noticed both Dmitrijs Prohorovs and Onni Huttunen also in the field. This means it is unlikely we will see them back in action in the Day 1b field of the €555 Championship after earlier losing their stacks.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 66/97

Markku Koplimaa bet 5,800 into a pot of slightly more with the on the board after the turn. Kent Wulff effectively jammed with a bet more than covering the 22,100 Koplimaa had in his stack before his bet.

Koplimaa tanked for a couple of minutes before he began chatting with Wulff.

"Do you have a good hand?" Koplimaa asked.

Wulff appeared to not hear the question so Koplimaa asked the same thing a second time.

"I'll show you it if you call," Wulff eventually responded.

Koplimaa and others at the table laughed and less than a minute later, Koplimaa called.

Markku Koplimaa:
Kent Wulff:

"Nice hand," Wulff said to Koplimaa after the river completed the board. Wulff still appeared to be in good spirits after the hand and perhaps his decent stack had something to do with it.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 66/97

Andrej Michailov and Martynas Racinskas both checked with about 15,000 in the pot and the on the board after the turn. Michailov checked again after the river completed the board. Racinskas went into the tank for a minute before he fired out for 13,000. Michailov then tanked for about two minutes before he called.

Racinskas turned over . His ace-kicker to the board wasn't good as Michailov won the hand against his Lithuanian countrymate with a hero call after turning over .

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 7: 300/600 (600)
Entries: 67/95

Kent Wulff was on top of the Day 1b field at the second break. Here is a look at some of the bigger stacks around the room:

Players are on a 15-minute break. Blinds will increase to 300/600 with a big blind ante of 600.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 68/91

Linus Lauermann opened from middle position before Edgars Beizaks jammed his short stack of 6,800 from the small blind. Onni Huttunen came in over the top for about 8,300 big blind and Lauermann tanked for a bit. Eventually, Lauermann folded but not before he showed .

Edgars Beizaks:
Onni Huttunen:

Beizaks won the flip to double his stack and leave Huttunen on fumes after his jack paired up on the board.

While the hand ended in a coin flip, Beizaks seemed to more appreciate the move by Lauermann.

"He opened into two maniacs," said Beizaks. "And we were both short stacks!"

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 6: 200/500 (500)
Entries: 67/89

Igor Pihela Sr. bet 3,500 into a pot of slightly more with the on the board after the turn. Ville Laasanen raised to 8,500. Pihela jacked it up to 18,500. Laasanen jammed for 25,300 and Pihela snap-called.

Ville Laasanen:
Igor Pihela Sr.:

Pihela was slow to show his hand but that is often the case for the Estonian whether he is ahead or behind. Unfortunately, this time it was a massive cooler for Pihela as despite flopping a set he was drawing to a single out on the river.

No miracle came for Pihela, while Laasanen got to breath a sigh of relief, with the river pairing the board for Laasenen to double through Pihela with a better full house.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 66/86

Arto Lehtonen three-bet jammed for 12,500 from the button. Kaspars Mallons paused from a moment before he called from the cutoff.

Arto Lehtonen:
Kaspars Mallons:

Both players failed to connect their hands on the runout. Lehtonen's queen kicker came into play to win the hand and double his stack.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 65/83

Christian Hoffman and Eeti Löyttyniemi both checked with exactly 7,000 in the pot after the turn with the on the board before the completed the board on the river.

Hoffman checked again. Löyttyniemi fired out for 4,000 and Hoffman snap-called. Löyttyniemi turned over for an attempt to steal the pot after missing his draws and Hoffman was awarded the pot after he turned over for two pair.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 5: 200/400 (400)
Entries: 65/82

Matti Salminen jammed for 19,400 into a pot of slightly more with the on the board after the turn.

Brandon Mifsud went into the tank for more than a minute before flicking in a couple of chips to call.

Matti Salminen:
Brandon Mifsud:

Salminen only needed to sweat two outs on the river and doubled up after a blank river completed the board .

One of the fun aspects of the Kings of Tallinn is the Team Challenge. It is absolutely free to register a team and the contest is funded with 2% of the prize pool from each qualifying event. This always creates rails even for side events with teammates cheering each other to victory.

Currently, Team Re-Entries, consisting of WSOP Europe bracelet winner Espen Sandvik, Ronnie Albrigtsen, Sondre Stormyr, and Edgars Beizaks, is on top of the leaderboard after the first two days. Sandvik won the €250 NLH Knockout last night for the highest single score thus far. This team is no stranger to success as they have won the Team Challenge before with the exact same line-up.

Just behind Team Re-Entries is the Estonian team Kunnid. This team is stacked with Markku Koplimaa, Tarmo Tammel, Alan Arjut, and Marius Morel leading the way. Morel has contributed the most after winning last night's €250 PLO affair.

Head to the Kings of Tallinn Team Standings page for the fully updated results.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 66/78

Sondre Stormyr opened from under the gun. Stanislav Smeljov three-bet to 2,200 from the cutoff before Priit Oja four-bet to 3,600 from the button. Stormyr folded and Smeljov called to see the flop.

Smeljov check-called a bet of 6,500 by Oja on the flop before both players checked the turn. The river could have completed some draws if players were on them. Smeljov bet just 500 and Oja snap-called. Smeljov turned over the for two overcards. 

Meanwhile, Oja was ahead the entire way and turned over the to win the hand.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 4: 100/300 (300)
Entries: 63/72

Andrey Koks opened for 600 from the hijack. Bartosz Mielczarek three-bet to 2,100 from the small blind. Estonian poker beast Markku Koplimaa paused for about 30 seconds before he four-bet to 5,400 from the big blind. Koks folded and Mielczarek tanked for less than a minute before he called.

Mielczarek check-called bets of 2,700 on the flop and for 5,500 on the turn. The completed the board on the river and Mielczarek checked again. Koplimaa paused for about a minute before he jammed for more than 10,000. Mielczarek snap-called and what a cooler it was for Koplimaa.

Koplimaa turned over for a turned set of queens. He lost to the nuts with Mielczarek rivering a better set with .

"Oh wow," said Koplimaa in shock as he got up from the table.

Koplimaa wasted no time and immediately headed to the cashier to re-enter for another try in Day 1b. 

Meanwhile, Aleksei Smirnov, Dmitrijs Prohorovs, and Anthony Kauzloric also recently hit the rail. Kauzloric is already in a new seat after re-entering while Smirnov and Prohorovs are both still on the rail at least for now.

Several players and staff have asked, "Where's Pepe?"

This is because this reporter had little choice but to bring his puppy to Tallinn the last time he reported the Kings of Tallinn. Pepe was a rock star with many players and staff watching after her while I was working.

Unfortunately, she was unable to make the trip up north this time around as she is busy hanging out in Vilnius. That being said, she is attentively following our reports from the comfort of her home.

Players are on their first break of the day.  The action will resume with blinds at 100/300 with a big blind ante of 300 when the action resumes.

The field has grown to 67 entries with 62 players still in their seats.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 61/65

Peder Behr and Dmitrijs Prohorovs got locked up in a hand where Behr called off his stack of 17,200 after facing a five-bet jam by Prohorovs.

Peder Behr:
Dmitrijs Prohorovs:

It was looking likely that Behr would head to the rail to either take a break or re-enter. This was more the case after bricking both the flop and the turn. However, his king found a friend on the river to stay alive and double his stack.

"Lucky river," Behr said.

Prohorovs lightly slammed the table after the hand in frustration before sharing with Behr his annoyance about the hand.

"Do you play cash games?" asked Prohorovs. "If so, I'd like to play with you later. I would never play king-ten that way."

€60 Satellite to the €555 Championship
Level 3: 100/200 (200)
Entries: 34/37

A €60 satellite to the €555 Championship is also running in the same room as the €555 Championship.

The field is currently at 37 entries and counting. There is a good chance there will be some value here with five €555 Championship seats guaranteed. Although, with late registration open for a couple of hours, there is an equally good chance that this event will award more than the five guaranteed seats.

Good luck to all of the satellite players looking to score their €555 Championship seat for pennies on the Euro.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 2: 100/100 (100)
Entries: 51/55

Sondre Stormyr fired out a pot-sized bet of 5,000 with the on the board. Stanislav Smeljov called a few moments later only to get bad news.

Stormyr turned over for a set of nines. Smeljov apparently didn't have this beat with a better set of a straight as he mucked his hand.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 49/53

Marijus Vaiginas checked with about 10,000 in the pot and the  on the board after the turn. Siim Pandis fired out for 5,500. Aleksei Smirnov went paused for about 30 seconds before he called. Vaiginas also called before checking the river.

Pandis once again bet 5,500. Smirnov quickly called and Vaiginas just as quickly folded. 

"Aces," said Pandis before turning over the .

Smirnov shook his head in what appeared to be frustration.

"Kings?" asked Pandis to Smirnov.

"No, queens," replied Smirnov who then opted to show his as Pandis began to pile his chips.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 42/44

A player with the nickname "Zarev" is full of table chatter on Table 6. His table chatter appeared to get him paid in a hand against Tomi Arponen.

Zarev fired out for 4,000 into a pot of 2,200 with the on the board after the flop.

"Now he knows I am bluffing," Zarev said to the table before both players checked the turn.

The river paired the board and Zarev checked again. Arponen opted to bet 4,000 and Zarev snap-called.

"I only have queen-high," said Arponen before turning over the .

"Oh, you were bluffing me," Zarev responded before showing he called light with tow in the hand.

Meanwhile, Lauri Niemi was the second player to hit the rail on Day 1b.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 37/38

Albert Jonsson was the first player on the rail during Day 1b.  Sondre Stormyr was busy piling up Jonsson's former stack into his when he shared that he nailed two pair with nine-three against his opponent's pair.

Jonsson has plenty of time to get back in with a 300 big blind stack with the next level also featuring blinds at 100/100. The only difference will be that the big blind ante comes into play during Level 2.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 33/33

Here is a look at some of the players battling it out early on Day 1b.

€555 Championship Day 1b
Level 1: 100/100
Entries: 27/27

The action has kicked off with a tidy field of 27 entries. It was a late night for many of the players as the casino was rocking on Saturday evening. So expect this field to grow in a big way as the day continues.

Welcome to the coverage of the 2023 Kings of Tallinn at Olympic Park Casino and the adjoining Hilton Tallinn Park. The first event the coverage will be primarily focusing on is the Kings of Tallinn €555 Championship from Feb. 25- 28 before hopping into reports from the €500,000 guaranteed Kings of Tallinn €1,100 Main Event from March 1-5.

The €555 Championship boasts four opening flights with players kicking off the action with 30,000 in starting chips. The structure provides plenty of play with 40-minute blind levels throughout the event with the only exception to this rule being Monday night's turbo Day 1d flight which features very playable 25-minute blind levels.

Players will have plenty of time to build a massive stack with unlimited re-entries permitted not only throughout all of the opening flights but also until late registration closes after the first blind level of Tuesday's Day 2.

The €555 Championship already attracted 107 entries with 44 players surviving after 11 blind levels of play.  Juri Vassin was the star of the day after bagging up the Day 1a chip leading stack of 211,500 with Gediminas Dirmantas not too far behind after surviving with 209,000 in chips.

Today's action will be identical to yesterday's with 11 blind levels of 40 minutes each. Our coverage will begin when cards are in the air at noon EET.

Sunday's Side Events

The €555 Championship isn't the only event players will battle it out in on Sunday as there are plenty of other events for those that already bagged chips or are looking for something different as follows:

Head to the Kings of Tallinn schedule page to check out the full schedule of the 2023 Kings of Tallinn.