The 2023 World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Tallinn Main Event has witnessed the field of 719 entries whittled down to just a final table of nine on the third and penultimate day at Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park.

Finland's Akseli Paalanen (pictured above) was easily the star of the day by bagging more than double the average stack at the final table with 10,650,000 in chips good for a whopping 107 big blinds when the action resumes on Sunday at noon under the lights and cameras of the live stream at OlyBet.tv.

Paalanen began the day in second place with just 60 players remaining just behind Estonia's Hendrik Uibo and managed to stay at the top of the chip leaderboard throughout the day.  With just 15 players left, Paalanen began to separate himself from the rest of the pack. He first doubled through another big stack at his table in Max Rotko.

"This is going to be a big pot," Rotko said after committing his tens against Paalanen's jacks.

Not only did Paalanen's jacks hold, but he won another big pot soon to send Pekka Ikonen out of the tournament in 10th place for €14,550 to end the day. Ikonen was in great shape after flopping the top set with jacks. However, Paalanen had ten-deuce suited and the chips went in on the turn after improving to a flush. Ikonen had outs to a full house or quads but he was instead out of chips after he bricked the river.

Final Table Seat Draw

While Paalanen is certainly in the captain's chair to commence the final table, he will still have plenty of other players equally eager to win the coveted WSOP gold ring, an invite to the $1 million guaranteed 2024 WSOP Tournament of Champions bracelet freeroll event, and the €211,500 top prize on tap for the last player standing.

Despite the gap, it is anyone's game with players from five different countries including one player from South Korea in Jun Beum Chun (6,875,000), and one player from Sweden in Emil Hovmark (3,250,000).  The final table also boasts three players from the Spanish poker community living in Tallinn in Jesus Martinez Ucero (3,450,000), Adria Comas I Roura (2,275,000), and Ignacio Gonzalez Garrido (2,200,000). 

Of course, the local community will have a chance to root on the home team. However, the two Estonians at the table have their work cut out for them coming in with the shortest stacks with Mairo Tomi ending Day 2 with 1,500,000 and Mario Linno with 1,175,000. Meanwhile, Estonia's Artur Kulanurk is in a bit of better shape as he will start in third place with 4,550,000.

Final Table Payouts

The final nine players each secured a minimum of a €17,700 payday on Sunday with the payouts going up quickly from there until the eventual winner collects a massive €211,500 top prize.

Check out all of the payouts below:

Cards will be in the air for the final table on Sunday at noon with our coverage beginning 30 minutes later to not give away spoilers for the stream. Be sure to tune back into OlyBet.tv for both the live stream hosted by Andreas Hoglund and George Sandford while also following along with our coverage of the biggest hands of the day. 

Author: Jason Glatzer and Frank Visser
Photos: Elena Kask and Tambet Kask

Level 27: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 9/719

Akseli Paalanen open-raised from the cutoff and Pekka Ikonen defended his big blind.

The flop fanned out and Paalanen continuation-bet after a check from Ikonen. Ikonen flat-called and did so as well when another bet came from Paalanen on the turn. 

The river then fell the and Ikonen checked again. This time, Paalanen went all-in covering his opponent by a significant margin. A quick call followed from Ikonen, and he tabled his when the other table finished their ongoing hand.

However, his flopped set of jacks was no good against the turned flush of Paalanen, who played . Ikonen disappeared from the table in disbelief, and play was then paused as only nine players remained, marking the end of Day 3 as the final table had been reached.

Level 27: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 12/719

Emil Hovmark opened for 250,000 from the small blind. Antti Eeva jammed for 1.5 million from the big blind and Hovmark called.

Antti Eeva:
Emil Hovmark:

Hovmark had Eeva covered by one chip and his king kicker came into play to eliminate Eeva in 11th place for €11,800 after the improved both players to the same two pair.

Level 27: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 11/719

Jesus Ucero opened his button and Max Rotko put in his final three blinds from the big blind.

Max Rotko:
Jesus Ucero:

Rotko sighed as he saw he was only drawing to three direct outs, and none of them came on the board. He took his exit in 12th place as the WSOPC Tallinn Main Event draws closer and closer to a final table.

Level 27: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 13/719

Ignacio Garrido (pictured below) min-raised from the cutoff with on the live stream before Jon Anders Martinez with defended his big blind.

The flop paired up both players' queens with Martinez with some obvious kicker issues. Garrido continued for 150,000 and Martinez check-called.

Martinez checked again. Garrido fired out for half the pot for 450,000 and Martinez went into the tank before finding a fold.

Level 27: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 13/719

The action folded to Anders Hansson (pictured) in the small blind, who raised to 300,000. Pekka Ikonen was in the big blind and thought his options over for a while before putting in calling chips.

The flop was then dealt and Hansson went all-in for an additional 900,000. Ikonen took a quick peek at his cards before calling and the two players tabled their hands

Anders Hansson:
Pekka Ikonen:

Ikonen's top pair was in the lead but Hansson had plenty of outs with his open-ended straight draw. However, it would not arrive on the runout and Hansson would be the next player eliminated.

Level 27: 50,000/100,000 (100,000)
Entries: 12/719

Ignacio Garrido opened for a min-raise before Hendrik Uibo three-bet jammed for 1.5 million. Jun Beum Chun four-bet shoved over the top for 5 million. Garrido went into the tank with before he folded.

Hendrik Uibo:
Jun Beum Chun:

Uibo, who qualified for just €11 at OlyBet Poker had some hope on the as any club would improve him to a flush while a non-club deuce would give both players a wheel. However, he bricked both the turn and river to hit the rail in 13th place for €7,750.

The last 15 remaining players are sent on a 20-minute break while a chip race is undertaken by the tournament staff.

Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 15/719

The action folded to Akseli Paalanen in the cutoff, and he open-raised to 160,000. Max Rotko then responded with a three-bet to 640,000 from the small blind before Paalanen four-bet jammed his stack of 3,385,000 chips in the middle.

Rotko went into the tank for a bit before announcing a call, slightly covering his opponent.

Akseli Paalanen:
Max Rotko:

"This is a big pot boys," Rotko exclaimed before the flop fell. Paalanen's higher pocket pair still had an overwhelming lead, and when no ten appeared on the runout, he scored a huge double-up.

Meanwhile, Rotko was left with only 640,000 chips, equating to eight big blinds.

Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 15/719

In the past, Estonia's Martin Piik was one of the men behind the scenes at OlyBet Poker. He left this behind and has been crushing at the live and online tables ever since.

Unfortunately, we will not witness Piik win a Main Event ring this time around. He was the short-stack at the feature table when he jammed 530,000 from early position and was looked up by Ignacio Garrido.

Martin Piik:
Ignacio Garrido:

Piik ran into the best preflop hand in poker. Piik had some hope after connecting with his queen on the flop but was on the rail in 16th place for €6,000 after the turn and river completed the board.

Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 15/719

The action folded to Anders Hansson in the small blind, and he opted to limp in. Big blind Pekka Ikonen checked and the two saw a flop of .

Hansson fired a big bet of 200,000 chips, which was met with a call from Ikonen. The turn saw another bet from Hansson, this time for 400,000. Again, Ikonen did not have to think long before putting in a call.

The river then was quickly checked by both players, and Hansson shook his head before tabling for bottom pair.

Ikonen easily bested that with his for top pair and raked in the blind-on-blind pot.

Level 26: 40,000/80,000 (80,000)
Entries: 16/719

Jon Ander Martinez opened the action with a raise from the hijack before Tomasz Mroz shipped in 900,000 chips from the small blind for an all-in bet.

Martinez quickly called to put Mroz at risk and a showdown was had.

Tomasz Mroz:
Jon Ander Martinez:

Mroz already stood up when the flop fell , and his gut feeling turned out to be correct when the board completed with the turn and river.

He left the tournament area while the remaining 16 players are taking a small break as they will redraw for the final two tables.

Level 26: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 17/719

Max Rotko open-raised from the hijack and Andrius Bielskis (pictured) three-bet jammed his 550,000 stack from the button. The action folded back to Rotko, who called with the covering stack.

Andrius Bielskis:
Max Rotko:

It was a classic flip, which would fall in Rotko's favor when only undercards appeared on the board, resulting in Bielskis' elimination from the tournament.

Level 26: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 18/719

Samuel Richards jammed from early position and was called by Mario Linno from the blinds.

Samuel Richards:
Mario Linno:

For the second time in a row at the feature table, Linno eliminated a player, this time Richards went out in 19th place after Linno improved to a better full house on the board.

Level 26: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 19/719

Mario Linno jammed the button for 765,000. Anna-Mari Hursti called off for slightly less and both players were more or less flipping for their tournament lives.

Anna-Mari Hursti:
Mario Linno:

Hursti nailed top pair on the but despite that was far behind Linno's flopped set of sixes. There was thin hope for Hursti after improving to two pair on the turn with four outs to a boat. However, the blank river completed the board and Hurst was eliminated in 19th place.

Level 26: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 20/719

Henri Antikainen jammed at the feature table for 790,000 from the button and was called by Pekka Ikonen.

Henri Antikainen:
Pekka Ikonen:

Both players hit two pair on the flop. Antikainen had some kicker issues that weren't resolved on either the turn or river to hit the rail in 21st place.

Level 26: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 21/719

Maciej Komorowski was left short-stacked after a previous bluff attempt failed. He then got his remaining 300,000 or so chips in from the small blind, and Jon Ander Martinez made the call from the big blind.

Maciej Komorowski:
Jon Ander Martinez:

Komorowski immediately saw his aces being cracked when Martinez flopped a straight on , bu the brought some outs. However, the river blanked and Komorowski was seen leaving the tournament area with a grimace on his face.

Level 26: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 22/719

Maruen Zormatti was all-in for his final 600,000 chips and he was looked up by Antti Eeva with the covering stack.

Maruen Zormatti:
Anti Eeva:

Eeva flopped a set on and left his opponent drawing dead on the turn. Zormatti said his goodbyes as the river completed the board and left to collect his winnings.

Level 25: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 23/719

Max Rotko raised from early position and the short-stacked Jimi Koponen three-bet all-in from the big blind. Rotko put in the extra chips and the cards were tabled.

Jimi Koponen:
Max Rotko:

The board ran out and Rotko's pair of eights would win him the pot and eliminate Koponen in 24th place.

Level 25: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 24/719

Emil Hovmark and Andrius Bielskis had an all-in confrontation preflop, with Hovmark's 840,000 stack being at risk.

Emil Hovmark:
Andrius Bielskis:

Hovmark would win the flip when the board gave him two aces on and he raked in a nice double-up

In order not to give away any spoilers for those watching the stream, our reporting will be on the same 30-minute delay until a winner is crowned tomorrow.

Level 25: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 24/719

Max Rotko raised to 100,000 from the hijack and received calls from Andrius Bielskis (pictured below) on the button and Jimi Koponen in the big blind.

The flop of checked through before the action checked to Bielskis once more on the turn. This time, he bet for 130,000 and that was enough to let both of his opponents forfeit their hands.

All players have taken their seats and play is now back underway.

The final 24 players are now enjoying a small break while everything is being made ready for the live stream.

In order to not spoil the stream, the live report will also operate with a 30-minute delay from now on.

Level 25: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 24/719

Jun Beum Chun raised to 100,000 from the cutoff and the short-stacked Seppo Parkkinen called all-in for less than that from the button. The blinds folded and the two players showed down.

Seppo Parkkinen:
Jun Beum Chun:

Parkkinen flopped a set on and Chun was left to a runner-runner runout to still win the pot. Miraculously enough, it came in when the turn and river gave him a better full house than Parkkinen.

Parkkinen left the tournament area dejected while the 24 remaining players headed to the TV area to converge into three final tables.

Level 25: 25,000/50,000 (50,000)
Entries: 25/719

Vu Hoang Vuong (pictured below) open-jammed for 415,000 chips from the hijack and Andrius Bielskis asked for a count from the small blind. After receiving the correct amount, he made the call with the covering stack.

Vu Hoang Vuong:
Andrius Bielskis:

Bielskis flopped a set on but Vuong still had hope with his flopped gutshot. However, the turn upgraded Bielskis to a full house and thus sealed Vuong's fate. He said his goodbyes as the meaningless river was dealt out.

On another table, Kevin Karenius had all of his chips in the middle and Ignacio Garrido was trying to score another knock-out. The board read , and Garrido's outkicked Karenius' for another elimination.

On yet another table, David Asqino was also eliminated in an unwitnessed hand.

Only 25 players now remain in contention for the WSOPC Tallinn Main Event title.

The remaining 28 players are now sent on a 20-minute break. Just before the break, three more players were eliminated from the WSOPC Tallinn Main Event.

The following players cashed for €4,750 in the Main Event. The final 31 players each locked up at least a €5,250 payout.

Level 24: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 31/719

Akseli Paalanen raised to 80,000 from the cutoff and the action folded to Bartlomiej Kijak in the big blind. He then announced his all-in and Paalanen asked for a count.

The total amounted to 865,000 and after taking a quick glance at the clock, Paalanen made the call to put his opponent at risk.

Bartlomiej Kijak:
Akseli Paalanen:

Paalanen held the superior pair and thus was in great shape to score an elimination. No six arrived on the board, and the final 31 players converged onto four tables while Kijak left to collect his payout.

Level 24: 20,000/40,000 (40,000)
Entries: 35/719

When the action was caught, all of Karl Relander's 550,000 chips already went into the 250,000 chip pot in the middle on a board of . Ignacio Garrido was on the other end of the action with the covering stack and the two were ordered to show down.

Karl Relander:
Ignacio Garrido:

Relander was already drawing dead and complimented his opponent's hand while the inconsequential river completed the board. He joined the many players who have been eliminated in the early levels of Day 3 so far.

The following players cashed for €4,250 with the remaining 39 players locking up at least €4,750.

Level 23: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 41/719

Jun Beum Chun raised to 60,000 from the hijack and subsequently faced an all-in for 295,000 from Remigijus Dzerva. Chun mulled it over for a while before asking for a count and making the call not long thereafter, putting Dzerva at risk.

Remigijus Dzerva:
Jun Beum Chun:

It was looking good for Dzerva, who was holding the superior ace, but the flop saw Chun shoot in the lead. Neither the turn or river did anything to change that, and Dzerva was eliminated just before the final five tables.

Level 23: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 45/719

Andzej Zinkevic was sitting on a stack of 275,000 chips when he raised to 75,000 from early position. The action folded to David Asqino in the big blind, who made the call.

The flop then fell and Zinkevic put in the rest of his chips after a check from Asqino. No time passed before the latter made the call and both players' cards were tabled.

Andzej Zinkevic:
David Asqino:

Zinkevic could not believe his eyes when he saw that his opponent flopped two pair. The board brought him no help on the  runout and Zinkevic had no other option than to leave the tournament area, while Asqino raked in the pot.

The following players cashed for €3,750 in the Main Event. The final 47 players each locked up another €500 as they are now guaranteed at least a €4,250 payout.

Level 22: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 47/719

On a completed board of , a pot of roughly 400,000 chips had gathered when Jesus Ucero checked from the big blind. Gilles Simon was sitting under the gun and decided to go all-in for 250,000.

An instantaneous call followed from the Spaniard and Simon knocked the table while he showed his for just ace-high. Ucero then showed his for two pair and sent the Dutchman home early on Day 3.

Level 22: 15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries: 48/719

Jun Beum Chun opened for a min-raise from middle position. Maruen Zormati called from the small blind before Jimi Koponen three-bet jammed for 230,000 from the big blind. Chun tanked for a few moments before he folded, while Zormati found a snap-call.

Jimi Koponen:
Maruen Zormati:

Koponen's big slick remained ahead on the board to double his short stack through Zormati.

Level 21: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 50/719

Emil Hovmark and Antti Eeva got all of their chips in preflop from the hijack and button respectively. Eeva was the at-risk player with a stack of 250,000 chips.

Antti Eeva:
Emil Hovmark:

It was a sweaty board for Eeva's aces as he saw his opponent turn a flush draw on . However, the river gave him a full house and he cheerfully wiped the sweat off his brow.

Hovmark, meanwhile, was left very short with only 80,000 chips left to play with.

The following players banked €3,300 in the Main Event with the remaining field of 55 players locking up at least €3,750.

Level 21: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 54/719

Kasper Mellanen and Artur Kulanurk were heads up on a completed board of . Mellanen was seen shoving his last chips in the middle and received a quick call from his opponent.

Mellanen could only show for a bluff while Kulanurk tabled for a comfortable call with turned trips, resulting in the elimination of Mellanen.

Level 21: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 55/719

Ekrem Esker just got some chips back from Emanuele Mari and gained some breathing room.

Mari opened for 55,000 from early position before Ekrem Esker three-bet shoved for 225,000 from the hijack. Mari called and Esker was flipping for his tournament life.

Ekrem Esker:
Emanuele Mari:

Esker pulled ahead straight out of the gate after his queen connected on the flop. Neither the turn nor the river changed the outcome for Esker to double through Mari.

Level 21: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 58/719

Emanuele Mari fired out 225,000 into a pot of a bit more with the on the board when Ekrem Esker went into the tank.

"How much do you have?" asked Esker.

Rather than just showing the chips, Mari counted his stack and shared it was 350,000 left behind. Esker tanked for a couple more minutes before he called.

Mari turned over the for trip jacks and won the hand after Atush mucked his cards.

Meanwhile, local hero Ermo Kosk hit the rail around the same time in 59th place.

Level 21: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 59/719

The board read  when small blind Andrius Bielskis checked to Tornike Tchitadze in the big blind. Tchitadze then bet out 75,000 into the pot of 225,000 and Bielskis made the call.

The river of completed the board and this time Tchitadze went all-in for his final 200,000 or so chips after another check from Bielskis. The latter then snap-called and Tchitadze tried to muck his cards but was forced to show his failed bluff with . 

Meanwhile, Bielskis made the comfortable call with for turned trips, and increased his stack to an above-average one.

Level 21: 10,000/25,000 (25,000)
Entries: 60/719

Cards are in the air to start Day 2. Best of luck to the final 60 players!

Welcome back to what promises to be an exciting day with the €1 million guaranteed Event #6: WSOPC Tallinn €1,500 Main Event reaching its penultimate day.

The action kicks off at noon with 60 hopefuls from the original field of 719 entries, each locking up €3,300 for a slight increase over the €3,050 the top 87 players were guaranteed as a min-cash. They will be playing for much more today as the action will continue until a final table of nine players remains with €17,700 secured along with hopes alive for the gold ring, the invite to the $1 million guaranteed Tournament of Champions bracelet event freeroll, and the massive €211,500 top prize.

Estonia's Hendrik Uibo (pictured above) kicks off Day 3 with a chip-leading stack of 1,765,000, good for 71 big blinds with blinds starting off at 10,000/25,000 along with a 25,000 big blind ante. The Finnish duo of Akseli Paalanen and Marko Harkonen are just behind Uibo with Luca Beretta and Vu Hoang Vuong rounding out the top five.

Start of Day 3 Top 10 Leaderboard

Our coverage begins when cards are in the air at 12 p.m. with today also featuring a live stream at OlyBet.tv commentated by George Sandford and Andreas Hoglund. Stay tuned to see who the final nine players will be!