Veli-Pekka Penttinen Wins the 2026 Kings of Tallinn Main Event (€149,775)

by
Jason Glatzer
February 16, 2026
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Veli-Pekka Penttinen Wins the 2026 Kings of Tallinn Main Event (€149,775)
Veli-Pekka Tapani Penttinen

The curtains have fallen on the 11th edition of the OlyBet Kings of Tallinn, once again proving why it stands as the premier poker festival in Northern Europe. Over 11 days of action at Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel, players battled across a packed schedule of more than 70 events that delivered thrilling moments and a new wave of champions etching their names into the festival’s history.

On Sunday, the spotlight belonged to Finland’s Veli-Pekka Penttinen. The Finn put together a commanding performance on the final day of the €1,100 Main Event, entering the final table as chip leader and never truly relinquishing control. After four days of play, Penttinen was crowned champion, ultimately taking home €149,775 following a three-way deal with Tal Barasofsky and Gary Fisher.

2026 Kings of Tallinn Final Day Action

Sixteen players returned for the final day, led by Spain’s Guillermo “GGordo” Gordo at the top of the chip counts. With the overnight lead he looked well positioned to make a deep run. But poker can be cruel. Despite starting out front, the Spaniard’s stack slipped away, and he ultimately fell short of the final table, bowing out in 12th place.

2026 Kings of Tallinn Final Table

After roughly four hours of play, the final table was set when Miro Sankala was eliminated in 10th place. His king-ten went all-in preflop against Athanasios Kostouros’ ace-eight suited that held up, bringing the field down to the final nine.

Among the key moments on the final table was the elimination of Kostouros in eighth place. The Greek had just lost a massive pot after a mistimed hero bluff against Barasofsky, and Penttinen soon picked up the rest of his chips. The Finn also delivered the knockout blow to Christina Solli, who qualified via a €80 satellite, in seventh place. The Norwegian had started the final table second in chips, having been the biggest beneficiary of Gordo’s loss of stack, but had quite a rollercoaster ride, eventually running into Penttinen’s pocket Jacks with eight-seven suited.

KOT2026 - Main Event (Final Day) - 029 - Christina Jorgensen Solli - [Credit - Elena Kask]
Christina Solli

Throughout the day, Penttinen used his stack to near perfection, constantly applying pressure and also finding help when needed, including a crucial river ace against Shaul Weinstein’s pocket sixes that sent him home in fourth place, after which the remaining three players began discussing a deal.

Penttinen secured the largest share of the deal, locking up €113,820, while Barasofsky collected €112,775 and Fisher €97,000. With €35,955 and the prestigious title still left in play, the trio continued to battle it out.

Gary Fisher

Fisher exited in third place, setting up a kind of fitting heads-up duel between Penttinen and Barasofsky, probably the two most aggressive and active players throughout the final table.

In the end, a bottom pair of threes and a miss-call from Barasofskym turned the match in Penttinen’s direction, who kept his composure and closed it out shortly after to claim the title, walking away as the 2026 Kings of Tallinn Main Event champion, €149,775 richer and with the trophy firmly in his hands.

Tal Barasofsky

2026 Kings of Tallinn Main Event Full Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1 Veli-Pekka PenttinenFinland€149,770 *
2 Tal BarasofskyIsrael€112,770 *
3 Gary FisherEngland€97,000 *
4 Shaul WeinsteinIsrael€60,900
5 Alexis LucariniFrance€46,250
6 Petteri LaihoFinland€35,450
7 Christina SolliNorway€27,250
8 Athanasios KostourosGreece€20,950
9 Habib BrahimSweden€16,200
10 Miro SankalaFinland€12,800
11 Paul NeweyEngland€12,800
12 Guillermo GordoSpain€10,750
13 Lev MargolinIsrael€10,750
14 Girts ZarinsLatvia€8,950
15 Ville-Matti KeränenFinland€8,950
16 John DwyerIreland€7,750
17 Mathieu ChoffardetFrance€7,750
18 Johan StoråkersSweden€6,750
19 Egidijus MatonisLithuania€6,750
20 Magnus PukkEstonia€6,750
21 Paulius KisieliusLithuania€5,900
22 Davis MihelsonsLatvia€5,900
23 Yevhen SukhovUkraine€5,900
24 Antoine VrankenNetherlands€5,100
25 Nikolaos OikonomouGreece€5,100
26 Arturs DaugisLatvia€5,100
27 Christoffer BeringDenmark€5,100
28 Anthon BurvallSweden€4,450
29 Deividas DaubarisLithuania€4,450
30 Vidar AssersenNorway€4,450
31 Oleh PritsakUkraine€4,450
32 Ville MyllymäkiFinland€3,850
33 Oleksandr SybirtsevUkraine€3,850
34 Deividas ButnorasLatvia€3,850
35 Kristoffer WIntersteinSweden€3,850
36 Alberto GonzalezSpain€3,850
37 Jonas Eriksson SilfverSweden€3,850
38 Bernd ReichGermany€3,850
39 Henry-Jörgen RautitsEstonia€3,850
40 Peer ZahlNorway€3,350
41 Jari NikunlassiFinland€3,350
42 Antti RaasuFinland€3,350
43 Justas VaiciulionisLithuania€3,350
44 Risto PärmatEstonia€3,350
45 Luka SorainenFinland€3,350
46 Marks SerginsLatvia€3,350
47 Vu VuongFinland€3,350
48 Otto PukkEstonia€3,350
49 Rauno KivilooEstonia€3,350
50 Sebastian WahlFinland€3,350
51 Kauno JäppinenFinland€3,350
52 Helge BjorlowNorway€3,350
53 Algirdas SaveikisLithuania€3,350
54 Joel JimenezSpain€3,350
55 Christian HoffmannGermany€3,350
56 Benny HagbergSweden€2,900
57 Ionel SerbuRomania€2,900
58 Ridas BitauskasLithuania€2,900
59 Aigars PetrovsLatvia€2,900
60 Christopher VernonEngland€2,900
61 Edvinas BalciunasLithuania€2,900
62 Rudolfs SadrinsLatvia€2,900
63 Eduards RakussLatvia€2,900
64 Baptiste CaimFrance€2,900
65 Pekka IkonenFinland€2,900
66 Linas BulksasLithuania€2,900
67 Elvijs KergalvisLatvia€2,900
68 Glen KeoghIreland€2,900
69 Peter JakslandDenmark€2,900
70 Sander LeigriEstonia€2,900
71 Emil JägerFinland€2,900
72 Joel HolmbergFinland€2,550
73 Stanislovas VinicenkaLithuania€2,550
74 James WynneIreland€2,550
75 Antti PietarinenFinland€2,550
76 Leo PietiläFinland€2,550
77 Henri PiironenFinland€2,550
78 Oskar OjaveerEstonia€2,550
79 Paavo KorkkaEstonia€2,550
80 Ishak NoyanSweden€2,550
81 Andres AllsaluEstonia€2,550
82 Kevin WhelanEngland€2,550
83 Arkadiusz LiszewskiPoland€2,550
84 Maksim PetrovEstonia€2,550
85 Juha NikkolaFinland€2,550
86 Martin PiikEstonia€2,550
87 Seppo ParkkinenFinland€2,550
88 Marius BareisisLithuania€2,550
89 Ranno SootlaEstonia€2,550
90 Wouter BeltzNetherlands€2,550
91 Eli Danielsson BarcaSweden€2,550
92 Hassan HalilCyprus€2,550
93 Remy MägiEstonia€2,550
94 Vladas BurneikisLithuania€2,550
95 Aleksandras RusinovasLithuania€2,550
96 Aleksi NaskiFinland€2,200
97 Vladyslav TaranUkraine€2,200
98 Linda NguyenNorway€2,200
99 Martin ZobelDenmark€2,200
100 Michael RoltENgland€2,200
101 Yaniv PeretzIsrael€2,200
102 Henri SchalinFinland€2,200
103 Ole HovNorway€2,200
104 Meelis AhmanEstonia€2,200
105 Vegard NygaardNorway€2,200
106 Jari KurikkaFinland€2,200
107 Juha HelppiFinland€2,200
108 Ernestas StalemekasLithuania€2,200
109 Gintautas DanileviciusLithuania€2,200
110 Jonatan ForsFinland€2,200
111 Lars OttesenDenmark€2,200
112 Ismo BärlundFinland€2,200
113 Juho SuutariFinland€2,200
114 Jukka MoisioFinland€2,200
115 Stephen WoodheadEngland€2,200
116 Perttu KvistFinland€2,200
117 Andreas WernerSweden€2,200
118 Totti ArosuoFinland€2,200
119 Dmitri DamaskinEstonia€2,200
120Michal ZagrodnikPoland€2,000
121 Even RislovNorway€2,000
122 Janis VasiljevsLatvia€2,000
123 Frode AlfredsenNorway€2,000
124 Martin “Franke” von ZweigbergkSweden€2,000
125 Samuli HietalaFinland€2,000
126 Jari-Pekka JuholaFinland€2,000
127 Viacheslav SultanovUkraine€2,000
128 Joonas HaapalaFinland€2,000
129 Eimantas AdomaviciusLithuania€2,000
130 Carl FalkSweden€2,000
131 Miika TöyräsFinland€2,000
132 Mairo ToriEstonia€2,000
133 Sami PulliainenFinland€2,000
134 Erik FribergSweden€2,000
135 Martynas MockeviciusLithuania€2,000

2026 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition Up Next

2026 OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring

As the doors close on the triumphant 2026 OlyBet Kings of Tallinn, the poker trail heats up with the OlyBet Showdown Riga Voodoo Spring Edition set for March 14-22 at Olympic Voodoo Casino in Riga, Latvia.​

This Baltic powerhouse features over 30 tournaments, spotlighting the €1,100 NLH Main Event with multiple starting flights and a €555 NLHE Championship, alongside satellites, progressive bounties, Omaha mixes, and Mystery Bounties—all with unlimited re-entries during late reg. Expect tons of fun, a robust tournament schedule with TDA rules, round-the-clock cash games, and easy access via OlyBet Poker online qualifiers starting from centrolls.​

Satellite seats for the Main Event and Championship are already firing, with hotel deals at nearby Radisson properties from €70 per night using promo code POKER26, perfect for grinding deep stacks in Riga’s vibrant scene.

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