Karlsson & Parmasto Make Next Step to Become Two-Time Kings of Tallinn Champions

Nobody has managed to win the Kings of Tallinn Main Event twice in the popular event’s ten-year history. That fact could be set to change after Karl Karlsson and Priit Parmasto, Kings of Tallinn champions in 2020 and 2023, respectively, progressed to Day 2 of the 2025 edition.

Three of five scheduled flights are done and dusted. The current attendance stands at 433 entries across that trio of Day 1s, with 158 players punching their Day 2 tickets. The final two flights play out on February 27 and with late registration remaining open for the first four levels on Day 2 (February 28), another record-breaking turnout could be on the cards.

Keto-Tokoi Tops the Day 1B Chip Counts

Day 1b saw 80 players progress to Day 2 from a field of 215. Finland’s Veikka Keto-Tokoi enjoyed a fruitful day at the felt, multiplying his 30,000 starting stack tenfold. Keto-Tokoi bagged up exactly 300,000 chips, enough for the Day 1b and overall chip lead with two flights remaining.

All nine of Keto-Tokoi’s recorded live cashes since July 2023 stem from Kings of Tallinn events, although he’s never reached the money in the €1,100 Main Event. After exploding out of the block in the 2025 Kings of Tallinn Main Event, it would be surprising not to see Keto-Tokoi in the thick of it at the business end of the tournament.

Ukraine’s Konstantyn Holskyi continued his rich vein of form by finishing Day 1b with the second-largest stack. Holskyi was the runner-up in the €2,200 Eureka High Roller at EPT Prague in December 2024, a result that earned him a career-best €306,600. A month later, the Ukrainian won a €1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event in Aix Les Bains for €11,180.

Day 1b was the flight of choice for the 2023 Kings of Tallinn Main Event champion Priit Parmasto. The Estonia got his hands on €97,400 a couple of years ago, and is now in the mix to become the event’s first two-time champion. Parmasto finished with 48,600 chips, enough for 53rd place on the day, which leaves him with plenty of work to do but at least he’s navigated through the choppy Day 1 waters.

Several players who won their seat for this €1 million guaranteed event online at OlyBet are safely through to Day 2. Enea Subashi finished with 221,500 chips, ranking them third on Day 1b and earning the title of best qualifier so far.

Michael Andersson (134,900), Elias Jalovaara (125,800), Rokas Barzdzius (87,000), and Mathias Siljander (79,800) are a handful of the other qualifiers to look out for on Day 2.

Former Champ Karlsson Shines on Day 1c

Day 1c kicked off at 8:00 p.m. local time, so it was unsurprising that the field size was small. Some 43 players bought in, 18 made it to Day 2, and Karl Karlsson was among those progressing deeper.

Karlsson took down the 2020 edition of the Kings of Tallinn Main Event. He came out on top of a 674-strong field to secure a €126,900 payday. If he wants to become the event’s first two-time champion, he’ll likely need to outlast almost double that number of entrants.

OlyBet Qualifiers Crush in Day 1A of Kings of Tallinn Main Event

The Swede cashed in last year’s Main Event, bowing out in 66th for €2,600. He has gotten off to a flying start in 2025, ending Day 1c with 76,600 chips, enough for seventh place on the flight’s overnight standings.

Estonian native Dmitri Zatsik was Day 1c’s chip leader courtesy of amassing a 211,400 stack by the close of play. Zatsik has never cashed in the Kings of Tallinn Main Event, but has every chance of rectifying that this week.

Spain’s Inigo Martin (197,400), the United Kingdom’s Chris Da-Silva (115,000), and Finnish grinder Artturi Hannula (108,900) were the other Day 1c entrants who finished the night with six-figure stacks.

Day 1d shuffles up and deals at 12:00 p.m. local time, with the fifth and final flight scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. local time start.

Kestutis Jungevicius Takes Down the Record-Breaking €5K High Roller

Lithuania’s Kestutis Jungevicius added a Kings of Tallinn title to the World Series of Poker Circuit ring he won in 2022 after being the last player standing in the €5,000 High Roller event. The High Roller drew in 58 entrants, a new Kings of Tallinn record. They created a €264,480 prize pool that the top seven finishers shared.

Tommi Lankinen was the first player to cash; his seventh-place finish came with a €12,600 prize. Aleksi Naski and Zdenek Zizka bowed out before Renan Bruschi, a long way from his Brazilian home, fell in fourth for a €27,400 addition to his bankroll.

Heads-up was set after Finland’s Joonas Helin ran out of steam in third.

Jungevicius locked horns with Latvian Matiss Celmins for the title and the lion’s share of the prize pool. Jungevicius got the job done and his hands on a career-best €90,380.

The Lithuanian has been quite prolific since his first Hendon Mob entry in September 2021. Since then, Jungevicius has racked up 54 cashes, of which 30 are final table appearances and six victories!

Two other players became 2025 Kings of Tallinn champions on February 26. Finland’s Juho Suutari triumphed in the €200 No-Limit Hold’em PKO for €4,650 while Elias Suhonen turned €200 into €3,317 in the Pot-Limit 2-7 Triple Draw event.

Kings of Tallinn Remaining Schedule

2025 Kings of Tallinn Results

Images courtesy of Elena Kask/Kings of Tallinn

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game.

Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.