Thursday was the day the 2026 Coolbet Open €550 Main Event came fully into focus. Two starting flights completed at Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park, 243 more players added to the field, and the combined three-flight total is already breathing down the neck of the all-time Coolbet Open Main Event attendance record with already 595 entries in the mix. Ukraine's Yevhen Pavlenko holds the Day 1B chip lead and Norway's Gunnar Jacobsen bagged the top stack in Day 1C. All 243 survivors return for Day 2 on Friday, when the record could fall. Follow every hand live at poker.pro.
The action outside the Main Event was equally as busy with five new side event winners crowned on Thursday. Read on to learn more:
- Read more: Coolbet Open Returns to Tallinn and Olympic Park Casino for Ninth Edition
- Read more: The Ninth Coolbet Open Is One Week Away and Here Is Why You Should Be There
- Read more: Tallinn Beyond the Felt: Top Things to Do During the 2026 Coolbet Open at Olympic Park Casino
- Read more: The Coolbet Open Is Home: Three Winners Crowned and a Massive Mystery Bounty Field on Opening Day
- Read more: Stenbäck Wins the Mystery Bounty as Iceland Dominates Day 1A of 2026 Coolbet Open Main Event
- Read more: poker.pro Coolbet Open 2026 Live Reporting
An All-Time Coolbet Open Main Record Within Reach
The all-time Coolbet Open Main Event attendance record stands at 652 entries, set at the 2022 edition at this very venue with Kaido Mikk winning the title. Three flights have now closed at the 2026 edition with 595 entries registered. Day 2 on Friday opens with late registration available for the first three levels, which means more players will enter before the field closes for good. With the momentum this festival has built across three days, the record of 652 is not just within reach. It is likely to fall on Friday morning. That would make the ninth Coolbet Open the biggest in the tournament's history, back at the venue where the record was first set.
|
Flight |
Entries |
Survivors |
Chip Leader |
|
Day 1A (Wed) |
169 |
67 |
Baldvin Borgarsson |
|
Day 1B (Thu) |
242 |
103 |
Yevhen Pavlenko |
|
Day 1C (Thu Eve) |
184 |
73 |
Gunnar Jacobsen |
|
Total |
595 |
243 |
Halldor Sverrisson Wins the €100 Icelandic Private Tournament
Iceland brought its own private tournament to the 2026 Coolbet Open and the result was remarkable. A total of 97 entries, every single one from Iceland, generated a €7,833 prize pool in a country pride event that tells you everything about how seriously the Icelandic poker community has traveled to Tallinn this week. Ninety-seven players from a single nation in a single tournament at a festival in Estonia is the kind of number that raises eyebrows. The Icelanders have been everywhere at this Coolbet Open, leading Main Event flights, cashing in side events across the schedule, and now filling an entire private tournament by themselves. Halldor Sverrisson won it for €2,083.
|
Place |
Player |
Country |
Prize |
|
1st |
Halldor Sverrisson |
Iceland |
€2,083 |
|
2nd |
Hafthor Sigmundsson |
Iceland |
€1,440 |
|
3rd |
Haukur Bodvarsson |
Iceland |
€990 |
|
4th |
Magnus Gylfason |
Iceland |
€720 |
|
5th |
Jakob Jonsson |
Iceland |
€550 |
|
6th |
Styrmir Steinthórsson |
Iceland |
€450 |
|
7th |
Pall Palsson |
Iceland |
€360 |
|
8th |
Aron Kristinsson |
Iceland |
€290 |
|
9th |
Aron Gylfason |
Iceland |
€230 |
Jyri Laitimo Wins the €250 PLO4/PLO5 Progressive Bounty
Finland swept the top four spots in the €250 PLO4/PLO5 Progressive Bounty, with Jyri Laitimo and Juho Kiuttu both earning €2,488 plus bounties, with Laitimo hoisting the trophy and the final big bounty. Omaha has always been popular at the Coolbet Open and was once again the case in this event with a 114-entry field generating €23,826 in total prizes. Finnish domination of Omaha events has also been a running theme at the 2026 Coolbet Open and this result continued it emphatically.
|
Place |
Player |
Country |
Prize |
|
1st |
Jyri Laitimo |
Finland |
€2,488 |
|
2nd |
Juho Kiuttu |
Finland |
€2,488 |
|
3rd |
Riku Alatalo |
Finland |
€1,630 |
|
4th |
Jouni Huovila |
Finland |
€1,130 |
|
5th |
Raymond Forsland |
Norway |
€860 |
|
6th |
Hans Holst |
Sweden |
€680 |
|
7th |
Alessandro Barone |
Canada |
€560 |
|
8th |
Mikko Harmaa |
Finland |
€470 |
|
9th |
Jani Forsten |
Finland |
€400 |
Jonas Lapinskas Wins the €200 NLH
Lithuania's Jonas Lapinskas is one of the nicest people in the poker world, the kind of player who makes a tournament feel better just by being in it, and nice guys don't always finish last. Thursday evening, Lapinskas won the €200 NLH from an 87-entry field for €4,120, defeating Finland's Olli Holappa heads-up to earn the €4,120 top prize.
|
Place |
Player |
Country |
Prize |
|
1st |
Jonas Lapinskas |
Lithuania |
€4,120 |
|
2nd |
Olli Holappa |
Finland |
€2,680 |
|
3rd |
Uku Valner |
Estonia |
€1,850 |
|
4th |
Janek Hin |
Estonia |
€1,350 |
|
5th |
Jila Sani |
Sweden |
€1,000 |
|
6th |
Karo Virtanen |
Finland |
€750 |
|
7th |
Raivo Grislis |
Latvia |
€620 |
|
8th |
Anders Bjorkheim |
Norway |
€510 |
|
9th |
Anu Lilja |
Finland |
€430 |
Joakim Fjar Wins the €200 Five-Card Mix
Norway's Joakim Fjar won the €200 Five-Card Mix from a 76-entry field for €3,664. The event rotated through Sviten, PLO5, and Five-Card Triple Draw, a combination that rewards versatility across Omaha variants and draw games. Fjar defeated Finland's Joni Nenonen heads-up to take the title, with Sweden's Lars Fredriksson finishing third.
|
Place |
Player |
Country |
Prize |
|
1st |
Joakim Fjar |
Norway |
€3,664 |
|
2nd |
Joni Nenonen |
Finland |
€2,450 |
|
3rd |
Lars Fredriksson |
Sweden |
€1,720 |
|
4th |
Jan Holte |
Norway |
€1,260 |
|
5th |
Sascha Manns |
Germany |
€920 |
|
6th |
Raimonds Svans |
Latvia |
€750 |
|
7th |
Terje Jahn |
Norway |
€620 |
|
8th |
Aku Laajus |
Finland |
€490 |
|
9th |
Jari Mähönen |
Finland |
€400 |
Jari Pursiainen Wins Leffern's Hyper Turbo
The late-night €200 NLH Hyper Turbo is named after Jonatan "Leffern" Wedde, another of the Coolbet community's beloved Norwegian streamers whose name has been given to one of the festival's recurring events in recognition of what he has contributed to the Coolbet player community. The 2026 edition drew 118 entries and generated a €19,057 prize pool, and Finland swept the top four spots with Jari Pursiainen taking the title for €4,867 after defeating Antti-Jussi Puotiniemi heads-up. Four Finns in the top four of a hyper turbo on a Thursday night is the Coolbet Open in a nutshell.
|
Place |
Player |
Country |
Prize |
|
1st |
Jari Pursiainen |
Finland |
€4,867 |
|
2nd |
Antti-Jussi Puotiniemi |
Finland |
€3,280 |
|
3rd |
Jukka Moisio |
Finland |
€2,280 |
|
4th |
Niklas Anäs |
Finland |
€1,660 |
|
5th |
Rohan Oberoi |
Sweden |
€1,280 |
|
6th |
Gudjon Gislason |
Iceland |
€1,000 |
|
7th |
Niko Juusola |
Finland |
€820 |
|
8th |
Andreas Raudsepp |
Estonia |
€690 |
|
9th |
Martin Willborg |
Sweden |
€580 |
Friday at the 2026 Coolbet Open
Friday is the day the 2026 Coolbet Open Main Event gets serious. All 243 survivors return to Olympic Park Casino at 12:00 noon for Day 2. Late registration is open for the first four levels, giving players a final opportunity to get into the action and the all-time record one final opportunity to fall. Day 2 plays down to the money, meaning the bubble bursts on Friday and every player remaining at the end of the day is guaranteed a cash. Follow every hand live at poker.pro.
The €1,100 NLH Coolbet Open DeepStack fires its Day 1 at 17:00. The €150 Coolbet Ladies event fires at 17:00 with many women still in town from the Queens of Tallinn including FLIP founder Daiva Byrne, who has a healthy stack entering Day 2 of the Main Event.
The €350 PLO4/5 Deepstack Mystery Bounty opens Day 1 at 18:00. The evening brings the €200 NLH Supreme at 20:00, followed by the €200 NLH/PLO4 Hyper Turbo at 22:30.
|
Time |
Event |
|
12:00 |
Event #7: €550 Main Event Day 2 |
|
13:00 |
Event #21: €80 Last Chance Satellite to €1,100 NLH DeepStack (Three Seats GTD) |
|
17:00 |
Event #22: €1,100 NLH Coolbet Open DeepStack Day 1 |
|
17:00 |
Event #23: €150 NLH Coolbet Ladies |
|
18:00 |
Event #24: €350 PLO4/5 Deepstack Mystery Bounty Day 1 |
|
20:00 |
Event #25: €200 NLH Supreme |
|
22:30 |
Event #26: €200 NLH/PLO4 Hyper Turbo |
All results, chip counts, and live updates at poker.pro and on the Coolbet Open social media channels.
- Images courtesy of Elena Kask / Coolbet Open
- Article originally produced at poker.pro.
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