Festival Weekend Tallinn Starts in Just 9 Days – Here Are the Must-Play Highlights!
The countdown is on! In just nine days, Festival Weekend Tallinn will get underway at Olympic Park Casino in the heart of Estonia’s capital city. From July 1st to July 5th, players can look forward to five action-packed days featuring 21 tournaments, a variety of poker formats, casino game competitions, and plenty of opportunities to take home one of The Festival's coveted trophies.
The action kicks off with the €350 Sviten Special, setting the tone for what promises to be one of the most diverse tournament schedules ever seen at a Festival event.
Let's take a closer look at some of the biggest highlights of the week.
€550 NLH Mystery Bounty Main Event
Without question, the headline tournament of Festival Weekend Tallinn is the €550 NLH Mystery Bounty Main Event. For the first time in The Festival's history, the Main Event will be played in the increasingly popular Mystery Bounty format.
From every buy-in, €300 will contribute to the regular prize pool, while €200 will be allocated to the Mystery Bounty prize pool. That means players will not only be chasing a deep run and a prestigious title, but also have the chance to pull potentially superb bounty prizes along the way.
The Mystery Bounty format has taken the poker world by storm, and now it will finally take centre stage as a Festival Main Event.
Franke is more of a mixed games player, and this has a good reason. His Hold'em skills are much to be compared with the Swedish football team, meaning that it could go well, but often ends up way before having even visibility on the harbour.
Franke's Skill Factor: ★★☆☆☆
The Debut of the NLH 7-2 Estonia Special (Incl. INES rules)
Festival Weekend Tallinn will also introduce a brand-new concept to The Festival schedule with the debut of the NLH 7-2 Estonia Special (Incl. INES rules).
This tournament adds an extra layer of excitement to traditional No Limit Hold'em. Whenever a player wins a main pot holding 7-2 offsuit, every remaining player in the tournament must pay that player one big blind.
As if that wasn't enough action, players will benefit from unlimited re-entries during the late registration period. Additionally, every player receives one extra re-entry option after late registration has closed, all the way until the money bubble is reached.
This unique format creates action, encourages creativity, and guarantees some memorable moments throughout the tournament. Let's hope the famous 7-2 off suit will be dealt often! Statistically it's not that often, but surely this is one of Franke's main factors to try and reach far in the tournament.
Franke's Skill Factor: ★★★☆☆
Sviten Special Takes Centre Stage
Few mixed games have grown in popularity as rapidly as Sviten Special, and Festival Weekend Tallinn will offer more opportunities than ever before for fans of 'split-pot poker'.
The €350 Sviten Special will kick off the entire festival schedule, but that's only the beginning. Players can also enjoy:
- Sviten 49
- Dealer's Choice (Includes Sviten Special)
- TORSES (Includes Sviten Special)
- Baby TORSES (Includes Sviten Special)
All of these formats will feature Sviten Special as part of the game rotation, ensuring plenty of split pots and strategic decisions throughout the week.
For mixed-game enthusiasts, Tallinn may well become the Sviten capital of Europe for five days. For Franke, this is a gift from god, because his Sviten skills are actually perfectly fine, despite not having that much results overall in games of Sviten or which include Sviten.
Franke's Skill Factor: ★★★★☆
Casino Game Tournaments Return
The Festival has always been about more than just poker, and Festival Weekend Tallinn is no exception.
Alongside the poker schedule, players can compete in several exciting casino game tournaments, including:
Whether you're taking a break from the poker tables or simply looking for another chance to capture a Festival trophy, these events offer a fun and accessible alternative. In fact, they might just be the easiest path to adding one of our famous trophies to your collection. Franke is a big fan of such tournaments, where he already triumphed in the Blackjack tournament before, as well as the sportsbook tournament.
Franke's Skill Factor: ★★★★★
Mixed-Game Events
Beyond the headline tournaments, several unique events are expected to attract plenty of attention from experienced players and mixed-game enthusiasts.
Among the standout tournaments are:
PL Baducey/Badacey
A favourite among mixed-game players, combining split-pot strategy with complex hand-reading situations.
NLH PKO (With Live Straddle)
Progressive Knockout tournaments are always popular, but adding a live straddle into the mix creates even more action and bigger pots from the very first hand. Usually we know this feature only from cash games, but now it's time to add this feature to a tournament!
Dealer's Choice (Pot-Limit Formats Only)
Players will rotate through a selection of pot-limit games, including:
- Big O
- PLO4
- PLO5
- PLO6
- 7-Card Stud
- Sviten Special
This tournament is designed for versatile players who enjoy switching gears and testing their skills across multiple disciplines. Franke can do this very well, hence a very decent rating for him in these formats!
Franke's Skill Factor: ★★★☆☆
Five Days, Twenty-One Tournaments.. Need more to join us in Tallinn?
With 21 tournaments packed into just five days, Festival Weekend Tallinn promises something for everyone. If you're chasing Mystery Bounties, collecting big blinds with 7-2 offsuit, battling in mixed games, or taking your shot in the casino tournaments, the schedule is loaded with variety from start to finish.
The cards go in the air on July 1st at Olympic Park Casino, and by July 5th a whole new group of Festival champions will have been crowned.
