Inaugural Queens of Tallinn Set to Make Poker History

Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
4 min read
Queens of Tallinn

The Olympic Park Casino and adjoining Hilton Tallinn Park are well known for hosting the ever-popular Kings of Tallinn festivals. From November 30 through December 3, those venues will make history with the running of the inaugural Queens of Tallinn, the first ladies-only poker festival in Europe.

Renowned tournament director Teresa Nousiainen is the brains behind Queens of Tallinn, creating an 11-event schedule, with ten of those tournaments dedicated only to female poker players.

"It will be so much fun running this very special ladies poker festival," Nousiainen said. "The Queens of Tallinn €350 Main Event with three starting flights, and the €250 Mystery Bounty event will be great events. It's an honor and pleasure to welcome all lady poker players to this very unique poker festival; welcome to the first-ever Queens of Tallinn."

2023 Queens of Tallinn Schedule

Queens of Tallinn
DateTimeEvent
Thu 30 Nov6:00 p.m.Queens of Tallinn 2023 Meet and Greet
 7:00 p.m.€100 NLHE Deep Stack Queens of Tallinn 2023 Opening Event
 10:00 p.m.€40 Mega Satellite to the €350 Queens of Tallinn Main Event
Fri 1 Dec12:00 p.m.Free Buy-in Satellite to the €350 Queens of Tallinn Main Event
 1:00 p.m.€350 Queens of Tallinn Main Event Day 1A
 6:00 p.m.€350 Queens of Tallinn Main Event Day 1B
 9:00 p.m.Free Buy-in Last Chance Satellite to €350 Queens of Tallinn Main Event
 11:00 p.m.€60 NLHE/PLO Mix
Sat 2 Dec11:30 a.m.€350 Queens of Tallinn Main Event Day 1C Turbo
 3:00 p.m.€350 Queens of Tallinn Main Event Day 2
 4:00 p.m.Free Buy-in Turbo Satellite to €250 Queens of Tallinn event
 7:00 p.m.€250 Queens of Tallinn Mystery Bounty
 9:00 p.m.€60 Ladies and Gentlemen NLHE
 11:00 p.m.€70 NLHE Turbo
Sun 3 Dec12:00 p.m.Queens of Tallinn Main Event Final Day
 12:00 p.m.Queens of Tallinn Mystery Bounty Final Day
 12:00 p.m.€60 NLHE

The Queens of Tallinn festival begins at 6:00 p.m. local time on November 30 with a meet and greet designed to give everyone the chance to catch up with old friends, and allow newer players to be welcomed into the supportive women's poker community.

An hour later, the €100 No-Limit Hold'em Deep Stack event kicks off, giving women the chance to become the first-ever champion of a Queens of Tallinn event.

Other tournaments include a €60 No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha Mix, a €70 No-Limit Hold'em tournament, and a €60 No-Limit Hold'em turbo version of the Main Event.

The First-Ever Queens of Tallinn Main Event

Daiva Byrne
Daiva Byrne

The jewel in the Queens of Tallinn crown is the €350 buy-in Main Event. Three flights take place between December 1-2, with players sitting down armed with a starting stack of 30,000 chips, and play to brilliantly structured 40-minute levels – Day 1C is a turbo with 20-minute levels.

Main Event ladies can re-enter as many times as their bankroll allows for the first eight levels on each Day 1, with re-entries also permitted for the first two levels of Day 2. OlyBet is streaming the action from Day 2 onwards, including a feature table and, of course, the all-important final table.

In addition to some traditional Main Event satellites, there are also some freeroll satellites for ladies to get their teeth into. It's a great gesture from OlyBet and the Olympic Park Casino, opening the door for a shot at the Main Event title to everyone.

Maureen Bloechlinger, women's poker advocate and founder of the Globetrotting Poker Women Facebook group, is delighted the Queens of Tallinn is coming to fruition.

"I am happy to see a celebration of women and a festival focusing on women outside of Las Vegas."

Professional poker players, Outreach and Community Advocate for GGPoker, and owner of Fantastic Ladies in Poker (FLIP), Daiva Byrne cannot wait to see hundreds of ladies at the tables.

"I can't wait to re-visit beautiful Tallinn for this first-ever Ladies Online festival in Europe. It's a great concept and one I'm excited about. I'm looking forward to seeing female players from across Europe at this special event."

Queens of Tallinn €250 Mystery Bounty

The €250 buy-in Mystery Bounty event will be well received by the Queens of Tallinn players. €100 of the buy-in is reserved for the mystery bounties, which come into play from the start of Day 2. Adding to the excitement is the fact the mystery bounty tournament is played on six-handed tables!

There will be some men reading this article wondering if they have any tournaments they can play, and the answer is yes. Just like how some live tours have a ladies only event, there is one tournament scheduled in this ladies-only festival that does allow both women and men to compete. The €60 Ladies & Gentlemen on December 2 is open to everyone.

Math Teacher Earns Ticket to Prague By Winning PokerStars Bootcamp Showdown

Queens of Tallinn Team Competition

The team element of the Kings of Tallinn is one of the reasons for the stop's popularity, so it is unsurprising to learn that the Queens of Tallinn festival is running a similar promotion. Teams of three ladies will be formed, with those players earning points based on their finishing positions in all the Queens of Tallinn events (satellites and the Ladies & Gentlemen tournament do not award points) that have at least 12 entrants.

The team competition's prize pool is funded by removing 2% of from qualifying events' prize pools, and is awarded at the end of the series.

Don't worry if you're traveling to Queens of Tallinn alone because the organizers will help to team you up with others in your position. The team element creates a great atmosphere, and often lead to raucous rails as tournaments enter their business end!

Share this article
Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor

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.

More Stories

Other Stories

Recommended for you
PokerDivas’ Ellen Leikind Continues Mission to Help Professional Women Via Poker Skills PokerDivas’ Ellen Leikind Continues Mission to Help Professional Women Via Poker Skills