Mathias Siljander Wins the Tallinn Summer Showdown Main Event (�46,700)
Finland's Mathias Siljander finished on top of a field of 195 entrants to win the 2019 Tallinn Summer Showdown �1,100 Main Event for �46,700 at the Hilton Tallinn Park and the Olympic Park Casino.
This is Siljander's second big win in a Main Event in Tallinn in recent months as back in May he navigated through a field of 531 entrants to win the Coolbet Open �550 Main Event for �60,100. This is also his third televised final table in Tallinn in the last year as he also took third place in the Coolbet Open Main Event in October 2018 for �26,700.
"It feels good to win another trophy," Siljander shared with PokerNews. "I am going to celebrate with a quiet dinner and maybe go out after."
Before the Final Table
The event began with 168 entrants joining the action on Day 1. This already set a record for the Summer Showdown Main Event with the previous record coming the year before when it attracted 165 entrants. By the time late registration closed after the first blind level on Day 2, the field ballooned to 195 entrants.
Day 2 played down to the money with 23 players each guaranteed a �2,180 payday. The tournament certainly could have gone differently for Siljander as he attempted to bully Pasi Laihinen off a hand. Laihinen had aces and made the call and was a clear favorite to wind up with a massive stack himself with Siljander holding king-queen suited. However, instead of Siljander potentially bubbling or at least entering Day 3 with a short-stack, he nailed a flush to send Laihinen out on the bubble instead.
The 23 players came back on Day 3 for what was a whirlwind of a day. Despite players being deep-stacked, the field was whittled down to a final table of eight players in just over three hours.
Kelly Limonova and Andres Loiv were competing in a last longer contest for Olybet Poker qualifiers. While Limonova was the last lady standing in the event, Loiv did win the last longer and was awarded a free ticket to the Battle of Malta �555 Main Event.
Final Table Action
The eight final tablists were on average 73 big blinds deep with one-hour blind levels. This figure was misleading with Day 2 and 3 chip leader Tapio Vihakas, Day 1 chip leader and eventual champion Siljander, and Jussi Mattila, who appeared on his third televised final table in Tallinn this year, with most of the chips in play. Each of the Finnish trio had at least quadruple the chips of their nearest competition in Estonia's Toomas Polli.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mathias Siljander | Finland | �46,700 | $52,059 |
| 2 | Jussi Mattila | Finland | �32,200 | $35,895 |
| 3 | Tapio Vihakas | Finland | �19,500 | $21,738 |
| 4 | Algimantas Jablonskis | Lithuania | �15,000 | $16,721 |
| 5 | Toomas Polli | Estonia | �11,500 | $12,820 |
| 6 | Ahmed Ibrahimi | Morocco | �8,200 | $9,141 |
| 7 | Aki Pyysing | Finland | �6,400 | $7,134 |
| 8 | Kim Lindstrom | Finland | �5,130 | $5,719 |
While Vihakas had the lead, Siljander grabbed the lead and kept it for the first half of the day.
It took nearly an hour for the first elimination to take place at the final table. Finland's Kim Lindstrom (eighth - �5,130) called off his short stack with top pair holding ace-nine suited and was drawing dead with Mattila already holding a flush with king-ten suited.
About 30 minutes later, Finland's Aki Pyysing (seventh - �6,400) was done for the day after he couldn't win a flip with big slick against the pocket queens held by Vihakas.
Another half an hour passed before Morocco's Ahmed Ibrahimi (sixth - �8,200) was eliminated. He raised preflop with kings and Siljander three-bet from the big blind with six-deuce. Ibrahimi called and was in big trouble after two sixes spiked the flop. He called down all three streets including an all-in bet on the river to send him packing.
Vihakas then went on a roll and not only took back the chip lead but also had half the chips in play before time was up for Polli (fifth - �11,500). Polli jammed for 14 big blinds from the small blind with ace-three and couldn't improve against the ace-seven held by Mattila after he called.
Meanwhile, during this time Lithuania's Algimantas Jablonskis (fourth - �15,000) managed to ladder up. He not only entered Day 3 as the short stack but also entered the final table with the shortest stack. He had the least amount of chips the entire time at the final table but whenever he needed a double he got one having survived seven straight all-ins. He ran out of gas the eighth time when his ace-deuce suited proved to be no match for Vihakas' tens.
Jablonskis' Final Table All-in Situations
| Hand # | Jablonskis' Hand | Opponent's Hand | Result | Odds to Win | Odds to Tie | Odds to Survive | Cumulative Odds to Survive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |   |   | Win | 44.5% | 0.3% | 44.8% | 44.8% |
| 2 |  |  | Win | 50.5% | 0.4% | 51.0% | 22.8% |
| 3 |   |  | Win | 81.6% | 0.4% | 81.9% | 18.7% |
| 4 |   |  | Win | 61.4% | 0.5% | 61.9% | 11.6% |
| 5 |  |   &   | Chop | 51.7% | 14.1% | 65.9% | 7.6% |
| 6 |  |  | Win | 71.1% | 3.7% | 74.8% | 5.7% |
| 7 |  |  | Win | 71.4% | 4.6% | 76.0% | 4.3% |
| 8 |  |  | Loss | 32.4% | 0.4% | 32.8% | 1.4% |
Vihakas still had a sizeable lead during three-handed play. Eventually, Siljander was able to take over after winning a big hand with jacks against king-ten suited after spiking a set against top-pair. Siljander then successfully applied pressure on his opponents and built up his lead to hold two-thirds of the chips in play.
Mattila then won his fourth all-in situation in a row to double up against Vihakas and leave his opponent with crumbs when his ace-ten held against queen-jack. Mattila then dusted off the rest of Vihakas' chips when his queen-seven held strong against seven-deuce.
Siljander entered heads-up play with more than a 2:1 chip advantage over Mattila. However, Mattila battled back to take the chip lead for the first time in the day. Siljander won a couple of small pots to take a slim chip lead over Mattila before the final hand took place.
Siljander five-bet jammed with eights and was called by Mattila with ace-queen. An eight spiked the flop making it unlikely Mattila had any hope. All hope was gone after Siljander improved to a full house on the turn and Mattila was eliminated in second place for �32,200.
This wraps up our coverage of the 2019 Tallinn Summer Showdown �1,100 Main Event. Stay tuned at PokerNews as we bring you updates from big events around the world.
*Images courtesy of Elena Kask / Tallinn Summer Showdown.