Poker tournament honors late player with a reserved seat and heartfelt donation

A friend's seat stays empty as a tribute, while winnings pledge to support a widow. The poker world unites in grief and celebration.

, and Administrator

2026 April 12 . 2:20 AM

1 min read

The image shows a man in a blue suit holding a microphone and a trophy, with a wall in the... — The image shows a man in a blue suit holding a microphone and a trophy, with a wall in the background. He appears to be celebrating his success, as if he has just won an award. His expression is one of joy and accomplishment, and his posture is confident and proud.

Poker tournament honors late player with a reserved seat and heartfelt donation

The final table of the €555 NLH Championship is not the only thing running in the main tournament area. The €200 NLH Celebrity Special is also in full swing, and the "regular" players are looking for good spots to knock out the celebrities, as they all have some kind of mystery bounty on their heads.

Tapio Aaltonen is one of the players in the tournament. Two weeks ago, Kings of Tallinn regular Marko Härkönen suddenly passed away. As a sign of respect, the Kings of Tallinn crew reserved Table 1-Seat 1 to Aaltonen, who was a very close friend of Härkönen. He has promised to donate half of his potential tournament winnings to Härkönen's widow; both Härkönen and Kings of Tallinn are paying homage to Aaltonen in the most beautiful way possible.