Are you a fan of the game of poker? If so, you are likely to have realized that over the years, the poker landscape has evolved and players from all parts of the world have joined the game. Today, it is the Asian players who are making an attack on the poker world, but some years ago, Scandinavian players were at the forefront of the poker expansion.

Poker may be predominantly an American game, but this does not mean that players from other countries are not able to compete. More than anyone else, Scandinavian players have shown that they have the poker skills to match their American counterparts and over the years Finnish poker players have been at the forefront of this battle.

• Finnish poker players took the world by storm in the mid 2000s
• Using a hyper aggressive style of play, Finnish players dominated the poker scene for years
• Some of the biggest and most recognizable high stakes cash game players come from Finland

Led by the likes of Patrik Antonius and Ilari Sahamies, the best Finnish poker players have gained a reputation as being hyper aggressive, fearless and extremely talented at the game. Whether it is cash games or poker tournaments we are talking about, there is no doubt that poker players from Finland are some of the best in the world.

If you are looking to find out who the baddest and meanest poker players from this northern country are, you are in the right place as we bring you our top list of the best Finnish poker players who have ever graced the game with their presence.

1. Patrik Antonius

Born: 13 December 1980
Nickname: PA
Specialty: Cash Games/Heads Up

Former tennis player and model, Patrik Antonius turned to a career in poker in early 2000s. Early in his poker career, Patrik showed an incredible level of passion for the game and raw talent and this quickly translated into significant results on the tournament poker circuit.

• One of the most successful high stakes cash game poker players
• The most recognizable Finnish poker player
• Has tournament winnings in excess of $8.000.000
• Model, husband and father of two

In 2005, PA won the EPT Baden event for 288.000 EUR and had several other significant finishes on the tour, but tournament poker was simply not enough for the Finn.

Patrik really made a name for himself in cash games, winning millions both online and live. While it is hard to calculate or even make a fair estimate of how much he has won over the years, it is safe to say that he is one of the biggest cash game winners in the world.

Specializing in both NL Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha, he has managed to beat some of the toughest online games at Full Tilt Poker and other poker sites. In 2009, Antonius won the biggest online poker pot worth $1.356.946 against the Swedish phenom Viktor Blom.

Antonius’ live tournament poker earnings amount to over $8.000.000 but this is only a fraction of what he is likely to have made in live cash games in Las Vegas, Macau and other locations.

These games are private in nature and information is hard to come by, but the Finn was recorded playing in million Dollar buyin cash games on many occasions and all reports indicate that he is one of the biggest winners in these games as well.

Aside from his incredibly successful poker career, Patrik is also well known for his great looks which allow him to work as a model and his incredibly friendly nature and character which make him one of the most beloved poker players in the world.

One of the best Finnish poker players in the world, Antonius currently resides in Monte Carlo and is married to Maya Geller who is also the mother of his two children.

2. Ilari Sahamies

Born: 1983
Nickname: Ziigmund
Specialty: PLO Cash Games

A colorful character in his own right, Ilari Sahamies is known as one of the best Finnish poker players. Ilari started playing poker at a very young age of just 15 when he joined Patrik Antonius and his friends in a home game. At the time, Sahamies was an avid billiards player and he quickly grew passionate about poker as well.

• PLO specialist with an extremely aggressive approach to the game
• A colorful character known to trash talk other players and have low respect for authority
• Was up millions online, but poor habits and game selection led to him losing most of it

While his first encounters with poker were definitely in the live poker arena, he made his poker name playing online at Full Tilt Poker under the nickname Ziigmund and later at PokerStars under the name Ilari FIN. In the peak days of online poker, Ziigmund appeared on the scene as one of the most aggressive and “craziest” poker players around.

Playing mostly in PLO cash games, he was successful for some time taking this extremely offensive and forward approach. While Zigmund’s poker skills earned him the respect of some in the poker community, it was mostly his personality that made him so popular.

He is known for his propensity to drink while playing poker and often trash talk other players, call them names and use flawed English to make statements that used to make the rail birds watch for hours waiting for him to go on tilt.

As far as results go, Ilari has made just under $2.000.000 in poker tournaments, but it is unclear if he is a winner in them. In cash games, Zigmund is known as one of the players who gives the most action. At one point in 2009, Zigmund was up nearly $7.000.000 on Full Tilt Poker, but later dropped nearly all of it in the time leading up to the Black Friday.

He has not been nearly as present in the poker public in recent years and this has left many wondering if he still belongs on the list of the best Finnish poker players of all time.

3. Sami Kelopuro

Born: 1987
Nickname: LarsLuzak
Speciality: PLO Cash Games

Making quite a stir in the online cash games back in 2007, Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro has been known as one of the regulars in the high stakes cash games ever since. According to some rumors, Kelopuro made quite a killing playing cash games on European poker sites during the mid-2000s, although these remain unconfirmed.

• Went from micro to high stakes in online poker cash games
• Came second in the $10.000 WSOP PLO Championship
• Lost over $5.000.000 on major poker sites, leading some to question his prowess

His early years at Full Tilt Poker were a massive success as he made it to the highest stakes possible and won several million dollars, but in total Sami has lost over $5.000.000 on Full Tilt and PokerStars combined, leading some to question his skills.

While he was never a tournament specialist, Kelopuro did come second at the 2011 $10.000 PLO Championship, one of the most prestigious PLO tournaments around the world. Sami has proven his PLO expertise time and time again in both tournaments and cash games, but his online losses have often left him open to criticism.

In reality, much of these losses could be partially due to negative variance and Sami is respected by most as one of the best Finnish poker players regardless.

Today, Sami is a resident of Monte Carlo, just as many other high stakes poker professionals from Scandinavia. He remains an active poker player today, although he has not been seen playing online as much as in the past but the next major return of LarsLuzak to the online poker scene is likely to come at some point.

4. Jens Kyllonen

Born: 1989
Nickname: Jeans89
Specialty: PLO Cash Games

Born in 1989, Jens Kyllonen has proven his poker prowess in all forms of the game including live poker tournaments and online cash games. Like so many of his generation, Jens started playing at a young age and in 2011 he was already crushing online cash games for a significant profit. Jens was awarded the award as the best Finnish poker player in back to back years in 2012 and 2013, clearly earning him a place on this list.

• One of the biggest winners of all time in online cash games
• Won EPT Copenhagen and a WSOP Bracelet
• Widely known as one of the best poker coaches in the world

Playing online under various nicknames, most popular of which is Jeans89, Jens has managed to accumulate about $5,5 Million in online cash game winnings, which puts him among the top 10 best ranked online cash game players of all time. In 2014, he became part of Phil Galfond’s team at Run it Once, one of the top poker coaching sites in the world.

While Jens’ success did come in online cash games, his earliest wins were actually in poker tournaments. He started his career by winning the 2009 EPT Copenhagen for $1.120.815 which gave him the bankroll and the confidence to keep the grind alive for years to come.

In 2016, he again asserted his name on the tournament poker scene, winning the $25.000 PLO High Roller at the WSOP for $1.127.035 along with his only WSOP bracelet. These tournament wins in combination with the impressive results on the online cash game scene make him not only one of the best Finnish poker players, but one of the best in the world without a doubt.

5. Juha Helppi

Born: 1977
Nickname: Peasant
Specialty: Poker Tournaments

Unlike Ziigmund who is known to the poker world as a wild card and sometimes and offensive player, Helppi is one of the sweetest people you will meet on the tournament poker circuit. With a mild temper but a fire in his heart when it comes to poker, this tournament poker specialist certainly earned his place on the all-time list of best Finnish poker players.

• Tournament specialist who made it from small stakes to the top level
• Winner of the inaugural Premier League Poker
• High level paintball player and the captain of Finnish national paintball champions on multiple occasions

As we already mentioned, Juha Helppi is primarily a tournament poker player and he has cashed for over $7.300.000 during his successful career, with his biggest cash being for $399.000 in a high roller event held in Malta back in 2015.

Unlike some poker players who made it to the scene and apparently started playing for high stakes right away, Helppi is a true self-made poker player. He started playing in tournaments back in 2001 and went from playing very low level buyins to being a regular at the WSOP, EPT and WPT with significant results.

6. Joni Johkimainen

Born: 1990
Nickname: bustoville
Specialty: Poker Tournaments

Number three on Finland’s all-time tournament winnings list, Joni Johkimainen is certainly another Finnish player who deserves his name on the list of the best Finnish poker players of all times. With tournament winnings of just under $3.000.000 and a solid number of great tournament scores, Joni is a promising player who is likely yet to fully realize his full potential.

• Live tournament pro with notable results, still waiting for a major tournament title
• Came 3^rd at the 2012 EPT Barcelona Main Event
• Sporadic online play has resulted in humble winnings

Back in 2012, Joni came very close to earning his first major tournament title, finishing third in the EPT Barcelona Main Event and winning nearly half a million dollars. While this was not enough to put him into the record books as an EPT champion, it was certainly enough to put him on the map at a very young age.

Even though many years have passed since, Joni has still not won a major title despite making appearances at major poker festivals around the world. Nevertheless, he shows great dedication to the game and continues to dominate tournaments in Helsinki, while the international scene has been somewhat unlucky for him so far. With most major tournaments featuring massive player fields, it is not so surprising to see a great player still waiting for a title.

When it comes to online poker, Joni has played at PokerStars under the nickname bustoville and has won some $150.000 in his short online career. We can definitely say that the player remains dedicated to live tournaments and we will be waiting to see what major title he will score first.

7. Ville Wahlback

Born: 1985
Nickname: Unknown
Speciality: Cash Games

A part of the famous Team PokerStars, Ville is one of the best known Finnish poker players both among the online and the live tournament players. Ville made his first poker tournament appearances back in 2004 at a young age and has had a lot of success on the tournament and cash game circuit alike.

• Holds and 8 Game WSOP bracelet and has made other final table appearances at the Series
• A member of Team PokerStars
• A successful cash game professional and avid prop bettor

In terms of tournament poker, his biggest year to date was 2009 when he won his first ever WSOP bracelet, coming first in a $10.000 8 Game event for nearly half a million dollars. That same year, Ville made a few more final tables and deep runs at the World Series and really announced himself to the poker world at large.

Despite these amazing successes, the pro decided that his skills were better used at the cash game tables, which is why he has made few appearances on the tournament circuit since, most of them in Europe and Finland itself.

The interesting thing about Wahlback is that despite having plenty of success in mixed game tournaments, he is actually a NLH and PLO specialist who spends most of his time grinding out cash games. Ville is a part of Team PokerStars but does not play nearly as much as you would expect him to, spending most of his time at the live cash game tables.

In an interview he gave to PokerNews, Ville spoke about his life away from the poker tables where he enjoys making prop bets against the likes of Juha Helppi and Johnny Lodden. Whether he is playing at the tables or betting away from them, it is clear that this young pro enjoys life and the thrill of real money betting and beating his opponents in any game possible.

8. Mika Paasonen

Born: Unknown
Nickname: Unknown
Speciality: Poker Tournaments

Mika Paasonen is another one of the top Finnish poker players who started playing during the years of the poker boom and enticed by the popular poker movie “Rounders”. His first encounters with the game came in low stakes tournaments and online cash games. Soon, Mika made a full transition to tournament poker which paid off within a few years.

• Got interested in poker through the popular Hollywood movie “Rounders”
• Came 4^th at EPT Barcelona in 2007 for $400.000
• Nearly missed out on a WSOP bracelet on two occasions

In 2007, this popular Finnish poker pro made a final table appearance at EPT Barcelona, one of the top poker tournaments in Europe. That time he finished 4^th, good for just over $400.000, his biggest tournament poker cash to date.

Over the years, Mika came very close to putting his name among the WSOP bracelet winners. In 2009, he came second in a $2.000 No Limit Hold’em event for over $320.000, while four years later he captured the third place and an amazing $267.000 in an event with a “low” buyin of $1.500.

Despite all that, he was never lucky enough to win a WSOP event and this likely remains one of his life goals. More recently, Mika seems to have slowed down with poker, likely due to other interests, but this does not mean he is not still seen playing around the world on occasion.

Hopefully, Passonen will become a regular on the circuit once more soon and finally win a major poker title.