Top 5 Finnish Poker Players and How They Place in the GPI

The Effects of the Growing Popularity of Poker Sites in Finland

Finland was one of the countries the online poker furore hit first. The best poker sites available in Finland made it possible for self-made poker millionaires like Ilari Sahamies to play huge pots on a regular basis at the click of a mouse. That proved an irresistible temptation for a substantial majority of people in the country, which is why we are here today discussing the best poker players from Finland.

Without the internet boom this wouldn’t have been possible. We know that the legend Patrick Antonious made a name for himself as a force to be reckoned with online. It was easy for him to move on then to live high-stakes cash games. There’s no doubt that the new generation of best professional poker players from Finland owes thanks to the online platforms that enabled them to build a bankroll while sitting at home.

Joni Jouhkimainen – GPI 248

Joni Jouhkimainen is a living example of the importance of the minimum gambling age requirement for those who set out to be poker pros. He could barely wait for his 18th birthday to come to start playing poker for real money. Turning 18 was a major turning point in Joni Jouhkimainen’s life, as he first encountered live poker at a casino in his hometown Helsinki.

Not that Joni is a stranger to online poker. He played on various platforms under different nicknames. The online poker world knows him as ‘bustoville’ on PokerStars, ‘gusterous’ on Full Tilt Poker, NastyMake on 888poker, and who knows how many more nicknames.

Juha Helpi – GPI 249.74

Juha Helpi is, no doubt, one of the best professional poker players hailing from Finland. He started as a dealer and had plenty of time and the right environment to make the transition to a pro poker player. His impressive resume includes a WPT title, two WSOP bracelets and 30 more money finishes. Here are the most important facts about Juha Helpi:

Ok, Juha Helpi ‘s WSOP titles didn’t bring him as much cash as winning the main event would, but they are impressive nonetheless. He won the 2019 $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship for a $306,622 share. And the next year, he finished first in the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship event for a $290,286 payday.

Eelis Pärssinen – GPI 525

Eelis Pärssinen is a player who knows how to cash in on his talent. He won the 2020 Poker Masters Online PLO Series Purple Jacket™ and also has a 2021 WSOP bracelet. Though playing primarily online, he makes a good fist of maintaining a solid reputation as a good live tournament player. His preferred poker variant is Pot Limit Omaha. Here’s more about the Finn:

Eelis Pärssinen’s stamping ground online are renowned poker platforms with many open high-stakes tables for PLO players. The Finn has some pretty big cashes on record, including the $545,616 he scooped in for winning the Super High Roller from the EPT.

Mathias Siljander – GPI 897

Though being 41st on Finland’s all-time money list, Mathias Siljander’s run didn’t go unnoticed. He stays very active throughout the year, mainly playing in Europe. His most recent tournament wins are from August of 2022 at European Poker Tour – EPT Barcelona. Mathias finished in the money in all four tournaments he participated in, totalling a nice €78,280 payout.

Before his success in Barcelona, Mathias Siljander played a few other moderately high buy-in tournaments in Estonia, the Czech Republic, and France. As previously, he turned his investment into a good account and finished in the money. It’s apparent already that consistency in results is one of the traits of this Finnish poker player with the most influence on the success of his career.

Patrick Antonious – GPI 2998

Aside from being one of Finland’s best poker players, Patrick Antonious has one of the most recognisable faces of all poker professionals. Not only does he look like Brad Pitt from Ocean’s Twelve, but he also starred in numerous televised cash games. Antonious’ results in the poker tour started generating a lot of buzz in 2005 when he finished in the money in three WSOP events that year.

Although Patrick Antonious has had a decent time on the international poker tour, he’s known mostly for his results in big cash games, both online and live. What the fans will remember about him is a pot between Antonious and Sammy Farha in Season 4 of High Stakes Poker. They both went all in and decided to run it four times. Antonious ended up winning three of the runs for a total of $749,100.

Honourable Mentions

Sadly, we had time to bring into focus only the top poker players in Finland. However, we know there are more names the internet loves and talks about, so what better way to acknowledge those players than as honourable mentions? Different factors promoted these Finnish players to honourable mentions, one of which is pure popularity, and another is their high GPI, albeit not as high as that of the top 5 Finnish poker pros.

One of the names the era of televised poker magnified was Ilari Sahamies’ – a good friend of Patrick Antonious and part of the line-up in the TV shows High Stakes Poker and Million Dollar Cash Game. He’s a risky player who likes to take part in high-stakes cash games, but he wasn’t always a man of means. He was working a regular day job before his poker tale started.

FAQ

After we made a case of who the top 5 Finnish poker players are, all that’s left for us is to answer the frequently asked questions surrounding this subject. Find out what poker players are asking about in the lines below. You will have to scroll back on this page for more detailed answers.