After more than 20 years of being a live event, Midnight Sun is now virtual in response to COVID-19
A prestigious live poker series held in Helsinki, Norway is still scheduled for this summer, but it will be online for the first time in history. The coronavirus pandemic is still strong, and it is not safe to hold live events without the proper planning and implementation of safety measures. So, the iconic Midnight Sun tournament series will take its $324,391 in guaranteed prizes and its 36 events to online poker tables.
This live poker tournament has been running for over two decades; it started back in 1998 in a Helsinki-based casino. For the organization, it is not the ideal scenario, but it is better than just canceling. "Of course, I am sad that we have to cancel the legendary Midnight Sun Poker tournament week here in Casino Helsinki," Sami Siltanen, Product Group Manager at Veikkaus, told PRO in an interview. "Many Finnish poker superstars have enjoyed this venue in the past and it is a very popular poker event here in Finland. At the same time, I am excited to be able to move it online and make Finnish poker history."
This Finnish tournament typically shares a significant player pool with Austrian win2day to run this series, which means that the sites rejoining forces to run the event together. With this change, there will be a large players pool to attend this online event, which will set a new step for Finnish poker development. "With Austrian win2day players, Midnight Sun going online will most likely be the biggest tournament week we have ever had in our network," added Siltanen.
