Marcus Dieleman Secures $750K Prize in Onyx SHRS PLO Championship
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The $51,000 Onyx SHRS PLO Championship has come to a close at the 2025 Onyx Super High Roller Series presented by Onyx club inside the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, with the Netherlands’ Marcus Dieleman walking away as champion for a $750,000 first-place prize. The event drew 49 total entries to create a $2,376,500 prize pool, with the top seven places paid.
Dieleman, who began Day 2 as chip leader, sealed the win after a heads-up marathon with Russia’s Sergei Nesterenko. The match lasted over 60 hands with the chip lead changing hands several times before Dieleman closed it out. Nesterenko collected $522,000 for his runner-up finish, while Canada’s Daniel Dvoress rounded out the podium positions and collected $380,000 for his efforts.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcus Dieleman | Netherlands | $750,000 |
| 2 | Sergei Nesterenko | Russia | $522,000 |
| 3 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | $380,000 |
| 4 | Fahredin Mustafov | Bulgaria | $276,000 |
| 5 | Espen Myrmo | Norway | $202,000 |
| 6 | Jesse Lonis | United States | $146,000 |
| 7 | Artur Martirosian | Russia | $100,500 |
Winner's Reaction
Dieleman reflected on his journey with calmness, describing both Day 1 and Day 2 as steady experiences.
“See, yesterday went extremely smooth, and then, yeah, same as today, actually,” he said. “Yeah, not any very big all-ins, mostly small pots and all the all-ins I won, and then only when we got 3-handed, it got a bit harder. Yeah, good and then it was just a roller coaster heads-up.”
When asked if playing for such large amounts of money affected him, Dieleman said. “Mm, not really, you do get used to the stakes quite quickly, I think, and I do play high stakes cash games online mostly. So I'm somewhat used to the money, but like this is a lot of course, and just started playing tournaments more seriously for the past 1.5 years.”
He also spoke about adapting from cash games to tournaments with the help from close friends. “I have some very good friends that are very good at tournaments like Tom Vogelsang, yeah, we're very good friends.”
It was also Dieleman’s first time playing in Merit, and he was impressed with everything about the venue. “It’s amazing, like everything is taken care of very well. The hotel is extremely beautiful. Also, this whole venue it's a very nice environment to play. Yeah, and every time you wake up, you're excited to play again.”
As for what comes next, Dieleman already has plans. “Yeah, actually for a few days, playing a 25k and then back to Amsterdam.”
Dieleman's Journey to the Top
Once late registration closed after roughly three hours of play, the field stood at 49 entries and only three tables remained. With seven places in the money, it did not take long for the action to reach the final table, where just two more eliminations were needed before the remaining players were guaranteed a six-figure payday. Among those who fell short were Richard Gryko, Poker Hall of Famer Nick Schulman, and Sean Rafael, who exited on the final table bubble.
Dieleman entered the final table as chip leader, but quickly surrendered it after Dvoress knocked out Manuel Stojanovic in ninth, then immediately burst the money bubble on the next hand by turning a straight to send Raphael Schreiner out as the last player to leave empty-handed.
It took only eight hands for the field to shrink from seven to four, with Dieleman responsible for one of the eliminations. He rivered a set of kings to beat Jesse Lonis’ set of queens, ending the Onyx SHRS NLH Invitational champion’s run in sixth place. Soon after, Fahredin Mustafov, who was looking to earn valuable Onyx Player of the Series points, was undone by Dieleman’s turned flush and had to settle for a finish just outside of the podium.
When three-handed play began, Dieleman held a slight lead over Dvoress while Nesterenko was clearly in last position. Dvoress chipped up slowly to overtake the Dutchman, but Nesterenko doubled up through him several times, allowing Dieleman to reclaim the top spot. Dvoress eventually bowed out in third in a huge clash when his turned flush lost out to Dieleman’s rivered full house, leaving only two players at the table.
Heads-up started with Dieleman holding a better than 2:1 advantage, though Nesterenko doubled quickly to take the chip lead for the first time in the day. With over 100 big blinds in play, the battle lasted more than 60 hands as the chip lead passed back and forth multiple times.
Eventually, in the final hand, where both stacks were nearly even, all the chips got into the middle on a connected flop, and Dieleman had another chance to finish it. Nesterenko held the nut straight while Dieleman had a flush draw. The turn completed the flush, and with it Dieleman locked up the title, the trophy, and the $750,000 top prize. Nesterenko collected $522,000 as runner-up, while Dieleman celebrated the biggest win of his career.
