Aleksei Vandyshev Clinches PLO Grand Slam Prague €5,200 Million Victory
Table Of Contents
Aleksei Vandyshev had already proven his ability in No-Limit Hold'em before coming to the PLO Grand Slam Prague, hosted by the Diamond Poker Series at the All Inn Casino. Vandyshev's poker resume included several five-figure scores, a WPT Main Event final table for just over $100,000, and a victory in the 2021 WSOP Online Main Event for over $2,500,000. But his ability to translate that success to Pot-Limit Omaha was anything but proven, as he had zero recorded cashes in live PLO tournaments going into the final day of the event.
Despite facing some of the best four-card specialists in the world today, Vandyshev seemed right in his element, and by the end of the night, Vandyshev was the one hoisting the Diamond Poker Series trophy as the last player standing after a hotly contested heads-up battle against Aku Joentausta. For the victory, Vandyshev took home €218,550, the lion's share of the €1,000,000 prize pool.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aleksei Vandyshev | Russian Federation | € 218,550 |
| 2 | Aku Joentausta | Finland | € 148,500 |
| 3 | Juha Helppi | Finland | € 98,700 |
| 4 | Cesar Garcia | Spain | € 80,840 |
| 5 | Sampo Ryynanen | Finland | € 64,680 |
| 6 | Sebestyen Balint | Hungary | € 50,290 |
| 7 | Omar Eljach | Sweden | € 37,220 |
| 8 | Carlo van Ravenswoud | Netherlands | € 27,350 |
| 9 | Veselin Karakitukov | Bulgaria | € 21,810 |
Winner's Reaction
Vandyshev, who immediately hopped in Day 1 of the €10,000 PLO Championship event moments after winning, and caught up with PokerNews on the following break in that event, said that he feels grateful for the victory.
"I have not many words. There was a little bit of stress heads-up. I was a very very tiny stack. But I came back and won. Now I’m already in another tournament, so I’m concentrated, but I’m very happy.”
“I am an amateur in PLO," Vandyshev continued. "There’s more fun in this game. A lot of guys are, of course, better than me. It was tough, especially the final table. I just love to play PLO. Today I got lucky, and that proves everybody can win.”
Final Day Action
The final day began with 11 players returning from the 182-entry field. Bracelet winner and three-time Diamond Poker Series winner Dario Alioto was first to fall before Vandyshev eliminated Kan Ying on the final table bubble when King got the money in good with pocket aces, only for Vandyshev to turn a set of kings. That hand gave Vandyshev the chip lead going into the final table, and what he lacked in PLO experience he made up for with sheer aggression, constantly putting his opponents to the test and winning a plethora of hands without showdown.
Following Veselin Karakitukov's elimination in ninth place, Vandyshev became the first player to reach an eight-figure stack after a pivotal hand against 2022 WSOP Europe Main Event champion Omar Eljach. Vandyshev had rivered a gutshot to a Broadway straight, and he got max value after Eljach paid off his pot-sized bet, leaving Eljach short. Eljach managed to ladder up a rung after Vandyshev knocked off Carlo van Ravenswoud in eighth place, before Eljach himself fell in seventh.
Vandyshev's momentum came to a screeching halt at the final five, after Joentausta, who was second in chips, set an expertly laid trap with double-suited aces. Vandyshev had been keeping his foot on the gas the whole way up until this point, and when Joentausta's aces held, he suddenly went from chip lead to short stack, while Joentausta held more than half the chips in play with four players remaining.
“That was a huge tragedy," Vandyshev said of the hand that nearly caused his downfall. "Aku found very good aces, and just called preflop. He should fold everything there except aces. But he had it, and I lost and became short. It was a huge punch for me. But I was already happy for being on the final table. I was pretty calm.”
It was the Joentausta-show from there, and he quickly dispatched short stacks Cesar Garcia in fourth, followed by Finnish poker legend Juha Helppi in third, to take more than a 6:1 advantage going into heads-up play against Vandyshev.
But Joentausta couldn't quite put the resilient Vandyshev away. Vandyshev was one card away from elimination before his open-ended straight draw got there on the river for the double up, and soon after he picked off a bluff from Joentausta to put himself back into the chip lead. Joentausta came close to closing the gap a few times, but Vandyshev was once again amping up the aggression at every turn, whittling Joentausta back down every time Joentausta seemed close to pulling even.
The final hand saw Joentausta get the chips in the middle with two pair, while Vandyshev had plenty of outs with a wrap. The Broadway straight came in for Vandyshev on the river, and he was declared the PLO Grand Slam Prague €5,200 Million champion.
That concludes our coverage of the €5,200 Million, but stay tuned for more action as the Diamond Poker Series continues in Prague with the €10,300 Championship.
