Andras Nemeth Leads Final 13 After Bubble-Bursting Day 2 of PLO Grand Slam Championship
When registration closed after the second level of Day 2 of the €10,300 Championship at the PLO Grand Slam Malta, the clock stood at 182 entries. Barely missing the guarantee, the prize pool remained €1,880,000, and the 13 players who survived Day 2 have already secured a piece as the bubble burst around midnight, although all will be having their eyes on the top prize of €437,100.
During the bubble, a red-hot Andras Nemeth was chipleading the field at Casino Malta, having been in the top spot of the leaderboard since halfway through the first level of the day. Unsurprisingly, the poker legend known as "probirs" online was also the top dog at the end of the night, bagging 5,940,000 for nearly 100 big blinds as he secured his first-ever cash at the Diamond Poker Series.
Contrary to appearances, however, Nemeth had to battle hard for his chips. In fact, the anonymous player "Sonic" was in the lead for the majority of the last two levels. It was only in the final hand of Day 2 that Nemeth reclaimed the crown, taking a big pot off his rival by rivering a full house. "Sonic" was left with 4,580,000 chips, still good for second on the leaderboard. Meanwhile, Andreas Thelin is the only other player who crossed the four-million mark, ending the night with 4,305,000.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andras Nemeth | Hungary | 5,940,000 | 99 |
| 2 | Sonic | 4,580,000 | 76 | |
| 3 | Andreas Thelin | Sweden | 4,305,000 | 72 |
| 4 | Aku Joentausta | Finland | 3,780,000 | 63 |
| 5 | Hossein Ensan | Germany | 3,750,000 | 63 |
| 6 | Filip Lovric | Sweden | 2,520,000 | 42 |
| 7 | Johan Espholm | Denmark | 2,500,000 | 42 |
| 8 | Ole Schemion | Germany | 2,405,000 | 40 |
| 9 | Stanislav Zegal | Germany | 2,065,000 | 34 |
| 10 | Aki Vihikainen | Finland | 2,060,000 | 34 |
| 11 | Harry Casagrande | Austria | 1,560,000 | 26 |
| 12 | Hans Thumann | Germany | 1,325,000 | 22 |
| 13 | Danyil Zaremba | Ukraine | 1,195,000 | 20 |
2019 WSOP Main Event champion Hossein Ensan is still in the mix, as is Day 1 chipleader Ole Schemion. Ensan will be looking to get redemption for his runner-up finish in the €5K Million at the PLO Grand Slam in Tallinn, while, like Nemeth, Schemion is enjoying his debut at the Diamond Poker Series. With Danyil Zaremba, the shortest stack in the field, still having 20 big blinds at his disposal at the start of Day 3, the remainder of the tournament is promising to be a deep-stacked affair.
Day 2 Action
With late registration open for two hours at the start of Day 2, the action was fast and relentless. Tom-Aksel Bedell was one of the many eliminations during the early phases of the day, ensuring a new champion would be crowned as he opted not to reenter. Bracelet winners Stefan Lehner, Dario Alioto, Nikolaos Lampropoulos, Oleksii Kovalchuk, and Robert Cowen all fell well before the money as well.
Day 1b chipleader Bharath Janardhan could not turn his good starting position into a cash, finishing six away from the 23 paid places. Dennis Weiss only came two spots short, and, eventually, Stian Usterud became the unlucky bubble boy as his top set of aces was cracked by a rivered gutshot.
Once in the money, min-cashes of €21,800 were awarded to Anton Suarez and Tobias Hausen, while the Dutch duo of Lucas van den Belt and Marcus Dieleman made the pay jump to €23,700. Aaron Pahlawani recorded his fifth Diamond Poker Series cash by finishing 16th for €26,300, while Mads Amot was the final elimination of the night, securing €29,100 for his 14th place.
Meanwhile, the 13 remaining contenders have locked up €32,000 for their efforts. The big pay jumps will start at the final six, when six-figure payouts will be awarded, but of course, everyone's eyes will be fixated on the first place, with the trophy and title of PLO Grand Slam Champion that comes with it.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €437,100 | 7 | €74,400 | |
| 2 | €296,100 | 8 | €54,700 | |
| 3 | €197,400 | 9 | €43,600 | |
| 4 | €161,700 | 10-11 | €36,700 | |
| 5 | €129,700 | 12-13 | €32,000 | |
| 6 | €100,600 |
The tournament will resume tomorrow, Thursday, October 16, at 1 p.m. local time. The final day will start with blinds at 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante, and all levels will remain 60 minutes long. Day 3 will see a winner crowned, meaning a long session could be ahead for the players.
PokerNews will be back on the floor for Day 3, so tune back in then to not miss the thrilling conclusion of the €10,300 PLO Grand Slam Malta Championship.