Hossein Ensan Close to Third Major PLO Grand Slam Final Table as 13 Return for €10,300 Championship Final
2019 WSOP Main Event Champion has been a regular at the PLO Grand Slam ever since Diamond Poker Series hosted the second-ever edition in Tirana this year. He immediately made his mark by getting sixth in the marquee €5K event of the series, only to follow it up by becoming the runner-up of the same event at the next stop in Tallinn.
Continuing his form, today Ensan is just a few eliminations away from keeping his streak of final tables going, as he is one of 13 players who will return to Casino Malta at 1 p.m. local time for the final day of the €10,300 Championship, the other flagship event of the PLO Grand Slam. Ensan's stack of 3,750,000 places him fifth on the leaderboard going into Day 3, having an above-average 63 big blinds at his disposal.
The chiplead is in the hands of Andras Nemeth. Nemeth will have the best papers for conquering the top prize of €437,100 with the longtime pro coming back with 5,940,000. Others who remain from the field of 182 and are battling for the majority of the €1,880,000 prize pool include Filip Lovric, Day 1 chipleader Ole Schemion, and Austrian poker veteran Harry Casagrande
Start of Day 3 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 |
The 13 remaining contenders have secured themselves a payout of €32,000 by making it to Day 3. However, with seventh place paying over double that amount, and six-figure prizes being awarded from sixth place onward, every decision today could be worth a lot of money.
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 finale of the €10,300 Championship will begin in Level 20, with blinds at 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. With an average stack of nearly 50 big blinds and 60-minute levels, there is a lot of play left in the tournament. A short break is scheduled after every two levels, with no set time for dinner as of yet, and Day 3 will conclude when a winner has been declared.
PokerNews will be covering the final day of the PLO Grand Slam Malta Championship from start to finish. Stay tuned for all the eliminations and other highlights as the thrilling finale is about to begin.