Two days ago, Cesar Garcia and Juha Helppi came just short of winning the €5,200 Million here at the PLO Grand Slam Prague, hosted by the Diamond Poker Series at the All Inn Casino. After finishing in fourth and third place respectively, the two players wasted no time hopping in the €10,400 Championship event, both making their second final table in just as many days by the end of the night.
Both players start the day in the middle of the pack with around 50 big blinds, far behind start-of-day chip leader Aki Vihikainen, who bagged a monstrous 5,560,000 at the conclusion of Day 2, the only stack worth over 100 big blinds going into the final day. Vihikainen is most closely followed by Kevin Gorsic with 3,705,000, while Jeremy Trojand rounds out the podium with 2,420,000. Vihikainen is the only player to have made the final table of the last edition of this event in Malta, where he finished in third place for an even €100,000.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aki Vihikainen | Finland | 5,560,000 | 139 |
| 2 | Jeremy Trojand | Germany | 2,420,000 | 61 |
| 3 | Alexander Petersen | Netherlands | 900,000 | 23 |
| 4 | Cesar Garcia | Spain | 1,690,000 | 42 |
| 5 | Juha Helppi | Finland | 2,095,000 | 52 |
| 6 | Veselin Karakitukov | Bulgaria | 1,480,000 | 37 |
| 7 | Ole Schemion | Germany | 2,210,000 | 55 |
| 8 | Luuk van den Belt | Netherlands | 1,900,000 | 48 |
| 9 | Kevin Gorsic | Slovenia | 3,705,000 | 93 |
The flagship event of the series drew 107 entries, surpassing the €1,000,000 guarantee to create a prize pool of €1,005,800. The final nine players have each guaranteed themselves a healthy €26,150 payday, the top three finishers are guaranteed a six figure score and will be vying for the €258,900 top prize and the prestigious Diamond Poker Series trophy.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | € 258,900 |
| 2 | € 178,100 |
| 3 | € 116,700 |
| 4 | € 94,550 |
| 5 | € 75,950 |
| 6 | € 59,300 |
| 7 | € 46,750 |
| 8 | € 35,700 |
| 9 | € 26,150 |
The final day is set to resume at 1:00 p.m. local time, with 14:30 left on Level 18 and the blinds at 20,000/40,000 (40,000). All levels will be 60 minutes, with a break after every two levels.
Stay locked in with PokerNews as we bring you all the four-card action, leading to the crowning of a new Diamond Poker Series champion.