Juha Helppi Wins PLO Grand Slam Prague Championship After Three-Way Chop
The past week has been a busy one for Juha Helppi here at the All Inn Casino in Prague. Two days ago, Helppi made the final table of the PLO Grand Slam €5,200 Million, where he finished third for €98,700. Today Helppi once again found himself at a final table with three players remaining, this time in the €10,400 Championship, the flagship event of the series.
The final three players agreed to an ICM deal to split the lion's share of the €1,005,800 prize pool, and when it came time to flip for the Diamond Poker Series trophy it was Helppi who was the last player standing, taking home €168,400 and the trophy, while Aki Vihikainen received the highest payout of €198,700.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juha Helppi | Finland | €168,400* |
| 2 | Aki Vihikainen | Finland | €198,700* |
| 3 | Alexander Petersen | Denmark | €186,600* |
| 4 | Luuk van den Belt | Netherlands | €94,550 |
| 5 | Cesar Garcia | Spain | €75,950 |
| 6 | Kevin Gorsic | Slovenia | €59,300 |
| 7 | Jeremy Trojand | Germany | €46,750 |
| 8 | Veselin Karakitukov | Bulgaria | €35,700 |
| 9 | Ole Schemion | Germany | €26,150 |
*Denotes three-way ICM deal
Winner's Reaction
The newly crowned champion told PokerNews that he felt "very good" after the successful week of four-card action, before describing how he was happy to chop after so many long days in a row at the tables.
"It was nice to make a deal. I had played for six days straight, almost the whole time, because I was top three also in the €5k. So basically I spent all my time here, from Monday to now. Playing poker and sleeping, playing poker and sleeping, that’s it.”
Helppi described the difference in playing styles from the two final tables he had made in just as many days.
“I think the play in this €10k was a bit more cautious. People really wanted to ladder up. In the €5k, people gambled a bit more. Otherwise I think the level of play was very good in both tournaments.”
Helppi, a veteran of the game for over 25 years, described how different the games are now compared to before.
“When I first started playing, of course I was very bad, but most people were even worse than me, so I was able to make pretty easy money. Of course, the level of play now, you can’t even compare it. Good players 20 years ago would be fish nowadays.”
Helppi attributed his adaptability to the success he's had at the poker tables over the last three decades.
“I think what I can do is change my game according to my opponents. Many of these younger generation players, they don’t change their game as much. I think I can call down some players, bluff some players, change my style according to who I’m playing against. I think that’s the key.”
Final Table Action
Helppi began the day with a middling stack and was all-in within the first hour of play, holding the nut-straight against Alexander Petersen's flush draw. Helppi remained ahead the whole way to double, while Petersen was left as an extreme short stack with five big blinds. The action ground to a halt, with the other final table players attempting to outlast Petersen to ladder. Petersen didn't make it easy for them, quickly doubling up, while Ole Schemion became the first final table casualty after running into Helppi's aces.
Petersen doubled again soon after to bring himself back to life, leaving Veselin Karakitukov very short. Karakitukov was eliminated soon after, before start-of-day chip leader Vihikainen extended his chip lead significantly with the eliminations of Jeremy Trojand in seventh and Kevin Gorsic in sixth.
Helppi was at risk again with five players remaining, holding with top set against the Broadway wrap of Luuk van den Belt for another double up. Meanwhile, Petersen completed his comeback from five big blinds after doubling up through Cesar Garcia to leave the latter player short, with Petersen getting the rest of Garcia's chips soon after.
Following Van den Belt's elimination in fourth at the hands of Petersen, the final three players agreed to an ICM chop to split the remaining prize pool. All that was left was to determine who would walk away with the trophy. Helppi was the shortest of the three stacks at the time, but after three blind flips he was the last player standing.
That concludes the PokerNews coverage for this event. Stay locked in with our live reporting hub for all the action on poker series across the globe.