In a preflop confrontation, Ying Kan was all-in for around 1,500,000 from the small blind, and up against the covering stack of Aleksei Vandyshev in the button.
Ying Kan: A♠A♥K♠J♣
Aleksei Vandyshev: K♥K♦Q♥10♠
The 3♥J♦5♦K♣6♣ runout gave Vandyshev a set of kings to send Kan to the rail on the final table bubble.
With the board reading 9♥10♠Q♠2♥, Omar Eljach potted to 240,000 from the small blind, and Aleksei Vandyshev called from the big blind.
Eljach continued for 720,000 on the A♣ river, leaving around 500,000 behind. Vandyshev announced pot, and Eljach grimaced, clearly faced with a tough decision. Eljach used a time extension before mucking his hand, leaving himself with less than ten big blinds.
"Jack-eight?" Vandyshev asked his opponent. Eljach replied that he did indeed have the second-nut straight, as the pot was pushed to Vandyshev.
Aleksei Vandyshev opened to 175,000 from the cutoff, and Dario Alioto three-bet to 585,000 from the small blind, leaving just over 400,000 behind. Cesar Garcia potted from the big blind, Vandyshev folded, and Alioto called, putting his tournament life at risk.
Dario Alioto: A♣Q♣9♥6♥
Cesar Garcia: K♥K♣J♥9♦
The board ran out J♦7♠9♠Q♠10♥. Garcia was good at showdown with a straight and Alioto became the first to fall on the final day.
Carlo van Ravenswoud opened to 180,000 from the hijack, Sebestyen Balint three-bet to 600,000 from the small blind and Van Ravenswoud called.
The flop came J♦3♦7♣. Balint shoved for 765,000 and Van Ravenswoud called w ith a covering stack to put him at risk.
Sebestyen Balint: A♣A♦J♣5♦
Carlo van Ravenswoud: K♣K♠3♣4♠
Both players had an overpair, but Balint's aces were in front, and he remained ahead on the 9♥ turn and 6♠ river to double up in one of the first hands of the day.
The first of two marquee events in the Diamond Poker Series' PLO Grand Slam Prague is set to crown a winner today, here at the All Inn Casino. Just 11 players remain from the 182-entry field in the €5,200 Million, all of whom have locked up at least €18,330 so far, while one is just ten eliminations away from the prestigious Diamond Poker Series Trophy and €218,550 top prize. The final 11 players have numerous titles and well over $25,000,000 in live tournament earnings between them, ensuring a fiercely contested battle for the title today.
Among the returning players are two WSOP Main Event champions, 2022 WSOP Europe Main Event champion Omar Eljach (2,295,000), and 2021 WSOP Online Main Event champion Aleksei Vandyshev (4,245,000). Despite Eljach's career-best score of €1,380,129 coming from his Main Event win in No-Limit Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha is clearly the Swedish player's game of choice, with the vast majority of his many five and six-figure cashes coming in the four-card variant. For Vandyshev, this event will mark his first-ever live recorded cash in Pot-Limit Omaha. Still, he seemed anything but out of his element yesterday, constantly pressuring his opponents with timely aggression en route to bagging the fourth-largest stack.
Day 3 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Sampo Ryynanen
Finland
6,000,000
100
2
Juha Helppi
Finland
5,140,000
86
3
Aku Joentausta
Finland
4,415,000
74
4
Aleksei Vandyshev
Russian Federation
4,245,000
71
5
Veselin Karakitukov
Bulgaria
4,165,000
69
6
Carlo van Ravenswoud
Netherlands
3,560,000
59
7
Cesar Garcia
Spain
3,475,000
58
8
Omar Eljach
Sweden
2,295,000
38
9
Sebestyen Balint
Hungary
1,455,000
24
10
Ying Kan
China
1,175,000
20
11
Dario Alioto
Italy
1,140,000
19
Aleksei Vandyshev
Three Finns top the leaderboard going into the final day, led by Sampo Ryynanen with 6,000,000. Sitting in second place is Finnish poker legend Juha Helppi (5,140,000), by far the most experienced player in the mix, with a résumé that includes two WSOP bracelets, a WPT Title, and nearly $10,000,000 in live tournament earnings. Aku Joentausta with 4,415,000.
Juha Helppi
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
1
€ 218,550
2
€ 148,050
3
€ 98,700
4
€ 80,840
5
€ 64,860
6
€ 50,290
7
€ 37,220
8
€ 27,350
9
€ 21,810
10-11
€ 18,330
The third and final day will kick off at 1:00 p.m. local time, with the blinds at 30,000/60,000 (60,000). All levels will be 60 minutes, with a break after every two levels.
A new Diamond Poker Series champion will be crowned today, so stay tuned as PokerNews will report all the four-card action straight from the tournament floor.
