Two Main Event Champions Still in the Mix Going into Final Day of PLO Grand Slam Prague €5,200 Million
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 |
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.
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.