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€5,200 The 5k Million
Day 1a Completed
2025 PLO Grand Slam Prague
€5,200 The 5k Million
Day: 1a
Event Info
2025 PLO Grand Slam Prague
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
Buy-in
€5,200
Prize Pool
€1,000,000
Total Entries
182
Level
27
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Entries
50
Players Left
14
Players Left 1 / 182
Filter
Level 10
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
The PLO Grand Slam Prague, hosted by the Diamond Poker series at the All Inn Casino, kicked off with an action-packed opening flight in the €5,200 Million. Day 1a drew 50 entries, and after ten levels, 14 players managed to put chips in a bag and advance to Day 2.
Whereas poker tournaments can often have wild swings that see players go from big stack to short stack and vice versa in the blink of an eye, this couldn't be further from the truth for Jose Scarano today. Scarano doubled up in the very first hand he played after eliminating Sebestyen Balint and from there, he never looked back. Scarano was at or near the top of the counts throughout the day, ending with 1,621,000, good for the Day 1a chip lead and 162 big blinds going into Day 2. Balint also managed to find a bag after reentering, finishing the night in the middle of the pack with just over 700,000.
Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Scarano | Brazil | 1,621,000 | 162 |
| 2 | Ying Kan | China | 1,271,000 | 127 |
| 3 | Juha Helppi | Finland | 1,174,000 | 117 |
| 4 | Karel Mokry | Czechia | 986,000 | 99 |
| 5 | Carlo van Ravenswoud | Netherlands | 885,000 | 89 |
| 6 | Youness Barakat | Italy | 883,000 | 88 |
| 7 | Csaba Fenyvesi | Hungary | 767,000 | 77 |
| 8 | Joachim Haraldstad | Norway | 759,000 | 76 |
| 9 | Sebestyen Balint | Hungary | 726,000 | 73 |
| 10 | Veselin Karakitukov | Bulgaria | 430,000 | 43 |
| 11 | Jonas Kronwitter | Austria | 340,000 | 34 |
| 12 | Nino Pansier | Netherlands | 331,000 | 33 |
| 13 | Jeremy Trojand | Germany | 267,000 | 27 |
| 14 | Dominykas Karmazinas | Lithuania | 171,000 | 17 |
Closely following Scarano is Ying Kan, who woke up with aces at the right time to take a massive pot off of Jonas Kronwitter and finish the night in second place. Finnish poker legend Juha Helppi rounds out the top three, and alongside Scarano and Kan is the only other player to end the night with a seven-figure stack.
Out of all the players to advance today, none have had as much success in previous editions of this event as Youness Barakat. The inaugural edition of this event in Tirana in 2024 saw Barakat finish third. Barakat went on to finish fourth in the second edition in Tirana, before winning the event outright when the PLO Grand Slam came to Tallin a few months later. Most recently at the PLO Grand Slam in Malta Barakat almost made a fourth consecutive final table in this event, falling in 15th.
Barakat got off to a rocky start this time around, losing his first bullet just a few hands into Level 1. Midway through the day, Barakat's third bullet went down in flames after getting his chips in with the nut-straight, only for Ole Schemion to turn a full house. The fourth time turned out to be the charm, with Barakat finally gaining momentum after making a full house of his own on the river to eliminate Lucas Vendenbelt late in the night and eventually finish the night just outside the top five.
Some notable players who played today but fell before the end of the night include bracelet winners Schemion, Dario Alioto, Dennis Weiss, and Cesar Garcia.
The second and final starting flight begins tomorrow, December 02 at 1:00 p.m. local time, featuring the same structure as today. Late registration will remain open until the end of Level 13 on Day 2. Stay tuned to Pokernews as we continue to bring you all the action from the All Inn Casino in the Czechian capital.
Level 10
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,621,000
211,000
|
211,000 |
|
||
|
1,271,000
4,000
|
4,000 |
|
1,174,000
451,000
|
451,000 |
|
||
|
986,000
140,000
|
140,000 |
|
885,000
150,000
|
150,000 |
|
883,000
132,000
|
132,000 |
|
767,000
117,000
|
117,000 |
|
759,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
726,000
281,000
|
281,000 |
|
430,000
140,000
|
140,000 |
|
340,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
|
331,000
111,000
|
111,000 |
|
267,000
77,000
|
77,000 |
|
171,000
34,000
|
34,000 |
Level 10
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Day 1a has ended after ten 45-minute levels, with 14 players bagging their chips and advancing to Day 2.
Stay tuned for a full end-of-night chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
Level 10
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
In a preflop confrontation, Maksim Shuts was all-in for 57,000 from the big blind, Ying Kan was all-in for 604,000 from the cutoff, and they were up against the covering stack of Jonas Kronwitter in middle position.
Maksim Shuts: A♦K♠K♥7♦ 
Ying Kan: A♣A♥7♠3♠
Jonas Kronwitter: A♠Q♦8♠8♥
The 3♣7♥5♦6♣J♥ runout kept Kan's aces in front and he took down the colossal pot while also sending Shuts to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,275,000
765,000
|
765,000 |
|
|
270,000
911,000
|
911,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 10
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
With the board reading A♥K♦8♦ and around 50,000 in the middle, Csaba Fenyvesi checked from the small blind and Jeremy Trojand bet 30,000 from the hijack. Fenyvesi check-raised to 86,000, and Trojand called.
Fenyvesi shoved for 219,000 on the 10♠ turn, and Trojand called with a covering stack to put him at risk.
Csaba Fenyvesi: A♦J♠J♣2♦
Jeremy Trojand: K♠K♣J♥9♦
Trojand was ahead with a set of kings until the 6♦ river gave Fenyvesi the nut-flush to double up at Trojand's expense.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
650,000
467,000
|
467,000 |
|
|
190,000
213,000
|
213,000 |
Level: 10
Blinds: 4,000/8,000
Ante: 8,000
Level 9
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 9
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
With the board reading 5♥2♠2♥9♣4♠ and 182,000 in the middle, Carlo van Ravenswoud checked from the big blind and called a 182,000 bet from Nino Pansier, who was under the gun.
Pansier showed 10♦9♦7♣6♣ for two pair, nines and deuces. van Ravenswoud tabled J♠J♥9♥3♥ for a higher two pair to win the hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
735,000
440,000
|
440,000 |
|
|
220,000
192,000
|
192,000 |
Level 9
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Cesar Garcia opened to 21,000 from the cutoff, Juha Helppi called from the button, and Ole Schemion defended from the big blind.
The flop came 9♦3♠4♥. Action checked around to Helppi, who bet 30,000. Only Garcia called.
Helppi fired a second barrel for 85,000 on the 7♣ turn, and this time Garcia mucked his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
785,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
723,000
138,000
|
138,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
470,000
105,000
|
105,000 |
|
|
||
