“How do you have it every time?” Taago Tamm asked Puk Nabuurs late in the day, and the rest of the field was left wondering the same thing as the Dutch native took the chip lead to the final table on Day 2 of the Diamond Poker Series PLO Grand Slam Tallinn €2,200 The Million Opener.
Nabuurs ended the night with 14,250,000 as the remaining nine players agreed to stop play once the final table was reached. He tripled up with a rivered flush in a three-way all in that also saw Gergo Nagy bust in 22nd, then picked up aces to bust Finnish star Aku Joentausta in a massive pot. Nabuurs, with $144,000 in total live earnings, has nearly matched his previous best score by making it to the final table while a win would surpass all of his career winnings combined.
Final Table Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dario Alioto | Italy | 2,700,000 | 14 |
| 2 | Lauri Varonen | Finland | 4,525,000 | 23 |
| 3 | Mihkel Vitsur | Estonia | 2,700,000 | 14 |
| 4 | Puk Nabuurs | Netherlands | 14,250,000 | 71 |
| 5 | Danyil Zaremba | Ukraine | 11,250,000 | 56 |
| 6 | Robin Palm | Sweden | 5,425,000 | 27 |
| 7 | Taago Tamm | Estonia | 4,800,000 | 24 |
| 8 | Tobias Andersen | Denmark | 7,725,000 | 39 |
| 9 | Fredrik Lindstrom | Finland | 11,200,000 | 56 |
He’s followed on the leaderboard by Danyil Zaremba (11,250,000), Fredrik Lindstrom (11,200,000), and Tobias Andersen (7,725,000). WSOP bracelet winner Dario Alioto found a late double up off Andersen, dodging flush and straight draws on the river to survive as he takes 2,700,000 into the final table. Robin Palm (5,425,000), start-of-day chip leader Tamm (4,800,000), Lauri Varonen (4,525,000), and Mihkel Vitsur (2,700,000) round out the final table lineup.
The five starting flights built up a field of 416 entries battling for the guaranteed €960,000 prize pool. Just 52 began the day, and Youness Barakat (46th), Vivian Saliba (38th), Jessica Teusl (31st), Jerry Odeen (28th), Henry Kilbane (26th), and WSOP bracelet winner Amir Mozaffarian (16th) were among those sent to the payout desk.
Tournament officials gave the players the option of going down to a winner tonight, but the majority decided to end once the final table was reached. They’ll return to the Chesterfield Poker Club tomorrow at 2 p.m. local time. The action picks up with 24 minutes remaining in Level 24 with blinds of 100,000-200,000 and a 200,000 big blind ante. The finalists have all locked up at least €18,340, while the champion earns €200,000.
PokerNews will be back following along with the action at the final table and providing live updates until the first Diamond Poker Series Tallinn champion is crowned.
