€5,200 PLO Opener
Day 1a Started
2025 PLO Grand Slam
€5,200 PLO Opener
Day: 1a
Event Info
2025 PLO Grand Slam
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
Buy-in
€5,200
Prize Pool
€1,057,500
Entries
225
Level
26
Blinds
150,000 / 300,000
Ante
300,000
Entries
106
Players Left
21
Players Left 1 / 225
Filter
(1)
The PLO Grand Slam hosted by Diamond Poker Series held its first-ever edition last November at Arena Casino Tirana. After a successful week of four- and five-card action, the festival returns to the Albanian capital for another round. This time around, the guarantees across all tournaments have been increased from €3,000,000 to a staggering €5,000,000 to attract even more players.
The schedule underwent some changes, but the flagship events remain mostly unaltered from last time. The €5,200 PLO Grand Slam Opener starts today with Day 1a and again guarantees a prize pool of €1,000,000. The €10,300 PLO Grand Slam Championship also returns, but has doubled its guarantee to an eye-watering €2,000,000. PokerNews will be on the floor again to live report both tournaments.
2025 PLO Grand Slam Live Reporting Schedule
| Date | Starting Time (CET) | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 24 Jan | 4 p.m. | €5,200 PLO Opener Day 1a |
| Sat 25 Jan | 4 p.m. | €5,200 PLO Opener Day 1b |
| Sun 26 Jan | 2 p.m. | €5,200 PLO Opener Day 2 (Final) |
| Mon 27 Jan | 5 p.m. | €10,300 PLO Championship Day 1 |
| Tue 28 Jan | 4 p.m. | €10,300 PLO Championship Day 2 |
| Wed 29 Jan | 2 p.m. | €10,300 PLO Championship Day 3 (Final) |
Last time, the Opener drew 210 entries, breaking the European record for a PLO tournament at that price point but barely missing the guarantee. It was conquered by Aaron Pahlawani from Austria, who took home €176,100 after striking a deal with his heads up opponent Pavel Izotov. Izotov, meanwhile, was awarded the biggest bag with a score of €194,400.
Day 1a will kick off at 4 p.m. local time and is the first of two starting days for this event. Day 1b starts tomorrow at the same time while the tournament will conclude with Day 2 on Sunday, January 26. As with every event this series, players who register before the start of play will receive ten percent on top of their starting stack of 200,000. All players who register during level one, 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante, also get bonus chips, but they are halved to five percent.
Day 1a will play 11 levels of 45 minutes, ending with 6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 big blind ante, after which the surviving players bag up for Day 2. A 45-minute dinner break is scheduled after Level 7, around 8:30 p.m. local time, while the end of the day will be reached around 1:30 a.m. local time. Players can register and reenter throughout the day as the late registration will remain open until the start of the second level on Day 2.
€5,200 PLO Opener Day 1a Structure
| Level | Duration (min) | Small Blind | Big Blind | Big Blind Ante |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45 | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| 2 | 45 | 1,000 | 1,500 | 1,500 |
| 3 | 45 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| Break | 15 | |||
| 4 | 45 | 1,000 | 2,500 | 2,500 |
| 5 | 45 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 3,000 |
| Break | 15 | |||
| 6 | 45 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 |
| 7 | 45 | 2,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| Break | 45 | |||
| 8 | 45 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 |
| 9 | 45 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 |
| 10 | 45 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| 11 | 45 | 6,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 |
Only on Day 1a will the two players with the most entries be awarded a free ticket to the €10,300 Championship, assuring plenty of action. So stay tuned to PokerNews as a new edition of the PLO Grand Slam gets underway.
Due to a long line at the registration desk, the start of the €5,200 Opener has been delayed by a few minutes.
Level: 1
Blinds: 500/1,000
Ante: 1,000
Level 1
: 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
WIth 30 players on the clock, the dealers of the €5,200 Opener have been instructed to shuffle up and deal.
Level 1
: 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
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Level 1
: 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
220,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
||
|
220,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
220,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
220,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
|
||
|
220,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
|
||
|
220,000 | |
|
220,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
220,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
||
|
220,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
220,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
||
|
220,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
||
|
220,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
Level 1
: 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Tom-Aksel Bedell and defending champion Aaron Pahlawani had raised the button when Aaron Pahlawani made it 7,500 to go from the big blind. Bedell made the call and did so too when Pahlawani continued for 10,000 on the A♥K♠7♣ flop.
The K♥ turn saw Pahlawani double the bet to 20,000, with Bedell sticking around with another call. The Austrian then slowed down on the J♥ river and checked to Bedell.
The Norwegian high roller fired 50,000, enough to force a quick fold from Pahlawani and take down the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
255,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
|
|
185,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
|
|
||
Level 1
: 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
"eee" under the gun and Fahredin Mustafov on the button were heads up on a flop of 4♦5♣A♣. "eee" fired a bet of 14,000, which Mustafov quickly called.
The 4♥ turn then check through to the 7♥ river, where "eee" put 25,000 into the pot. Mustafov obliged with a call but quickly mucked his cards when "eee" showed down 8♥6♣5♥4♠ for a full house.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
270,000 | |
|
|
170,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
Level 1
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Andre Cruz raised to 2,500 from the cutoff and Blaz Zerjav three-bet to 8,500 on the button. Cruz put in a call and also called Zerjav's bet of 6,000 on the K♣5♠6♥ flop.
The Q♣ turn was knuckled by both players before Zerjav checked again on the 7♠ river. Cruz fired a bet of 16,000 and was quickly met with a call from Zerjav.
Cruz tabled A♣4♥3♠2♠ for a straight. Zerjav studied his cards but could not find something that beat it as he eventually tossed them into the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
245,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
|
||
|
235,000
235,000
|
235,000 |
