Filip Aleksic and the Field Try to Chase Down Chip Leader Cesar Garcia at the Final Table of the $50,000 PLO Grand Slam
Seven players return to the Onyx Club inside the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel & Spa today for the final table of the Onyx High Roller Series $50,000 PLO Grand Slam at 1 p.m. local time, and for six of them the goal is clear: slow down chip leader Cesar Garcia and steal the trophy.
Garcia comes into the final table as the massive chip leader with 20,260,000, representing more than 40 percent of the chips in play and good for over 250 big blinds at the start of the day. The Spaniard, who already has more than $2.3 million in live earnings, including a WSOP bracelet, is in pole position to record the largest cash of his career today.
Final Table Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danielle Noja | Australia | 2,175,000 | 27 |
| 2 | Nino Pansier | Netherlands | 3,695,000 | 46 |
| 3 | Espen Myrmo | Norway | 1,320,000 | 17 |
| 4 | Gruffudd Pugh-Jones | Wales | 3,305,000 | 41 |
| 5 | Filip Aleksic | Austria | 11,055,000 | 138 |
| 6 | Sean Rafael | United States | 7,115,000 | 89 |
| 7 | Cesar Garcia | Spain | 20,260,000 | 253 |
Heading the pack trying to track him down is online PLO crusher Filip Aleksic. The poker coach known as “horseofhell” is in second place with 11,055,000 as he seeks his breakthrough on the live felt. Nearly all of Aleksic’s career live cashes have come in PLO events, including a runner-up finish at the Diamond Poker Series in Malta in October. With $137,000 in live earnings, he’s already eclipsed that amount with his showing in this tournament.
Sean Rafael (7,115,000) completes the top-heavy podium, with the three biggest stacks controlling nearly 80 percent of the chips in play. The four short stacks include Nino Pansier (3,695,000), Gruffudd Pugh-Jones (3,305,000), Danielle Noja (2,175,000), and Espen Myrmo (1,320,000).
The action kicks off with seven hands remaining in Level 18 with blinds of 40,000/80,000 and an 80,000 big blind ante. Each level at the final table will be 24 hands long. The seven remaining players have all locked up $210,000 for getting this far out of a starting field of 98 entries, and they’ll each be looking to capture the $1,200,000 top prize and Onyx Series trophy by the end of the day.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,200,000 | ||
| 2 | $840,000 | ||
| 3 | $555,000 | ||
| 4 | $430,000 | ||
| 5 | $340,000 | ||
| 6 | $265,000 | ||
| 7 | $210,000 | ||
| 8 | Laszlo Bujtas | Hungary | $160,000 |
| 9 | Rob Yong | United Kingdom | $160,000 |
The final table will be streamed on a 30-minute delay on the Onyx Club official YouTube channel. Updates will also be on a delay to match the stream.
The biggest buy-in PLO event of the festival will crown a champion today, so stay tuned as PokerNews brings all the action until only one player is left standing.