Tom Vogelsang Emerges as Chip Leader Over Final Eight After Marathon Final Table of the $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em Grand Slam
Eight players still remain in the hunt for the Onyx High Roller Series $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em Grand Slam title, but the final table has already felt like a marathon.
Only one bustout was recorded after four hours of play once the field was reduced to the final nine, and an early end was called to Day 2. Tom Vogelsang ended up as chip leader heading into tomorrow’s final day with 9,625,000.
The Dutch high roller won a big pot off Johan “YoH ViraL” Guilbert when Guilbert flopped the nut straight, only for Vogelsang to turn a flush and bet 1,700,000. Guilbert managed to get away, but not before Vogelsang had tracked him down near the top of the chip counts. Vogelsang then hit another flush on the river and raised to 2,500,000. Quan Zhou ended up burning through seven times before folding top pair, surrendering another big pot to Vogelsang.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Vogelsang | Netherlands | 9,625,000 | 48 |
| 2 | Johan Guilbert | France | 8,450,000 | 42 |
| 3 | Joseph Oren | United States | 7,800,000 | 39 |
| 4 | Quan Zhou | China | 6,350,000 | 32 |
| 5 | Matthias Eibinger | Austria | 5,950,000 | 30 |
| 6 | Sergio Fernandez | Spain | 5,000,000 | 25 |
| 7 | Igor Yaroshevskyy | Ukraine | 4,050,000 | 20 |
| 8 | Thomas Muehloecker | Austria | 250,000 | 1 |
Vogelsang is coming off winning his first WSOP bracelet in the Bahamas in December. The $1,250,000 first prize from this event would be his second-biggest score and push him up to second all-time on the Dutch money list. His largest score, coincidentally, also came here at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel & Casino, when he finished runner-up in a Triton Series event in 2022 for $1,390,000.
Guilbert began the final table with a bang, picking up aces and catching Gha Iakobishvili making a big bluff as Guilbert doubled up to more than 11,000,000. While he fell back down towards the pack later, the popular French vlogger still ended up in second place with 8,450,000.
Joseph Oren saved his highlight for the end of the night, when he picked up aces against Thomas Muehloecker’s kings to double up to 7,800,000. Oren has just two recorded live cashes on his poker resume, but he’s a familiar figure on high-stakes televised cash games, where he’s popularly known simply as “Handz.”
Zhou is in fourth place with 6,350,000, while Matthias Eibinger rounds out the top five with 5,950,000. Eibinger folded around 30 hands in a row at the start of the final table before picking up aces against Oren. Oren, though, flopped a set and threatened to make Eibinger’s first hand also his last. But fortune had other ideas, and Eibinger spiked a two-outer on the turn to take the lead and double up.
Sergio Fernandez (5,000,000) and Igor Yaroshevskyy (4,050,000) are further down the leaderboard, while Muehloecker was left with just 250,000 after that massive encounter with Oren, good for one big blind when action resumes tomorrow.
Day 2 began with 36 survivors from the two opening flights being joined by 12 new entries to create a total field of 95 players. Only the top 14 would secure a piece of the $4,800,000 prize pool, and $10,000 Opener champion Alex Kulev, tournament boss Rob Yong, and Adrian Mateos were among those to fall short of the money. Oren picked up ace-king to score the double knockout of Jessica Teusl and $100,000 High Roller champion Jean-Robert Bellande a few spots from the money, while Thomas Eychenne was eliminated on the money bubble after being forced all in from the small blind.
Oren also took out Ottomar Ladva (14th) and Fahredin Mustafov (12th) after the bursting of the bubble, while Daniel Thaller fell in 10th place to Fernandez to set the nine-handed final table.
Iakobishvili, making his third final table appearance in as many events this festival, began in third place but plummeted down the leaderboard after that failed bluff against Guilbert. He was left with less than a big blind and busted in ninth place shortly afterward. The day was scheduled to end once seven players remained, but they never got there; the last eight played for more than three hours without another bustout before action was halted for the night.
The last eight will return tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time to play down to a champion. They have each locked up at least $175,000, but they’ll be chasing the trophy and seven-figure first prize at the final table. The action picks up on Level 22 with blinds of 100,000/200,000 and a 200,000 big blind ante. Levels will be 24 hands long at the final table.
Final Table payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | $1,250,000 | ||
| 2nd | $870,000 | ||
| 3rd | $575,000 | ||
| 4th | $430,000 | ||
| 5th | $340,000 | ||
| 6th | $265,000 | ||
| 7th | $210,000 | ||
| 8th | $175,000 | ||
| 9th | Gha Iakobishvili | Russia | $145,000 |
The action will be streamed on a 30-minute delay on the Onyx Club official YouTube channel, and updates will be provided on a delay to match the stream.
Stay tuned as PokerNews returns to the luxurious Onyx Club along the majestic Mediterranean coast in North Cyprus to follow all the action down to the crowning of a champion.