The debut of the PLO Grand Slam festival in the Czech capital after Vandyshev's dominance in the opening 5k Million event revealed another champion—this time, it was the experienced Finnish regular, Juha Helppi. He shone in the €10k PLO Championship, which recorded 107 entries, surpassing the million-euro guarantee.
Helppi's performance in Prague marked a stellar end to an Omaha week. Just days earlier, he secured 3rd place in the €5,200 5k Million for €98,700, and now he added another deep run—this time victorious. The Finnish veteran, with numerous big results from both WSOP and WPT, confirmed he's in tune with the current four-card era. He admitted to PokerNews that over the past six days, he'd done little else but play poker and sleep—and this volume paid off in Prague in the best possible way.
Star-Studded Final Table
From the initial 107 registrations, only 9 players made it to the final day. The final table lineup read like a who's who of poker stars: Juha Helppi, Aki Vihikainen, Alexander Petersen, Ole Schemion, Cesar Garcia, and Veselin Karakitukov. The biggest name, German pro Ole Schemion, was first to exit the final table, finishing ninth for €26,150.
Aki Vihikainen, as the chipleader, set the pace, eliminating Jeremy Trojand (7th place, €46,750) and Kevin Gorsic (6th place, €59,300), building a comfortable lead. In the second half of the final, Alexander Petersen made a notable comeback from a short stack.
After van den Belt's elimination, the final trio—Juha Helppi, Aki Vihikainen, and Alexander Petersen—held relatively similar stacks. At this stage, the calculator came out, and the players agreed on an ICM deal, dividing the prizepool as follows:
- Aki Vihikainen – €198,700
- Alexander Petersen – €186,600
- Juha Helppi – €168,400
Despite this, the prestigious Diamond Poker Series trophy was still up for grabs. The trio opted for an unusual solution—a series of blind flips. Luck favored the Finnish stalwart Juha Helppi, making him the official champion of the €10,400 PLO Grand Slam Prague Championship. Though he took home the smallest payout of the trio, he claims the title, the trophy, and another iconic mark on an already impressive resume.
Final Table Results of the €10,400 Championship:
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1. | Juha Helppi | Finland | €168,400* |
| 2. | Aki Vihikainen | Finland | €198,700* |
| 3. | Alexander Petersen | Denmark | €186,600* |
| 4. | Luuk van den Belt | Netherlands | €94,550 |
| 5. | Cesar Garcia | Spain | €75,950 |
| 6. | Kevin Gorsic | Slovenia | €59,300 |
| 7. | Jeremy Trojand | Germany | €46,750 |
| 8. | Veselin Karakitukov | Bulgaria | €35,700 |
| 9. | Ole Schemion | Germany | €26,150 |
Sources – PokerNews, DiamondPokerSeries, Allinnncasino
