The €660 PLO8 here in the Estonian Capital and the 2023 WSOP Circuit event number 9 attracted 127 players in total and at 7.30 this morning we finally could crown our winner as Swede Alexander Hallenstam was crowned the champion and our ninth golden ring winner after beating his fellow countrymen Mika Hautakangas in the very last battle to take the tournament down.
Going into the final table we had Josh Stewart as our chip leader but in this split game Pot Limit Omaha game a lot of things can change and so it was. The first player eliminated among the final nine was Jonas Neukirch from Germany finished in ninth place for €2,000.
Another player who had a good stack with the last two tables left in the tournament was Maximilian Sanders but after more than two hours after the first bit out on the final table he was also eliminated. An eight place gave out Brit a €2,520 payday.
Just five minutes later it was time for yet another player to hit the rail as the Dutch Frank Visser was eliminated in seventh place. This was worth €3,270.
Then the action would continue for almost another hour until we saw the last hope for the UK to get one of these WSOPC golden rings as Joshua Stewart was eliminated in sixth for €4,120.
With five players remaining Vincas Tamasauskas was among these and could continue his fight to get a WSOP ring to go with that bracelet he won earlier this summer. In his was stood two Finns and two Swedes but as Sami Pulliainen was eliminated in fifth (€5,140) there were only three to go.
Finishing fourth in this event was yet another Finn as Sebastian Turja was eliminated early this morning after 15 hours of play in the huge field this tournament ended up with. For his fourth place, he was rewarded €6,550.
Down to the last three, there would be two Swedes in the way to prevent Vincas Tamasauskas from laying his hands on that golden ring and an hour after Turja was eliminated Tamasauskas met his faith as he had to settle for a third-place finish in this event for €8,890.
As the two Swedes got heads-up Alexander Hallenstam had a huge chip lead against Mika Hautakangas and it would only be five minutes into the game until he took it down eliminating Hautakangas in second to grab the €19,152 for first as Hautakangas had to settle for €12,810.
This surely has been a good week for the Hallenstam Family as both father and son have played three tournaments each, cashing in all three of them and Alexander's father Amir chopped the €250 Five Card PLO & Draw (also called Sviten in Sweden) on Wednesday for €4,157. If the streak will continue we'll see as this tournament finished a bit past 7 a.m. this morning and they are probably both asleep still but there are still plenty of tournaments to compete in here in Tallinn and the WSOP Circuit as we're coming to an end of the journey with two days left of the festival.
Place |
Name |
Country |
Prize |
1 |
Alexander Hallenstam |
Sweden |
€19,152 |
2 |
Mika Hautakangas |
Sweden |
€12,810 |
3 |
Vinchas Tamasaukas |
Lithuania |
€8,890 |
4 |
Sebastian Turja |
Finland |
€6,550 |
5 |
Sami Pullainen |
Finland |
€5,140 |
6 |
Joshua Stewart |
UK |
€4,120 |
7 |
Frank Visser |
Holland |
€3,270 |
8 |
Maximilian Sanders |
UK |
€2,520 |
9 |
Jonas Neukirch |
Germany |
€2,000 |
Article author: Lina Olofsson
Photo credits: Elena Kask
From 15 to the final nine players it took its time but after 12 hours of play they are ready to start the fight to crown our champion in Event #9 - Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo.
As the final table begins the live reporting ends as the Live Stream on OlyBet.tv takes over.
Seat |
Name |
Country |
Chips |
1 |
Sami Pullainen |
Finland |
64,000 |
2 |
Mika Hautakangas |
Sweden |
277,000 |
3 |
Vincas Tamasaukas |
Lithuania |
258,500 |
4 |
Frank Visser |
Netherlands |
199,000 |
5 |
Alexander Hallenstam |
Sweden |
277,000 |
6 |
Joshua Stewart |
UK |
350,000 |
7 |
Jonas Neukirch |
Germany |
171,500 |
8 |
Ville-Oskari Sebastian Turja |
Finland |
257,500 |
9 |
Maximilian Sanders |
UK |
108,000 |
Player | Chips | Progress | |
---|---|---|---|
Josh Stewart | 350,000 | 185,000 | |
Mika Hautakangas | 277,000 | 247,000 | |
Alexander Hallenstam | 277,000 | 61,000 | |
Vincas Tamasauskas | 258,500 | 228,500 | |
Ville-Oskari Sebastian Turja | 257,500 | 227,500 | |
Frank Visser | 199,000 | 0 | |
Jonas Neukirch | 171,500 | 141,500 | |
Maximilian Sanders | 108,000 | 78,000 | |
Sami Pullainen | 64,000 | 34,000 |
We are in the money and it was Finnish Aki Pyysing who was the unlycky player that was eliminated in the very last spot before the money.
All the chips went in before the flop between Pyysing and Brit Maximilian Sanders.
Pyysing:
Sanders:
The board ran out that was it for only a high board and the nut flush to Sanders who raked the pot and eliminated good old Pyysing in 16th plats.
A few hands later we had our first player eliminated in the money and that was Mikael Gronvik from Sweden who got all the chips in with against Frank Visser with on the turn with the board reading for a top pair to Greenbay and no low as Visser had an overpair. The river came and there was no low and Visser scooped the pot sending Gronvik out for €1,300.
Player | Chips | Progress | |
---|---|---|---|
Mikael Gronvik | 0 | 0 | |
Aki Pyysing | 0 | 0 |
We are down to the final 16 players and now playing the first of two bubbles here tonight. First, it's for the money and then it's for the final table. 15 players receive money in this tournament and one more needs to go before we are there.
Watch all the action on OlyBet.tv!
Swede Mika Hautakangas (pictured above) still in the hunt for at least a €1,300 payday in this event.
Player | Chips | Progress | |
---|---|---|---|
Josh Stewart | 535,000 | 505,000 | |
Alexander Hallenstam | 216,000 | 186,000 | |
Frank Visser | 199,000 | 169,000 | |
Mihails Morozovs | 160,000 | 130,000 | |
Mikael Gronvik | 108,000 | 78,000 | |
Tuomas Andersson | 75,000 | 45,000 | |
Sami Pulliainen | 64,000 | 34,000 |
Level 13: 2,000/4,000 (4,000)
Entries: 24/127
We're down to the last three tables in the tournament and are now doing a re-draw before the action continues.
Don't forget to follow the action OlyBet.tv and our Live Stream
Here are some amazing pictures from our photographer Elena Kask from today's tournament. You will find all of them in the Gallery above!
The tournament director just announced the payouts in this event and the winner will not only receive a golden WSOP circuit ring but also €19,152.
15 players will get paid in this tournament of the 32 remaining earning at least €1,300.
Place | Prize |
1 | €19,152 |
2 | €12,810 |
3 | €8,890 |
4 | €6,650 |
5 | €5,140 |
6 | €4,120 |
7 | €3270 |
8 | €2,520 |
9 | €2,000 |
10-12 | €1,600 |
13-15 | €1,300 |
The 10th event of this WSOP Circuit here in Tallinn is actually not being played here at the casino but online at OlyBet! One of our previous winners - Aleksei Smirnov - is one of the players at the top of the chip count in this €350 tournament with as much as €50,000 guaranteed in the prize pool. As we post this there's a huge overlay so if you have some free time, jump in and play and take the chance of getting one of the Circuit rings.
Level 11: 1,000/2,5000 (2,500)
Entries: 22/127
Vincas Tamasauskas, Aki Pyysing, and our Event #8 winner Jon Kyte are three of the players you will be able to see at the feature table when the tournament starts again after the dinner break in five minutes.
Tune into OlyBet.tv in approximately 30 minutes and you will be able to watch the action here from the €660 PLO Hi/Lo as we play down from the final 46 players (and counting as players seem to still buy in) until we have our winner in this tournament.
Player | Chips | Progress | |
---|---|---|---|
Vincas Tamasauskas | 220,000 | 190,000 | |
Martin Lategui | 116,000 | 86,000 | |
Santtu Leinonen | 93,500 | 63,500 | |
Jon Kyte | 88,000 | 58,000 | |
Kristian Kostiander | 82,000 | 52,000 | |
Aki Pyysing | 48,500 | 18,500 |
As the players are in on a dinner break we just got another six new entries in the field and we are on 44 players in the tournament.
When they come back we will move two of the tables in this tournament and table number two will be the featured table on our live stream on OlyBet.tv.
Player | Chips | Progress | |
---|---|---|---|
Igor Pihela Jr | 30,000 | 0 | |
Josh Stewart | 30,000 | 0 | |
Markuu Koplimaa | 30,000 | 0 | |
Alexander Hallenstam | 30,000 | 0 | |
Mikael Gronvik | 30,000 | 0 | |
Olli Kokko | 30,000 | 0 | |
Vincas Tamasauskas | 30,000 | 0 | |
Aki Pyysing | 30,000 | 0 | |
Mika Hautakangas | 30,000 | 0 |
In the €660 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo we have 115 entries in the field of which 44 remain but players can still buy in until the dinner break ends.
Among the notable players in today's field, we have Aki Pyysing, former WSOP Bracelet winner Vincas Tamasauskas, Olli Kokko, Mikael Gronvik, Alexander Hallenstam, Mika Hautakangas, Markku Koplimaa, Igor Pihela (Jr), Josh Stewart.
Player | Chips | Progress | |
---|---|---|---|
Igor Pihela Jr | 30,000 | 0 | |
Josh Stewart | 30,000 | 0 | |
Markuu Koplimaa | 30,000 | 0 | |
Alexander Hallenstam | 30,000 | 0 | |
Mikael Gronvik | 30,000 | 0 | |
Olli Kokko | 30,000 | 0 | |
Vincas Tamasauskas | 30,000 | 0 | |
Aki Pyysing | 30,000 | 0 | |
Mika Hautakangas | 30,000 | 0 |
Next up on our coverage is the WSOPC €660 PLO Hi/Lo Ring Event. After lots of Omaha 4,5,6 cards action it is time to see the other side of this amazing game.
The tournament starts at 14:00 with each player starting with 30,000 chips on blinds 100/100 with no ante. Check out some of the rules of the game down below.
Omaha High/Low is a split pot game, which means that unless someone scoops the pot it will be split. There are two ways to scoop the entire pot. The first is to have both the best high and low hands. The other way is to possess the best high hand when no hand qualifies for the low.
The High hand is played as any other Omaha hand.
The Low Hand is five unpaired cards, no higher than an eight, with the Aces counting as a low card, players will be aiming to make the lowest combination possible which is this is the best Low hand also known as the 'wheel'.
Remember that low hands that are straights and flushes do not disqualify it from being low but, in fact, make it a two-way hand and a candidate to scoop the whole pot.