Just three days ago, Aaron Pahlawani found himself hoisting the first-ever Diamond Poker Seriers trophy by winning the €5,200 Opener at the PLO Grand Slam. Today, he can etch his name on the first page of the brand-new series' history book by becoming a back-to-back champion in the €10,300 PLO Championship.
Pahlawani is among the 11 players returning to Arena Casino Tirana for the event's final day. They have come out on top in a field of 128 entries, which generated a prize pool of €1,203,200. Pahlawani has a long road ahead to capture his second title of the week, returning as the second-shortest stack with 1,075,000 chips, worth 18 big blinds. Only Canadian crusher Alex Livingston has fewer chips, although the two are virtually tied as Livingston will bring 1,050,000 to the table.
Livingston does not often fly across the ocean for poker tournaments and will be hunting his first victory on European soil. Although, with over nine million in tournament earnings and two bracelets, the last of which was won this year in pot-limit Omaha, the Las Vegas resident knows what it takes to make the comeback happen.
Pahlawani and Livingston will both have to contend with chipleader "Phil Ejri". The anonymous player bagged up the chiplead and returns with 5,925,000, a big lead as Bulgarian PLO specialist Vasil Medarov follows in second with 3,705,000. Greek player Dimitrios Amoiridis has already more than doubled his total live earnings by making it this far but will be looking to add even more as he comes back in third with 3,365,000.
His fellow countryman Nikolaos Lampropoulos already has a shiny bracelet in the four-card game and aims to add a Diamond Poker Series trophy by the end of the night, returning in fourth with 2,660,000. Lautaro Guerra is the last remaining from a strong Spanish delegation. The PLO expert rounds out the top five with 2,150,000 in chips on the hunt for an astounding lifetime ninth tournament victory.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 3 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Phil Ejri" | 5,925,000 | 99 | |
| 2 | Vasil Medarov | Bulgaria | 3,705,000 | 62 |
| 3 | Dimitrios Amoiridis | Greece | 3,365,000 | 56 |
| 4 | Nikolaos Lampropoulos | Greece | 2,660,000 | 44 |
| 5 | Lautaro Guerra | Spain | 2,150,000 | 36 |
| 6 | Harun Ertural | Germany | 1,800,000 | 30 |
| 7 | "Benjamin N" | 1,425,000 | 24 | |
| 8 | Stefan Polster | Austria | 1,240,000 | 21 |
| 9 | Belarmino De Souza | Brazil | 1,220,000 | 20 |
| 10 | Aaron Pahlawani | Austria | 1,075,000 | 18 |
| 11 | Alex Livingston | Canada | 1,050,000 | 18 |
The final players who made their way to Day 3 are Day 1 chipleader Harun Ertural, Stefan Polster, and Belarmino De Souza, the sole Brazilian who traveled to Albania,
The returning 11 players will kick off the final day at 3 p.m. local time. The blinds will start in Level 18: 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. All levels will last for 60 minutes and a break will be had after every two levels. The players have all secured a cash of €25,000, but it is the €302,200 on top, along with the trophy of course, that most of them will have their eyes on.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €302,200 |
| 2 | €203,000 |
| 3 | €132,000 |
| 4 | €110,000 |
| 5 | €89,000 |
| 6 | €70,000 |
| 7 | €54,000 |
| 8 | €41,000 |
| 9 | €30,000 |
| 10-11 | €25,000 |
Stay tuned as PokerNews will be there reporting live from the start of the day until a champion has been crowned.
