Pot Limit Omaha is officially the new king of the High Rollers.
In a stunning display of the game’s exploding popularity, the $10,000 PLO Opener of the 2026 Onyx High Roller Series didn’t just meet expectations. It shattered them. With 232 entries, the 4-Card PLO opener officially outdrew its No-Limit Hold’em counterpart, signaling a massive shift in the high-stakes ecosystem.
While the field was stacked with the world’s most feared PLO specialists, including Laszlo Bujtas, Joni Jouhkimainen, and Tom Vogelsang, it was a Russian newcomer who claimed the crown.
Artur Vyborov, playing in his first major high roller series, navigated a final table of titans to capture his first career title and the $450,000 top prize.
Here is how the “David vs. Goliaths” battle unfolded at the Merit Royal Diamond in North Cyprus.
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📉 From 20 Big Blinds to Champion
Vyborov’s path to victory was anything but a straight line. After dusting his first bullet late on Day 1, he made a decision that every PLO grinder knows too well: the “dinner break reg.”
Re-entering with just 20 big blinds, Vyborov spun his stack up, survived the bubble, and entered the final table as a distinct underdog amongst a lineup of PLO legends.
“I feel great actually. I’m very tired, but it’s the first win for me, so I’m very happy to be here,” Vyborov said in his post-win interview. “The second one, I registered in the dinner break… and it comes like that.”
⚔️ The “David vs. Goliaths” Final Table
The final table was a “Who’s Who” of European high-stakes PLO.
- Laszlo “omaha4rollz” Bujtas (Hungary): Perhaps the most aggressive online cash game player of the last decade.
- Joni Jouhkimainen (Finland): The Finnish end-boss with $6M+ in earnings.
- Quan Zhou (China): The high-variance crusher known for putting maximum pressure on ICM spots.
Despite the pedigree of his opponents, Vyborov picked his spots with surgical precision. He found a crucial double-up with two pair against Aren Bezhanyan, which stabilized his stack while the aggressive pros cannibalized each other.
Bujtas, typically the captain of these tables, never found traction. After a failed cold four-bet against Zhou clipped his wings, he bled down and exited in 5th place ($115,000), likely a relief to the remaining players who no longer had to deal with his relentless 3-betting.
🔍 Key Hand Analysis: The Coolers That Decided It
In high-stakes PLO, you can play perfectly and still lose. But at this final table, the deck delivered brutal setups that fast-tracked Vyborov’s ascent.
The Flush-Over-Flush (4-Handed)
With four players left, German pro Jeremy Trojand found himself in a nightmare scenario against Vyborov.
The Action:
- Vyborov raised the Button with K♥ 10♥ 7♣ 6♣.
- Trojand defended the Small Blind with 10♦ 9♠ 7♠ 5♦.
The Flop: Q♣ J♣ 5♣
- Trojand moved all in with his last 800,000 chips and Vyborov called.
- Trojand was drawing to runner-runner but the Ace of Spades on the turn sealed his elimination for a $160,000 payday.
The Final Hand: Backdoor Heartbreak
Heads-up play began with Vyborov holding a 4:1 chip lead over Aren Bezhanyan. He widened the gap to 10:1 by punishing Bezhanyan’s attempts to play small pots.
In the final hand, Bezhanyan found a glimmer of hope.
The Hand:
- Bezhanyan (SB): A♠ K♣ Q♠ 2♠
- Vyborov (BB): K♦ Q♣ 8♠ 6♦
- The Board: J♣ 10♦ 10♣
- Bezhanyan flopped the Broadway straight draw with the best hand. The chips went in.
- The Turn (3♦) changed everything, giving Vyborov a backdoor diamond flush draw to go with his gutshot.
- The River (Q♦) completed the flush.
- Aren Bezhanyan was eliminated in 2nd Place ($312,000), sealing the victory for Vyborov.
💰 2026 Onyx PLO Opener: Full Results
The $2,180,800 prize pool was distributed among the top 35 players. Notable deep runs included Espen Myrmo (26th), Dennis Weiss (20th) Eelis Parssinen (17th), Run It Once coach Richard Gryko and Daniel Rezaei (13th).
Full Payouts of the $10,000 PLO Opener Onyx High Roller Series:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Artur Vyborov | Russia | $450,000 |
| 2 | Aren Bezhanyan | Armenia | $312,000 |
| 3 | Quan Zhou | China | $225,000 |
| 4 | Jeremy Trojand | Germany | $160,000 |
| 5 | Laszlo Bujtas | Hungary | $115,000 |
| 6 | Thomas Eychenne | France | $85,000 |
| 7 | Belarmino De Souza | Brazil | $67,000 |
| 8 | Joni Jouhkimainen | Finland | $57,000 |
| 9 | Tom Vogelsang | Netherlands | $48,800 |
| 10 | Arie Ori Miller | Israel | $41,000 |
| 11 | Espen Sandvik | Norway | $41,000 |
| 12 | Carlo van Ravenswoud | Netherlands | $35,000 |
| 13 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | $35,000 |
| 14 | Nichan Khorchidian | Lebanon | $30,000 |
| 15 | Mads Amot | Norway | $30,000 |
| 16 | Richard Gryko | United Kingdom | $30,000 |
| 17 | Eelis Parssinen | Finland | $30,000 |
| 18 | Raphael Schreiner | Austria | $25,000 |
| 19 | Dmitry Kurashev | Russia | $25,000 |
| 20 | Dennis Weiss | Germany | $25,000 |
| 21 | Krasimir Yankov | Bulgaria | $22,000 |
| 22 | Oswin Ziegelbecker | Austria | $22,000 |
| 23 | Daniel Braude | Israel | $22,000 |
| 24 | Pavel Izotov | Belarus | $22,000 |
| 25 | Nino Pansier | Netherlands | $22,000 |
| 26 | Espen Myrmo | Norway | $22,000 |
| 27 | Cesar Garcia | Spain | $22,000 |
| 28 | Sergei Nesterenko | Russia | $20,000 |
| 29 | Imad Derwiche | France | $20,000 |
| 30 | Nicolas Chouity | Lebanon | $20,000 |
| 31 | Jelle de Kroon | Netherlands | $20,000 |
| 32 | Ian Bradley | United Kingdom | $20,000 |
| 33 | Giorgiy Skhulukhiya | Georgia | $20,000 |
| 34 | Tomasz Krzesinski | Poland | $20,000 |
| 35 | Oshri Lahmani | Israel | $20,000 |
🔮 What’s Next at Onyx?
The four-card action in Cyprus is just heating up. With the Opener crushing guarantees, all eyes now turn to the $50,000 PLO Grand Slam and the PLO Main Event.
If the Opener was any indication, we are about to see record-breaking prize pools.
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With over 12 years of Omaha Poker experience, Lebi is the Head of Content at PLO365. A dedicated PLO specialist, he bridges the gap between complex GTO theory and practical street poker. He leads our review team, stress-testing PLO solvers, HUDs, and training courses to ensure they meet the demands of the modern grinder. When he isn’t auditing poker room RNGs or writing strategy guides, you can find him grinding mid-stakes PLO cash games and Turbo MTTs.
