The 2025 PLO Grand Slam Prague €10,400 Championship wrapped up with one of the strangest and cleanest endings you’ll see in live Pot Limit Omaha. After 107 entries built a €1,005,800 prize pool, and after hours of maneuvering, the final trophy came down to… blind flips. And when the dust settled, Juha Helppi walked away with the title, the trophy, and €168,400. Let’s dive in!
Do you want to improve your Pot Limit Omaha tournament skills before the next PLO mtt event? Head over to the Pot Limit Omaha training site PLO Mastermind and check out the course now:
Event Overview — 107 Entries, €1,005,800 Prize Pool
The €10,400 buy-in drew a tough European-heavy field, ending with 107 total entries and a €1,005,800 prize pool. The top nine spots were paid, and as expected for a high-roller Pot Limit Omaha event, the lineup was dense with specialists and mixed-game veterans.
The final table included well-known names such as Alexander Petersen, Aki Vihikainen (3rd place finisher of the PLO Grand Slam Malta edition), and eventual champion Juha Helppi all of whom appear frequently in the upper tiers of PLO Grand Slam Prague 2025 events and high-stakes Omaha circuits.
Final Table Action: Petersen Pressures, Vihikainen Leads, Helppi Survives
The table dynamics shifted throughout the day, with Alexander Petersen applying pressure as stacks shallowed. Aki Vihikainen entered the final stretches with the chip lead, playing controlled and picking up the medium-sized pots that kept him comfortable.
Juha Helppi, as he often does in Pot Limit Omaha, kept himself out of trouble. He avoided unnecessary collisions and allowed the two more active players, Petersen and Vihikainen, to handle the higher-variance exchanges. All three would eventually find themselves at the center of one of the most unusual endings in PLO Grand Slam Prague 2025 history. But more about it later.
Luuk van den Belt Falls in 4th (€94,550)
The last elimination before the deal came when Luuk van den Belt pushed roughly 2 million with K♦ K♠ 7♦ 3♣ and ran straight into Petersen’s A♣ A♥ J♠ 3♠. The Q♦ Q♣ 5♦ flop gave van den Belt outs to a diamond flush, but the A♦ turn simultaneously filled that flush and counterfeited him with a full house for Petersen.
The river bricked, and van den Belt exited in 4th. That set up the final three players — all deep, all close in stacks — and all quickly deciding on an ICM solution.
WPT Global
Free Tournament tickets up to $480
Free Casino Coin up to $100
30% Rakeback
Network: Independent
Phenom Poker
up to 35% Rakeback
Soft Action
Network: Independent
Champion Poker
Network: iPoker
The ICM Deal That Set Up the Finish
Once play paused three-handed, the numbers were clear:
| Player | Chips | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Aki Vihikainen | 9,350,000 | €198,700 |
| Alexander Petersen | 7,375,000 | €186,600 |
| Juha Helppi | 5,175,000 | €168,400 |
The trio agreed to a three-way ICM deal to lock up almost the entire remaining prize pool. Only the trophy remained — and they agreed to flip blind for it. A very PLO outcome, fittingly enough for the PLO Grand Slam Prague 2025 main event.
The decision also meant that the names Aki Vihikainen, Alexander Petersen, and Juha Helppi would appear together repeatedly as the three final contenders for this year’s Pot Limit Omaha crown.
Blind Flip #1 — Helppi Triples
In the first forced all-in, stacks went in before anyone saw cards:
- Juha Helppi: 8♣ 7♥ 7♦ 7♠
- Alexander Petersen: A♣ Q♣ Q♥ 4♥
- Aki Vihikainen: A♥ T♥ 9♠ 5♣
The board ran A♦ 4♠ 8♠ 8♥ 2♣, giving Helppi trip eights for a clean triple-up. Petersen took the side pot with aces and eights, tightening the chip distribution even further.
This sequence marked the first major swing in the final stage of the PLO Grand Slam Prague 2025 finale, and it kept all three players in contention.
Blind Flip #2 — The Final Hand
The last hand came shortly after:
- Alexander Petersen: A♦ Q♦ 8♣ 4♣
- Aki Vihikainen: J♥ 9♥ 7♠ 5♦
- Juha Helppi: K♥ Q♥ 9♣ 2♣
With Helppi covering, a single knockout could end the entire championship. The board fell:
3♣ K♣ 6♥ 9♦ 5♣
Helppi made a king-high flush, eliminating Petersen in third and Vihikainen in second on the same runout. The final pot awarded him the trophy, officially crowning Juha Helppi the winner of the PLO Grand Slam Prague 2025 Championship.
The final flip also ensured that the names Aki Vihikainen, Alexander Petersen, and the event itself, the PLO Grand Slam Prague 2025, would be central to discussions about high-variance finishes in elite Pot Limit Omaha tournaments.
Final Table Results
- Juha Helppi — Finland — €168,400*
- Aki Vihikainen — Finland — €198,700*
- Alexander Petersen — Denmark — €186,600*
- Luuk van den Belt — Netherlands — €94,550
- Cesar Garcia — Spain — €75,950
- Kevin Gorsic — Slovenia — €59,300
- Jeremy Trojand — Germany — €46,750
- Veselin Karakitukov — Bulgaria — €35,700
- Ole Schemion — Germany — €26,150
*ICM deal reached three-handed.
Conclusion
The PLO Grand Slam Prague 2025 Championship ended with a structure-driven twist: a three-way deal followed by pure variance to decide the trophy. Juha Helppi handled the spots, handled the flips, and claimed another title in a career already defined by steady, disciplined high-stakes Pot Limit Omaha play.
With Aki Vihikainen and Alexander Petersen both securing strong payouts, and with the ending delivering one of the cleanest blind-runout finishes in recent memory, this event will stand as one of the most memorable stops of the PLO Grand Slam Prague 2025 season.
As a PLO enthusiast with nearly 12 years of experience, I’m passionate about breaking down the complexities of Pot Limit Omaha, helping you sharpen your strategy and grow your bankroll – no matter your current level. I also share exclusive bonus and rakeback deals, along with discounts on poker courses and tools, so you can get an extra edge. When I’m not writing, you’ll usually find me online, playing PLO cash games and turbo MTTs.
