Matthias Eibinger showed up to WSOP Paradise planning to play Hold’em. Instead, he walked away with a WSOP bracelet, a Triton trophy, and the kind of debut PLO story you usually hear in home games, not in a $75,000 high-roller.
The Austrian entered Event #2, the $75K Triton PLO 6-Handed, with one prior Triton PLO appearance on record. He left with $1,570,640, his fifth Triton title, and a reminder that elite tournament instincts translate just fine to four-card chaos.
No strategy sermon needed here. The story is wild enough on its own.
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A Field Full of PLO Killers
This one wasn’t soft. Triton’s stop at Atlantis Paradise Island drew 93 entries, the largest ever for a $75K PLO on the series. Every big name who actually enjoys variance showed up:
- Mike Watson
- Dylan Weisman
- Richard Gryko
- Stephen Chidwick
- Nacho Barbero
- Ben Lamb
- Isaac Haxton
- Patrik Antonius
Plenty of players with decades of PLO reps. And then there was Eibinger, a lifelong Hold’em specialist who decided to “try the four-card format.”
Good timing.
Day 1 Ends With Eibinger on Top
The bubble burst in a hand that flipped the entire event. Martin Kabrhel got it in with KK55, Eibinger held AJT2, and the ace-turn card sent the Czech out and the Austrian into the chip lead.
Day 1 closed with Eibinger, Chidwick, Lamb, Weisman, and Barbero near the top. The 13 remaining players were already in the money and coming back for a sprint to the final table.
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Day 2: Chaos, Swings, and a Final Table Lineup
The early knockouts came fast — Antonius, Bujtás, and Martirosian hit the rail before the final seven were set. Chidwick’s stack dipped early but a double kept him afloat. Gryko surged. Barbero fell in eighth, locking in the lineup:
- Matthias Eibinger – 5.79M
- Richard Gryko – 3.09M
- Mike Watson – 2.93M
- Dylan Weisman – 2.89M
- Stephen Chidwick – 1.63M
- Ding Biao – 1.22M
- Ben Lamb – 1.05M
Strong field. Short stacks. A chip leader who wasn’t supposed to be a PLO guy.
Final Table: The Eibinger Pressure Cooker
Ben Lamb, back at a Triton table after years away, found AKK2 and ran straight into Weisman’s AAxx, falling in 7th for $324,000.
Ding Biao followed. He shoved KKxx over an Eibinger button raise; the Austrian called with AQ53 and rivered a straight. Sixth place, $412,000.
Chidwick then defended his big blind, couldn’t find traction, and eventually moved in with J992. Eibinger’s AK87 paired cleanly through flop, turn, and river to knock him out in fifth for $526,500.
Richard Gryko held the short stack together longer than most could, but KT96 couldn’t fade Eibinger’s AA3K, fourth place for $655,500.
Three eliminations, all belonging to the same Austrian Hold’em specialist who allegedly “just wanted to try PLO.”
Three-Handed: The Tournament Turns
The stacks tightened: Eibinger ahead, Weisman surging, Watson short.
Weisman doubled through Eibinger with top pair. He doubled again shortly after. Suddenly he was the favorite.
Then came the hand everyone will remember.
Weisman: A Q Q 5
Watson: A K J 3
The flop and turn — 2♠ 9♣ 8♠ 5♣ — locked Weisman into the driver’s seat, one card away from a massive heads-up lead.
The river?
K♦
A single river card flipped the event upside down. Watson doubled. Weisman fell shortly after in third for $809,000.
Heads-Up: Three Hands, One Bracelet
The stacks were close — 41bb for Eibinger, 33bb for Watson — and they agreed to a deal:
- Eibinger: $1,510,640 locked up
- Watson: $1,459,360 locked up
- $60,000 left to play for
Then momentum hit overdrive.
On the third hand, Watson held KQJT, Eibinger held Q986, and a T-7-3 board plus a K turn put all the money in.
Watson led in equity. Eibinger had all the draws.
The river brought a diamond, completing Eibinger’s flush and ending the match.
First WSOP bracelet. Fifth Triton title. First meaningful PLO tournament of his life. What a run for the Austrian NLHE crusher Matthias Eibinger.
Eibinger on His PLO Debut
He didn’t hide the surprise:
“I play one tournament and immediately I have the title.”
He also admitted he felt more comfortable in PLO than expected:
“At the final table I felt zero pressure. Even though I play hold’em for 10 years, I always feel the pressure.”
And yes — he’s planning to play more four-card events:
“In PLO, you might see me more often.”
Full Payouts — Event #2: $75K Triton PLO 6-Handed
- Matthias Eibinger – $1,570,640
- Michael Watson – $1,459,360
- Dylan Weisman – $809,000
- Richard Gryko – $655,500
- Stephen Chidwick – $526,500
- Ding Biao – $412,000
- Ben Lamb – $324,000
- Nacho Barbero – $247,000
- Isaac Haxton – $181,000
- Sean Rafael – $147,000
- Eelis Parssinen – $147,000
- Frederic Normand – $129,000
- Patrik Antonius – $129,000
- László Bujtás – $119,000
- Artur Martirosian – $119,000
Conclusion
Matthias Eibinger didn’t “transition” to PLO. He took a single shot against the best in the world and spiked a bracelet and a Triton title on the same night.
Zero pressure. Zero expectations. Maximum payoff.
If this is what his first serious PLO attempt looks like, the rest of the series should probably take him seriously. Very seriously.
Key Takeaways
- Eibinger wins WSOP bracelet #1 and Triton title #5 in his first real PLO shot.
- Field drew 93 of the best PLO players in the world.
- Tournament swung on Watson’s river king vs Weisman.
- Eibinger closed it out in a three-hand heads-up match.
- He says we’ll see him in more PLO events. The results say that’s a problem for everyone else.
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.
