Casino Malta, St. Julian’s — After a 13-hour Day 2 that pushed past 4:30 a.m., Israel’s Gabi Livshitz outlasted a 189-entry field to capture the PLO Grand Slam Malta €5,200 “The 5k Million” title for €218,100 and his first Pot Limit Omaha trophy. The event generated a €940,000 prize pool with a slight overlay, and Livshitz, backed by a loud and lively rail, closed the show by winning heads-up on the first hand.
Event snapshot
- Festival: Diamond Poker Series, PLO Grand Slam Malta
- Venue: Casino Malta, St. Julian’s
- Event: €5,200 “The 5k Million”
- Entries: 189
- Prize pool: €940,000
- Payouts: 23 spots
- Winner: Gabi Livshitz, €218,100
- Runner-up: Jelle de Kroon, €148,000
- End time: ~4:30 a.m. after a 13-hour Day 2
Final day recap
Gabi Livshitz started Day 2 in the middle of the counts and announced himself quickly by eliminating Onur Gur in the opening hands. With late registration still open for the first two levels, Gur reentered and rallied to finish 17th for €13,150, while Livshitz kept climbing. Before the money, notables like Dario Alioto, Jessica Teusl, Tom-Aksel Bedell, and Robert Cowen hit the rail. Just before dinner, Livshitz burst the bubble by knocking out Leonid Yanovski in 24th.
Post-dinner, Livshitz reasserted himself with clean precision. He dispatched Lucas van den Belt in 20th for €11,850, then clipped “Sonic” in 11th for €18,300, arriving at the final table third in chips. From there, he left a trail: first, he bounced Espen Myrmo in ninth, getting aces to hold versus kings in a classic PLO clash. Shortly after, “NoNeedMoney” fell to him, vaulting Livshitz into second with six left.
As four-handed play opened up, Livshitz flipped the pressure on. He eliminated “LuxonTrustWallet” in fourth to move into the chip lead.
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Aki Vihikainen eliminated in 3rd (€100,000)
- Preflop: Livshitz opened the button, Vihikainen 3-bet to 2,850,000 from the big blind, Livshitz called.
- Flop: 5♥️ 9♦️ 6♠️: Vihikainen potted; Livshitz moved all in, covering. Vihikainen snap-called for roughly 10,000,000 effective.
- Vihikainen: A♠️ A♥️ 9♠️ J♣️
- Livshitz: 10♦️ 9♣️ 8♦️ 7♥️
With the nuts on the flop, Livshitz had Vihikainen in dire shape. The 8♥️ turn gave Vihikainen a few extra outs, but the Q♦️ river bricked. The massive pot shipped to Livshitz, and Vihikainen exited in third. That hand left De Kroon facing a mountainous task. He’d just laddered to second and knew it. The joy didn’t last long.
Heads-up and last hand
Heads-up lasted exactly one hand. De Kroon shoved his short stack of 3,000,000 preflop and got called.
- De Kroon: K♣️ 6♦️ 6♣️ 4♦️
- Livshitz: A♥️ J♦️ 9♥️ 5♠️
Board: 5♦️ K♥️ 8♠️ 5♥️ 2♠️De Kroon flopped best with kings and sixes on 5♦️ K♥️ 8♠️, but the 5♥️ turn gave Livshitz trips, and the 2♠️ river locked it up. De Kroon took the pay jump to €148,000 for second and grinned his way through the congratulations as Livshitz’s rail poured in to celebrate the first live PLO trophy for their man.
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PLO Grand Slam Malta €5,200 Million Final Table Result
Winner snapshot: Gabi Livshitz
This is Livshitz’s first live PLO title. He already had plenty of four-card credentials, including an online PLO WSOP bracelet in 2021, and now adds a major live PLO trophy to match the online hardware.
Key takeaways
- Gabi Livshitz wins the €5,200 “The 5k Million” for €218,100 after a 13-hour Day 2 that finished around 4:30 a.m.
- The event drew 189 entries for a €940,000 prize pool with a slight overlay.
- Heads-up ended on the first hand when Livshitz turned trips to beat Jelle de Kroon’s flopped best hand.
- Aki Vihikainen busted 3rd after jamming aces into Livshitz’s flopped straight in a 100 bb pot.
- Livshitz’s path included eliminating Myrmo (aces vs kings), “NoNeedMoney,” and “LuxonTrustWallet” on the final table.
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