PLO Grand Slam Returns to Tallinn With €2.5 Million Guarantee and Recurring Top Players

The PLO Grand Slam is set to return to Tallinn from September 15-22, with the Diamond Poker Series hosting eight days of high-stakes Pot-Limit Omaha at Bombay Club and €2.5 million guaranteed across the festival. Two tournaments each carry €1 million guarantees, starting with the €5,200 buy-in event September 17-20 and followed by the €10,400 PLO Championship September 20-22. The schedule also features a €15,300 High Roller, a €15,300 Quatro Bounty, and mixed four-, five- and six-card Omaha events. Stage tournaments allow the top 20% of fields to advance directly into the flagship events with their stacks intact.

What Keeps PLO Specialists Coming Back

According to reporting by PokerNews, former champions and near-miss specialists continue to target the series. Tom-Aksel Bedell secured his biggest PLO Grand Slam score in Tirana, freerolling into the €10K Championship, topping 191 entries and winning €438,000. Imad Derwiche claimed the €10,300 PLO Championship in Tallinn, beating a 148-entry field. Hossein Ensan, the 2019 WSOP Main Event champion, has reached multiple final tables without a title, including runner-up in a €5K event and fifth place in the Malta €10K Championship last October. Ensan finished 13th in the 2026 WSOP Main Event this summer and will return to Tallinn seeking his first series trophy.

Derwiche credits the variant itself for the repeat visits. “PLO is special to me because there’s something different about this variant. It’s more fun, the atmosphere between the players is better, and there are more hands and more action.” Ensan first discovered PLO in a Dortmund casino and quickly embraced the nonstop action. Bedell entered through private games. All three now appear regularly.

The players uniformly praise the series structure. Ensan said: “I think DPS is a fantastic project. I try to make it to every single stop, schedule permitting, of course. I really enjoy the higher buy-ins and the massive prize pools.” Derwiche added: “I have to say, bravo. The DPS had the courage to organize a PLO tournament with such a big guarantee, while also finding a great balance between the EPT, WPT, and many other tournaments. I think that’s really impressive.”

The field itself has sharpened. Bedell notes that more players study together and consume online content. Ensan observed that “it’s natural for the field to keep improving, and I notice that growth in myself as well. When you compete regularly against top-tier PLO players, your own game automatically elevates.” Derwiche finds the tournament competition more satisfying than cash games. “It’s amazing to win a title against some of the best PLO players in the world. It’s much easier to win a massive cash-game pot. In a tournament, you have to fight against hundreds of players, so it’s not easy. But I love the competition.”

Action at Bombay Club begins September 15, with Bedell pursuing a second title, Derwiche defending local honors, and Ensan aiming to convert deep runs into silverware.

Reporting: PokerNews

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