Two event wins, a massive lead at the top of the leaderboard and two trophies gleaming on his mantelpiece. It’s been a stellar week at the felt for Finnish professional Samuli Sipila as he bagged Event #7 to add to his win in Event #4 in the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. Now in command of the 2024 PGT PLO Series with three events to conclude, will he win the $10,000 PGT Passport and the overall championship title? It’s his to lose.

Sipila Starts Off Hot

The seventh event of the 2024 PGT PLO Series, a $15,000-entry Pot-Limit Omaha Progressive Bounty tournament, saw 74 entries and a prize pool of $1.1 million which included $444,000 reserved for the bounties. One player who looked determined to succeed was Samuli Sipila, who came in hot and ended the event for the bubble boy Amir Mirrasouli, as the American fell to Sipila’s six-high straight, the Finnish player bagging the chip lead at the time.

With the final 11 players all making the money, including John Riordan (11^th), Joao Simao (10^th) and Joshua Ladines (9^th) all busted for $19,980 in the ‘min-cash’ places. Not long after Ladines left, PokerGO favorite Chino Rheem was the man who left in eighth place for $26,640. Rheem lost out with as Christopher Frank started with pocket queens and added pocket tens on the board to make the winning hand.

The final seven had made it to cameras and flash bulbs. In the lead was Christopher Frank, the German top on 2.48 million, a mere big blind ahead of Sipila on 2.47 million. Jim Collopy (1.66m), Nick Schulman (1.23m), Daniel Negreanu (785,000), Sean Winter (525,000) and Cliff Josephy gathered, smiled, and took their seats ready to battle for the trophy.

Kid Poker Caught in the Cookie Jar

The final table was set, but not the last day. Two more needed to bust before the overnight chipcounts and the first to go was the super-short Josephy. He committed his stack with pocket kings but lost to Sipila’s rivered flush to leave for $26,640.

Soon after, another legend of the game fell victim to Sipila as a topsy-turvy board saw Sipila snatch the lead on the flop, only for Negreanu to make a better two pair on the turn. One card from a vital double-up, however, Kid Poker was rapped on the metaphorical knuckles as Sipila spiked a full house and ousted the Canadian poker hero in sixth place for total winnings of $64,300.

Due to the nature of Progressive Bounty events, some players were worth more than others in terms of a scalp. That meant some who finished higher made less than the player who exited a place or two before them, and that was true of Sean Winter, who busted in fifth for a total prize fund of $55,620 due to Negreanu’s bumper bounty prizes collected. Winter’s pocket kings lost out to Sipila’s rivered two pair as aces and eights did for the PokerGO favorite Winter and Sipila started the final day in imperious form.

Finnish Domination Ends Event in Style

Four players remained but Sipila was utterly dominant. Taking out Chris Frank in fourth for total winnings of $109,270, the Finn grew in power further. Frank got it all-in on the flop of with a flush draw and a pair of sixes but was miles behind Sipila’s superior flush draw and top pair. Both turn and river failed to improve Frank’s chances and he left just before the podium places.

PokerGO Commentator and multiple WSOP bracelet winner Nick Schulman was next to bust, cashing for $99,910 in third. Schulman flopped top pair but they were some way behind Sipila’s aces in the hole and they held through turn and river to send play heads-up. Sipila had a stack of 6.2 million, more than double Jim Collopy’s 3 million in chips.

If Sipila thought the final battle would be a victory procession, he was dead wrong. Collopy battled back and took the lead before Sipila doubled then won a massive pot with quad eights to take an even bigger lead than he started heads-up with. In the final hand, a board of by the turn got all the chips into the middle and Collopy’s needed help against Sipila’s pair of tens with a gutshot draw. The on the river was no help to the American and Sipila had won almost $400,000 as he leapt into an impressive lead at the top of the PGT PLO Series.