After winning the €438,000 top prize at the PLO Grand Slam Championship in Tirana, Albania, Norwegian businessman and high-stakes tournament poker player Tom-Aksel Bedell has proven that he knows how to play Omaha poker better than just about anyone in the world.
Bedell topped an impressive field of 191 entries to win the lion’s share of the €1,880,000 prize pool and the illustrious Diamond Poker Series trophy, topping PLO pro Lautaro Guerra (€296,000) in heads-up play. Guerra had finished third in the maiden event held two months ago, earning €170,700 for that run.
Funny enough, Bedell actually received a free entry into the €10,300 Championship event after firing the most bullets in the €5,200 Opener event, a borderline-insane eight entries. As you can image, Bedell isn’t somebody that would be using poker coaching sites.
He did not end up cashing the Opener and would’ve needed to finish in at least sixth place in order to turn a profit. That’s not necessarily great poker tournament strategy, but if you have enough money, it could be worth it.
Dutch pro and Opener champion Tom Vogelsang (€234,200) would have an incredible run in the Championship, finishing fourth for €161,500. Daniel Tordjman (3rd, €197,500) and Oleksii Kovalchuk (5th, €129,500) rounded out the top five.
“I feel great,” Bedell told PokerNews. “It’s always nice to win in PLO, as you need to have a lot of luck, rarely getting it in with more than 65 percent.
“I never look at the pay jumps but was lucky that I had the chip leader on my right. That way, I was the only one who could play back.”
The Arena Casino Tirana held the first-ever PLO Grand Slam just two months ago, providing a free five-star hotel room for all €5,000 and €10,000 players as well as free airfare. They did the same for the 2025 version of the series, which was something that drew Bedell into returning to Albania.
“I got invited to this event the first time and I loved the treatment they give you, the hotel, they treat my wife lovely as well. The atmosphere at the tables is also amazing.”
Bedell would win the tournament holding A♣Q♣Q♠3♣ against Guerra’s Q♥J♦9♥5♦. The board ran out 8♠4♥A♦5♣7♦, securing the title for the Norwiegan.
| Place | Player | Prize | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Tom-Aksel Bedell | €438,000 | Norway |
| 2nd | Lautaro Guerra | €296,000 | Spain |
| 3rd | Daniel Tordjman | €197,500 | France |
| 4th | Tom Vogelsang | €161,500 | Netherlands |
| 5th | Oleksii Kovalchuk | €129,500 | Ukraine |
| 6th | Sofoklis Palekythritis | €100,500 | Cyprus |
| 7th | Gergo Nagy | €74,500 | Hungary |
| 8th | Andrew Ige | €54,500 | United States |
| 9th | Maksim Shuts | €43,500 | Belarus |