Samuli Sipila is knocking on the door of the top 15 in the 2024 Card Player Player of the Year standings thanks entirely to his success in pot-limit Omaha tournaments. The 31-year-old PLO specialist from Finland has cashed for more than $2.1 million so far on the live circuit across six final-table finishes, with four titles won along the way.
The latest victory was also the largest, with Sipila taking down a $50,000 buy-in PLO event at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Montenegro festival for a career-best payday of $839,000. The win came just two days after he emerged victorious in the $25,000 buy-in PLO event at the same series for $535,000.
“I had hopes, obviously,” Sipila said in his interview with Triton reporters after coming out on top. “Obviously there’s a lot of skill. It’s not just going all-in… but to be fair, I have run really well.”
Sipila now has more than $2.9 million in career tournament earnings, with more than two-thirds of that having been won this spring. This latest victory increased his POY point total to 2,878, which is good for 16th place on the POY leaderboard presented by Global Poker.
Prior to his impressive run at the Maestral Resort & Casino in Montenegro, Sipila dominated the PokerGO Tour PLO Series, winning two titles and making two more final tables to secure the series champion honors.
This event drew 61 entries, creating a prize pool of $3,050,000 that was paid out among the top 11 finishers. Among those that ran deep were 2023 PGT PLO champion Lautaro Guerra Cabrerizo (11th), ten-time Triton champion Jason Koon (10th), five-time Triton champion Danny Tang (7th), and Biao Ding (5th).
Eelis Parssinen, fresh off of a fourth-place showing in the $100,000 PLO main event, wound up busting in the same spot in this event. The Finnish bracelet winner cashed for nearly $1.1 million across the two scores, with $300,100 coming for his most recent run.
Patrik Antonius made his eighth cash of the series his best, placing third for $390,000. The Finnish high roller has climbed to 31st place in the POY standings with four final-table finishes and one title earned so far this year.
Heads-up play began with two-time Triton winner Jose ‘Nacho’ Barbero holding roughly a 3:1 chip lead over Sipila. Sipula surged back to even thanks to making a jacks full to best the flopped fours full held by Barbero. The bracelet winner from Argentina was able to pull back out in front after that, only to have Sipila make the nut flush in a big pot that gave him the lead.
Sipula then won a big pot with top set to leave Barbero on fumes. In the final hand, Sipila rivered a nine-high straight to lock up the pit and the title. Barbero earned $596,300 for his sixth final-table showing of the year. With two titles and 2,799 total points, he is now ranked 21st in the POY rankings.
Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Samuli Sipila | $839,000 | 612 |
| 2 | Jose Barbero | $596,300 | 510 |
| 3 | Patrik Antonius | $390,000 | 408 |
| 4 | Eelis Parssinen | $300,100 | 306 |
| 5 | Biao Ding | $238,000 | 255 |
| 6 | Alex Komaromi | $186,000 | 204 |
| 7 | Danny Tang | $146,000 | 153 |
| 8 | Chris Parker | $115,000 | 102 |
| 9 | Aku Joentausta | $87,000 | 51 |
Photo credit: Triton Poker / Joe Giron.
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