Marek Uharček Wins King’s Million PLO Championship for €95,000

Marek Uharček turns a rare tournament stop into a major PLO title

Marek Uharček won the €1,500 PLO Championship at the 2026 King’s Million European Poker Championship on Saturday, September 26, defeating Germany’s Lucas Giebing heads-up at King’s Resort in Rozvadov. The Slovak pocketed €95,000 along with the Royal Scepter trophy, a fitting reward for a player who does most of his work in cash games and only enters about ten tournaments per year.

That detail matters. When a low-volume tournament player wins a field like this, it usually means the combination of technical skill, table selection, and one good deep run came together at exactly the right time. Uharček did not just cash; he converted a rare appearance into the biggest live tournament score of his career.

How the field built up before the final day

The event was part of the early action at the new King’s Million festival in Rozvadov, a venue that has long been one of Europe’s most active live poker hubs. Pot-Limit Omaha tends to attract a mix of regulars, gamblers, and experienced mixed-game players, which makes the structure especially dynamic compared with standard NLH events.

Day 1A on Thursday, September 24 drew 61 players and 27 re-entries, starting everyone with 50,000 chips and 40-minute levels. Tobias Peters ended that flight with the lead at 850,000, narrowly ahead of Jan-Peter Jachtmann on 721,000, while 14 players reached the money.

Day 1B nearly doubled the turnout. It added 125 players and 73 re-entries, bringing the total field to 286 entries and pushing the prize pool beyond the €500,000 guarantee. Uharček finished that day with 1,050,000 chips, the largest stack among the 44 players who returned for Saturday, each already locked up for at least €3,525.

Final table pressure and the importance of stack leverage

Uharček carried the chip lead into the nine-handed final table, where Jan-Peter Jachtmann was the marquee name. The German remains a major Omaha reference point thanks to his 2012 WSOP Pot-Limit Omaha bracelet, and he once again showed strong form by reaching the final table with chips to work with.

But deep-run experience does not always override stack pressure. Jachtmann eventually got all in on the turn against Uharček’s better two pair and finished fourth for €29,800. For the chip leader, that pot was decisive: it removed one of the most dangerous opponents and made the path to the title much cleaner.

Romanian player Ratty exited in third for €42,700. He flopped a set against Giebing, only to see the German make a straight on the turn. In PLO, those are the kinds of spots that swing entire tournaments, because even a powerful made hand can become vulnerable once multiple draws are in play.

The heads-up battle: Giebing had momentum, but not the finish

Lucas Giebing briefly seized control in heads-up play and built a lead close to two-to-one. Uharček, however, stayed composed and worked his way back into the match. The final hand was a classic Omaha confrontation, with plenty of live equity on both sides.

On an A64 flop, Uharček held AQJ7 for top pair. Giebing had 9874, which gave him a pair of fours, a heart flush draw, and a straight draw to any five. The 7 on the turn improved Uharček to aces and sevens, while the K river failed to complete Giebing’s draws.

Giebing took €62,600 for second place, and the closing hand highlighted why PLO remains such a volatile game: the best hand on the flop is often only the beginning, not the end, of the story.

Final table results from the €1,500 PLO Championship

• 1. Marek Uharček (Slovakia) — €95,000
• 2. Lucas Giebing (Germany) — €62,600
• 3. Ratty (Romania) — €42,700
• 4. Jan-Peter Jachtmann (Germany) — €29,800
• 5. Volodymyr Kokoulin (Ukraine) — €21,375
• 6. Danail Zhelev (Bulgaria) — €15,700
• 7. Davit Mikhanashvili (Georgia) — €11,800
• 8. Dicy Roller (Germany) — €9,100
• 9. Markus Bachman (Germany) — €7,200

Expert analysis: why this win matters for live PLO players

Uharček’s victory is a useful case study for live tournament players who split time between cash games and MTTs. It shows that you do not need to grind a huge annual schedule to produce a breakthrough result, but you do need a strong understanding of PLO variance, stack depth, and late-stage pressure.

A few takeaways stand out:

• Chip leads in PLO are valuable, but only if converted. The game’s variance can erase an advantage quickly, so disciplined pot control matters.
• Made hands are not enough without blocker awareness. On boards like A64, ranges are often much wider than they appear.
• Heads-up patience is critical. Giebing built a lead, but Uharček recovered by staying stable instead of forcing thin spots.
• Tournament selection matters. Players looking for the right mix of field size and value should pay attention to poker rooms, poker clubs, and education at poker school.

For recreational players and semi-pros, that is a reminder to choose events where your edge can actually show. If you are building a live schedule, watching promotions & bonuses can also help reduce the cost of entry and improve long-term ROI.

What comes next at King’s Million in Rozvadov

The Omaha action is far from over. Players now move on to the €3,000 PLO High Roller, a €500,000-guaranteed event whose final day is scheduled for Monday, September 28. After that comes the €3,000 NLH High Roller from September 30 to October 1, followed by the €2,000 Masters from October 3 to 5.

The debut festival runs with more than €10 million in guarantees through October 6 and is building toward the €1,150 Super Main Event, which carries a massive €5 million guarantee. For players, that means more high-value opportunities, deeper structures, and plenty of room for disciplined bankroll management — especially if you are working with a poker agent to plan a packed festival schedule.

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