German Pot-Limit Omaha specialist Sascha Wilhelm has won the $1,100 PLO Championship at the Borgata Fall Poker Open, taking home $20,360 and a trophy after a dramatic heads-up battle with Canadian Sebastian Crema. The win adds a Borgata title to a résumé that already includes two WSOP PLO bracelets won over the past two years, and it denied Crema a second trophy at the festival just two days after he finished runner-up in the $600 Kickoff.
The event, part of the BetMGM Poker-branded series at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, drew 60 entries. Here is how the final table unfolded and what it tells us about live PLO in the US.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sascha Wilhelm | Germany | $20,360 |
| 2 | Sebastian Crema | Canada | $12,506 |
| 3 | Nohad Teliani | Canada | $8,156 |
| 4 | Stuart Glassmith | USA | $5,655 |
| 5 | Robert Klein | USA | $4,187 |
| 6 | Harry Rubin | USA | $3,508 |
| 7 | Ethan Cahn | USA | $3,019 |
| 8 | Matthew Brady | USA | $2,609 |
The top eight payouts total $60,000. With 60 entries at $1,100, the gross buy-in total was $66,000 before fees.
How the Final Four Played Out
Four players returned on Day 2. Crema started as the chip leader, with Wilhelm second and Teliani the short stack.
The first elimination went Crema's way. Stuart Glassmith ran into Crema's top set, which filled up to a full house, and was out in fourth place for $5,655. Teliani followed in third, eliminated when Wilhelm's set held, earning $8,156.
A Heads-Up Rollercoaster
Wilhelm took a 1,600,000 to 800,000 chip lead into heads-up play, but PLO rarely allows a two-to-one lead to feel comfortable. Crema hit quads to draw level, turning the match into a coin-flip contest.
The turning point came when Wilhelm flopped trip queens against Crema's pocket aces. In Hold'em, aces against a weaker hand is the dream scenario. In Omaha, aces are far more vulnerable because opponents see four hole cards and the flop interacts with many more combinations. Wilhelm's trips cracked the aces and swung the match back in his favour.
The final hand summed up PLO's volatility. Crema moved all-in with a pair of tens, Wilhelm called with a pair of sevens, and the river gave Wilhelm trips to seal the title. The whole heads-up battle lasted under 90 minutes.
Who Is Sascha Wilhelm?
Wilhelm is a German PLO specialist who has won two WSOP PLO bracelets in the past two years. When asked about his success, he kept it simple: "I just play a lot. Started playing PLO like 15 years ago or something."
That answer is worth taking seriously. PLO is a game where experience counts for a great deal. Hand reading is more complex, equities run closer and the variance is larger than in Hold'em, which means the players who succeed long-term tend to be those who have logged huge volume and developed an instinct for which spots to commit chips.
Asked what he was playing for, he answered: "The trophy." He added that he likes the resort and has visited a couple of times before, and said he might not play other events at the festival now that he had achieved his goal.
He was also gracious about his opponent, saying Crema is "a great player" whom he had never seen before but who clearly knew what he was doing.
Sebastian Crema's Strong Week
For Crema, the result caps an excellent start to the festival. The Canadian lawyer, who has more than $1.3 million in live tournament earnings, also finished second in the $600 Kickoff, losing to Jason Nguyen, who won $126,727. Two runner-up finishes in two days, in two different games, is a remarkable run, even if it leaves him chasing a first Borgata trophy.
Why the Field Size Matters
Sixty entries might look small next to the four-figure fields of the Kickoff, but it is typical for a live PLO event at this price point in the US. Hold'em still dominates American tournament schedules, and PLO events tend to attract a smaller and more specialised field.
That has two implications for players:
- The field is tougher on average. PLO events attract players who specifically seek out the game, so the share of experienced Omaha players is higher.
- The payouts are flatter at the top. With eight paid places from 60 entries, roughly 13% of the field cashed, and first place was worth about 18.5 buy-ins.
If you are a Hold'em player thinking about adding PLO events to your schedule, start with the fundamentals in our Omaha guide and our Hold'em vs Omaha comparison.
Strategy Lessons From the Final Table
Aces Are Not Invincible in PLO
The trip queens against aces hand is a textbook PLO lesson. Preflop, the best aces hands in Omaha are favourites, but nowhere near the dominant position they hold in Hold'em. Once the flop comes, a player with trips or a big draw is often ahead. Learning how flops change equity is central to good Omaha play, and an odds calculator is the fastest way to build that intuition.
Sets Are Strong but Not Safe
Two of the key eliminations involved sets: Crema's top set that filled up, and Wilhelm's set against Teliani. Sets are powerful hands in PLO, but on coordinated boards they can be vulnerable to straights and flushes. The players who win in PLO know when to get stacks in with a set and when to proceed with caution.
Heads-Up PLO Is a Different Game
With only two players, hand values change dramatically. Hands that are marginal at a full table become strong heads-up, and aggression becomes more important. The final hand, with a pair of tens against a pair of sevens, shows how far ranges widen when only two players remain.
The Borgata Fall Poker Open Continues
The Borgata Fall Poker Open is one of the biggest live series on the East Coast this autumn. Our festival preview covers the full schedule and the $4 million in guarantees on offer. Coverage continues throughout the festival as the series builds toward its Championship event.
For players in New Jersey who want to sharpen their game before heading to Atlantic City, online play can be a good warm-up. See our guides to US poker sites and cash games for options.
The Bottom Line
Sascha Wilhelm's win is a reminder that in PLO, experience and composure are often the deciding factors. He took the trophy he came for, overcame Crema's quads and survived a nervy heads-up match to add a Borgata title to his two WSOP bracelets. For Crema, it was another near miss in a week of strong results, and with more events still to come, he will have further chances to close out a title.