14 Feb 2026 Beginner This material is for beginner players Dutch professional poker player Nino Pansier emerged victorious in the $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha Main Event at the Onyx High Roller Series. His victory came after defeating Justin Steinbrenner in a challenging and exciting heads-up match, and he took home the biggest payday of his career. The tournament was held in the elite Onyx Club at Northern Cyprus's beautiful Merit Royal Diamond Hotel & Spa. The event attracted 199 entries, bringing together some of the best PLO players in the world, and generated a massive prize pool of $4,800,000. Only seven players made it to the last day and were assured to take home at least $143,000 as a min cash prize. Nevertheless, every player had their eyes on the prize and was keen to take home the title and a seven-figure cash reward. A Fast Start at the Final Table Action at the final table started at 1 p.m. local time. At the start of the day, Steinbrenner was the chip leader with just under 15 million. Pansier was second and had almost a similar stack. The rest of the field had a lot less, which led to an early battle between the two big stacks. Tomasz Krzesinski reached the final table with only four big blinds. He went all in on the third hand of the day, but his hand did not improve, and he was eliminated in seventh place. Lautaro Guerra was next in line, and his tournament life came to an end in sixth place. Guerra and Pansier both flopped a pair of aces, but Pansier's stronger kicker won the pot. Artur Martirosian, a high roller from Russia, finished in fifth after Steinbrenner's top two pair held strong. Steinbrenner hit a set on the turn against Sandvik's aces, which sent Sandvik home in fourth place. The field went from seven players to three in just over an hour. Barakat’s Run Ends in Third When Youness Barakat reached the final table, he was short-stacked. After flopping a set of tens against Pansier, he got a crucial double up. At one point, it looked like he might make a comeback. His run, nevertheless, came to an end in third place when Steinbrenner completed a flush on the river to crack Barakat's aces. Before the game started, Barakat had joked that Pansier would win the trophy. That funny comment became reality by the end of the night. Barakat's elimination paved the way for Pansier and Steinbrenner to engage in a heads-up duel. Four Hours of Heads-Up Action When heads-up play started, Steinbrenner had a clear chip lead. Since both players had a lot of chips, more than 80 big blinds, it meant that the duel was bound to be long. After that, there was a marathon. The action went back and forth, and over more than 90 hands, the chip lead changed many times. Both players were skilled and patient. Both players made the nut straight at one point, and they moved all-in on the turn. However, they split the pot because the river didn't bring a flush. Soon after, Steinbrenner had more than 40 million chips, which was a big lead. Pansier, on the other hand, was short stacked, and it looked like the tournament was finally over. However, the same river card that gave Steinbrenner a flush also improved Pansier's hand, allowing him to double up with a full house. The swings went on after the break. Steinbrenner's nut flush earned him a massive pot. In response, Pansier turned a full house in another huge hand to double up again. It took about four hours for the match to end. Heads-up play alone took almost twice as many hands as the rest of the final table put together. Nino Pansier after winning the event( Photo courtesy of Onyx club) The Final Hand and a Career-Defining Win A dramatic all-in ended the heads-up battle and tournament. Both players put their chips in the middle on a flop of . Steinbrenner held for a flopped set. Pansier had , which gave him a strong flush draw. On the turn, the touched down, completing Pansier's flush. The fell on the river and did not pair the board for Steinbrenner. Pansier scooped the massive pot and was crowned the champion, taking home $1,125,000 for his victory. The win almost doubled his lifetime tournament earnings. He had made about $1.3 million in cash before this event. He has mostly done well in Pot Limit Omaha over the last few years, with impressive results on the European circuit as well. He had never been to Northern Cyprus before, and this trip was the best one of his career. You can catch all the action on YouTube: Final Table Results Rank Player Country Winnings 1 Nino Pansier Netherlands $1,125,000 2 Justin Steinbrenner Germany $710,000 3 Youness Barakat Italy $483,000 4 Espen Sandvik Norway $340,000 5 Artur Martirosian Russia $250,000 6 Lautaro Guerra Spain $190,000 7 Tomasz Krzesinski Poland $143,000
