Marek Uharcek has turned a final-day chip lead into the first tournament victory of his career, winning the €1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship at the King’s Million European Poker Championship for €95,000.
The Slovakian cash-game player came through 286 entries at King’s Resort in Rozvadov and survived almost 12 hours of final-day poker. He beat Germany’s Lucas Giebing heads-up after a battle that briefly swung away from him when Giebing found a four-outer to stay alive.
For Uharcek, the result was worth more than the Royal Scepter handed to the champion. He told PokerNews that he plays only around ten tournaments a year and prefers cash games, making a career-best score and first recorded tournament win on the same night a fairly efficient use of the annual allowance.
Uharcek Leads From Start to Finish
Uharcek began the final day with the chip lead after topping Day 1B and never disappeared from the top end of the counts. Forty-four players returned already guaranteed €3,525, but the real money was waiting at a final table containing several players with considerably more tournament experience.
That included WSOP bracelet winner Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who eventually finished fourth for €29,800. Uharcek eliminated the German with the better two pair, then carried a narrow advantage into heads-up play against Giebing.
The win also adds another significant Omaha result to a busy 2026 calendar. Poker Type recently covered Andreas Freund’s first WSOP bracelet in a $10,000 PLO event, while Ralfs Blumbergs won the EPT Barcelona €10K PLO for €303,300 in August.
€1,500 PLO Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marek Uharcek | €95,000 |
| 2 | Lucas Giebing | €62,600 |
| 3 | Anonymous | €42,700 |
| 4 | Jan-Peter Jachtmann | €29,800 |
| 5 | Volodymyr Kokoulin | €21,375 |
| 6 | Danail Zhelev | €15,700 |
| 7 | Davit Mikhanashvili | €11,800 |
| 8 | lakiseeb | €9,100 |
| 9 | Bastian Bluem | €7,200 |
A Four-Outer Nearly Changes Everything
Heads-up was not a straight procession. Uharcek had Giebing all-in and close to elimination before the German completed a straight on the turn, a four-outer that flipped the match and forced the Slovakian to rebuild.
He did exactly that. Uharcek doubled back into contention and soon had Giebing at risk for a second time, with the title finally secured when the runner-up missed his straight draw.
Uharcek described the finish as a relief rather than a celebration of dominance. That reaction made sense after the earlier escape, and it also fitted his approach throughout the final day: pressure the shorter stacks when the spot was right, stay calm when cards went against him and avoid turning one bad beat into two bad decisions.
First Win After Several Near Misses
The €95,000 payday is Uharcek’s largest recorded tournament cash, but he was hardly arriving at the final table without experience. He had already made two European Poker Tour final tables in recent years and finished eighth on the same King’s Resort felt exactly a year earlier.
His preference for cash poker makes the breakthrough more unusual. Tournament specialists can fire hundreds of events while chasing a first major trophy; Uharcek says his annual schedule is closer to ten, yet he has repeatedly managed to run deep when he does sit down.
Pot-Limit Omaha has also become increasingly visible on major festival schedules. The WSOP Paradise 2026 schedule, for example, includes five dedicated PLO tournaments alongside mixed PLO/NLH and other non-Hold’em formats.
King’s Million Continues in Rozvadov
Uharcek’s victory does not close the King’s Million European Poker Championship. The festival continues at King’s Resort with further events still to be decided, giving the Rozvadov stop more chances to produce new champions.
For now, though, the PLO Championship belongs to a player who openly admits tournaments are not his main game. Ten or so events a year suddenly looks like enough when one of them ends with €95,000 and your first trophy.
