John Holley's PLO Round Changed Everything in Event #28

John Holley had 4.2 million chips when Event #28 was 14-handed. He has 10.1 million now at nine-handed — and the hand that bridged those two numbers happened during a PLO round.

The $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em / Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack alternates formats every orbit, and that structural wrinkle is the entire story of Holley's final-table ascent. Between the two-table stage and the unofficial final nine, five players were eliminated. Sebastian Crema — who led the tournament at 8.7 million with 14 left — busted in 10th. Jairo Espinosa, who sat at 5.2 million, went out 12th. Gheorghe Butuc, 11th.

A 12-time WSOP Circuit ring winner with $2.03 million in lifetime cashes and 71 career final tables, Holley is not here by accident.

The Stack Math

Holley's jump from 4.2 million to 10.1 million — a gain of 5.9 million — required winning a pot worth roughly half the chips in play at 14-handed. With the total chip count spread across two tables, a pot that size almost certainly came against one of the big stacks who didn't survive: Crema (8.7M), Espinosa (5.2M), or John Ghosn (4.2M).

Crema's bust in 10th is the strongest candidate. He held the chip lead at the prior count. His stack went to zero. Holley's nearly tripled. The arithmetic leaves little room for ambiguity about where those chips ended up.

Why the PLO Round Matters

In a mixed-format event, the PLO orbits punish one-dimensional players. Four-card holdings run closer in equity, pots inflate faster through the pot-limit betting structure, and positional edges compound across multiple streets. A player with 71 career final tables and a dozen Circuit rings — credentials built largely in full-ring grind formats — has logged thousands of PLO hands in mixed events.

That experience differential is magnified at two tables, where shorter-handed play forces more action and the format switch catches players mid-adjustment.

The Final Table Picture

Holley leads the final nine at 10.1 million. Behind him sits Daniel Negreanu at 5.7 million — a seven-time bracelet winner with $33.59 million in lifetime cashes and 95 career final tables. Negreanu, notably, did not appear in the 14-handed chip counts, meaning he either arrived late to Day 2 or sat below the top-five reporting threshold. Either way, he built his stack through the same elimination stretch that fueled Holley.

The gap between first and second is 4.4 million chips. Holley holds 77% more than the most decorated player at the table.