2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open

Event #1: $600 Deepstack Kick-Off
Day: 3
Event Info

2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open

Final Results
Winner
Zarko Mandic
Prize
$342,967
Event Info
Buy-in
$600
Prize Pool
$2,291,625
Entries
4,375
Level Info
Level
36
Blinds
300,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Players Info - Day 3
Entries
31
Players Left
1

Event #1: $600 Deepstack Kick-Off

Day 3 Completed

Zarko Mandic Takes Down 2020 BWPO Deepstack Kick-Off for $342,967!

Level 36 : 300,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Deepstack Kick-Off Champion Zarko Mandic
Deepstack Kick-Off Champion Zarko Mandic

The 2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open crowned a champion for Event #1: $600 Deepstack Kick-Off $2,000,000 Guarantee after three days of action-packed tournament play. The opening event brought in a total of 4,375 entries and when the last chance saloon had closed for business it was Zarko Mandic emerging as the victor after taking the heavier end of an adjusted payout worth $342,967, along with a prestigious Borgata trophy.

Mandic started playing poker just a year ago and had accumulated just over $15,000 in live cashes thus far with all of his earnings coming in Atlantic City.

"I started playing about a year ago but back in college I played a different type of poker (Five-Card Draw) which was basically bluffing, you could play it without looking at the cards," he explained.

The Manhattan, New York resident started the final table with just over two million but quickly fell into a six-figure stack and then elected to bring his aggressive style from college back into play. "I was going up and down on the final table then bluffed their brains out. I bluffed the chip leader and then the Canadian in seat ten [Constantinos Psallidas] so I went from six to fourteen million," he said with a laugh.

Soon after piling up his new chips, Mandic sought out for more as he brought an amount of aggression that was too much for his opponents to handle en route to his victory. "I just played aggressively, played all-in and that's why he (Ricardo Eyzaguirre) was getting angry at me," Mandic said with a smile and he also noted, "I am going to rest up and will be here next week for the main."

Final Table Results

PlacePlayerHometownPrize (USD)
1Zarko MandicManhattan, New York$342,967*
2Ricardo EyzaguirreOrlando, Florida$290,000*
3Constantinos PsallidasMontreal, Quebec, Canada$164,539
4Brian MorganMontreal, Quebec, Canada$135,206
5Kirkwood SaccardoRockport, Connecticut$108,852
6Leonard SandeWest Haven, Connecticut$83,644
7Jerry MaherWarren, New Jersey$59,582
8Ryan TeixeiraToronto, Ontario, Canada$42,945
9Patrick LuuCamden, Delaware$27,500

Final Day Action

The third and final day saw 31 players return and many players quickly bit the dust including Joe Cappuccio (31st - $6,302), Frankie Greever (30th - $6,302), and Christopher Frigon (29th - $6,302), who all hit the rail in the first few hands of the day.

Chips started flying soon after the early departures and after just four levels into the final day, the tournament had ten players remaining. Emanuele "Manny" Gugliuzza started the day near the top but saw his stack slowly chip down to the danger zone. Gugliuzza moved his remaining chips into the middle with king-ten and the at the time chip leader, Kirkwood Saccardo, called with his ace-seven. An ace came down on the flop, eliminating Gugliuzza in tenth place and the official final table was set.

One of the heavy hitters on Day 2 was Patrick Luu, who dominated the better part of that day and unfortunately for him, he was the first to take an exit from the official final table. Luu shoved his chips into the middle from under the gun with a pair of nines and Mandic woke up with a pair of ladies. The board ran out dry and Mandic took down the pot, sending Luu out the door.

During the next round of play, it was runner-up Ricardo Eyzaguirre sending someone home. Ryan Teixera moved all in from the small blind with a pair of sixes and Eyzaguirre called in the big blind with king-queen. The first four cards were of no interest to Eyzaguirre but the king on the river shifted the lead in his direction and he scooped in the pot, eliminating Teixera from the tournament in eighth place for $42,945.

Jerry Maher had a rollercoaster of a day leading up to his elimination, starting as the leader and then short-stack. Maher managed to run his stack back up before the dinner break but upon their return sent all of his chips to eventual winner Mandic. Maher opened from the hijack, Mandic called and the two-spade queen-high flop hit the board. Mandic called a continuation-bet from Maher to see the third spade hit the felt. Maher jammed and Mandic snap-called with his flush. Maher tabled top pair and was drawing dead to the river, taking an exit in seventh place.

Mandic did not stop there as he sent Leonard "LJ" Sande out just a few hands after. Mandic opened from under the gun and Sande moved all in, Mandic called and the two were racing. Sande had ace-jack and Mandic a pair of sixes. Sande took a commanding lead when he flopped a bullet but the turn came down a six, giving Mandic a set and Sande was drawing dead as he took an exit in sixth place for $83,644.

The steamrolling Mandic continued his elimination spree three hands after when he limped the button with a pair of queens and saw Saccardo move all in from the small blind with a pair of tens. Brian Morgan called from the big blind with his johnnies and Mandic then moved him all-in as well, Morgan obliged and the three tabled their cards. The flop was dry and a queen on the turn had his two opponents drawing dead as they were eliminated in fourth and fifth place with Morgan taking the better of the two as he had more chips to start the hand.

Three-handed play was short and Canadian Constantinos Psallidas was the odd man out. Mandic opened from the button and Psallidas three-bet all of his chips into the middle. Mandic called and the two tabled their hands. Psallidas showed ace-seven and Mandic had king-ten. The four-high flop left Psallidas in the lead but a dime on the turn pushed Mandic well in front and an eight on the river did not change a thing as Mandic sent Psallidas out in third place.

Runner Up Ricardo Eyzaguirre and Champion Zarko Mandic
Runner Up Ricardo Eyzaguirre and Champion Zarko Mandic

When the final two found themselves heads-up it was quickly decided that an adjusted payout deal was the best decision between the two. Mandic took $342,967 for his first-place finish along with the Borgata trophy and Eyzaguirre took second, collecting $290,000 for his efforts, bringing his career earnings to almost $800,000.

That wraps it up for the PokerNews live coverage of Event #1: $600 Deepstack Kick-Off but tune in now for all of the coverage of the final day of Event #3: $500 Deepstack Black Chip Bounty .

Tags: Brian MorganConstantinos PsallidasFrankie GreeverJerry MaherJoe CappuccioKirkwood SaccardoPatrick LuuRicardo EyzaguirreZarko Mandic

Constantinos Psallidas Eliminated in 3rd Place ($164,539)

Level 36 : 300,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Constantinos Psallidas
Constantinos Psallidas

Zarko Mandic opened from the button to 1,200,000 and Constantinos Psallidas three-bet all in, totaling 10,900,000. Mandic took a moment to think but in the end, he called the all-in and the two tabled their hands.

Constantinos Psallidas: {a-Spades}{7-Clubs}
Zarko Mandic: {k-Spades}{10-Diamonds}

The dealer spread out {4-Spades}{4-Hearts}{3-Hearts} on the flop and Psallidas was still ahead with his ace-high. A {10-Hearts} peeled off on the turn and Mandic now took the lead with his pair of dimes.

The {8-Hearts} river did not help Psallidas as he was eliminated by the red-hot Mandic, taking home $164,539 for his efforts.

Player Chips Progress
Zarko Mandic us
Zarko Mandic
93,000,000 12,000,000
Constantinos Psallidas ca
Constantinos Psallidas
Busted

Tags: Constantinos PsallidasZarko Mandic

Brian Morgan Eliminated in 4th Place ($135,206); Kirkwood Saccardo Eliminated in 5th Place ($108,852)

Level 36 : 300,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Brian Morgan
Brian Morgan

Zarko Mandic limped the button, Kirkwood Saccardo moved all in for 7,675,000 in the small blind and Brian Morgan quickly called from the big blind.

Mandic announced all in and Morgan went into the tank. Ultimately Morgan called his remaining stack of about 15,000,000 and the three tabled their hands.

Kirkwood Saccardo: {10-Hearts}{10-Diamonds}
Brian Morgan: {j-Spades}{j-Diamonds}
Zarko Mandic: {q-Diamonds}{q-Clubs}

The dealer fanned out {7-Spades}{7-Diamonds}{4-Spades} on the flop and the two short stacks needed to hit to stay alive. A {q-Hearts} peeled off on the turn, sealing the deal for Mandic as his two opponents were now drawing dead to the {a-Hearts} river card.

Fifth Place Finisher Kirkwood Saccardo
Fifth Place Finisher Kirkwood Saccardo

Saccardo was the shorter of the two that hit the felt and took home fifth place money, pocketing $108,852 for his efforts. Morgan secured himself $135,206 for his fourth-place finish.

Player Chips Progress
Zarko Mandic us
Zarko Mandic
81,000,000 27,000,000
Brian Morgan ca
Brian Morgan
Busted
Kirkwood Saccardo mx
Kirkwood Saccardo
Busted

Tags: Brian MorganKirkwood SaccardoZarko Mandic

Leonard "LJ" Sande Eliminated in 6th Place ($83,644)

Level 36 : 300,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
LJ Sande
LJ Sande

Zarko Mandic opened to 2,500,000 from under the gun and Leonard Sande shoved his stack of about 8,000,000 into the middle. Mandic called and the two turned over their cards.

Leonard Sande: {a-Clubs}{j-Diamonds}
Zarko Mandic: {6-Spades}{6-Clubs}

The flop came down {a-Spades}{9-Diamonds}{3-Clubs} and Sande took a commanding lead with his flop ace. An unfortunate card landed for Sande on the turn when the dealer flipped over a {6-Diamonds}, giving Mandic a set of sixes. The {k-Hearts} changed nothing and Mandic pulled in the pot, sending Sande to the rail in sixth place.

Player Chips Progress
Zarko Mandic us
Zarko Mandic
54,000,000 6,900,000
Leonard Sande us
Leonard Sande
Busted

Tags: Leonard SandeZarko Mandic

Jerry Maher Eliminated in 7th Place ($59,582)

Level 36 : 300,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Jerry Maher
Jerry Maher

Jerry Maher opened from the hijack and Zarko Mandic called on the button to see the {q-Spades}{8-Spades}{7-Diamonds} flop. Maher continued, Mandic called and the dealer flipped over a {j-Spades} on the turn.

Maher jammed all in for just over 8,000,000 and Mandic snap-called, putting Maher at risk of elimination. Maher tabled {q-Hearts}{10-Hearts} for top pair but was drawing dead when Mandic showed his {6-Spades}{2-Spades}, giving him a flush.

A {5-Clubs} completed the board and Maher was sent on his way, taking seventh place for $59,582.

Player Chips Progress
Zarko Mandic us
Zarko Mandic
47,100,000 10,600,000
Jerry Maher us
Jerry Maher
Day 2 Chip Leader
Busted

Tags: Jerry MaherZarko Mandic

Level: 36

Blinds: 300,000/500,000

Ante: 500,000

Sande Gets One Through

Level 35 : 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante

Leonard Sande moved 6,000,000 into the middle from under the gun and action folded around to Jerry Maher who thought for several minutes but in the end, he let his hand go, shipping the pot to Sande just moments before dinner break.

Player Chips Progress
Jerry Maher us
Jerry Maher
Day 2 Chip Leader
11,500,000 -700,000
Leonard Sande us
Leonard Sande
7,050,000 -150,000

Tags: Jerry MaherLeonard Sande