2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open

Event #17: $3,125 Heads-Up NLH
Day: 1
Event Info

2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open

Final Results
Winner
Qi Hu
Winning Hand
jj
Prize
$67,512
Event Info
Buy-in
$3,125
Prize Pool
$168,780
Entries
58
Players Info - Day 1
Entries
58
Players Left
8

8 Players Left in the 2020 BWPO Event #17: $3,125 Heads-Up

HU Bracket
HU Bracket

Event #17: $3,125 Heads-Up attracted 58 entries at the start of the day in the tournament that had a cap of 64 players. All those entries created a total prize pool of $168,780 with eight players cashing and the winner walking away with not only the trophy, but also with the first-place prize of $67,512!

The first round featured some tough matches like Frank Funaro vs Alex Rocha, Stephen Song vs Joe McKeehen, BorgataPoker.com sponsored pro Michael Gagliano vs Brock Wilson, and Shannon Shorr vs Olivier Busquet for example. Six players got a bye to the next round and out of those six, Matthew Emmel, Jeffrey Hong, and Michael Marder were the ones to make it another round further.

In the Round of 32, Joseph Couden beat Funaro, Will Failla took down Song, Wilson knocked James Anderson out, and Ari Engel eliminated Shorr. Failla, Wilson, Marder, Engel, Couden, Matthew Sabia, Steven Sarmiento, Brock Wilson, and David Paredes all busted in the Round of 16.

This means that the following quarter-finals are to take place on Day 2 with all of them guaranteed at least $8,439.

  • Arian Stolt vs Matthew Emmel
  • Christopher Abela vs Jeffrey Hong
  • David Forbes vs Sandeep Pulusani
  • Timothy Rutherford vs Qi Hu

The remaining players will return at noon local time on Sunday, January 26 for their first heads-up games. Level duration will remain at 15 minutes with an increase to 30 minutes once the final has been reached. Players start with 20,000 in chips for each heads-up match and need to win two out of three games to advance to the next round.

The PokerNews live reporting team will be there from the first shuffle up and deal until the final heads-up match is over, so follow along as the updates are flowing in from the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa in Atlantic City.

Tags: Alex RochaAri EngelArian StoltBrock WilsonChristopher AbelaFrank FunaroJames AndersonJeffrey HongJoe McKeehenMatthew EmmelMatthew SabiaMichael GaglianoMichael MarderOlivier BusquetQi HuSandeep PulusaniShannon ShorrStephen SongSteven SarmientoTimothy RutherfordWill Failla

Rutherford Advances to the Quarter-Final

Timothy Rutherford
Timothy Rutherford

The board read {4-Spades}{6-Hearts}{k-Clubs}{8-Hearts}{j-Diamonds} when Matthew Sabia checked. Timothy Rutherford bet 4,500 which sent Sabia into the tank. After a while, Sabia made the call but mucked when Rutherford tabled {j-Spades}{j-Hearts} for the rivered set of jacks.

Shortly after, Rutherford shoved and Sabia called for his last 1,900.

Matthew Sabia: {a-Diamonds}{6-Clubs}
Timothy Rutherford: {q-Hearts}{8-Spades}

The flop came {8-Hearts}{q-Diamonds}{a-Hearts} for Sabia to hit top pair but for Rutherford to flop two pair.

The turn brought them the {9-Diamonds} and the river completed the board with the {10-Hearts} to not change things. Sabia has been eliminated and Rutherford can come back on Sunday at noon to play his quarter-final against the winner of the match bewteen Qi Hu and Steven Sarmiento.

Player Chips Progress
Timothy Rutherford ca
Timothy Rutherford
20,000
Matthew Sabia us
Matthew Sabia
Busted

Tags: Matthew SabiaQi HuTimothy RutherfordSteven Sarmiento

58 Players in the Field

The tournament attracted 58 players which means that 6 players got a bye into the round of 32:
Matthew Emmel, Kevin Rabichow, Jeffrey Hong, Michael Marder, James Collopy, and Gintautas Putinas.

Here are the heads-up matches:

  • Kane Kalas vs Drake Pitoniak
  • Arian Stolt vs Min Zhang
  • Paul Marzarella vs Joseph Couden
  • Frank Funaro vs Alex Rocha
  • Stephen Song vs Joe McKeehen
  • Will Failla vs Eric Firestone
  • Omer Rotman vs Ivan Galinec
  • Michael Gagliano vs Brock Wilson
  • Michael Milikin vs James Anderson
  • Ryan Olisar vs John Lytle
  • Usman Ulhaq vs Christopher Abela
  • Adam Hendrix vs David Paredes
  • Brian Sherrier vs Joshua Heinzl
  • Galen Hall vs Sebastiaan de Jonge
  • David Forbes vs Samir Capric
  • Robert Brobyn vs Ari Engel
  • Shannon Shorr vs Olivier Busquet
  • Sandeep Pulusani vs Anton Wigg
  • Adrian Aguilar vs Daniel Park
  • Matthew Sabia vs Jeffrey Coon
  • Joseph Galazzo vs David Lin
  • Brandon Mueller vs Timothy Rutherford
  • Elia Ahmadian vs Michael Tureniec
  • David Einhorn vs Gregory Back
  • Qi Hu vs Jerry Robinson
  • Robert Lofaso vs Steven Sarmiento
2020 BWPO HU Chart
2020 BWPO HU Chart
Player Chips Progress
Michael Marder us
Michael Marder
20,000 20,000
Brock Wilson us
Brock Wilson
20,000 20,000
Kevin Rabichow us
Kevin Rabichow
20,000 20,000
Matthew Emmel us
Matthew Emmel
20,000 20,000
Gintautas Putinas us
Gintautas Putinas
20,000 20,000
Arian Stolt us
Arian Stolt
20,000 20,000
Min Zhang cn
Min Zhang
20,000 20,000
Paul Marzarella us
Paul Marzarella
20,000 20,000
Joseph Couden us
Joseph Couden
20,000 20,000
Frank Funaro us
Frank Funaro
WSOP 1X Winner
20,000 20,000
Alex Rocha us
Alex Rocha
20,000 20,000
Stephen Song us
Stephen Song
WSOP 1X Winner
20,000 20,000
Joe McKeehen us
Joe McKeehen
WSOP Main Event Champion
WSOP 3X Winner
20,000 20,000
Jeffrey Hong us
Jeffrey Hong
20,000 20,000
Kane Kalas us
Kane Kalas
20,000 20,000
Omer Rotman il
Omer Rotman
20,000 20,000
Ivan Galinec hr
Ivan Galinec
20,000 20,000
Drake Pitoniak us
Drake Pitoniak
20,000 20,000
Joshua Heinzl us
Joshua Heinzl
20,000 20,000
Robert Lofaso us
Robert Lofaso
20,000 20,000
Michael Gagliano us
Michael Gagliano
WSOP 1X Winner
20,000 20,000
Eric Firestone us
Eric Firestone
20,000 20,000
Michael Milikin us
Michael Milikin
20,000 20,000
James Anderson us
James Anderson
WSOP 1X Winner
20,000 20,000
Ryan Olisar us
Ryan Olisar
20,000 20,000

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Heads-Up Action in Event #17 Kicks Off at 2 PM at the 2020 BWPO

Phil Hellmuth wins the 2019 BWPO $1,590 Heads-Up NLH
Phil Hellmuth wins the 2019 BWPO $1,590 Heads-Up NLH

At 2 p.m. local time, Event #17: $3,125 Heads-Up is set to start here at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa with a limit of 64 players maximum. Last year’s champion is the one and only Phil Hellmuth who defeated a full field and Joseph Cappello heads-up for $37,248. Unfortunately, Hellmuth has already confirmed that he will not be in attendance to defend his title.

Eight players got paid last year, this included Ryan Hall, Olivier Busquet, Dylan Gang, Steven Sarmiento, Christopher O’Hara, and [b]Michael Vela.

Players will need to register in person before 1:30 p.m. as the draw will take place at that time. They will get 20,000 in chips to start with and the level duration will be 15-minutes long. This is a two-day event and the brackets will be on the bracket board as soon as the draw has been done.

The [i]PokerNews[/i] live reporting team will be covering this event from the start of Day 2 with live updates while Day 1 updates will provide you with info about the brackets. Make sure to come back every so often to see how the tournament progresses.

Tags: Christopher O'HaraDylan GangJoseph CappelloMichael VelaOlivier BusquetPhil HellmuthRyan HallSteven Sarmiento