Event 11
2018 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Champion Eric Afriat
Last night after nearly four hours of heads-up play, Erif Afriat defeated Justin Zaki to win the $3 Million Guaranteed World Poker Tour Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship to claim his second WPT title, earning more than $651,000. ($15,000 is withheld for entry in the Season-Ending WPT Tournament of Champions in May.)
Afriat overcame a 2:1 chip deficit to take the lead, then the chips swung the other way and at one point he was down 4:1 in chips. He continued to battle back until he had all the chips and the win. Zaki earned more than $434,000 for his 2nd place finish.
This final table also included 2015 WSOP Main Event Winner Joe McKeehen, for the second year in a row. And for the second year in a row, he finished 4th.
James Roberts – BWPO Kickoff Event Winner
The WPO series began with a $2 Million Guaranteed Deep Stack Kickoff event which drew more than 4,500 entrants. At the end, it was James Roberts who hoisted the Borgata trophy. The recent retiree earned $378,391 after battling his way through a star-studded final table.
More than $10 million was paid out in prize money in these 23 main events alone, not including satellites and secondary events. A complete list of main event winners is below.
*AP Indicates Adjusted Payout
Thank you to all the participants and congratulations to all the winners! A special thanks goes out to all Borgata tournament staff and dealers for a terrific series.
On behalf of Borgata Poker Bloggers Tim Kelliher, Chris Murray, Brittany Paige, Matt Clark, and myself, thank you for reading! Mark your calendars now for the Borgata Spring Poker Open, which takes place April 10th – 27th. Hope to see you then!
@Kaelaine
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Level 38: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000/300,000 ante
Total Entries: 2,967
Players Remaining: 5
Average Stack: 59 million
Standing (l to r): Aris Konstantinidis, Guo Cheng, Ricky Lee, & Will Givens; Seated: Jeff Cole
The final five players agreed on adjusted payouts, then ran out a blind hand for the trophy. Here’s how they finished and how much they made:
1st – Aris Konstantinidis $119,025
2nd – Jeffrey Cole $115,221
3rd – Will Givens $115,221
4th – Guo Cheng $102,721
5th – Ricky Lee $95,221
Aris Konstantinidis is from Bayside, NY where he owns a Greek restaurant. He only makes it to Borgata to play a couple of times a year and this time it paid off very well. He gets the win and more than $119,000.
He doesn’t get the trophy, however. Jeff Cole, who plays on BorgataPoker.com as ‘BrianFantana’ (a character from the movie Anchorman) won the blind hand they ran out for the trophy. His Q3 managed to pair with a Queen on the board while everyone else missed.
Jeff’s been playing online since BorgataPoker began and grinds the small stakes games, plus plays live tournaments on occasion. Today’s score is more than his total reported live earnings and is obviously his best finish at Borgata. He only fired one bullet in this event, unlike many other entrants. He’s going to take tomorrow off, then play the WPT WPO Championship on Monday.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Level 38: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000/300,000 ante
Total Entries: 2,967
Players Remaining: 5
Average Stack: 59 million
Adjusted Payout talks are taking place among the final five. Here are the chip counts:
Aris Konstantinidis – 74,200,000
Jeffrey Cole – 68,000,000
Will Givens – 66,850,000
Guo Cheng – 48,850,000
Ricky Lee – 38,300,000
-
- Jeffrey Cole
-
- Ricky Lee
-
- Will Givens
-
- Aris Konstantinidis
-
- Guo Cheng
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Level 38: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000/300,000 ante
Total Entries: 2,967
Players Remaining: 5
Average Stack: 59 million
Ronald Kampert
Guo Cheng opened for 3.6 million, then Ronald Kampert jammed from the small blind. Jeffrey Cole moved in from the big and Guo folded, later saying he had an Ace.
Jeffrey was ahead with pocket Queens. Ronald had A6 offsuit. (Aris Konstantinidis said he also folded an Ace.)
The board came J 7 4 8 9 and Jeffrey took the pot, chipping up to ~68 million.
Jeffrey Cole
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Level 38: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000/300,000 ante
Total Entries: 2,967
Players Remaining: 6
Average Stack: 49 million
Karl Held
Karl Held jammed for 18.8 million and Will Givens (sb) looked him up. Will’s pocket 8s were ahead, but about even money against Karl’s 
.
The board came 
and Will’s pair was good. He chipped up to about 60 million.
Karl finished in 7th place, earning $35,687.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Level 38: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000/300,000 ante
Total Entries: 2,967
Players Remaining: 7
Average Stack: 42 million
Guo Cheng
On the turn with a board of 
, Aris Konstantinidis (button) bet 8 million and Guo Cheng (hijack) check-called. The river brought the and both checked.
Guo tabled 
and Aris mucked his cards. With that big pot, Guo chipped up to about 56 million. Aris’ stack fell to about 78 million.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Level 38: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000/300,000 ante
Total Entries: 2,967
Players Remaining: 7
Average Stack: 42 million
Ronald Kampert
After an open from Will Givens, Ronald Kampert got all-in from the big blind for 8.5 million. His pocket 6s were flipping against Will’s 
.
The board ran out 
and missed them both. Ronald doubled up with his small pair, to nearly 20 million. Will was left with ~30 million.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Level 37: Blinds 500,000/1,000,000/200,000 ante
Total Entries: 2,967
Players Remaining: 7
Average Stack: 42 million
Daryl Black
On the last hand of the level, Daryl Black got all-in and was ahead with pocket Jacks. Aris Konstantinidis had 
and a massive stack, which got bigger when the board came 
.
Daryl Black finished in 8th place, earning $24,175.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Level 37: Blinds 500,000/1,000,000/200,000 ante
Total Entries: 2,967
Players Remaining: 8
Average Stack: 37 million (37 big blinds)
Daryl Black
Daryl Black jammed from the cutoff for 7,850,000 total and got the call from Guo Cheng in the big blind. Daryl’s 
was dominating Guo’s 
.
The final board read 
and missed both players. Daryl doubled up to 17,800,000 (almost 18 big blinds). Guo’s stack fell to about 31 million (31 big blinds).
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Level 37: Blinds 500,000/1,000,000/200,000 ante
Total Entries: 2,967
Players Remaining: 8
Average Stack: 37 million (37 big blinds)
Jerry Burnette
Jerry Burnette got his chips in with against the of chip leader Aris Konstantinidis. When the board ran out 
, the big stack got bigger.
Jerry finished in 9th place, earning $17,268.
Aris picked up more chips after that and is up to ~100 million, one-third of the total chips in play.