2012 World Poker Tour Borgata Open: Matthew Burnitz, David Diaz lead Final Table
Season XI of the World Poker Tour continued on Thursday with Day 4 of the Borgata Poker Open. To begin play, 27 of the original 1,181 players remained, but only six survived the day to make the official final table.
After over 11 hours of play, the final table was set, and Matthew Burnitz emerged as the chip leader with a stack of 9 million. He will be joined on Friday by David Diaz (7.15 million), Steve Brecher (5.755 million), Tyler Patterson (5.26 million), Ben Hamnett (4.72 million), and Ofir Mor (3.6 million).
At the beginning of the day, there was a flurry of eliminations, including Jean Max Gaspard, Michael Hickman, Philip Consolo, Helen Ellis, Barry Hutter, and Todd Terry. According to the World Poker Tour Live Updates Team, Hutter was all-in and at risk holding two eights against Ben Hamnett’s K♥K♠, and the board ran out J♥6♥5♠10♥8♥. The eight on the river gave Hutter a set, but it also have Hamnett a flush, sending Hutter to the rail.
Jeff Williams won a massive pot in Level 26 to rocket up the chip counts. Williams fired three barrels against Jeff Saunders on a board of 9♥8♦5♣8♥4♥, and Saunders called him down on all three streets. Williams tabled 9♦8♣ for a full house, Saunders mucked, and Williams raked in the pot.
Saunders was eliminated soon after, as were Michael Glick, and Vinny Napolitano.
With 16 players remaining, Williams lost a massive, 7-million-chip pot to Brecher in a three-bet pot with a flop of J♦4♦2♣. Williams fired 315,000, Brecher raised to 815,000, Williams moved all in, and Brecher tank-called. Brecher’s A♣J♥ was dominated by Williams’ K♣K♥, and the turn was a meaningless 8♦, but the A♥ slammed on the river, keeping Brecher alive.
The next players eliminated were Vinny Pahuja, Jeremy Brown, Lee Childs, and Kyle Bowker. Brown was eliminated by Brecher when he ran Q♣Q♠ into Brecher’s A♣A♦. The board ran out K♠J♠6♦8♦7♠, sending Brown to the rail.
The unofficial 10-handed final table was set with the eliminations of Jamie Kerstetter and David Heck. Kerstetter ran two eights into Burnitz’s tens, the tens held, and Burnitz also eliminated Heck with A♣J♥ against J♦9♠. Again, Burnitz held, and Heck was eliminated.
After the dinner break, Scott Schwalich was the first player eliminated from the unofficial final table. Schwalich open-shoved with K♦7♦ in the small blind, and Diaz quickly called with A♥Q♥ from the big blind. The board came A♠J♥2♠3♦Q♣, and Schwalich was out in 10th place ($44,937).
Patrick Eskandar, who entered Day 4 as the chip leader, was the next player to hit the rail. Eskandar limped from early position, then moved all in after Mor raised on the button. Mor called with two queens, dominating Eskandar’s two sevens, and the queens held.
Matt Brady received a much-needed double up a few hands later through Diaz. Brady three-bet shoved over an open from Diaz with A♠Q♦, crushing Diaz’s A♦J♥, and the board ran out 10♦7♣3♦10♣6♣. Brady doubled to roughly 29 big blinds, while Diaz was still very healthy with 155 big blinds.
Williams bowed out in eighth place, and was crippled in a very brutal way. Williams three-bet jammed over a button open from Patterson, who made the call with A♣Q♠. Williams had the same hand — A♠Q♦ — but the board ran out 9♣5♣2♥Q♣…8♣! Patterson made a four-flush, and Williams was left with one big blind. He was all in two hands later with Q♦9♦, but didn’t connect with the K♥6♣5♣7♦10♦, and was eliminated.
The official final table bubble lasted only eight hands, and it was burst with thanks to another heart-breaking hand. At 60,000/120,000/10,000, Mor opened to 250,000 from under the gun, and Brady moved all in from the big blind. Mor called with 9♦9♠, but was dominated by Brady’s J♣J♠. The 9♥4♦4♠ flop gave Mor a full house, however, and Brady was bounced after the turn and river came Q♣, 10♦ respectively.
Here’s how the official final table looks:
| Seat | Name | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Burnitz | 9,000,000 |
| 2 | Steve Brecher | 5,755,000 |
| 3 | David Diaz | 7,150,000 |
| 4 | Ben Hamnett | 4,720,000 |
| 5 | Ofir Mor | 3,600,000 |
| 6 | Tyler Patterson | 5,260,000 |
The final table is set to begin at 1530 EDT (2000 BST) on Friday. The six remaining players will be competing for the top prize of $818,847, which includes a $25,000 seat in the WPT World Championship.
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Data courtesy of WorldPokerTour.com.
