Vinicius “Viny” Lima Wins WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open for $728,430
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On Wednesday, the World Poker Tour Borgata Winter Poker Open final table played at HyperX Esports Arena inside the Luxor in Las Vegas. It was the last of three WPT final tables over three days to play to a winner.
The tournament began with 1,415 entries last month but played down to the final six, who were each guaranteed $154,734 in prize money. After a marathon 10-hour final table that spanned 236 hands, it was 24-year-old Vinicius “Viny” Lima coming out on top to win the title, $728,430 top prize, a Hublot Big Bang Steel Watch, and a $15,000 entry into the season-ending Baccarat Crystal Tournament of Champions.
“Step one was planning on never going broke today,” Lima told WPT officials after the win. “I was very fortunate to have good energy with me and ran good at good times, and when I was all in, I held up.
"I just battled and was very fortunate to have won this thing. It’s surreal and unbelievable.”
Lima was cheered on by 2017 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Scott Blumstein and several other friends and family.
“It was the loudest thing I’ve ever witnessed live,” he said of the support. “My friends and family came out and everybody was great. Every hand I won, they were making noise. The hands I wasn’t in, they were making noise.
"It made the whole experience a thousand times better.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Viny Lima | United States | $728,430 |
| 2nd | Dave Farah | United States | $485,611 |
| 3rd | Joseph Di Rosa Rojas | Venezuela | $359,555 |
| 4th | Brandon Hall | United States | $268,810 |
| 5th | Daniel Buzgon | United States | $202,942 |
| 6th | Ian O’Hara | United States | $154,734 |
Final Table Action
According to updates from the event, Lima began the final table on the short stack with 24 big blinds. The first elimination came 11 hands in when Ian O’Hara three-bet all in holding ace-nine suited and Brandon Hall, the original raiser, called with two black queens. The ladies held and O’Hara took his leave in sixth place for $154,734.
From there it was a marathon as 115 hands passed without an elimination. With the blinds big, Lima jammed the small blind holding king-eight suited and Borgata Ambassador Daniel Buzgon called off from the big with ace-nine. The flop contained a king and the river was an eight to give Lima two pair, and Buzgon had to settle for fifth place and $202,942 in prize money in what was his third WPT final table appearance.
On Hand #165, Lima raised holding pocket jacks and snap-called when Brandon Hall three-bet jammed his short stack with deuces. The bigger pocket pair held and Hall hit the rail in fourth place for $268,810.
Twenty five hands later, Joseph Di Rosa Rojas moved all in for less than 10 big blinds from the small blind with queen-four and Lima called from the big with ace-six. The latter flopped two pair and the Venezuelan was felled in third place for $359,555.
Heads-up play began with start-of-the-day chip leader Dave Farah holding a chip lead over Lima, but the two would jostle for 46 hands. During that time Lima pulled out to a big lead of his own, and in the final hand Farah jammed with nine-five suited and Lima called holding the king-jack of hearts. The paint cards turned into two pair and Farah finished as runner-up for $485,611.
Prior to the win, Lima had $263,186 in live tournament earnings with a prior best of $102,149 for finishing third in a 2018 Venetian DeepStack Extravaganza I Event #36: $1,600 NLH SuperStack. He also won the 2016 Poker Night in America $1,675 Main Event at the Grand Poker Series for $56,366.
Images courtesy of WPT/Joe Giron/PokerPhotoArchive.
