It was all pomp and dance as the second World Poker Tour online event came to a close on Tuesday in the Garden State. The celebration was particularly in honor of Orson Young, who for the first time has been recognized among the Champions of the WPT. His New Jersey win was courtesy of the $3,500 WPT Online Borgata Poker Open title that saw him walk away from the online contest with a bankroll of $195,748.
Young could not hold his joy and he immediately turned to Twitter to celebrate his win. His post was an acknowledgement that indeed the final round was competitive owing to the presence of poker legends such as Daniel Buzgon. He also voiced his appreciation for the chance to participate in the tournament in the first place.
As is normal with poker players seated on the final table, Young was ready for any position, counting it as an achievement that he earned a spot among the industry’s greatest. The poker community of New Jersey was treated to this online championship via the PartyPoker casino network; BetMGM, Porgata Poker and PartyPoker.
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A new kind of feather on the hat
Orson is a resident of Oceanport, New Jersey and although his name sounds new to the ears, he has accumulated $785,000 in live poker tournament wins. The current WPT championship is the first title he has earned in this game and the greatest prize money earner so far.
Other than the final title, Young won more cashes but the best in terms of position was number 27. His decision to play on the Borgata skin must have been subconscious owing to the fact that he is a regular on the platform. Playing live games in the past has earned him a few coins and built his confidence in handling his game over a gaming platform.
The first two days of the tour laid the foundation for Daniel Buzgon, Borgata Poker Ambassador to lead the final table players with 58 million chips. By the time the games were gearing up for closure on the final day, Young only had a chip balance of 49 million in his possession. Buzgon went on to lead the final table and it appeared that he would clinch the championship especially when he pulled a 68 million-chip win from Young.
The fortunes turned for Young when he played a 3 hand which led him to win at a key spot and propel him to the front of the table. The real action however began when Buzgon laid his final cards; 8 clubs, 7 hearts and Young followed with Kings Clubs and 7 diamonds. It was a flop for both players and the resultant K♦8♣5♠ caused both players to check.
Hitting the turn with a 3♥ increased Buzgon and he placed a bet of 8 million; Young took the chance to call when the dealing of 6♦ came on the river and he called check. This caused Young to grab a significant amount of chips from Buzgon and his lead at this point read approximately 120 million. This was not the end of the road for Buzgon as he still managed to regain his footing to manage a climb back to the top with over 112 million.
The online grinder from NJ has obviously had plenty of success in the Borgata Casino. Among the notable wins that Buzgon can boast about is a pair of appearances on the final table of a WPT tournament hosted at the property. He has also won fourth place in a WPT event in Jacksonville. Records reveal that his winnings from the WPT could very well be in the vicinity of $722,000.
Analyzing the moments leading up to a win
Even though Buzgon held up a consistent game plan, the WPT title for the second online tournament went to Young. Young’s performance changed later in the battle when he began making some significant gains. It is this string of luck that favored him to the last card played. He concluded the tournament with a flush of A♠10♠, which pushed back Buzgon’s finishing position to third place.
The table was now down to two contestants having awarded Buzgon a cash award of $102,933. Justliberto was Young’s opponent in this head to head round. Young was in the lead at the start and he maintained this position till the last card was served. In the final hand, justliberto raised a K♦9♦ causing Young to increase his bet to 23 million. He then bet an additional 12.3 million before the round was called.
There was plenty of cash for the players to earn because the entire tournament had been matched with a guaranteed prize pool of $1 million. The 305 entries to the main event which cost $3,200 to buy-in contributed to this massive prize pool. Actually, the entries alone contributed to an overlay of $24,000.
What is coming next from the WPT?
The WPT took a short break to allow for the World Series of Poker Championship; once it resumes, a handful of events will be hosted. WPT fans need to keep their calendars free for Nov. 26 – Dec. 1 poker action that will take place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The event demands a buy-in of $3,500 to participate in the WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open. This event has a guaranteed prize pool of $2 million attached to it.
There is a Super Bowl version among the tour events and this too shall be held in December having skipped 2020. Slotted for Dec. 15-19, the buy-in will cost $10,500 to access the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic game play. This event has been hosted as part of the tour since the WPT was established in 2002-03. It is a coveted title and some of the big names in poker performance have one of these titles under their belt (Gus Hansen, Daniel Negreanu, Antonio Esfandiari, etc.)
