The 2020 Borgata Spring Poker Open Online Series is currently underway. It started on Monday and will last through Sunday.
The first champion who managed to win an event in this online poker festival was Ari Engel, who goes by the name of “spinach_kale” on the site. Engel managed to top the Event #3: $15,000 Guaranteed PLO 6-Max Rebuy.
He successfully topped a field of 48 entries and won the prize of $6,300 for his effort. The event allowed late registration, as well as rebuys, which were available for two and a half hours after the start. There were a total of 60 rebuys from 22 add-ons made by 28 players who were in contention after the add-on period ended.
After that, the players started playing poker actively, and they needed under an hour to get to the final two tables. After an additional 90 minutes of play, the final table of six was reached. The tournament was such that only the top five players were paid, meaning one of the players who made it to the final table will hit the rail with no money in their pocket.
That player was “tc_ownz,” who ended up sixth. They had a straight in the end, but “MattEMenz” had another straight, which turned to be better, eliminating “tc_ownz” in sixth place.
The Final Table — Who Earned the Money Prize?
The player who ended up fifth was “Jaggyboy13,” earning a total of $1,237.50 for their effort. After that, it was time for “dhimp20” to hit the rail with a total of $1,612.50.
What these two players have in common is that they were both eliminated by a player who goes by the name “Flawlessbinkage.” That player managed to amass a lot of chips heading into the three-handed play.
At the start of the three-handed play, Engel had the least chips, and “Flawlessbinkage” was the chip leader. After “MattEMenz” hit the rail as the third-placed and earned $2,250, it was time for the heads-up part of the game.
Engel was playing slowly and steadily, showing his true poker skill in the end, which resulted in him becoming the winner. “Flawlessbingage” had to settle for the second place and the final prize of $3,600.
Alan “Ari” Engel is not new to the poker world. His name is quite popular both live and online, as he has managed to earn more than $7 million in his poker career.
The 36-year-old from Canada won a gold bracelet in the 2019 WSOP when he managed to successfully take down the $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em (Event #48) when he also won $427,399. His biggest cash so far was at 2016 Aussie Millions Poker Championship, when he won A$10,000 + 600 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event (Event #11), where he won a total of A$1,600,000.