This Week's Big Winner: Guo Liang Chen Wins WPT Borgata Poker Open Main Event

Guo Liang Chen won the 2017 World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open $3,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event, outlasting a field of 1,132 total entries to capture the title and the $789,058 first-place prize. This was by far the largest score of his life, with his biggest previous cash being for only $13,858.

“I was too excited to sleep last night,” Chen told WPT reporters after coming out on top of the Atlantic City event. “I’m going to fall asleep tonight with cash in hand!”
Here are the five biggest hands that propelled Chen to the win.

Tournament – WPT Borgata Poker Open
Buy-In: $3,500 • No. of Entries: 1,132 • Prize Pool: $3,623,532
1st Place Prize: $789,058

The Action

After his pocket kings held against Paul’s Q J to double up, it only took a few hands before the two tangled again. This time Chen raised to 260,000 from middle position and Paul called from the big blind. The flop fell 7 4 2 and Paul checked. Chen moved all-in and Paul snap-called with Q 7 for top pair. Chen only had A K for ace high, and was down to his final six outs when the J hit the turn. Paul was looking good for a double up, but the K hit the river to send him to the rail in sixth place. He earned $161,247 for his final-table run.

The Action

Chen raised to 325,000 from under the gun and Weber defended his big blind. The flop came down 7 6 2 and Weber checked. Chen bet 325,000 and Weber called. The turn was the A and Weber checked again. Chen bet 775,000 this time, and Weber called once again. The river was the 8 and Weber checked for a final time. Chen took his time before putting out a bet of 2,100,000. Weber went into the tank for more than a minute before eventually calling, and Chen turned over A 6 for turned two pair to scoop the huge pot.

The Action

Liu moved all in from the button for his last 4,175,000 and Chen asked for a count from the big blind. After hearing the amount, he made the call with K Q, and was happy to see that he has Liu’s Q J dominated. The board ran out 8 6 4 7 9 and Liu exited the tournament floor. He earned $288,071 for his third-place showing, while Chen entered heads-up play with Weber at a nearly 2:1 chip disadvantage.

The Action

After building on his heads-up chip lead, Weber raised to 1,000,000 on the button. Chen called and the flop fell 9♥ 8♥ 3♠. Chen checked and Weber bet 1,000,000. Chen called and the turn was the 3♦. This time Chen bet 1,500,000 and Weber called. The river was the A♠ and Chen checked. Weber moved all in, and Chen got out of his chair. After a bit, he tossed in some chips to signify a call. Weber turned over Q♦ 7♦ for a pure bluff, and Chen’s 9♠ 8♦ was enough to claim the pot and give him the chip lead.

The Action

Down to his last ten big blinds, Weber moved all in from the button and Chen called with A K. Weber was dominated with K 9 and needed help to stay alive in the tournament. The flop of 7 5 4 kept Chen in the lead, but Weber picked up chop outs with the 3 on the turn. The river was the Q, however, and Weber was eliminated. He pocketed $471,059 for his runner-up performance. In addition to his first WPT title, Chen took home the trophy and the $789,058 first-place prize.

Final Table Results

1. Guo Liang Chen – $789,058
2. Gregory Weber — $471,059
3. Jia Liu — $288,071
4. Matt Parry — $240,965
5. Cliff Josephy — $199,294
6. Thomas Paul — $161,247
7. Muarem Kica — $126,824
8. Will Givens — $94,212
9. Benjamin Morgan — $66,492