Darren Elias Wins Back-To-Back World Poker Tour Main Events

On September 19th, 2014 Darren Elias outlasted a field of 1,226 entries to capture the World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open main event title and an $843,744 payday.

Just seven weeks later, at the very next open-field WPT main event, Elias managed to do it all over again. This time the poker pro from Erie, PA topped a field of 118 players in the WPT Caribbean main event at the Casino Royale St. Maarten. For the win Elias earned the $127,680 first-place prize and the distinction of being the first-player ever to win back-to-back main events in World Poker Tour history.

Going into the six-handed final table Christophe Rosso had a stranglehold on the lead with 241 big-blinds to his name. Elias was the second largest stack with 61 big blinds. It only took 37 hands to lose four players, with Rosso doing the lion’s share of the busting.

When heads-up play began Rosso held a nearly 5-to-1 chip advantage over Elias, but over the course of the 107-hand battle Elias was able to chip away at the lead and find some key double-ups.

When the final hand arose Elias was in the lead with roughly 2.1 million to Rosso’s 1.3 million in chips. Rosso limped from the button with blinds at 15,000 – 30,000 with a 5,000 ante and Elias made it 90,000 to go from the big blind. Rosso then moved all-in and was snap-called by Elias with the AA.

Rosso held the 76 and was in need of some help from the board. The flop brought the 1065 to give Rosso a pair and some backdoor outs, but he was still in trouble. The turn was the 7, however, giving Rosso two pair and the lead heading into the final card. Elias needed to catch an ace, ten or five on the river to end the tournament.

The 5 fit the felt on the river, giving Elias a superior two pair and the title. Rosso was sent to the rail as the runner-up, earning $64,900 for his strong showing.

Here is a look at the complete payouts and POY points awarded at this final table:

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