Friday, Sept. 21, 2007

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Roy Winston wins the 2007 WPT Borgata Poker Open

Roy Winston - the 2007 Borgata Poker Open champ.

By Erik Sylven

Roy Winston defeated final-table opponents like Mike Matusow and Haralabos Voulgaris to win the 2007 Borgata Poker Open at the World Poker Tour, hosted by the Borgata Event Center in New Jersey. Winston battled heads-up against Heung "Scotty" Yoon for several hours before finally winning the title and $1,575,280 in prize money.

The champion-to-be came to the final table as a huge chip leader, and he got off to a flying start when he caught a flush on the turn to eliminate Mike "The Mouth" Matusow in sixth place.

Eugene Todd busted out right after Matusow at the hands of Heung "Scotty" Yoon, and Roy Winston then knocked out Mark Weitzman in fourth place and Haralabos Voulgaris in third.

The heads-up match between Winston and Yoon for the title lasted several hours. Winston had a 4-1 chip lead when it started, but Yoon put up a strong fight and managed to even things out a little.

He never came close enough to really worry Winston, however, and the short-stacked player finally lost his patience.

Our live coverage of the event, in the Live Tournaments Section here at PokerListings.com, describes the final hand this way:

"Winston calls from the small blind and Yoon throws in another $700,000 on top. Winston calls and the flop comes Q-6-4. Winston leads out for $1 million and Yoon begins to count out chips. Yoon announces raise and makes it $3 million to go. Winston moves all-in and Yoon calls instantly.

"Pocket fours for Winston are light-years against the A-K of Yoon and after a deuce hits the turn, Yoon is drawing dead and this tournament is over!"

Also in the Live Tournaments Section you can find more hand reports, photos, an exclusive interview with Roy "The Oracle" Winston and blogs from the Borgata Poker Open.

The WPT triumph at the Borgata, where he defeated a field of 560 players, is Winston's greatest poker achievement so far in his career. He did, however, show good form earlier this summer when he finished 26th in the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event.

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