Jonathan Dokler Wins 2020 BWPO $5,100 High Roller ($100,892)
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On Wednesday, 2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open crowned a winner in Event #22: $5,100 High Roller after Jonathan Dokler emerged atop a 77-entry field to take down his first Borgata trophy and a $100,892 first-place prize.
It was Dokler's biggest cash of his career by a large margin with his previous best being about half the buy-in for the tournament. That inexperience didn't stop the Westlake, Ohio native as he handled himself with great composure, besting a star-studded field that included the likes of Faraz Jaka, Will Givens, Upeshka De Silva, Byron Kaverman, and Paul Volpe. Dokler may not have the accolades that some of his opponents had but he showed no fear when it came to his play and ran pure when he needed to, finishing on top of a talented group of players.
Qi Hu almost took home his second Borgata trophy of the series but came up just short as he finished in second for a respectable $70,956. The Canadian coasted through from the final six until heads-up, watching Dokler send player after player home. Once the two were the only ones left it was a mighty task for Hu, who earlier in the series won the heads-up tournament, to catch up as he was down almost seven to one in the chip counts. Hu came back and held onto the lead for a bit but Dokler quickly took back over with a pair of queens. A lead that he did not give back as he sent Hu out the door in second in a coin flip.
Event #22: $5,100 High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Dokler | United States | $100,829 |
| 2 | Qi Hu | Canada | $70,956 |
| 3 | Nitis Udornpim | United States | $48,549 |
| 4 | Anton Wigg | Sweden | $33,611 |
| 5 | Robert Brobyn | United States | $28,009 |
| 6 | Jonathan Gilliam | United States | $22,407 |
| 7 | Justin Liberto | United States | $18,673 |
| 8 | Elia Ahmadian | United States | $16,805 |
| 9 | Chris Sparks | United States | $13,071 |
Final Day Action
The tournament drew a total of 77 entries on Day 1 and by the time the second day was ready to go only 14 remained with the top 11 finding a payday. Many would think that being close to the money would tighten up play but not in this high roller as the players were full of action and it showed taking just two hours to reach the money. Jerry Wong earned the unwanted title of bubble boy, getting one-pipped by Hu's ace-eight.
Once the bubble burst the action intensified even more and it was Omar Saeed taking the first exit when he moved all in with a pair of fives against the king-eight of Anton Wigg, who flopped two pair. Saeed failed to catch up and was eliminated in eleventh place. Brent Roberts started the day on the shorter end of things but quickly built a stack, only to have it go into the hands of Nitis Udornpim. Udornpim was faced with a hefty raise from Roberts and looked down at ace-king, he elected to push Roberts all-in and he obliged, calling with jack-nine. Udornpim flopped a king and the rest is history.
One of the bigger stacks to start the day was Chris Sparks but after a card dead few hours of play, he found himself short and in need of a double. Wigg opened from the cutoff and Sparks moved his remaining stack into the middle, Wigg called tabling jack-nine of diamonds and Sparks showed king-ten off. The flop was clean but a nine turn was the demise of Sparks who took a walk to the payout desk. Elia Ahmadian was the next to take an exit when his pocket queens fell to the ace-jack of Robert Brobyn.
Justin Liberto came into the final table near the top but suddenly ran dry and saw his stack dwindle down. He saw Wigg open from the button and elected to shove with pocket fives. Wigg called with ace-queen and hit both of his cards during the runout, sending Liberto out in seventh. Udornpim moved his stack into the middle with king-ten over the top of a button raise by Jonathan Gilliam and he called with sevens. Udornpim turned a straight, leaving Gilliam with just under two bigs and he lost during the very next hand.
Wigg came into the day with the lead and found his way back near the top after a rocky start to the day. He eventually shoved all in with king-jack but unfortunately ran into the aces of Dokler. Wigg failed to catch up and was eliminated in fourth. Udornpim played a solid day of poker but could not match the run-good of Dokler who rivered a full house against Udornpim's turned straight, sending him out the door in third place.
That wraps it up for the PokerNews live coverage of this event but tune in now for all of the updates on the $3,500 WPT BWPO Championship.
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