Photo credit: Poker.Org
Sixteen years ago, Olivier Busquet enjoyed his first major live tournament victory. Busquet took down the 2009 World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open main event that September, earning $925,514 for his efforts.
There have been numerous other successes along the way, to the tune of over $9.1 million in recorded earnings. But with just one live result since January 2020, Busquet has been out of the poker spotlight for quite some time.
That changed on Thursday, as Busquet won the Borgata Summer Poker Open Championship for $255,135. His biggest win at the property since his WPT title saw Busquet outlast a field of 685 in the $2,700 buy-in event. Busquet agreed to a heads-up deal with Abe Gordon, flattening out the top two payouts. The pair split the lion’s share of the $1,644,000 prize pool, which exceeded the $1 million guarantee.
On top of his best live result since August 2019, Busquet also banked 1,260 points in the Card Player Player of the Year race, presented by CoinPoker.
Major Road Blocks Fall One By One
The 43-year-old former heads-up online crusher started the final day of play with the chip lead, but victory was far from a foregone conclusion. Despite holding more than twice as many chips as the second-ranked contender to start the day: Farid Jattin. The Colombian has six career World Series of Poker final tables and four WPT final table appearances.
Matthew Beinner and Sridhar Sangannagari had both WSOP and WPT final table appearances of their own, and Ryan Dodd has made three WSOP final tables in his career.
All of the aforementioned players reached the final six. And yet, one-by-one, they all fell. Dodd lost a coin flip against Busquet, with A♦J♦ falling to pocket tens despite two diamonds hitting the flop.
Jattin couldn’t get anything going at this final table, and the last of his chips went in with Q♠9♠. Sangannagari called with A♠J♣ and held, eventually making two-pair by the river.
Sangannagari’s ascent was short-lived. After doubling up Gordon, then the short stack, Sangannagari three-bet all-in for his last 6 big blinds. Beinnner called with A♣Q♠, and was well ahead of Sangannagari’s A♥10♣. The K♠10♥2♦ flop pulled Sangannagari ahead, but the J♣ turn locked up the pot for Beinner.
The Finale
Busquet appeared to be running away with the title three-handed. He made a massive calldown against Beinner with a naked ace-high on a 9♥5♠2♥6♠5♦ board, and he was right. Busquet held 19.6 million of the 27.4 million in play at one point three-handed, but Gordon made a charge. After winning a few smaller pots, Gordon picked off Beinner in third place with A♠8♣ against Beinner’s Q♣J♠. The board ran out A♣K♥6♦Q♥8♠, and Beinner was out.
Gordon now had enough chips to merit a discussion about a heads-up deal, and he and Busquet came to terms. Busquet collected $255,135, and Gordon got $233,255 for second place.
After his long hiatus from live events, it’s safe to say Busquet’s name feels likely to pop up again soon at a major event.
“I fell in love and got married and I have a family now,” Busquet told Poker.Org’s Brett Slezak. “I’ve been playing a lot online. I haven’t really taken any breaks. This summer I played at the World Series and wanted to try to play a few more tournaments. I ran incredibly well here, I’m probably gonna play some more. I really enjoy live poker, the social aspect. With this win, it feels great, and I’ll probably play more.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Olivier Busquet | $255,135 | 1,260 |
| 2 | Abe Gordon | $233,255 | 1,050 |
| 3 | Matthew Beinner | $138,076 | 840 |
| 4 | Sridhar Sangannagari | $91,171 | 630 |
| 5 | Farid Jattin | $63,339 | 525 |
| 6 | Ryan Dodd | $49,176 | 420 |
| 7 | Jeremy Flieder | $39,350 | 315 |
| 8 | Gerard Brady | $31,750 | 210 |
| 9 | David Stefanski | $25,614 | 105 |
