Sixteen years after securing his first major live tournament victory at the 2009 World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open, Olivier Busquet has found his way back to the spotlight. On Thursday, Busquet captured the Borgata Summer Poker Open Championship, earning $255,135—his largest win at the venue since that WPT triumph.
With this latest victory, Busquet boosted his career live earnings to over $9.1 million. It also marked his first recorded live cash since January 2020, ending a long hiatus from the tournament scene.
The $2,700 buy-in event drew 685 entries, pushing the prize pool to $1,644,000—well above the $1 million guarantee. Busquet struck a heads-up deal with runner-up Abe Gordon, flattening the top payouts. Gordon walked away with $233,255.
This win also earned Busquet 1,260 Card Player Player of the Year points, presented by CoinPoker—his best finish since 2019.
A Tough Road to Victory
The 43-year-old former online heads-up specialist came into the final day as chip leader, but the path to victory was filled with proven talent. Second in chips was Colombian pro Farid Jattin, a six-time WSOP final tablist with four WPT final tables under his belt.
Also in the final six were:
- Matthew Beinner, with prior WSOP and WPT final tables
- Sridhar Sangannagari, also a WPT and WSOP finalist
- Ryan Dodd, a three-time WSOP final tablist
One by one, they fell to the momentum of Busquet. Dodd exited first after his A♦J♦ lost to Busquet’s pocket tens. Jattin couldn’t find traction and was eliminated with Q♠9♠ against Sangannagari’s A♠J♣.
Sangannagari’s run ended shortly after. He lost a key hand to Gordon, then shoved six big blinds with A♥10♣. Beinner called with A♣Q♠ and held on a board of K♠10♥2♦J♣7♠, sending Sangannagari out in fourth.
The Final Stretch
Three-handed play saw Busquet in control, holding nearly 72% of the chips in play. He made a bold ace-high calldown against Beinner on a 9♥5♠2♥6♠5♦ board, which turned out to be spot-on.
However, Gordon wasn’t ready to fold. After picking off a few pots, he eliminated Beinner in third place with A♠8♣ against Q♣J♠. The board ran out A♣K♥6♦Q♥8♠.
That set the stage for a heads-up deal. The two agreed to a chop, with Busquet taking the title and top payout.
A Welcome Return
“It feels great,” Busquet told Poker.Org’s Brett Slezak after the win. “I fell in love, got married, and now have a family. I’ve been playing a lot online, and this summer I played at the World Series. I wanted to play more tournaments and ran incredibly well here.”
With his passion for live poker reignited, Busquet hinted this is just the beginning of his comeback: “I’ll probably play more. I really enjoy live poker—the social aspect of it.”
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 |
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