Vitaly Kovyazin Takes Down Borgata Fall Poker Open $600 Half-A-Milly Almighty with Two Timely Aces

Vitaly Kovyazin, a contractor from New York, defeated a field of 1,006 entries in the Borgata Fall Poker Open $600 Half-A-Milly Almighty to claim the $88,315 first-place prize and the Borgata and BetMGM Poker trophies. The amateur player with cashes dating to 2004 overcame a heads-up chip deficit against Omar Taveras by picking up pocket aces twice in decisive spots.

Kovyazin entered the final table in third chip position. He survived an all-in against Carlos Lam Wu with ace-high, then doubled through Taveras when the latter moved in with two sevens. Taveras held the lead at 62,800,000 to 36,800,000 entering heads-up but could not overcome the cooler.

Aces Decide Heads-Up Duel

On the button Kovyazin limped with aces, called a raise, then raised a ten-high flop bet before calling Taveras' all-in for 29,600,000. Taveras showed sevens and said "Well played with aces." With five big blinds left Taveras shoved again; Kovyazin woke up with aces once more to close it out. The result is Kovyazin's largest score since a 2008 LAPT runner-up finish in Brazil.

Player Perspective on the Milestone

"This means a lot. The first big trophy. I’m very happy. Speechless, actually," Kovyazin said, as reported by PokerNews. He added that he was "happy to see them" when the aces appeared and played without overthinking. Kovyazin emphasized he has "never tried to be a professional poker player" and participates only "when I have time" to enjoy the game. After the win he deferred any decision on entering the ongoing Main Event, saying with a laugh that he would "have to ask my wife."