Sascha Wilhelm came to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa this week with one goal in mind: taking a trophy back home to Germany.
Wilhelm emerged from a field of 60 players to take down the BetMGM Poker Borgata Fall Poker Open $1,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, defeating Sebastian Crema heads-up on a short Day 2 to earn the $20,360 top prize. The German pro had already won two WSOP bracelets in PLO over the last two years, and proved his four-card mastery yet again today.
“I just play a lot. Started playing PLO like 15 years ago or something. Just got a lot of experience, I think,” he said.
Borgata Fall Poker Open $1,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sascha Wilhelm | Germany | $20,360 |
| 2 | Sebastian Crema | Canada | $12,506 |
| 3 | Nohad Teliani | Canada | $8,156 |
| 4 | Stuart Glassmith | United States | $5,655 |
| 5 | Robert Klein | United States | $4,187 |
| 6 | Harry Rubin | United States | $3,508 |
| 7 | Ethan Cahn | United States | $3,019 |
| 8 | Matthew Brady | United States | $2,609 |
While Wilhelm admits he isn’t sure he’ll stick around to play any other events this festival, he accomplished what he came here to do. “The trophy,” he said. “I like the resort, been here a couple of times before. Great resort.”
Crema, the Canadian lawyer with more than $1.3 million in live tournament earnings, had to settle for a runner-up finish after coming second to Jason Nguyen in the $600 Kickoff event two days ago. Wilhelm wasn’t too familiar with Crema coming into the final table, but picked up an appreciation for his game despite their short match.
“I read that he was runner-up yesterday or the day before. I think he’s a great player. Never seen him before, but obviously he knows what he’s going. So it was a tough match,” he said.
Crema Denied Redemption at Final Table
The starting field of 60 entries had been reduced to just the final four who returned today to play for the title. Crema began as chip leader, with Wilhelm following behind in second place and Crema’s partner Nohad Teliani the short stack. Teliani found a quick double up off Wilhelm, while Stuart Glassmith then ran into Crema’s top set. Glassmith was teased by a rivered flush, but Crema pointed out he had made a full house to win the pot and send Glassmith out in fourth place.
Teliani then got her last 530,000 in with two pair, aces and threes, only for Wilhelm to show her a set of fours as she was sent to the rail in third place. Wilhelm led Crema 1,600,000 to 800,000 at the start of the heads-up match, but Crema managed to pull even after hitting quads for the second time today.
Lucky River Seals Title for Wilhelm
Wilhelm reopened a big lead after flopping trip queens to crack Crema’s aces, and Crema then moved all in for 300,000 on the flop with a pair of tens. Wilhelm called with a pair of sevens, and then spiked trips on the river to secure the title after less than 90 minutes.
For as quick as the day was, it’s a long flight home for Wilhelm. But he’ll be accompanied by a glass Borgata trophy after breezing to yet another PLO title in his career.