The first PokerNews Cup event in North America held at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa is in the history books, with Ryan Van Sanford claiming the title, along with $68,676. The 23-year old who currently lives in Colorado bested a field 120 players in this $2,150 buy-in tournament, putting his lifetime tournament earnings up over $900,000.
Van Sanford defeated Day 1 chip leader Dominic Picinic in a heads-up battle that only lasted about 45 minutes. Van Sanford, who held the edge during most of the heads-up play, put an end to the tournament in a hand that saw Picinic raise to 150,000 holding on the button.