Canada’s Sebastian Crema Finishes Second in Borgata Fall Poker Open Kickoff

Canadian Sebastian Crema came within one heads-up battle of winning the opening event of the 2026 Borgata Fall Poker Open, finishing runner-up in the US$600 Kickoff for US$125,171.

The North Vancouver, British Columbia player entered the final table at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City as the chip leader and stayed in contention all the way to the final hand. Jason Nguyen ultimately took the trophy and US$126,727, but Crema’s second-place finish delivered another major result in what has already been a strong 2026 season.

The Kickoff attracted 1,862 entries and generated a US$899,200 prize pool, with 152 players reaching the money.

Crema began the nine-handed final table with 15,525,000 chips, good for 104 big blinds and a sizeable advantage over the rest of the field. Jason Simone sat second with 10,200,000, while eventual champion Nguyen started sixth with 3,850,000.

Crema remained one of the dominant stacks as the table played down. He eliminated experienced American pro James Calderaro in sixth place after making a straight on the river, then later ended Simone’s remarkable run in fourth.

With three players remaining, Crema, Nguyen and Chadd Beatty agreed to a deal. Crema secured US$115,171, Nguyen US$106,727 and Beatty US$97,471, with another US$20,000 reserved for the winner and US$10,000 for the runner-up.

Beatty exited in third when his king-six ran into Crema’s king-queen, sending the Canadian into heads-up play against Nguyen.

Nguyen began heads-up with a 34,000,000-to-21,000,000 chip lead, but Crema quickly showed he was prepared to apply pressure. In one of the biggest hands of the match, Crema fired a large river bluff with ten-high and forced Nguyen to fold after a lengthy tank.

Nguyen recovered with a series of double-ups and eventually regained the lead.

On the final hand, Crema committed his remaining chips with a flush draw while Nguyen held a straight draw. A four on the turn paired Nguyen, and Crema failed to improve on the river, ending his run in second place.

*Final payouts reflect the three-way deal.

Crema entered the Borgata final with more than US$1.2 million in recorded live tournament earnings and has produced several notable results this year.

He finished fourth in the US$500 Salute to Warriors at the 2026 World Series of Poker for US$75,800 and later collected a career-best US$223,635 after finishing runner-up in a US$1,600 Pot-Limit Omaha event at the Wynn Summer Classic.

His results have also extended back home. In October, Crema won the C$500 Progressive Knockout at WSOP Circuit Canada in Calgary, collecting C$16,537 from the regular prize pool before bounty earnings.

The latest six-figure score strengthens Crema’s place among the Canadian poker players making regular deep runs on the international circuit. Players following his Las Vegas results can also find the summer schedule and Canadian performances in our World Series of Poker guide for Canadians.

For Crema, the Borgata trophy narrowly escaped him, but US$125,171 for second in a 1,862-entry field adds another significant result to an increasingly impressive 2026 campaign.