Career Stats
| Earnings | $261,340 |
| Cashes | 6 |
| Final Tables | 1 |
| Titles | 0 |
| Tournaments Played | 24 |
Current Standings
Ranking
6th
Payout
$156,212
Points
300
Chipcount History
Day 4
600,000
Day 5
6th
World Poker Tour
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Live: $100,000 WPT Super High Roller Final Table
Live: $25,500 WPT World Championship
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Live: $100,000 WPT Super High Roller Final Table
Live: $25,500 WPT World Championship
KENNY NGUYEN BORGATA POKER OPEN PROFILE
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Greatest WPT Comeback Ever?
Level 38: 250,000-500,000, 40,000 ante
Online specialist Olivier Busquet comes back to win after a 20-to-1 chip deficit
By BJ Nemeth
There have been some great comebacks in WPT history, but it'd be tough to find any as dramatic as Olivier Busquet's victory in the 2009 WPT Borgata Poker Open.
Entering with a big chip lead and the most distinguished poker resume at the final table, Busquet almost fell victim to a collapse. When he eliminated short-stacked Kenny "Super Tuan" Nguyen in 6th place, he had nearly twice as many chips as anyone else. But he eventually fell victim to the relentless aggression of Jeremy Brown, who was either getting a miracle run of cards or bluffing like crazy.
Busquet and Brown were nearly even in chips when they clashed in Hand #36. With a good-size pot brewing over a board of A
K
5
2
, Busquet bet 2 million and Brown moved all in. Busquet folded, and with that hand, Brown took over the chip lead.
Brown eliminated the next three players (Keith Crowder in 5th, Yanick Brodeur in 4th, and Ivan Mamuzic in 3rd), and heads-up play began with a nearly 3-to-1 chip lead for Brown over Busquet. Brown was acting very arrogant, as if victory was imminent, and downing a lot of drinks along with his friends on the rail. Brown was laughing and joking, and everything he said was based on the fact that his victory was assured.
The early stages of the heads-up match gave Brown plenty of reasons to feel that way. He continued his aggressive play, and Busquet took his time, trying to play relatively small pots. (Busquet began heads-up play with 40 big blinds.) Momentum continued in Brown's favor until the 18th hand of heads-up play, when Brown had built up a 20-to-1 chip lead (29,075,000 to 1,530,000).
Busquet doubled up (his J7 beat Brown's Q9), and picked his spots carefully to continue to build a stack until Brown's lead was down to 4-to-1 by Hand #121. That's when they got it all in after a flop of 876, and Busquet had flopped the nuts with a ten-high straight. Busquet flopped top pair and turned two pair, but missed the river to lose the hand. Brown still had the chip lead, but it was now 3-to-2 -- anyone's match.
Hand #128 is the hand that will be talked about by everyone when it finally airs on TV. After a flop of AK6, Brown check-raised, only to see Busquet raise back at him again -- 43% of Busquet's chips were in the pot at that point. Rather than backing down, Brown put in the fourth bet, and Busquet moved all in. Brown then folded Q2 face up after bluffing away 7.6 million in chips. (Read the entire hand by clicking here.)
Suddenly, Busquet had a 3-to-2 chip lead.
Brown would regain the lead in Hand #137, when the pot built up to 12 million over a board of Q109KQ. Brown showed down KQ to win the pot with a full house, and reverse the chip stacks (3-to-2 in Brown's favor).
But Busquet had come back once already, and this time it was much easier -- he had the lead back in eight hands, leading up to the finale in Hand #153.
The board showed 443, and they were both all in so quickly we couldn't even hear who shoved and who called. Brown had 52 for an open-ended straight draw, while Busquet had A4 for trip fours. The turn card was the 7, giving Brown additional outs with a spade flush draw. The river card was the 5 -- close enough to Brown's outs that the entire audience was stunned for more than five seconds before realizing the tournament was over.
Olivier Busquet, the favorite at the start of the final table, became one of the biggest underdogs in WPT history before coming back to win the WPT Borgata Poker Open. Busquet is a legend among online players for his results playing heads-up online, and he has now solidified that reputation with a spectacular heads-up performance in a high-stakes live tournament.
Here's a look at the winnings for the six final tablists:
1st - Olivier Busquet - $925,514
2nd - Jeremy Brown - $453,519
3rd - Ivan Mamuzic - $251,955
4th - Yanick Brodeur - $216,681
5th - Keith Crowder - $188,126
6th - Kenny Nguyen - $156,212
Unfortunately, this episode of the WPT won't be broadcast on FoxSportsNet until the spring of 2010, but you'll definitely want to watch this one when it airs. There was plenty of action, plenty of drinking, and plenty of table talk -- followed by a skillful heads-up match and one of the greatest comebacks in WPT history. You won't want to miss it.
The next stop for the World Poker Tour is the WPT Festa al Lago at Bellagio in Las Vegas, which starts October 21. Return to WorldPokerTour.com for complete live coverage of that event from start to finish.
Until then check out ClubWPT.com for your chance to win your way to a $10k buy-in WPT Main Event.
02:58 AM, 09/25/09
Hand #3: Kenny "Super Tuan" Nguyen Eliminated in 6th Place ($156,212)
Level 32: 60,000-120,000, 10,000 ante
Olivier Busquet raises under the gun to 300,000, and Kenny Nguyen says "Seven hundred twenty, Super Tuan is all in!" Nguyen is all in from middle position.
Busquet quickly calls with KK, and Nguyen says, "I ran into a brick wall this time," and he shows 88 The board comes AJ2107, and Busquet wins the pot with his pocket kings.
Kenny "Super Tuan" Nguyen is eliminated in sixth place, earning $156,212.
Seat 1. Yanick Brodeur - 5,390,000
Seat 2. Keith Crowder - 2,540,000
Seat 3. Jeremy Brown - 5,330,000
Seat 4. Olivier Busquet - 11,360,000
Seat 5. Kenny Nguyen - Eliminated in 6th Place ($156,212)
Seat 6. Ivan Mamuzic - 5,985,000
04:31 PM, 09/24/09
Hand #2: Kenny Nguyen
Level 32: 60,000-120,000, 10,000 ante
Kenny Nguyen says, "All right, you guys. I'm short stacked. I move all in." Nguyen is all in from the cutoff for 570,000, and Keith Crowder takes his time to think in the big blind. Crowder thinks for more than a minute before he folds, and Nguyen flips over 97 to the delight of the crowd.
Seat 1. Yanick Brodeur - 5,400,000
Seat 2. Keith Crowder - 2,610,000
Seat 3. Jeremy Brown - 5,460,000
Seat 4. Olivier Busquet - 10,330,000
Seat 5. Kenny Nguyen - 810,000
Seat 6. Ivan Mamuzic - 5,995,000
04:30 PM, 09/24/09
WPT Bio: Kenny Nguyen
Level 32: 60,000-120,000, 10,000 ante
Seat 5: Kenny Nguyen
600,000 (6th in chips, 5 big blinds)
Kenny Nguyen is a very animated 34-year-old professional poker player from Illinois who was originally born in Vietnam. Many people know him by his nickname, "Super Tuan." One of the first things you'll notice about Nguyen is that he always seems to be happy, and he has a very positive outlook on life.
Nguyen's career stats are very difficult to determine, because the names "Kenny Nguyen" and "Tuan Nguyen" are common enough to confuse the databases, and his results are mixed in with those of several other players, and spread across a handful of different profiles.
Kenny himself says that his biggest career cash to this point was the $54,919 he won in for finishing fourth in the 2007 Heartland Poker Tour championship in Gary, Indiana. He also previously cashed on the World Poker Tour when he finished 20th at the WPT Foxwoods Poker Classic back in April (earning $28,024).
As the short stack with just five big blinds, Nguyen's fate is somewhat out of his hands, as he'll need some luck early to get a competitive stack. But win or lose, expect Kenny Nguyen to finish this tournament with a smile.
Biggest Live Tournament Cash: $54,919 (4th, 2007 Heartland Poker Tour Championship, $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em)
Career Earnings in Live Tournaments: Undetermined, but almost certainly more than $100,000
12:42 PM, 09/24/09
Hands #74-75: Miracle River Card Saves Kenny "Super Tuan" Nguyen
Level 30: 40,000-80,000, 5,000 ante
Hand #74 - Jeremy Brown wins a small pot with unknown action. (Overshadowed by the excitement of the previous hand.)
Hand #75 - Kenny Nguyen raises from the cutoff to 245,000, and Michael Brown calls from the big blind. The flop comes J86, Brown bets 350,000, and Nguyen moves all in for 1,055,000.
Brown calls AJ (pair of jacks), and Nguyen is dominated with KJ (pair of jacks, lower kicker). Nguyen is drawing thin, and the 4 on the river offers no help. But when the K hits the river, giving him the pot with two pair (kings and jacks), Nguyen celebrates as some of his friends chant his nickname: "Super Tuan! Super Tuan! Super Tuan!"
Kenny Nguyen - 2,675,000
Michael Brown - 5,600,000
09:08 PM, 09/23/09
Hand #71: Kenny Nguyen Doubles Through Ivan Mamuzic
Level 30: 40,000-80,000, 5,000 ante
Hand #71 - Kenny Nguyen raises under the gun to 250,000, Ivan Mamuzic reraises from early position to 700,000, and Nguyen thinks for a while before moving all in for 635,000. Mamuzic calls with AJ, but Nguyen is the favorite with JJ.
The board comes Q107109, and Kenny Nguyen wins the pot with his pocket jacks to double up.
Kenny Nguyen - 1,430,000
Ivan Mamuzic - 6,680,000
08:50 PM, 09/23/09
Hand #70: Kenny Nguyen Drops Down to 8 Big Blinds
Level 30: 40,000-80,000, 5,000 ante
Hand #70 - Kenny Nguyen raises from early position to 250,000, Yanick Brodeur reraises from late position to 650,000, and Nguyen calls. The flop comes Q98, Nguyen checks, Brodeur moves all in, and Nguyen thinks for a while before he folds A-K face up.
Yanick Brodeur - 3,810,000
Kenny Nguyen - 640,000
08:45 PM, 09/23/09
