Dwyte Pilgrim Wins WPT Borgata Poker Open

We have a winner! Late Thursday night, Dwyte Pilgrim cemented his legacy by taking down the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Borgata Poker Open in Atlantic City. The man who was widely considered to be one of the top players in poker never to have won a major pulled one out of his hat in monumental fashion. Pilgrim banked $733,000, but we’re certain that the money played second fiddle to validation from his peers.

We can’t even put into our own words the moments following Pilgrim’s win. So, rather than try, we’ll fill you in on what the coverage found on WorldPokerTour.com had to say: “Pilgrim runs off the stage, drops to his knees near Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten, and then falls to the floor face down – we think he is crying with joy. After about two minutes, Pilgrim slowly stands up and wipes tears from his eyes as the audience gives him a standing ovation.” Wow.

In a special moment, Pilgrim’s heads-up opponent, Kia Mohajeri, joined in on the applause even though he had fallen just inches short of the title. In the pairing’s final hand, Mohajeri moved all-in on a board showing K-10-9-7 with K-9 for top pair. Pilgrim insta-called with Q-J for the nuts and Mohajeri failed to hit his full house on the river.

Pilgrim owns not one, not two, but three World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit gold rings, yet many have contended that he’s only been able to win in smaller tournaments. In his three WSOP Circuit titles, Pilgrim bested fields of 169, 106, and 579. The WPT Borgata Poker Open marked the largest WPT event in history, clocking in at 1,042 players, so we’re confident that Pilgrim’s victory will finally silence the critics.

Not everyone was sold on Pilgrim, however. Lee Childs, who was knocked out on the tournament’s play down day, Tweeted during heads-up play, “Watching the WPT final table. The crowd is increasingly getting on Kia’s side as Dwight continues to be rude and insult him.” Childs later added, “Congratulations Dwight! So proud of u bro! Don’t really love the talk, but soooo much respect! Awesome job Kia as well!”

According to coverage found on the WPT’s website, Pilgrim’s shots at his opponents included “Yo, if I can’t beat them standing up, I’m gonna take them to the floor” and “Gracie Jujitsu! Think I don’t know where I’m at? Think I don’t understand every facet of this game?” The latter comment came after Pilgrim took the chip lead from Mohajeri after spiking a king on the river against a failed flush draw. As the final hand was being dealt, Pilgrim boasted, “I don’t care what happens. I showed these guys how to play from beginning to end.”

Despite the choice of words for his opponents, Pilgrim will likely be strongly considered for ESPN.com’s October edition of “The Nuts” poker rankings, which have seen him fluctuate in and out of consideration for the top 10. The newest WPT champion is third on CardPlayer’s Player of the Year leaderboard behind Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi and Tom Marchese. On the Bluff Player of the Year leaderboard, Pilgrim can be found at #24.

Here’s how the final table cashed out at the 2010 WPT Borgata Poker Open in Atlantic City:

1. Dwyte Pilgrim – $733,802
2. Kia Mohajeri – $440,945
3. Ofir Mor – $266,835
4. Brandon Novena – $223,475
5. Daniel Makowsky – $183,449
6. Ben Klier – $148,427

Next up for the WPT is the Festa al Lago, which kicks off on October 15th from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The televised event comes with a $10,300 price tag.