Ryan Van Sanford Triumphs at 2016 PokerNews Cup

The inaugural PokerNews Cup was held at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, with the $2,150 buy-in tournament attracting 120 players to create a prize pool worth $222,324. Two days later, and it was Ryan Van Sanford who eventually triumphed over the field to capture the title, as well as $68,676 in prize money.
The 23-year old Colorado resident’s biggest score came in 2014 after taking down the $5k WPT Jacksonville Main Event for $421,668, and following his latest victory in New Jersey now boasts lifetime earnings of $952,135.
The PokerNews Cup proved a popular affair with notable players showing up for the event including such top pros as Barry Hutter, Jake Bazeley, Jeremy Ausmus, Brian Hastings, Christian Harder, and Aaron Massey. The latter two players subsequently made it all the way through to the final table, but would ultimately fall in 9th and 5th place respectively.
It was Van Sanford (K-Q) who eliminated Christian Harder (6-6) from the competition in 5th, and Barry Hutter in 4th, before he was dealt 10h-9d and locked horns with Sergio De Zen (Ks-3c). Both players moved all-in preflop,  and despite having to sweat a 10c-6c-9c flop, the 7h and 5d on the turn and river dispatched Zen to the rail in 3rd, leaving Sandford and Dominic Picinic to battle it out for the title. In the final hand of heads-up, Picinic raised preflop holding A-2, only to be reraised all-in by Sandford with A-J. Picinic subsequently made the call, and after the dealer laid out a K-Q-7-5-K board, Dominic Picinic finished the runner-up for $38,412, while Ryan Van Sanford collected the tournament title, as well as the PokerNews Cup trophy. When asked where in his home he would put his souvenir of achievement, Sandford replied:
“All my trophies go to my dad, so I’m sure he’ll find a special place for this one.”
Final Table Results:
1: Ryan Van Sanford $68,676
2: Dominic Picinic $38,412
3: Sergio De Zen $23,280
4: Barry Hutter $18,624
5: Christian Harder $13,968
6: J.Kovoor-Chathoth $11,640
7: David Fink $9,312
8: Taylor Wilson $6,984
9: Aaron Massey $5,238