This content was AI generated based on the original article published on https://www.pokernews.com/news/2026/07/local-favorite-li-liang-becomes-first-female-champion-betmgm-51987.htm. All credits for the original reporting belong to them.
Li Liang, a well-known cash game and tournament regular at Borgata, has claimed the title in the $650 Super Deep 6-Max event at the Borgata Summer Poker Open. The New Jersey native defeated a field of 401 entries to secure the top prize of $41,150, more than doubling her previous live tournament earnings.
The tournament generated a total prize pool of $228,570. After 65 players returned for Day 2, the final six battled it out on a streamed final table, with Giorgi Arveladze entering as the clear chip leader and Liang sitting in fourth.
The unofficial final table saw eliminations from Frank Costigan, Bin Weng, Yuriy Kudrynskyy, and Ryan Syrko, with Arveladze building his stack throughout the action before heads-up play began.
Arveladze held a two-to-one chip advantage when heads-up play started, but Liang chipped away at the deficit. A crucial hand saw Liang call an all-in on the turn holding second pair and a flush draw, improving to trips on the river to leave Arveladze short-stacked.
On the very next hand, Arveladze moved all in with ace-four, and Liang called with queen-six suited. Two queens flopped, sealing Arveladze’s fate and handing Liang the title after just over two hours of final table play.
Speaking to PokerNews afterward, Liang credited her persistence and home-course comfort at Borgata, saying the win boosts her confidence heading into the rest of the series, where she plans to compete daily.
