WPTDeepStacks Crowns Winners in San Diego, Portugal
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Wrapping up a main tour event the previous week didn't mean it was time to relax for the World Poker Tour. On the contrary, it was a busy weekend for the smaller WPTDeepStacks tour as two events played out, reaching conclusions on Sunday and Monday.
In the latter, a stateside event wrapped up as WPTDeepStacks San Diego played to a winner at Ocean's Eleven Casino. Stefano Moreale topped a field of 252 entries to win $58,480. The local player had only around $10,000 in cashes prior to the win.
Meanwhile, another event across the pond drew a little better. In partnership with 888poker, WPTDeepStacks Portugal was held at Casino Vilamoura. There, Silma Macalou banked €91,655 (~$101,000) plus a couple of extra goodies in the form of seats to future events.
WPTDeepStacks San Diego
Four starting flights in the $1,100 tournament at Ocean's produced 252 entries for a prize pool of $244,440.
According to the live updates, Moreale went into the final table with a solid stack in third place trailing Landen Lucas and Shaun Davis.
Moreale would see his prospects brighten early at the final table when he flopped the nut straight with Q♣10♣ and Brian Nordin pushed it drawing only to a chop with J♠10♠ for top pair.
Meanwhile, Lucas took command despite taking a nasty beat when his aces were cracked by 8♣6♣ in a preflop all in. He scored the next three eliminations in a row to reduce the field to three, with Lucas slightly covering his remaining opponents combined.
Moreale's fortunes would soar from there though as he stacked up in the next 20 minutes and then busted Davis to take a chip lead into heads-up play with Lucas. It wouldn't take long for him to seal the win as he called a raise and flopped trips on 7♠7♦5♠ with 7♥6♦. He got a check-raise in on the flop and the rest of the money went in on the J♣ turn as Lucas added top pair to his nut flush draw (A♠J♠).
The river bricked off and the former college basketball player had to settle for second while Moreale secured the trophy, first-place money and a seat to the $1 million guaranteed Championship.
WPTDS San Diego Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefano Moreale | $58,480* |
| 2 | Landen Lucas | $38,985 |
| 3 | Shaun Davis | $24,750 |
| 4 | Grant Foster | $15,055 |
| 5 | Ryan Howe | $11,625 |
| 6 | Sando Yin | $9,635 |
| 7 | Sean Edelenbos | $8,090 |
| 8 | Brian Nordin | $6,760 |
| 9 | Rich Lanes | $5,550 |
*includes WPTDeepStacks Championship package
WPTDeepStacks Portugal
Over in Europe, WPTDeepStacks Portugal drew a little stronger with 432 entries for €1,200 apiece across three starting flights, including a turbo Day 1c. That created a prize pool over €450,000 (~$500,000).
888poker's own Sofia Lovgren would make a deep run but ultimately bust in 19th, narrowly missing out on the final day as 17 advanced to Sunday.
Macalou had one of the bigger stacks heading into the final day and roughly doubled his start-of-day count by the time the final table rolled around, according to the live updates. There, things only improved for him.
Macalou would score the first five eliminations at the final table in a tour de force that saw him go from merely chip leader to holding about 70 percent of the total chips five-handed. Most significantly, Macalou would get in a raising war with fellow big stack Luis Fernandes, who five-bet shoved ace-queen into Macalou's ace-king for almost 50 big blinds.
Vasco Mesquita then got three eliminations of his own to pull nearly even with Macalou as play moved to heads up.
Mesquita took the opening few rounds to race out to a lead, but then tried to bully Macalou unsuccessfully. Mesquita went for a check-raise holding 10♦7♥ on a 9♥6♥3♠ flop and Macalou called with 9♠5♠ for top pair. Mesquita then bet the Q♦ turn and overbet shoved the A♣ river. Macalou found the call and doubled through for a commanding lead.
However, the match was far from over as Mesquita battled back over the next hour to retake the lead. Macalou then retook the lead, and he'd finish the job on a 7♣7♦6♣4♣ board with A♣6♦. Facing a check-raise all in, Mesquita opted to go with his Q♣6♠ but found himself in rough shape. The river didn't save him and he had to settle for a €61,050 payout.
Macalou got €91,655 in prize money, a package for the WPTDeepStacks European Championship and a package for a 2020 WPTDS event from 888poker.
WPTDS Portugal Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize | ~Prize in $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Silma Macalou | €91,655* | $101,205 |
| 2 | Vasco Mesquita | €61,050 | $67,411 |
| 3 | Paul Cukierman | €45,030 | $49,722 |
| 4 | Alexandre Dolle | €33,520 | $37,013 |
| 5 | Jorge Lopez | €25,220 | $27,848 |
| 6 | Pedro Guerreiro | €19,190 | $21,189 |
| 7 | Rui Costa | €14,770 | $16,309 |
| 8 | Luis Fernandes | €11,540 | $12,742 |
| 9 | Nuno Chiou | €9,110 | $10,059 |
*Also won WPT European Championship package and 2020 888poker WPTDS package
