Hector Berry Wins Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship
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It's coming home! The PokerNews Deepstack Championship title, that is.
After four days of action in the inaugural $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship at the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, it was British player Hector Berry who came out on top to take home $282,876.
Berry came into the final day as the second-shortest stack, but still held 40 big blinds thanks to the deepstack format, and eventually topped a 5,110-player field to defeat Canada's Luke Varrasso heads-up.
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Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hector Berry | United Kingdom | $282,876 |
| 2 | Luke Varrasso | Canada | $188,644 |
| 3 | Harrison Ashdown | United States | $140,264 |
| 4 | Branden Shimamoto | United States | $105,122 |
| 5 | Darryll Fish | United States | $79,418 |
| 6 | Sihao Zhang | Luxembourg | $60,485 |
| 7 | Jolan Mancini | Canada | $46,442 |
| 8 | Thomas Murphy | Ireland | $35,953 |
| 9 | Kenny Huynh | United States | $28,064 |
Winner's Reaction
Berry spoke exclusively to PokerNews after his win and said he was "thrilled" to come out on top after a draining final day.
"I think you could see at the end I was a little emotional seeing all the messages coming in," admitted Berry. "Heads-up I was just so engrossed in the moment, it's so draining."
Having registered late on Day 1, Berry made it through to Day 2 with just nine big blinds, and was ready for an early exit.
"I don't know where I go from here. It's a lot of money, for anyone"
"I started in the cutoff and knew I had a few hands before I was all in. But I doubled up twice and that gave me a chance."
The PokerNews Deepstack Championship was down to three tables when the Millionaire Maker crowned its champion, and at a final table when Daniel Negreanu won in the Poker Players Championship, something Berry said him and the rest of the field had to contend with.
"Playing final three tables with all the Argentines going mental, Daniel [Negreanu] winning a bracelet, and I was just sitting here trying to work out how to defend my big blind!"
From a seven-time bracelet winner, to a first-timer and Berry said he never expected to win a bracelet.
"I've only been taking it seriously for a few years. I came here for three weeks last year and played about twenty tournaments. Played about five this year and won one — which is kind of insane! Very lucky, very fortunate."
"I don't know where I go from here. It's a lot of money, for anyone. But I just hope to come back, play more, play higher buy-in tournaments...if you ask me that question in a couple of weeks maybe I'll have a better answer!"
Final Day Recap
There was a quickfire exit for Darryll Fish who arrived minutes late, only to bust first hand with pocket jacks after overnight chip leader Branden Shimamoto turned a flush.
After Berry scored an early double, four-handed play was a slugfest. No player managed to extend a gap, and the deep-stacked nature of play allowed dynamics to form and players to adjust accordingly.
First Harrison Ashdown, then Luke Varrasso took turns in the chip lead, with barely ten big blinds separating the remaining players.
Another double for Berry came at the expense of Shimamoto, with Berry rivering a straight to take the majority of the American's stack, with Varrasso finishing him off on the next hand.
Four became three and suddenly three became two as a cooler flop saw Ashdown eliminated.
Berry raised pre-flop, with Ashdown calling. The flop was queen-nine-eight and Berry bet again, and called a raise from Ashdown. After checking the turn, Ashdown shoved and Berry called having flopped the nut straight with jack-ten.
Ashdown had top two-pair, but bricked the river and was eliminated
"There's always a chance," Berry said afterwards. "With five left I had just 15 big blinds, but I was fortunate [with the Ashdown elimination]."
Now down to just two players, Berry held the chip lead, and slowly and methodically crept further ahead. Varrasso had his moments, but there was an inescapable feeling that this would end in one single confrontation rather than a series of smaller spots.
Eventually, Varrasso got it in against Berry but was dominated. The Brit dodged straight outs on the turn to seal victory — the largest of his career.
Thank you for following along to our coverage, and thank you to everyone who took part in the inaugural PokerNews Deepstack Championship and, of course, the PokerNews Daily Deepstacks — which continue all summer long. Stay tuned to PokerNews for full coverage from the rest of the 2024 World Series of Poker.
Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.
