The $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship is one of several new tournaments introduced in this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) schedule. A perfect storm of affordability and deep stack structure, the event attracted a massive field of 5,110 players, creating a $2,606,100 prize pool and exciting top prizes. After four grueling days of play, Hector Berry emerged victorious, securing his first WSOP bracelet and a prize of $282,876 by defeating Luke Varrasso in a thrilling heads-up match.
Berry skillfully navigated the enormous field, making his way to the top in what he described as a draining tournament. “I think you could see at the end I was a little emotional seeing all the messages coming in,” Berry admitted to PokerNews. “Heads-up I was just so engrossed in the moment, it’s so draining.”
Berry’s journey in poker began just a few years ago, and his live tournament record has been modest so far. Before this win, his best score was a third-place finish in the £560 Midi Main at the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT), earning him $30,899. Reflecting on his achievement, Berry shared, “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.”
On top of the WSOP bracelet and a hefty money prize, Berry took home a 24k-karat gold coin to commemorate the inaugural PokerNews Deepstack Championship. At the same time, Varrasso had to settle for a runner-up money prize of $188,644.
With larger tournaments running concurrently, only a few notable players made deep runs in this event. Kenny Huynh, a previous bracelet winner, reached the final table but was eliminated in ninth place. Five-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Ray Henson came close to another WSOP final table, aiming for his ninth, but was knocked out in 12th place.
Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 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 |
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Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship Final Day Recap
From sixty players down to just five who bagged and tagged after 12 hours of play on Day 3. Branden Shimamoto had the most scooping up to do as he brought 94 big blinds worth of chips into the final day of Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship, followed by Luke Varrasso with 70 big blinds. Harrison Ashdown and Hector Berry also had healthy stacks, with 52 and 40 big blinds, respectively, while Darryll Fish was the only actual short stack, with just nine big blinds to his name.
Fish was quickly out the door as he found pocket jacks on the small blind, and Shimamoto easily called with 6♦5♦. On the 10♣10♦3♦ flop, Fish was still ahead but faced many outs for Shimamoto to knock out the first player of the day. The turn brought an 8♦, completing a flush for Shimamoto, but Fish still had hope for a full house. However, the river bricked, sending Fish home with $79,418 in his pocket.
Shimamoto was the big chip leader until a setup occurred against Berry, who opened the pot, and Shimamoto jammed with ace-ten. Unluckily for him, Berry had ace-queen and called. Shimamoto was calling for a ten and got it on the flop of 5♣10♣K♠. The turn was a blank 7♦, but the river Js meant a massive shift for both players, and Shimamoto was left short-stacked.
He was out soon after as he showed jack-nine from the button, and Varrasso called with ace-ten. The board bricked for Shimamoto, sending him home early in fourth place.
The action moved quickly as the next player hit the rail only minutes later. Berry flopped a straight with jack-ten on a Q♠9♠8♣ flop, while Ashdown had two pair with queen-nine. Berry made a continuation bet and called a raise from Ashdown. On the Ad turn, Ashdown moved all-in and Berry snap-called with the nuts. Four outs were still in the deck for Ashdown to improve to a full house, but the river was a blank, eliminating him in third place.
Hector Berry started heads-up with a 2:1 lead over Luke Varrasso and extended it to more than 3:1, but Varrasso was making ground and proving he wouldn’t go down easily.
More than an hour was needed for Varrasso to lay down his cards. He open-shoved with ten-nine, and Berry called with ace-nine, dominating the Canadian. Things got even worse on the flop with A♣8♠4♦, leaving Varrasso needing a special runner-runner to survive in the $600 PokerNews Deepstack event. The turn brought a 7♣ for an open-ended straight draw and eight possible outs. The river was a brick, and Varrasso had to console himself with the second prize of $188,644 while Berry lifted his first-ever WSOP bracelet and a commemorative 24k-karat gold coin.
* Images and hands courtesy of WSOP and PokerNews.
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