Jerry Morrell Wins WPTDS Reno Main Event ($55,616)

Jerry Morrell topped a field of 268 players to win the WPTDeepStacks Reno Main Event on Monday afternoon at the beautiful Atlantis Casino Resort Spa here in Reno, Nevada. Morrell was awarded $55,616 in prize money, a $3,000 Championship package, and the WPTDeepStacks trophy after winning a final table that clocked in at just under 4 hours of play today.

Coming into the day it was Jerry Morrell with the chip lead, and Morrell continued to climb as he built his with no major setbacks throughout the day. With multiple short stacks coming into the day, it wasn’t long before we lost Greg Wagner, who was quickly followed out the door by Shawn Roberts. Following the two eliminations in the first level of the day, it was Steve Kujubu exiting in 7th. Six handed play wouldn’t slow down Morrell, as his  would best the  of Josef Bautista, sending Bautista packing in 6th.

Chris Bridgford would be the shortest of the remaining five players, but after a quick double up he would manage to ladder to a top four spot when Mans Montgomery was eliminated by Anthony Scherer in 5th. Bridgford would exit soon thereafter, and Morrell headed into three-handed play with a 4-1 chip lead over both Scherer, and Worland.

The trend of fast action didn’t change with three handed play, as Scherer ran his queens into Morrell’s aces almost immediately. Unable to improve, Scherer hit the rail in third leaving Morrell and Worland heads up.

Similar to last year’s dynamic between Dustin Fox and Ivan Holmes, the two players left in the tournament are close friends. Worland would secure a double up on the second hand of play, closing in on the monster chip lead of Morrell. The two spent a while exchanging chips back and forth, but eventually Morrell’s run good would continue as he woke up with  after Worland moved all in holding . Morrell won the flip, earning himself the top spot as the newest WPTDS Champion, taking home $55,616.