Hector Berry & Mark Checkwicz Among The Latest Winners At 2024 World Series of Poker 

We are just a few weeks away from the culmination of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP), with more than 70 of 99 live bracelets already given to players. As of now, WSOP has paid over $220 million. In this article, we will discuss the two recent bracelet winners, Hector Berry and Mark Checkwicz, who won their first gold bracelet.

Event #62: $600 PokerNews DeepStack Championship No Limit Hold’em Recap and Standings 

The inaugural $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship NLHE event attracted 5,110 entries, including 40 players who qualified through a leaderboard challenge. The massive turnout generated a prize pool of $2,606,100, which was paid out to the top 767 finishers.

After four days of intense fourth and back action, Scottish player Hector Berry emerged victorious, securing his first gold bracelet, top prize money of $282,876, and a commemorative 24k-karat gold coin. With this victory, Berry’s career earnings now exceed $300,000. 

Hector Berry entered the final day as the chip leader, holding more than 50 million at the final table. He further took a big lead by knocking out Harrison Ashdown (3rd place – $140,264). 

In the heads-up play, Berry held more than 100 million chip stacks against Luke Varrasso’s 50 million. Barrasso gave tough competition in the heads-up play but fell short of countering Berry’s big lead. 

In the final hand of the tournament, Varrasso went all-in with 10-9 against Berry’s A-9. The flop came out A-8-4, giving Berry a top pair. The turn card turned out to be 7, giving Varrasso a straight draw, but the river card was revealed to be 2. The Canadian player had to settle for a prize money of $188,644.

Team India Performance

Indian stars shone in this event with Avneesh Munjal leading the pack with a 139th place finish for $2,458 – his first cash of the series. Uday Kwatra followed closely, bagging $1,936 in 234th place. Other Indian players who cashed included Gaurav Chauhan (383rd for $1,453s), Sriharsha Doddapaneni (688th for $1,201), and Anshul Kulshrestha (715th for $1,201).

Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold’em Recap and Standings 

The first $5,000 Seniors High Roller NLHE event was very successful. The event attracted 680 entries, all aged 50 and above. Which created a substantial prize pool of $3,128,000. Which was distributed among the top 102 players, with the top 5 players taking a six-figure prize money.

Mark Checkwicz made poker history as the event’s first-ever champion. After an intense 17-hour of play, Checkwicz emerged victorious, taking his First-ever bracelet and prize money of $573,876. 

Mark Checkwicz kicked off the final day with lower stacks, but quickly came to lead through doubles. In the three-handed play, Checkwicz knocked out Michael Vela (3rd place – $266,257), kicking off the heads-up play.

In the heads-up play, both Arie Kliper and Checkwicz held similar chips, but Checkwicz took a big chip lead and held it until the final hand. In the final hand of the event, Checkwicz raised from the button with 10-8 suited hearts, and Kliper called it with his 6-5 suited clubs.

The flop was revealed to be 6♡-9♧-, giving Checkwicz straight, but Kliper had a flush draw. The turn card came down 2♤, Kliper went all in with his remaining blinds, and Checkwicz called. The river card was 8♤, ending Kliper’s deep run. Arie Kliper finished as the runner-up and took the six-figure score of $382, 581.

Keep following PokerProNews for the latest updates and news from the WSOP 2024!

Image Credit: WSOP