Justin Liberto Ran Through 371 Entries to Win WPTDeepStacks Maryland For $116,363

The four-day long WPTDeepStacks Maryland Main Event whisked in a total of 371 runners generating $556,500 in the prize pool. Maryland based pro-Justin Liberto (cover image) captured the title, along with $116,363 in cash prize at the event.

The former World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner was in prime form at the event as he started the final table in pole position. After eliminating Feng Li, Ryan Tamanini and Chris Csik, he met Noah Shefrin in the heads-up confrontation. Liberto had an overwhelming chip advantage over Shefrin which the latter was unable to overcome, leading to Liberto’s victory which included a $3,000 package for the season-ending WPTDS Championship!

Talking about winning the event in his home state of Maryland, Liberto said in the post-event interview, “Winning events anywhere feels very good. Winning them here feels even better.”

Commenting on the final table gameplay, the champion said, “I knew it was going to be super shallow and super quick. I like that. I like playing these $1,500s that don’t take a week, so it’s nice to get in here and not be here for 14-hour days for six days.”

Besides the final tablists, the other notables who finished in the money included Ben Kaufman (10^th for $9,739), James Gilbert (20^th for $5,621), Eric Liebeler (40^th for $3,005) and Joe Frampus (44^th for $3,005).

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Justin Liberto – 1,900,000

2. Chris Csik – 1,850,000

3. Noah Shefrin – 1,580,000

4. Matt Vaughan – 1,575,000

5. Asaf Ben-Shushan – 1,175,000

6. Feng Li – 1,050,000

7. Jon Cantor – 855,000

8. Ryan Tamanini – 620,000

9. Johnathon Gilliam – 565,000

Final Table Recap

The first elimination on the final table happened quite early. On the 14^th hand, Jon Cantor‘s were outdone by Noah Shefrin’s , ensuring his ninth-place elimination.

25 hands later, Matt Vaughan‘s ran into Shefrin’s . The board bricked, and Vaughan walked out in eighth place.

Within half an hour Feng Li joined Vaughan at the rail. With the board open , Li’s could not hold on against Liberto’s , leading to his seventh place elimination.

Finishing in sixth place was Johnathon Gilliam. His were bested by Shefrin’s higher pair of , with the runout [a1] offering no help to either player.

After losing a big pot to Liberto in the previous hand, Asaf Ben-Shushan`s deep run came to an end on the 55^th hand of the final table. Ben-Shushan pitted his against Chris Csik’s which bettered to a top pair on the board . Ben-Shushan was sent packing to the rail in fifth place.

In the very next hand, Ryan Tamanini jammed from the small blind with after Liberto min-raised from the button. Liberto called Tamanini’s all-in move holding to see the rundown . While Tamanini rivered a two pair, it was no match for Liberto’s spade flush, resulting in Tamanini’s fourth-place finish.

Three-handed play continued for another 28 hands before Chris Csik‘s were cracked by Liberto’s . The board revealed and Liberto turned an ace-high straight to eliminate Csik in third place.

The heads-up match began with Justin Liberto (7,200,000) enjoying a commanding lead over Noah Shefrin (3,925,000). It was a short-lived final showdown, and within minutes it was all over for Shefrin.

On the 87^th hand of the final table, which was also the last hand of the Main Event, Shefrin moved all-in for 1,120,000 and Liberto promptly called, putting the former’s tournament life at risk.

Noah Shefrin

Justin Liberto

The board fanned out and Liberto bagged the title and top prize of $116,363 with a set of deuces!

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Justin Liberto – $116,363*

2. Noah Shefrin – $81,472

3. Chris Csik – $52,367

4. Ryan Tamanini – $33,947

5. Asaf Ben-Shushan – $26,489

6. Johnathon Gilliam – $21,926

7. Feng Li – $18,365

8. Matt Vaughan – $15,026

9. Jon Cantor – $11,631

*includes a $3,000 package to the season-ending WPTDeepStacks Championship

Content & Images Courtesy: World Poker Tour & PokerNews