From May 2-July 31, 2022, Venetian Las Vegas played host to the DeepStack Championship Poker Series, which offered more than $22 million in guaranteed prize pools over 133 tournaments.
That number was blown out of the water as $34,071,558 in prize money was awarded as 35,603 entrants competed (not including mega satellites).
Among those to capture titles during the series were Kevin Garosshen (Event #59: $600 NLH Bounty for $17,192), Kristy Means (Event #74: $600 NLH Monster Stack for $45,000), Svetlana Gromenkova (Event #99: $500 NLH LIPS Ladies for $19,127), Joon Kim (Event #122: $600 NLH Epic Stack for $82,790), and Peter Hengsakul (Event #132: $400 NLH Monster Stack for $9,000).
Here’s a look at a couple of other big winners from the DeepStack Championship Poker Series.
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Norway’s Thor Morstoel Notches Six-Figure Score
On July 19, Event #116: $800 No-Limit Hold’em Ultimate Stack attracted 1,033 entries and offered up a $712,770 prize pool to the top 109 finishers. Among those to run deep but fall short of the final table were Yotam Shmuelov (10th - $11,618), Z Stein (14th - $7,698), Duff Charette (22nd - $4,704), Doug Lee (26th - $3,992), and Tuan Mai (27th - $3,992).
In the end, it was Norway’s Thor Morstoel defeating the United Kingdom’s Al-Farouk Movosore Ohe in heads-up play to win the title and $121,166 top prize. That was more than double his prior-best score of $46,989 for finishing runner-up in the 2018 EPT Prague Event #35: €1,100 NLH Freezeout according to The Hendon Mob.
Event #116: $800 NLH Ultimate Stack Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thor Morstoel | Norway | $121,166 |
| 2 | Al-Farouk Movosore Ohe | United Kingdom | $89,666 |
| 3 | Andrew Doona | Ireland | $62,724 |
| 4 | Brandon Navarrete | Miami Springs, FL | $44,905 |
| 5 | Marquis Waters | Dearborn, MI | $33,500 |
| 6 | Hoi Wong | Hong Kong | $24,947 |
| 7 | Said Nehme | Hallandale Beach, FL | $18,746 |
| 8 | Jarod Einsohn | Plano, TX | $14,541 |
| 9 | Tongguang Sun | Arcadia, CA | $11,618 |
Qing Liu Wins Yet Another Venetian DeepStack Extravaganza Title
On July 31, in one of the last tournaments of the series, 581 runners competed in Event #130: $600 NLH Ultimate Stack. The top 63 finishers got a piece of the $293,405 prize pool including Edward Kang (10th - $5,135), Matthew Schultz (14th - $3,374), Luke Vrabel (26th - $1,907), Desmond Haynes (35th - $1,614), Mackenzie Kraemer (42nd - $1,467), and Tuan Mai (53rd - $1,320).
After Josh Prager bowed out in third place for $27,873, the final two struck a deal that saw Kevin Stevens finish as runner-up for $45,636 while Qing Liu claimed the trophy and $51,624 in prize money.
The win brought Liu’s lifetime tournament earnings up to $2,383,732 according to The Hendon Mob, which much of that success coming at Venetian. Back in March 2021, Liu earned a career-high $752,880 for winning the World Poker Tour (WPT) Venetian, which came two weeks after he won the Venetian DeepStack Extravaganza Event #33: $600 NLH Ultimate Stack for $110,890.
Liu, who has several other Venetian DeepStack Extravaganza titles, nearly captured a gold bracelet this summer when he finished runner-up out of a 5,715-entry field to Rajesh Vohra in Event #11: $600 NLH Deep Stack, good for $207,192.
Event #130: $600 NLH Ultimate Stack Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qing Liu | Pasadena, CA | $51,624* |
| 2 | Kevin Stevens | Phoenix, AZ | $45,636* |
| 3 | Josh Prager | Yuba City, CA | $27,873 |
| 4 | Charlton Hawes | New Zealand | $19,952 |
| 5 | Nathaniel Zoller | Superior, CO | $15,110 |
| 6 | John-Paul Cao | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | $11,296 |
| 7 | Lukas Gunzel | Germany | $8,362 |
| 8 | Josh Suyat | Las Vegas, NV | $6,455 |
| 9 | Ori Hasson | Israel | $5,135 |
2022 DeepStack Championship Poker Series Winners
| Date | Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-May | Event #1: $400 NLH Monster Bounty | 89 | $29,815 | Kevin Wang | Las Vegas, NV | $7,100 |
| 2-May | Event #2: $300 NLH Bounty | 58 | $14,500 | Daniel Mingus | Denver, CO | $2,641 |
| 5-May | Event #3: $400 NLH Ultimate Stack | 428 | $141,240 | Christopher Bowen | Las Vegas, NV | $20,892 |
| 3-May | Event #4: $300 NLH Bounty | 58 | $14,500 | Paul Hutson | White Hall, AR | $3,263 |
| 4-May | Event #5: $300 NLH Bounty | 51 | $12,750 | Joseph Kirkwood | Renton, WA | $2,322 |
| 5-May | Event #6: $400 NLH Monster Stack | 109 | $36,515 | Rebecca Pitre | Gardner, MA | $6,500 |
| 5-May | Event #7: $10,000 High Roller | 34 | $340,000 | Vikentry Shegal | Roseville, CA | $136,000 |
| 6-May | Event #8: $400 NLH Monster Stack | 76 | $25,460 | Michael Cavanaugh | Independence, KY | $8,657 |
| 6-May | Event #9: $10,000 High Roller | 23 | $230,000 | Michael Brinkenhoff | Henderson, NV | $105,800 |
| 7-May | Event #10: $500 NLH Monster Stack | 100 | $42,500 | Brian Bumpas | Long Beach, CA | $9,515 |
| 7-May | Event #11: $15,000 High Roller | 4 | $60,000 | Victoria Livschitz | Whitefish, MT | $60,000 |
| 8-May | Event #12: $400 NLH Senior Monster Stack | 117 | $39,195 | Robert Georato | Naples, FL | $11,357 |
| 8-May | Event #13: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha Bounty | 74 | $25,160 | Evan Shaughnessy | Pittsford, NY | $6,038 |
| 11-May | Event #14: $400 NLH Ultimate Stack | 408 | $134,640 | David Towson | Las Vegas, NV | $18,051 |
| 9-May | Event #15: $300 NLH Bounty | 55 | $13,750 | Mark Pett | Salt Lake City, UT | $2,828 |
| 10-May | Event #16: $300 NLH Bounty | 40 | $10,000 | Ryan Borup | Las Vegas, NV | $1,800 |
| 11-May | Event #17: $400 NLH Monster Bounty | 96 | $31,160 | Charles Davis | Las Vegas, NV | $7,997 |
| 11-May | Event #18: $300 NLH Survivor | 40 | $10,000 | 5 Winners | N/A | $2,000 |
| 15-May | Event #19: $600 NLH Monster Stack | 598 | $303,186 | Frederic Heller | Rye Brook, NY | $50,400 |
| 12-May | Event #20: $300 NLH Survivor | 44 | $11,000 | 6 winners | N/A | $2,000 |
| 13-May | Event #21: $300 NLH Survivor | 51 | $12,750 | 5 Winners | N/A | $2,500 |
| 15-May | Event #22: $400 NLH Monster Stack | 113 | $37,885 | Christopher Marshall | Las Vegas, NV | $11,000 |
| 17-May | Event #23: $400 NLH Ultimate Stack | 342 | $112,860 | Pablo Ros | Spain | $24,825 |
| 16-May | Event #24: $300 NLH Bounty | 59 | $14,750 | Douglas Artusio | Wilmington, NC | $3,320 |
| 17-May | Event #25: $300 NLH Bounty | 39 | $10,000 | Kirk Wilson | Henderson, NV | $2,314 |
| 18-May | Event #26: $400 NLH Monster Stack | 105 | $35,175 | Tiago Santos Silva | Portugal | $10,552 |
| 18-May | Event #27: $300 NLH Survivor | 36 | $10,000 | 4 winners | N/A | $2,500 |
| 22-May | Event #28: $600 NLH Monster Bounty | 408 | $250,000 | Dorian Rios Pavon | Las Vegas, NV | $43,549 |
| 19-May | Event #29: $300 NLH Survivor | 49 | $12,250 | 5 winners | N/A | $2,450 |
| 20-May | Event #30: $300 NLH Survivor | 35 | $10,000 | 6 winners | N/A | $2,248 |
| 22-May | Event #31: $400 NLH Monster Stack | 60 | $25,000 | Siriwan Sukmekerd | Las Vegas, NV | $6,927 |
| 25-May | Event #32: $400 NLH Ultimate Stack | 361 | $119,130 | Joe Napolitano | Las Vegas, NV | $21,186 |
| 23-May | Event #33: $300 NLH Bounty | 29 | $10,000 | Vinicius Gomes De Souza | Las Vegas, NV | $2,367 |
| 24-May | Event #34: $300 NLH Bounty | $10,000 | Fernando Suarez Gomez | Spain | $2,914 | |
| 25-May | Event #35: $600 NLH Monster Bounty | 102 | $52,020 | Liron Kedem | Saratoga, CA | $12,305 |
| 25-May | Event #36: $400 NLH Survivor | 69 | $23,598 | 7 winners | N/A | $3,371 |
| 28-May | Event #37: $600 NLH Monster Stack | 532 | $269,724 | Josh Suyat | Kahului, HI | $54,108 |
| May-22 | Event #38: $400 NLH Survivor | 62 | $21,204 | 7 Winners | N/A | $2,400 |
| 28-May | Event #39: $500 Pot-Limit Omaha | 101 | $50,000 | Derrick Rose | Cincinnati, OH | $12,800 |
| 27-May | Event #40: $400 NLH Survivor | 40 | $15,000 | 4 winners | N/A | $3,400 |
| 28-May | Event #41: $400 NLH Survivor | 52 | $17,784 | Roland Israelashvili | Forest Hills, NY | $3,400 |
| 29-May | Event #42: $600 NLH Monster Stack | 63 | $40,000 | Matthew Hernandez | Austin, TX | $9,722 |
| 29-May | Event #43: $400 NLH Bounty | 53 | $18,126 | Jeffry Schwartz | Greendale, WI | $3,892 |
| 1-Jun | Event #44: $800 NLH Ultimate Stack | 525 | $362,250 | Eric Phillips | Glenview, IL | $72,666 |
| 30-May | Event #45: $600 Limit Omaha 8/B | 157 | $79,599 | John Fahmy | Hopkinton, MA | $16,319 |
| 30-May | Event #46: $400 NLH Bounty | 67 | $22,914 | Konstantin Polin | Las Vegas, NV | $5,675 |
| 31-May | Event #47: $400 NLH Survivor | 98 | $33,516 | 11 winners | N/A | $2,845 |
| 1-Jun | Event #48: $1,100 Monster Bounty | 118 | $150,000 | Jose Brito | Portugal | $29,576 |
| 1-Jun | Event #49: $400 NLH Survivor | 90 | $30,780 | 9 winners | N/A | $3,400 |
| 2-Jun | Event #50: $800 Monster Stack | 143 | $100,100 | Michael Allen | United Kingdom | $28,527 |
| 2-Jun | Event #51: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Bounty | 146 | $75,190 | Ronald Moore | Colona, IL | $13,108 |
| 2-Jun | Event #52: $600 NLH Survivor | 103 | $53,560 | 10 winners | N/A | $5,200 |
| 3-Jun | Event #53: $600 NLH Monster Stack | 143 | $75,000 | Gary Blackwood | Ireland | $18,156 |
| 3-Jun | Event #54: $600 NLH Bounty | 108 | $56,160 | Shengming Luo | New York, NY | $9,238 |
| 4-Jun | Event #55: $600 NLH Monster Stack | 174 | $88,740 | Melvin Heikkinen | Painesdale, MI | $18,350 |
| 4-Jun | Event #56: $800 Pot-Limit Omaha 8/B | 246 | $172,938 | David Wilson | Columbia, MO | $32,180 |
| 5-Jun | Event #57: $800 NLH Monster Bounty | 209 | $146,300 | Sergey Sosnovsky | Bensalem, PA | $20,727 |
| Event #58: Mega Satellite | ||||||
| 5-Jun | Event #59: $600 NLH Bounty | 204 | $106,080 | Kevin Garosshen | Las Vegas, NV | $17,192 |
| Event #60: Mega Satellite | ||||||
| 10-Jun | Event #61: $1,600 MSPT | 1,644 | $2,342,700 | Shea Quintin | Destin, FL | $324,946 |
| 6-Jun | Event #62: $800 Pot-Limit Omaha | 194 | $136,382 | Shaun Conroy | Ireland | $35,923 |
| 9-Jun | Event #63: $1,100 NLH Double Stack | 152 | $150,000 | Luis Vazquez | Taunton, MA | $37,002 |
| 10-Jun | Event #64: $1,100 NLH Monster Bounty | 363 | $352,110 | Derek Hammonds | Columbus, OH | $47,045 |
| 11-Jun | Event #65: $800 Big O | 300 | $210,000 | Hobart Roberts | Charlotte, NC | $36,500 |
| 11-Jun | Event #66: $600 NLH Monster Stack | 446 | $227,460 | Paulo Porto Villena | Spain | $40,079 |
| 16-Jun | Event #67: $1,100 MSPT | 2,154 | $2,078,610 | Federico Roberto | Argentina | $294,327 |
| 12-Jun | Event #68: $600 NLH Bounty | 163 | $84,760 | Samuel Bifarella | France | $12,600 |
| 15-Jun | Event #69: $1,100 NLH Double Stack | 299 | $291,525 | Matthew Jewett | Seattle, WA | $64,138 |
| 16-Jun | Event #70: $1,100 NLH Monster Stack | 193 | $200,000 | Christopher Haydt | Camarillo, CA | $52,680 |
| 16-Jun | Event #71: $600 NLH Bounty | 138 | $71,760 | Peter Dailey | Las Vegas, NV | $12,584 |
| 17-Jun | Event #72: $600 NLH Monster Stack | 540 | $275,400 | Angel Vu Boas | Daytona Beach, FL | $48,292 |
| 17-Jun | Event #73: $1,100 Pot-Limit Omaha | 362 | $129,400 | Brandon Allen | Port Orange, FL | $47,488 |
| 18-Jun | Event #74: $600 NLH Monster Stack | 517 | $263,670 | Kristy Means | Vancouver, WA | $45,000 |
| Event #75: Mega Satellite | ||||||
| 18-Jun | Event #76: $600 NLH Survivor | 188 | $97,760 | 18 winners | N/A | $5,200 |
| Event #77: Mega Satellite | ||||||
| 21-Jun | Event #78: $2,500 Ultimate Bounty $1M GTD | 842 | $1,902,920 | Jose Catela | Portugal | $224,405 |
| 19-Jun | Event #79: $800 PLO / PLO8 | 178 | $125,134 | Eugene Kotlyarevskiy | Brooklyn, NY | $34,573 |
| 24-Jun | Event #80: $1,100 NLH Ultimate Stack | 1,559 | $1,496,640 | Sergio Larrain Oller | Peru | $230,413 |
| 21-Jun | Event #81: $600 NLH Bounty | 198 | $102,960 | Augusto Hagen | Argentina | $16,691 |
| 22-Jun | Event #82: $600 NLH Bounty | 183 | $95,160 | Hattori Lopez | United Kingdom | $9,229 |
| 25-Jun | Event #83: $1,100 NLH Seniors | 1,076 | $1,038,340 | Adam Richardson | Poway, CA | $168,568 |
| 25-Jun | Event #84: $600 NLH Bounty | 255 | $132,600 | Han Park | Torrance, CA | $13,154 |
| 26-Jun | Event #85: $800 NLH Monster Bounty | 434 | $303,800 | Michael Mernin | Robbinsdale, MN | $27,688 |
| 26-Jun | Event #86: $1,100 PLO8 | 266 | $260,148 | Howard Smith | United Kingdom | $50,254 |
| 27-Jun | Event #87: $1,100 MNLH Monster Stack | 473 | $458,810 | Richard Mercier | Anchorage, AK | $68,600 |
| 27-Jun | Event #88: $600 NLH Bounty | 232 | $120,640 | Andrew Wall | Huntington Beach, CA | $18,858 |
| 28-Jun | Event #89: $1,600 Monster Bounty | 595 | $853,825 | Harrison Ashdown | Las Vegas, NV | $85,053 |
| 28-Jun | Event #90: $800 Big O | 336 | $236,208 | Murilo Souza-Figueredo | Brazil | $46,766 |
| Event #91: Mega Satellite | ||||||
| 29-Jun | Event #92: $800 NLH Super Seniors | 242 | $167,464 | Alan Moon | Syracuse, NY | $28,160 |
| 2-Jul | Event #93: $1,600 DeepStack Championship | 1,220 | $1,732,400 | Matthew Moskalski | Gorman, TX | $261,118 |
| 29-Jun | Event #94: $600 NLH Bounty | 215 | $111,800 | Simo Raeikkoenen | Finland | $17,475 |
| 30-Jun | Event #95: $800 PLO Bounty | 162 | $113,886 | James French | Las Vegas, NV | $22,517 |
| 2-Jul | Event #96: $600 NLH Monster Stack | 607 | $309,570 | Fernando Romano | Argentina | $57,622 |
| 2-Jul | Event #97: $600 NLH Bounty | 256 | $133,120 | Jose Puente | Spain | $19,664 |
| 3-Jul | Event #98: $800 NLH Monster Stack | 466 | $326,200 | Klint Tievaerai | France | $65,436 |
| 3-Jul | Event #99: $500 NLH LIPS Ladies | 161 | $69,230 | Svetlana Gromenkova | New York, NY | $19,127 |
| 3-Jul | Event #100: $600 NLH Bounty | 266 | $138,320 | Dylan Cechowski | France | $20,429 |
| 4-Jul | Event #101: $800 NLH Monster Stack | 340 | $238,000 | Sharman Olshan | Amherst, NY | $28,179 |
| 5-Jul | Event #102: $1,100 PLO Championship | 474 | $457,410 | Abdullah Faiz | Hauppauge, NY | $78,074 |
| 5-Jul | Event #103: $800 NLH Monster Stack | 610 | $427,000 | Baseem Nsier | Salam, MA | $83,887 |
| 6-Jul | Event #104: $1,100 NLH Monster Bounty | 615 | $596,550 | Robert Lupo | Gainesville, FL | $77,252 |
| Event #105: Mega Satellite | ||||||
| 7-Jul | Event #106: $1,100 WPT | 547 | $530,590 | Cliff Maloney | T. Walton Beach, FL | $93,117 |
| Event #107: Mega Satellite | ||||||
| 10-Jul | Event #108: $2,400 WPT NLH | 1,037 | $2,255,475 | Lukas Zaskodny | Czech Republic | $375,125 |
| Event #109: Mega Satellite | ||||||
| 11-Jul | Event #110: $1,100 WPT NLH | 457 | $443,290 | Charles Akadiri | United Kingdom | $78,157 |
| Event #111: Mega Satellite | ||||||
| Event #112: Mega Satellite | ||||||
| 17-Jul | Event #113: $5,000 WPT Venetian | 1,178 | $5,418,800 | Robert Mizrachi | Hollywood, FL | $894,100 |
| Event #114: Mega Satellite | ||||||
| 15-Jul | Event #115: $1,100 NLH Double Stack | 104 | $101,920 | Ivan Sheptytskyi | United Arab Emirates | $19,395 |
| 19-Jul | Event #116: $800 NLH Ultimate Stack | 1,033 | $712,770 | Thor Morstoel | Norway | $121,166 |
| 18-Jul | Event #117: $600 Limit Omaha 8/B | 138 | $69,966 | Ryan Hammel | Matthews, NC | $19,942 |
| 19-Jul | Event #118: $600 NLH Monster Stack | 293 | $149,430 | Elhadj Yaye | Philadelphia, PA | $26,402 |
| 19-Jul | Event #119: $400 NLH Bounty | 120 | $41,040 | Haochen Shi | Canada | $7,492 |
| 20-Jul | Event #120: $400 NLH Monster Bounty | 243 | $81,405 | Liran Betito | Las Vegas, NV | $12,112 |
| 20-Jul | Event #121: $400 NLH Survivor | 118 | $40,356 | 11 winners | N/A | $3,400 |
| 24-Jul | Event #122: $600 NLH Epic Stack | 956 | $478,000 | Joon Kim | Las Vegas, NV | $82,790 |
| Event #123: Mega Satellite | ||||||
| 24-Jul | Event #124: $400 NLH Monster Stack | 132 | $44,220 | Vontray Gardner | Los Angeles, CA | $9,361 |
| 26-Jul | Event #125: $400 NLH Ultimate Stack | 485 | $160,050 | Steven Saklad | Las Vegas, NV | $29,695 |
| 25-Jul | Event #126: $300 NLH Bounty | 83 | $20,750 | Robert Castillo | Leavenworth, WA | $3,071 |
| 26-Jul | Event #127: $300 NLH Bounty | 39 | $10,000 | Tomas Emo | Ireland | $2,867 |
| 27-Jul | Event #128: $400 NLH Monster Stack | 98 | $32,830 | Aaron Sanchez | Las Vegas, NV | $9,847 |
| 27-Jul | Event #129: $300 NLH Survivor | 47 | $11,750 | 4 winners | N/A | $2,400 |
| 31-Jul | Event #130: $600 NLH Monster Stack | 581 | $293,405 | Qing Liu | Pasadena, CA | $51,624 |
| 28-Jul | Event #131: $300 NLH Survivor | 54 | $13,500 | 5 winners | N/A | $2,500 |
| 31-Jul | Event #132: $400 NLH Monster Stack | 101 | $33,835 | Peter Hengsakul | Las Vegas, NV | $9,000 |
| 31-Jul | Event #133: $300 NLH Bounty | 51 | $12,750 | Wai Chan | Canada | $2,026 |
