Daryl Aguirre topped a field of 790 entries to win the Season 5 WPTDeepStacks Houston Main Event on Monday at the Palacio Maria Event Center hosted by FreeRolls Poker Club. Aguirre earned his first WPTDeepStacks title, and $143,765 in first-place prize money, which included a $3,000 championship prize package. This is the biggest win of the Aguirre’s poker career, he just plays poker in his spare time, but his career earnings now stand at $160,007.
“This is just so surreal, it’s just crazy. Three days, from Saturday all the way to here to actually win the tournament with this big buy-in and 790 entries, it’s just crazy,” said Aguirre right after the biggest win of his poker career.
“This win definitely motivates me to play more poker. Obviously, I will have to consult with my wife and see what the future holds. We have three kids and everything, so this money will definitely help with them,” said Aguirre when he was asked about his poker plans moving forward. Aguirre did add that he has plans to take his family on a vacation with his winnings.
Aguirre advanced to Day 2 after firing his third bullet right before the close of registration on Day 1D. “My brothers told me not to, and I had $1,000 left with me, so I decided that you only live once and I decided to go for it. And the fact that it was such a big turnout … I just went for the gold I guess,” said Aguirre on his last-minute decision to take one more shot at poker glory.
Season 5 WPTDeepStacks Houston Final Table Results
1st: Daryl Aguirre – $143,765*
2nd: Jason Brice – $98,735
3rd: Robert Bresner – $63,715
4th: Mohammad Arani – $47,140
5th: Dennis Brand – $35,965
6th: Satheesh Francis – $28,520
7th: Jose Cavazos – $23,610
8th: Lam Tran – $18,780
9th: Jules Allum – $14,095
*: Includes a $3,000 WPTDS Championship Package
The start of play today saw five doubles up before Jules Allum was the first player to fall in ninth place. There was another double before Lam Tran exited in eighth place, and then the pace of eliminations continued to accelerate with Jose Cavazos (seventh), Satheesh Francis (sixth), and Dennis Brand (fifth) all busting during the second level of play.
Mohammad Arani then hit the rail in fourth place, and there was another pair of double ups before Robert Bresner saw his deep tournament run come to a close in third place. That set up a heads-up final between Daryl Aguirre (8.05 million), and local legend Jason “JJ” Brice (15.65 million). Aguirre took the chip lead during the first level of heads-up play, and it was during the next level that the champion of the tournament was decided.
On the final hand, Aguirre made it 800,000 more to go preflop, and Brice came along for the ride to see the flop dealt 
. Aguirre bet 1.5 million on the flop, and Brice called again.
The turn fell,
, Brice bet 2 million on the button, and Aguirre check-raised all in. Brice called all in so the two players tabled their cards.
Aguirre: 
Brice: 
River: 
Aguirre won the hand and the tournament with a pair of jacks. Aguirre took home the top prize of $143,765, which includes a $3,000 Championship prize package, and the WPTDeepStacks trophy. Brice was eliminated in second place, and he took home $98,735 in prize money thanks to his deep run in the tournament.
Congratulations to our new WPTDeepStacks champion – Daryl Aguirre!
That concludes our coverage from WPTDeepStacks Houston. Thanks to the FreeRolls Poker Club for hosting a great inaugural stop on the tour.
Up Next for WPTDeepStacks in North America
The next stop for Season 5 of the WPTDeepStacks schedule is WPTDS San Diego. The Main Event runs from October 11-15 at the Ocean’s Eleven Casino in Oceanside, California.