Four World Series of Poker Circuit rings since December 2022. Even the best of the best realize how unlikely that feat is.
Morgan Petro is determinedly solidifying his place in that group with a year to remember while capturing his fourth ring in that timeframe.
The WSOP Circuit just wrapped up a series at the recently rebranded Harrah's Pompano in Pompano Beach, Florida. A total of 16 rings were handed out, but the biggest prize of all went to Petro, a relatively new name on the tournament scene.
"I just switched to being a full-time tournament grinder," said Petro. "So, it's pretty unreal to have this level of success in this short period of time."
It's real, though it may seem like a dream to take home the $218,549 first-place prize, Petro's largest score by far.
WSOP-C Pompano Main Event Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Morgan Petro | $218,549 |
| 2 | John McDonald | $135,079 |
| 3 | Krasimir Yankov | $99,412 |
| 4 | Fikret Kovac | $74,060 |
| 5 | Scott Baumstein | $55,858 |
| 6 | Charles Furey | $42,658 |
| 7 | Joseph Bartholdi | $32,993 |
| 8 | Brenno Alencastro | $25,846 |
| 9 | Loni Hui | $20,512 |
| 10 | Maksim Lebedev | $16,494 |
This one is "pretty gratifying"
It's hard to put into words how to compare tournament victories, but Petro has had some practice now.
"The first [ring] is probably still most special," he said. "In the first one, I got lucky and ran well in some spots. But, I think this one, especially after this year going full time and putting in so much study, it's pretty gratifying to beat some of the better players...in a Main Event like this."
Petro came into the final table second in chips. However, chip leader Brenno Alencastro was one of the first players eliminated on the day when he ran into the set of John McDonald, leaving the door wide open for other players to step up.
"It's been my life's passion to do this. I couldn't be happier."
Morgan Petro - Four-Time WSOP Circuit Ring Winner
Petro won a crucial pot during four-handed play when he went to battle with pocket queens by calling the three-bet jam of Fikret Kovac who had ace-seven offsuit. Petro faded the ace to accumulate nearly half of the chips in play.
When play reached heads-up play, Petro held about 75% of the chips in play. He never relinquished the lead, and he closed out the victory shortly after.
Petro recognized that even though it's a solo game, he didn't accomplish this on his own.
"I thank my wife and my kids most, they've been extremely supportive," he started. "All the friends I travel with and grind tournaments with. It's been my life's passion to do this and I couldn't be happier."
The WSOP Circuit's next stop
Circuit grinders don't have to wait long to get back into the action. The tour rolls on this week as WSOP-C Choctaw begins on Monday at the Choctaw Casino and Resort-Durant in Oklahoma. Check out the schedule here.
To peruse pictures, videos, highlights, and more from Pompano, check out our feed at instant.poker.org. If you like what you see, it'll be up and running for every WSOP Main Event, as well as many other events in the near future.
Congratulations to Morgan Petro four his fourth Circuit ring and a truly impressive year. We'll keep a close eye on him to see if he can keep this hot start to his tournament career going.
