button in SafariShawn Murphy Dominates Day 2 to Win RGPS Houston $600 Main Event for $51,000!
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A spectacular display of poker and pure instincts was all it took for Shawn Murphy to capture the 2026 RunGood Golden Expedition Houston $600 Main Event. It was pure domination for most of the day as Murphy conquered a field of 538 entries to take home $51,000, his largest career score by a wide margin.
Champions Club Texas hosted a fantastic event over the weekend, with six starting flights. They were all needed to reach the $250,000 guaranteed prize pool set forth by tournament staff. In the end, it was a battle of two young guys battling it out, but it may have been the experience from Murphy that prevailed to earn him the title.
Grant Matatall was staked by his father into this event, after just turning 18 years of age a couple of months ago. Playing in his first live tournament Day 2 ever, Matatall showed poise and plenty of skill at such a young age. However, Murphy held the edge in experience, and that paid off by making a massive hero call to earn him the victory.
With just over $86,000 in career earnings and his largest score of $7,600, Murphy outdid any previous performance here today. The Ohio native dominated the field from the final two tables onward, all with a beer in one hand throughout much of the day.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shawn Murphy | United States | $51,000 |
| 2 | Grant Matatall | United States | $38,300 |
| 3 | Tzu Yen | United States | $23,870 |
| 4 | Henry Haufrect | United States | $16,300 |
| 5 | Flavio Palalon | United States | $11,900 |
| 6 | Jeremy Moore | United States | $9,250 |
| 7 | Srinivas Tottempudi | United States | $7,710 |
| 8 | Gabriel Andrade | United States | $6,390 |
| 9 | Drake Kemper | United States | $5,280 |
Day 2 Action
There were 49 players who returned to the felt for Day 2, or in the case of the players who advanced from Day 1f, just moved to a different table. Each of them was guaranteed a piece of the prize pool, with a min-cash being worth $1,150. It was a slippery slope for many of the short stacks who only had a few big blinds to work with.
The eliminations came fast and furious throughout the day, with the blinds ticking up every 30 minutes. Start-of-day chip leader Matthew Schumacher had a rough go of things early on and was unable to regain traction as he bowed out in 28th place.
The final 27 players were redrawn to the final three tables, with many heavyweights still in contention. Many of whom were quickly sent to the payout desk, including RGPS ambassador Alexandra Loveless, Michael Murphy, Hayden Fortini, and Kimberly Stone.
Once down to the final two tables, the remaining stacks started to get significantly shallow with an average stack of less than 20 big blinds. That led to more rapid eliminations, and the final table was reached within an hour.
Two big names made their way to the final table - Drake Kemper and Gabriel Andrade - the two most accomplished players in the field. However, they were both forced to the payout cage in the same hand early on after they ran into a buzzsaw of Murphy, who was just starting his reign over the final table.
The increasing blinds eventually caught up with Srinivas Tottempudi, Jeremy Moore, and Flavio Palalon, who saw their short stacks dissipate. That left two teenagers to battle against two seasoned pros with the majority of the prize pool up for grabs.
Henry Haufrect eventually picked his spot with a baby ace, but Tzu Yen had two suited connectors that managed to make a full house by the river. Despite Yen pulling within striking distance of the chip lead, it all came crashing down when he played a monster pot against Murphy in the blinds. Both players flopped a pair, but it was Murphy who got value on all three streets with top pair, taking a substantial lead three-handed.
Yen was eliminated shortly after, and Matatall was able to ladder up the ranks by just staying idle and watching all of the turmoil unfold. The young 18-year-old was playing one of his first live tournaments and made his first-ever Day 2. Facing a tough uphill battle, Matatall was not about to shy away. One double up. Two double-ups. Matatall leveled the match with Murphy, but that was as close as he would come.
A couple of small pots went Murphy's way to regain the lead until it all came down to the last hand. Matatall turned his open-ended straight draw into a triple-barrel bluff after he bricked out. However, Murphy was able to sniff it out with just ace-high after an incredible call to seal the victory.
That wraps up the coverage from this event, but stay tuned to PokerNews for plenty more action throughout 2026 and the years to come.
