blonde poker

What a weekend it's been in Dublin. Not only did Poker Events stage the biggest poker tournament Europe has ever seen (to the best of my knowledge) but they have also set a new standard for tournament co-ordinators all across the continent. The buy-in was €1,000 + €100 and the structure, the food, the staff -everything about this event was world class.

Although tournament organiser Fintan Gavin did try to attract a massive field of 500 players (if there's one thing you can say about the man, he has ambition) he had to settle for a middle of the road 391. At €1,000 a head that made it a staggering€391,000 and Boyle Sports added to the prize pool to make it an even €400k. The stage was set for Poker Events to make history.

The action came thick and fast. This was a really slow structure with a starting stack of 10,000 chips and one hour blind levels but it was also an Irish tournament. At least a dozen players were knocked out within the first half an hour and the pace never slowed. The friendly nature that the Irish are renowned for wasn't let down by a single player even though this was the definition of a contest at its most furious.

There were many memorable moments which will never be forgotten. All four members of The Hendon Mob played a fantastic tournament. Barny Boatman finished fourth which is standard practice for him as he always seems to do very well in big Irish tournaments. Vinnie O'Toole will be remembered as the player who deserved to go to the final table with a lot of chips and George Mc Keever showed some of the young guns how its done, old school.

But the limelight has to be on Kieran Walsh. He played out of his skin and thoroughly deserves the title of Irish Poker Champion 2006. Damian Kavanagh also put in an expert performance as did Dave Masters who finished third.

What's next for Poker Events, I hear you ask? Plans are already in place for an even bigger tournament next June. The prize pool might just be a whopping €1,000,000. Watch this space to find out more.

1st to 18th place finishers were as follows;

Many thanks to the Hendon Mob for the use of their database.

Stephen Mc Lean represents Irish Poker Events. You can contact him by email at stephen@pokerevents.ie