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Play resumes at 2pm.

Sorel Mizzi -- 2,855,000
Thomas Finneran -- 945,000
Nicky Power -- 864,000
Marty Smyth -- 845,000
Danny McHugh -- 803,000
Brian O'Keeffe -- 393,000
Roland de Wolfe -- 365,000

1st = €650,000
2nd = €325,000
3rd = €210,000
4th = €175,000
5th = €130,000
6th = €100,000
7th = €75,000

Straight away, no messing, Roland de Wolfe takes his double up shot, moving in preflop over the top of Nicky Power's preflop raise to 120k.
He's called fairly fast with the Ahrt 9d, but he shows Ac Jc...the crowd divides into shouts of, "Nine!" and "Go on Roland!"
Flop:  4s Aspades 4d
Turn:  Td  (someone shouting "King!" for some reason)
River:  5s

So Roland instantly has 700k to work with, allows himself a slight smile knowing he's going to be a nuisance to Sorel Mizzi from this point on, most likely...

Next two hands, Brian 'the fox' O'Keeffe is all in preflop.  The announcer here says, when someone moves in, "The Fox calls all in," for example.  We have had to train ourselves not to run out there ready to catch a double through or elimination, because by "calls" he means "announces."  Surely there are terms which could be used which aren't loaded with poker meaning?

Anyway, Brian gets it through two hands in a row, showing Qh Qc the second time.  Someone shouts from the audience, "If he had hair it'd be silver!" 
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Now Marty Smyth calls a raise [sic: this actually means "announces a raise" we've learned] to 150k and although McHugh on the big blind really looks about to do something about this, he doesn't.

We have another all-in!

Looked like Sorel Mizzi raised from the button only for Nicky Power to push for 253k, The Canadian making the inevitable call.

Sorel Mizzi = 9s 7h

Nicky Power = Ac 4h

"Come on the Ace!" roar the crowd.

Flop = 3c 4c Td

"Come on the Ace!" they repeat, the Power fans vastly outshouting the Mizzi fans.

Turn = Kh

Power shadows the table, excitably and confidently awaiting that River.

River = Ahrt

The demands from the crowd were met and the Power doubles up.

The Mayo Mob has grown in numbers and seized a prime watching spot right on the rail.  They're carrying the flag, literally, and such a level of support for Danny McHugh must make him feel less tired than he looked in that first photo...he just nicked O'Keeffe's big blind, if that's of any interest.

Other than that, Nicky Power and Sorel Mizzi have taken some pots preflop (the latter raising repeatedly to 111k), but you know how it is on TV tables.  Slow.  Slow is how it is.
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Blinds 30k/60k ante 4k now.

Double through for Roland!

Seconds after getting pushed off preflop by a re-raise from Danny McHugh, Roland raises again in early position to 175k.  Sorel Mizzi wakes up suddenly in the cutoff, re-raising to a half a mil... Roland quickly moves in, and for about 300k more he gets a call.
Roland shows:  Ahrt Kh
Sorel shows:  3d 3c

Flop:  Qh 8s 9d
Turn:  Ac
River:  4d  and a pot which could have seen off a dangerous medium stack to Sorel, instead gets him up to 1.5 mil. 

Last Five Hands (I am hoping that quantity will make up for total lack of flops this level):

1)  Brian O'Keeffe gets the blinds+antes with an utg raise to 200k
2)  Small blind Danny McHugh pushes in when it gets folded to him, which gets rid of the big blind
3)  Roland raises to 200k, big blind Sorel Mizzi re-raises to 600k and Roland passes
4)  Small blind Sorel tries to limp on Marty Smyths big blind - instaraise, instapass
5)  Roland makes it 175k to go, only to pass to Brian O'Keeffe's push in.  He said he had Kings - that's as close as we've been to seeing a card.

Meanwhile, in the other half of the ballroom - another large field, short clock side event (rebuy, I think) has coaxed the weary players out once more to play cards rather than go out in Dublin.  Dave Colclough was in here a minute ago, looking for the elusive quiet available in the press room... expect a late night for them - he said that last time he finalled in one-day side events in Ireland it was around the 7am mark.

Seat 1: Danny McHugh -- 1,066,000
Seat 2: Brian O'Keeffe --1,137,000
Seat 3: Sorel Mizzi -- 1,239,000
Seat 4: Marty Smyth -- 945,000
Seat 5: Nicky Power -- 782,000
Seat 6: Thomas Finneran -- 632,000
Seat 7: Roland de Wolfe -- 1,249,000

*******************BREAK******************

Liam Flood told the press that the blinds are being tinkered with slightly ("To avoid crapshoot - but there are seven still left..") - freezing the blinds and raising the antes, unconventionally. 

So for half an hour only - 30k/60k, ante 5k.  Then I imagine there will be another review. 

Thomas Finneran is OUT and becomes the 7th place finisher winning €75,000

Thomas pushed under the gun, Roland de Wolfe moved all-in instantly behind him, everyone else cleared out of the way.

Thomas = Ahrt 3h

Roland = Ac Ad

Flop = Th 6s 6h

The crowd gasp, Roland looks like he's seen a ghost.

Turn = 6d

It's over bar another six.

River = Qc

Final 6 chip counts:

Seat 1: Danny McHugh -- 1,250,000
Seat 2: Brian O'Keeffe --1,025,000
Seat 3: Sorel Mizzi -- 1,515,000
Seat 4: Marty Smyth -- 1,080,000
Seat 5: Nicky Power -- 695,000
Seat 6: Roland De Wolfe -- 1,505,000

The very first hand after the expected 6-player technical difficulties - and it folds to Nicky Power on the small blind, who instantly pushes in.  The audience wake up as Roland de Wolfe instantly calls the 690k total bet.  This is why they resolutely stayed thronging the TV table as the break extended seemingly endlessly... with the blinds now meaning even the chip leader was only on 25 bb - something was bound to happen.

Nicky shows:  2h 2s
Roland shows:  Ahrt 4d

Flop:  5s Ks 4c
Turn:  Jh
River:  7c

So the vocally-supported Nicky Power finishes in 6th place, winning €100,000

WE HAVE ACTION!!!

;as;

Sorel Mizzi raises it up from early position and Roland calls from the button.

Flop = 9d Td 2c

Sorel bets 250k, Roland moves all-in, Sorel calls.

Biggest pot of the comp!

Sorel = Ahrt Tc

Roland = Kc Jc

Turn = 9h

River = 7s

And totally making up for the slow first three hours, the rollercoaster continues on:

After sitting out one hand, Roland de Wolfe just pushes in under the gun for what must have been 600k or so.  This brought hush to the crowd, but Brian 'The Fox' O'Keeffe's call brought a huge roar from his many supporters, especially when they saw his 9s 9d up against Roland's (whom the announcer is referring to as 'Ronald''s) Ahrt 5d.

Roland stands up resignedly...
Flop:  9h 3d 5h   And the crowd goes wild...
Turn:  6h  Some of the crowd keep going wild, while others sense possible danger...
River:  2h  They all realise that it's the Fox who's just been four-flushed to the felt, and a handshake from Roland with one of those "I know that was lucky," winces later and it's all change here at the final table.

Brian O'Keeffe is OUT and becomes the 5th place finisher winning €130,000

With Marty Smyth raising it up pre-flop, the most popular player at the table, Brian 'The Fox' O'Keefe was so shortstacked that he decided to call all-in, showing Qs 9c in the process. Marty, who was inevitably going to be ahead, revealed Ad 5s, and up went the roar of the crowd, banging their feet, clapping manically and continuously demanding one of those lovely ladies to hit the board.

However, with the dealer bashing out a 2h 5h Th Flop, things looked bleak for the hairless Irishman, perhaps knowing that his fate was about to be sealed when he amusingly highlighted the split pot possibilities.

6s Turn was no help, but the crowd were still hopeful, praying for a miracle River, but when another 6 hit the felt, you felt not only O'Keeffe's heart drop, but also those of his hoard of fans that have made this such a terrifically entertaining final.

Brian waved to his fans like a golfer finishing on the 18th and basked in the glory of his 5th place finish and the appreciation the audience was showing him. Roland rose from his seat immediately to be one of the first to offer his hand.

The Fox took his exit like a true gent, although the disappointment on his face was clear for all to see.

The advertised structure:

1st.....................650,000
2nd....................325,000
3rd.....................210,000
4th.....................175,000

The length of time taken to restart implies that they're seriously discussing a deal of some sort.

No deal news (yet...we have our sources on it) but they're restarting with chip counts as follows:

Danny McHugh   1,145,000
Sorel Mizzi          2,970,000
Marty Smyth      1,615,000
Roland de Wolfe 1,340,000

Danny McHugh is OUT and becomes the 4th place finisher winning €175,000

Roland De Wolfe raised, Danny announced all-in and Roland called after a long deep think.

Roland = 5s 5c

Danny = Ac 9h

Board = Qs 7h 3h 3d Qd

Roland raises, Marty moves all-in, Roland calls 1.4 million.

Roland = 6c 6d

Marty = Aspades Ts

Board = 4c Ad Ahrt 5h 5d

Marty doubles through.

Roland plays the Full Wilson:

And he sees the 7c 5d 4h flop for free, checking the big blind after Marty Smyth makes up the small.  They both check the flop...
Turn:  Kh  Marty checks, Roland bets (the amound not announced, let's go with 150k).  Call.
River:  Qs  Marty checks, Roland bets 375k and after a brief think Marty calls only to muck at the sight of the 7d 4s two pair.

We are currently on a half hour break.

We've played Win With Wilson.  I have no idea what was going on there, but I know that someone won a bottle of wine by answering, "Yes," to the question, "Does anyone know what a koala bear is?"

Restart - Chip Counts:

Sorel Mizzi     2,530,000
Marty Smyth  2,765,000
Roland de Wolfe  1,775,000

Yes, word is that a deal is done.  We believe it.

Blinds are now a staggering 60k/120k so I really don't blame them...

With blinds at 60k and 120k, Sorel raises it up to 350k from the button only for Roland (or Ronnie as we're calling him now) to push all-in.

Sorel called and we have a huge 2.8 million pot.

Roland = Ks Qd

Sorel = 7c 7s

"Come on Ronald!" shout a few members from the crowd. Hmm, who could that have been.  ;whistle; ;snoopy;

Flop = 2h Tc Js

The crowd gasp (not for the first time today) at the prospect of a straight.

I personally commanded an Ace, but although the Turn brought a rather dyer 2d, the Poker Gods replied to my request by popping an Ad on a little boat and pushing it down the River.

As the Ace hit the felt, Roland's expression looked like he'd just been pinched on the bottom.

I suspect Jen...

And after that, it was basically a formality for Mizzi to call all-in Roland's button bet of 350k on the small blind, which was also called by Marty Smyth in the big blind.  The announcer announced, "It will be a split pot."  Running this through the Translator we've developed, that meant:  "There will be a side pot."

Flop:  Aspades Tc Ts  check-check  (Mizzi can just watch)
Turn:  7s Marty bets 400k, called by Roland  (Mizzi probably not loving that)
River:  9s  Now Marty checks and Roland bets 500k... Smyth passes and de Wolfe's Ks 5s take the lot, the chip lead, and finish off his worthy opponent Sorel Mizzi.

Sorel Mizzi, therefore, takes Third Place in this year's Irish Open..(officially €210k, but we reckon more like a chop from fourway with €100k to play for, of course)...

We are now heads up:

Roland de Wolfe -- 4,000,000
Marty Smyth -- 3,655,000

They've gone straight on with the heads up - both players aware that they've only got half an hour before the blinds climb to an even more stratospheric level.  So far Marty took down the first hand with a 175k bet on a 6d 3s 7h Ks board, but then Roland took one preflop with an all-in re-raise over Marty's 400k raise on the button, two with raises from the big blind preflop (he showed A-K and A-J on these), and one with a 200k bet on a 3d 9c Kh limp-checked flop.

Then Marty Smyth won a 700k pot on the river, after Roland check-called the Jh 4c 2s 6c turn, only to pass to a 500k bet on the final 7s... that classifies as a back and forth early part, doesn't it - although I think Roland is crawling ahead.  The crowd here is clearly excited for Irishman Marty Smyth - and he does get a bit more whooping when he wins hands, but there's a good atmosphere and enthusiasm for both of the finalists.

Very little action to report at the moment - looks like they could be around even, as although most hands have been cut short, a couple did reach a River with Marty correctly calling bets by Roland with pairs, only for the Dublin EPT winner to muck.

Well, despite the blinds being about to go up to 80k/160k, they're being a lot cagier than I would have guessed.  The last set of hands saw Marty Smyth get a bit of an advantage back over de Wolfe, winning several small pots in a row, with a couple of well-timed re-raises preflop.

As Tom at antesup remarked so astutely, we've been predicting a slowdown in the shrinking of this huge tournament for days, and it happens only heads up...

Just to show you how much the game has slowed, take a look at the last 25 hands:

Blinds = 80k/120k

(1) Ac-9c-K3 Flop, Roland bets 175k and wins
(2) Roland folds pre-flop
(3) Marty raises pre-flop and wins, Roland shows T-3o
(4) Roland folds pre-flop
(5) Marty raises pre-flop and wins
(6) 8d-2d-9s Flop, Roland bets and wins, shows 8c-9c
(7) 7d-5s-6d-Ah-8s, Marty wins with J-8, Roland had 7-2
(8) Th-8h-5d-Ts, Roland bets 100k and wins
(9) Roland raises to 500k pre-flop, Marty folds, Roland shows A-Ko
(10) Marty folds, shows 6-2, Roland has T-2
(11) Roland raises to 525k pre-flop, Marty folds and shows J-7o
(12) Js-Jc-Qc, Roland bets and wins
(13) Td-8s-Kd-Js-9s, Marty wins with 7-8s
(14) Roland raises to 550k pre-flop, Marty folds
(15) Tc-7h-9c, Roland bets and wins
(16) Marty raises pre-flop, Roland folds
(17) Marty bets 500k pre-flop, Roland folds
(18) Rolands raises to 550k pre-flop, Marty folds A-4
(19) Tc-6c-2c, Rolands bets 200k, Marty folds
(20) Marty raises pre-flop, Roland folds

And, out of the blue, this happens...

Blinds = 100,000/200,000

Roland raises to 700k, Marty goes all-in, Roland calls.

Marty = 2d 2s

Roland = 3h 3d

Board = 8h 6h 6s 2h Ad

Oh my goodness.  Roland, expectedly, pushes twice in a row.  No call.  Then Marty goes for it, taking the initiative with his Ad 8s.  Roland instacalls with his Ahrt 8h.

The crowd don't even bother getting worked up (yet).
Flop:  6d 3h Qc
Turn:  6h  (now they start going, "Oooooh")
River:  Qh  ("AAAAAh!" as Roland heart flushes his way ahead for the second time today...)

The blinds are a ridiculous 100k/200k, so even though it isn't over yet, it will be before they have to put in blinds of 20% of their stack...I hope so at least.

It's all gone bonkers here!

Roland announces all-in, Marty calls instantly.

Roland = Jc 4d

Marty = Qc Jd

Board = 7h 6s 9h Aspades 6h

Roland down to the felt and we should have a winner very shortly.

IT'S OVER!

blinds 150k/300k (!)

Roland gets one walk, as Marty shows 9s 2h or some such - Roland flips his useless big blind Kc Ks...

Then the very next hand, Roland moves in with Th 3h, called by Marty's Kh 9h.
Flop:  Ahrt 2s 6h
Turn:  8d
River:  2d  And the crowd, whipped into a frenzy by all of the all-in stuff that's suddenly kicked off, scream their approval for the Irish winner, and Roland in Second place too.

SO Roland de Wolfe, 2nd place finisher, while Marty Smyth is the Paddy Power Irish Open Champion 2007