IPC Tour Concludes
Gibraltar – 15th December 2008 – Irish poker is in the ascendancy after the Emerald Isle’s domination of the Poker Million and now buoyant organizers and players are preparing themselves for the PartyPoker.com Irish Poker Championship in Galway, which runs from January 2 to 5, 2009.
The latest news sees Meath’s Jay Renehan crowned the winner of special PartyPoker.com Irish Poker Championship Tour league leaderboard. Recent EPT Barcelona runner-up and Galway casino owner Fintan Gavin finished second, with Michael Graydon third. The Tour started on the 1st August at the Eglinton Casino in Galway and concluded with its eighth stop on Saturday 13th December at the Red Cow Hotel in Dublin. The winner of the leaderboard league received €5,000, second €2,000 and third €1,000.
The first major poker tournament of 2009, the €2,000 buy-in (9% withheld) PartyPoker.com Irish Poker Championship Party Poker, takes place from January 2 to 5, 2009 at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Galway, Ireland. Coverage of the main Galway event will be televised on RTÉ and then distributed internationally. The event is organized by Pokerevents.ie, with the coverage produced by Winmedia Ireland Ltd.
Among those already confirmed include Noel Furlong, Donnacha O’Dea, Poker Million winner Marty Smyth, Padraig Parkinson, Scott Gray, Ciaran O’Leary, Premier League II winner Andy Black, Dave Callaghan, Tony Cascarino, Liam Flood, Rory Liffey and last year’s champion Jude Ainsworth. There will also be a big international contingent heading to Galway in search of victory including ‘Ambassador of Poker’ Mike Sexton, Kenna James, Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott, Benjamin Kang, Surinder Sunar, Mad ‘Marty’ Wilson, Mickey Wernick, Alan Vinson and 2008 Irish Open champion Neil Channing. France will be represented by Claude Cohen and Veronique Gourdon, while Spain’s challenge is led by Leo Margets and PartyPoker.com Women’s World Open II star May Maceiras.
Last year’s champion was Galway’s Jude Ainsworth, with the runner-up Mick McCool from Nottingham in the UK. In addition to the main event there are a number of good value side events and satellites taking place.
Online qualifiers for the main event have been running on PartyPoker.com since December 1st and 11 players have already booked their tickets for Galway. The package is worth $5,000, including the $2,800 buy-in, $1,000 spending money and accommodation in a luxury hotel. The main $250 +$25 online satellite takes place at 14.15 ET every Sunday where for every 20 players a package will be rewarded.
PartyPoker.com Irish Poker Championship, Radisson SAS, Galway, Ireland – Main Event - 4th-6th January 2008. The 298 runners built a prize pool of €542,500.
1. Jude Ainsworth (Galway) €180,000
2. Michael McCool (Nottingham, UK) €100,000
3. Tommy Watson (Athlone) €60,000
4. Trevor Dineen (Cork) €35,000
5. Michael Moran (London) €25,000
6. Keith McFadden (Donegal) €18,000
7. Glen McCabe (Lurgan) €15,000
8. Bernard Brady (Galway) €12,000
Final table chip stacks:
1. Keith McFadden (Donegal) — 698,000
2. Jude Ainsworth (Galway) — 527,000
3. Trevor Dineen (Cork) — 385,000
4. Tommy Watson (Athlone) — 300,000
5. Bernard Brady (Galway) — 300,000
6. Michael Moran (London) — 296,000
7. Michael McCool (Enniskillen) — 249,500
8. Glen McCabe (Lurgan) — 150,000
December 16, 2008