January 08 2012, Chad Holloway

On Sunday, the inaugural World Poker Tour Ireland concluded as the final table of five played down to a winner. WPT final tables are usually played six handed, but thanks to a double elimination on the bubble, action resumed Sunday with five. David Shallow, who was responsible for the double elimination on Saturday, entered play as the overwhelming chip leader. He put his stack to good use and ultimately conquered the 338-player field to capture the title and $289,031 first-place prize.

Given Shallow’s chip lead, which was about 6-1 over his closest competition, the action was wanton. According to the WPT Live Reporting Team, the first elimination came when Ronan Gilligan raised on the button only to have Steve Watts move all-in for a little over 1.1 million. Gilligan made the call and it was off to the races.

Showdown
Gilligan:
Watts:

Watts was ahead with tens, but didn’t want to see another one after the flop, because it would give Gilligan a straight. The turn was of no consequence, but the river put a dagger through Watts’ heart and sent him packing in fifth place for $40,465.

Not long after, Patrik Vestlin raised from the cutoff and found a caller in the form of Gilligan in the big blind. The latter checked the flop, opening the door for Vestlin to put out a bet. From there, Gilligan check-raised to 450,000, Vestlin moved all-in for 1.75 million, and Gilligan made the call.

Showdown
Gilligan:
Vestlin:

Gilligan was ahead with top pair, but needed to sweat the overs and nut-flush draw of his opponent. Unfortunately for Vestlin, the turn and river blanked and he was dispatched in fourth place for $51,063. With that, Gilligan overtook the chip lead with 4.8 million to Shallow’s 4.2 million, while Chaz Chattha sat with 1 million.

Surprisingly, Gilligan was unable to hold on to the chip lead and was the next to go. It happened when Shallow raised from the small blind holding and Gilligan called from the big with . The flop gave Shallow top pair and Gilligan an open-ended straight draw, so it was only natural that there was going to be a big pot. Sure enough, Shallow fired out 215,000, Gilligan raised to 525,000, Shallow moved all-in, and Gilligan made the call. The turn was no help to Gilligan, and neither was the river. He was eliminated in third place for $96,339, while Shallow took a 7,280,000 to 2,860,000 chip lead into heads-up play.

Chattha made a go of it, even taking over the chip lead at one point, but he couldn’t secure the victory. Instead, Shallow battled back, reclaimed the chip lead, and won the final hand. It happened when he raised to 135,000, Chattha three-bet to 380,000, Shallow four-bet to 825,000, and Chattha moved all-in. Shallow made the call and was in a great spot.

Showdown
Shallow:
Chattha:

The board ran out and Chattha finished as runner up for $144,502; meanwhile, Shallow, who is known as “CrabMaki” online, added his name to the WPT Champion’s Cup, won a $25,500 seat to the WPT World Championship, and claimed the $289,031 first-place prize.

World Poker Tour Ireland Results

*Photo courtesy of the World Poker Tour.

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January 08 2012, Chad Holloway

The World Poker Tour Ireland continued on Saturday as the final 36 players of a 338-player field returned for Day 3 in pursuit of a “202,680 first-place prize. The Citywest Hotel in Dublin played host to the tournament as the remaining field, all of whom were in the money, were reduced to five. Leading the way with 6,155,000 in chips is Dave Shallow, who is the overwhelming chip leader.

Shallow, known as “CrabMaki” on PokerStars, played solid throughout the day but really showed his worth on the final table bubble when he scored a double elimination. According to the World Poker Tour Live Reporting Team, Shallow opened for 85,000 from early position, Steven Moreau reraised to 220,000, and Shaun Conning moved all-in. Shallow then moved all-in over the top for 2.4 million and Moreau snap-called. Shallow had both players covered.

Showdown
Shallow:
Moreau:
Conning:

It was a crazy hand at a crucial point of the tournament, and the flop seemed to indicate Moreau would win; however, the spiked on the turn to give Shallow a commanding lead. The river changed nothing and Shallow took down the huge pot, consequently sending Conning and Moreau home in seventh and sixth place respectively.

The action was fast and furious as half the field was eliminated in just four levels of play. Eliminations included Sam MacDonald (35th – $7,217), Con Collins (32nd – $7,217), Mike Hill (29th – $7,217), Tim Farrelly (25th-$8,192), and Dermot Blain (22nd – $8,192).

Blain, who finished in fifth place at this year’s World Series of Poker Europe for $367,362, was eliminated when Stuart Fox raised from early position only to have Blain move all-in. The rest of the field cleared out and Fox made the call.

Showdown
Fox:
Blain:

It was a bad spot for Blain and he was in desperate need of a ten. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t catch anything as the board ran out .

The middle stages of the tournament saw even more players fall including Franck Boyer (20th – $8,192), Jan Larsen (18th – $9,154), David Nicholson (13th – $10,116), and Daniel Smyth (11th – $11,079). With just four eliminations to go until the final table, perhaps the most notable player left in the tournament was sent packing.

It happened when Charles Chattha raised on the button only to have Ross Boatman move all-in from the small blind for approximately 300,000. The big blind got out of the way, Chattha insta-called, and the cards were turned on their backs:

Showdown

Chattha:
Boatman:

Boatman was dominated and watched as the flop came down , putting out some chop outs. The added to those chop outs, and Boatman could still hit a five to win, but it was not meant to be as the blanked on the river. Boatman was eliminated from the tournament in 10th place and earned $11,079 for his deep run.

From there, Stuart Fox (ninth – $16,384) and Robert Brull (eighth – $22,625) were eliminated, followed by the aforementioned double elimination of Conning and Moreau, putting a halt to the action as the official final table was reached – with just five players. Day 4 gets under way at 1500 GMT (0900 EST) on Sunday as the WPT Ireland will crown its first-ever champion.

World Poker Tour Ireland Final Table

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*Photo courtesy of the World Poker Tour.

Follow Chad Holloway on Twitter – @ChadAHolloway