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 06 2012, Brett Collson

Day 2 of the inaugural World Poker Tour stop in Ireland began with 195 of the original 338 players taking their seats at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. The day began with several notables still in contention for the “202,680 top prize, but only a handful managed to reach the money when play came to a close.

Thirty-six players secured a minimum payday of $7,217 after fireworks erupted on the money bubble late Friday night. According to the World Poker Tour Live Updates team, Oliver Nilsson and Franck Boyer saw a flop of which ultimately generated one of the largest pots of the tournament. Both players ended up all-in, Boyer with for middle set and Nilsson with for a flopped straight. The on the turn changed nothing, but another deuce on the river gave Boyer a full house. The massive pot shot Boyer up the leaderboard and sent Nilsson to the rail as the bubble boy.

Others who fell short of the money Friday were Day 1 chip leader Dave Callaghan, Andy Black, Jon Kalmar, Sam El Sayed, Sam Holden, Tatjana Pasalic, McLean Karr, Toby Lewis, Kara Scott, Leo Margets and former WPT champs James Dempsey and Jake Cody.

Dempsey entered the day as the shortest stack and his bid for a second WPT title of Season X ended when his couldn’t improve against Jim O’Neill’s pocket queens.

Dempsey’s elimination came shortly after his friend, Triple Crown winner Jake Cody, was sent packing. Cody three-bet shoved preflop for about 20 big blinds with pocket sixes but Andrew Wayman’s finished best, sending Cody out the door empty-handed. Cody’s lone WPT victory came in London in September 2010.

Englishman Dave Shallow leads the way going into Day 3 with 951,000 chips. He may be an unknown on the live tournament circuit, but Shallow has crushed online poker for years under the moniker “CrabMaki” on PokerStars. He won the $10,000 High Roller event at the 2010 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) for more than $600,000, and is also a feared cash game player.

Among the big stacks chasing Shallow when Day 3 begins will be Boyer (873,000), Steve Watts (628,000), and William Dorey (576,000). Ross Boatman, one of the few notables remaining, is 11th in chips with 298,000, and Dublin pro Dermot Blain is slightly below average with 215,000.

Day 3 gets under way at 1400 GMT (0900 EST) on Saturday. Here’s a look at the top ten chip counts when play resumes:

World Poker Tour Ireland Top 10 Chip Counts

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*Photo courtesy of the World Poker Tour.

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