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

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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