Donegal Poker Festival – Final Day Wrap
A weekend that saw first-time IPT attendees contending for titles, BOOMs heard around the room from locals filling a hand, and all the unmistakable charm that comes with the North West. The Donegal Poker Festival was a raging success.
The final day kicked off with the Donegal PF Main Event Day 1E Hyper, giving players one final chance to qualify for the Main Event. In total there were 57 entries in this flight, bringing the total Main Event prize pool to €123,050 and smashing the guarantee. From the Hyper flight, a further 17 players made it through to the final, with the biggest stack being bagged up by Emmett Mullin, who had 299,000.
Players made their way to the poker room floor for the final, where 97 players from the original 493 entries took their seats and play got underway. Those with short stacks began to fall by the wayside and that bittersweet moment of any festival was drawing near. The bubble.
In the end it was Emmett Mullin who was the unfortunate bubble boy. The rest of the field breathed a sigh of relief, knowing they would not be leaving empty-handed.
Meanwhile, the Monsterstack got underway, with 141 entries bringing the prize pool to €23,010. This tournament always has an energetic atmosphere. More chips and more action.
Finishing in third place in the Monsterstack was Niall Henderson, who collected €2,700 for his efforts. Micheál O’Neill went one better, taking home €4,050 for second place, before Damien Gallagher finished the job to claim the Monsterstack title and the €6,310 top prize.
The final tournament of the festival was the Omaha 4/5 Card. There were 40 entries, resulting in a prize pool of €4,800. When it got down to the final three players, they agreed a three-way deal that saw each of them walk away with €1,200. Paddy Brennan finished in third, David McGeoghan took second, and Willo Connolly was crowned the Omaha champion.
Back to the Main Event, and when play got down to four players the prize pool was adjusted, meaning fourth place would leave with €11,050. That went to Jamie W Kelly, bringing his impressive run to an end.
The final three battled it out into the early hours of Monday morning, with the title and trophy still there for the taking.
Shea McKeever was the first of the trio to depart, his excellent Main Event run ending in third place for €14,000.
That left Hugh Smyth and Gavin McDaid heads-up for the title. Smyth eventually had to settle for second, but left Letterkenny with a very healthy €17,000 for his efforts.
And then there was one.
From a field of 493 entries, after a weekend of big pots, bigger BOOMs and plenty of that unmistakable North West character, Gavin McDaid was the last man standing.
€22,500, the trophy and the title of Donegal Poker Festival Main Event Champion.
Next up is the big one…
See you in Killarney.