Galway Poker Festival – Day 1 Wrap
With Day 1 in the bag, and all the familiarity, romance and cosy charm that comes with being back in Galway, The Galmont Hotel once again reminded us why it is the true home of Galway poker and a real staple for the Irish scene.
The rattle and hum built steadily throughout the day, and already the field is shaping up beautifully , a strong mix of elite pros and seasoned local regs from all across Ireland and the UK including Katie Swift and Genting & PartyPoker Tour Team member Sam “hollllld” Acheampong.
This one has all the hallmarks of a classic .
Galway Poker Cup 1A – Final Results & Qualifiers
The €200 NLHE Galway Poker Cup 1A wrapped after a 7-hour, 28-minute session, drawing 60 entries and building a €9,792 prize pool.
The event ran a Last-Longer 2xRe-Entry format, and by the end of play, five players secured qualification:
- Sorin Lasculescu (IE) – 595,000 chips
- Tom Corcoran (IE) – 490,000 chips
- Rinalds Dzenitis (IE) – 304,000 chips
- Wiktor Weiner (PL) – 302,000 chips
- Paul Maguire (IE) – 157,000 chips
Notable players who just missed out included Paul Hession (US), Killian O’Brien (IE), Bradley Beddows (GB), and Paul Carr – 2025 IPT Leaderboard Winner (IE), showing a strong mix of international and local talent in Galway.
Full chip counts and updates available at livepokerupdates.com
Omaha 4/5 Card
The Irish Poker Tour’s €250 Omaha 4/5 Cards 2x Re-Entry event drew 49 total entries and generated a €10,350 prize pool. And after just over eight hours of play, the tournament concluded with a competitive final table.
George Stoddart claimed the title, taking home €3,900 along with 300 IPT points after outlasting the field. Fintan ”The gaffer” Gavin finished runner-up for €2,500 and 250 points, while Patrick McGinley rounded out the podium in third place, earning €1,600 and 200 points. The final table also featured strong runs from Henry Stafford, Vincent “LongLad” O’Toole (Local Eglington Casino player) , and Daryl McAleenan, with the top six all cashing in this popular Omaha side event.
Galway Poker Cup 1B
The €40,000 Galway Poker Cup 1B attracted a strong field of 114 entries. With a €200 buy-in (€170+€30) the flight played down to 11 qualifiers in just over seven hours, contributing €18,605 to the overall prize pool.
Pablo Villena finished the day as chip leader, bagging an impressive 827,000 chips, followed by Mitchell Hynam with 462,000. June Jenkins, who recently won the IPT Killarney 300 outlasting a field of 369, continued her deep run with 342,000, while Seamus Rabbitte, Niall K. Campbell, and Craig Conway all secured healthy stacks moving forward. The remaining qualifiers included Shawn Morales, Mark McGill, Derek Baker (Galway Main Event Winner 2024), Robert Jordan, and Keith McInerney, all booking their seats into Day 2.
Pablo Villena (IE) – 827,000 Chips
Mitchell Hynam (GB) – 462,000 Chips
June Jenkins (CA) – 342,000 Chips
Seamus Rabbitte (IE) – 318,000 Chips
Niall K Campbell (IE) – 317,000 Chips
Craig Conway (SX) – 283,000 Chips
Shawn Morales (IE) – 202,000 Chips
Mark McGill (GB) – 198,000 Chips
Derek Baker (IE) – 191,000 Chips
Robert Jordan (IE) – 178,000 Chips
Keith McInerney (IE) – 98,000 Chips
With two of fifteen Last-Longer players surviving the flight, attention now turns to the remaining Galway Poker Cup starting days as players look to build stacks and chase a share of the guaranteed prize pool.
Main Event Target Satellite
3 Main event tickets were won by Keith Touhey, Shawn Morales, Daryl McAleenan, with Alex Gleeson, taking the remaining €600
Today we have a jam- packed timetable of poker and don’t forget we have our Ballbreakers competition which kicks off tonight at 6 in the player lounge. It’s a €100 entry and €1000 GTD to play for. The banter will be on point so come and check it out. Hosted by the great Ronan McCarthy, World Champion Pool Pro.
And if that wasn’t enough PaddyPower Poker qualifiers can collect their merch and sneaky drink between 5:30 and 8. Call it happy hour!
Livepokerupdates.com for all of its folks. You’d be mad to miss it!