The Monster Day 3 Wrap
A poker festival at its very core is made up of people from all walks of life. Downing tools and hanging up the work shirt for a long weekend. Players dawned their armour ready to do battle with the goal of victory at the back of everyone’s mind. Calculated risks and cunning wits mixed together with unwavering fortitude in the hope that they would bring the spoils of war back to their clan. Although the money is somewhat of a factor the glory is what these players are after without a doubt.
Starting the day was The Monster €250k Main Event 1C which attracted 125 entries, players from France, Poland, Sweden and Ireland to name a few bolstered the lineup. Those not giving up the fight determined to make it to the final day and others having their first crack at it battled until finally 15 players bagged up their chips to take to the final day. The highest stacks belonged to Patrick Bagnol with 335,000, Joe Hannigan had 374,000 and the highest stack in the flight was Simon Keating who raked in 440,000.
The Holigames Mystery Bounty Final got underway at 1pm, with players eager for the chance to pick out a high value item. Causing the room to become noticeably alive with anticipation as there were some incredible bounties to be had. An honourable mention has to go to Brian Graham who banked €4,200 in bounties and placed in 8th and Jessie Bartlett who placed 6th took home €4,350 in bounties.
The pack widdled down with Hiep Anh Nguyen placing 3rd and taking home €3,690 in total winnings. The heads up was fiercely contested with Sweden’s Noah Linder striving to secure a live poker tournament trophy. His downfall began when Glenn Hennessy ran with 2 hearts and hit the flush on the river. From that point Noah was unable to calm the storm and Glen was crowned champion. Noah Linder in 2nd walked away with €3,850 in winnings and the trophy went to Glen Hennessy banking €5,400 in the process.
Next up was the event designed for those willing to post up for the big bucks. The High Roller 8-Max with a prize pool of €25,230 saw some great action with the high stakes involved. With over 72 entries it eventually ended with 3 competitors. In 3rd place was Glenn Miller, who took away €3,550, just being pipped at the post was Rory Liffey, who banked €5,130. But to the Victor goes the spoils, Conal Prendergast, was champion taking home the trophy and €8,000. It had a real entertaining vibe for the on lookers with those staying around to cheer on the players. With Conal’s admirers from the rail chanting an all too familiar tune in the world of Irish Poker…”You’ve got to Pump it Up!”
The Monster €250k Main Event 1D which started at 6pm had an influx of players competing to secure a place at the tables on the final day. With a whopping 250 entries and more flights to play The Monster is shaping up to be yet another resounding success. At the end of play the top stacks belonged to Kevin O’Donnell, with 414,000. Michael Breen, had 469,000 and Sam Dobbins, bagged up 559,000.
Later in the evening starting at 9pm was the NLH €5k which boasted 54 entries, all of which had one mission and one mission only. WIN. The prize pool reached €6,480 and players battled through the field. The final six held out for some time with control switching throughout the table. It finished with Gerard McDonnell in 3rd place, banking €1,000, in the heads up both were equally stacked and they chopped it up, Aaron Moreno took home €1,750, Aidan O’Sullivan who had slightly more chips took home the trophy as well as €1,750.
The action-packed scenes on the floor accompanied by the signature stamp the IPT throws into the mix created an excellent plateau from which to propel the festival further and beyond what we could have imagined. With 3 days left to go and more chances to qualify for the Main Event, this is one certainly not to be missed.
As always for live updates on the action as it unfolds…livepokerupdates.com