Ryan Mandara Wins 2018 Irish Poker Open Main Event

The United Kingdom’s Ryan Mandara defeated a huge field of 1,340 total entries to win the 2018Irish Poker Open €1,150 no-limit hold’em main event, earning the title and the €210,000 ($257,321 USD) first-place prize. While Mandara ultimately emerged victorious, runner-up Ferdia O’Connell or Ireland also made waves with his incredible run. He struck a deal heads-up with Mandara that saw him lock up a €180,000 ($220,561 USD) payday after having qualified for this tournament in a €0.01 buy-in satellite online on partypoker. That is a return on investment (ROI) of 1,799,999,900 percent.

The Irish Poker Open is the longest running no-limit hold’em tournament in Europe, having first taken place back in 1980. This year the event was hosted at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin and featured a €1 million guaranteed prize pool. That number was easily surpassed when 1,340 total entries were made, up from 1,129 entries in 2016.

The eight-handed final table began with Pascal Baumgartner as the chip leader, with Mandara and Daniel Samson as his closest competition. Mandara eliminated Samson in fourth place ($92,250 USD) when his pocket eights ran into the eventual champion’s pocket nines. O’Connell then busted Baumgartner in third place ($123,000 USD).

Mandara took nearly a 4-to-3 chip advantage into heads-up play against O’Connell. Action was halted as the two cut a deal that saw Mandara lock up €197,000 while O’Connell guaranteed himself €180,000. The final two kept €13,000 and the title to play for.

Mandara was able to extend his lead to nearly a 5-to-1 advantage by the time the final cards were dealt. With a board of 97310A O’Connell shoved all-in, only to have Mandara call with the 86 for a turned straight. O’Connell’s J10 was no good, and he was eliminated in second place.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

Source : www.cardplayer.com