Irish News

Paddypowerpoker.com Grand Slam

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has announced the inaugural paddypowerpoker.com Grand Slam – a tournament that will pit teams from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, France, and Sweden against each other in an innovative event designed to find the champion poker nation of Europe.



The Grand Slam 2006 will be held in the Star City Casino, Birmingham, England, and will be filmed before a live studio audience.



The six one-hour shows will be broadcast by Sky Sports in March.



Liam Flood was responsible for nominating team captains – Donnacha O'Dea (Ireland), Ivan Donaghy (Northern Ireland), Dave Colclough (Wales), Gary Jones (England,) and Chris Bjorin (Sweden).



Each of the seven countries will send a team of six players. The buy-in for the tournament is €5,000.



The prize fund of €210,000 will be divided between a team prize of €110,000 and individual prizes for the final table, comprising €50,000 (first), €30,000 (second), and €20,000 (third).



Each player will earn points according to his elimination position, with the title going to the team that accumulates the most points.



The two-day tournament will be filmed by Winmedia, which has extensive experience in producing poker tournaments for TV, including the Paddy Power Poker Tournament, the World Heads-Up Championship, the World Pot-Limit

Championship, and the Irish Open.



"There will be a halftime period in which cameras will follow teams to their debriefing areas," explained Winmedia's Ian Langstaff. "There, the viewers will get insights into the players' thoughts and hear strategic advice from captains and coaches. On-screen graphics will give viewers up-to-the-minute information on the changing fortunes of the teams."



200 Players Expected for €250 Monthly Freezeout

Green Joker Poker is staging a €250 freezeout tournament at the Boyne Valley Hotel in Drogheda, County Louth, on Sunday, Feb. 12.



It will be fed by popular €25 rebuy tournaments, held every Thursday in Drogheda and every Monday in Monaghan. The 200-player field is expected to sell out, ensuring a guaranteed prize fund of €30,000.



€250 freezeout tournaments will then be staged on the first Sunday of every month. The winners of the first six events will play for a ticket to the main event of the World Series of Poker, and a package that includes flights and accommodations.



The Irish Accolade Awards
Who was last year's best Irish player? World Series fifth-placed finisher Andrew "The Monk" Black obviously heads the list.



Black, who collected $1.7 million for his World Series efforts also had two additional World Series of Poker cashes, three paydays at Irish festival events, a third in an Atlantic City World Poker Tour supporting event, and a PokerStars Sunday night tournament win, giving him earnings in excess of $2 million.



Alan Betson is a strong contender, with his second-place finishes in the Irish Open and the supporting event at the Master Classics of Poker.



Frank Callaghan's main event win in the 162-runner Paris Open for €48,200 is noteworthy. Callaghan also had a $25,000 third place in Australia, and a £10,410 payday for ninth place in the London European Poker Tour event.



Alan Smurfit was another main-event winner. Smurfit beat 123 runners in the Celeb Poker Classic, in which the Miami resident doubled up with victory in the £1,000 pot-limit Omaha event. In all, he cleared €115,000 during 2005.



Joe Rafferty's resume may not feature such high-profile results, but it shows he cleared more than €100,000, with a win in a €500 no-limit hold'em tournament during the Irish Open, and a fourth-place effort in the Irish EPT main event.



In dodging the World Series, Liam Flood took Scotland by storm in June, landing two tournaments and netting just under £21,000 in a few days. However, a better payday came at the made-for-television PartyPoker World Open, in which he pocketed $150,000.



Newcomer Ollie Boyce goes into 2006 as one of Ireland's title holders. He claimed the World Speed Poker Open in front of the Poker Channel cameras in October. Another Irish novice player, Michael McFadden, took third spot.



Other noteworthy players include Rory Liffey for his fourth place in the Paddy Power Irish Open; Kevin Killeen, who came second in Cork's Irish Classics, winning €18,980; Donnacha O'Dea for finishing fifth in the Ladbrokes Poker Million, and Padraig Parkinson, who had two $20,000-plus paydays in World Poker Tour events.



Irish Eventer

Stephen McLean, a third-generation Irish poker player, has become a PokerEvents.com sponsored professional.

McLean's father, Alan, and grandfather, Leslie, are familiar faces in Dublin's cardrooms. Stephen first made waves on the circuit when he finished fifth in the Aussie Millions during a backpacking trip.



Prior to that, he had cashed in with a €20,000 win in April 2003 during the Irish Open Festival.