Hey, Jude! PartyPoker.com Irish Poker Championship Stays Local

They said it couldn't be done - holding Europe's first major tournament of 2008 in one of its most remote locations, Galway in the west of Ireland. Not only was it done, but players travelled from the US ((Las Vegas and Seattle), Denmark, Poland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the UK. And it was clear from the evening before the tournament started that not only was it going to be a massive success, it was going to be a massive party.

The PartyPoker.com Irish Poker Championship had been revived, away from its Dublin origins, and now in its fourth year had generated a prize pool of €543,500 with 298 players competing from every county in Ireland, as well as the four corners of the world.

In the end, the final table was, perhaps fittingly, an all-Irish affair (Englishmen Mickey Moran and Michael McCool are Irish, aren't they?), and it was a local boy - 28-year-old Ph.D. student Jude Ainsworth, who had not planned to play the tournament until friends and family twisted his arm - who triumphed over the vastly more experienced Michael McCool.

"I was out for a few pints with my friends and my friends talked me into playing; I don't play much live," Ainsworth explained breathlessly after his victory. "I'm very grateful for that. I've never had a win like this before.

"I came up against McCool on day two, and if there's one man I didn't want to see at the final table, it was him. He's a great player."

McCool, who won the €750 side event at last year's Irish Poker Championship, was philosophical in defeat. "I came over originally to defend my side-event title from last year, but this is one better."

Both players complimented the play of World Series of Poker bracelet winner Ciarán O'Leary, who finished an unlucky 13th in the event. "Ambassador of Poker" Mike Sexton said of the event, "When you play poker in Ireland, it is not only about playing the poker. There is a camaraderie here that you don't find at all poker tournaments."

One of the organisers, Ian Langstaff, whose company Winmedia Ireland filmed the event for broadcast on RTÉ television in February and around Europe later in the year, predicted bigger and better things for the event. "Some of the TV footage we've got is among the best I've ever seen, and I've filmed many tournaments. The revival of the tournament can be attributed to the hard work of Margaret O'Connor, Fintan Gavin, and Padraig Parkinson as well as the confidence shown by Ryle Nugent of RTÉ sport and the PartyPoker team.

The final-table payouts were:
1. Jude Ainsworth (Galway) - €180,000
2. Michael McCool (Nottingham, UK) - €100,000
3. Tommy Watson (Athlone) - €60,000
4. Trevor Dineen (Cork) - €35,000
5. Michael Moran (London) - €25,000
6. Keith McFadden (Donegal) - €18,000
7. Glen McCabe (Lurgan) - €15,000
8. Bernard Brady (Galway) - €12,000