Rob Sherwood: Surviving The Irish Open

A couple of storylines stood out at least year’s Irish Open. Firstly, it was England versus Ireland in a dramatic heads up duel for the title, which was the perfect ending to a thoroughly successful and enjoyable event. And even though the trophy went across the sea to England, the celebrations played out as if it was an Irish victory.
The second story to stand out belonged to another Englishman — Rob Sherwood managed to not only win the €100,000 Sole Survivor package for being the last PaddyPowerPoker.com qualifier standing, but also took down fourth place for €163,300. So as a whole new field of players prepare to make their way to the Emerald Isle for the next installment of the infamous event, Card Player caught up with Rob Sherwood to find out what happened in the interim.
After outlasting more than 130 other PaddyPowerPoker qualifiers at the Irish Open main event, it must have been nice for Sherwood to know he had already won a €100,000 package made of cash and tournament buy-ins before even taking his seat at the final table. “The Sole Survivor was a massive bonus,” says Sherwood. “I actually won it the day before the final table so that meant that on the final table I didn’t really have to think about moving up in prize money, I was just wanting to try and win. Things didn’t work out but it was still, overall, a massively successful tournament for me.” Coming fourth also gave Sherwood great pride in his achievements. “I think the year before, the guy who won the Sole Survivor finished 18th or something like that. So it was good to not just win the Sole Survivor but also to finish in the top four in the tournament as well.”
What about the package itself? Does this “tournament within a tournament” concept have an affect on the way you would normally play? According to Sherwood, it didn’t. However, it could be argued that that might depend on what kind of player you are and what sort of bankroll you would be used to having. Sherwood says, “I decided that basically to win the Sole Survivor you’re going to have to get down to the last two tables of the tournament anyway, so I decided to not even consider the Sole Survivor element in my play until we were down to the last three tables in the tournament or something like that.”
What does one do straight after winning almost €300,000 then? Well the day after Sherwood took the title he was supposed to be going to Hong Kong with his girlfriend on holiday, and that’s exactly what he did. “It was a bit bizarre actually,” says Sherwood. “I didn’t get much sleep after the final table, I had an early morning flight to Manchester, and the very next morning I was flying to Hong Kong. So we arrived into Hong Kong really, really tired, and it almost felt like the Irish Open had not even happened because it was just all such a rush and now I was in this really busy Asian city, so I never really had the chance to reflect on it straight after.”
Maybe a less experienced professional might have gone a bit wild or started planning what events he/she was going to play immediately after the event but Sherwood took the sponsored buy-ins and extra cash all in his stride, using them as comforting cushions to prop his bankroll up on. “It didn’t really change my plans going forward because I like to play a decent amount of big live tournaments anyway,” he said. “In any 12-month period I would normally play a lot more buy-ins than €25,000. But obviously it gave me a nice boost to the bankroll. I could easily afford to carry on playing live tournaments. I also play a lot of online poker and I’ve done very well online in the past. It’s a lot of money, which is great, but it hasn’t really changed my circumstances or anything.”
One way Sherwood does say the package came in handy was in being able to enter bigger buy-in tournaments such as European Poker Tour events (EPT’s). “It gave me the freedom to play the EPT’s but I like to play the UK Poker Tour main events for example anyway, even before last year. So that’s just continued the same really. I played a couple of EPT’s that in the past I may not have wanted to buy in for that much money — €5,000 for one tournament,” says Sherwood. “I played EPT Tallinn in August and cashed in that, and also played EPT London as part of the Sole Survivor package.” His best event during the year as Sole Survivor also happens to be EPT Tallinn. He says, “I haven’t really had much success in live tournaments since the Sole Survivor but EPT Tallinn was probably the best because it’s a big tournament and it’s my first cash in an EPT, and also I hadn’t been to that part of Europe before, it’s a very nice place.”
Representing Paddy Power for the year was an easy task — choose your events and wear the patch. But did people know Sherwood was a Sole Survivor and if so, what was the reaction? “I’ve had a few comments,” says Sherwood. “People saying it must feel good to win the biggest ever last-longer bet in poker because that’s really what it is I suppose. Like it’s a €100,000 freeroll last longer, it’s quite unique in poker. Everyone would like to win it I think.”
Unless Sherwood does it again this year, we will have a new player armed with a package worth €100,000. It could be anyone, but the players most affected by such a win would be those who are slowly and patiently making their way up the poker ladder and who would not usually buy directly in to major live tournaments. “It could be someone who has qualified for $10 online and has never even played in a big, live tournament before — that would be a really nice story if someone like that could win the Sole Survivor,” says Sherwood.
Sherwood’s own goals for the future are aimed sky high. “I’ve been happy with the way I’ve been playing the last two years and hopefully that can continue to be good enough to win the money in the future,” he says. “I’d love to win a major tournament, something like a World Series of Poker bracelet, even a UK Poker Tour main event, or something like that.” It’s clear however that the Irish Open is one event that gets the travel-loving professional’s heart racing. “I’m really looking forward to it again this year. There is always a massive buzz at it with 700-odd players there. And yeah, I’m going to try and repeat last year’s final table!”
The Englishman will be putting himself forward for the line-up once more as he intends on qualifying for the main event through PaddyPowerPoker.com again. But whether it’s Sherwood who wins it next or not, here is some advice from the current Survivor to the next. “Just try and enjoy the year and make the most of it! Let Paddy Power know what tournaments you will want to play and they will buy you in … it’s nice!”
And nice is not the only word Sherwood would use to describe his year as the Sole Survivor. In fact, he sums up his time by saying, “It was a tremendous year! Exceeded expectations!” ♠
How To Qualify For The PaddyPowerPoker.com Irish Open
This year the Irish Open will take place from April 22-25 at Dublin’s Burlington Hotel. The €3,200 + €300 buy-in main event will see a big change to the structure this year in the form of an increased starting stack, doubled from 10,000 to 20,000.
There are many ways to qualify for this year’s Irish Open but time is of the essence. Online players can qualify for a fortnightly grand final in daily Cheap Seats re-buy tournaments for only €2 and €4 at 8.15 p.m. and 9 p.m. respectively at PaddyPowerPoker.com. The winner of the fortnightly grand final gets an Irish Open seat. Players cannot buy-in directly to the fortnightly grand final and must qualify through The Cheap Seats promotion. The last grand final will take place on Wednesday, April 6.
Another way of qualifying for one of Europe’s most prestigious poker events is via the site’s Monday night €20 + €2 rebuy satellites which will run right up until April 18 (see news). Finally the site is offering discounts from 18 percent to 59 percent when players buy their Irish Open ticket using VIP points. All players who qualify using any of these routes will be eligible for Sole Survivor status. ♠

The Irish Open – A Short History
The Irish Open was first organised in 1981 by Irish bookmaker, Terry Rogers, after a trip to Vegas ensured he made good friends with the legendary likes of Benny Binion, Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, and indeed Texas hold’em itself.
Rogers’ Irish Open was fundamental to no-limit Texas hold’em’s popularity in Ireland and Europe.
The Irish Open is now the longest running no-limit Texas hold’em poker tournament in Europe and is the second longest in the world after the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
Colette Doherty won the very first Irish Open in 1980 and did so again 11 years later, in 1991. WSOP Champion Noel Furlong captured the title three times between 1987 and 1992, while Jimmy Langan and Mickey Finn both won the title twice.
Here is the full list of Irish Open Champions:
2010 James Mitchell
2009 Christer Johansson
2008 Neil Channing
2007 Marty Smyth
2006 Vincent Melinn
2005 John Falconer
2004 Ivan Donaghy
2003 Joe Beevers
2002 Nick Bernie
2001 Jenny Hegarty
2000 Alan Betson
1999 Liam Barker
1996 Liam Flood
1994 Mickey Finn
1993 Christie Smith
1992 Noel Furlong
1991 Colette Doherty
1990 Liam Flood
1989 Noel Furlong
1988 Jimmy Langan
1987 Noel Furlong
1986 Bryan McCarthy
1985 Irene Tier
1984 Tony Byrne
1983 Jimmy Langan
1982 Frank Conway
1981 Sean Kelly
1980 Colette Doherty
The current title-holder is young British pro James Mitchell. Just 20-years-old at the time, Mitchell topped a 708-strong field including well-known players such as Dan Harrington, Sandra Naujoks, Kara Scott, Marty Smyth, and Neil Channing. He went home with the grand prize of €600,000 after beating Irishman Paul Carr heads up. Carr made the shorter trip home with €312,600 for second place. ♠