Thomas Murphy – Mystery Bounty Champion
In total there were 207 entries in the €400 Mystery Bounty event, which concluded last night, with young Irishman Thomas Murphy taking the title, for the €10,000 first prize, added to the staggering €12,500 he scooped from bounties. It was a jovial final table including Scotsman Andrew Hedley and poker author extraordinaire Dara “Doke” O’Kearney. After eliminating Tarek Qunber in 8th place Thomas held a commanding chip lead that he ultimately turned into victory after defeating Michael Dwyer heads-up.
€400 Mystery Bounty
Position
Player
Prize
Bounties
Total Prize
1
Thomas Murphy
€10,000
€12,500
€22,500
2
Michael Dwyer
€6,000
€400
€6,400
3
Valeri Vilhemov
€4,000
€2,800
€6,800
4
Andrew Hedley
€2,500
€2,500
5
Dara O’Kearney
€2,000
€600
€2,600
6
Gareth McMahon
€1,700
€500
€2,200
7
Damien Cluzel
€1,500
€1,600
€3,100
8
Tarek Qunber
€1,300
€4,240
€5,540
9
Susie Williamson
€1,100
€1,100
€2,200
10
Michal Zimani
€965
€965
11
Duane McDonnell
€900
€800
€1,700
12
Maximilian Sanders
€900
€2,500
€3,400
13
Gerry Farrell
€900
€1,100
€2,000
14
Darragh Flynn
€850
€850
15
Joseph Wilkinson
€850
€400
€1,250
16
Andrii Msliuchenko
€850
€850
17
Fergal Coyle
€850
€850
18
Sean Foley
€800
€600
€1,400
19
Sandro Taddei
€800
€1,600
€2,400
20
Patrice Brandt
€800
€1,250
€2,050
21
Declan O’Hara
€800
€800
Total Players
207
€40,365
€31,990
€72,355
At the Malta MILLIONS Festival, the mystery bounty was won by Cypriot Eftychios Georgio,who is somewhat of a specialist at the format, having won all three such events he has ever played. Thomas Murphy also has previous form in Mystery Bounty tournaments, having won the Irish Poker Tour’s version at their London event in June this year. There is apparently no truth in the rumour that the Diddy Kong figurine he used as a card protector is going to be auctioned off for charity at the end of the festival, as Thomas is unwilling to part with his lucky mascot. He’s a young player who only started playing live recently, but is well regarded as an up-and-coming player on the Irish poker scene.
There was a twist to the format of the event, as there were two top bounty prizes of €4,000 each, however one of them was reserved for the final table. Both were won by event champion Thomas Murphy. Props to Irish Poker Tour organizer Fintan Gavin for coming up with this new take on how to run mystery bounty events, we think it might catch on elsewhere too.
MILLIONS Day 1
The MILLIONS main event began yesterday with day 1a, which saw 44 players start their campaigns in the €700,000 guaranteed tournament. Andy Black, Niall Farrell and Michel Molenaar all took part, but did not manage to secure a place in day 2. The chip leader from day 1a is Nicolae Dragomir on 305,900, with Scotland’s David Docherty sitting in 4th place on 175,000. MILLIONS Malta high roller winner Bart Lybaert also secured passage into day 2, as did Party Poker Spins player Ryan O’Donnell.
MILLIONS Day 1a Survivor Chip Counts
Player
Chip Count
Nicolae Dragomir
305,900
Seamus Cahill
279,000
Pangiotis Mavritsakis
253,000
David Docherty
175,000
Ankit Ahuja
173,100
Cathal O’Malley
168,300
Bart Lybaert
150,000
Ioannis Angelou
125,000
Barry Moore
123,000
Eugenio Peralta
105,500
Ryan O’Donnell
80,900
James Mahone
80,700
Daniel Wilson
78,300
Andreas Frohli
46,400
Florian Lohnert
34,500
€250 NLH Freezeout
Last night’s €250 NLH Freezeout had 89 runners and was won by Colm Chan, who pocketed €6,490 for his efforts.
€250 NLH Freezeout
Position
Player
Prize
1
Colm Chan
€6,490
2
Shane O’Reilly
€4,000
3
John MacCormack
€2,650
4
Michael O’Brien
€1,700
5
Paul Carr
€1,200
6
Eugeniu Barbaros
€950
7
Paul Hockin
€800
8
Adam Fallon
€700
9
Peter Horkay
€600
Total Players
89
€19,090
Today’s Action
With the festival now in full swing, the schedule is getting busier. Day 1b of the Party Poker MILLIONS main event takes place, alongside the €2,500 Irish Omaha Championship. The €750 buy-in Dublin Cup also starts today, with the first of two starting days, featuring a €50,000 guarantee. Here’s the schedule of today’s play.
Thursday 2nd November Irish Poker Festival Tournament Schedule
Start Time
Buy-In
Event Name
Guarantee
11:00
€300
Irish Omaha Championship Satellite
13:00
€3,000
Irish Poker Festival MILLIONS Day 1B
€700,000
14:00
€2,500
Irish Omaha Championship 7-Max (1 Day event)
16:00
€350
MILLIONS Super Satellite
3 x Seats
18:00
€750
Dublin Poker Cup 1A
€50,000
20:30
€250
NLH Freezeout
Jonathan Raab
Irish Poker Festival Media Coordinator