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