Daniel McNairney joined an ever growing list of poker players who have turned $109 into £35,000 by winning a Grand Prix Poker Tour Main Event.
McNairney was one of almost 4,000 players to enter the £250,000 guaranteed Grand Prix Poker Tour (GPPT) Old Trafford Main Event held at “The Theatre of Dreams”, home to Premier League giants Manchester United. Three hundred and sixty-one players progressed to Day 2, each of them in the money and guaranteed £210 for their efforts.
Ali Zihni (287th for £210), Martyn Frey (268th for £210), Richard King (256th for £280), Andrew Hills (241st for £280), Waheed Ashraf (207th for £280), Stamford Bridge winner Sunil Mistri (171st for £280), Adam Bone (151st for £350), Stuart Kinghorn (82nd for £490), Timothy Chung (67th for £560), football legend Norman Whiteside (57th for £630), Harry Zammit (33rd for £840), and Paul “ActionJack” Jackson (18th for £1,400) all fell in the money places.
The minimum payout at the nine-handed final table was a cool £2,940, but with £35,000 awaiting the champion nobody wanted to collect that four-figure score.
Grand Prix Poker Tour Old Trafford Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wes Hutchinson | 6,050,000 |
| 2 | Lukasz Podyma | 1,800,000 |
| 3 | Paul Clarke | 2,525,000 |
| 4 | Brian O’Conner | 11,650,000 |
| 5 | Roy Hamilton | 2,725,000 |
| 6 | Michael Michael | 3,975,000 |
| 7 | Joseph Donelon | 5,400,000 |
| 8 | Daniel McNairney | 15,075,000 |
| 9 | Philip Toon | 15,300,000 |
Lukasz Podyma was the first player to fall at the final table. A short stacked Podyma was all-in preflop, leaving Wes Hutchinson and Brian O’Conner to battle it out for the pot. Both players checked the 
flop before Hutchinson led for 1,200,000 on the 
turn. O’Conner folded, Podyma showed 
and was drawing dead to the 
of Hutchinson. The inconsequential 
completed the board and confirmed Podyma’s exit.
Eighth-place went to Paul Clarke who moved all-in from the cutoff with 
only to see Brian O’Conner re-shove from the button with what turned out to be 
. Michael Michael tanked in the big blind before folding 
face up. The board ran 
to send Clarke to the rail.
Next to fall was Roy Hamilton who came out last in a three-way all-in confrontation. Hamilton held 
, Hutchinson , and O’Conner the less-than-stellar 
. Hutchinson’s queens remained the best hand on the 
flop, but fell behind on the turn. The river was another ace, the , busting Hamilton, crippling the stack of Hutchinson and pushing O’Conner to around 9,000,000 chips.
Two more players fell in back-to-back hands to leave only four players in contention for the title. Hutchinson pinned his hopes on 
and may count himself unfortunate to run into the of O’Conner, which improved to a Broadway straight by the river.
Immediately after Hutchinson’s exit, Joseph Donelon was all-in for half of an ante with [Qx][3x] and lost to McNairney, who was wearing a full ski mask, who held the lowly [Tx][4x].
Fourth-place and £10,970 went to Michael, with Philip Toon falling in third place at the hands of McNairney. In that hand, the chips went in preflop, Toon holding and McNairney 
. Toon took the lead on the 
flop, stayed there on the 
turn, but McNairney found the 
on the river to send Toon to the sidelines.
Heads-up was over almost as quickly as it started. On an 
flop, McNairney checked, O’Conner bet 2,500,000, McNairney check-raised all-in and O’Conner called.
McNairney showed 
and was ahead of O’Conner’s 
. The 
failed to alter the course of the hand and when the completed the board, O’Conner bust in second place and McNairney was crowned the GPPT Old Trafford champion.
Grand Prix Poker Tour Old Trafford Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel McNairney | £35,000 |
| 2 | Brian O’Conner | £21,000 |
| 3 | Philip Toon | £14,630 |
| 4 | Michael Michael | £10,970 |
| 5 | Joseph Donelon | £8,440 |
| 6 | Wesley Hutchinson | £6,320 |
| 7 | Roy Hamilton | £4,790 |
| 8 | Paul Clarke | £3,740 |
| 9 | Lukasz Podyma | £2,940 |
GPPT Heads to the North-East
Next up for the Grand Prix Poker Tour is a trip to the home of Newcastle United, St James’ Park. The live element of this $250,000 guaranteed event takes place between February 20-21, with online legs and satellites appearing in the partypoker shortly, so keep your eyes peeled!
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