Thomas Gallagher got his hands on the largest live poker tournament cash of his career when he topped a field of 906 entrants to win the 2017 partypoker LIVE Grand Prix Killarney Main Event for €35,878.
2017 Grand Prix Killarney Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Gallagher | €35,878* |
| 2 | Ronan Sweeney | €38,393* |
| 3 | Yue Wang | €30,878* |
| 4 | Alan Kelleher | €15,000 |
| 5 | Mike Quirke | €12,000 |
| 6 | Ciaran Gillmartin | €10,500 |
| 7 | Gerald Keenan | €9,000 |
| 8 | Colin Quarry | €7,500 |
*reflects a three-way deal
The final day’s play began with only 26 players remaining in the hunt for the title and after seven hours of play, Pat Dowling was sent to the rail by Ronan Sweeney and bust in ninth place to set the official final table.
Thanks to having secured a Golden Chip by qualifying for Day 2 online at partypoker, Sweeney, Mike Quirke and Colin Quarry each secured themselves a $10,000 package to the Caribbean Poker Party in November in addition to the cash prizes they would pick up for this event.
Quarry would be the first player to be eliminated from the final table, his 
proving to be no match for the 
of Ciaran Gillmartin.
Almost immediately after Quarry’s exit, Gerald Keenan committed his chips with 
and found a caller in the shape of Alan Kelleher who held the dominating 
. Both player paired their ace on the flop of the 
board, but Keenan couldn’t find one of the tree remaining tens and bust in seventh place.
Sixth place, and the first five-figure score of the tournament, went to Gillmartin who suffered a similar fate to the recently bust Keenan. Gillmartin made a move for all of his chips with 
, four-betting all-in over the top of a Sweeney three-bet only for Sweeney to call with 
. No help arrived on the board for Gillmartin and the player count reduced by one.
It was Quirke who fell in fifth place at the hands of Yue Wang. The action folded to Wang in the small blind and he limped in with 
. Quirke checked holding 
and the flop came down 
. Wang led for 350,000 and quickly called when Quirke moved all-in for 1,900,000. The 
turn didn’t change the3 course of the hand and neither did the 
on the river. Game over for Quirke.
Four-handed play didn’t last long because Sweeney sent Kelleher to the showers. Kelleher completed the small blind with 
and called when Sweeney made it 600,000 to go from the big blind. An all-spade 
flop saw Kelleher move all-in and Sweeny call. The 
turn gifted Sweeney a full house, which meant the flush-completing on the river only rubbed salt into Kelleher’s wounds.
The final three players paused the tournament clock and eventually agreed on a deal based on chip counts, a deal that left the trophy and an additional €5,000 for the winner of partypoker LIVE Grand Prix Killarney.
Wang would not collect any additional money because he three-bet all-in for 3,300,000 with 
after Gallagher had opened to 450,000 with . Gallagher called to put Wang at risk of busting, and Wang was drawing dead by the turn.
Sweeney started the heads-up battle with a 12,000,000 to 9,800,000 chip advantage over Gallagher, but it was Gallagher who had increased his aggression and he began to pick up pots without a showdown. The final hand of the event saw Gallagher min-raise to 800,000 with 
, Sweeney three-bet to 2,100,000 with 
, Gallagher make it 4,800,000 and then call when Sweeney five-bet all-in. It was a coinflip scenario and whoever won the hand would either win the tournament outright or have the vast majority of chips in play and a huge advantage.
The dealer fanned the 
onto the board, which bust Sweeney in second place and left a delighted Gallagher to take down the Grand Prix Killarney Main Event.
While the Main Event was playing down to a winner, the Irish poker community showed their generosity and raised €6,600 in the Poker for the Homeless charity event. The Capuchin Day Centre, Pieta House and Suicide and Self-Harm Crisis Centre will now receive some much needed funds to help them continue the amazing work they perform on a daily basis.
Next up for the Grand Prix is a return to Vienna for Grand Prix Austria, a €500,000 guaranteed spectacular that costs a mere €115 to buy into. Satellites are available in the partypoker lobby right now, see you in the Austrian capital.
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