The Irish Poker Tour Monster Smashes Its Ambitious Guarantee

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May 07, 2024 4 min read Last updated Aug 15, 2024

When Fintan Gavin's Irish Poker Tour announced it was putting a €200,000 guarantee on the prize pool of The Monster event, a tournament costing only €150 to enter, a few people raised their eyebrows. Such a large guarantee for an affordable buy-in seemed ambitious at best. However, those who thought The Monster would overlay were left eating their words after 1,858 entrants created a guarantee-busting €224,122 prize pool.

The top 187 finishers received a slice of the pie, and the sheer number of different nationalities that saw a return on their investment shows the Irish Poker Tour is gaining in strength and popularity.

Although the field was, naturally, with the tournament running in Dublin, predominately Irish, players from Brazil, Croatia, France, Lithuania, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, and Spain all padded their wallets with some euros. Having Paddy Power Poker supporting the tour through special promotions and online poker satellites is doing wonders for the Irish Poker Tour.

All of nine finalists called Ireland home: eight from the Republic of Ireland and one from Northern Ireland.

The Monster Final Table Results

*reflects a three-handed deal

Each of the nine finalists locked in at least €3,820 for their efforts, with the top four finishers taking home not a cent less than €11,000. Axel Noack was the first to fall. Phil Molloy joined Noack on the sidelines shortly after.

Michael Fri's seventh-place finish came with a career-best €5,200, which was a similar story to that of Cian Spillane who busted in sixth for €6,300. According to The Hendon Mob Database, this was Spillane's first recorded live cash; what a way to get off the mark.

Fifth place and €8,000 went to Darren Wilson, with Aidan Quinlan capturing the third five-figure live score of his career, €11,000 for finishing in fourth. It's been quite a year for Quinlan, who in March finished in 14th place in the Irish Poker Open Main Event for €20,560 to the Irishman, and followed that up with a fourth-place finish in the €2,500 Super High Roller at the Malta Poker Festival for an additional €12,760.

The tournament clock paused while the remaining three players discussed a potential deal. A deal was agreed after some number crunching, a deal based on ICM that left an addition €2,000 for the runner-up and another €4,000 for the eventual champion.

The deal worked in Carl Cullen's favor because he bowed out in third. Thanks to the deal, Cullen collected €26,500, narrowly missing out on a career-high which stands at €27,770.

Massimo Pacini, a regular in Ireland-based live poker events, and Northern Ireland's Peter Burnett locked horns heads-up for the title and the extra €4,000 on offer. Pacini was guaranteed his first five-figure score, but he was looking for his first outright victory. That wait continues because Pacini fell in second place, a finish good for €27,365, leaving Burnett as The Monster champion and €25,125 richer than he was a few days ago.

Other Irish Poker Tour Monster Results

It was not only The Monster that caught the eye over the weekend but several other well-attended tournaments.

The Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT) was in town, running its €150 APAT Irish Amateur Championship event. Stephen Campbell took that down for €8,300 after outlasting 447 opponents.

Steven Bartley will fondly look back on the festival having triumphed in two side events. Bartley became the €250 Mystery Bounty champion and received €6,100, and also won the €250 Omaha 4/5 card event for an additional €3,600.

Upcoming Irish Poker Tour Events

The Irish Poker Tour stops continue coming thick and fast, and not only in Ireland, because the Portugal Adventure is on the horizon as the Irish Poker Tour spreads its wings; PokerNews will have more on that particular stop shortly.

As always, thanks to the special relationship between the Irish Poker Tour and Paddy Power Poker, you can win your way into Irish Poker Tour events online. Ensure you download Paddy Power Poker via PokerNews to lock in the best available welcome bonus.

*includes 10x Killarney packages

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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• Tags Aidan Quinlan Axel Noack Carl Cullen Darren Wilson Irish Poker Tour Massimo Pacini Omaha Online Poker Phil Molloy Poker events Stephen Campbell Steven Bartley The Hendon Mob
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• Related Players Aidan QuinlanMassimo PaciniCarl CullenStephen CampbellSteven Bartley