The Irish Winter Festival, Dublin
A short flight and a bumpy landing later and I’m soaking up the weather on the outskirts of Dublin…literally! With flood warnings a plenty, it’s a good job the weekend’s attention centered on poker rather than golf on one of the CityWest Hotel's courses.
Just enough time to throw my bag in the hotel room (and dry off) before being whisked back into Dublin for the welcome party at the Guinness storehouse to get a flavour for the infamous Irish craic and numerous pints of the black stuff! A great night was had by all and the Bluegrass band’s rendition of Motorhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’ brought the house down!
Report by Blue Square Poker representative, David Abrams.
The Irish Winter Festival main event got underway with 423 runners and amongst the field are Blue Square sponsored pro Karl Mahrenholz and four Blue Square qualifiers, Steve Jelinek who has twice cashed in GUKPT main events, Guy Johnson, who managed 2nd place in the $250,000 guaranteed in September, Kenneth Kull who is a regular on the GUKPT online league and Dewi James, captain of the Welsh APAT team.
Amongst the crowd are many recognizable faces, Irish favourites, Padraig Parkinson, Nicky Power, Andy Black and Englishman turned Dublin local, Roy ‘the boy’ Brindley. Numerous GUKPT regulars are also in attendance, Joe Grech, Julian Thew, Alli Mallu and Neil Channing, who returns with happy memories of the CityWest Hotel, having won the Irish Open here earlier in the year.
Highlight of day 1 for me was the surprise early exit of Padraig Parkinson, but his loss was my gain, as I managed to spend some time nursing another pint of the black stuff with him in the bar! Well, when in Rome….!
Report by Blue Square Poker representative, David Abrams.
Despite hourly blinds and 10k starting stacks, by the end of day 1 the field had been trimmed by almost two thirds to 142 and unfortunately Blue Square’s qualifiers are amongst those who have been hit by bad beats! However, Karl is flying the Blue Square flag, making it through with a decent stack of 35k.
Despite my desire to make a storming entrance on the European poker scene by playing in one of the side events, three days to pay day and numerous pros taking their seats make me reconsider!
With the top 40 making the money, play inevitably tightens as the field approaches the bubble. Karl hangs in long enough to cash, finishing 32nd for a well earned 2540 Euros. Play is brought to a close with 120 culled and 22 players remaining, which goes to show how much tighter play today has been.
With no Blue Square players remaining, my trip has come to an end but I am certain I will return to the impressive CityWest Hotel and recommend you try and qualify for any event based here. I might even get a round of golf in next time!
Report by Blue Square Poker representative, David Abrams
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