David Docherty secured his spot in the €1,150 Irish Poker Open Main Event via a $109 satellite on PokerStars, and his investment certainly paid off when he won the title on Tuesday morning, walking away with €365,000. The poker world has witnessed a growing demand for live tournaments since the pandemic shutdowns, and this year’s event was no exception. With 2,491 entrants, it was both the largest Irish Poker Main Event and the largest live tournament in Ireland’s history, easily smashing the €1 million guarantee with a prize pool of €2,428,725.
Docherty’s victory was the biggest cash of his career, propelling his lifetime earnings to over $1.1 million. Heading into the final day, he was in second place with 12.7 million chips, one of four players over 10 million, while Declan Rice led the pack with 17.25 million. Jamie Wynne was the first to go, followed by Henri Ojala, who couldn’t hit any of his outs, and Carl Shaw, who was defeated by Tom Waters in an all-in pre-flop situation.
The action continued after the dinner break, with Eugeniu Barbaros eliminated by Panagiotis Mavritsakis and Declan Rice taking out Andy Black in fifth place. Waters was next to go, dominated by Rice, and it was down to the final three. Docherty claimed his first elimination at a crucial moment, taking out Mavritsakis and entering heads-up play against Rice with a 2.5x chip lead. Although Rice initially doubled up, Docherty regained the lead and sealed the win with a better kicker, ending the tournament with two pair, 8’s and 6’s, and taking home the grand prize.