Rory Rees Brennan Wins 2009 PartyPoker.com IPC - All Power To Poker For The Homeless
**Coverage from PartyPoker.com Premier League III started last night on Channel 4 in the UK. The next episode airs Tuesday 13th January/Wednesday 14th January at 12.45am on Channel 4 in the UK. Phil Hellmuth, Tom ‘Durrrr’ Dwan, Tony G, Vicky Coren, Nenad Medic and Juha Helppi take to the table. Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott joins Jesse May in the commentary box. Check out the great trailer at: http://www.matchroompoker.com/promo3.php
RORY REES BRENNAN IS THE 2009 PARTYPOKER.COM IPC WINNER!
HOT PROSPECT SCOOPS €160,000 IN FIRST MAJOR TOURNAMENT OF 2009
ALL POWER TO POKER FOR THE HOMELESS
7th January 2009 - 23-year-old Dubliner Rory Rees Brennan celebrated late into the night after scooping €160,000 and the title at the first major poker tournament of 2009, the €2,000 buy-in (9% withheld) PartyPoker.com Irish Poker Championship http://www.partypokeripc.com. The Pokerevents.ie organized event took place at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Galway between the 2 - 4 January and attracted 255 runners.
Brennan has been a professional poker player since he left University College Dublin in 2006 after completing a course in commerce. He has been widely tipped for great things by the Irish poker community and is best friends with Eoghan O'Dea, who has also recently exploded on to the live circuit with his recent runner-up finish in the Poker Million. Brennan has already had great success online and is a member of PartyPoker.com's new Palladium Lounge for top players. http://www.palladiumlounge.com
"It's unbelievable to take down this tournament," said Brennan. "I went on to the final table as chip leader but at times I thought i was down and out. I am proud of how I played and, in particular, how I changed gears at key times"
Brennan now plans to use his big windfall as a bankroll for more tournaments with the Aussie Millions and the Asian Poker Tour Philippines in his sights. He also said that the winnings would be useful for purchasing a new car and eventually starting a business.
The runner-up was 30-year-old Ballymore Eustace electrician Chris Dowling, who went home with €90,000. Late into the night Dowling was heard commenting how it would be good if the tournament concluded soon as he had to pick up his apprentice and go to work that morning! Dowling had previously cashed at small Irish festivals and plans to use his winnings to contribute towards building a new house.
The key hand came when Dowling pushed all in with 96 off-suit. Rees Brennan quickly called with A10 off-suit and his heart was in his mouth when a 9 came on the flop. The turn came an A to give the young Irish sensation victory and send his big supporting group into rapturous applause. The third place finisher was Ben Vinson from Essex in the UK, the son of poker professional Alan Vinson. Vinson jr dazzled with his creative play at the final table but eventually came unstuck. Fourth place went to Manchester’s David Poole, with local success for Galway as David Curtis finished fifth. Sixth place went to Poland’s Krystof Gwvsko, who qualified through a unique IPC satellite at the Olympic Casino in Warsaw. Seventh was Peter Murphy from South Armagh, with David Curtis from Galway in eighth. The televised table bubble boy in ninth was popular pro Rory Liffey.
The €750 side event produced an awesome final table including David ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott, Surinder Sunar, 2008 IPC champion Jude Ainsworth, Paul Jackson and Marc Goodwin. The Fish was dominant throughout and picked up first place and €33,000. Full results for the main event, side event, logs, videos and information can be found at http://www.partypokeripc.com
Plenty of top class Irish pros flocked to Galway including Marty Smyth, Ciaran O'Leary, Liam Flood, Donnacha O'Dea and Padraig Parkinson. There was also a big international contingent in attendance including 'Ambassador of Poker' Mike Sexton, Kenna James, Mad Marty Wilson, Julian Gardner and 2008 Irish Open champion Neil Channing. France was represented by Claude Cohen and Veronique Gourdon, Poland by television presenter and boxing champion Agnieszka Rylik, while Spain's charge was led by Leo Margets and PartyPoker.com Women's World Open II star May Maceiras.
Also in attendance were 16 online qualifiers who won packages for the main event on PartyPoker.com. The package was worth $5,000, including the $2,800 buy-in, $1,000 spending money and accommodation in a luxury hotel. A large contingent qualified for only $3!!!
Coverage of the main event will be televised on RTÉ from January 18th, with final table commentary provided by Jesse May and Neil Channing. The event was organized by Pokerevents.ie and the coverage provided by Winmedia Ltd. Coverage of the event will be distributed internationally later in the year.
The Poker for the Homeless (formerly Simon Poker Day) charity tournament at the PartyPoker.com Irish Poker Championship was won by Waterford man Nicky Power. It was the second year the southwest Irish city triumphed in the event with Pat Storan having lifted the honours in 2008. Power also follows in the footsteps of former world champion Noel Furlong who won the event in 2007. The €330 event, of which €100 went directly to homeless charities in Ireland, raised €18,200 for Galway Simon and once all pledges are collected is expected to reach €40,000, with Dublin Simon and Brother Kevin of the Capuchin Day Centre the beneficiaries.
Padraig Parkinson, one of the organizers of the event, added, “We’d like to thank everyone who played and all the companies who contributed financially to the success of the event. Without them it wouldn’t exist and we’re deeply grateful.”
Poker for the Homeless will return later in the year and full information about the event at the IPC can be found at http://www.partypokeripc.com
2009 PARTYPOKER.COM IPC MAIN EVENT FINAL TABLE PRIZE PAYOUT
FIRST - Rory Rees Brennan (Dublin) €160,000
SECOND – Chris Dowling (Ballymore Eustace) €90,000
THIRD – Ben Vinson (Essex, Eng) €55,000
FOURTH – David Poole (Manchester) €30,000
FIFTH – David Curtis (Galway) €20,000
SIXTH - Krystof Gwvsko (Warsaw, Poland) €15,000
SEVENTH - Peter Murphy (South Armagh) €12,500
EIGHTH – Derek Murray (Galway) €10,000
FINAL TABLE CHIP STACKS
SEAT ONE - Peter Murphy (South Armagh) 94,500
SEAT TWO - David Curtis (Galway) 146,500
SEAT THREE - Ben Vinson (Essex) 581,580
SEAT FOUR - David Poole (Manchester) 181,100
SEAT FIVE - Chris Dowling (Kildare) 147,000
SEAT SIX - Derek Murray (Galway) 183,500
SEAT SEVEN - Krystof Gwvsko (Warsaw, Poland) 304,000
SEAT EIGHT - Rory Brennan (Dublin) 1,058,000
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