In a poetic twist reminiscent of the lyrics from the late Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” the poker community witnessed a remarkable milestone at the 2024 Irish Open as PokerStars ambassador Parker Talbot claimed his inaugural live poker tournament victory. Just as the song’s melancholic protagonist endured “seven hours and fifteen days” of heartache, Talbot’s journey to triumph spanned a remarkable 4,363 days since his first-ever cash on the live felt.
Parker Talbot’s Recent Near Misses
Talbot removed the monkey from his back in the Luxon Pay €5,000 High Roller 8-Max, besting the 111-entry field that featured a stacked final table that included the likes of 2023 WSOP Online Main Event champion Bert Stevens and 2023 EPT Prague Main Event winner Padraig O’Neill.
To seal the victory, Talbot turned boat on runner-up Fergal O’Cathain to leave the latter drawing dead after the chips went in on the A♣4♣7♠ flop. Talbot, holding ace-four, was up against 7♣5♠. The A♥ turn drew a number of cheers from his rail, with Talbot and O’Cathain sharing a fist bump and handshake as the river card was dealt out.
The top 15 players made money, with Leo Worthington-Leese being the last player leaving empty-handed after O’Neill flipped him out on the bubble.
With the live win under his belt, the question on everyone’s lips is, what will happen to the TonkaTracker? For those unfamiliar, the TonkaTracker is the X/Twitter account run by Benjamin Spragg that playfully kept a record of Talbot’s inability to close out tournaments, tallying each day as it passed. Now, with the meter set back to zero, will it continue for win number two, or has the ribbon been tied for good?
Luxon Pay €5,000 High Roller 8-Max Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parker Talbot | Canada | €134,279 |
| 2 | Fergal O’Cathain | Ireland | €86,635 |
| 3 | Padraig O’Neill | Ireland | €61,885 |
| 4 | Roope Tarmi | Finland | €47,605 |
| 5 | Ian Drake | Isle of Man | €36,615 |
| 6 | Bert Stevens | Belgium | €28,165 |
| 7 | Jamie Dwan | United Kingdom | €22,530 |
| 8 | Narcis Olaru | Spain | €18,025 |
| 9 | Jani Tuovinen | Finland | €15,020 |
Irish Open Main Event Underway
The first starting flight of the €1,150 Irish Open Main Event is also in the books. Day 1a saw a field of 379 entries whittled down to 72 players.
Among the players who had chips remaining at the end of play was PokerStars Ambassador Fintan Hand, who experienced a late-night surge to end up with an above-average stack of 252,000 chips, good for 63 big blinds at the start of Day 2. However, Hand is still some ways away from chip leader Pascal Baumgartner, who managed to bag 329,500 at the end of the night.
Baumgartner finished third in the 2018 Irish Open Main Event for €100,000, his largest-ever live cash, and has made good strides for another deep run in Dublin. Following Baumgartner closely is Niclas Thumm with 322,500 chips, while Ville Jantunen rounds out the top three with a stack of 305,500. Simon Wilson was the best-performing Irishman on Day 1a, securing fourth place with 303,500 chips in his bag.
The guaranteed prize pool of €1,000,000 is already well on its way to being shattered, and Day 1b is expected to make significant progress toward that magic seven-figure number. Be sure to follow all the live updates, which you can find in the PokerNews Live Reporting Hub.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pascal Baumgartner | Switzerland | 329,500 | 82 |
| 2 | Niclas Thumm | Germany | 322,500 | 81 |
| 3 | Ville Jantunen | Finland | 305,500 | 76 |
| 4 | Simon Wilson | Ireland | 303,500 | 76 |
| 5 | Max Deveson | United Kingdom | 302,000 | 76 |
| 6 | Patrick Larkin | Ireland | 301,500 | 75 |
| 7 | Sebestyen Csoti | Hungary | 283,000 | 71 |
| 8 | Jorge Ramella | Uruguay | 259,000 | 65 |
| 9 | April Wiggins | United States | 257,500 | 64 |
| 10 | Nadja Sutter | Switzerland | 256,000 | 64 |
Close Call for Stapes; More Winners at the Irish Open
Along with the High Roller, a handful of events have crowned their champions in the Irish capital.
Pavel Plotnikov took down the first event of the series, €350 NLH 6-Max, for €16,401. PokerStars commentator and ambassador Joe “Stapes” Stapleton put in a deep run in the same event, finishing in fourth place for €7,980
Stapes’ Spanish counterpart, Alejandro Romero, was also among the latest winners, defeating last year’s Main Event champion David Docherty in heads-up in the €350 NLH Championship Event.
Edmond Fogarty, Mario Niciforo, and Michal Havavka have all picked up their own trophies as well coming out on top in the €550 PLO Mystery Bounty, €250 The Hendon Mob Championship and €350 America’s Cup respectively.
| Event | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship Event – €350 NLH 6-Max | 385 | €116,366 | Pavel Plotnikov | €16,401 |
| €550 PLO Mystery Bounty | 188 | €44,650 | Edmond Fogarty | €18,960 |
| Championship Event – €350 NLH | 64 | €19,344 | Alejandro Romero | €5,925 |
| €250 The Hendon Mob Championship | 599 | €125,562 | Mario Niciforo | €18,279 |
| €5,000 High Roller 8-Max | 111 | €514,069 | Parker Talbot | €134,279 |
| €350 America’s Cup | 495 | €149,614 | Michal Havavka | €27,042 |
Editor & Live Reporter
Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum’s proudest poker achievement is winning the only tournament he has ever played in Las Vegas, the prestigious $60 Flamingo evening event.