5.10pm: Ronan Gilligan finishes runner-up for €43,400
Max Silver takes the title and €72,000
With the chip stacks so skewed at the start of heads-up play it was never really going to be a long affair. So it was when Ronan Gilligan made it 120,000 and Max Silver calmly re-raised all-in. Gilligan thought for a short while, shifting in his seat before making the call. We had a showdown:
Gilligan: [ad][5d]
Silver: [qd][qc]
Silver was in great shape and the [6c][2s][8s] flop silenced the cheers of encouragement for Gilligan from locals on the rail. The [kc] turn changed nothing, and now Gilligan was drawing to one of three aces on the river to stay alive. It was the [jc] and Silver had bagged his win.
The trophy presentation and formalities are under way - we'll have a full wrap for you shortly. -- SY
5.07pm: Max Silver wins the UKIPT Dublin
Details to come. -- RD
5pm: Seven hands in
We're seven hands into the heads up and there has been no movement in the chips thanks mainly to the fact that Gilligan has been folding most hands but when he has played he's made big raises. Can't be long for a double or a win. -- RD
5pm: Back again
Players took a quick ten-minute break and now heads-up play is under way. -- SY
4.50pm: Heads up!
Max Silver has just won a huge pot to claim a mammoth chip lead going into the heads up. Silver raised on the button to 135,000 and was called by Kitt in the small blind and Gilligan in the big. Silver made a 205,000 c-bet into the [6h][6d][kd] flop and Kitt check-raised to 475,000. Silver made the call. Kitt fired another 600,000 at the [7s] turn which Silver called after requesting a count for Kitt's remaining stack; he had 1.2m behind.
On the [ac] on the river Kitt moved all-in and Silver snap called with [as][ah] for the nut full house to claim the 5,000,000 pot. Kitt exploded out of his seat as he tossed down [6s][3s] for flopped trips. Silver has a monster 7,480,000 stack to Ronan Gilligan's 1,275,000. The Irishman is going to need to go on an absolute tear if he's going to get back into this. Kitt takes €26,400 for his third place finish. -- RD
Tom Kitt takes a €26,400 for his third place finish
4.40pm: Kitt doubles up
Huge pot for Tom Kitt as he doubles through Ronan Gilligan to 2.8 million, leaving Gilligan on 1.3 million. Kitt had made it 130,000 from the button and Gilligan called from the small blind. On the [ac][2c][kd] flop, Gilligan checked, Kitt bet 140,000 and Gilligan re-popped to 400,000.
Kitt then announced calmly that he was all-in for 700,000 more. Gilligan did not like it, he shuffled around in his seat, then stood up, sat down again and tossed in the required chips for a call. [ks][2s] for Kitt for two pair - [as][4s] for Gilligan for top pair. Kitt avoided the bullets on the [8s] turn and [7c] river to take the pot. -- SY
4.35pm: Level up
This is level 26, blinds are now 30,000-60,000 with a 5,000 ante. -- SY
4.34pm: Kitt attacks Gilligan
Kitt opted to raise to 110,000 from the small blind this time and was called by Gilligan in the big. A simple 120,000 bet on the [qc][5c][2h] flop gave a tick to Kitt who clawed in the pot. A few pots have traded back and forth in the last 20 minutes but there hasn't been any major chip swings... yet. -- RD
4.26pm: Silver takes a little from Kitt
Max Silver limped the small blind and Kitt checked behind. Silver led 40,000 into the loaded [as][ad][9c] flop and was called by Kitt who fired 75,000 at the [4h] turn when checked to. Silver then check-raised to 250,000 picking up a fold from Kitt.
Silver had won a small pot a couple of hands previous when he backed into a runner-runner heart flush on a checked down board. -- RD
4.25pm: Chips
Here are the chips right now...
Max Silver, 4.3 million
Ronan Gilligan, 2.5 million
Tom Kitt, 2 million
4.20pm: Great call from Gilligan
Ronan Gilligan had a bit of a soul-read moment here to take a pot from Tom Kitt. Kitt had called from the small blind and Gilligan raised it up to 120,000 from the big - Kitt called. On the [5h][qd][2h] flop Kitt checked-called Gilligan's 200,000; both then checked the [10c] turn. On the [js] river Kitt led out with 250,000, but after a bit of a dwell Gilligan made the call with [as][3c] for nothing more than ace high.... and it was good. -- SY
4.15pm: Cagey three-way action
Now all three players are in the big money they appear to be very aware of the jumps in the cash (see below). Max Silver has picked up one pot with a three-bet to 300,000 over Ciaran Taggart's button raise and twice Tom Kitt has limped from the small blind. Kitt has been the only player to win a significant pot in the last few hands. He limped from the small blind and Ronan Gilligan checked behind. Kitt led the [7d][5c][4h] flop for 40,000 and was raised to 155,000. Both players checked the [4c] turn before Kitt led 150,000 into the [5d] river. Gilligan made the call and was shown [6h][td] for the straight. -- RD
1. €72,000
2. €43,400
3. €26,400
4. Ciaran Taggart, Ireland, €19,500
5. Kevin Allen, UK, €15,200
6. Anton Kouliavtsev, Netherlands, €12,100
7. Ursula Marmion, Ireland, €9,200
8. Peter McGarvey, Ireland, €6,900
9. Phil Costello, Ireland, €4,800
PokerStars qualifier Ronan Gilligan is the shortest stack of the final three
3.55pm: Three-handed action
OK, it's slowed a little as the three remaining players feel each other out (which actually sounds a bit rude, I'm afraid). Here's some of the hands so far:
Max Silver made it 100,000 and Tom Kitt re-raised to 290,000 to take the pot.
Kitt opened to 90,000 and Gilligan called to see a [2D][10D][10h] flop. Both checked and on the [4c] turn Gilligan made it 150,000 to take the pot.
Silver raised to 110,000 from the small blind and Kitt called from the big. On the [5h][2h][3s] flop Silver bet 125,000 and Kitt folded.
This time Silver made it 90,000 from the button and only Gilligan called from the big blind. On the [9d][9c][4c] flop Gilligan check-called Silver's 105,000 bet to see a [6h] turn, which both players checked. But on the [9h] river it was Gilligan who led out with a 250,000 bet to take the pot.
Tom Kitt raised to 90,000, Gilligan folded his small blind but Silver called from the big. Silver bet 95,000 at the [4c][7c][9c] flop and Kitt called. Now Kitt bet 125,000 at the [10c] turn and Silver check-called. Finally, both checked the[5c] river. Silver showed [6d][8h] for a straight and Kitt [3s][9s] for a split pot with a flush on the board.
Play continues. -- SY
3.46pm: Play resumes
The final three players are back in their seats and ready to play down to the winner. Max Silver is leading with 4,750,000 with Tom Kitt in second with 2,020,000 and Ronan Gilligan just behind with 1,850,000. -- RD
3.34pm: Short chip break
We've taken a small break to colour down some of the chips.
3.31pm: Ciaran Taggart out in 4th place for €19,500
After shoving then doubling up, PokerStars qualifier Taggart is now out after losing a race to Max Silver. Taggart had made it 95,000, Silver re-raised to 280,000, Taggart announced all-in for around 1.2 million and Silver called.
Silver: [ks][qc]
Taggart: [9s][9d]
It was a classic race, and Taggart stayed ahead right to the death when the board ran [4c][ad][jc][6h][kc]. That river sent him to the rail, and cemented Silver's chip dominance. He now has around 4.6million, more than the other two players put together (Ronan Gilligan and Tom Kitt).
Players are taking a quick ten-minute break before three-handed play begins. -- SY
Ciaran Taggart getting comisseration from countryman Ronan Gilligan
3.28pm: Taggart shoves again... and gets called!
Ciaran Taggart shoved again, this time from the button, and was isolated all-in by Max Silver. Taggart showed [ks][6s] to Max Silver's pocket eights. Taggart spiked a king on the turn and is up to 1.2m. -- RD
3.25pm: Taggart shoving
After losing that huge pot to Max Silver, Ciaran Taggart has been shoving to try and double up to a usable stack. It's working right now as he's getting no callers and has risen from 430,000 up to around 550,000. Still some way to go, though. -- SY
3.17pm: Silver takes the chip lead
It started as a typical battle of the blinds with a raise from Taggart to 65,000. Silver made a fairly standard reraise to 170,000 from the big blind. Taggart took the aggression one step further with a raise to 500,000 and Silver didn't waste much time in announcing that he was all-in for 1.3m more. Taggart tank-called.
Taggart: [as][jc]
Silver: [ac][ah]
Taggart looked crestfallen but the [4c][ts][3s] flop gave him possibilities which bloomed on the [qd] turn with a gutshot draw. A flash of paint on the river gave Silver a moment of concern before his corner of the rail erupted as the [qh] made itself clear. Silver is up to 3,600,000 now and is chip leader. -- RD
3.11pm: Gilligan loses one to Silver
Gilligan check-raised Silver's 67,000 flop bet to 200,000 on a [qc][2c][3h] flop before check-calling 237,000 on the [2s] turn. Both players checked the [qd] river with Silver annoucing: "I have bottom full house." It was more than enough to take the pot as Silver moves up to 1,800,000. -- RD
3.05pm: Huge pot for Gilligan
PokerStars qualifier Ronan Gilligan picked up a huge pot after three-way action to the river. Max Silver started it with an opening raise to 65,000 from under the gun when Tom Kitt re-raised to 155,000. Gilligan called, as did Silver.
The flop was [10h][8h][7h] and all of them checked. On the [js] river Gilligan made it 200,000 and got calls from Silver and from Kitt. All of them stopped dead on the [qd] river for the mult--showdown:
Gilligan: [ad][kc] for top straight
Silver: [jd][10d] for two pair
Kitt: [qh][qs] for top set
Phew! One fancies a lot of money would have gone in were it not for the three hearts on the flop! -- SY
2.57pm: Silver all-in
Chip leader Taggart opened the button for 65,000 and Silver three-bet to 177,000 from the small blind. Taggart made the call. Silver led for 236,000 on the [8s][8c][6d] flop and Taggart made the call. The [ts] dropped on the turn and it was good enough for Silver to move all-in for around 800,000. Taggart thought, but not for long, then mucked his hand. Silver is up to 1,630,000. -- RD
Silver has been playing some high variance poker at this final table
2.49pm: Kitt stays on target
Silver opened to 65,000 from the cut-off and Kitt called on the button. Silver fired 68,000 at the [4c][7h][as] flop and 168,000 at the [qh] turn. Both players checked the [3d] river. Kitt showed [ad][9d] for top pair and took the 600,000 pot. -- RD
2.45pm: Silver lining
Max Silver won a big pot at the death to take a chunk out of chip leader Ciaran Taggart. Taggart had raised to 65,000 from under the gun and Silver called as well as Ronan Gilligan in the big blind. All three checked the [8s][5h][ks] flop, then on the [7s] turn it was checked to Silver who made it 135,000. Gilligan folded but Taggart called to see a [2h] river. Taggart checked then called Silver's 272,000 - only for Silver to show [2d][2c] for the rivered set. Taggart flashed a king as he mucked. -- SY
2.40pm: Kitt's aggression
Tom Kitt opened for 65,000 and got a call from Ronan Gilligan before Ciaran Taggart made it 205,000. Max Silver got out of the way, but when it got back to Kitt he four-bet to 550,000. Gilligan scarpered, as did Taggart. -- SY
2.36pm: 1,800,000 pot!
When Tom Kitt raised Ronan Gilligan's 240,000 bet on the river to 800,000 Gilligan instantly slumped back in his soft leather chair and started rocking it back and forth. He didn't have the look of a man that hated his situation but at this stage of the game everything deserves a little time.
Kitt had opened for 65,000 from the button and Gilligan had called from the small blind. Play had checked to the [tc][8d][6d][ks] which Kitt bet for 75,000. Gilligan called before leading the [7h] river for 240,000, which Kitt raised to 800,000. Gilligan eventually made the call and both players showed a nine for the straight. Chop. -- RD
2.28pm: Where's Taggart?
"Part of playing poker is being on time," said Max Silver referring to the fact that the tournament clock had been paused. Taggart missed the first hand but with his stack he can afford to.
Ciaran Taggart when he was actually in his chair
2.27pm: Back
Players are back and sitting down to blinds of 15,000-30,000 with a 3,000 ante. -- SY
2.15pm: Break
We were not due a break after this level, but players have requested a quick ten minutes to cathch their breath. We'll make use of that, too. -- SY
2.10pm: Wait, no bust outs?
After the hyper-turbo start to this final table, when we lost four players inside 30 minutes, things have slowed down a little bit. Just as well, we hardly had time to keep up. What that means is we've seen a bit of traditional action.
On one hand Max Silver opened for a raise to 65,000 from the small blind and Tom Kitt called from the big. The flop was [4h][3d][9c] and both checked. But on the [9h] turn Silver check-called Kitt's 75,000. The river was [7s] and Silver checked again - then called when Kitt bet 125,000. Kitt showed [8s][4s] and his pair of fours was enough to take the pot.
Silver then went into aggressive mode, raising successive hands to 54,000. On the first one Ronan Gilligan called from the big blind, but then folded to a 56,000 continuation bet on the [2s][2c][2h] board. Next it was Taggart who called from the big blind, and he check-folded when Silver bet out 66,000 on the [4d][kh][3d] flop.
On the third hand Ciaran Taggart made it 55,000 from the small blind and Silver called from the big. Both checked the [10h][qd][9c] flop and the [5h] turn, but on the [4c] river Taggart checked then folded [ac] face-up when Silver bet 56,000. -- SY
2.06pm: Silver's bluff goes wrong
Max Silver made a standard button raise and was called by Ronan Gilligan in the big blind. Gilligan check-raised the [2s][9c][9s] flop from 45,000 to 130,000. Silver slowly slid forward a raise to 290,000 and Gilligan announced a reraise. Oops, Silver instantly mucked declaring to the rail - his colleague and UKIPT Edinburgh champ Nick Abou Risk - that he had air. -- RD
1.58pm: Four-way flop
Things have slowed down here and by that I mean that no-one has been knocked out for at least ten minutes. Kitt started the action from the hijack with a raise to 55,000 and was called by all three opponents. On a [kd][9c][3h] flop the action folded to Ronan Gilligan on the button who bet 150,000. The bet took the pot down. -- RD
1.45pm: Stop! Another one gone already!
We hardly had time to catch our breath before another one bust, the fourth in 30 minutes. Kevin Allen, crippled in the earlier monster hand against Ciaran Taggart, shoved for his last 130,000 with [7c][qh] but was looked up by Ronan Gilligan with [4s][4c].
Allen was racing but the flop came [4h][ah][10s] to give Gilligan a set. But the [kh] turn added a load of outs for Allen - any heart for a flush or a jack would fill a straight. But the river fell [5c].
Allen leaves with €15,200, while Gilligan, who qualified for this event on PokerStars for just €11, is now guaranteed at least €19,500 - that's quite a spin-up! -- SY
Kevin Allen couldn't get back into the action after losing AK to kings
1.35pm: Final table tear continues: another one out
It's time for Dutch tears this time as the Ciaran Taggart run-like-God show continues. Anton Kouliavtsev raised to 65,000 from the small blind and Taggart made the call. On a [ad][td][qs] flop Kouliavtsev suspiciously - and quickly - checked but Taggart either didn't realise or didn't mind that he was moving into a trap and bet 95,000. Kouliavtsev dropped the check-raise bomb with a raise to 275,000 and Taggart moved all-in. Call.
Kouliavtsev: [ac][qc] for top two
Taggart: [qd][9d] for middle pin and flush draw
The turn blanked with a [2c] but the river delivered a punishing [4d] for the flush. Taggart has close to 4,000,000 now and there are just five players left. Kouliavtsev takes home €12,100. -- RD
It turns out the luck of the Irish wasn't sat on Kouliavtsev's shoulders after all
Here is a video of the young man in an odd hat...
1.25pm: Monster, monster hand
This final has started faster than Usain Bolt on the track. In the very next hand we lost Ursula Marmion in a massive three-way pot which saw Ciaran Taggart take the chip lead and Kevin Allen become the short stack
.
Marmion pushed all-in from the cut-off, Taggart called from the button and then Allen moved all-in from the small blind. He had Taggart covered, and before we had a chance to catch our breath, Taggart called! A three-way showdown:
Marmion: [ah][kh]
Allen: [as][kd]
Taggart: [kc][ks]
Wow! The board ran [3c][jc][9d][5d][7s], knocking out Marmion in seventh place for €9,200, more than doubling up Taggart to 3 million, and sending Allen crashing down to little over 100,000. Tom Kitt revealed to me he had folded an ace pre-flop, so Allen and Marmion had been drawing mighty thin.
If this pace keeps up, we'll be in the bar in time for Sunday lunch! -- SY
1.20pm: Peter McGarvey out in 8th
Just three hands into this final table Peter McGarvey is out. Max Silver opened from under the gun to 55,000 and was shoved on for 380,000 by McGarvey. Silver called.
Silver: [4s][4c]
McGarvey: [jc][jd]
The flop gave backdoor outs with [kd][2s][4s] which delivered with the most dangerous turn possible, the [5s], and a [ad] on the river settled it. Silver jumps into second place. -- RD
Peter McGarvey couldn't believe the turn and river
1.15pm: First two hands
Max Silver raised the first hand to 54,000 and beat down Tom Kitt with a c-bet on a [6c][5d][qh] flop. Kitt in turn took the second pot with a straight open raise. -- RD
1.10pm: Nearly ready
The final table players have been introduced, but before play begins they're having their official photos taken. Give it five minutes, I reckon. -- SY
12.45pm: Who wants it most?
They've been slogging away for three days, for which they're already guaranteed €6,900, but the big prize on offer here in Dublin is €72,000. That's what first place will dish out, and eight players are gunning for it today.
Top of the pile right now is Tom Kitt, while bottom and staring skywards is Ursula Marmion. But, as we've seen countless times over the years, chips at the start of a final table don't often morph into final placings.
Here, however, are those stacks at the start of play, which is due to begin at 1pm:
Tom Kitt, 1,936,000
Kevin Allen, 1,527,000
Ciaran Taggart, 1,386,000
Max Silver, 1,234,000
Ronan Gilligan, 1,065,000
Anton Kouliavtsev, 844,000
Peter McGarvey, 399,000
Ursula Marmion, 281,000
You can catch up with the profiles of the final table players, and then watch this video, prepared specially by our chefs over at the pokerstars.tv...
Stay tuned, we'll be underway shortly... -- SY
Pull the udder one: cow on chips
PokerStars Blog reporting team (in order of bed time last night this morning): Simon Young (2.45am) and Rick Davey (4.30am). Pictures by Mickey May
poker
The World Championship of Online Poker moves past the one-third mark with Event #20, $215 Limit Holdem, drew a field of 1,238 players, meaning the prize pool would not go no over the $250,000 that was guaranteed. The last 162 players would make the money, and when Tigerspot finished on the bubble, the rest of the field earned at least $350.00. Unfortunately for Team PokerStars players, none of the players entered would make the money. Team PokerStars Argentina pro Jose Ignacio "nachobarbero" Barbero the last team player standing, finishing in 222nd place.
