The 2011 World Series of Poker main event finished on Sunday, with an Irishman finishing 6th and claiming a huge prize
Irishman Eoghan O’Dea has won €1.72 million for finishing sixth at this year’s World Series of Poker main event in Las Vegas. The 26-year-old Dubliner was part of this year’s “November Nine” – the final nine standing from 6,865 players who paid $10,000 to enter the world’s biggest poker tournament in July. The November Nine returned to the Penn & Teller Theatre at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas on Sunday November 6 to vie for the $8.7 million first prize.
The
Paddy Power Poker-sponsored O’Dea said after he was knocked out: “I played one hand bad at the beginning. I obviously misread the situation and that put me in trouble for most of the day. Thanks to everybody for all their support.”
O’Dea, who started the day second in chips, lost an early pot which effectively crippled his chances of winning the event when he tried to bluff P ius Heinz off a pot with A-Q and lost a big portion of his chips. He folded late in the hand to Heinz’ Q-Q. He then moved all in a number of times and crept his chip stack back up until he lost most of his chips again to Ben Lamb despite being favourite in the hand until the final card fell.
O’Dea exited at the hands of Martin Staszko with Qh 6c against 8d 8h, winning $1,720,831 for his sixth place final.
The remaining three players return to play down to a winner on Tuesday. They are:
Pius Heinz (Cologne, Germany) – 107,800,000
Martin Staszko (Trinec, Czech Republic) – 42,700,000
Ben Lamb (Tulsa, OK USA/Las Vegas, NV) -- 55,400,000
Bio:
Eoghan O’Dea is the son of well know professional poker player Donnacha O’Dea. O’Dea the elder, a former Olympic swimmer, won a World Series of Poker bracelet in pot-limit Omaha in 1998.
Previous to his WSOP main e vent final table, Eoghan O’Dea had earned around $800,000 in his short poker career including €21,000 for his ninth place finish at the World Series of Poker Europe pot-limit Omaha event in Cannes, France in October 2011.
He has also finished second in both the prestigious Poker Million event (2008) and a World Poker Tour event in Marrakech (2009).
Stats:
Number of chips at the start of final table play:
1. Martin Staszko (Czech Republic) - 40,175,000
2. Eoghan O'Dea (Ireland) - 33,925,000
3. Matt Giannetti (USA) - 24,750,000
4. Phil Collins (USA) - 23,875,000
5. Ben Lamb (USA) - 20,875,000
6. Badih Bounahra (Belize) - 19,700,000
7. Pius Heinz (Germany) - 16,425,000
8. Anton Makievskyi (Ukraine) - 13,825,000
9. Sam Holden (UK) - 12,375,000
November Nine - Final Table Payouts
1st - $8,711,956
2nd - $5,430,925
3rd - $4,019,635
4th - $3,011,661
5th - $2,268,909
6th - $1,720,396
7th - $1,313,851
8th - $1,009,910
9th - $782,115
