Poker in the News — Weekly Round-up for December 14, 2018

By Brian Cullingworth, Last updated Dec 14, 2018

Irish Poker Open Details Released

Next year’s event scheduled for Easter weekend

The organisers of the Irish Poker Open have released details of the next edition, which is scheduled for 15-22 April 2019 and is to be hosted by the prestigious Dublin hotel, Citywest.

The buy-in for this event will remain at Euro 1,025 plus Euro 125, and the festival will once again feature a full schedule of events to capture the imagination of poker players at affordable buy-in levels.

This year sees the return of the event to the Easter weekend in Ireland. There are also four starting days for the event with the introduction of a Day 1A on Wednesday, 17 April and a Day 1D Turbo on Friday, 19 April.

Online satellites will take place on Paddy Power Betfair and a series of packages will be available on the IPoker Network, each package worth Euro 2,500 from January 2019.

The 2018 event smashed its Euro 1 million guarantee after attracting 1,348 entrants from 68 countries to generate a Euro 1,347,164 prize pool.

The Irish Poker Open is the longest running No Limit Texas Hold’em poker festival in Europe. First organised in 1981 by Terry Rogers, a well-known Irish bookmaker, the tournament is now world famous for its electric atmosphere, the famous poker faces that return every year and the general craic that is had by all in the hotel bar.

Turkish Player Secures Euro 125,330 In His First Live Tourney Win

Akin Tuna victorious in 2018 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague NLHE competition

Turkish player Akim Tuna scored his first live tournament win over the weekend, taking home the Euro 125,330 main prize in the Euro 10,300 buy-in 2018 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague NLHE event against a quality field of 38 entries.

Despite a final table that included aces like Davidi Kitai and Daniel Dvoress, the Turkish player held the chip lead for much of the event to face Bujlgarian pro Ognyan Dimov in the heads up.

Although Dimov at one point managed to level the stacks with a major double up he was unable to build further than that and was eliminated at second for Euro 86,620.

Othe final table cashes included:

Davidi Kitai Euro 55,290
Daniel Dvoress Euro 42,390
Orpen Kisacikoglu Euro 33,170
Thomas Boivin Euro 25,800

Pokerstars Puts $85 Million In Tournament Guarantees Under The Christmas Tree

Players compete for bumper prizes across two-week holiday celebration, including $40 million Winter Series

PokerStars is offering two weeks of holiday action this Christmas, investing $85 million across a range of activities and online action. The Winter Series kicks off festivities on December 23, 2018 and runs until January 7, 2019. During that time, the signature Winter Series alone will award a guaranteed $40 million.

The 16-day schedule features 60 events with a variety of buy-ins from $0.55 to $5,200, with the Main Event on January 6including four buy-in levels: Micro with a $2.20 buy-in and $100,000 guarantee, Low with a $22 buy-in and $750,000 guarantee, and Medium with a $215 buy-in and High with a $2,100 buy-in and both with a $1.5 million guarantee.

Other highlights include two $5,200 buy-in High Roller events each with a $500,000 guarantee and taking place on December 26 and January 2. To roll in Christmas Day and the New Year, a turbo and hyper-turbo event will take place on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, respectively, perfect for those who would like to get in on the action and finish just in time for the holidays.

Outside of the Winter Series, a guaranteed further $45 million is earmarked for the regular tournament schedule. Alongside a range of cash game types and stakes, Zoom, Spin & Go, Spin & Go Max, and Fusion, there will also be special $2.50 and $20 Spin & Go’s awarding a variety of tickets including a $2,100 Winter Series Main Event entry.

“We hope that they will enjoy the schedule that we concocted for them, with more than $85 million guaranteed across the whole of PokerStars during the Series, including $40 million thanks to the Winter Series alone,” said Severin Rasset, director of poker innovation and operations at The Stars Group. “We have a range of buy-ins suitable for players of all bankrolls, giving everyone the chance to win a huge prize and get 2019 off to a great start.”

The Winter Series will also run in Southern Europe, New Jersey, and India, each with their own schedules and guarantees.

Austrian Ace Elbinger Wins Euro 653,000 Main Prize In European Poker Tour Event

Bests Hungary’s Andras Nemeth in heads up of Euro 50,000 buy-in competition

Austrian poker pro Matthias Elbinger banked a further Euro 653,000 in career earnings this week in taking down the Euro 50,000 buy-in PokerStars’ European Poker Tour competition in Prague, an event that attracted 40 entries from quality international players.

Elbinger’s big win – his third this year – brings his career earnings from live tourney action to almost $5 million.

Heads up, Hungary’s Andras Nemeth held a 2 to 1 chip lead, which he quickly extended to almost 9 to 1.5 million, only to watch Elbinger achieve several telling double ups to take the lead. Nemeth responded with a fightback of his own to retake the lead, only to have it snatched back by the Austrian, who managed this time to hold on to it and finally eliminate a tough opponent.

Nemeth took home Euro 451,350 for his time and trouble.

Other final table cashes included:

Liang Xu – Euro 288,090
Pavel Plesuv – Euro 220,870
Luc Greenwood – Euro 172,850
Charlie Carrel – Euro 134,440

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