With 294 overall entries, a four-hour bubble and an epic heads-up battle for the title, the Dublin leg of the Unibet Open proved extremely good value not only for the players who paid €1,100 to enter but also fans of tournament poker.
In the end, it was Martin Olali who came from behind heads-up to claim the win, but it was anything other than easy-going.
From the bubble taking four hours, the Unibet Open Main Event was thrilling stuff in Dublin, and by the time the action reached the final table, the eight remaining players all had their eyes on the €64,110 top prize.
First to be disappointed at missing out was Jamie Nixon, whose all-in move from the small blind was called by the original raiser from the under-the-gun position, Samuel Baneham. Nixon had pocket fours, but he was way behind Baneham’s pocket tens and the board of ack-six-eight-nine-seven eventually gave Baneham the straight and sent Nixon his way.