Irish Legend Andy Black Bags Above-Average Stack on Day 1a of Galway Poker Festival Main Event
The €600 Galway Poker Festival Main Event's first starting flight saw 71 entries being made at the luxurious The Galmont Hotel & Spa, of which 15 players bagged up at the end of 15 levels. Among them is Ireland's all-time money leader Andy Black, who ended the day with 282,000 chips, good for 35 big blinds at the start of Day 2.
Black has competed all over the world for buy-ins as high as $60,000 throughout his long career but is often seen at the comparatively lower stakes that the Irish Poker Tour offers back in his home country as well as he is an ambassador for the poker festivals.
Black may have had the most lifetime tournament earnings of the field on Day 1a, having amassed more than $5,000,000 throughout the years, but he did not end up with the most chips. That honor was bestowed upon James O'Sullivan from the United Kingdom, who won a humongous hand at the end of the night to end up with a stack of 797,000 chips. O'Sullivan is no stranger to success at the Irish Poker Tour, having won the €300 Winter Festival for €39,000 less than two months ago, and will be looking to add another big score to his name.
A testament to how big O'Sullivan's lead is is the fact that his fellow countryman Matthew Greig sits in second place on the leaderboard, but plays less than half the stack of O'Sullivan, with 362,000 chips in his bag. Stephan Kehoe, meanwhile, completes the top three with 290,000 bagged chips. Lander Dejonghe (160,000) and Nicolas Sievers (155,000) also find themselves in the top ten chip counts, having traveled from afar to play some cards in Galway.
End of Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James O'Sullivan | United Kingdom | 797,000 | 100 |
| 2 | Matthew Greig | United Kingdom | 362,000 | 45 |
| 3 | Stephan Kehoe | Ireland | 290,000 | 36 |
| 4 | Andy Black | Ireland | 282,000 | 35 |
| 5 | Francis Onwuka | Ireland | 242,000 | 30 |
| 6 | Daniel Smyth | Ireland | 234,000 | 29 |
| 7 | Colm Chan | Ireland | 168,000 | 21 |
| 8 | Lander Dejonghe | Belgium | 160,000 | 20 |
| 9 | Jamie Flynn | Ireland | 159,000 | 20 |
| 10 | Nicolas Sievers | Germany | 155,000 | 19 |
Some notable names that fired a bullet on Day 1a but did not manage to find a bag include poker streamer Gary Blackwood, recent EPT Prague champion Padraig O'Neill, and Marc MacDonnell, who is chasing Black on the Ireland all-time money list, occupying fourth place.
Their next chance to punch their ticket to Day 2 will be tomorrow, Friday, January 5, when Day 1b kicks off at noon local time. Another evening flight is planned as well, with Day 1c starting at 5 p.m. local time on the same day.
Be sure to check back to PokerNews then to continue following the poker action from the beautiful coastal city of Galway, Ireland.