Irish Open Won by Scotland’s David Docherty for $400,000 in Dublin

Scotland’s David Docherty won the Irish Open earlier this week for a record score of $400,000. With the most entrants for some time, the festival’s centerpiece attracted a huge amount of positive feedback from players, with big local names such as Ireland’s Andy Black and Declan Rice going close to glory.

After the dust settled, David Docherty, a PokerStars series regular for many years, took the top prize, the biggest of his poker career so far.

Early Levels Send Bracelet Winner Home

With only eight players from the record 2,491 field making it to the official final table, it was Irishman Declan Rice who led them as play began. He was one of two homegrown players to make the cut, with Andy Black, a legend in Dublin and around the world, the other. The Irish Open’s venue changed to the Royal Dublin Society this year, which earned mixed reviews from players at the festival, but the success of the attendance and growth of the coverage – Stapes and Hartigan were in the building – meant a top prize of €365,000 ($400,000) awaited the winner.

The final day was due to start with eight, but instead, double that number began the action, with some sharks swimming in shallow waters. Two would be eliminated before the flashes and shutter clicks of final table photos, with British former WPT winner Steve Watts crashing out in 11^th place for $30,000 and his fellow British pro and four-time WSOP bracelet winner Benny Glaser busting one place later.

It was the Finnish player Henri Ojala who busted in eighth place, scoring a result worth $47,500. He was all-in pre-flop with A♠Q♠ and had a coinflip to save his tournament life, as Andy Black called with 8♣8♠. The flop of J♠9♥7♥ kept Black in the lead, and after the 6♠ fell on the turn, Ojala only had six cards to hit. None of them came on the river of 3♥, however, and he made his way to the rail.

Carl Shaw beat Tony Dunst to a WSOP bracelet in 2019, but he fell to his fellow Englishman Tom Waters in seventh for $62,000. Shaw was fighting a losing battle pre-flop, his A♦10♣ well behind Waters’ A♣J♣. The flop of J♦9♦7♠ paired Waters’ hand but gave Shaw four outs rather than three, drawing as he was to a gutshot straight ten. The J♠ turn was no help at all, and the A♠ river ended the hand in Waters’ favor, vaulting the British player into the lead.

Black Falls Short of Final Four

With 16 players left, the unlikely chip leader was the Moldovan player Eugeniu Barbaros, but he exited the event in sixth place for $80,000. All-in for 12 big blinds pre-flop, Barbaros had made a stand with 8♠8♣, but the Greek player Panagiotis Mavritsakis was way ahead when he called with K♠K♣, blocking both suits too. He say his cowboys shoot down the Moldovan’s hopes with a board of 6♦3♣2♠6♥A♥ reducing the field to five.

An all-Irish clash seemed inevitable at some point, and two helped define the championship for both players from the Emerald Isle who remained. Earlier, Andy Black and Declan Rice had chopped up a pot when the pair of them each committed their chips with pocket jacks. Black had freerolled to a flush from the turn but failed to hit and eventually, his stack dwindled away.

Black was down to a dozen bigs by the time he moved all-in from the big blind with 6♣2♦. Rice made the call with A♣8♠ and was ahead until the flop of 9♥7♠6♠ gave Black bottom pair. The open-ended straight draw was out there, however, and while the Q♦ didn’t hit for Rice, he made that straight on the 5♥ river, eliminating his countrymen for a score of $104,000.

Docherty Wins Career-High Score

After an extended period without a bust-out, the order of power had changed considerably, with Waters slipping to the bottom of the leaderboard. Soon after he did so, he was out. Declan Rice raised, and Waters shoved over the top with A♠10♠, a strong hand four-handed. He was way behind Rice’s A♣K♠ and couldn’t catch up as the board came Q♥5♠3♠5♣6♦.

Mavritsakis was the next player to leave the party, busting in third place for $176,000. With 20 big blinds to his name, a bold shove pre-flop with Q♥9♥ ran into David Docherty’s 10♥10♦ and the board of 9♠6♥6♠5♠A♥ couldn’t help the Greek player overcome Scotland’s fifth most successful live tournament player of all-time.

Heads-up, Docherty had a 5:2 chip lead, and while Rice did take a slight lead early on, the eventual winner won a big pot with an ace-high flush against Rice’s two-pair to turn the tide. Soon after, Rice shoved for seven bigs with J♠2♣ and couldn’t get there against Docherty’s K♥10♥, a dramatic board at first helping Rice then counterfeiting him. The flop of 8♥6♣2♦ looked a good one, but after the 8♣ paired on the turn, the river of a 6♠ meant Docherty’s kicker player.

For Rice it was a case of so near and yet so far away, as he was consoled by his rail and doubtless the $250,000 runner-up prize. It was Docherty’s day, however, and he added the Irish Open trophy to his mantelpiece along with the $400,000 top prize.

This article originally appeared on PokerStake.com