Ciarán
O'Leary Wins WSOP $1,500
No-limit Hold'em Championship
"O'Leary
learned how to play poker from his father and friends"
Ciarán
O'Leary has won the largest non-WSOP main event
poker tournament in history. A total of 2,998 players
entered the $1,500 no-limit hold'em championship.
This tournament ranks as the third-largest poker
tournament of all-time, behind the 2005 and 2006
championship (main) events.
At
this final table, O'Leary was all-in at the final
table five times. He survived each confrontation.
Each time he was all-in, he got up and walked away
from the table. Several times he left the arena
entirely and walked into the busy tournament area,
with ESPN television cameras rolling to capture
every step. It was obvious this was O'Leary's way
to relieve tension. The strategy worked.
Ireland
has produced several WSOP gold bracelet winners
– most notably the 1999 main event
champion Noel Furlong. With this victory, which
paid $727,012, O'Leary is now the second-largest
WSOP money winner who is originally from Ireland.
O'Leary
learned how to play poker from his father and friends.
He has been playing since he was 9-years old. He
has cashed in several other major tournaments over
the last decade.
O'Leary
was quite humble following his victory. He paid
respects to several of his opponents and made it
clear he was fortunate to win. He said "There
are so many great players that don't get a break
at the right time. I am not a great player. I have
so much still to learn. But I got the breaks today."
by Nolan Dalla
|
