Joseph Macari Triumphs in the Grand Prix Dublin Main Event
Joseph Macari grabbed the lion's share of €164,700 prize pool at the partypoker LIVE Grand Prix Dublin over the weekend, attracting a field of 549 entrants and beating the €150,000 guarantee by €14,700.
2017 Grand Prix Dublin Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joseph Macari | €31,905* |
| 2 | Dave Masters | €24,095* |
| 3 | John Hanaphy | €14,000 |
| 4 | Thomas Fitzgerald | €10,850 |
| 5 | Douglas Murphy | €8,500 |
| 6 | David Crilly | €6,500 |
| 7 | Peter O’Dowd | €5,000 |
| 8 | Kevin O’Malley | €3,850 |
*reflects a heads up deal
A total of 123 players made it through to the final day but only 62 of them would see a return on their €340 investment. The last player not to receive any prize money was Stephen Ward, whose top pair ran into the middle set of Stuart Reale. Ward’s exit locked up €600 for those players who still had chips in front of them.
By the time the eight-handed final table was set, the least anyone would take home increased to €3,850, which is the sum Kevin O’Malley banked. O’Malley found himself on the wrong side of a set-over-set situation with Thomas Fitzgerald and crashed out in eighth place.
Peter O’Dowd was eliminated in seventh place when his ace-five failed to improve against the dominating ace-king held by Dave Masters. David Crilly saw his ace-queen lose to Fitzgerald’s lesser king-queen courtesy of a king on the river.
The remaining five players paused the tournament clock so they could discuss a deal, but the overwhelming chip leader at the time, Fitzgerald, was unhappy with the figures offered and play resumed.
Douglas Murphy then bust when his pocket tens lost to Masters’ pair of fours thanks to a third four on the flop. Then Masters came from behind again to bust Fitzgerald in fourth place, this time his ace-ten paired its ten on the turn to crack his opponent’s ace-queen.
Heads-up was set almost immediately after Fitzgerald’s demise because John Hanaphy’s king-jack received no help from the community cards and Macari’s ace-seven held. Macari and Masters, the heads-up duo, agreed to a deal that saw the former lock up €26,310, the latter, €24,095, and which left the trophy and €5,595 for the eventual winner.
The one-on-one battle between Macari and Masters saw the chip lead exchange hands several times, but it was Macari who eventually won all of the chips in play. The final hand saw Masters all in with ace-two against Macari’s ace-nine. Macari caught an unnecessary nine on the river to secure the title of Grand Prix Dublin champion.
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