Will Kassouf Crowned Irish Poker Masters Main Event Champion

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Dec 18, 2020 3 min read

Will Kassouf won his €1,100 Irish Poker Masters Main Event seat via a €109 satellite at partypoker. That seat is now worth €215,163 thanks to Kassouf taking down the IPM Main Event.

Kassouf was one of 1,341 players who bought in over the course of two starting flights. This meant the €1 million guarantee was blown out of the water and a €1,341,000 prize pool created.

Only 37 of those starters made it through Day 2, which that more manageable crowd whittled to the final table nine on the penultimate day’s action. Here’s how that final table went down.

Irish Poker Masters Main Event Final Table Results

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Jessica Teusl started the final table in the unwanted position of being the shortest stack. Try as she did, Teusl couldn’t improve her situation and was the first casualty of the evening. Teusl three-bet all-in for 15.5 big blinds with ace-jack after Netherlands’ Luc Van Der Beek opened with ace-king. The Dutchman called, his hand held, and Teusl crashed out.

Brazil’s Dante Fernandes joined Teusl a few hands later. Fernandes raise slight more than twice the big blind to 1,260,000 from under the gun and the action folded to Samuel Vousden in the big blind. Vousden three-bet to 3,800,000 before snap-calling when Fernandes four-bet shoved for 15,394,732 in total, as you would have if you’d been dealt pocket aces like Vousden had. The board provided no drama and the tournament lost another player.

Straight Over Straight Busts Deinlein

Seventh-place went to Germany’s Michael Deinlein in what was a cooler hand. He ultimately made a wheel on the turn with his ace-deuce but the same turn card gifted Anton Siden a seven-high straight. All the chips piled in on the river and Deinlein busted out.

Vousden woke up with another powerhouse hand, pocket kings, to send another foe home earlier than they expected. Van Der Beek became Vousden’s victim when he defended his small blind with ace-ten before check-calling bets on all three streets, including Vousden’s shove on the river. Van Der Beek had improved to a pair of tens on the turn but it was no good against his Finnish opponent’s cowboys.

Canadian grinder Julien Perouse fell in fifth place which was the last elimination for more than 3.5 hours. That deadlock broke when Siden committed his last 4.25 big blinds with king-queen from the button and Kassouf call with a pair of fives in the hole. An eight-high board won the pot for Kassouf and ended Siden’s main even participation.

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Kassouf Short Stacked Three-Handed

Kassouf only held 14 big blinds at this stage while Vousden and Manuel Ruivo, the latter being the 2018 MILLIONS Online champion, had more than 50 big blinds each.

The Brit laddered up a place when a move by Vousden didn’t go to plan. Ruivo opened with sevev-six of clubs and called a three-bet from Vousden that the Finn made with pocket queens. Ruivo flopped a straight and must have been delighted when Vousden opted to move all-in for twice the size of the pot. Ruivo called, his straight remained true, and Vousden collected the €101,620 third-place prize.

Kassouf trailed four-to-one in chips but was in no mood for giving up just yet. The British star eventually pulled level with Ruivo before taking the lead and then defeating his talented opponent.

The final hand took place at the 1,500,000/3,000,000/375,000a level and saw Kassouf raise to 8,592,600 and call when Ruivo moved all-in for 57,854,400. It was pocket eights for Kassouf and seven-six. Kassouf flopped a boat with Ruivo flopping trip sevens. A four on the turn didn’t change anything with the six of hearts river bringing the Irish Poker Masters Main Event to a conclusion.

Ruivo walked away as the runner-up and with €148,042 in prize money, with Kassouf banking the €215,163 top prize and the title of champion.

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