Live Poker Worldwide: Whats On In April 2024
16 Jul 2024
Read More
Peter Burnett Wins the Irish Poker Tour's €200k Monster
- Peter Burnett wins Irish Poker Tour;'s €200k Monster
- 1,858 entries for the €150 buy-in event at the Green Isle Hotel in Dublin
- Stephan Campbell wins APAT Irish Amateur Championship
- Will the Monster Munch its way through Europe?
Photos courtesy of the Irish Poker Tour
Peter Burnett Wins the Irish Poker Tour's €200k Monster at the Green Isle Hotel in Dublin
From Munster to Monster
When the Irish Poker Tour began in 2022 the third event ever held on the tour was in Munster, where just 88 players contested the €150 Main Event, one of the smallest main event fields the tour has ever seen (Claremorris holds the record low with 86). The tour has yet to return to Munster, however it was replaced in 2023 with a similar sounding event in Dublin, the Monster, where a somewhat larger field of 1,796 players smashed the €150,000 guarantee by over €65,000. The event was so well received that it once again got the nod over Munster and was rescheduled for 2024.
This year there were 1,858 entries in the Monster Main Event, an increase on the inaugural event of 2023. There was also another large field event this year, the Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT) Irish Championship, which kick started the festival. It was won by Stephan Campbell, who was the last standing (technically seated) of 448 players, securing the first prize of €8,300.
The Monster Final Table
Aidan Quinlan had taken the chip lead into the final table, however he was unable to kick on for the win, exiting in 4th place after which the remaining three players did a deal. After agreeing the chop they played on for the €2,000 which had been set aside for the eventual winner, plus the trophy, the adulation, the bragging rights and the fact that your name will never be forgotten in the Irish poker community. That honour went to Peter Burnett after he outlasted Massimo Pacini and Carl Cullen to become the Monster (Champion)
The Monster Final Table Result
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Burnett | € 25,125 |
| 2 | Massimo Pacini | € 27,365 |
| 3 | Carl Cullen | € 26,500 |
| 4 | Aidan Quinlan | € 11,000 |
| 5 | Darren Wilson | € 8,000 |
| 6 | Cian Spillane | € 6,300 |
| 7 | Michael Fri | € 5,200 |
| 8 | Phil Molloy | € 4,400 |
| 9 | Axel Noack | € 3,820 |
Side Events at the 2024 Monster Festival
The side event schedule was varied in both event format and buy-in range, with three Pot Limit Omaha event, a Mystery Bounty tournament, high rollers, a super high roller and several other lower buy-in NLH one-day events. There were groups of traveling pub players from France and England, which added to the atmosphere and success of the event. There was even a double winner, as Steven Bartley scooped both the €250 Mystery Bounty as well as the final Omaha event of the festival.
The Monster 2024 Results
| Tournament Name | Buy-In | Entries | Total Prize Pool | Winner's Name | 1st Place Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Monster Main Event | € 150 | 1,858 | € 224,122 | Peter Burnett | € 25,125 |
| APAT Irish Amateur Championship | € 150 | 448 | € 54,040 | Stephan Campbell | € 8,300 |
| P.L.O 7-Max 4 Card | € 200 | 40 | € 6,755 | Shane Keary | € 3,040 |
| NLH Irish Poker Tour One Dayer | € 150 | 81 | € 11,270 | Alan McFerran | € 4,750 |
| Holigames NLH | € 100 | 75 | € 5,790 | Liam McVeigh | € 1,640 |
| PLO High-Roller 8-Max | € 400 | 104 | € 36,130 | Joseph Carey | € 8,155 |
| Friday Night NLH | € 120 | 91 | € 8,782 | Daniel Blake | € 2,130 |
| NLH Mystery Bounty One Day Event | € 250 | 124 | € 12,701 | Steven Bartley | € 6,100 |
| High Roller Omaha 4 Card 7-Max | € 350 | 39 | € 11,856 | Patrick Eagers | € 4,500 |
| NLH LPPL Open | € 120 | 105 | € 10,133 | Wagner Oliveira Torres | € 2,385 |
| NLH Monster Stack | € 150 | 294 | € 36,883 | Nevin Marusic | € 6,730 |
| Super High Roller | € 600 | 49 | € 26,007 | Johnathan McCullagh | € 9,225 |
| PLO 4/5 Card Level of Each | € 200 | 69 | € 11,653 | Steven Bartley | € 3,600 |
What’s That Coming Over the Hill, Is It Another Monster?
Low buy-in big field events are amongst the best poker events to attend, where players can get a shot at a big prize pool without it costing too much to play. Grosvenor’s Goliath leads the way in this category, with 11,493 entries in the 2023 edition, which was won by Alex Todd for £176,860. Not bad for a £150 buy-in! In its first year, in 2011, the Goliath mustered 1,765 entries, which puts the Monster in pretty good company, considering it had slightly more than that on its first outing.
The Irish Poker Tour doesn’t announce all its stops at the beginning of the year and so far there is nothing announced yet for the last three months of 2024. There is also a suggestion on the Irish Poker Tour website that the monster could become a series. This clears the way for there potentially to be another Monster in 2024, but where would it be held? Possibly in Dublin again or maybe in one of the other strong Irish Poker Tour destinations like Killarney or Galway, but a Munster Monster sadly looks unlikely.
The Irish Poker Tour also has a history of expanding its horizons and it would be no surprise to see the Monster take a trip overseas. The Irish Poker Tour’s next international event is the Portugal Adventure in June, followed closely by the Bratislava Festival in July, but perhaps there is another stop on the tour’s summer road-trip yet to come…
