Larger than life poker pro Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott set the side event alight at the Irish Poker Championship 2009 in Galway.
The first major tournament of the year saw the DevilfishPoker.com ambassador ease his way through a field of 126 at the €750 side event to take down first place and €33,000.
The table was quite a distraction from the main event as it held a truly exciting bunch of players such as Surinder Sunar, Paul Jackson, 2008 Irish Open second place finisher Donal Norton, and last year’s IPC main event winner Jude Ainsworth.
Ulliott got the chip lead early on and applied the pressure at all the correct moments, forcing his competition out of the way. Surinder Sunar and Donal Norton were his three-handed nemesis’ but they were only a tiny blimp on the radar for the poker star turned business man, as the cards fell his way.
The main event trophy may be remaining in Ireland for the upcoming year thanks to Rory Rees Brennan, but England and Denmark will also get some glory with Ulliott’s impressive win, and Daniel Vorbeck’s victory also in the €500 side event.
Australia will be the next destination to experience the Devilfish and his loose-aggressive style at the Aussie Millions.
Ulliott spoke about his win, “I got a lot of chips early in the tournament which meant players were moving in with all sorts of marginal hands. I got lucky once against Paul Jackson with A-J against his queens and when I got heads up against Surindar Sunar I don’t think he won a hand. It’s great to get the year off to a winning start and I hope I can continue the form Down Under.”
