Neil Channing Wins Irish Open Tournament

Neil Channing took home the $1.25 million dollar first place prize in the Irish Poker Open. The Irish Open poker tournament had some of the best players from the UK in addition to a few from the United States. Channing defeated numerous other players in the Irish Open including runner-up Donal Nortan who took home $647,000 for his second place finish. Thomas Dunwoodie finished third, Tim Blake 4th, Kai Danilo Paulsen, 5th, Edwin Tournier sixth, Carsten Joh 7th, Erik Larcheveque 8th and John Keown 9th.

Channing is a regular cash game player at the Vic in London. He has made many final tables but has always fallen short. He started the table with a huge chip lead and was really never threatened. In the final hand Norton moved all-in from the small blind and Channing called. Channing had A9 and Norton had a pair of fives. The flop was A-Q-10 and that gave Channing the overwhelming lead. The turn was a king and the river an Ace and the2008 Irish Open poker tournament was over.

In other poker news, the Wynn Classic main event in Las Vegas is over as Chris Moore was able to take the title. Moore took home the $692,286 first place prize. The entry fee for the main event was $10,000. Moore trailed Ryan Young when the battle got down to heads-up but he won a big hand when his J-5 connected on a flop of J-8-5 against Young’s A-J. That hand propelled him into the chip lead and the match was basically over. Moore finished in third place in last year’s Wynn Classic so the victory was especially satisfying for him. Moore is a regular cash game player from Illinois.

Here is a look at the top three finishers in the Wynn Classic Main Event: