Mark Flanagan (40) from County Wexford in Ireland, beat a starting field of 216 players to win the Betfair-sponsored Celtic Poker Tour (CPT) Grand Final in Athlone this week.
The road haulage company manager and father of five has only been playing Texas Hold ‘Em for a year, although he tries to sharpen his skills at least once a week. His CPT pay packet was Euro 35 000, and the promise of further success in the form of a package to the Betfair Asian Poker Tour (BAPT), the first ever poker event in Singapore.
“I thought I had no chance,” Flanagan said after his win, “I just wanted to make it through to the second day. I’m looking forward to seeing how I get on with the big fish in Singapore. If I can last an hour I’ll be pleased because I like to play an aggressive game.”
In the final showdown, second placed Maurice McNamara raised Flanagan’s big blind. The response from Flanagan was a well considered ‘all-in’ holding JQ. It was enough to beat McNamara’s J10. McNamara made Euro 15 000 in second place.
Sponsored by Betfair Poker, the Celtic Poker Tour was created in 2005 by Texas Hold’em enthusiasts Denis Alsybury and Mike Foley. By the end of August 2006, Celtic Poker Tour had held over 100 tournaments across the country and has been a conduit of a prize fund total in excess Euro 1 million.