After nine hours of intense final table action, Irish player Mark Buckley emerged victorious, securing the 2024 Irish Poker Festival Main Event trophy on home soil. Buckley took home the first-place prize of €177,000, along with the prestigious Irish Poker Tour trophy. This win marked his second six-figure score and his first live tournament victory of 2024.
Concluding on November 3, the €3,000 buy-in Main Event attracted an impressive field of 285 entrants, crushing the €700,000 guarantee and taking the total prize pool to €753,330, which was finally distributed among the top 29 finishers. The money bubble burst on Day 2, with 18 players advancing to the final day, where intense action unfolded as each vied for the top prize and the coveted IPF trophy. Here’s a quick recap of the 2024 Irish Poker Festival Main Event final table:
2024 Irish Poker Festival €3,000 Main Event Final Table Recap
Mark Buckley entered the final day third in chips and maintained his position through to the final table. He began the final table with the second-largest stack, while Finnish player Joni Rantamaki held the chip lead.
The first elimination at the final table came when Florian Fuchs went all-in with pocket jacks, only to be called by Niall Farrell holding pocket kings. The board did not improve Fuchs’s hand, ending his run in 9th place for €20,500. Conor O’Rourke later eliminated Ignas Navickas in 8th place (€24,000).
Ignotas Tamasauskas, who started the final table as the short stack, managed to double up a few times but ultimately finished in 7th place when his ace-king couldn’t overcome Sean Hegarty’s pocket queens. Tamasauskas collected €27,500 for his efforts. Sean Hegarty continued his momentum, knocking out Leo Worthington-Leese in 6th place (€31,500) and Niall Farrell in 5th place (€38,000).
With these eliminations, Hegarty took a significant chip lead over the remaining three players. However, his lead was short-lived as Joni Rantamaki regained control and eventually eliminated Hegarty in 4th place for €50,000. Shortly after, Buckley doubled up through Rantamaki, shifting the dynamics of the three-handed play.
Conor O’Rourke, one of the table short stacks, was eliminated in 3rd place, taking home €70,000.
Heads-up play began with Buckley holding a 2:1 chip advantage over Rantamaki. Despite this lead, Rantamaki displayed strong resistance, with the chip lead changing hands multiple times. After over one hour of back-and-forth action, the final hand saw Buckley shoving with A♦ 3♦, while Rantamaki called for his tournament life with 10♦ 4♣.
The board ran out 7♣ 5♣ 2♣ 3♥ K♠, giving Buckley a pair and securing the win, while Joni Rantamaki had to settle for the runner-up place taking home a six-figure prize of €113,000.
With this victory, Mark Buckley was crowned the 2024 Irish Poker Festival Champion.
2024 Irish Poker Festival Main Event Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Prize |
| 1st | Mark Buckley | €177,000 |
| 2nd | Joni Rantamaki | €113,000 |
| 3rd | Conor O’Rourke | €70,000 |
| 4th | Sean Hegarty | €50,000 |
| 5th | Niall Farrell | €38,000 |
| 6th | Leo Worthington-Leese | €31,500 |
| 7th | Ignotas Tamasauskas | €27,500 |
| 8th | Ignas Navickas | €24,000 |
| 9th | Florian Fuchs | $20,500 |
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Hands & Image Courtesy: PokerNews/irishpokerfest.com
