The quartet of Marty Smyth, Eoghan O’Dea, Ciaran O’Leary and Liam Flood completed a historic 1-2-3-4 in the Poker Million final in London on Friday, December 12th.  The Irish professionals were joined on the final table by internet qualifiers Kevin Allen of England and Sven Peter Neilsen of Norway.  However, these two players were the first to be knocked out, leaving the four Irishmen to fight it out for the bulk of the prizepool and the glory.

Liam ‘The Gentleman’ Flood, one of the best known Irish professionals due to his decades of success at the tables and long involvement with the Irish Open, was knocked out in fourth spot.  He was followed by Paddy Power Poker pro and WSOP bracelet-holder Ciaran ‘Big C’ O’Leary, leaving Eoghan O’Dea, who won $315,000 and captured the ECOOP III Main Event crown earlier in the week while playing on Paddy Power Poker, heads-up with former Irish Open winner Marty Smyth.

O’Dea eventually took the runner-up spot, allowing Smyth to add the Poker Million title to his trophy cabinet and $1,000,000 to his bank account.  This clean sweep of the top four positions completes a remarkable year for Irish poker, with the numbers attending live festivals and playing online flourishing despite a slowdown in the wider economy.