Poker News

Nick Abou Risk has won the UK & Ireland Poker Tour Galway - scoring an historic double.

The 25-year old, who is the first player to win two UKIPT titles, beat local amateur Trish Mallin heads up to win the €67,100 first place prize at the Radisson hotel, Galway.

It comes just four months after the Canadian, who lives in Ireland, pocketed £50,000 by winning the UKIPT Edinburgh.

Abou Risk started the day as chip leader and never looked in trouble during the nine-handed final table.

Early exits from Irishman Aonghus Farrell and German Johan Meyer set the tone as players jockeyed for position, with fourth place finisher Vytenis Navickas and fifth place Eoin Olin involved in a lot of the action.

But it was Abou Risk that seemed to be blessed, first cracking Farrell’s pocket aces then being dealt back-to-back pocket rockets with just three players left.

It was with the second pair that he reclaimed the chip lead from third place finisher Maurice Silke.

After Silke’s dismissal it didn’t take long for Abou Risk to finish off Mallin and claim the title calling her semi-bluff shove with Th 2h on a 9h 5s Td 4h board. Mallin held 7h 8c and failed to catch her draw.

Galway was the first of nine UKIPT Season 2 stops with events spanning the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland culminating in EPT London in late 2011.

The UKIPT’s next stop is Nottingham with the main event running 11-14 February.