PLO Specialist David Callaghan Leads Day One at WPT Ireland

(Photo: Dave Callaghan)

The last time the World Poker Tour was in Europe was in the floating city of Venice. Back then it was a local boy who took home the title and at the end of Day One, here in Ireland, we are on course for a repeat performance, as Dave Callaghan finishes the day as our chip leader with 186,900 chips.

Callaghan, who is a Pot Limit Omaha player, only enters a few No Limit Hold’em tournaments each year. We caught up with him in the bar, where he was enjoying a pint of the black stuff with Padraig Parkinson and Marty Smyth, and he told us that he only entered the contest because he had nothing else to do. Callaghan finally registering in level four before grinding out his impressive stack in the following six levels. The biggest pot Callaghan played was when his opponent moved all-in for 22,000 into a 3,000 pot on a board of [Kx] [Kx] [9x]. Callaghan made the call with [Jx] [Jx] and his opponent showed [8x] [8x], but despite that pot most of his stack was earned the hard way – through good old-fashioned grinding.

The Day One seat draw threw up some interesting confrontations. The newly signed PKR Team Pro and Triple Crown Winner Jake Cody found himself seated next to the old PKR Team Pro Vladimir Geshkenbein. Both players throwing a few bluffs into each other proving that there is no love lost when it comes to team unity in the PKR household. Both players made it through to day two with Cody on 49,100 & Geshkenbein on 64,000.

(Photo: Jake Cody)

The dream table of the day consisted of Andy Black, WPT Amateur Champion Berten Dragten, Leo Margets, Kevin Vandersmissen, Sofia Lovgren and Jamie Burland. Lovgren and Vandersmissen the only pairing not to make it through to Day two.

(Photo: Leo Margets)

Snooker legend Ken Doherty had a great day one despite having to share his table with the likes of James Akenhead and Marvin Rettenmaier. The former amateur and professional world snooker champion was our early chip leader but finished the day with an average stack of 53,500. Rettenmaier also made it through to day two with 31,600 but Akenhead fell by the wayside in the final seven hands of the day.

(Photo: Ken Doherty)

Another great table draw saw one of our newest WPT Champions Club members, James Dempsey, paired with one of 2011’s greatest players Sam Trickett. Dempsey defeated one of the toughest final tables the WPT has ever seen when he won the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Poker Championships just a few short weeks ago. Vitor Coelho finished 5th on that final table and incredibly he was seated next to Dempsey once more. Dempsey (26,100) and Coelho (31,600) made it through to Day Two but Hot Shot Trickett was left bemoaning his luck, both on the felt and in the barbers and he was cut short in both areas today – Trickett will not be joining us on Day Two.

(Photo: A Bad Hair Day For Trickett)

There were a few couples in the house at WPT Ireland as well. The first couple was a brother combination as the Hendon Mobsters Ross and Barny Boatman found themselves on the same table and what a table it was. Joining the brothers Boatman were WPT Champions Club member Sam El Sayed, Martin Silke and a little later in the day Priyan De Mel. Unfortunately, for Barny Boatman it was a case of premature ejection as he managed to find himself out of the competition in the first few hands, in what can only be described as a right cock up. The 100 and 5,000 chips look remarkably similar and Boatman found out just how similar, to his cost, when he raised to 15,000 instead of 300! Sam El Sayed moved all-in for 32,000 holding pocket queens and Boatman was priced in for the call with pocket tens. Boatman later told us he was the martyr and he set the example for others NOT to follow.

(Photo: Sam El Sayed)

The Posh n Becks of poker were also in the land of the Emerald Isle. The delicious dish that is Tatjana Pasalic exchanged the microphone for chips and cards as she joined her beau McLean Karr at the tables. The happy couple both made it through to Day Two with Pasalic on 26,900 and Karr on 42,000.

(Photo: McLean Karr)

So 338 players started and 195 players finished. Day Two will start at 14.00 (GMT) and the average chip stack will be 52,000. As well as the Dempsey’s and Cody’s of the world, also keep a watchful eye out for the names Sam MacDonald, Jon Kalmar, Andy Black, Charles Chattha, David Nicholson and Ben Jackson. All of them have a few chips and plenty of promise.

See you tomorrow and don’t late…unless you are as good as David Callaghan that is!