Marty Smyth wins weird Irish Poker Open

Roland De Wolfe created most of the action on the final table, but Marty Smyth walked away as the 2007 Irish Poker Open winner. The victory in the "weirdest tournament ever" was worth €650,000 for the Irishman.

When the final day of the 2007 Irish Poker Open started, Roland De Wolfe was the short-stack with 365,000 in chips, but in a couple if hours time he had turned things around and taken the chip lead.

The former WPT and EPT winner De Wolfe continued the show by bluffing away most of his chips against Sorel Mizzi, and then winning them back by catching a runner-runner flush against Brian O'Keefe.

Finally, De Wolfe stood face-to-face with Marty Smyth. On the way to the heads-up match for the title, De Wolfe had knocked out four players, Thomas Finneran, Nicky Power, Daniel McHugh and Sorel Mizzi, while Smyth busted only one, Brian "The Fox" O'Keefe.

The heads-up match was a long one, but in the end Marty Smyth prevailed. He won a key pot when he caught a set of twos on the turn to crack De Wolfe's pocket trees, and then finished the tournament off by making a higher flush than his opponent in the final hand.

In a post-tournament interview with Marty Smyth, the 2007 Irish Open champion revealed that he was both very tired and very happy.

"Well, I'm kind of drained, but obviously very excited. The title and the trophy mean a lot to me and the money. It's an honor, especially given the turn-out for the event," Smyth told PokerListings.com reporter Owen Laukkanen.

Weird or not, Marty Smyth won the tournament on his home soil and walked away with €650,000 in prize money, while runner-up De Wolfe had to settle for €325,000.

Final results from the 2007 Irish Poker Open: