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Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007

PartyPoker Irish Championships 2008 Announced

The pride of Ireland - Ciaran O'Leary

By Arthur Crowson

Get your four-leaf clovers ready because PartyPoker.com has just announced the details of the 2008 Irish Championship.

The event will take place at the prestigious Radisson Hotel and Spa in Galway, Ireland and will run from Jan. 3 to Jan. 6, 2008. This is the first premier tournament sponsorship in Ireland by PartyPoker.com and is one of Europe's first major tournaments of 2008.

Pokerevents.ie will be organizing the 2008 version of the three-year-old tournament and are thrilled to be doing so.

"This great value festival of poker attracts all levels of players from professional, to intermediate, to novice," said a Pokerevents.ie spokesperson. "It offers a deep-stacked, slow-structure game as well as an array of attractive side events. It is great to have a big sponsor on board."

The €2,000 buy-in is expected to attract 400 players from across Ireland, Europe, the U.K. and the United States. It will be recorded for six separate hour-long episodes that will be televised on RTE Ireland's national broadcaster and then distributed internationally. Among the players who have already expressed an interest in bellying up to the felt are new WSOP bracelet holder Ciaran O'Leary, Robert Williamson III, Padraig Parkinson and French sensation Bruno Fitoussi.

"The venue is great, overlooking the Galway Bay, and is sure to make for a fantastic weekend of quality poker and fun in a unique Irish atmosphere," said the Pokerevents.ie spokesperson. "Galway is easily accessible by road, rail, and air and has a unique culture of arts, music, literature, history, and 'craic.' [It] is perfectly suited as a location for Europe's most alluring boutique poker festival."

In 2006 Kieran Walsh, a young business student from the Irish county of Cork, took home €150,000 in the first Irish Poker Championships. Walsh outlasted over 500 players including some of Europe's top players and 2005 Main Event final table finisher Andy Black.

"We're pleased to sponsor this well-established, highly regarded tournament and Ireland is a great country for poker with an amazing pedigree," Pokerevents.ie concluded.

There will be over 500 qualifying satellites held in pubs and clubs across Ireland with dozens more being offered on PartyPoker.com.

Here's a complete schedule:

Thursday, January 3, 2008
· Super Satellite - €200+€20
Friday, January 4, 2008
· Main Event Day 1 - €2,000 (9% withheld) No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout
Saturday, January 5, 2008
· Main Event Day 2 - €2,000
· Supporting Event - €800+€80 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout
Sunday, January 6, 2008
· Main Event Day 3 - €2,000
· Supporting Event - €400+€40 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout