Kevin Vandersmissen Wins The 2012 Irish Open
Matthew Pitt
Kevin Vandersmissen may have started the final table of the 2012 Irish Open last in chips but he managed to keep his cool, double up and then go on to take down the entire tournament! This latest win is the largest of his career, the €420,000 first place prize eclipsing the €260,000 he was awarded for coming second in the Snowfest leg of the PokerStars European Poker Tour and it takes his lifetime career winnings to $1,454,550.
When play got underway at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin the players lined up as shown in the table below but within just five hands all of that had changed.
| Seat | Name | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ian Simpson | 2,007,000 |
| 2 | David "Dixie" Dean | 1,986,000 |
| 3 | Thomas Beer | 1,319,000 |
| 4 | Kevin Vandersmissen | 492,000 |
| 5 | Andrew Black | 808,000 |
| 6 | Philip Magennis | 632,000 |
| 7 | Samuel Chartier | 582,000 |
| 8 | Steve Watts | 1,519,000 |
| 9 | Jordan Lewis | 685,000 |
On the fifth hand of play Ian Simpson opened the betting to 56,000 and when the action folded to Thomas Beer he three-bet to 140,000. Irishman Andy Black looked down and found 
staring back at him and decided his best play was to move all-in for 774,000 and amazingly Philip Magennis called off his last 622,000 after being dealt 
. Simpson instantly folded but Beer was sat there holding 
and obviously called! The board ran out 
which sent Magennis (9th) and Black (8th) to the rail and Beer to the top of the chip counts with just shy of 3,000,000 chips.
Next to go was the Canadian pro Sam Chartier in seventh place. He got his 642,000 chips into the middle holding 
but ran straight into the dominating 
of Simpson. Chartier found no help from the 
board and he high-tailed it out of the tournament area.
Six became five when Jordan Lewis was sent for an early bath after a clash with David "Dixie" Dean. Dean opened the betting with a raise to 130,000 and when Lewis looked down at and got all of his 683,000 stack into the middle. Dean pondered what to do with his 
for a minute or so before calling. He was rewarded by the dealer fanning out a flop reading 
which was followed by a 
turn and river and with that Lewis' tournament came to an end.
Fifth place went to Steve Watts, the second time he has finished fifth in a Dublin-based tournament in recent months having being the fifth place finisher at the inaugural WPT Ireland Main Event. His Irish Open dreams were left shattered by a coinflip with Simpson; his unable to catch up to the 
of the man who started the day as chip leader.
Simpson then went from the executioner to executed an in cruel circumstances. Beer opened up the betting with a raise to 125,000 from the cutoff with 
and Simpson three-bet to 475,000 from the small blind. Beer then moved in and Simpson instantly called with his pocket tens. Simpson was a massive favourite to double up but the flop came down 
which propelled Beer into an unlikely lead and when the turn and river failed to improve Simpson he was eliminated in fourth spot.
"Dixie" Dean became the third place finisher when he pushed his now short-stack of 1,120,000 chips into the middle first-in with 
. Unfortunately for him, instead of picking up the blinds and antes he picked up a caller in the shape of Beer and his 
. The
flop put Dean in front but the turn turned the hand back around completely. The 
river ended the hand and Dean's hopes of winner and sent the tie into the final stages.
Despite not being involved in any of the eliminations Vandersmissen took a narrow 5,531,000 to 4,499,000 lead into the one-on-one section of the tournament but that lead soon grew and the final hand was not too long in coming. Beer opened to 160,000 from the button and his Belgian opponent made the call. The pair shared a flop reading 
, a flop that Vandersmissen checked, Beer bet 200,000, Vandersmissen check-raised to 480,000 then shoved for 7,000,000 when Beer clicked it back and made it 800,000 to play. Beer called with and found himself up against 
. The turn was the and the river was the 
eliminating Beer and gifting the title to Vandersmissen.
2012 Irish Open Main Event Final Table Results
| Position | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Kevin Vandersmissen | €420,000 |
| 2nd | Thomas Beer | €225,000 |
| 3rd | David Dean | €158,000 |
| 4th | Ian Simpson | €107,500 |
| 5th | Steve Watts | €78,000 |
| 6th | Jordan Lewis | €59,000 |
| 7th | Samuel Chartier | €44,500 |
| 8th | Andy Black | €32,700 |
| 9th | Philip Magennis | €23,000 |
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