Emmett Mullin wins UKIPT Galway

Season 3 of the UKIPT got off to a dramatic start in Galway, where Ireland’s Emmett Mullin saw off a tough final table, including two-time UKIPT champ Nick Abou Risk, for a career best €100,000.

Risk, looking to become the first ever player to win three UKIPT events, has a record unlilke any other in the UK and Ireland’s biggest poker tour, notching up over £150k in earnings thanks to wins in Dublin and Edinburgh back in 2010. But the Canadian will have to wait for his UKIPT hat-trick, after Mullin triumphed in a whirlwind final table, taking just five hours to see off the remaining seven players.

The hike in entry fees for this year’s UKIPT had little effect on the Galway field, with 698 players trying their luck at the Radisson Blu Hotel. And Risk wasn’t the only UKIPT veteran standing in Mullin’s way, as 2010 UKIPT Dublin runner-up Ronan Gilligan looked set to erase that dissappointment with a first victory in Galway.

Going into heads-up, Mullin and Gilligan were neck-and-neck, before the match swung in Mullin’s favour when the Irishman flopped a set of threes to crush his fellow countryman’s sevens.

‘It’s unbelievable and hasn’t sunk in yet,’ Mullin said after his win. ‘It’s by far my biggest cash and winning the event is huge for me.’

Here’s how the final table finished up:

1. Emmett Mullin €100,000
2. Ronan Gilligan €73,650
3. Joe Roberts €51,900
4. Craig Burke €30,750
5. Aleksandras Rusinovas €24,150
6. John Willoughby €19,400
7. Nick Abou Risk €14,700
8. Richard Haile €10,900
9. Joris Ruijs €7,800

Next up for the UKIPT is Nottingham between April 12-16. For the full schedule, click here. But if the UKIPT is a touch outside of your price range, why not jump into the PokerPlayer UK Tour? Our £100 buy-in two-day festivals will be kicking off up and down the country very soon. Come join us!