It might not be the most prestigous event at this year’s Irish Open — but it was almost certainly the funnest.
The Open Face Chinese Championship had a party atmosphere from the get-go. The relatively low buy-in and swingy nature of the game itself, had a tangible effect on those present. And being tucked away in a side room for the early rounds only served to heighten the sense that there was something special going on.
That’s not to say that there wasn’t some top-class play on show. As the tournament got down to the business end, it was clear that the remaining players were taking it very seriously indeed.
And this was by no means a turbo event. It was close on 14 hours of runtime when Riku Koivurrine saw off his final adversary, Fabian Bartuschk and took down the €8,265 for first place.
The day had started in the side room of Shelbourne Hall. Here, the chips were flying and the stacks yo-yoed dramatically from one hand to the next.
Joining the fun were some familiar faces. Parker “Tonkaaaa” Talbot swung by — albeit briefly — and there were appearances by Rosalie Pettit, Martin “Franke” von Zweibergk, and a deep run from Jon Kyte, who eventually finished in third place.
With 45 left, there was a table redraw and the players moved into the main hall. Perhaps it was the change of scenery or the approaching money bubble but almost immediately, it felt like the game was being taken just a tad more seriously.
Not too seriously though. There was still plenty of laughter, and of course the sound of Franke declaring loudly, “I hate Chinese poker!”, followed shortly after by him stating, “I love Chinese poker!” — only to change his mind back again minutes later.
The 118-strong field was a surprisingly healthy turnout for such a niche variant. And there was plenty of interest shown by more casual poker fans — clearly intruiged by this 13-card, 3-hand mayhem — suggesting that OFC could provide an even bigger field if held here again.
For those who took part, it was clearly one of the highlights of the festival.
Final Hand
Koivurinne Bartuschk
Final Results
1. Riku Kivurinne €8,265
2. Fabian Bartuschk €5,600
3. Jon Kyte €4,200
4. Simon Gautschi €3,000
5. Nikolay Ponomarev €2,000
6. Dingeman Slagmolen €1,400
7. Nicolas Gonzalez €1,400
8. Manfred Gunther €1,400
9. Sandro Zariello €1,100
10. David Hu €1,100
11. Brandon Shiels €1,100
12. Scott Stewart €1,100
13. Robert Rohlich €800
14. Marian Virlanuta €800
15. Sebastiaan Kruiswijk €800
16. Seun Oluwole €800
17. Martin Chan €800
