It was the biggest side event ever held at the Irish Open but in the early hours of this morning, Argentina’s Mario Niciforo outlasted a record field of 599 entries to win €18,127 in The Hendon Mob Championship.
Last night’s victory represents one of Niciforo’s very few cashes outside of South America and his only cash in Europe, although (according to the Hendon Mob – and where else would we look?), he has notched up an impressive amount of reales, balboas and pesos over the years. His total haul now tops $500,000, accumulated over more than a decade of competing in live poker tournaments.
It wasn’t just the money, trophy and huge kudos of winning such a big tournament at stake last night however. The Hendon Mob and its partner Sunbet Poker Tour had also thrown in a free trip to South Africa for the new champion. In fact, the winners of all nine The Hendon Mob Championships this year will be getting this fab prize which includes a week’s accommodation in Cape Town and entry into the R1,000,000 guaranteed THMC Cape Town Million at the end of November.
When play reached four-handed last night, Niciforo, Colin Horgan, Gabriel Rymar and Guillermo Gordo all agreed an ICM deal with €5,714 left to play for along with the trophy and Cape Town ticket. Some 40 minutes later and it was just Niciforo and Irish Open regular Horgan left in contention. The pair decided to split the money – with Niciforo getting the title and Hendon Mob trophy while Horgan would take €16,042 plus the trip to South Africa.
The Hendon Mob Championship is always one of those tournaments that players flock to compete in. First off, it’s associated with the legendary Hendon Mobsters, one of whom Barny Boatman, burnished his already glittering poker CV recently with victory at EPT Paris for €1,287,800.
Secondly, the Hendon Mob website has become the top repository for poker info over the years. So much so that people no longer ask “How much has x won?”, they ask “What’s their Hendon Mob?”
As a result, it’s common for players to brag to each other about their Hendon Mob flags. And when it comes to a “Hendon Mob Championship” Hendon Mob flag, we’re talking elite-level achievement.
With an affordable €215+35 buy-in, and just a single re-entry allowed, The Hendon Mob Championship is always a very popular event at the Irish Open but the field yesterday was truly incredible. The tournament was not only the Irish Open’s largest ever side event but it was also the largest field ever seen in a single-day Hendon Mob Championship event. The total prize pool amounted to €125,562, with 87 players getting a share of the spoils.
No one could miss the Hendon Mob’s presence at the Irish Open either this year with branding and this year’s event calendar blazoned across our giant 100ft LED wall events at the venue entrance.
