Live Tournament Updates
An Interview With WPT Ireland Winner Dave Shallow
Level 28: 30,000-60,000, 10,000 ante
Dave Shallow burst onto the UK poker scene in 2006 where he quickly built up a notoriously aggressive image playing online. Back then he was one of the local poker heroes but he has been absent from the main tournament scene for quite some time making it a nice surprise to see him at WPT Ireland.
His €222,280 win also includes a $25,000 seat in the WPT World Championships to be held at the Bellagio next year and it easily ranks as his greatest poker achievement. Back in 2006, in a Pokernews interview, he said that one of his ambitions was to one-day win a WPT title. Who would have thought he would have had to travel so close to home to finally win one!
His name may be Shallow but at the start of the day his stack was anything but. He started the day with a monstrous looking 6,115,000 chips, nearly two million more chips than the rest of the combined field! Poker fans and poker experts were predicting one of the quickest final tables in WPT history and they were not disappointed.
As it turned out Dave Shallow actually started in the worse possible way. In only the third hand of the day he doubled up the PKR online qualifier Patrik Vestlin after moving all-in over a Vestlin button raise. Shallow had the lowly looking 3
3
and Vestlin A
T. The T on the flop handing Vestlin the coin flip win and a new chip stack of over two million in chips.
The next player that Shallow doubled up was the shortest stack at the table, local lad, Ronan Gilligan. Shallow moved all-in from the small blind with K 5 and Gilligan called with 8
8. Gilligan faded the king and also moved close to two million in chips. Shallow was hovering just above the 4 million mark.
The first player to be eliminated was the chatterbox Steve Watts. Wattsy, as his friends on the rail kept shouting out, ran pocket tens into the ace-king of the resurgent Gilligan and Gilligan hit a straight on the river on a board of Q J 7 9 T to ease himself into second spot whilst taking the first scalp of the day.
Patrik Vestlin was next to go and once again it was that man Gilligan doing the damage. All of the money went into the middle of the table on a flop of 9 7 3. Vestlin held A Q for two over-cards and the nut-flush draw and Gilligan J 9 for top pair. The board bricked for the Swede and Gilligan became our chip leader for the first time in this competition.
With his new found confidence and new chip stack, Ronan Gilligan, started to loosen up and eventually it would be to his cost. Charles Chattha and Dave Shallow are two very good players and peeling out of position is always going to be a dicey strategy. He started to lose chips and all of a sudden it was Shallow back in the driving seat, Gilligan in second place being chased hard by the ever-improving Chattha.
When Gilligan met his demise in 3rd place is was another one of those pots that Gilligan seemingly lives or dies by. Dave Shallow raised from the small blind holding T 9 and Gilligan called with the meager looking 4 3. The flop brought top pair for Shallow and an open ended straight draw for Gilligan and after all the money went into the middle Gilligan missed and we were heads up.
Chaz and Dave are usually heard singing, "Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, rabbit," and are more likely to be seen in the 1980s music scene than the final of a WPT event but this is what we got. Typically, the encounter didn't last that long, and it rested on two crucial hands. In the first crucial hand, Shallow doubled Chattha up after five-bet jamming with K 3 while Chattha was holding Q Q. That double up handed Chattha the chip lead for the first time in the tournament but it still remained very close.
Shallow then won a few back-to-back inconspicuous pots to slightly regain the chip lead before the final hand of WPT Ireland. When the end came it was a cooler with the aggressive Shallow finding pocket queens in an all-in pot against the pocket nines of Chattha.
So does this mean that Dave "Dubai" Shallow is back on the scene? Not likely, as his significant other is 7 months pregnant! Well at least he has a few bob to create a nice new bedroom for the forthcoming little Shallow.
07:55 PM, 01/08/12
Dave "Dubai" Shallow Wins WPT Ireland (€222,280)
Level 28: 30,000-60,000, 10,000 ante
Dave Shallow took command of this tournament as early as Day Two and he has not let go since. He started the day as the unassailable chip leader, and despite doubling up Patrik Vestlin, Ronan Gilligan and Chaz Chattha that chip lead meant all the difference. He has just been crowned the inaugural WPT Irish champion in a cooler of a heads up hand.
Shallow raises to 135,000 on the button with Q Q and Charles Chattha looks down to see 9 9. He makes a three-bet to 380,000 and Shallow takes advantage of his image by four-betting to 825,000. Chattha moves all-in and has a sick look on his face when he hears Shallow make the call.
Both players rise to their feet as the dealer lays out the K K 2 8 3 and Dave Shallow wins one of our quickest WPT Final Tables in history. Commiserations to Chaz Chattha who played fantastically well all throughout this tournament.
Dave Shallow wins the inaugural WPT Ireland, earning €222,280 (which includes a $25,500 seat into the season-ending WPT World Championship). Shallow will have his name engraved on the WPT Champions Cup, and receive a WPT Champions Trophy of his own.
06:37 PM, 01/08/12
Split Pot
Level 28: 30,000-60,000, 10,000 ante
Chaz Chattha raises with K Q and Dave Shallow calls with Q 4. The flop is Q 5 5 and the way these two have been playing, this good spell the end of the tournament. However, just when we were expecting action both players check. The turn is the 5 and Shallow bet 260,000 and Chattha just calls. On the river we see the T and Shallow bets once more and before we see the amount Chattha calls and they split the pot.
06:31 PM, 01/08/12
Shallow Draws Two Streets From Chattha
Level 28: 30,000-60,000, 10,000 ante
Dave Shallow raises with 9 8 on the button and Chaz Chattha defends K 3. The flop is J 8 3 and Chattha check-calls a 230,000 Shallow c-bet. On the turn we see the 4 and once again the action is check-call, the bet is 385,000 and Chattha pays it before both players check the T on the river and Shallow wins the pot.
06:26 PM, 01/08/12
Chattha Takes The Chip Lead For The First Time
Level 28: 30,000-60,000, 10,000 ante
(Photo: Charles Chattha)
Chaz Chattha raises to 140,000 with Q Q and Dave Shallow three-bets to 360,000 holding K 3. Back to Chattha and he makes his first four-bet of the final table making it 600,000 to play. Shallows verbally announces he is all-in and Chattha snap calls.
The board runs out clean for Chattha and he takes the chip lead for the first time in this entire tournament.
Board: A 4 3 2 2
Chattha ~ 5,180,000
Shallow ~ 4,960,000
06:18 PM, 01/08/12
Chattha Flops a Straight
Level 28: 30,000-60,000, 10,000 ante
Dave Shallow continues to raise 100% of buttons with a 135,000 bet holding 4 2 and Chaz Chattha defends with 8 7.
Flop: J T 9
Chattha flops the straight and he lends Shallow some rope with a check. Shallow takes it and makes a 135,000 bet and Chattha comes in with the check-raise resulting in a Shallow fold.
Chattha ~ 2,590,000
Shallow ~ 7,550,000
06:15 PM, 01/08/12
Shallow Takes Another Pot
Level 28: 30,000-60,000, 10,000 ante
Dave Shallow has started well in this heads up encounter.
He raises on the button holding A 4 and Chaz Chattha three-bets to 320,000 holding A 5. Shallow asks for a count and then makes the call. The flop is J 8 3 and Chattha checks to Shallow and he wins the pot with a 515,000 bet.
06:08 PM, 01/08/12
Dave Shallow Loves Seven-Deuce
Level 27: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante
It's the first hand of the heads up encounter and Dave Shallow sets the tone by raising with 7 2 on the button and Chaz Chattha calls with K T.
The flop of 9 4 2 is checked through and on the 5 turn a simple c-bet by Shallow takes down the pot.
06:06 PM, 01/08/12
Chaz and Dave Have Never Looked So Good (Rabbit...Rabbit...Rabbit...)
Level 27: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante
06:01 PM, 01/08/12
Ronan Gilligan Eliminated in 3rd Place (€74,090)
Level 27: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante
(Photo: Ronan Gilligan)
Dave Shallow raises in the small blind holding T 9 and Ronan Gilligan defended the big blind with 4 3. The flop brings a bit of everything for everyone with top pair for Shallow and an open ended straight draw for Gilligan. Shallow bet 215,000 and you just knew there was going to be fireworks! Gilligan raises to 525,000, Shallow moves all-in, Gilligan makes the call and we have a huge showdown with Gilligan at risk of elimination.
The turn K and the river 8 were great cards for Shallow and Gilligan was out!
Shallow ~ 7,280,000
Chattha ~ 2,860,000
05:39 PM, 01/08/12
