Docherty defeated Ireland’s Declan Rice to win the prestigious Irish Poker Open 2023 title

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“If I go through 2023 without a significant live score, I’d be shocked.”

That’s what Scotland’s David Docherty told us four months ago when we spoke to him at Prague’s European Poker Tour (EPT) stop.

From someone else, that statement could appear brash and cocky. But from the veracious Docherty – a professional poker player of 14 years – it seemed just; an inevitable outcome for one of the UK’s hardest-working tournament players.

For years, Docherty felt like he flew under the radar. He had the respect of his peers and knew that he was putting in the necessary work, but huge scores eluded him.

That changed at the end of 2021 when he finally broke through with a GUKPT win for £138K. He followed that up in 2022 by making an EPT final table in London, finishing seventh for £103K.

And now, just four months into 2023, Docherty has achieved the significant live score that he correctly predicted. 

On Monday, April 10, 2023, he took down the Irish Poker Open Main Event for a career-best €365K.

ALL FROM A €109 SATELLITE

Having won his entry to the Irish Poker Open 2023 (sponsored by PokerStars and Paddy Power) in a €109 online satellite, Docherty was one of 2,491 total entries who created a €2.4 million prize pool, making this the biggest tournament in Irish poker history.

Five days of play later and he was the last player standing. 

It’s never easy, of course, even for a player of Docherty’s experience. The final table included the legendary Andy Black who narrowly missed out on topping Ireland’s all-time money list when he finished fifth for €95,500 (Black is just a few thousand away from overtaking Max Silver).

Ireland’s Declan Rice held the chip lead for most of the final table, but by the time he reached heads-up play against Docherty, it was the latter who had a dominant chip advantage.

It took 50 minutes of heads-up play before all the chips found their way to Docherty. Rice was all in with J♠ 2♣ against Docherty’s K♥ 10♥ and the 8♥ 6♣ 2♦ flop gave Rice the best hand. The 8♣ turn gave Docherty more outs, however, as he could now win with a six as he’d counterfeit Rice’s hand with a better two pair and kicker.

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David Docherty strikes gold in the @Irish_PokerOpen Main Event to take the title, 🏆 and €365,000. 👏 pic.twitter.com/gdCNI7UndG

— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) April 11, 2023

The river? 6♠ .

A massive congratulations to Docherty who adds one of poker’s most prestigious titles to his résumé.

“I’ve put half of my life into the game and it’s only been the past couple of years that I’ve started to get huge results,” he told us. “Now I feel like they’re coming one after the other.”

We can’t wait to see what comes next.

Docherty appeared on the Poker in the Ears podcast shortly after his victory. You can listen to that episode below.

IRISH POKER OPEN MAIN EVENT 2023

Dates: 5-10 April 2023
Buy-in: €1,150
Entries: 2,491
Prize pool: €2,428,725

1 David Docherty (UK) – €365,000
2 Declan Rice (Ireland) – €228,700
3 Panagiotis Mavritsakis (Greece) – €161,500
4 Tom Waters (UK) – €124,500
5 Andy Black (Ireland) – €95,500
6 Eugeniu Barbaros (Moldova) €73,500
7 Carl Shaw (UK) – €56,500
8 Henri Ojala (Finland) – €43,500

FURTHER READING:

David Docherty is done with flying under the radar

For years, Scotland’s David Docherty was referred to as a “tour regular”. But after breaking through with multiple six-figure scores, he’s done with flying under the radar.

PokerStars and Paddy Power join forces to sponsor Irish Poker Open

Both PokerStars and Paddy Power will sponsor the prestigious festival, which runs from April 3-10, 2023 in Dublin.

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