The wait is over! Tonkaaaa trucks to his first live tourney win for €134k

For Parker ‘Tonkaaaap’ Talbot, it must have seemed like winners’ photos were just for other people. Despite racking up a tally of big wins online and deep runs in live tourneys, the PokerStars Team Pro had acquired the unwanted distinction of going 4,363 days without a live tournament win.

How can we be so precise? Well, given his skill level and experience, the anomaly of his never having finished top of the podium was so striking that an entire Twitter/X account was created just to track how long the cold streak could last.

But with his victory in the Irish Open’s Luxon Pay €5k High Roller, Talbot’s wait is finally over. And one of the first to offer congratulations was someone who’d been keeping extra-close tabs on his progress…

Talbot gets revenge on his satellite nemesis

Earlier this week Talbot attempted to qualify for the High Roller in a €1,150 satellite, but was eliminated by Ireland’s Fergal O’Cathan. Talbot jokingly told O’Cathan that he’d be coming for him in the tournament proper, and would knock him out to claim revenge.

And that’s just what happened.

By that point, however, the two were the last men standing from a field of 111 entries - creating a €514k prize pool - and were heads-up for the title. Talbot had arrived at the final table as a short stack and won a couple of key flips to stay alive and in the mix. As a final table dominated by local players thinned out more and more, Talbot’s chances of booking the win increased.

But as he will have known from his recent experience in the EPT Paris High Roller, there are no guarantees. Talbot made it to heads-up there too, but ultimately fell short to take second place to Henrik Junker. There would be no repeat performance in Dublin.

The key hand came with Talbot holding A♦️️4❤️ against O’Cathan’s 7♣5♠. With blinds at 40k/80k/80k the A♣4♣7♠ brought enough for both players to get it all-in, and the A❤️ on the turn gave Talbot the win, the trophy and €134,279.

“I am happy for you,” a gracious O’Cathan told Talbot at the end, “you played better than me and deserved the title”.

“That’s a first” added Talbot’s fellow Team Pro Benjamin ‘Spraggy’ Spragg, with a smile.

The Irish Poker Open continues until Monday, April 1.

Irish Poker Open Luxon Pay €5k High Roller final results

^{Images courtesy of the Irish Poker Open}