A weekend's worth of play in Ireland, at the PokerStars UK  and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) Galway main event, saw the rest of the 259 player starting field reduced down to the final nine, with each still battling for a first place prize worth EUR125,000, as well as the honor of being the UKIPT's first official champion.

Numerous major poker names did compete in this inaugural UKIPT event including John Duthie, Carter Gill and Andy Black, but most were unable to last long enough to sit down at today's final table. 

One notable exception was Ireland's Padraig Parkinson, who  begins the final with not only the biggest name and most live tournament cashes- worth close to $1.5 million- but also with an above average chip count of 693,500, putting him in a comfortable third place overall.

The chip counts for the final nine players of the PokerStars UKIPT Galway are as follows:

Paul Marrow 1,000,500

Ben Lefew 928,500

Padraig Parkinson 693,500

Michael McFadgen 585,500

Michael Graydon 585,000

Cat O'Neill 535,000

Paul Dooley 376,500

Vinny Cosgrove 301,000

Trevor Bulless  173,500

For more information visit www.ukipt.com, or check out the PokerStars blog (www.pokerstarsblog.com), for updates and photos direct from the final table.?
 

Story by Mark Anderson