The first place of the  2011 Irish Poker Open  went to Irishman  Niall Smyth, who took home a prize of €550,000. The poker player was the best of a field of 615 players who took part in the tournament hosted by the Burlington Hotel in Dublin.

Smyth went to the final table of the €3,500 Irish Open 2011 as chip leader and managed to beat WPT title holder and televised Britishpoker  legend Surinder Sunar. "Unbelievable. I just can't believe it," Smyth commented. Apparently, he won his seat in the tournament through a horse race bet he made in the poker site that sponsors the event.

"It started when I put €10 each way on the winner of the English Grand National, I won €200 and now I have €650,000. Surinder is such a great player, my support has been fantastic, and here I am!," the lucky  poker player  said.

The heads-up between Surinder and Smyth lasted nearly four hours, during which the  poker players  exchanged the chip lead several times. Finally,  Surinder Sunar  went home with a second place and €290,000, while Martin Petri ended in third place with a prize of €180,000 and Seamus Cahill was fourth with a €145,000 prize.