Poker pro James Dempsey has bested the field of the partypoker Grand Prix Poker Tour Brighton $109 Main Event for a first-place prize of $40,000 and another shiny trophy to his more than impressive collection.
Dempsey is no stranger to both the live and online poker circuits. However, he is better known for his live achievements. The Brighton-based player is one win away from becoming a Triple Crown winner, a feat that only five poker players have ever completed.
Dempsey won his first WSOP gold bracelet in 2010 for topping the field of the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em. The player has not captured a gold piece since then but has been a regular participant at the Series. Late in 2011, he scooped a WPT title as well. The UK poker pro won the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em Championship event. With that said, the player has to win an EPT title in order to complete the Triple Crown challenge.
Over the years, Dempsey has collected $2,022,726 in live tournament earnings from a total of 85 different events.
The partypoker Grand Prix Poker Tour Brighton has attracted a massive field of 2,100 entries. The event guaranteed a prize pool of $250,000. Day 1 of the tournament was played both online and live at the Amex Stadium in Brighton. Day 2 of the tournament saw 224 survivors gathering together at the host venue. They were all guaranteed a minimum payout of $330.
It took about four hours of play for the Day 2 hopefuls to be reduced to a nine-handed final table. Nine-handed action kicked off with Ken Priestnall as the chip leader. The player had a total of 10,900,000 in chips. Dempsey was third in chips at that point of play with 6,990,000.
Tom Simm was Dempsey’s final opponent. On the very last hand in play, Simm went all in risking elimination. However, the player was in possession of a special Gold Chip that secured him with an additional payout of $50,000. Eventually, Simm lost that final hand and had to content with the runner-up finish in the tournament. His share of the overall prize pool totaled $24,000.
Seth Webber finished 3rd in the event for $16,000. James Alsop took 4th place for $12,260. Ken Priestnall was eliminated in 5th place, good for a payout of $9,000. Peter Burgon took 6th place for $7,000.
Paul Nugent collected $5,500 for taking 7th place in the event. Jamie Robinson finished 8th for $4,000. Rounding out the official nine-handed final table, Jaraslaw Szwarc scooped a $3,000 share of the prize pool.
