Killarney, Ireland was the site for the 2008 Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival held between Oct. 2-5. Most of the top players in the land stopped by including Ladbrokes pro Roy Brindley and Pot-Limit Omaha World Champion Marty Smyth. The Main Event of the festival induced a whopping 832 player field, creating a €416,000 prize pool.

The number of entrants in this year’s Main Event was particularly notable, as initially the maximum capacity for the event was slated to be only 625. When organizers realized the popularity of the event, they then accommodated those players by increasing the event to 750. After already busting their initial capacity, tournament organizers decided to once again increase the maximum field, allowing for the final field of 832 total entrants, a record for a European ranking event.

“We’re absolutely delighted with the turnout and would like to thank all the players who made this festival such a success,” said Bryan Coleman, Ladbrokes Irish territory manager.

Slicing his way through this massive field for the victory was Cork, Ireland native Jimmy McSweeney. McSweeney has had moderate success in other poker tournaments in Ireland as well, but by no means is he a seasoned pro. McSweeney cashed in a 2006 Irish Classics event and made the final-table of three events in the Irish Classic Poker Festival in 2007.  Still, his largest payday prior to this was €8,450 — today he collected €100,000 for his efforts.

The payouts for the final table were as follows:

Place     Name                    Prize
1st           Jimmy McSweeney      €100,000
2nd          Andrew Roberts          €65,000
3rd           Bo Ericshen                €35,000
4th           Hugh Whelan             €25,000
5th           Nick Heather             €20,000
6th           Ian Smith                   €15,000
7th           Steve Johnson            €12,000
8th           Barry Hand                 €10,000