PROFILE
Name: Eoghan O’Dea
Age: 26
Hometown: Dublin, Ireland
Online Handle: intruder123
Poker isn’t a hobby in the O’Dea family. It’s a legacy.
Irishman Eoghan O’Dea followed in his father’s footsteps by reaching the final table of the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event in July. The 26-year-old poker pro from Dublin amassed 33,925,000 chips in the first eight days of the tournament, placing him second among the nine players returning in November. O’Dea trails chip leader Martin Staszko by just over 6 million.
Eoghan’s father, Donnacha, finished sixth in the 1983 WSOP Main Event (won by Tom McEvoy) and ninth in 1991 (won by Brad Daugherty). He won his first bracelet in 1998, defeating Johnny Chan heads-up to win the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event for $154,000.
Now, Eoghan gets his own shot at a bracelet.
O’Dea is no newcomer to Texas Hold ’em. The Irishman has several big scores under his belt, including a victory in the iPoker European Championship of Online Poker III for $315,000 in 2008 and a second-place finish in the Ladbrokes Poker Million for $260,000 a few months later. He then took second in the World Poker Tour stop at Marrakech in 2009 for $378,227, which was his biggest score until locking up a minimum of $782,155 as a member of the November Nine.
A victory in the WSOP Main Event would net him more than $8.7 million and move him past Andy Black as Ireland’s all-time money winner. Eoghan currently ranks 18th on that list; Donnacha is ninth.
HOW HE GOT THERE:
Day 1: 35,975 chips
Day 2: 186,600
Day 3: 319,000
Day 4: 449,000
Day 5: 929,000
Day 6: 2,535,000
Day 7: 19,500,000
Day 8: 33,925,000
KEY HAND: O’Dea had a steady climb through the Main Event. That is, until Day 7, when his stack grew into a tower of Irish power. Most of his 19.5-million chip stack came in a pot against Andrew Hinrichsen at the end of the day. The hand pretty much played itself, but it was a huge boost to O’Dea’s momentum heading into the most important day of his career.
With the blinds at 80,000/160,000 and a 20,000 ante, Ryan Lenaghan raised to 350,000 from under the gun and O’Dea called from the hijack seat. Action folded to Hinrichsen in the small blind, and he put in a three-bet to 900,000. The big blind and Lenaghan folded, and O’Dea then made it 2 million to go. Hinrichsen wasted no time moving all-in for close to 8 million, and O’Dea quickly called:
Hinrichsen: Ad-Kc
O’Dea: Kh-Ks
The board ran out all hearts, giving O’Dea a flush and the 16 million-plus chip pot. Hinrichsen was eliminated in 23rd place.
WHY HE CAN WIN: O’Dea has cut his teeth playing high-stakes poker tournaments for years and his experience showed late in the Main Event. Poker may run through his veins but Eoghan has also put countless hours in at the table honing his skills. He’s aggressive, he’s fearless, and he has a big stack. That’s a formula for success in November.
