It is not uncommon for an online poker player to earn a seat into a big online event via a satellite or qualifier. Online poker sites offer these lower buy-in events to drum up interest in major tournaments and provide players with seats at a much lower price. What is odd is for a player to win a seat via a satellite and then go on to win the major event. But that is exactly what happened to Padraig “John_smith2” O’Neill during the Unibet Poker Online Series.

O’Neill took part in the Unibet Open Online High event, a tournament with a €1,100 buy-in. He won his spot in a €50 qualifier and managed to finish in first, earning €79,998 for the win!

Tournament Details

The Day 1 field of competitors was whittled down to 64 players who returned on the final day of play. Unfortunately, two of those players would go home empty-handed while the rest would finish in the money.

As the field narrowed down, it would finally leave O’Neill and “lovebeaches” to compete in heads-up play. O’Neill was not messing around and managed to have the chip lead and take out the final competitor to secure the online poker title win.

When asked about the win, O’Neill stated that he was thrilled to have booked his biggest win ever during the Unibet Open Online. He plays at the site most nights and was able to qualify for the event, which of course, led to the win.

Final Table Results:

Place Player Prize
First Padraig O’Neill €79,998
Second lovebeaches €56,962
Third Lapeok €41,394
Fourth thrsths €29,720
Fifth Lariat €22,641
Sixth thyragray84 €16,627
Seventh Imaginedead €12,027
Eighth PLP2015 €8,667
Ninth Karadshian69 €6,192

Moving Online 

The Unibet brand has been quite busy as of late, bringing its land-based events online. Back in April, it was announced that for the remainder of 2020, Unibet would not schedule any more live events due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Fall and Winter Unibet Open was scheduled for online, with options in September and one series scheduled for this December.