WinnerOnline-Editorial

The seventh edition of Ladbrokes' Poker Million television poker tournament has come to an end and Irish poker pro Marty Smyth will head into the holidays on a high.

With the final table broadcast on the SKY Sports 3 channel, Smyth, who was sponsored by Boylepoker.com and took top spot in the World Championship Pot Limit Omaha event at this year's World Series of Poker, outlasted fellow Irishman Eoghan O'Dea in final table heads up play and took home $1 million; in fact, four out of the last six were from Ireland.

"Marty is a poker legend and this victory tops off the most incredible year," said Boylepoker's head of poker, Paul Spillane.

"He has won 3 major events and this is the third year in a row he has been on the final table of the Poker Million."

In a classic case of preseverance, Smyth has made the final table at the Poker Million tourney the past three years—sixth in 2006 and runner-up last year—and finally triumphed this year, although things didn't look so good early on.

"I got off to a bad start—I played a big hand and thought I was winning but it turns out I wasn't," Smyth told the BBC.

"At that stage, bookmakers were offering odds of 66/1."

$1 million can go quickly if one doesn't invest wisely but it didn't sound like this year's Poker Million champ would go on a spending spree.

"I'm fairly sensible—I've enjoyed a lot of success in the last couple of years, but I'm aware that might not be the case forever," said Smyth.