The “skill” of the Irish prevailed once again late last week, as PocketFiver Cathal shinerrr Shine (pictured at right) captured a Triple Crown in just two days. Luck had no part of taking down three $10,000 prize pool tournaments across three sites that are tracked for the Online Poker Rankings in a matter of just 48 hours. Shine’s run began on PartyPoker, where the Irishman took down the $109 buy-in $12,000 Guaranteed for a healthy $3,500 payday. Then, it was onto the world’s largest online poker room, PokerStars, where he shined brightly in the $55 Cubed ($20,000 Guaranteed) for $8,000. For his final trick, Shine dominated the felts of the Titan Poker $100 rebuy to the tune of $27,000.

The $12,000 Guaranteed on PartyPoker kicked off his Triple Crown run on PocketFives.com. He noted that the event had the “weakest field of the three tournaments and the roughest structure.” Nevertheless, Shine prevailed despite the poor structure, which he characterized as, “Short blind levels with big jumps. It turns into a bit of an all-in fest by the time you get to the final table.” To open the month of July, the PocketFiver took down the $33 rebuy on PartyPoker twice in a three-day period. The event boasts a $10,000 guaranteed prize pool, meaning Shine raked in nearly $6,000 total.

Next up was PokerStars, the only USA-friendly site that Shine placated during his quest for a Triple Crown. He noted that the $55 Cubed was the “toughest tournament of the three” and explained, “It was the first time I had played it in a while. I usually have too many tables up and running to fit it in.” However, he found space amid his sea of windows to squeeze in the $20,000 guaranteed event. His final event to complete the Triple Crown was the $100 rebuy on Titan Poker, which had a $119,000 prize pool. Shine scooped $27,000 from the iPoker Network room for the win. He compared Titan Poker’s $100 rebuy to counterparts on Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars: “It’s a lot softer. There are a few solid regulars who play it, but not really to the standard of PokerStars or Full Tilt.”

Between June 30th and July 2nd, Shine nearly claimed a Triple Crown title, notching three wins in $10,000 prize pool tournaments in a three-day span. However, two of the wins came on PartyPoker. He recorded a runner-up showing in the PokerStars $55 rebuy for $6,000, which would have completed the Triple Crown had he won. As you can expect, Shine was stoked to add a new avatar to his PocketFives.com profile: “It’s a pretty big achievement for me. It was in the back of my mind when I won the first two and then again when I was deep in the $100 rebuy. I was pretty pleased when I got it in the end.”

Ireland is well-represented in the poker world. Names like Andy Black (pictured at left), Roy Brindley, and Padraig Parkinson dominate the conversation in the European nation. On the live poker scene, Shine admitted, “There are a couple of very good Irish players in the online scene, but in the live scene, it’s tough to find tournaments to play unless you're living in Dublin. There are a couple of card rooms around where I live, but not many people attend, which makes it difficult.”

Although he regularly follows Irishman Ciaran O’Leary, his fascination resides with American Phil Ivey (pictured at right), a member of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine. Shine explained, “I could never figure out how he was so much better than everybody else. I still watch him every so often on Full Tilt and cannot figure out how he does it!” Ivey has already claimed two bracelets at the 2009 WSOP and will look to add a third when the WSOP Main Event resumes in November.

Shine sits in second on the PocketFives.com Sliding PLB for Ireland. The country is currently led by Jude j.thaddeus Ainsworth, who hails from Claregalway. Ainsworth sits in 23rd on the Rankings and holds a commanding lead over the rest of the field at the time of writing:



Check out other PocketFivers who have won this unique accolade by visiting the Triple Crown Wall of Champions.