Niall Farrell (pronounced Neil) is among those in the field perhaps not as well-known as some. Ironically it could be that the opposite is true, only they don’t realise it yet.

“I play a lot of hands with these guys online,” said Farrell, 25, an online pro since leaving university. “I’ve not really done anything big live so I fly under the radar a bit, so that suits me well. I actually know I’ve played against but they don’t know me, so that’s good, although I’m sure they’ve looked me up.”

Niall Farrell (left), in action yester

What they will find if they do is Firaldo87, a regular online with several big results. Sounds like the typical groundwork required for success live.

Now Farrell, a graduate of Law from Dumfries (“say Scotland, not Britain, or my Dad will kill me”), is on course to top his previous best live result, a third place in a UKIPT High Roller event in Nottingham, last April. Since taking up the game his law degree was always something he could fall back on. Now it might be time to chuck the law books.

“I’ve played a few EPTs but I always seem to be out in about 17 minutes,” said Farrell. “People go crazy in these tournaments. This one’s going pretty well. It takes a while to learn you don’t need to win every hand.”

Farrell has learnt and at the first break is one of only four players to have more than a million chips. The cat is out of the bag on Firaldo87.

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Stephen Bartley is a PokerStars Blog reporter

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