Career
Although Smurfit was a newcomer to the WSOP, he had been playing tournament poker for many years, with an early televised appearance in The Gaming Club World Poker Championship in 2004. He has also made several money finishes in the World Poker Tour, including the television bubble finish for season 4"s Mirage Poker Showdown, and winning the Palm Beach CelebPoker Classic 2005 event. When the final table of his WSOP victory began, Smurfit was in last place with only $95,000 in chips.
His closest competitor had 10 times that amount.
The last table lasted over nine hours, but the heads up play was one of the longest in WSOP history lasting 167 hands. As of 2008, his live tournament winnings exceed $1,000,000.