Is this the end, my friends? That may be the question that Dara O’Kearney and David Lappin are asking themselves as the final episode of The Chip Race under the Unibet Poker banner.
After 25 seasons, the pair have talked to nearly every major name in the game, putting out some of the rawest content in the poker interview sphere. Despite the corporate sponsorship from Unibet Poker, what sets The Chip Race apart is their independence and willingness to discuss issues in the poker world with more honesty than is often seen.
As someone who was tangentially involved with Unibet Poker, I’d like to say that wasn’t all Dara and David — the management at Unibet allowed me an independence that was a bit surprising to me at the time. I expect that corporate willingness to foster independent spirits is a big part of the reason the show was able to become what it is today.
A Family Reunion
The final episode is, perhaps, a bit less hard-hitting than some of the previous episodes, but that’s clearly by design. One look at the final guest list — former Unibet Live commentator and current Triton commentator Henry Kilbane, former Unibet Poker ambassador and current 888 ambassador Ian Simpson, Norwegian Unibet ambassador Monica Vaka, and former Uniber Poker ambassador and Main Event winner Espen Jorstad — makes it clear the pair were looking to have more of a family reunion than to attack any poker issues.
That said, it wouldn’t be The Chip Race if they didn’t get into the weeds a bit. Kilbane opens up about mental health, playing above his bankroll, and facing constructive criticism and then talks about how all that moulded him into the person he is today and drove a passion for his new nonprofit, PeakHumanityOrg, which started as a single school project in Tanzania, but is turning into much, much more.
Vaka came back for an excellent strategy session where she went through a big bluff she put in during the most recent Norwegian Poker Championship. As always, it’s an excellent segment that goes deep into her thought processes in the moment, as well as Dara’s in-depth solver work to analyze a very interesting hand.
Perhaps the most fun during the two-hour finale is the segment with Simpson. Simpson and Lappin have always had a “love-hate” relationship in public, but the truth is, it’s always been pure love both ways. In this farewell tour, both get their friendly jabs in, but equally, the respect the three have for each other comes through clearly.
The highlight of the episode is the near hour-long segment with Main Event winner Jorstad. He goes into deep detail about his rise from obscure grindhouse streamer to Main Event champion, but it’s not a story about rags to riches. Instead, Jorstad is deeply personal in discussing how success doesn’t always bring happiness, talking about trying to find deeper meaning in the world, and questioning how ego and drive might be impacted by personal growth experiences.
In perhaps the rawest exchange of the final episode, Jorstad talks about a deep interest in psychedelics, one he eventually chose not to indulge. After discussing it with people who had gone through the experience, and learning about the kind of “ego-death” that often occurs after a psychedelic experience, he admits to being deeply worried that the experience would mute his drive for supremacy in the poker world, ultimately leading to his decision to walk away from the idea.
The End for the 3x GPI Winning Podcast?
The future is unclear for The Chip Race after this episode. O’Kearney and Lappin will no longer be with Unibet Poker in any capacity as of June 1st, so their future is also up in the air at the moment.
In most industries, finding a new home for a show that has won three global awards for excellence in its field would probably be pretty easy. In the poker industry, with a show like The Chip Race that has never pulled a punch in 25 seasons, that’s a far less certain prospect.
Here’s hoping that this final episode of The Chip Race under the corporate banner of Unibet Poker isn’t the final episode of The Chip Race itself. For now, check out the final episode on SoundCloud.
