Here you’ll find full coverage from the record-breaking Irish Open 2025 festival

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THERE’S ONLY ONE… SIMON WILSON.

ONE… SIMON WILSON.

WALKING ALONG, SINGING A SONG.

WALKING IN A WILSON WONDERLAND.

Local lad Simon Wilson had one of the all-time great poker rails at the final table of the largest Irish Open Main Event in the festival’s 45-year history. You simply couldn’t move on his side of the table. And in the end, his skill and home-court advantage proved too much for everyone. 

Wilson is the 2025 Irish Open Main Event champion and heads back to Ashbourne, 20 kilometres north of Dublin, with a staggering €600,000.

“It’s really special,” said Wilson after his victory. “I come every year, thousands of people enter, it’s always been a pipe dream. Yeah…F**k!”

We’ve been hearing all week about how Wilson is poised to be the next great Irish talent, and boy, has he proved everyone right. After a deep run in the 2024 edition, where he finished 17th, Wilson put on a masterclass at this final table, entering the nine-handed final table fifth in chips but navigating his way to a win.

Heads-up against Italy’s Umberto Ruggeri – a finalist at EPT Prague in December, and a finalist in the high roller here in Dublin – Wilson began play with a 3:1 chip lead. It didn’t take long for all the chips to find their way to the middle. Ace-ten for Ruggeri, 5♦ 6♦ for Wilson. 

He hit. And held. He beat the 4,562-entry field. 

And the crowd went ballistic.

START OF DAY

The day started with 19 players, and it would take five hours to reach the nine-handed final table.

Ireland’s own David Pollock was the first fall, a victim of a brutal cooler in which two players flopped sets. Panteleimon Pontos, holding the bigger pair, improved to quads on the turn – which also gave Pollock a full house. All the money went in and Pollock was left with crumbs, then eliminated shortly after. 

Speaking of coolers, they don’t come much worse than the one Charlie Whitehouse suffered today. He lost pocket aces versus pocket aces against Wilson, who rivered a flush. The Brit collected €25,500 for 16th place.

Terrence Reid had been one to watch for the past few days. Both a poker player and media member, Reid flew to Dublin after a deep run at the PokerStars Open Campione had put him high up on the Live League Leaderboard. The American hoped to add to his tally on his trip, and he smashed it out of the park, navigating his way through another massive field to finish 11th for €36,700, running his A♣ 8♣ into Brandon Harris’ A♠ J♥ . An impressive back-to-back, for sure.

FINAL TABLE ACTION

The buzz was electric as the finalists were introduced to a rowdy rail, particularly for the two Irishmen at the table: Joe O’Donaill and, of course, Wilson. It was Michel Karim out in front, however, followed by Ruggeri, who had maintained his start-of-day big stack.

FINAL TABLE CHIP COUNTS

Seat 1 – Umberto Ruggeri – 33,100,000
Seat 2 – Georgios Skarparis – 32,600,000
Seat 3 – Joe O’Donaill – 9,600,000
Seat 4 – Brandon Harris – 28,000,000
Seat 5 – Robert Fluereci – 9,725,000
Seat 6 – Simon Wilson – 25,400,000
Seat 7 – Panteleimon Pontos – 22,600,000
Seat 8 – Michel Karim – 51,200,000
Seat 9 – Ignotas Kirsis – 19,900,000

Unfortunately for O’Donaill, his run at the FT was cut short when his pocket nines ran into the pocket kings of Georgios Skarparis. Still, he left in good spirits, with €45,800 in his back pocket.

Romania’s Robert Fluereci was next to fall, his pocket sevens outdrawn by Harris’ ace-nine-off, followed by Pontos in seventh. His tournament ended when his three-bet near-shove with A♠ 3♠ ran into Michel Karim’s A♦ K♦ and couldn’t hit. They picked up €59,030 and €77,500, respectively.

Next up, we had an England vs Ireland battle, reminiscent of last year’s scenes at the Irish Open, when Spraggy and Fintan went head to head (and tackled to the ground – search for the clip). Wilson opened under the gun and Harris defended his big blind to see a 5♦ 10♠ 2♦ flop. Wilson continued when checked to, Harris jammed, and Wilson snapped. 

Both had hit top pair, but Wilson’s A♦ 10♥ was way ahead of Harris’ J♠ 10♦ . The 3♣ turn and 7♣ river changed nothing, and Harris went to the cage to collect his €100,000. Not bad for four days’ work.

Karim was down to little more than 10 bigs at this point, and when it folded to him in the small blind, he moved all in holding Q♠ 6♣ . Unfortunately for him, Ignotas Kirsis woke up with 7♦ 7♥ and the pocket pair held. Karim collected €130,000, and four-handed play began.

Here’s where Wilson really pulled ahead. He opened to 4M with blinds at 1M/2M/2M and Kirsis called from the small blind. The flop came A♥ J♣ 8♣ and Kirsis check-called a 5M c-bet, then checked again on the 8♠ turn, pairing the board. Wilson continued for 16M, and the bet was called. 

The 10♥ river completed things, and when Kirsis checked a third time, Wilson fired 25M, Kirsis made a quick call with A♣ 2♠ for top pair plus the eights on board, but Wilson had rivered a straight with 9♣ 7♣ . That pot shot him up to 100 million chips and the overwhelming lead.

Such a big chip that he could shove the button with just about any two. But when he did, and Georgios Skarparis called with 7♠ 7♥ , he actually had a decent hand: A♥ 6♦ . An ace hit the flop, and that was all she wrote for the man from Cyprus. He picked up €170,000.

Having lost that huge pot to Wilson earlier, Kirsis was short and despite a double up, could never get back into it. His pocket fives couldn’t beat Wilson’s king-nine-off and he had to settle for third, worth €225,000.

From there, you know what happened. Wilson managed to please his hefty rail — and now he’s going to have to pick up a hefty bar tab as they celebrate.

That’s goodnight from Dublin.

For blow-by-blow coverage, head to PokerNews.

Then head to the official Irish Open site for more coverage from Irish Open side events.

Irish Open 2025 Main Event Results

Dates: Apr 13-21, 2025
Buy-in: €1,150
Entries: 4,562
Prize pool: €4,447,950

1. Simon Wilson (Ireland) – €600,000
2. Umberto Ruggeri (Italy) – €316,000
3. Ignotas Kirsis (Lithuania) – €225,000
4. Georgios Skarparis (Cyprus) – €170,000
5. Michel Karim (Sweden) – €130,000
6. Brandon Harris (UK) – €100,000
7. Panteleimon Pontos (Greece) – €77,500
8. Robert Fluereci (Romania) – €59,030
9. Joe O’Donaill (Ireland) – €45,800

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BENDINELLI BACK IN THE WINNER’S CIRCLE

Giuliano Bendinelli has just taken down the €1K Mystery Bounty at the Irish Open, his first live title since his epic victory at EPT Barcelona 2022 – the biggest EPT in history – where he won €1,491,133 after defeating a record-breaking 2,294-entry field.

The €52,300 (including bounties) he’s earned today may pale in comparison, but the Italian is thrilled nonetheless.

“Since Barcelona, I play less, but I enjoy it more,” he says. “I really only play the EPT stops, and if I don’t feel like playing, I won’t. But I will be back at the Irish Open next year for sure.”

It’s Bendinelli’s first time in Dublin and he’s loved the atmosphere, so much so that his girlfriend is arriving tomorrow and the couple are staying for a further five days after the festival. 

He’s enjoyed the poker, too. “I had deep runs in a few events, but it didn’t go well in the late stages. This one was different.”

The €1K Mystery Bounty received 441 entries and created a prize pool of €225,792, split evenly between regular payouts and mystery bounty envelopes. Bendinelli defeated Jack Moore heads-up, and the Brit collected a €35,600 consolation prize for finishing second. 

The biggest amount won in the event went to Jamie Dwan, fresh off his insane Irish Open Lotto win last night. Dwan finished fourth but collected €76,700 total – clearly running well when it came to the envelopes. 

Bendinelli says he had no such luck. “Bad! I ran bad in the bounties,” he says. “I only knocked out five players and the average bounties for those should have been around €25K, but I only won €11K, so I was €15K under EV. But it’s OK – I ran really hot in showdowns, it’s just unfortunate I didn’t cover them in those all-ins.”

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INSANE WIN IN IRISH OPEN LOTTO

It still hasn’t sunk in.

Something extraordinary took place in the main hall of the Royal Dublin Society last night. Throughout the record-breaking Irish Open festival, a €10 lotto jackpot has been steadily building. You could buy as many entries in the draw as you liked, and thousands of entries were bundled in the bag of cash. One person was going to win it all.

When we say a bag of cash, you might think we’re referring to a bank account or a carefully sorted and organised cash-counting box. But no. We’re talking about a literal plastic, see-through bin bag full of colourful Euro notes. Irish Open staff member Roxy paraded it around the room all day Sunday, and let me tell you, it was a thing of beauty.

€52,000. In a bag. Going to one person.

Anyone could enter, from tournament floor staff and dealers to the hard-working waiters and waitresses and even poker media members. They run the lotto every year, and like the Main Event, this is the biggest it’s ever been.

So, PokerStars Blog decided to give it a go. We bought two entries for €20 – a humble amount, sure, but you’ve got to be in it to win it. A windfall like that could change our lives. 

The odds were stacked against us – some people had grouped together and formed large entry-buying syndicates – but we felt lucky.

We all waited with bated breath. The first number drawn won nothing, as is tradition. Then it was time for the all-important second winning number.

And you won’t believe what happened.

We didn’t win. Not even close.

It ended up going to a seven-way syndicate consisting of top pro players Jamie Dwan (his name was the one drawn), PokerStars Ambassador Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg, 2023 Irish Open winner David Docherty, Jack Hardcastle, Robbie Bull, and two other lucky fellows. That meant €7,500 for each of them. 

After hauling the cash bag back to his table in the €1K Mystery Bounty, Dwan then battled his way through to Day 2, where he’s third in chips out of 14 remaining players. There’s €44K plus bounties up top in that one.

If he runs as well as he did yesterday, there’ll be no stopping him.

As for PokerStars Blog, our life continues as normal. But we still have hope that one day, hopefully in the near future, maybe, just maybe, we can team up with a bunch of rich poker pros and buy thousands of entries in a lotto draw.

You never know. Dream big.

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SIDE EVENT ROUND-UP

Reporting by Jan Kores and Jen Mason

The two-day, 742-entry €500 JP Poker Masters event saw a Canadian-German 1-2, with Alexandre Pruneau taking the trophy and €58,579 after a heads up deal with Henning Kosmalla (€49,021). The €361,725 prize pool was paid amongst the top 111 finishers, with the final 48 returning on Sunday and playing a surprisingly fast-paced Day 2.

The €1,150 PLO Mystery Bounty’s final table was absolutely steamrolled by Henning Wendlandt, who eliminated every finalist, amassing, in the end, eleven bounties. This bumped his total prize money to €76,600 (the pre-bounty first prize money was €26,400). Runner-up Braz Borges received €23,300; in total 31 places were paid from the €124,416 total prize pool.

Maximilian Sanders won the €3,000 High Roller and €140,450 after two long days of play, after a dramatic final table that saw fortune turn against erstwhile chip leader Andrii Nikitin at the last, handing him third place and €62,700. Nikitin’s chips gave Sanders a boost into a 5:1 chip lead over Ewen Trevidy, and the trophy soon followed. Notable cashers included the Irish Open’s Luxon Mystery Bounty winner Nils Pudel (5th for €37,100) and PokerStars Ambassadors Kenny Hallaert (11th for €15,200) and Benjamin Spragg (22nd for €7,600).

Browse through all the Irish Open side event results here.

NOTHING MINI ABOUT THIS MAIN

We’ve no more Power Path qualifiers left in the Main Event, but that doesn’t mean their time at the Irish Open tables is over. Far from it.

A 75-strong swarm of Silver Pass winners has made its way over to the €250 Mini Main – an enormous event that came with a €1 million guarantee – and not one of them paid a penny for their seat. That’s because the Irish Open kindly added a free seat to the event to all $2,500 Silver Pass packages – essentially offering €250 in free added value.

It’s enough to make Silver Pass winners who didn’t redeem for the Irish Open green with envy. It’s fitting, then, that they named it the Emerald Pass.

Of course, it’s not just Power Path players who are playing. With the second-largest guarantee on the Irish Open schedule after the Main Event, it’s a must-play event for anyone who finds themselves without chips in front of them.

The Mini Main is a €250 buy-in event with 20-minute levels. It’s a turbo, sure, but there’s still plenty of play as the structure is solid.

The tournament is currently on its 12th starting flight – Day 1/L – and there’s another kicking off at 20:00 tonight. All survivors will collate tomorrow, when they’ll play down to a champion.

With 5,529 entries already recorded, the guarantee has been well and truly smashed.

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CLASSROOM TO CARDROOM FOR MATHS TEACHER DANIEL TURNER

Live poker isn’t a full-time pursuit for Silver Pass qualifier Daniel Turner. It’s a passion, and one that the 28-year-old often struggles to balance around the school holidays.

A secondary school maths teacher from Kegworth, Leicestershire, Turner is restricted. He can’t head to a poker festival during term times, so his only chance to sit around the table, peel cards and shuffle chips is on the weekends. Every Sunday, you’ll find him down Dusk Till Dawn (DTD) in Nottingham, battling in the weekly comp.

But when the Easter holidays roll around, there’s only one place you’ll find him. “The timing [of the Irish Open] is ideal,” he says. “My career comes first, and I’m limited to playing during school breaks. That makes events like this perfect for me.”

Turner’s poker journey began with pub leagues – a common origin story we wrote about earlier this week. He fell in love with the game immediately and consumed everything he could. His early results backed up his effort, and he’s been a winning player basically from the get-go, something he’s very proud of.

His hard work outside of the classroom continues to pay off. He cashed the Irish Open last year and is already doing even better this year, still in with fewer than 100 players remaining.

What makes this cash even sweeter is that he’s here thanks to a Silver Pass he won for just $11.

He was playing the Sunday comp at DTD while also grinding Power Path steps on the side. “My friend came over to see how I was doing in the DTD tournament, but I was more focused on the Silver Pass bubble,” he laughs. “I just missed out on a Gold Pass, but I was still over the moon.”

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RESZ-ING THE STAKES

Silver Pass qualifier Sebastian Resz has kicked off Day 3 of the Irish Open in style, more than doubling his stack in the early levels and now sitting on over 2 million chips. 

It’s an impressive run for the Polish-born, London-based player, who’s guaranteed his biggest-ever live cash regardless of how the rest of the tournament plays out.

He might only have three small cashes on his Hendon Mob, but don’t let that fool you. Resz is actually a former professional player who grinded online cash games from his home in Poland throughout his early 20s. “I think it was before PokerStars even existed,” he says with a smile. 

But by the age of 25, he stepped away from the poker grind and transitioned into a new career. He now manages an expanding Polish IT company and calls London home.

Poker remains a passion, however, and he plays Power Path events whenever he finds the time. He’s already won two Silver Passes, using the first for a trip to Edinburgh and the second for this event. 

“Edinburgh was small in comparison, maybe only 300 players. This is by far the biggest event I’ve ever played,” he says. 

And he’s holding his own, despite feeling a bit inexperienced when it comes to live poker. “There’s a great mix of amateurs and pros here,” he says, adding that using his second Pass here was a no-brainer. “I’d always heard pros like Spraggy and Tonkaaaa talk about how amazing this event is, so I knew I had to come.”

Resz brought along his girlfriend for support, but admits they’ve barely crossed paths during the event. “She’s been off exploring the city while I’ve been grinding every day!”

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SILVER RUSH IN MAIN EVENT

Eleven bucks won’t even buy you a single ticket in tonight’s Irish Open Lotto draw*, but for 75 players who took part in this year’s record-breaker, $11 is all it cost to win a full package.

*We’ve only just found out about this and… well, it’s very exciting. The lotto is €10 per entry, and so far, there’s more than €35,000 in the pot. One lucky person will win it all tonight. The draw takes place at 21:00 in the main tournament room. PokerStars Blog is in for a couple of bullets. Pray for us.

We had 75 Silver Pass qualifiers in Dublin this week – although we should call them Emerald Pass winners. That’s because the Irish Open was kind enough to include a free entry to the €250 Mini Main for everyone who chose to redeem their Silver Pass here. That meant even more value on top of the $2,500 package.

We’re now on Day 3 of the event, and only six Emerald Pass qualifiers remain.

Jose Jaraiz (Romania) – 1,950,000
Daniel Turner (UK) – 1,695,000
Radoslaw Kopec (Poland) – 1,535,000
Sebastian Resz (Poland) – 1,040,000
Angelo Marone (Italy) – 710,000
Grant Anderson (UK) – 280,000

They’re all guaranteed €4,760 at the time of writing, giving them a healthy profit on the $11 investment.

In addition to the Power Path qualifiers, 395 players won their entry to the Irish Open through direct qualifiers on PokerStars, and 55 of them made it to Day 3, including Jon Kyte, Daniel Smiljkovic, Conor O’Driscoll, Christopher Dowling, and Ian Simpson.

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STEP INTO THE CRAIC DEN

Reporting by Jan Kores and Jen Mason

In the players’ lounge known as the Craic Den (12pm until 2am daily), players have been competing in arenas from FIFA and cornhole to shuffleboard, enjoying live music, pool and table football and generally raising the roof nightly (Friday’s karaoke session a special hit).

Saturday night saw the Lip Sync challenge – featuring some Shamrock Showdown special guests including a winning team GRND performing ‘I Want It That Way’ by the ‘Craic Street Boys’.

The official 80’s Players’ Party takes over on Sunday night (April 20); click here for the full entertainment schedule for the rest of the long weekend.

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IRISH OPEN – AN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR

A total of 59 countries were represented in this year’s Irish Open Main Event, showcasing the festival’s international appeal.

It’s a must-visit event, make no mistake, with a 41% increase in attendance year-on-year.

Top 5 nations:

Ireland (697 unique or 28.1% of the field)
United Kingdom (645 or 26.0%)
USA (110 or 4.4%)
Germany (92 or 3.7%)
Canada (87 or 3.5%)

Key info from the Main Event:

Total entries: 4,562
Unique players: 2,483
Re-Entries: 2,079
Prize pool: €4,447,950
Places paid: 671
Top prize: €600,000
Minimum cash: €1,600

The biggest Irish Open Main Events in history:

2025: 4,562 entries, €4,447,950
2024: 3,233 entries, €3,152,175 prize pool
2020 (online): 2,945 entries, €2,945,000 prize pool
2021 (online): 2,880 entries, €1,800,000 prize pool
2023: 2,491 entries, €2,428,725 prize pool

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MAREK BUBBLES AND BECOMES FIRST 2026 ENTRANT

Some bubbles drag out for hours, others go by so fast you didn’t even know they’d happened. 

That’s what happened on Day 2 of the Irish Open. 

Players were sent on a 20-minute break one player away from the money so that tables could be balanced and hand-for-hand play could recommence smoothly.

But while the throng was using the bathroom or outside for a smoke, one hand continued and ended with Christian Marek’s elimination. He’s the official bubble boy and picked up entry to next year’s Main Event as a consolation prize.

Spare a thought for Marc Foggin though. 

He was all-in at risk just before players went on break, holding 10♦ 7♦ against Maksim Petrov’s Q♦ Q♣ on a 7♣ A♠ 9♦ flop. Petrov then turned a set to seal his fate. That means Foggin was officially the last player to leave the RDS empty-handed.  

Everyone is now in the money and we’ve already seen close to 100 eliminations since the bubble burst. You can follow the action with live updates on PokerNews.

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HASHTAG UNITED FOUNDER SPENCER FC’S ALL IN FOR A NEW GROUND

Spencer Carmichael-Brown usually spends his Saturdays on the sidelines, commentating on the action and cheering for goals. But today’s different, and the founder of the football club Hashtag United is hoping to impact his team in a unique way:

By playing a poker tournament with a top prize of €600,000.

“We’ve literally got a game on right now,” he tells PokerStars Blog on a break in the Irish Open Main Event, where he made Day 2 with a big stack. “If I can win some big money, it helps the club. It might even help us get a football ground – one step at a time!”

Carmichael-Brown, better known by his YouTube handles Spencer FC or Spencer Owen, is a familiar face in football content circles. He founded Hashtag United in 2016 with a squad made up of mates, then uploaded the games to his channels. The club’s popularity boomed, and the semi-pro club blossomed into the Isthmian League Premier Division.

But more recently, Carmichael-Brown has also been carving out a name for himself in another beautiful game: Poker. Teaming up with PokerStars late last year, he made Day 2 of EPT Prague (“I went out on the bubble, 135 with 125 paid”) and is now in the midst of a deep run at the Irish Open.

“I’m running a lot better this time,” he says. “I had a big stack coming into Day 2, whereas in Prague I had starting stack. I’m trying to keep it on the down low, but I’m quite a new player. I’m learning as I go. I learn five new things every hour, which is ridiculous because everyone else knows that stuff already. My view is it gives me such a long-term edge because I can get so much better.”

He’s been busy in Ireland, taking part in promotional events like the SCOOP Invitational and Creators’ Cup, and in those games, he felt comfortable. Confident. 

“That was the real me,” he says. “I was very lively and used it to my advantage. But in the Main, I’m the opposite. I’m very quiet, watching, learning, because these guys know so much more than me. I’m flying under the radar a bit.”

He’s not bluffing about the learning curve. He says he’s been learning five new things every hour, although something that should play to his strengths – bluffing – hasn’t come naturally to him at the tables.

“I made a career through gaming and being quite good at putting people off, so that’s definitely how I should play poker, but I’m nowhere near experienced enough yet to bring that personality to the table,” he admits. 

There have been some magic moments, though. “Yesterday I had the best run of cards anyone has ever had,” he says proudly. “I had AK-off, AK-suited, kings and aces back to back. I won all those and I was flying and that set me up for the rest of the day.”

Coming from a background rooted in team sports, the solo grind of poker has been a change for Carmichael-Brown. It’s a welcome one, though. “Most things I’ve been involved with have been team sports, whereas this is an individual thing, it’s all on me,” he says. “I enjoy it for sure, it feels amazing when you win a big hand, especially when you bluff.

“I love it. It’s a real buzz. It’s an intellectual pursuit. Everyone comes in all shapes and sizes. You’ve got your human calculators. Your guys going off feels and reads. It’s a sport for everyone.”

Speaking of sport, we’re not sure how Hashtag United are getting on in their match against Hastings. The game is still underway, as it is here in Dublin.

For now, Carmichael-Brown’s goal is simple. “I’d be disappointed if I didn’t cash!”

At the time of publishing, Carmichael-Brown is still in — and in the money.

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€600K TO THE CHAMPION

The numbers have officially been crunched, and we can now reveal that the winner of this record-breaking event – the largest Irish Open in its 45-year history – will walk away with a monstrous €600,000.

Don’t rub your eyes. You read that correctly. 600 bags for a €1K buy-in. Not since James Mitchell’s victory in 2010 have we seen a first-place prize so massive.

The 4,562-entry field absolutely demolished the original €2.5 million guarantee, boosting it up to €4,447,950 over the five starting flights. 

But now, with fewer than 750 players remaining, we’re closing in on the money bubble.

671 players will make the money, with a min-cash worth €1,600. 

It’s going to be a tense level or two. 

Here’s a look at the final table payouts the chosen few will battle for on Monday:

• 1. €600,000
• 2. €316,000
• 3. €225,000
• 4. €170,000
• 5. €130,000
• 6. €100,000
• 7. €77,500  
• 8. €59,030
• 9. €45,800

Check out the full payout structure on PokerNews.

SKINNER SLAYS LADIES CHAMPIONSHIP

Reporting by Jan Kores and Jen Mason

The final table of the €250 Ladies Championship played down live on air on PokerStars TV on Friday, as the last eight competitors from a field of 163 fought for the trophy and top prize of €6,700. Starting out as Day 2 chip leader, Michelle Skinner bided time at the start while eventual runner-up Lydia Cugudda thinned the opposition, then turned up the heat, securing her first live event trophy.

Cugudda, representing PokerStars at The Hippodrome Casino, went on a final table rampage early on, knocking out three in a row, starting with short-stacked Keri Shaughnessy and Dominika Piechna-Dobosz (playing her second ever live event) with dominating all-in starting hands, then moving on to Kelly Slay whose stack had dwindled since the start of play.

Skinner then busted Olena Nadtoka in fifth place, while James Hartigan (Skinner’s partner) sweated the all-in preflop run-out on the rail. She moved on to Anna Gulevich, calling a short-stacked all-in with what turned out to be a dominating queen-nine.

When Skinner eliminated Tatiana Volova the very next hand (ace-king holding against Volova’s ace-nine, all in preflop), it gave her a three-to-one chip lead heads up against Cugudda, from which the seasoned UK player could not recover; she had to settle for second place and €6,400 following a deal. A short, sharp, fun-to-watch final table has kicked off four days of Irish Open live streaming.

Ladies Championship final table results:

1 Michelle Skinner (USA) – €6,700
2 Lydia Cugudda (United Kingdom) – €6,400
3 Tatiana Volova (Israel) – €3,558
4 Anna Gulevich (Netherlands) – €2,750
5 Olena Nadtoka (Ukraine) – €2,110
6 Kelly Slay (USA) – €1,600
7 Dominika Piechna-Dobosz (Poland) – €1,300
8 Keri Shaughnessy (Ireland) – €1,100

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THE IRISH OPEN BUZZ

Daniel Atthey is buzzing right now.

The 29-year-old IT worker from Newcastle is buzzing because he’s in Dublin playing his first major live poker event at the Irish Open. The 1K Main Event is the highest stakes he’s ever played, and so far, he’s holding his own.

“The atmosphere has been great and the competition has been… fun,” he says with a smile. “Nothing too serious, to be honest. You always hear streamers say live stops are similar to low stakes online, and it really is.”

He’s buzzing because he’s here on a freeroll, having won his special edition Emerald Silver Pass in unique fashion.

“I won Seb [Huber] and Wistern’s Emerald Pass giveaway [an online freeroll qualifier] and had to do an on-stream audition to win this, which was brand new for me,” he tells us. 

His audition clearly hit the right notes with the community. They picked him to win, he won the package, and he met up with the PokerStars Ambassadors as soon as he arrived in town on Wednesday. He then cashed his first event, the Mini Main.

He’s also buzzing because of the mates he’s made at the Irish Open. Before we chat, he’s greeted by another player asking how he’s getting on on Day 1D.

“That’s the good thing about the Irish Open,” he says. “I bumped into some people while watching the football the other night and now I’ve been speaking to them for three days. A group of German and Irish people. I’d never met them before and now we’re checking up on each other. It’s been great.”

That community spirit seems to be what’s stood out most to him, and nowhere is it better than the Irish Open.

Do whatever you can to be here next year.

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Pub poker leagues: The unsung training ground for aspiring live players

No major poker festival encompasses the friendly vibes (and drinking culture) of pub poker leagues better than the Irish Open. No surprises, then, that many of the players in the Main Event field started their journey down their local…

For anyone hoping to take their first steps into live poker, there’s no better training ground than your local pub poker league.

The allure of big festivals like the Irish Open might seem a world away right now, but trust us. If we were to ask everyone in the jam-packed tournament room at the RDS, we’d hear the same story over and over: The journey here started over a few pints and a game of low-stakes cards (sometimes even a freeroll) down the local pub.

Just ask Silver Pass qualifier Dan Turner, who didn’t even know the rules when his local announced it was starting a pub poker league. Or ask Nick Wright, a long-time pub league player and PokerStars staff member, who’s in Dublin to play his first major event in years. 

For them, and many others, pub leagues are more than just a fun night out. They’re a boot camp for the live poker battlefield.

LOW STAKES, HIGH LEARNING

A great thing about pub poker is its accessibility. With low buy-ins and friendly formats, players aren’t risking their mortgage money, more like the equivalent of a takeaway. The risk is capped, creating a pressure-free environment that encourages learning through experience rather than a fear of loss.

“At first, we weren’t even playing for any money,” Turner tells us, recalling his first foray into pub poker. “But because we all took it seriously, it didn’t really matter. It was the highlight of my week.”

Turner , a 28-year-old teacher from Leicestershire, fell in love with the game immediately. “I knew I wasn’t very good but I knew I loved it. That was it. I was obsessed after that, watching any YouTube videos I could find.”

He went on to finish 8th in his league’s Grand Final and now plays regularly at his local cardroom, Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham. As a school teacher, he’s unable to play events that don’t sync with school holidays, but as the Irish Open falls over the Easter break, it was the perfect event to use the Silver Pass (a package worth $2,500) he won on PokerStars.

Over at the Green Dragon in Croydon, where Wright plays each week, the pub game is a modest £10 re-buy.

“We get new people turning up and everyone is very friendly and welcoming, just like at the Irish Open,” he says. “The tournaments are self-dealt so everyone is on the same footing. You could be the best player there, you could be the worst player there, you’ve still got to shuffle the deck and deal the cards.”

That’s one of the great things about poker. It’s one of the most democratic pursuits there is. “As long as you’ve got the mind, you get to play. Age, religion, political beliefs, it doesn’t matter. If you’ve got £10 you get to play,” says Wright.

REAL SCENARIOS, REAL EXPERIENCE

Despite the low stakes, pub poker leagues offer a rich in-game experience. The structures – often four-hour tournaments with decent starting stacks – allow players to tackle just about every poker situation imaginable.

“You play final tables. You play on the bubble. You learn ICM. You play three-handed. You play heads-up,” says Wright. “Even if there are only 20–25 players, if you go regularly, the law of averages says you’ll end up in all these situations.”

The beauty of this is that it replicates many of the same scenarios you’ll find in major tournaments. Sure, the players in a €1,000 buy-in event might be more polished, but the archetypes are the same. “You’ll find the same player types in pub games,” says Wright. “The maniac three-betting every hand, the rock who only plays aces, etc.”

When Wright arrived in Dublin for the Irish Open, he realised just how useful his pub poker background was. “This was my first major live event with a big blind ante,” he admits. “Had my pub poker league not used a big blind ante, I wouldn’t have known how to react to them.”

NOT JUST A STEPPING STONE

It’s worth noting that not everyone playing pub poker dreams of big events like the Irish Open. Many are there simply for the fun, the banter, the competition. 

“But there are those of us who have ambitions to make poker a side hustle or side income, who believe they’re good enough to do so,” Wright says. “But even if that happens, I don’t think any of us would stop going to the £10 game because it’s just great fun.”

One thing Wright loves about the pub league is that the players are rarely on their phones. They’re there for the social aspect, and their skill level doesn’t matter.

“One guy in my league works in removals, and when he knocked me out, he said it felt good to take out one of the ‘alpha players’, suggesting he thought I was one of the better players in the game,” says Wright. “He’s very much aware that there are better players at the table, but he doesn’t care. It’s his night out to play poker, and he just loves to play.”

BRIDGING THE GAP

Pub league and amateur tours are well represented in the 2025 Irish Open field. APAT (Amateur Poker Association & Tour) organisers Leigh Wiltshire and Tom Brady are both playing this year, bridging the gap between amateur and professional. It’s a reminder of just how important grassroots poker is to the live poker ecosystem.

And for players like Turner and Wright, there’s genuine pride in flying the pub poker banner into a major event. In fact, a few guys from Wright’s league have a percentage of his action, showing the community that pub poker cultivates.

Pub poker leagues might not have the lights, cameras, or seven-figure prize pools, but what they do offer is a rare mix of education, experience, and enjoyment. It doesn’t matter whether you’re dreaming of major festivals or just want to beat your mates on a Wednesday night, there’s no better classroom than the back room of your local pub.

So, consider starting your journey there. At the pub. With a tenner, a pint, and a seat at the self-dealt table.

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HARTIGAN’S MIA

James Hartigan is late for work.

This never happens. In a poker media career spanning three decades, the award-winning broadcaster – known as the voice of PokerStars and the European Poker Tour (EPT) – has built a reputation for rock-solid professionalism. He gets in the commentary booth on time, calls the action with ease, and stays until the bitter end (even if that means not clocking off until 4 am).

But today, at the Irish Open in Dublin, Hartigan hasn’t shown up for his commentary duties. It’s down to Joe Stapleton and Nick Walsh to call the shots for the finale of the €250 Ladies Championship (which you can watch live here).

Hartigan better have a good reason for his absence.

And he does.

“She’s definitely the poker player in the relationship,” Hartigan tells PokerStars Blog as he watches intently from the final table rail.

He’s referring to Michelle Skinner – his partner – and the big chip leader heading into today’s eight-handed final table. With €8,100 awaiting the winner, Hartigan has traded the commentary delay for a live sweat, watching every hand unfold in real time.

He couldn’t miss this.

Skinner’s an experienced player and was feeling confident this morning, and for good reason. She entered the final table with a stack of 1.32 million, double that of her nearest competitor.

After years of calling the action for global superstars, elite poker pros, and close friends, Hartigan says this rail feels very different.

“Commentating on the action is fun. This isn’t fun,” he says with a nervous smile.

He’ll stay put until the Ladies Championship wraps. Then it’s back to the booth for Main Event coverage.

Let’s just hope he brings a doctor’s note.

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LIVE STREAM STARTS TODAY

The next best thing to being at the Irish Open is to watch the action from the comfort of your home.

James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton will be joined in the booth by Nick Walsh and former Irish Open champion Griffin Benger, with guest contributions from David Lappin and Dara O’Kearney.

There will also be streams on our French, Spanish and Brazilian channels, as well as broadcasts in Italian and German, thanks to Felix Schneiders’ GRND channels.

Friday April 18

12:30 IST / 13:30 CEST
IRISH OPEN €250 LADIES CHAMPIONSHIP – FINAL TABLE

Saturday April 19

12:30 IST / 13:30 CEST
IRISH OPEN €1K MAIN EVENT – DAY 2

Sunday April 20

12:30 IST / 13:30 CEST
IRISH OPEN €1K MAIN EVENT – DAY 3

Monday April 21

13:30 IST / 14:30 CEST
IRISH OPEN €1K MAIN EVENT – DAY 4 / FINAL TABLE

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TOAN TAKES DOWN SUPER HIGH ROLLER TITLE

Reporting by Jan Kores and Jen Mason

There has never been a Super High Roller MTT at the Irish Open before, the longest-running European poker festival though it is. For 2025, that changed, with 53 players creating a prize pool of over half a million Euros. Overcoming one of the toughest fields of the festival, Irishman Robbie Toan secured €163,800 for taking down the €5,000 SHR, winning his first live tournament in the process. 

It seems that the bigger the buy-in, the longer the lie-in. It was no surprise that level one started on one short-handed table, but it soon filled up with some of the best-known players from around the world, including Steve O’Dwyer, John Duthie, Juha Helppi and Anton Bergstrom. 

Day 2 began with 25 of them left, led by Mengshi Tian. Tian exited with two tables remaining; one off the official final table (and the bubble). Jamie Dwan was then eliminated by Michel Molenaar to leave eight players and seven prizes. 

The bubble burst when Gilles Simon got his last chips in preflop against Adrian Cazacu in a dominating spot but failed to hold up. Simon won PokerStars’ Dare to Stream competition in 2019 (picking up a Platinum Pass) and a year later took down the inaugural EPT Cyprus Main Event. 

Christopher Nguyen was the first to be eliminated in the money; having doubled up Adrian Cazacu, he then fell at his hands. He was followed to the rail by Michel Molenaar (6th for €34,000), whose chips kept start-of-final leader Toan’s stack growing. 

Rising alongside him was Cazacu, who took out the next three players: Simon Wilson (5th for €42,800), followed by Severi Palmu blind-on-blind (4th for €55,400). He finished this trio of eliminations with Klemens Roiter, again calling in the big blind to a small blind shove. 

This late-stage tear meant that Cazacu enjoyed nearly a 2:1 chip lead at the start of heads-up play. He extended it to nearly 4:1 – but a dramatic double through with ten-eight suited saw the start of the Toan comeback. When Toan doubled again (with a fortunate spiking ace-jack against Cazacu’s ace-king), it was the beginning of the end for the Romanian, who had to settle for second place (€108,300). 

€10,000 Super High Roller Results 

1 Robbie Toan (Ireland) – €163,800
2 Adrian Cazacu (Romania) – €108,300
3 Klemens Roiter (Austria) – €73,100
4 Severi Palmu (Finland) – €55,400
5 Simon Wilson (Ireland) – €42,800
6 Michel Molenaar (Netherlands) – €34,000
7 Christopher Nguyen (Austria) – €26,500

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EVERY POT MATTERS FOR MAGUIRE

Cole Maguire opens to 2,200 in the hijack. He’s got Ludovic Geilich two to his left – never a guy you want to see pull up a chair at your table (“He’s a super pro,” Maguire later tells us on a break). Geilich then three-bets to 6,000 on the button. Maguire wastes no time in letting it go. 

This hand history might not be the most exciting you’ve ever read, but that’s because you’ve yet to hear Cole Maguire’s story.

You don’t know just how much a deep run in this event would mean to him. The 23-year-old from Liverpool is hoping to build a career in property and every pot he plays is pivotal. “A big score here would really help me,” he says.

You don’t know that his first cash in a major tournament came right here in 2022 when he was just 19, and that he’s now cashed it three years on the trot. “Ireland seems to be my lucky place,” he tells us.

You don’t know that he was down to just $2 in his PokerStars account when he entered a $1.50 Power Path Step 2 event in his quest to return to the Irish Open. 

“I’d put £120 on my PokerStars account so I could play a £109 Irish Open satellite,” he recalls. “I didn’t have any luck in that so I had a couple of pound left.”

From the $1.50, he won his way to the $11 Step 3, then the $55 Step 4 final qualifier, where he managed to bink a Silver Pass worth $2,500.

“Cashing this event for a fourth time would just be the icing on the cake,” he says.

Ludovic Geilich opens to 2,000, another player calls, and Maguire defends his big blind. The flop comes 5♣ 7♥ 2♠ and the Super Pro continues for 2,800. The other player folds, but Maguire calls. Both check the 7♠ turn.

The river is the 2♦ and Maguire leads out for 7,400.

Geilich quickly folds.

Cole Maguire made it through to Day 2 with a stack of 68,000.

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NORTH AMERICAN CRUSHERS MAKING IRISH POKER DEBUTS

For generations, Americans and Canadians have crossed the Atlantic in search of their Irish roots, tracing family trees and walking the streets their ancestors called home. It’s often a journey filled with meaning, not to mention a chance to revel in the rolling hills and warm welcomes Ireland is known for.

But it’s not just heritage bringing North Americans to Dublin. Right now, many are experiencing the city, even the country, for the first time — not through family history, but through poker.

The Irish Open has become a must-visit for players from the U.S. and Canada, drawn by its unique blend of non-stop action, friendly atmosphere, and legendary craic.

“I’ve always heard great things about this festival,” says Ari Engel, one of the most respected and prolific grinders on the American circuit. “So I thought, why not give it a try?”

Engel, who boasts nearly $9 million in live tournament earnings, is making his Irish Open debut this week, and he’s far from the only first-timer.

According to a reliable source, fellow American pro Brian Altman – another tournament titan with $8.7 million in cashes – is also enjoying his first time at the Irish Open. Altman has already notched two cashes and finished Day 1B of the Main Event with an impressive 273,000 chips. He’ll be back in action on Saturday for Day 2.

Scott Stewart, another seasoned American pro with $5.58 million in live earnings, has been at the festival since day one. Like Altman, he’s also logged two cashes – one in a Mystery Bounty and another in the Open Face Chinese Championship – earning his first-ever Irish flags on Hendon Mob.

Stephen Song, the EPT Barcelona champ, is also soaking up his first Irish Open, currently battling in the Main Event after a strong showing in the €10K Super High Roller.

With such a strong North American presence, it’s fitting that the Irish Open hosted a tournament called the America’s Cup. The €350 buy-in drew 685 entries and is now down to its final table, with €38,340 up top.

Sadly, there are no U.S. or Canadian flags among the final nine (Jason Blodgett was the last American standing, finishing 11th for €2,880).

Still, if this surge in interest continues, it’s only a matter of time before an American claims the America’s Cup, and the Irish Open further solidifies its place as the most international and beloved standalone poker festival in the world (it already won the award!).

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HALLAERT CELEBRATES AMBASSADOR ANNIVERSARY WITH HIGH ROLLER WIN

Of the thousands of players who’ve descended on Dublin this week, few can claim a better Irish Open track record than Kenny Hallaert. In fact, statistically, no one can.

“I’ve never busted an event at the Irish Open,” Hallaert tells PokerStars Blog with a grin.

To be fair, he’s only played one. But what a debut it was.

Hallaert arrived in Dublin on Tuesday and went straight from the airport to the venue, registering for the €5K NLHE 8-Max High Roller. The event drew 147 entries and generated a €680,794 prize pool.

The following night he was the last player standing, defeating Finland’s Elias Suhonen heads-up to secure a €140,674 payday after a final-table deal. “First event, first bullet,” he says.

Not only is this Hallaert’s biggest live tournament win, but it also marks his first major victory as a PokerStars Ambassador – a role he stepped into almost exactly one year ago at EPT Monte Carlo 2024. In addition to repping the red spade at events, Hallaert also serves as a live events advisor, making his ambassadorship a unique one within the PokerStars team.

“It feels great to win as an Ambassador at a PokerStars-sponsored event,” he says. “There were a lot of great players in the field, and it was very swingy.”

He pulls out his phone to illustrate just how wild the swings were. “I went from 50K to 30K to 150K to 50K to 100K to 50K to 185K to 270K, then was 13th with 13 left,” he says.

But Hallaert battled back, ran up his stack, and closed it out in style. It’s safe to say the Irish Open has instantly become one of his favourite festivals.

“I’ve been to Ireland and Dublin a few times, but I never managed to make it to the Irish Open,” he says. “When I was tournament director in Belgium, we always had an event over Easter, so I wasn’t able to get here. I always heard good things about the event so definitely wanted to check it out. I was looking forward to it and so far… it’s been great!”

There’s an upcoming PokerStars event that might take the top spot on Hallaert’s favourite festival list, though. “I’m really looking forward to the PokerStars Open Namur,” he says. “Obviously it’s in my home country, but it will also be the first proper PokerStars event in Belgium that I won’t be organising, so it’s the first I can play!”

€5K NLHE 8-Max High Roller
Dates: April 15-16, 2025
Entries: 147
Prize pool: €680,794

1. Kenny Hallaert (Belgium) – €140,674
2. Elias Suhonen (Finland) – €134,526
3. Lawrence Brandt (USA) – €75,600
4. Ludvig Sterner (Sweden) – €58,100
5. Umberto Ruggeri (Italy) – €44,700
6. Paul Hofer (Germany) – €34,400
7. Andrii Nikitin (Ukraine) – €26,400
8. Cheng Chen (UK) – €22,000

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A FESTIVAL OF RECORD BREAKERS

It’s hard to imagine the main poker rooms at the RDS being any busier than the Craic Den — the Player’s Bar where PokerStars has hosted everything from casino nights to karaoke — but believe us, this festival is absolutely packed.

It’s no wonder, then, that many of the events so far have shattered records. 

The €1,150 Mystery Bounty (April 10-15) was the largest Mystery Bounty ever held in Ireland, with 1,222 entrants creating a €1,191,450 prize pool, split in half between regular payouts and bounty envelopes. Players from fifty countries took part, showcasing the Irish Open’s international appeal. It’s a must-visit event, for sure.

Germany’s Nils Pudel – a former PokerStars Platinum Pass winner – forged an impressive final table comeback to take it down, earning €117,060 (including around €14,500 in bounty prizes). The final three players chopped it, meaning runner-up Nikolaos Angelou Konstas collected €108,500 total, while Fabian Rolli rounded out the podium with a €119,660 haul.

The €550 Mystery Bounty kicks off today (Thursday) so who knows? Perhaps that record will be beaten immediately.

Wednesday also saw the conclusion of the biggest ever edition of the Hendon Mob Championship, a €350 buy-in that got 888 total entries, smashing last year’s 599.

Michel Havavka was the victor after two days of play, beating Charlie Waters heads-up after the pair made a deal. Waters, who won the £1,000 High Roller at the first PokerStars Women’s Winter Festival back in November, collected €40,000 for her efforts, while Havavka settled for slightly less (€37,348) but also nabbed the trophy and title.

It’s not just the size of the tournaments that appeals here, but the variety too. On Wednesday, for example, there was a €350 Open Face Chinese Championship (won by Riku Koivurinne for €8,265), and a €350 Heads-Up Championship (Eriks Krumins took that down for €10,000).

The 2025 edition of the Irish Open Main Event comes with its biggest ever guarantee – €2.5 million – so there are high expectations it’ll be a record breaker, too. So far, we’ve had 1,151 entries with three starting flights still to play.

Whatever happens, it’s going to be a busy few days. See you in the Craic Den for a nightcap.

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Spraggy introduced him to poker. Now he’s brought him home to Dublin.

When Bernard “Benny” Norris broke his foot and wrist in a moped accident three years ago, he had no idea the crash (and a guy called Spraggy) would steer him onto a new path. 

Stuck at home in Victoria, Canada – his adopted home city after leaving Dublin, Ireland – Norris was bored, injured, and looking for a fun way to pass the time. What he found was a Twitch stream that would change the course of his life.

“I came across Spraggy’s channel and couldn’t believe someone was playing online poker and spending thousands a day doing it,” the 37-year-old tells PokerStars Blog. “At the time, I had no real knowledge of online poker. But I was hooked immediately.”

That chance scroll through Twitch launched Norris – a self-employed compliance consultant – into the world of online poker, and what started as a casual curiosity grew into a serious hobby. But like many players, his relationship with poker hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Last year was marked by losses and frustration, leaving Norris disillusioned with the game.

“I had a rough year last year. I was losing a lot and honestly just felt like everything was going against me,” he says. “I decided to take a break, because I knew some of my ‘runbad’ was actually just bad decisions. I needed to reset.”

And that’s when poker came knocking again – this time through the same channel that had introduced him to the game in the first place.

A POETIC VICTORY

“I was watching Spraggy’s stream and saw he was running a 1-cent tournament – his ‘centroll.’ I wasn’t even planning to play poker that day, but figured why not?” says Norris.

That spontaneous decision turned into something incredible. He won it and earned himself a special edition Power Path Emerald Pass to the Irish Open worth over $2,500.

“It was just this wild ride,” he says. “I ran hot and stayed in the top 10 for most of the tournament. I couldn’t believe it. I’d won an Emerald Pass and a trip to Ireland for the Irish Open, for a penny!”

The win was almost poetic. He was returning to his homeland (moreover, his home town). He’d won the prize through the very streamer who’d introduced him to the game. It reignited his confidence and reminded him that he did, in fact, have what it takes.

So much so that he then won another Emerald Pass not long after.

“I wasn’t trying to win again, I just played with this renewed confidence,” he says. “I was making decisions I would have second-guessed before. That belief in myself made all the difference.”

Though his live poker experience is limited (his only option for live poker in Victoria being a single-table casino), he’s made some impressive strides. Norris recently ran deep in a 1,000-entry WSOP Circuit event in Calgary and now, with two Emerald Passes under his belt, he’s back in Dublin meeting up with the man who sparked it all: Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg.

Norris is currently playing the Irish Open’s €350 America’s Cup at the Royal Dublin Society, then he’ll hop in the Main Event tomorrow using part of one of his two Passes. He’s also having a fantastic time away from the felt, battling as part of Team Spraggy in the Shamrock Showdown.

“Winning something like this, it’s not the dollar amount that matters,” he says. “It’s the experience, the community, and the journey back to Ireland. It all just felt… right.”

*****

PokerStars Blog caught up with Norris on the tournament floor of the Royal Dublin Society, home of the Irish Open 2025.

“It’s mad,” he says. “This building is where I used to do my college exams, and I haven’t been here for 15 years. So, to be here now to play poker is mental. It’s surreal at the moment.”

Norris is a bit jetlagged as he only flew in from Canada today. Upon arrival, he came straight to the venue, met Spraggy, and entered the America’s Cup. 

“I owed [Spraggy] a pint of Guinness because we had a bet in an online tournament, so now I’m his best friend,” he says, laughing. “But seriously, he’s a great guy and from seeing him on streams and knowing what he’s like, he’s great for the game.”

Incredibly, in the past week alone, Norris was able to win a further three Main Event tickets, meaning he now has three bullets plus two Emerald Passes.

“My whole trip is covered!” he says. “Honestly, with satellites, people don’t understand them. Sometimes you have to fold aces, and people can’t believe it. Sometimes you don’t need to be aggressive, you just need to sit back and win it.”

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PUDEL SOLVES IRELAND’S BIGGEST MYSTERY

Reporting by Jan Kores and Jen Mason

The €1,150 Luxon Mystery Bounty has crowned Nils Pudel as its champion after an astonishing final table comeback that eventually saw him make a deal with Nikolaos Angelou Konstas (€71,090) and Fabian Rolli (€73,480) to take €67,510 in prize money from the non-bounty half of the prize pool.

After six days of entry flights, field-whittling and bounty drawing a total of €1,191,450 in prize money has been awarded. It was paid in both regular prizes and mirroring bounties, with Jorge Rios drawing the biggest bounty (€102,600) on Day 2.

With 1,222 total entries (669 unique) and 50 countries represented, this first event on the 2025 Irish Open schedule set the tone early for the bumper international fields – and prize pools – to come.

Pudel, who originally hails from Hanover in Germany, was a 2019 PokerStars Platinum Pass winner and is a full-time poker pro whose accomplishments include making the final tables at EPT London in 2022 and the WSOPE Main Event the following year. This win has bumped his live total cashes over the $1 million mark, but at times it seemed an unlikely outcome.

Maxim Petrov and Florian Duta started the final table with the shortest stacks, with the former running nines into Pudel’s jacks early on. He was followed to the rail by the latter when Rolli, having doubled through start-of-day chip leader Konstas, found himself comfortably able to afford to hunt Duta’s bounty.

Rolli continued his roll by eliminating Tobias Peters in 6th (€20,785) – after both players tabled the same hand after an all-in-and-call preflop. What Rolli initially described as a “fair fight” became one of those bust-outs players remember with a wince.

The last Irish player standing, Patrick Eagers, collected €27,000 for 5th place after he lost his bounty to Konstas, who then let Rolli get back to busting the opposition; he promptly eliminated Yannick Jobin in 4th place (€35,080).

Three-handed, it looked like a two-horse race: with 27 million apiece, Rolli and Konstas were guaranteed to be pouncing on the bounty of Pudel (6 million) with abandon. After Konstas took another pot from him, a last-chance roll of the dice with a pair of fives and five big blinds saw the start of a dramatic comeback.

Two full doubles from this point, and Pudel demonstrated just how quickly things can change in no limit Hold’em: he leaped into a chip lead that must have seemed all but impossible a level before. As stacks evened out, a deal was struck, chopping the remaining prizes according to ICM.

Concerning the chop, Pudel said, “Every one of us three was chip leader today at some point. It was best to just chop it up three ways because it was pretty top-heavy, this tournament.”

Finally, he made his winner interview while holding a decorated potato that had been with him through the final. “The German guys, xflixx [PokerStars Ambassador Felix Schneiders] gave it to me on the beginning of Day 3,” he explained. “Maybe I have to play with this potato the whole time in Dublin. But maybe that’s a bit unfair…”

Luxon Mystery Bounty final table results (inclusive of bounties):

1: Nils Pudel (Germany) – €117,060
2: Nikolaos Angelou Konstas (Greece) – €108,500
3: Fabian Rolli (Switzerland) – €119,660
4: Yannick Jobin (Switzerland) – €35,920
5: Patrick Eagers (Ireland) – €30,340
6: Tobias Peters (Netherlands) – €29,125
7: Florian Duta (Romania) – €28,440
8: Maksim Petrov (Estonia) – €18,540

AMBASSADOR ROUND-UP

PokerStars Ambassadors are out in full force at the Irish Open. And when they’re not suffering through the agony of the Shamrock Showdown challenges (looking at you, Seb and Wistern), they’re deep in the action at the poker tables–and there are plenty to choose from.

Seriously, the 2025 Irish Open schedule is a grinder’s dream.

Busted out of your No Limit Hold’em tournament and craving something with more than two cards? No problem – jump into the Open Face Chinese (OFC) Championship or a juicy PLO event.

Need to blow off some steam after busting a big buy-in? Grab a pint of the black stuff and dive into one of the lower buy-in events for just a couple of hundred euros.

Team Red Spade members are scattered across the massive tournament hall as we speak – we can see them all from our lofty ivory tower that is the media desk.

But how have the Ambassadors fared so far? We’re almost a week into the festival, so let’s check out some of the standout results.

FINTY’S HOME COURT

Fintan “easywithaces” Hand, who lives just minutes from the Royal Dublin Society (this year’s venue), has been using his home-court advantage to his… advantage.

He kicked things off with a small cash in the €1,150 Luxon Mystery Bounty (Event #1), finishing 142nd out of 1,222 entries for €960. Unfortunately, he missed out on any mystery envelopes, ending the tournament with a small loss.

But his luck shifted in the €1,150 NLHE 8-Max (Event #31). Hand led the 441-player field heading into the final two tables, but lost a huge pot when his pocket aces were cracked by quad sevens. He ultimately finished sixth for €17,900, a solid score nonetheless.

Sam Grafton also made a final table this week. The Squid placed fourth in the €5K High Roller Mystery Bounty (39 entries), banking €10,380. Like Hand, he walked away bounty-less, as all the envelopes went to the top two finishers: Ludvig Sterner and champion Marcel Kessler.

It’s been an interesting day for Felix Schneiders. The TEAM GRND captain was invited to play the Flutter Staff Invitational last night and ended up winning it. Needless to say, the Shamrock Showdown’s Craic Commissioner was not happy.

As for the Main Event, three Ambassadors have already secured their spots in Day 2: Marle Spragg, Caitlin Comeskey, and Alex Romero.

Scroll down to see all the Ambassador results so far.

#1 €1,150 Mystery Bounty
142nd – Fintan Hand – €960
162nd  – Alex Romero – €840 

#6 – €350 Mini Irish Open 1/B
17th – Caitlin Comeskey – €720 

#22 – €350 HORSE Championship
12th – Sebastian Huber – €870 

#24 – €5,000 High Roller Mystery Bounty
4th – Sam Grafton – €10,380 

#28 – NLH 6-Max Championship Day 1
73rd – Spraggy – €600 

#31 – NLH 8-Max
6th – Fintan Hand – €17,900
50th – Marle Spraggy – €2,100 

#35 – The Hendon Mob Championship
64th – Lasse “Wistern” Jagd Lauritsen – €800

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RESULTS SO FAR

The Irish Open boasts one of the most jam-packed schedules in live poker, which means tons of side event winners.

Catch up on all the results and winners from the festival so far.

ABOUT THE IRISH OPEN FESTIVAL 2025

The 2025 Irish Open is set to be the biggest and richest poker festival ever held in Ireland. There’ll be more cash in the prize pools, plus an even longer festival.

With an extra four days added to celebrate the event’s 45th anniversary, here are some headlines to look forward to…

• A €1,000,000 guaranteed Mystery Bounty
• A High Roller series with four €5,000 buy-in events and a €10,000 buy-in event
• The biggest ever guarantee for the Main Event, now up to €2,500,000
• Plus the hugely popular Mini Irish Open, with €1,000,000 guaranteed

PokerStars is sponsoring the event for the third consecutive year alongside Paddy Power. You can expect hundreds of chances to qualify online for the event.

The Royal Dublin Society in Ballsbridge Dublin will host the 12-day festival which starts on April 10 and runs to April 21.

Schedule highlights

Check out the full schedule for the Irish Open 2025 here.

Several tournaments will be extended to become two-day events in 2025.

• The Hendon Mob Championship
• The America’s Cup
• The NLH 6-Max Championship event

There will also be the inaugural Irish Open Deaf Championship joining next year’s schedule.

New mixed game tournaments on the schedule will include:

• Pot Limit Deuce to 7 Triple Draw
• Big O
• Open Face Chinese
• A two-day H.O.R.S.E event
• A two-day Mixed 8-game tournament

Plus, two-day €1K events, increased PLO events and more.

Fun away from the tables

The fun doesn’t stop at the tables.

This festival is as known for the ‘craic’ as much as it’s known for the poker.

The now infamous player’s lounge – ‘The Craic Den’ – will make an eagerly-anticipated return. And players can expect tons of live music, games, competitions and top-class entertainment every night.

Satellites for the 2025 Main Event are running right now, and you can also qualify using Power Path.

For more information, visit www.irishpokeropen.com.

WHAT IS THE SHAMROCK SHOWDOWN?

FOLLOW THE SHAMROCK SHOWDOWN HERE

A new layer of excitement is coming to this year’s Irish Open with the introduction of the Shamrock Showdown – a team-based competition led by six PokerStars Ambassadors. 

Expect fiery rivalries, hilarious off-the-felt challenges, and competitive recruiting as ambassadors scramble to build the best teams.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHAMROCK SHOWDOWN

MEET THE TEAMS:

• Team Spraggy
• Team Fintan
• Team Caitlin & Marle
• Team Seb & Wistern
• Team Tonkaaaa
• Team GRND

HOW IT WORKS:

Points are earned both at the poker tables in select tournaments and through a variety of exciting off-the-felt challenges.

Each team’s score is based on the performance of its players in each tournament. If a team’s player outlasts their opponents in all 10 tournaments, the team can earn a total of 1,000 points.

Note: Not all team members need to play each tournament.

The Shamrock Showdown tournaments are listed below:

• €1,150 Mystery Bounty
• €250 Mini Irish Open
• €1,150 Main Event
• €350 6-Max
• €1,150 8-Max (#31)
• €350 Heads-Up
• €350 HMC
• €350 PLO 6-Max
• €550 Mystery Bounty
• €550 JP Poker Masters

When all team members have been knocked out of the tournament, the best-performing players will receive the following points:

• 1st – 100 points
• 2nd – 50 points
• 3rd – 30 points
• 4th – 20 points
• 5th – 10 points
• 6th – 0 points

While the full list of challenges remains under wraps, expect antics such as a darts showdown, fancy dress, a drag show, and even a lip sync battle. We’ll release the full challenge schedule ASAP.

PokerStars will call the shots, adding an extra layer of unpredictability and excitement. Who will outlast, outplay, and out-craic the competition?

Note: Players can choose which challenges they compete in – none are compulsory – but teams can only score points in a challenge once. For example, if Caitlin earns 5 points from the Split the G challenge, the challenge is completed for her team. Imagine a bingo card – once a challenge is done, it’s crossed off.

Irish Open Online – Feb 17-24

If you’re still unsure about attending Dublin in April, the Irish Open Online—a special online series running in February—might decide for you.

The series runs from February 17-24, 2025 with more than $800K guaranteed in prizes across 17 events. Buy-ins range from $11 to $320 and the series is headlined by the $215 Irish Open Online Main Even–a tournament you won’t want to miss.

On top of the cash prizes, the top three finishers in the Online Main Event will win the following:

• 1st place – $2,500 Silver Pass Emerald Edition
• 2nd place – €1,150 Irish Open Main Event Seat Only package
• 3rd place – €109 Irish Open Main Event Qualifier satellite ticket

Please note: These prizes are non-refundable and non-exchangeable.

So, whoever wins the Online Main Event will also book a free trip to Dublin for the live festival.

KEY DATES:

• $22 Mini Irish Open: Sunday, February 23 – $60,000 Gtd
• $215 Irish Poker Open Online Main Event: Sunday, February 23 – $200,000 Gtd
• $55 Mystery Bounty: Monday, February 24 – $100,000 Gtd

ABOUT THE IRISH OPEN

The Irish Open has been a must-visit stop on any poker player’s travel list for decades. 

It’s not just the incredible Dublin location or the festive community spirit that makes it essential on the international poker calendar, however. This is an event steeped in history.

The festival is the longest-running no limit hold’em tournament outside of Las Vegas, with a history dating back more than 42 years. It firmly established itself on the world stage in 1984, when 25 American players–including the legends Stu Ungar, Chip Reese and Doyle Brunson–made the journey to Dublin. That tournament was televised, the interest was huge, and the Irish Open hasn’t slowed down since.

Last year’s champ was Finland’s Tero Laurila who defeated a 3,233-entry field to win €292,685 and the biggest Irish Open in history. Back in 2023, it was PokerStars qualifier David Docherty who took home a first prize of €365,000 after besting a 2,491-entry field — a record-breaker at the time.

Steve O’Dwyer (who has lived in Dublin for the past 11 years) and PokerStars commentator Griffin Benger have also taken down the Main Event. O’Dwyer beat a field of 2,040 entries in his home city to win the first-place prize of €318,700 in 2022.

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2024 – Tero Laurila – €292,685
2023 – David Docherty – €365,000
2022 – Steve O’ Dwyer – €318,700
2020 – Pablo Silva – €462,100
2019 – Weijie Zheng – €300,000
2018 – Ryan Mandara – €250,000
2017 – Griffin Benger – €200,000
2016 – Dan Wilson – €150,000
2015 – Ioannis Triantafyllakis – €200,000
2014 – Patrick Clarke – €200,000
2013 – Ian Simpson – €265,000
2012 – Kevin Vandersmissen – €420,000
2011 – Niall Smyth – €550,000
2010 – James Mitchell – €600,000
2009 – Christer Johansson – €600,000
2008 – Neil Channing – €801,000

FURTHER READING

The Irish Open wins big at Global Poker Awards

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