Level 28: 80,000/160,000/160,000
Entries: 3/366
Prize Pool: €76,329
Colin Fox of Ireland has emerged as the winner of the €250 APAT Championship at the 2026 Irish Open after a three-way ICM deal, banking a career-best score of €12,400 and the coveted gold medal in the process.
Fox stormed from the bottom of the standings at the start of play to the chip lead by the outset of the final table, and it was still in his hands when the deal was reached. Patrick Schratz took second (€10,020) and Sebastian Mueller third (€9,100), both of Germany.
The trio were the last players standing from a 366-entry field, which created a €76,329 prize pool.
Soothsayer Fox was down to five big blinds when he jammed under the gun at the start of the day, but ran into a dominating hand in the big blind. The flop looked bleak, but Fox went runner-runner for the straight to survive. He celebrated with passion, declaring to the room “There’s no way I don’t win this tournament, absolutely no way!”, and he proved to be a man of his word.
€250 APAT Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Colin Fox | Ireland | €12,400* |
| 2 | Patrick Schratz | Germany | €10,020* |
| 3 | Sebastian Mueller | Germany | €9,100* |
| 4 | Tudor Neascu | Romania | €5,230 |
| 5 | Paul Prunty | Ireland | €4,020 |
| 6 | Liam Hind | United Kingdom | €3,100 |
| 7 | Sean Foley | Ireland | €2,380 |
| 8 | Alexandru Tudor | Romania | €1,979 |
| 9 | Yan Birg | Belgium | €1,640 |
(*denotes ICM deal)
Winner’s Reaction
Fox was delighted to come out on top, saying “First big win live, started the day with three big blinds, it was miracle after miracle after miracle! So very grateful. It means a lot, I wasn’t even going to play, but a friend talked me into it, said I had to play, so I’ll take good care of him! I’ve been playing a lot of poker, but actually have had a bit of a break, so this is my return! I don’t know what that means, but I’m feeling good and playing well.”
Final Day Recap
Only 28 players returned for the final day, with Matas Kacinskas the start of day chip leader and all players guaranteed a €490 payday. The knockouts came at a rapid rate, with Daniel Weaver hitting the rail in the first hand, quickly followed by Zizhu Zhao and Samuel Atherton.
Alexandru Tudor got off to a strong start and was soon at the top of the standings, before Kacinskas and Mark Johnston met their demise. Fox started to pick up real momentum when he picked up queens against Ivan Tononi’s nines, and the final table was set when the champion disposed of Brian Holland.
Fox had a near 30 big blind lead over his closest challenger with stacks relatively shallow behind him, and it didn’t take long before Paul Prunty sent Yan Birg to the rail after holding in a flip against ace-king.
Mueller then cracked Tudor in the classic race, before short-stack Sean Foley fell to Liam Hind. Hind proceeded to go on a bit of a run, picking up cowboys to double through Tudor Neascu, but he then lost a flip against Prunty. Hind was left short, and he would fall in sixth to Fox.
Schratz spiked a miracle river against Prunty to stay in it, and finished off the same opponent in fifth in a kings versus queens cooler. The final knockout of the day also belonged to Schratz, who ended the run of the now short-stacked Neascu in fourth.
The players immediately requested some time to discuss a deal, and agreement was quickly reached, leaving Fox to celebrate taking the lion’s share of the prize pool, and the gold medal.
