It’s only halfway through the 2026 Irish Open but British player Ben “sweems” Sweetman is already celebrating a remarkable achievement.
Five events (one a day) and he’s cashed in all of them. And that includes winning one and runner-up in another (today). Total haul so far: €25k.
Ben is 43 but he looks about 23 so we’re going to call him “up and coming”. His Hendon Mob now records nearly $300,000 in live tournament winnings and nearly all of that has come in mixed games.
But Ben’s top speciality is Deuce to Seven Triple Draw and on Monday – or rather 3.30am on Tuesday morning – he won the Irish Open edition for €9,700. Bed at 5am. Back at noon for the €5k Mixed 8-Game High Roller. And it really looked like he might win that one too. He was second in chips at the start of Day 2 (with seven left) and chip leader by 1pm.
But, by the time play reached heads-up, poker veteran and two-time WSOP bracelet winner John Kabbaj had a massive chip advantage and it was all over in nine hands.
Ben is not unhappy about the €13k cash nor his perfect five-for-five performance. In fact, the last time he enjoyed such a good run was during the 2022 WCOOP when he won a $1k 8-Game for $28k and then a $2k 8-game a week later for $27k.
Being Ben Sweetman
At last year’s 2025 WCOOP, Ben’s PC died so he had to play a 1k on his mobile. Ben said: “My wife Nicki took a photo of me squinting at my phone and I sent it to my friend NicoBoko. The next thing I know, I’m sitting in a tournament with him and he’s got the picture of me as his avatar. Then everyone started using it. In one event, I was looking at three of me.”
Ben’s substantial live and online scores run alongside a healthy record in online cash. He’s doing alright. But it wasn’t always thus.
After graduating in Chemistry from Birmingham Uni, he started up a mail order car parts business and then, when eBay killed that, he spent a few years running bars and restaurants. Poker was very much a sideline.
Ben was (and is) a huge Deuce to Seven fan and played loads on PokerStars. He said: “But when I couldn’t find 2-7 games on PS I would sit on the 8-game tables because the first game was 2-7. I’d just play the first six hands and go. Very poor etiquette.”
The turning point in his poker career came in 2019 when he won a huge event at Dusk Til Dawn for €90k. His win was something of a miracle because he’d spent the night in A&E and was still in huge pain throughout the final Day 2. “To be honest, all I wanted to do was get home. Nil by mouth. Zero celebration. I was just happy to be leaving.”
But the win set Ben up for turning pro and now he and wife Nicki spend much of their time on poker jaunts around the world including regular trips to The Festival events, run by Friend of the Irish Open Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk. The rest of the time they’re at home in Stone, Staffordshire caring for their foster rabbits.
The Tale of Billie Rabbit
The rabbit stuff was an expected turn of events in this interview. We’ve come across hundreds, maybe thousands of poker players, and this was most certainly a first.
But why foster rabbits, Ben?
“Well, it started with Billie. Rabbits live to three and a half but Billie got to 12. We were just keeping her alive though. It was costing about £6k a month. She had a weepy eye. Severe arthritis. Dental procedures every four weeks. Incontinence. Her bed had heat pads.
“She died about three days after I got to Vegas last Summer. It was awful. Nicki had to fly out. And we just couldn’t go through the grief of continual pet death after that so now we just foster.
“It’s working out better because when we go away, we can just give them back to the rescue centre. We only ever have two at a time. We have the kitchen and living room downstairs, the rabbits get the middle floor (three bedrooms and a landing) and we sleep on the top floor. The current rabbits are Kimmy and Bertie.”
Tomorrow Ben is going for his sixth cash of the 2026 festival, having qualified online for the €2.5 million Main Event. If he doesn’t make it through to Day 2 though, he’s flying home … to Nicki and the rabbits.
