The Irish Open has always prided itself on attracting every kind of player – whatever their bankroll, from seasoned pros to live poker newbies, the Irish Open welcomes them all.
And we were certainly primed for generational grudge matches this year with the launch of our new Old Dogs and Young Pups tournament – open to all players aged 50+ and all players aged 30 or under.
Nevertheless, we were still astonished to discover that this year’s Irish Open festival featured a 72-year age gap between our oldest players and our very youngest. Competing in Dublin this year were THREE players who were all 90 years old alongside a Swedish “young pup” who only turned 18 a few weeks before the start of the festival.
Representing the old dogs were George McKeever and William Browne – who were both born in October 1935 – and American Joseph Kelley, the “baby” of the nonagenarian trio, who was born in March 1936.
To put this in perspective … George, William and Joseph were all born several years before the start of World War II, long before most homes had a television or a telephone, and some 34 years before man first landed on the moon.
The nonagenarians grew up listening to radio dramas around the family wireless while Sweden’s Eric Nilsson has grown up in the age of the internet, social media and watching live poker on a smartphone.
Super Super Super Seniors
Former businessman George was well into his 91st year at the start of the Irish Open and was already on our radar when we discovered that he had entered the Super Seniors tournament – alongside his 61-year-old son Mark.
Hugely well-known in the Irish poker community, McKeever Senior has been playing the Irish Open since it first began and put in a very solid performance at this year’s event with a total of three cashes.
George’s recorded results, totalling over $1 million, go back nearly 40 years and include making the final of EPT Dublin in 2006 plus fifth place in two WSOP bracelet events. His biggest live poker score was winning a Master Classics of Poker title in Amsterdam in 2004.
At the other end of the age gap, Eric Nilsson acquired his first-ever Hendon Mob flag in Dublin after cashing in the Mini, finishing a very respectable 115th out of a record 7,349 entries to win €1,940.
With our three super-veterans technically old enough to be young Eric’s great-great-grandfather, this year’s Irish Open produced a scene few sporting events anywhere in the world could match. 5,436 players … with more than seven decades between the oldest and youngest. At the Irish Open, age really IS just a number.
