Mini Irish Open
Last year, Paul O’Reilly and JP McCann, who run the Irish Open, took a massive punt. What would happen if we put on a tournament with a huge guarantee but very low buy-in and tons of starting flights? The result was the Mini Irish Open which, as history relates, last year became the biggest ever tournament ever held in Ireland.
This year, Paul and JP took yet another punt – doubling the guarantee to a whopping €1 million. They needn’t have worried – the €250 Mini Irish Open was a massive success, attracting 6,411 entries from 69 different countries and making it the best-attended event of the festival. The tournament soared past the guarantee well before the last of the 13 different starting flights with players relishing the chance to have a stab at six-figure prize money for a very low buy-in. The eventual prize pool was €1,343,938 and, unsurprisingly, there were also a record number of players making the money: 938 in total.
The €116,000 first prize eventually went to British player Tyler Gordon who normally competes at Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham (where his biggest previous cash was just £1,500.) Hats off too to Ireland’s Moya Murphy who was the last woman standing, finishing fourth for €48,200 – way her biggest live cash.
Heads-up trophy for Eriks Krumins
Latvia’s Erik Krumins is making a habit of leaving the Irish Open with a trophy in his suitcase. Last year, he took down the JP Poker Masters; this year, he secured victory in his first ever Heads-up event. The tournament was doubled in size this year and easily filled the 128 seats available, creating a €38,688 prize pool with €10k going to the new champion.
Irish Open Deaf Championship
Switzerland’s Starny Hoang was a worthy winner when he defeated a 29-strong field in the first ever Irish Open Deaf Championship for a first prize of €1,825 – and followed it up just a few days later with a €1,960 cash in the Main Event. Thanks to the success of the inaugural event, we’ll now be looking to get even more Deaf players involved next year and will be reaching out to Deaf communities around the world. There’s no doubt that those who took part in this year’s tournament relished the chance to compete at a huge festival with their own dedicated event. Spearheaded by Friend of the Irish Open Darren Chow from Canada, the 2025 tournament featured two starting flights with a single re-entry allowed per flight. Chow first took up poker in 2004 when a labour dispute led to the 2004-2005 National Hockey League season being cancelled. Like many Canadian sports fans in Canada, Chow was looking for an alternative pursuit to get involved with – and found poker! Chow also made the money in the Championship that he helped co-organise, finishing third for €780.
Seniors thrive in three dedicated events
There was no shortage of events for older players at this year’s Irish Open, with three on the menu including a new Super Seniors tournament (60+) and a new €1,150 High Roller. British player Pip Arthur snagged the first title – and the first trophy of the festival – when he took down the €250 Super Seniors for €11,080 following a three-way deal with runner-up Paolo Pacciani (€4,480 for second) and Mohamed Namir in third (€3,460). There were 158 entries, creating a €32,272 prize pool with 23 making the money including Friend of the Irish Open Elizabeth Bennett-Martin and fellow Canadian Kim Kilroy.
Next up was the Irish Open’s first Seniors €1,150 High Roller. The event attracted 150 entries with just 19 making it through a lengthy Day 1. Congrats to champion Simeon Sharr who doubled his previous total live tournament winnings with a €35,750 first prize and his first ever trophy.
The third Seniors Championship kicked off at 11am on the final day of the festival. A massive 434-entry field in the €250 buy-in event created a €90,975 prize pool with Ireland’s Geoff McClay snagging the title, trophy and €15,000 – his biggest ever cash.
What happens if you give a tourney a second day!
After the huge success of events like The Hendon Mob Championship, the America’s Cup and the JP Poker Masters at previous editions of the Irish Open, all three of these tourneys were awarded an extra day for this year’s festival. Good thing too – as they all broke records. The Hendon Mob Championship attracted 888 entries while the JP Poker Masters nearly doubled in size with 742 entries. The America’s Cup was also massively up – 685 entries compared to 495 entries last year.
€550 JP Poker Masters Championship
The JP Poker Masters is a firm fan favourite at the Irish Open and, even though last year’s tournament nearly tripled the previous year’s, there were still yet more players wanting in on the action. French Canadian Alexandre Pruneau competes all over Europe but secured his first Irish flag and first ever live trophy after outlasting the huge 7642-strong field for a first prize of €58,579. Controversially, Pruneau revealed the secret of his success – a Guinness Snakebite. He said: “I like to mix the Guinness with the apple cider, a lot of people who have seen me do that have not talked to me anymore!”
€350 America’s Cup
Long gone are the days when the America’s Cup was restricted only to Americans! And this year, the last American standing bowed out in 11th place. Holland’s Bart Timmer beat the record 685-entry field to win €38,340 for first place. Marco Meisser finished as runner-up (€23,980) and 2024’s Eureka Cyprus Main Event winner Leo Worthington-Leese came third (€17,120).
€350 The Hendon Mob Championship
The Hendon Mob Championship – or “THMC” as it’s known – was another event that was converted into a two-day tournament for 2025. Good thing too as it topped all records as the biggest THMC ever held in Europe. Slovakia’s Michal Havavka outlasted the 888-entry field – and a gruelling heads-up against Britain’s Charlie Waters – to win the trophy and €37,348. He also secured the added bonus of a trip to South Africa to compete in the THMC Cape Town Millions. Michal is yet another player who has secured back-to-back trophy grabs at the Irish Open – last year he won the America’s Cup. Hats off this year to Irish Open regular Charlie whose runner-up finish in THMC gave her a lifetime best live cash of €40k.
