The €350 NLH 6-Max Championship has concluded, and presumably, the 2025 Irish Poker Open organization must be thrilled with the tournament, considering that the tournament grew more than 100 % in popularity compared with the 2024 edition.
Records are Made to be Broken
Indeed, 801 entries in the tournament surpasses last year’s 385 by a fine margin. The impressive number created a €242,102 prize pool, and 119 players would get a slice of the cake.
The bubble burst already during Day 1, and 43 players would bag and return on Day 2, all fighting for the trophy, the title, and the first-place payout of €44,600.
It became evident already during Day 1 that aggression was a crucial key for those who wanted to go far in the tournament; the 30-minute levels led to many players being short-stacked going into Day 2, and within the first hour almost 20 people were eliminated. Players needed to put all their skills on display in order to get a big stack. One of the players who managed to accumulate a lot of chips at an early stage of Day 2 was Waheed Ashraf, who won a big pot early with a great call on the turn.
A Rollercoaster Final
People kept busting out at rapid speed and faster than you can say, Guinness; only seven players remained who made up a final table. Entering this stage of the tournament with the most chips was Dutch Corne Scheel. He would extend this lead even further as he showed controlled aggression, for example by check-raising in crucial spots.
Ryan Plant and Sam Dobbins were to become the first two casualties of the final table, and they both fell to Daniel Jackson who picked up back-to-back premium hands. After the first two farewells it would take a while before the next player to fall, as Cristian-Mihaita Ivanus dodged bullets left and right. Perhaps his most crucial hand was when he cracked the aces of Fotios Katidis, who most likely were the chip leader at that point. Fotios would eventually become the player to go in fifth place.
Through impeccable poker – and some help from lady luck – Ivanus had managed to grow his stack back to impressive proportions. Then, he basically lost it all after an amazing call under pressure from Scheel. This eventually resulted in Ivanus’ elimination, and when three-handed play commenced, it looked like Scheel had things under control.
The Final Showdown
After surviving once, thanks to a crucial river card, Ashraf eventually became the person to bust in third place. As he went to collect his €20,000 paycheck, Scheel and Jackson began heads up-play, with Jackson having a 2-1 chip lead as he was the one who eliminated Ashraf.
Heads up lasted maybe 20 minutes before the players were all in on the turn. When Jackson hit his straight on the river, it was all over. He was crowned the champion, received the trophy, and the €44,600 first-place payout.
A big win for Jackson, and a big win for the 2025 Irish Poker Open to have such great numbers in all the events. The event is growing bigger and better by the year, and it’s much thanks to the players!
