Nine years ago, when Paul O’Reilly and JP McCann took over the running of the Irish Open, there was nary a High Roller to be seen. But times, they are a-changin’ – and this year’s schedule is awash with them!
Whether you’re a PLO fan or a straightforward Hold’Em type, you’re still going to be spoiled for choice when it comes to these top-drawer events.
As this is the Irish Open, we’re not talking total nosebleed here. There will be no casual dropping of a third million-dollar bullet here at the RDS! Irish Open High Rollers are still very much at the affordable end of live tourney poker and, if last year’s fields are anything to go by, will be very well subscribed.
What’s definitely true of High Rollers is that they always have a particularly jocular atmosphere. In the High Roller world, a lot of the players know each other really well and that makes for some first-rate table banter.
High Roller schedule
The 2025 selection includes an awesome new event – a €10k which we’re dubbing Super High Roller because it really is going to be “super”. Event 45 is the highest buy-in event the Irish Open has ever hosted and we’re looking forward to seeing just who’s queuing at the reg desk as this one gets underway.
Also on the schedule is a two-day €1,150 Seniors High Roller (Event 52). Do Seniors really need their own High Roller event? Well, yes … it turns out they’ve been virtually insisting on it and the Irish Open loves to please.
There’s also a €3k NLH High Roller (Event 61), a €5k NLH High Roller (Event 36), €5k NLH High Roller Mystery Bounty (Event 24) along with two PLO High Rollers – a €5k PLO High Roller (Event 29) and €5k PLO High Roller Mystery Bounty (Event 13).
And if you’re wondering just how popular these high-stakes events really are, well just check out last year’s stats. The 2024 €5k High Roller attracted 111 entries with PokerStars Team Pro Parker “tonkaaaa” Talbot securing his first live event title after navigating through a stellar field. Despite having more than $1.6 million in live tournament cashes, Talbot – remarkably – had never won a live event before and was being royally ribbed about this by his fellow PokerStars ambassadors and high-stakes poker mates before landing the big one at the 2024 Irish Open for a trophy (well, that proves it!) and €134,279.
The €3k High Roller is a Roberto Romanello favourite – he plays it every year and, for the last two years, has been-runner-up both times. Last year he was beaten by Samuel Ju who took the first prize of €95,275 and the previous year he was beaten by WCOOP record holder Benny Glaser. Stats for the 2024 €3k? 157 entries, total prize pool: a gobsmacking €461,175.
History of High Rollers at the Irish Open
In 2016, O’Reilly and McCann added a €2k High Roller to the schedule. The event attracted a modest field – 28 entries – with Germany’s Claas Segebrecht taking it down for €23,830. But the word was out and the following year, numbers and prize pools were up significantly. Kevin Killeen, who finished third in 2016, beat a 66-entry field to win a substantial €38,585 first prize. In 2018, the €2k High Roller Championship beat records again with a total of 70 entries. Dublin-based Croatian Sasa Ikac took home the €38,330 first prize.
In 2019, the High Roller attracted 84 entries with champion Max Silver, Ireland’s #1 live tournament player, winning €45,130, another event record. A list of the finalists also shows just how competitive and prestigious the tournament had now become: Benny Glaser, Patrice Brandt, Andy Black, Marc McDonnell, Keith Johnson, Orjan Skommo, Dan Wilson and Ankit Ahuja.
Huge High Roller fields in 2022
After two years online during the pandemic, it was clear that the thirst for live High Rollers was getting pretty intense. The two High Rollers in 2022 – the €5k Coin Rivet High Roller and a €2k High Roller – both had big fields. There were 90 entries in the €5k with London chef Alex Peffly taking home €111,835. Among those who cashed were Triple Crown winner Niall Farrell, former Irish Open Main Event champion Ian Simpson, Andrew Hulme and Paul “Top Dollar Man” Newey.
In the €2k, there were a staggering 157 entries with Danny Pyke beating Jamie Nixon heads-up for the trophy and a €65,840 first prize. More than 20 players cashed including Dominik Nitsche, Raphael Verdugo, Mitch Johnson, Mitch Hynam, Kevin O’Donnell, Andrew Hulme and MainEventTravel CEO Fraser MacIntyre.
This year’s Irish Open is taking place from April 10 to 21 at the Royal Dublin Society in Ballsbridge. Once again, the High Roller events look set to attract giant fields. For full details, please see the Irish Open schedule.
