Irish Poker Open Ambassador Karen Muir ended 2023 on a high note when she finished second for €18,000 in the Irish Poker Tour event held in Dublin. Karen fought Italian Davide Raschella heads-up in the tournament which was sponsored by Irish Open partner Paddy Power.
Karen said: “It was a great feeling to add this one to my bankroll and it rounded off a great 2023. I’m looking forward to doing it all again at the Irish Open in March. The €500k guaranteed Mini Irish Open only has a €200 entry and is definitely one of the events I have my eye on, along with the Main Event.”
En route to her runner-up finish, Karen managed to knock out her good friend Jenny Steele. The pair travel together to tournaments all over Europe and enjoy a fun rivalry. Karen was eliminated twice by Jenny during the duo’s recent trip to Queens of Tallinn. Karen said: “It was great to get my revenge last week and knock her out for a change!”.
… thriving in tournaments and cash games
Karen is a well-known player in the Irish poker community and plays regularly in tournaments and cash games at major festivals all over Europe. Based in Dublin, she has been playing poker full-time for around nine years and has a string of great results to her name. This includes winning a Master of Classics side event in Amsterdam. She is also a founder member of Ireland’s team in the Match Poker Nations Cup. Ireland, sponsored by the Irish Open, won the first time they ever played it in 2017. Overall, her live tournament winnings now total nearly $75,000.
Other notables who ran deep in the Irish Poker Tour final included Laura Crasenco who finished fifth for €6,200. Dublin-based Laura, who hails from Romania, was the last woman standing in the 2023 Irish Open Main Event, finishing in 68th place for €5,525 and won the Irish Open Deepstack Turbo in 2022 for €5,100.
