After nearly 13 hours of play – and a super intense two-hour heads-up battle – Irish Open Ambassador Karen Muir has secured her first Irish Open trophy in the €1,150 Ladies High Roller, along with a €16,200 first prize.
Karen, who was appointed Ambassador back in 2023, was ecstatic with her victory and said it means more to her than anything. She said: “It was a massive honour to become an Irish Open Ambassador, and every year I’m humbled by it because the event just gets bigger and bigger. To be able to call myself Ambassador is huge. But even if I wasn’t representing the event, this win would mean the world to me because there is NOTHING like the Irish Open. If I were to pick an event to win a trophy at, it would be at the Irish Open.”
At the start of today, Karen had absolutely no expectations that she could win. Two spots off the money, she was down to just six big blinds. But, with two other players eliminated in car crash hands and Karen now assured of a cash, she became determined to take it down. She said: “The heads-up battle against Tara Schwartz was intense. She’s a really lovely lady – and a very good player. We sat at the same table throughout the event – we never changed tables – so we got to know each other.”
It was Karen’s idea to include a Ladies High Roller on this year’s Irish Open schedule and she was delighted with the turnout. The tournament attracted 49 entrants creating a €49,907 prize pool.
She said: “Chris Dowling is also an Ambassador and he won the Cuatro PLO High Roller earlier in the week. JP and Paul were teasing me about it and saying I was really under pressure now. I’m so glad I pulled it off.”
Karen first took up poker in 2008. After only a few months, she had won a satellite to the £2,000 European Ladies Event and found herself sitting alongside such poker luminaries as Liv Boeree and Annette Obrestad. Despite the tough competition, she finished sixth for $6,000 and was hooked on live poker from then on.
Check out our live updates from the Ladies High Roller and gallery here.
