When Austrian poker player Klemens Roiter arrived in Dublin in April, he was already a highly accomplished player. With results going back to 2011 and some $2.2 million in live tournament winnings to his name, Roiter was celebrating his biggest cash yet – a giant $441,000 plus bounties payout in South Korea for third place in a Triton $40k Mystery Bounty tournament.
Roiter was riding high but his achievements in Dublin also proved something of a record. Despite not actually winning an event or going deep in the Main, Roiter still managed to finish an overall fourth in the unofficial league table of top Irish Open earners. His total haul at the end of the 12-day festival amounted to €185,708, thanks in part to a third-place finish in the Super High Roller (for €73,100) and runner-up finishes in both the PLO High Roller and the PLO High Roller Mystery Bounty.
However, Dublin was just a taster for the months to come. In May, Roiter was back at the Triton Super High Roller Series – this time in Montenegro. His cashes there, in three events, totalled $660,000. Then came the World Series where Roiter cashed 11 times and secured his first WSOP bracelet after besting a field of nearly 10,000 entries in the $1,500 Monster Stack.
Roiter, who now lies fifth in the Austria all-time money list, said: “Of course, winning a WSOP bracelet has always been a dream of mine. I still can’t believe that I really achieved this goal in such a prestigious tournament with so many runners.”
This year was Roiter’s first trip to the Irish Open and he loved it. He said: “I was very positively surprised by the Irish Open. I enjoyed every moment of it and I am definitely planning to return. As a vegan, I was also pleasantly surprised by the many nice food options. “
“Together with PokerStars, the festival was very well organised. I love the city of Dublin, and I got along well with the nice Irish people. Also I was finally able to visit my cousin again who married an Irishman and moved here.”
Now 34, Roiter first took up poker in his late teens when Texas Hold’em started to become popular in Austria. He said: “Although I always loved playing on my PC when I was a child, I had never really liked card games too much. Then, when I was around 16 to 17, Texas Hold’Em started to take off. People were organising their own home games and one of my friends was trying hard to convince me to join them. Eventually, I went along and I think it was love at first sight! Soon we were playing home games every week and my dream of becoming a poker player was born.”
For the next few years however, Roiter concentrated on his studies (in Entrepreneurship) and a nascent career in consultancy. He added: “I was always aiming for self-employment and independence though, and never really aspired to being an employee. Even so, it was ten years before my dream of being a poker player was fulfilled.”
Roiter’s first six-figure score came in December 2023, when he finished sixth in a $25,000 WSOP Paradise event. Roiter cashed for $191,000 in a Triton Poker Super High Roller Series tournament in Jeju in March last year before adding another $195,000 in a similar event in Montenegro two months later. His live tournament winnings now total nearly $5 million and he’s currently lying fifth in the Austria all-time money list. With a WSOP title under his belt, his next goals include winning a Triton tournament, along with a PokerStars spade.
Roiter is also hoping to be at next year’s Irish Open. He said: “I am definitely planning to return even though I can’t say it’s 100% certain right now. Anyways, I really love the city of Dublin.”
You can follow Roiter on his Instagram account and, of course, keep an eye on his Hendon Mob results. Congrats on all your achievements this year, Klemens, and we look forward to seeing what you do next!
Next year’s festival – the 46th year of the Irish Open – is taking place from March 26 to April 6 at the Royal Dublin Society.
