Congrats to London-based French player Merivan Hassan who snagged the very last Championship trophy at the 2024 Irish Open when he won the Liam Flood Memorial tournament around 4am this morning. Hassan outlasted another record field at the RDS – there were 389 in the tournament (compared to 211 last year) to secure by his biggest ever live cash – a first prize of € 21,890.
Hassan, who works for an online poker app, was on his second visit to the Irish Open – he played last year and had a deep run in the Main Event. He said: “It’s a great event, friendly people, good vibes only – that’s why I came back!”
Firaldo leaderboard winner David Lappin bubbled the event but that left him free to continue planning what activities to include in next year’s Lappin Leaderboard. You can read a few updates from the Liam Flood Memorial here and some pics from the event are here. Among those that did make the money were Alex Todd, Friend of the Irish Open Elizabeth Bennett-Martin, Spanish pro Juan Maceiras, Paul Carr, Nick Newport, Mystery Bounty winner Salvatorediamante Di Frisco and 2013 Irish Open champion Ian Simpson.
The Liam Flood Memorial tournament has been one of the key Championship tournaments on the Irish Open schedule since 2015. The tournament – which is always a six-max and always a turbo – is a favourite with players who appreciate the chance to remember the former Irish Open organiser and poker legend in an annual event.
The Irish Open was founded by former bookie Terry Rogers and Liam Flood was his right-hand man for many years. When Rogers died in 1999, it was Liam Flood who took over. Flood – nicknamed “The Gentleman” –came from a family of bookmakers and remained a bookmaker all his life. However, he was also one of Ireland’s most celebrated poker players; he won the Irish Open Main Event twice – in 1990 and 1996 – and enjoyed further deep runs in 2010 and 2013.
Flood’s poker expertise and long experience of the Irish Open – both as a player and co-organiser – was coupled with sharp business acumen and a multinational network of poker friends. This helped him steer the Irish Open from being a smallish, niche tournament to one of the largest and most prestigious poker tournaments in the world.
His untimely death in 2014 – at the age of 71 – rocked the poker world so it was no surprise that just one year later the Liam Flood Memorial Championship Event was launched in his memory.
The event has been held in Flood’s honour ever since. For many of those that compete, Flood was a personal friend and playing the event is a way to honour and remember one of the poker greats. Nearly ten years on from Flood’s passing, the tournament continues to attract big numbers and is one of the 11 Championship events on this year’s 2023 Irish Open schedule.
