Irish Open regular Conor O’Driscoll has just scored the biggest cash of his career with a sixth-place finish in the epic PokerStars EPT Prague Main Event.
O’Driscoll scored €206,900 at the tournament – the flagship event of PokerStars’ annual pre-Christmas sojourn in the Czech capital. O’Driscoll started the penultimate day with the chip lead but began losing ground after local player Vitezslav Cech picked off a bluff on a five-spade board. He then lost a bunch of chips in a hand which he ended up having to fold against Ding Fan and eventual EPT Prague champion Matan Krakow.
At the start of Sunday’s final, the 36-year-old from Limerick was down to just eight big blinds. He found an early double-up but eventually bowed out in sixth place after his flush draw failed to improve against runner-up Emin Kurtulus’s trip aces.
O’Driscoll, who took down the €250 No Limit Turbo at this year’s Irish Open, said: “I’m absolutely buzzing with the deep run in Prague. It’s a dream come true – but there’s more to come. I’m not gonna stop working hard 💪”
O’Driscoll, who won a WCOOP event in 2024 and now has close to $900,000 in live tournament winnings, has been playing the Irish Open for nearly ten years and cashed in the Main Event this year in 100th place, beating his 2023 position when he finished 125th. As always, he will be making every effort to qualify online for next year’s Irish Open. Last time we chatted, he said: “It’s always worth playing the online satellites! The Irish Open is a great tournament and it’s ideal for new players too. It’s a really fun laid-back event and nobody tends to take themselves too seriously. Just come along and enjoy yourself!”
The Irish Open, which won Best Standalone Festival at this year’s Global Poker Awards, is the longest-running No Limit poker tournament in Europe. As well as the €2.5 million guaranteed €1,150 Main Event, next year’s schedule also includes the €1,000,000 guaranteed Mini Irish Open and the €1,000,000 guaranteed Luxon Pay Mystery Bounty which made its debut this year and instantly became the biggest Mystery Bounty ever held in Ireland.
Click here for the full 2026 schedule.
Pic credit: ManuelKovsca/PokerStars
