Chris Dowling
Irish Open Ambassador Chris Dowling is one of Ireland’s most successful live tournament players and, as of early 2024, had won over $1 million in live poker tournaments putting him in 21st place on the Ireland all-time money list. Chris is a stalwart of the Irish poker scene and a very well-respected player both at home and overseas.
Chris is a self-confessed Irish Open “super-fan” and happily admits that it’s his favourite event of the year. In fact, he likes it so much that, even though he lives in nearby Kildare, he always stays close to the Irish Open venue so he can enjoy the craic after each day’s poker ends. He also takes pride in the long history of the Irish Open and the fact that it’s the oldest poker tournament in the world outside of Vegas.
Chris has played every Irish Open Main Event since 2009 and has cashed in the Main Event five times. His third-place finish in the 2017 Irish Open Main Event was one of the best cashes of his live poker career but he’s also had a couple of other deep runs including 13th in 2015 and 24th the year before that.
Chris said: “There is no event like The Irish Open. You just can’t replicate the atmosphere in the rooms and the bars. The craic is easily the best. Poker is a very big part of the
Irish Open of course but there are so many other things going on during the week; you can play poker non-stop or there are a lot of off-the-felt activities. The Irish Open is definitely one of the highlights of the poker calendar for players from around the world but there is also a big poker community in Ireland and, money aside, this is the one tournament that we’d all LOVE to win!
Chris’s role will be to raise awareness of the Irish Poker Open both at home in Ireland and overseas and help promote the event to players – especially those who have never attended before. As part of his role, Chris ran a special “Irish Open Last Man Standing” contest in Vegas last summer and will continue to promote the event wherever he plays.
You can following Chris on X (Twitter for the old school of us) and Instagram with his username ‘ballymorechris’.
