Tim Silman
Tim hails from Toronto, Canada – one of a large group of Canadian players who compete at the Irish Open every year. Tim played competitive ice hockey and went on to play professionally in Europe for a couple of seasons before starting a career in banking. As a father of four adult daughters, he still managed to combine playing poker recreationally with a busy career and home life. He is now retired from his role as director of lending for a large Canadian chartered bank.
Tim first took up poker in the early 2000s after Chris Moneymaker’s victory at the World Series fuelled a worldwide poker boom. Initially, Tim was just playing home games with friends but in 2012 he headed to Montreal to compete at a WPT festival. He failed to cash in the $3,500 Main Event but was thrilled to take down the $300 Deepstack Bounty side event for $12,000 – his first recorded cash. Tim was hooked on live poker festivals from then on and 2024 will mark his fifth year at the Irish Open.
He said: “Although many professionals attend the Irish Open, the general vibe is that anyone can come along and experience the thrill of a big tournament while playing in a truly non-intimidating environment. Tournament poker is really fun and challenging and I like to choose events that combine interesting destinations with mid-size buy-ins. The social aspect is just as appealing which is why I love the atmosphere at the Irish Open – it’s really the world’s best home game!”
For 2024, Tim has his eyes on several tournaments but especially the €500,000 guaranteed Mini Irish Open. He added: “The Mini Irish Open only has a €200 buy-in so it’s bound to be full of action and a tremendous amount of fun.”
Fellow Canadians now have a wealth of options to qualify online for Irish Poker Open 2024. PokerStars are offering satellites in Ontario while iPoker sites Bet365, Champion Poker, Coolbet, Guts, Redstar, TitanBet and William Hill are all offering satellites in Canadian states excluding Ontario.
You can follow Tim on Instagram under his username silmantim.