When Irish bookmaker Terry Rogers got a taste of the WSOP atmosphere in Vegas in 1979, he decided he had to do something similar at home. And so, in 1980, the story of the Irish Open, now one of the most iconic poker stops in the world, began to take shape. The prestige of this event continues to grow year on year, and thanks to PokerStars joining forces with Paddy Power, we saw record numbers in the Main Event last year - 3,233 entries and a prizepool worth €3,152,175!
Now in its 45th year, it brings a total of 69 events over the course of 12 days with a Main Event guarantee of €2.5 million. Of course, much of the community agrees that the guarantee is not what attracts them to Dublin. This stop is known for its unique atmosphere, plenty of beer and a wide variety of leisure activities that will give every attendee a great experience.
The biggest bounty in Irish history
The Irish Open 2025 has already had 4 days of play crowning champions in the Mixed Game discipline, the Irish Deaf Poker Championship or the €5,000 PLO High Roller where Shamil Patel took home the trophy and €64,848. But the bigger attention-grabber during the first few days was the €1,150 multi-day Luxon Mystery Bounty Event, which produced 1,222 entries. Of these, the top 30 players made it through to Day 3, the chiplead is held by the well-known Romanian professional Florian Duta.
These numbers have made this the biggest Mystery Bounty event ever held in Ireland, and the prizes are also record-breaking. The winner of this tournament will take home €102,600, but this was also the highest prize hidden in the Mystery Bounty envelopes. That one was pulled by Jorge Rios during Day 2, and you can enjoy his reaction in this video:
Slovak player Ilavsky dominates the start of the Main Event
Yesterday also brought the long-awaited kickoff of the Main Event, which has a buy-in of €1,150. Day 1A saw 463 entries, a 22% increase on last year's event. 114 players managed to successfully make it to Day 2, led by Slovak player Martin "Student" Ilavsky with a 176bb stack!
The Main Event will continue with the next flight on Wednesday, with a total of 4 opening days, followed by day 2, day 3 and the final day. The latter will take place on Sunday, April 20, when we will lget to know the name of this year's champion.
Sources - Irishpokeropen, PSlive, PokerNews
