The Irish Poker Open is the longest-running poker tournament on European soil, celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. PokerStars and Paddy Power joined forces to make this the most memorable showing in the event’s long history, and now that numbers are in, we can officially say they did it!
Looking to make the series as attractive as possible, PokerStars put a hefty €2.5 million guarantee on the Main Event, which is no small potatoes for a €1k tournament. The organizers had high hopes that the tournament’s popularity and longevity were enough to justify the optimistic promise — and they weren’t wrong.
By the time registration was over, the tournament clock was showing 4,562 entries, which not only crushed the original guarantee but almost doubled it, bringing the final prize pool to an astounding €4,447,950. Of that number, €600,000 goes to the winner.
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Irish Poker Open Legacy Reconfirmed
There are very few tournaments in Europe that enjoy the same level of popularity as the Irish Poker Open. For a long time, it has been the favorite go-to spot for casual fans of the game and hardened pros alike, bringing everyone together in a friendly and cordial environment of people brought together by their love for the game.
Over the last few years, the series, and in particular the Main Event, went from strength to strength. In 2023, the Main Event saw 2,491 entries. The next year, that number grew significantly, with a total of 3,233 entries.
In 2025, PokerStars set out to take things to the next level, putting out a massive guarantee, and this turned out to be the right move. The Main Event saw an insane number of 4,562 entries, nearly doubling the original €2.5 million guarantee and exceeding even the most optimistic of expectations.
In total, 671 players made the money, with those making it past the bubble pocketing at least €1,600 for their efforts. Final table payouts started at €45,800, with €600,000 going to the champion — the largest first-place prize in the Irish Poker Open since 2010, but back then, the Main Event had a buy-in of €3,500.
The tournament was also a rather international affair, with players from all over the world descending upon Dublin. Ireland and the UK were naturally the most represented, making up for over half the players, but the rest of the field was divided pretty evenly between representatives of France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Canada, and the US — and this is not an extensive list of participating countries.
Side Events Breaking Records, Too
It wasn’t just the Main Event that saw amazing numbers at the 2025 Irish Poker Open. Many side events broke various records, showing not only how popular this poker festival is but also demonstrating that the love for live poker tournaments has been on a constant uptick.
For example, the €1,150 Mystery Bounty event attracted 1,222 entries, becoming the largest-ever MB tournament to take place in Ireland. The prize pool of almost €1.2 million was divided between the regular and bounty prize pools, and Germany’s Nils Pudel took down the lion’s share of that amount after staging an impressive comeback to seize the victory and pick up €117,000.
The €350 Hendon Mob Championship also saw the biggest turnout in its history, with a grand total of 888 entries — a significant increase over last year’s 599.
As things are winding down in Dublin, all we can say is that the Irish Poker Open has exceeded all expectations, and it will be an event that players and organizers alike will remember for a long time.
