Record-breaking Irish Poker Open 2025: Shattered Records and Skyrocketing Prize Pools
Revved up and ready to roll, let's take a moment to appreciate the wild success of the 2025 Irish Poker Open, as we bid adieu to this year's PokerStars Live tour adventure and focus our sights on the upcoming EPT Monte Carlo.
Organizers played it safe forecasting a €10 million prize pool, but boy, were they off the mark. Final prize money soared far above estimates, reaching a whopping €14,799,206! Over the course of the festival, a staggering 26,474 entries were logged across approximately 70 tournaments.
Irish Poker Open 2025 by the Numbers
- €14.8 million in total prize money awarded
- 26,474 entries across the full series
- 4,562 entries in the Main Event (new record)
- €4.45 million Main Event prize pool
- 2,483 unique players from 59 countries in the Main Event
- 41% year-over-year growth in Main Event attendance
- 1,231 online qualifiers across PokerStars and iPoker
- 194 online qualifiers cashed in the Main Event
- €1.04 million won by online qualifiers in the Main Event
Without a shadow of a doubt, the €1,150 Main Event was the crème de la crème of the Irish Poker Open schedule. It flipped previous attendance records on their head, attracting a monster 4,562 entries and demolishing the originally projected €2.5 million guarantee. Of these entries, 2,483 represented unique players from 59 different countries, while the remaining 2,079 were re-entries. The final prize pool ballooned to €4,447,950, a jaw-dropping figure nearly double the guarantee.
Ireland led the charge with 697 entrants (28.1% of the total field), followed by the United Kingdom with a solid 645 participants (26%) and the United States with 110 players (4.4%). Notably, more than 1,200 players slayed their way to the Main Event via online qualifiers hosted by PokerStars, Paddy Power, and the iPoker network. Among these victors, 194 online qualifiers cashed in the Main Event, earning a hefty €1,040,290 combined.
Three online qualifiers even made it all the way to the final table, collectively raking in a massive €1,040,290 in winnings from the Main Event alone. Brandon Harris, a UK player who won his seat online, secured a sixth-place finish worth €100,000. Greece's Panteleimon Pontos snagged seventh place, netting €77,500, while Romania's Robert Fluereci rounded out the trio in eighth place with a €59,030 payday.
Last year's Irish Poker Open also claimed a new benchmark with 3,233 entries in the Main Event and a €3.15 million prize pool. This year, however, the festival rocketed to new heights, with the Main Event alone witnessing a 41% year-over-year increase in entrants.
Beyond the Main Event, some other standout tournaments graced the festival. The €250 Mini Irish Open drew a whopping 6,411 entries and a prize pool of €1,343,874. The opening event, the €1,150 Luxon Mystery Bounty, saw 1,222 entries and a resulting prize pool of €1,191,450. Meanwhile, the €350 Hendon Mob Championship attracted 888 entries and awarded €268,398, and the €350 America's Cup welcomed 685 entries, generating €207,040 in prize money.
Last but not least, PokerStars ambassador and live event advisor Kenny Hallaert took down the €5,000 NLH High Roller 8-Max, pocketing a first-place prize of €169,400.
All in all, the festival awarded a mind-boggling €14.8 million in prize money to over 26,000 entries across its many events.
Now, the spotlight falls on the first official European Poker Tour (EPT) stop of the year-Monte Carlo. Sadly, EPT Paris was canned due to political issues in France, leaving Monte Carlo to hog the limelight. Fittingly, this iconic destination was one of the original stops when the EPT made its grand debut back in 2004. This year marks the 20th anniversary of EPT's presence in Monte Carlo, against the backdrop of the breathtaking Mediterranean Sea.
EPT Monte Carlo 2025 takes place from April 30 to May 10 at the renowned Sporting Monte-Carlo. The festival commences with PokerStars-branded events, including the €1,100 PokerStars Open Main Event kicking off today. Also on the schedule are the €550 PokerStars Cup, running from May 2 to 3, and the €2,200 PokerStars Open High Roller, held from May 3 to 5.
[1] https://www.pokerstars.com/news/irish-poker-open-2025-draws-record-4562-players-to-main-event/[2] https://www.pokerfuse.com/irish-poker-open-main-event-smashes-records-with-4574-entries/[3] https://www.thehendonmob.com/tourney/182256011/pokerstars-ireland-poker-open/[4] https://www.pokerfuse.com/irish-poker-open-payouts-and-results-2025/[5] https://www.pokernews.com/news/2025-irish-poker-open-main-event-final-table-seats-guaranteed-thanks-to-pokerstars-and-ipoker-qualifiers-15561[6] https://www.thehendonmob.com/tourney/182256391/pokerstars-ireland-poker-open-main-event-hand-for-hand/
- The 2025 Irish Poker Open, an impressively successful event, eclipsed organizers' expectations, awarding a total of €14,799,206 in prize money.
- Notably, the Main Event attracted a record-breaking 4,562 entries, almost doubling the original guarantee of €2.5 million.
- The Big-wins continued in casino games, as three online qualifiers collected a total of €1,040,290 from the Main Event alone.
- The poker festival also showcased various casino-and-gambling events, such as lotteries, sports-betting, and casino-games, apart from poker tournaments.
- The Irish Poker Open 2025 showcased casino-personalities from around the globe, including participants from 59 different countries.
- As the dust settles on the Irish Poker Open, attention now shifts to sports and the upcoming EPT Monte Carlo, set to take place at the Sporting Monte-Carlo from April 30 to May 10.
