The Irish Poker Open once again delivered on all fronts in 2025, further cementing its status as Europe’s oldest-running poker festival and a beloved staple of the global poker calendar. First held in 1980 and famously won by Colette Doherty, who sadly passed away earlier this year, the festival has evolved into a must-play international event.
- Read more: Irish Poker Legend Colette Doherty Has Passed Away
- Read more: The Legacy of the Irish Poker Open: More Than Four Decades of Poker Excellence
Now in its 45th edition, the Irish Open continues to draw massive crowds, and the 2025 series, held from April 10 to 21 at the Royal Dublin Society in Dublin, was no exception. Records were not just broken—they were absolutely shattered.
The €1,150 Main Event saw an incredible 4,548 entries, a staggering 40% increase over the previous record of 3,253 entries set just last year. The €2.5 million guarantee was left in the rear-view mirror, with the final prize pool reaching an eye-watering €4,447,950.
A life-changing €600,000 was reserved for the eventual champion, and after four intense days of play, it was the local hero Simon Wilson who stood tallest on Easter Monday, lifting the trophy on home soil. His good run started before the Main Event win, as he also placed fifth in the €10,000 Super High Roller after satelliting in, adding €42,800 to his total haul. With these two paydays, the Irishman has now surpassed a cool $1,000,000 milestone in lifetime live tournament earnings, according to The Hendon Mob.
Wilson defeated Italy’s Umberto Ruggeri heads-up for the title. Ruggeri was at the top of the leaderboard going into the final day, but could never regain the momentum at the final table and had to settle for a runner-up finish and €316,000.
The 2025 Irish Open Main Event saw deep runs from several poker’s biggest names. 2013 Irish Open champion Ian Simpson came close to the final day, finishing as the Day 3 bubble-boy in 20th place for €19,200. Popular Canadian pro and last year’s €5,000 High Roller winner Parker “Tonkaaaa” Talbot also made it into the money, finishing 43rd for €9,500. Joining him at the payouts table was Steve O’Dwyer, the 2022 Irish Open Champion, who bowed out in 50th place.
2025 Irish Open Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Simon Wilson | Ireland | €600,000 |
| 2 |  Umberto Ruggeri | Italy | €316,000 |
| 3 |  Ignotas Kirsis | Lithuania | €225,000 |
| 4 |  Georgios Skarparis | Cyprus | €170,000 |
| 5 |  Michel Karim | Sweden | €130,000 |
| 6 |  Brandon Harris | United Kingdom | €100,000 |
| 7 |  Pantelemion Pontos | Greece | €77,500 |
| 8 |  Robert Fluereci | Romania | €59,030 |
| 9 | Joe O’Donaill | Ireland | €45,800 |
2025 Irish Open Main Event Final Table Recap
Nineteen players returned for the fourth and final day of the €1,150 2025 Irish Open Main Event, all chasing the €600,000 top prize. When Marius Gicovanu bowed out in 10th place, the official final table was set. Michel Karim entered the finale as the commanding chip leader with 51 million, well ahead of Umberto Ruggeri (33.1M) and Georgios Skarparis (32.6M). At the other end of the stick were short stacks Joe O’Donaill and Robert Fluereci with under 10 million.
O’Donaill was the first to go. He shoved pocket nines over an open from Skarparis, who snap-called with kings. The board ran clean, and the Irishman exited in ninth for €45,800. Fluereci briefly found life with a couple of double-ups, but couldn’t hold on. In a blind-versus-blind clash, he called Brandon Harris’ shove with sevens and was ahead of ace-nine, until the flop brought a case nine. Fluereci collected €59,030 in eighth.
Next to fall was Pantelemion Pontos. After Brandon Harris opened, Pontos effectively moved in with ace-three, leaving himself with just a few chips behind. Michel Karim re-shoved with ace-king, Harris folded, and Pontos called. A three on the flop gave Pontos hope, but a king on the river sealed his fate. The Greek earned €77,500 for seventh place.
From there, the Simon Wilson show began. His first elimination came against Harris, who shoved top pair on a 5♦10♠2♦ flop. Wilson held the same top pair but with a superior kicker and held through the turn and river. Harris was out in sixth for €100,000.
Moments later, Karim tried to steal the blinds with queen-six from the small blind, but Ignotas Kirsis woke up with pocket sevens in the big. The board ran out 8♠A♠A♦2♦3♠ and Karim’s run ended in fifth for €130,000.
Wilson then started pulling away. He won two big pots off Kirsis and finished off Skarparis in the process. Wilson shoved ace-six from the button, and Skarparis called off his stack with sevens. But for the Cypriot, no luck for lucky sevens as an ace on the flop dashed the hope for Skarapis, who exited in fourth for €170,000.
At this point, Wilson had more than double the chips than Ruggeri and Kirsis combined. Kirsis doubled twice to stay alive but couldn’t make it three. He moved all-in from the small blind with pocket fives and Wilson called with king-nine. A nine on the flop sent the Lithuanian out in third for €225,000.
Wilson entered heads-up play with a 3:1 chip advantage against Ruggeri, and it didn’t take long to seal the deal. In the final hand, Ruggeri opened with ace-ten, and Wilson moved all-in. The Italian made the call and saw he was ahead of Wilson’s six-five. That is until the 3♥7♠6♣ flop paired Wilson’s six. Turn K♣ and river 2♠ were a blank and just like that, Simon Wilson became the 2025 Irish Open Main Event Champion.
He earned €600,000 and celebrated with a euphoric rail, while Ruggeri banked €316,000 for his impressive runner-up finish.
