Easter Monday is a vital day to many world wide, and for 22-year-old Simon Wilson, this present day has turn into much more particular. He topped a document breaking area of 4,562 gamers that entered the 2025 installment of the Irish Poker Open €1,150 Foremost Occasion right here on the Royal Dublin Society. Wilson claimed a whopping €600,000 for his first-place end from the €4,447,950 prize pool that was amassed over the 4 distinctive flights. He certified by means of Day 1d, the biggest flight of all of them, and he will get to maintain the Foremost Occasion trophy on residence soil.
Wilson is a neighborhood lad, hailing from the city of Ashbourne, which is not more than a 30-minute drive north from the centre of Dublin. He had a hearty rail supporting him all through the ultimate desk play, full of family and friends members who enthusiastically sang and chanted for hours. Lots of his mates had positioned wagers on him to win the match by means of PaddyPower at a cracking worth of 225/1, so it wasn’t simply Wilson leaving the constructing with a good few Euros extra.
2025 Irish Poker Open Foremost Occasion Outcomes
Winners Response
The group that assembled confirmed assist for him from deep into Day 3, which was a “huge increase” for the Irishman. Wilson additionally featured within the €10,000 Tremendous Excessive Curler this sequence, ending fifth for €42,800. He certified for that individual occasion through a €1,100 satellite tv for pc, taking his whole winnings for the journey to €642,800.
“It feels unimaginable to win,” stated Wilson when speaking to PokerNews. “This yr it was a large pageant, extra of an EPT-sized area and with the usual of play, it was rather a lot harder than a few of the different tournaments. I’ve had wins in my profession, however to win in addition to my family and friends with my Mum and Dad watching at residence, I can not describe it, it’s simply unimaginable.”
“To win in addition to my family and friends with my Mum and Dad watching at residence – I can not describe it.”
He attributed his deep run to “retaining calm and ready for the proper spots,” including, “I had a deep run final yr ending seventeenth, and perhaps then I obtained impatient at a few essential moments.” He additionally acknowledged, “I wanted to get extremely fortunate to be right here.”
Regardless of successful over half 1,000,000 euros, Wilson is eager to additional his training away from the felt, saying: “I shall be going again to school in September, I deferred my closing yr this yr and my mom would kill me if I did not return and I’ve to graduate subsequent Might. I research Economics and Enterprise at Trinity.”
When it comes to poker plans, Wilson shall be “getting again on the net grind” earlier than taking part in in Vegas this summer time.
Day 4 Motion
The day began sturdy, with chips flying in left proper and centre. Nonetheless for David Pollock, the deck was as chilly because it may get. He was on the receiving finish of an epic cooler which left him brief just a few fingers into the day having made a full home in opposition to eventual closing tablist Panteleimon Pontos who turned quads. He ended up being the primary to fall inside the first degree.
Terrance Reid was the primary participant to discover a double up on the day, courtesy of eventual closing tablist Brandon Harris as Reid’s ace-queen cracked the geese of Harris.
Wilson got here into the day exterior of the highest ten within the area however he began to chip up claiming Carlo Wolters stack, sending him to the rail in 18th.
The Irishman did not cease there. He bust Charles Whitehouse in an aces versus aces situation as he hit a 4 liner to a flush on the river to ship the Englishman to the rail in sixteenth.
Riku Koivurinne began the day short-stacked however had span it as much as a stack of round ten million by the point the third degree of play had began. Nonetheless he jammed from the cutoff and Wilson as soon as once more despatched one other to the rail as he awakened with kings within the small blind.
One participant needed to miss out on the ultimate desk, and for Marius Gicovanu, it was him. He was left brief after eventual third place finisher Ignotas Kirsis flopped a full home in a preflop all in. The remainder of Gicovanu’s stack went the best way of Brandon Harris earlier than the ultimate 9 assembled to make the ultimate desk.
Last Desk
Joe O’Donaill was the primary to fall on the closing desk as he ran his pocket nines into Georgios Skaparis’s kings.
Robert Fluereci doubled twice, the primary one approaching the very first hand within the closing desk. He could not make it a hattrick and fell in eighth.
Kirsis clearly got here to play at this time and he proved a worthy adversary for Wilson and his tablemates. Wilson and Kirsis had a number of showdowns all through the ultimate desk and appeared the most certainly winners alongside Umberto Ruggeri. Kirsis was additionally the primary participant to eclipse the 60 million chip mark which he reached by successful a pot versus Skarparis.
Wilson saved plugging away and located a five-bet jam versus Ruggeri shortly after Pontos fell in seventh.
Ruggeri then doubled by means of Day 1b chipleader Michel Karim having flopped prime set with Karim drawing basically useless.
Wilson’s ascent up the counts was additionally aided by an incorrect hero name courtesy of Skarparis who regarded up the Irishman with simply king-high.
He additionally eradicated Harris as each gamers flopped a ten on a ten excessive board however Harris had an inferior kicker to Wilson and he was eradicated.
Kirsis saved battling and utilized stress every time he may. He pushed Skarparis off two pair with king-high on a double paired board to raise him as much as the highest of the counts.
The important thing pot for Wilson got here in opposition to Kirsis. Wilson shipped a 100 million chip pot having rivered a straight versus Kirsis’s two pair to turn into the overwhelming chipleader. He then eradicated Skarparis in fourth place to take play three-handed.
Ruggeri and Kirsis each doubled by means of Wilson earlier than Kirsis was eradicated in third place. Wilson gained a flip to take play heads up.
Heads Up
The battle was brief as a result of overwhelming deficit Ruggeri needed to overcome and in the end he obtained it in good in opposition to Wilson however didn’t make a pair with ace-ten, falling to the six-five of diamonds of Wilson. Because the river was dealt, he leapt into the rail stuffed with his family and friends, with the room being full of songs, whoops, hollering and celebration. Regardless of the match flooring being virtually empty, that was the loudest the Royal Dublin Society had been at some stage in the final eleven days.
Wilson and his rail hung round a short while longer, soaking within the environment and the vitality of the second earlier than departing to the craic den to proceed the celebration. Because the poker tables and massive screens got here all the way down to be packed up for an additional yr, silence slowly began to creep again in and little or no was to be heard from then on.
That is all of us for this yr’s installment of the Irish Poker Open. Might subsequent yr’s sequence break the document once more? As all the time, keep tuned to PokerNews for continued protection of occasions happening world wide and on-line.
