Record Breaking Irish Open Main Event Champion to be Crowned Today
After 11 days of action from the halls of the Royal Dubln Society, the 4,562 hopeful entrants have been whittled down to a field of 19. The Paddy Power and PokerStars sponsored event has been a monumental success this year, and the massive field that the €1,150 Main Event is certainly proof of that success. The remaining players will be all looking to get there hands on the €600,000 first place prize and the coveted trophy from 1 p.m. local time.
Umberto Ruggieri leads the way with a stack of 24,675,000. The Italian could eclipse his largest ever live score of €459,240 with a win today. That score also came in a Main Event tournament, the €5,300 Main Event in Prague in 2023 where he finished third. He has also cashed in the €5,000 High Roller this series, finishing fifth for €44,700.
The home contingent have three names in the top 10 counts: Greg King with 22,000,000, good for second place, David Pollock in fifth with 17,050,000 and Joe O'Donaill in ninth with 12,850,000. King, Pollock and O'Donaill all of plenty experience at the tables and they will all be gunning to keep that trophy on home soil whilst securing a big payday for themselves come the end of play today. King currently has $215,107 in tournament earnings in his career, Pollock has won $362,405 and O'Donaill has taken $111,603 from the tables. All will be aiming to bump those numbers up by the end of play today.
Day 4 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Umberto Ruggeri | Italy | 24,675,000 |
| 2 | Greg King | Ireland | 22,000,000 |
| 3 | Brandon Harris | United Kingdom | 19,600,000 |
| 4 | Michel Karim | Sweden | 19,525,000 |
| 5 | David Pollock | Ireland | 17,050,000 |
| 6 | Panteleimon Pontos | Greece | 17,000,000 |
| 7 | Georgios Skarparis | Cyprus | 16,700,000 |
| 8 | Robert Fluereci | Romania | 14,850,000 |
| 9 | Joe O'Donaill | Ireland | 12,850,000 |
| 10 | Marius Gicovanu | Romania | 11,575,000 |
Fellow Irishman Simon Wilson (10th - 10,150,000) and Yuriy Boyko (18th - 2,025,000) will also wanting to be keeping the trophy on home soil too. Terrance Reid, the last remaining American, will be looking to spoil the party by taking the trophy back to the states. He has 5,125,000 currently but as we know in poker anything can happen.
Blinds will resume at Level 34: 150,000/300,000 with a big blind ante of 300,000. The levels will remain 60 minutes long, with a break after every two levels, until three players remain, at which point they will be reduced to 40 minutes. The field have all secured a minimum of €19,500 for their efforts.
Stay tuned to PokerNews to see who will become the 2025 Main Event Champion today.