Recap #1: The Irish Open 2025 Is Off and Running

Irish Deaf Poker Championship: Hoang Leaves It Late

Starny Hoang made history as the first-ever champion of the Irish Deaf Poker Championship, but he certainly didn’t do it the easy way. In fact, the decisive action didn’t even begin until after Ueli Munoz had clawed his way back to parity in chips.

Munoz started the final duel on the back foot, with Hoang applying relentless pressure. At the beginning of the heads up, Hoang open-shoved and Munoz tabled with 4 5 for a flopped straight. The board ran out, giving Munoz the best hand and pulling the stacks nearly even.

Munoz started the final duel on the back foot, with Hoang applying relentless pressure. After building a 3:1 chip lead, Hoang open-shoved from the button and Munoz snapped him off. The board favoured Munoz, who found a winning hand and closed the gap completely.

Hoang kept his foot on the gas despite the setback, forcing folds with aggressive bets and showing down strong hands. Then came a crucial hand that could’ve ended it all: Munoz put Hoang to the test with a large river bet, prompting Hoang to tank. Just as the countdown hit zero, Hoang verbally called—but the floor ruled him just outside the time. His hand was declared dead, and the pot went to Munoz.

With the momentum on his side, Munoz pulled further ahead after flopping a straight and getting maximum value. But the match turned one last time.

When the stacks were close to even again, the chips went in preflop. Munoz had the best of it to start, and the board looked set to send Hoang home—until a river card completed a straight. Munoz was left with just 20,000 chips, less than a big blind.

On the very next hand, they were all-in again. And in a twist of fate, Hoang made another straight on the river to win the tournament. Back-to-back rivered straights sealed it. Two hands, two rivered straights, and the Irish Open 2025 title was his.

Final Table Payouts – Irish Deaf Championship

Mixed 8-Game Championship: Mawer Outlasts 169 to Grab Biggest Career Win

If the Irish Deaf Championship was decided in a flurry, the Mixed 8-Game final was the opposite. Seventeen players returned on Day 2 and nobody was in a hurry to bust. With the average stack dipping below four big bets at one point, it became a waiting game to see who would blink first.

The slow pace didn’t last forever. Eventually, the floodgates opened. Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk, who helped launch The Festival Series, was among the early casualties, followed by Namir Mohamed and Vamshi Vandanapu. Several notables made it to the final two tables, including Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Yannick Jobin, and Benjamin Sweetman, each taking turns in the chip lead.

It was Bill Mawer who eventually navigated his way to the top, having to fight through a stacked final that included former chip leader Felix Marutz. Mawer used all his mixed game experience, having learned the ropes in the London scene playing cash games with players he jokingly referred to as “thugs.”

Heads-up play was a real tug-of-war. In 2-7 Triple Draw, Marutz took control, grinding Mawer down to a 4:1 deficit. Mawer struck back in No Limit Hold’em with a full house, bringing the stacks close again. The final hand came in Omaha Hi-Lo. After heavy action on the flop and turn, Marutz moved all in and Mawer made the call. The river gave Mawer quads, and with it, the title.

He celebrated his Irish Open 2025 title in true form — planning a couple pints of Guinness and a relaxing 2-5 PLO cash session.

Final Table Payouts – Mixed 8-Game Championship

€5,000 PLO High Roller Mystery Bounty: Patel Delivers on His Hit-and-Run Plan

There was a plan, and it worked. Shamil Patel came to the Irish Open for one reason: to play the PLO High Roller Mystery Bounty. By the end of Day 2, he had four bounties, a trophy, and the biggest score of his career.

The 28-entry event was fast and intense, with big swings and bigger pots. Patel entered the final table in control and never let up. He eliminated Markus Ristola by making kings full over aces, then watched as Klemens Roiter took out Chris Dowling and Fabian Rolli in a dramatic three-way pot. Patel dealt the final blow to Rolli shortly after, isolating and busting him to move into heads-up with a big lead.

The final hand started with a button rise from Roiter and a reraise from Patel. After the flop, Patel bet pot and Roiter called. On the turn, Roiter shoved with second pair and a draw, and Patel snap-called with a straight. The river was a brick and the stacks were counted — Roiter was covered.

Roiter did manage to pull the largest bounty envelope — €24,648 — but Patel claimed the other four and with it, the lion’s share of the prize pool. “I said I’d hit and run, win the trophy, and get out,” he said. “Mission accomplished.”

Final Table Payouts – €5,000 PLO High Roller Mystery Bounty

Still to Come at the Irish Open 2025

While those first three trophies have already found their homes, the Irish Open 2025 is just getting started. The Main Event is now underway, with Day 1A drawing a healthy crowd. That €2.5 million guarantee is already looking well within reach.

Alongside it, the €1,150 LuxonPay Mystery Bounty and the €250 Mini Irish Open 2025 are rolling through their Day 1 flights, each boasting seven-figure guarantees of their own. And for mixed game fans, the €350 H.O.R.S.E. Championship has kicked off, offering a more technical challenge.