Recap #2: More Trophies and More Drama as Sunday and Monday Wrap at the Irish Open 2025

Mitchell Jones Wins 2-7 Triple Draw Championship – After Learning the Game on the Plane

The €350 2-7 Triple Draw Championship crowned an unlikely champion in Mitchell Jones — a player who admitted he only learned the rules of the game on his flight to Dublin. It turned out to be a worthwhile crash course, as the Brit went the distance through a 123-entry field to win €7,880 and the trophy.

The final table was a near all-British affair and included fellow learner Timothy Chung, who finished fourth. Cody Wagner had started strong and stayed in the mix for much of the day, eventually falling in fifth. The final three players — Jones, Siddharth Sudunagunta, and Abdullah Al Shanti — agreed on a deal, leaving the trophy and an extra €1,400 on the table.

Jones dipped as low as two big bets during heads-up play, but found a comeback route and sealed the win in the early hours of the morning. For someone who had never played 2-7 live before, it’s fair to say he’s now a convert.

Final Table Payouts – €350 2-7 Triple Draw Championship

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Mitchell Jones		€7,880*
2nd	Siddharth Sudunagunta		€5,900*
3rd	Abdullah Al Shanti		€5,977*
4th	Timothy Chung		€3,270
5th	Cody Wagner		€2,520

David Dongwoo Ko Dominates in the €350 HORSE Championship

Canadian pro David Dongwoo Ko barely gave his opponents time to breathe on the final day of the €350 HORSE Championship, steamrolling his way to an €11,000 win. This marks his first appearance at the Irish Open — and he’s made it count, adding another trophy to a collection that already includes two WSOPC rings and a WPT title.

The final table started with a bang. Four players hit the rail in rapid succession, including PokerStars Ambassador Sebastian Huber. Things didn’t slow down from there.

A controversy flared during a stud hand when a misdeal with no burn cards went unnoticed until the river. The floor ruled the action stood, and Evert Bos scooped the pot. Danielle Noja bounced back immediately by eliminating Bos and then pulled off a short stack miracle — spinning up a stack of less than a big blind into six figures before finally busting in 8th.

From there, Ko turned on the afterburners. He scooped a three-way pot with trips in stud-8, crippled Andreas Froehli, and finished him off not long after. Georgios Diamantidis gave Ko the most resistance but couldn’t outgun the aggression and fell in third. Heads-up barely lasted a handful of hands — Ko’s pocket sixes held in the end, and Zexhuan Huan was left with less than half a big blind and no way back.

Ko later admitted he was glad it wrapped up before razz returned to the rotation — calling it his “death game.” He’s now set his sights on the Main Event and smashing past the million-dollar lifetime earnings mark.

Final Table Payouts – €350 HORSE Championship

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	David Dongwoo Ko		€11,000
2nd	Zexuan Huan		€6,950
3rd	Georgios Diamantidis		€4,930
4th	Andreas Froehli		€3,790
5th	Alexander Rizvi		€2,920

Kessler Cruises to €5K High Roller Mystery Bounty Title

Germany’s Marcel Kessler came into the €5,000 High Roller Mystery Bounty final table as the chip leader and never really looked back. He navigated a tricky six-handed lineup with solid control and made a crucial final call to clinch the title — his first-ever live trophy — along with €103,008 in cash and bounty rewards.

The field of 39 entries had thinned to just six when bounties came into play. Kessler collected his fair share by eliminating Junxian Du and Jon Kyte, while Sweden’s Ludvig Sterner snagged the rest — including the scalp of Sam Grafton in a big queens-over-ace hand. The two eventually met heads-up, with Sterner briefly pulling level before a missed combo draw led to a costly triple-barrel bluff. Kessler made the call with second pair and locked up the win.

“It’s been a tough year,” he said afterward, “so to ship one feels really good.” Kessler had his wife and daughter with him in Dublin and said the mix of poker and family time made the win extra sweet. Then, true to form, he jumped straight into the €5K PLO High Roller.

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

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Marcel Kessler		€103,008*
2nd	Ludvig Sterner		€38,820*
3rd	Jon Kyte		€14,000
4th	Sam Grafton		€10,380
5th	Junxian Du		€8,120

*includes bounties

Meanwhile in the Mini Main…

The €250 Mini Main Event continues to draw huge numbers, with over 1,300 entries already logged. The most recent flight — Day 1F — was the biggest yet, pulling in 239 runners and trimming down to 16 survivors.

Leading the charge is Vanessa Kade, who bagged a monstrous 3,450,000 in chips — more than double her nearest challenger. She’s already looking like the one to watch heading into Day 2, though plenty of other names are still in the hunt.

The next flight kicks off today at 18:00, and with guarantees already in sight, we’re expecting even more to join the action.

Top 5 Chip Counts – Day 1F Mini Main Event

Photo Credits: Mickey May & Brian OhEideain