Last weekend, Dublin resident Vincent Melinn became this year’s Irish Open Poker champion after beating six rivals in the tournament’s nail-biting finale. For his troubles, the Irishman left Dublin’s Jurys Ballsbridge Hotel with 350,000 euro and the winning title.
Melinn is an accountant recently new to the world of poker and had only ever participated in one live tournament before the Irish Open. However, Melinn proved his poker skills are second to none when he made the six finalist play-off after competing against 350 other poker fans in the event. A record crowd was in attendance at the final event to see Melinn face off against Ian Woodley and Jon Wong of England, and Ireland’s Conor Smith, Paul Daly and Brendan Ruane. The final game was aired live on Sky Sports television across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The 54-year-old said to media after the event that his motivation for winning the event was more about the title than the money. "I've only ever played one tournament before and went out in that in my first hand, but I knew from the early stages of this game I had a chance and I'm really so proud to have my name on the trophy,” Melinn says.

Second place in the Paddy Power-sponsored event went to South London’s Ian Woodley, who won 182,000 euro from the one million guaranteed prize pool.

The Irish Open Poker Championship is a major event on the international poker scene, which offers poker players 50,000 euro in sponsorship money in addition to the main prize. The buy-in for the tournament is set at 3,200 euro per player.

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