Irish Open: A Rich History of Champions

Europe’s oldest poker tournament is fast approaching!

The PaddyPower Irish Open in only a few days away and we thought it would be a great time to take a look at some of the Open’s past Champions.

The long list of past winners includes legendary Irish professional Noel Furlong. Furlong, who won the World Series of Poker Main Event in 1999, has won the Irish Open on three different occasions.

Furlong would first win the Irish Open back in 1987, where he would become the 8th person to win the event. He would then go on to win the event again in 1989 before making it a triple in 1992, for the third and final time.

Fellow Irish pro Liam Flood has also won the Irish Open on multiple occasions. In between Furlong’s second and third titles, Flood would earn in his first title in 1990. He would win again in 1996.

The first ever winner of the event, Colette Doherty, would capture her second title in 1991, 11 years after her historical win in 1980. Meanwhile, Jimmy Langan’s victories in 1983 and again in 1988 place him in elite company, as one of only four players to win this event on multiple occasions.

In 2003, Joe Beevers, he of The Hendon Mob / The Poker Mob fame, would capture the title. Beevers remains one of the most beloved poker players on the UK poker scene as does fellow UK star Neil Channing, who won the Irish Open in 2008. Although he’s still looking to capture that elusive bracelet, Channing’s WSOP earnings along surpass the 1M USD mark!

Some of the Irish Open’s most recent winners could very well become the legends of tomorrow. 2010 Champion James Mitchell, 2012 winner Kevin Vandersmissen and defending champ Ian Simpson, who followed up his Irish Open win with a 2nd place finish at UKIPT London late last year, all hold Top 1000 places on the Global Poker Index.

JOIN THE LEGENDS

It’s still not too late to qualify online for the Irish Open! Head on over to paddypowerpoker.com and see how you can qualify and hopefully become the next legend to win the PaddyPower Poker Irish Open!