Finnish pro Samuel Petteri Saariaho has won the Main Event of the Killarney Poker Festival, banking the top prize of €100,000. He defeated Tommy O’Rourke heads-up in the €700 buy-in tournament on the Irish Poker Tour (IPT), which attracted a record field of 899 entrants, an increase of 18 players on the 881 who contested the 2024 edition.
It was his biggest live win to-date in what has been somewhat of a break-out year for the Finn, who won two events at the Spring Edition of the Kings of Tallinn as well as finishing 3rd in another tournament at the same festival. He has also been successful online. In 2021 he went close to winning a bracelet in the WSOP Online, taking 3rd place for $33,630 in a PLO Bounty event and has also reportedly won an online gold ring, but this is by far the best live result of his life…so far.
Saariaho was delighted with the way things turned out, praising the support he received on the rail from his compatriots. He also mentioned that it was a tough heads up, with some interesting hands, before going on to say that he loved his first trip to Killarney and will definitely come back again.
| Position | Player Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Petteri Saariaho | €100,000 |
| 2 | Tommy O’Rourke | €63,500 |
| 3 | John J Ward | €45,000 |
| 4 | Derrick Wall | €35,500 |
| 5 | Cahal Heapes | €27,000 |
| 6 | Ed Fogarty | €22,385 |
| 7 | Niall Mullan | €18,000 |
| 8 | Katie Swift | €15,000 |
| 9 | Kieran O’Donovan | €12,500 |
Final Table Final Table Report
The chip leader at the start of the final table was Derrick Wall, with John Ward in second place. Saariaho went into the final table as the third shortest of the last nine, but quickly moved up to second place, after taking out Kieran O’Donovan in 9th place (€12,500). Next to depart was Grosvenor Poker Pro Katie Swift, who busted in 8th for €15,000, followed by Niall Mullin in 7th (€18,000).
Katie Swift also seemed to enjoy the excursion away from GUKPT events, posting on her story reel that she’ll be booking a trip to another IPT event soon.
John Ward soon became the one to catch and after accounting for the exits of 6th place Ed Fogarty (€22,385) and Cahal Heapes (5th for €27,000), he had grown his stack to over 20m, possessing over half the chips in play. The lead did change hands several times during the latter stages and at various points a deal was briefly discussed, but never agreed.
At this point, Wall had become the short stack and looked in danger of going out in 4th. However he doubled up twice, at the expense of Ward, to briefly move into second place. However he then lost a big chunk to Samuel Saariaho and Derrick Wall eventually did bust in 4th place (€35,500), taken out by the final table’s top marksman John Ward.
By then Tommy O’Rourke was the short-stack, his 5.5m stack dwarfed by his opponents, who were both hovering around the 15m mark. After an hour of 4-handed play he was still the shortie and had been pegged back to under 4m, but then his fortunes changed. He doubled-up twice, with John Ward taking the brunt of the damage, leaving O’Rourke as the new chip leader on over 17m. Soon after he pressed his advantage further, making it to the heads-up stage with a massive stack, after taking the last of Ward’s chips, sending him to the rail in 3rd place for €45,000.
Going into the heads-up encounter O’Rourke had a lead of 27.5m versus the Finn’s 8.5m. However within a few hands, the situation changed when Saariaho won an all-in to level the game up. The Finn took the chip lead soon after and never looked back from that point. By the time the final hand played out, his opponent had been whittled down to under 3m.
With the chips all-in O’Rourke held A♥5♦ to Saariaho’s Q♥3♦. O’Rourke was still ahead after a flop of 2♦7♦2♠, however the turn wasn’t so kind, delivering the 3♥ to put the Finn in front in the hand, where he stayed after the K♥ fell on the river.
Tommy O’Rourke had to settle for 2nd place and a very nice consolation prize of €63,500. He also won the last longer competition, claiming a package to the IPT’s London Poker Festival in November. However this time it was Samuel Petteri Saariaho’s turn to step into the winners’ enclosure, where he received the trophy and €100,000 first prize.
Festival Overview
Overall it was a strong festival for the Irish Poker Tour, with a new record being set for the Main Event, albeit only a small increase on the 2024 participation level. There was also a notable increase in the participation in the Killarney 300, which had a popular winner in June Jenkins, who took the most cash and the trophy in a 4-way chop. However, the majority of the tournaments on the schedule were actually a little down year-on-year, but not by much. For some of these, which had seen increases to their buy-ins, the drop was expected and overall the Festival was another stormer.
The festival also included the Killarney Omaha Championship, a €1,650 buy-in event, which saw a field of 36 take part. It was won by Mark Buckley and the €24,000 first prize pushed his lifetime poker earnings over the $1m mark, prompting on-site media to refer to him as the Million Dollar Man.
Many players from the UK and Scandinavian countries also made the journey to the south west of Ireland for this one and it will continue to be one of the key stops of the tour in 2026.
| Event Name | Buy-in | Winner | Entries | Prize Pool | 1st Place Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killarney Opener | €200 | Aidan Hynes | 141 | €23,010 | €6,260 |
| Wednesday NLH €20K | €200 | Hugh Diver | 139 | €22,685 | €6,100 |
| Mystery Bounty | €500 | Andrew Lukas Allain | 193 | €84,920 | €7,700 (+€3,200 bounties) |
| Thursday NLH €20K | €200 | Robertas Gludkinas | 242 | €39,495 | €10,000 |
| Killarney Omaha Championship | €1650 | Mark Buckley | 38 | €54,720 | €24,000 |
| Killarney Women’s Championship | €250 | Caroline McKeever | 56 | €11,935 | €3,485 |
| €1K One Dayer | €1,000 | Jamie Kelly | 59 | €50,975 | €12,750 |
| Friday Night Omaha | €300 | Luke Tatum | 40 | €10,370 | €4,100 |
| Friday NLH €20K | €200 | Wang Kwan Chan | 215 | €35,088 | €7,655 |
| Saturday NLH Freezeout | €200 | Keith O’Connor | 105 | €17,135 | €3,235 |
| Saturday Omaha 7/Max | €300 | Gerard Carbo Santamaria | 75 | €19,440 | €5,040 |
| Killarney 300 | €300 | June Jenkins | 370 | €94,130 | €14,530 |
| Killarney Poker Festival Main Event | €700 | Samuel Petteri Saariaho | 899 | €535,085 | €100,000 |
| Last Chance Turbo | €150 | Simeon Sundelius | 59 | €7,080 | €1,880 |
| Killarney Poker Cup | €400 | Tadhg Ryan | 196 | €67,740 | €17,540 |
| Monsterstack | €200 | Charlie Porter | 235 | €38,352 | €9,500 |
| Sunday Omaha 7/Max | €300 | Maximilian Sanders | 38 | €9,850 | €3,500 |
Hynam Goes Close Again, Kassouf Pops Up
Mitchell Hynam has already had success in Ireland in 2025, winning the Main Event of the Galway Festival in January for €83,600. He had a good start to the Killarney Festival, taking second place in the €200 Killarney Opener for €4,000. That was however his only cash of the Festival.
Hynam went deep in the WSOP Main Event this year, before going on to win the closer and his first bracelet. One of the few Brits to finish higher up the pay-table than him in the WSOP Main Event was Will Kassouf and during the latter stages of the tournament, when Kassouf was at his loudest, Hynam was heard to shout at him across the room “Shut the F*%# Up.”
Amusing quips aside, Kassouf also attended the Killarney Festival and one presumes he did not pay any heed to Hynam’s advice here either. He also managed to cash in one event, taking 8th place in the €200 Wednesday NLH event. Kassouf will at least be glad to know that he’s still welcome to play in Ireland, as the controversial pro is rumoured to have been banned by some live event operators, as a result of his non-stop chatter during the Main Event of the WSOP.
Irish Legends Still Got It
Irish legends Andy Black and Rory Liffey also proved they’re still ones to watch, both having good festivals. Liffey took second place in the Killarney Poker Cup for €11,300. Black made two final tables, finishing 8th in the Killarney Opener for €850 and 9th in the Mystery Bounty for €1,330.
Carr Up to 2nd on Leaderboard
The race for the Irish Poker Tour Player of the Year Title stepped up a notch at the Killarney Poker Festival. Paul Carr laid down his intentions to challenge for the title he won last year, finishing strongly in two events early in the week. He made final tables in the Killarney Opener (3rd for €2,650) and the Mystery Bounty (7th for €2,120) and as a result, moves into second place, closing the gap on Shane Keary, who still has a lead of almost 1,200 points. Tomas Flanagan is in third place in the table and Tommy O’Rourke moves up to 6th, following his runner-up spot in the Main Event. Here is the current top 10.
| Rank | Player Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shane Keary | 6,205 |
| 2 | Paul Carr | 5,030 |
| 3 | Tomas Flanagan | 4,875 |
| 4 | Killian Farrell | 4,770 |
| 5 | Michael Merrigan | 4,720 |
| 6 | Tommy O’Rourke | 4,395 |
| 7 | Mary Galvin | 3,765 |
| 8 | Steven Lee | 3,640 |
| 9 | Daryl McAleenan | 3,520 |
| 10 | Sam Zheng | 3,495 |
Next Events on the Irish Poker Tour
The IPT rarely has much down time in between stops and the show continues this weekend, with the Carrick-On-Shannon €30k in a Day event on Saturday October 4th, at the Landmark Hotel in Leitrim. The day features three tournaments, with a total of €30k guaranteed between them. The Main Event costs €170+€30 and has a €25,000 guarantee. There is also a second chance No Limit Hold’em event with a €125+€25 buy-in, guaranteed at €5,000 and an un-guaranteed €125+€25 PLO.
On the following Saturday, the same format of event is held in Athlone and one week later, the Siege of Clonmel takes place over the weekend of 17th-19th October. The Clonmel Festival has a €50,000 guaranteed Main Event, also with a €170+€30 buy-in, plus a busy schedule of side events, some with guarantees.
In early November, the IPT’s next overseas jaunt takes place, when the London Poker Festival takes place at Genting Stratford (formerly Aspers) in London. The Main Event of this one has a £355+£45 buy-in and a £200,000 guarantee. There are also several other tournaments on the £350,000 guaranteed schedule, including a £50,000 guaranteed £400 buy-in Mystery Bounty and a £30,000 on the £260+£40 London Cup.
| Event/Festival | Dates | Location | Main Event Buy-in | Festival Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrick-On-Shannon €30K In A Day | Oct 4, 2025 | Landmark Hotel, Leitrim | €200 | €30,000 |
| Athlone €30K In A Day | Oct 11, 2025 | Athlone Springs Hotel, Athlone | €200 | €30,000 |
| Siege of Clonmel IV | Oct 17–19, 2025 | Clonmel, Co. Tipperary | €200 | €80,000+ |
| London Poker Festival | Nov 4–9, 2025 | Genting Casinos, Stratford, London | £400 | £350,000+ |
2026 IPT Events Announced
The Irish Poker Tour has recently revealed the dates for several of its key stops in 2026. The Killarney Festival is one of them and will take place at the same time of year, in September, however the precise dates have yet to be set. IPT owner and operator Fintan Gavin has also teased that there will be an overseas summer location included, although that has not yet been announced. Guarantees are also expected to rise significantly, but full details of what those will be will also be revealed at a later date.
Photos by Jerry Fitgerald, courtesy of Irish Poker Tour
