The nickname "WhatIfGod" on PokerStars, a sponsor of the 2025 Irish Open, has struck fear into anyone seated at his virtual table for over two decades. The longtime crusher has countless wins under his belt, including the two online EPTs that were held during COVID, but a live poker victory eludes him yet.
At the final table of 2024's EPT Prague, it was revealed that the player who had remained anonymous for the better part of 20 years was Sweden's Anton Bergstrom. Bergstrom has mostly played online throughout his career but is starting to attend more live events in recent years, and has made the trip to the Royal Dublin Society for a first-time appearance at the Irish Open.
He was one of the 53 entries of the €10,000 Super High Roller and was among the 25 survivors at the end of Day 1, battling for a prize pool of €503,831. He doubled his starting stack, bagging up exactly 200,000, worth 33 big blinds when Day 2 resumes, sharing the bottom spot in the top ten with Bernard Larabi. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Mengshi Tian returns at 1 p.m. today with the chiplead of 600,000, nearly double that of nearest contender Christopher Nguyen, who will begin Day 2 with 354,000.
Start of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mengshi Tian | Hong Kong | 600,000 | 60 |
| 2 | Christopher Nguyen | Austria | 354,000 | 59 |
| 3 | Marcel Kessler | Germany | 284,000 | 47 |
| 4 | Adrian Cazacu | Romania | 265,000 | 44 |
| 5 | Govert Metaal | Netherlands | 261,000 | 44 |
| 6 | Klemens Roiter | Austria | 259,000 | 43 |
| 7 | Robbie Toan | Ireland | 251,000 | 42 |
| 8 | Jorge Artiga-Pacheco | Canada | 237,000 | 40 |
| 9 | Roope Tarmi | Finland | 215,000 | 36 |
| 10 | Bernard Larabi | Hungary | 200,000 | 33 |
| 10 | Anton Bergstrom | Sweden | 200,000 | 33 |
Bergstrom's fellow EPT champions Stephen Song (148,000) and Gilles Simon are also in contention for the €163,800 first-place prize, as are bracelet winners Daniel Smiljkovic (133,000) and Juha Helppi (54,000), Meanwhile, Ireland is represented by Robbie Toan (251,000) and Simon Wilson (160,000).
The players will return to Level 14, with blinds of 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante. Day 2 is the final day of the tournament, meaning the Super High Roller will play as many 40-minute levels as are needed to crown a winner, although the levels will be reduced to 30 minutes at the final three players or when a deal has been struck. A 30-second shot clock is also in play, with time banks distributed after every three levels.
Seven players will see a return on their five-figure investment, with seventh place taking home €26,500. Making the heads-up will guarantee one a six-figure payout, while taking home the trophy will be accompanied by that grand sum of €163,800.
€10,000 Super High Roller Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €163,800 |
| 2 | €108,300 |
| 3 | €73,100 |
| 4 | €55,400 |
| 5 | €42,800 |
| 6 | €34,000 |
| 7 | €26,500 |
PokerNews will be on the floor for the entire day, so stick around to find out who will be crowned the first Irish Open Super High Roller champion in over a decade.
