Unibet Open

Launched in 2007, the Unibet Open is the marquee live tour for Unibet Poker. Featuring up to five stops per year, the tour has visited destinations across the world including London, Las Vegas Tallinn, Copenhagen, and more.

PokerNews began reporting from the Unibet Open in 2015 and has been a live-reporting partner for the tour ever since.

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Tournaments

Unibet DeepStack Open - UDSO La Grande Motte 2024

Finished Tournaments

Winner Winning Hand Prize Runner-up Losing Hand
Unibet Deepstack Open - UDSO Paris 2024 - - - - -
Unibet DeepStack Open - UDSO Annecy 2024 - - - - -
2024 Unibet DeepStack Open Marrakech Nicolas Barkusky Nicolas Barkusky aj 705,000 MAD Saul 109
Unibet DeepStack Open - UDSO Cluj 2024 - - - - -
Unibet DeepStack Open - UDSO Gujan Mestras 2024 - - - - -
Unibet DeepStack Open - UDSO Sanremo - - - - -
Unibet Deepstack Open - UDSO UK Aspers - - - - -
Unibet Deepstack Open - UDSO Lyon - - - - -
Unibet Deepstack Open - UDSO Cup Saint Amand - - - - -
Unibet DeepStack Open - UDSO Pornic 2024 - - - - -
Unibet DeepStack Open - UDSO Aix-en-Provence 2024 - - - - -
Unibet DeepStack Open - UDSO Cup Malta 2024 - - - - -

The Hendon Mob

History of the Unibet Open

The Unibet Open has a reputation as one of the most friendly and welcoming poker tours. Festivals are known for having a Welcome Drinks on day 1A and the Saturday night Players’ Party.

With plenty of opportunities for players to satellite into online through Unibet Poker, there are plenty of stories of satellite winners turning a few dollars into life-changing money at one of their many live events.

Unibet Open Season 1 (2007)

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
Warsaw€1,650120$176,244Stale LokseNorway$65,090

Unibet Open Season 2 (2008)

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
Madrid€1,650297€442,800Joao BarbosaPortugal$179,240
Milan€1,650320 Domenico TinnirelloItaly$173,953
Warsawzł5,500270$486,758Simon JohanssonSweden$152,355

Unibet Open Season 3 (2009)

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
Budapest€1,650360€539,550Alvaro AspasSpain$170,104
Algarve€1,650409€596,406Andre DiasPortugal$207,104
London£2,750266£665,000Thanh DoanFinland$305,326
Prague€1,650451€660,000Fuat CanSweden$245,983
Warsawzł7,000401zł2,566,400Jimmy JonssonSweden$239,778

Unibet Open Season 4 (2010)

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
Budapest€ 1,650460€ 690,009Anthon-Pieter WinkNetherlands$235,665
Golden Sands€ 1,650394€ 591,001Dan MurariuRomania$184,182
Prague€ 1,650424€ 629,640Henri OjalaFinland$207,037
Valencia€ 1,650361€ 541,500Thomas ThangDenmark$191,626
London£1,650273£409,500Paul ValkenburgNetherlands$171,408

Unibet Open Season 5 (2011)

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
Malta€ 1,650293€ 417,525Mateusz MoolhuizenNetherlands$163,075
Barcelona€ 1,650387€ 551,500Rubén Sánchez CebolladaSpain$212,246
Dublin€ 1,650260€ 390,000Paul Vas NunesUnited Kingdom$151,742
RigaLs1,650308Ls307,238Peter HarkesNetherlands$119,878

Unibet Open Season 6 (2012)

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
Prague€ 1,650254€ 377,190Filip VerbovenBelgium$131,574
Paris€ 1,650439€ 653,671Jaroslaw BarglikPoland$185,310
London£1,320315£378,000Pratik GhatgeUnited Kingdom$136,305
Saint Martin€ 1,650238€ 346,290Dan MurariuRomania$142,590

Unibet Open Season 7 (2013)

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
Copenhagen€ 1,650336Dkr3,604,608Kassem YassineSweden$126,744
Tróia€ 1,650242€ 362,995Dmitry VarlamovRussia$104,811
Cannes€ 1,650313€ 450,750Quentin LecomteFrance$132,918
RigaLs2,271208Ls218,400Rens FeenstraNetherlands$101,652

Unibet Open Season 8 (2014)

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
CopenhagenDKr8,250406Dkr2,923,299Frederik JensenDenmark$116,168
Tallinn€ 1,100262€ 248,900Mauri DorbekEstonia$75,574
Cannes€ 1,100457€ 438,720Daniel SmithUnited Kingdom$114,059
London£1,100399£319,200Iaron LightbourneUnited Kingdom$110,163

Unibet Open Season 9 (2015)

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
CopenhagenDKr8,250404€ 389,948Theis Vad HennebjerreDenmark$94,288
Glasgow£880221£176,800Daniel ChutrovBulgaria$66,030
Cannes€ 1,100411€ 394,560Julien SitbonFrance$90,194
Antwerp€ 1,100321€ 321,000Mateusz MoolhuizenNetherlands$75,487

Unibet Open Season 10 (2016)

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
London£825418£313,500Dave ShallowUnited Kingdom$86,747
Malta€ 1,100292€ 292,000Martin SoukupCzech Republic$72,461
CopenhagenDKr8,100376€ 363,602Joni LiimattaFinland$79,571
Bucharest€ 1,100603€ 584,910Traian BostanRomania$106,273#

Unibet Open Season 11 (2017)

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
London£990419£377,100Gerret Van LanckerBelgium$89,722
CopenhagenDKr8,250404Dkr2,908,800Kaarel LepikEstonia$84,527
Las Vegas$1,100673$665,866Joe SerockUnited States$113,059
Bucharest€ 1,100502€ 486,940Marius PerteaRomania$107,754

Unibet Open Season 12 (2018)

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
London£990349£314,100Andreas WiborgNorway$79,283
Malta€ 1,100273€ 273,000Daniel JacobsenDenmark$70,979
Bucharest€ 1,100592$592,000Anton VinokurovRussian Federation$120,346
Dublin€1,100359€359,000Paul Jux-Holderness$85,514 

Unibet Open Season 13 (2019)

The 'ShuffleUpAndSki' festival in Sinaia made its debut for Season 13, with Martin Soukup becoming a two-time champion after winning €71,000 in the Unibet Open Sinaia Main Event.

Omar Lakhdari's victory over 480 entries in Paris to round out 2019 was the largest Unibet Open Main Event field ever, beatin gthe 457 set in London earlier in the year.

Omar Lakhdari Unibet Open Paris Main Event 2019
Omar Lakhdari Unibet Open Paris Main Event 2019
EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
Sinaia€1,100366€366,000Martin SoukupCzech Republic$80,275
London£990456£410,400Daniel JamesUnited Kingdom$101,453
Malta€1,100327€327,000Alan CarrUnited Kingdom$58,911
Paris€1,100480€460,800Omar LakhdariAlgeria$98,054

Unibet Open Season 15 (2020)

After Martin Olali won the Unibet Open Dublin Main Event in early 2020, the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of all live tournaments, including Unibet Open Tallinn. In April 2020, Unibet announced that they would be moving all live events online.

As a result, 2020 saw three Unibet Open Online champions, including Padraig "John_smith2" O'Neill winning back-to-back Unibet Open Main Events to become the fourth player to do so.

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
Dublin€1,100294€294,000Martin OlaliUnited Kingdom$70,207
       
May 2020€1,100373€392,750Max "SHAPOSNOVE" SilverUnited Kingdom€77,320
October 2020€1,100387€406,350Padraig "John_smith2" O'NeillIreland€79,998
December 2020€1,100230 Padraig "John_smith2" O'NeillIreland€52,623

Unibet Open Season 16 (2021)

For 2021, the Unibet Open continued running online with another high-profile winner. Dominik Nitsche won the first online Main Event of the year, winning €68,527.

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (EUR)
March 2021€1,100318€334,950Dominik "limingwei"NitscheGermany€68,527
May 2021€1,100263€276,150"PoochieKing2"Canada€56,497

Unibet Open Season 17 (2022)

The Unibet Open returned to the live poker scene following the pandemic with a stop in St Julian's, Malta. Denmark's Henrik Junker topped the 359-entry field to capture the title.

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
Malta€1,100359€359,000Henrik JunckerDenmark€75,000

Unibet Open Season 18 (2023)

Dutchman Dwayne Sluis was the winner of the sole Unibet Open Main Event in 2023. Sluis qualified for the Main Event through bagging an online package and turned that into a €65,830 payday.

EventBuy-InEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPayout (USD)
Bucharest€1,100360€338,400Dwayne SluisNetherlands€65,830

Two-Time Unibet Open Winners

There have been four two-time winners of Unibet Open Main Events. Dan Murariu became the first after winning Unibet Open Saint Martin in Season 6, just two years after winning Unibet Open Golden Sands in Bulgaria. He took home over $300,000 from these two wins combined and is now a Unibet Poker Ambassador.

Mateusz Moolhuizen took slightly longer between his two victories, winning in Malta and Antwerp four years apart. The third two-time Unibet Open Main Event winner is Martin Soukup who won in Malta in 2016, and then on the Unibet Open's first trip to Sinaia in 2019.

In 2020, after the coronavirus pandemic forced the Unibet Open to move online, Padraig O'Neill sensationally won back-to-back events to become the fourth two-time Unibet Open Main Event champion.

  • Dan Murariu: Golden Sands (Season 4) and Saint Martin (Season 6)
  • Mateusz Moolhuizen: Malta (Season 5) and Antwerp (Season 9)
  • Martin Soukup: Malta (Season 10) and Sinaia (Season 13)
  • Padraig O'Neill: Online (Season 15) and Online (Season 15)

Largest Unibet Open Main Event First Prizes

Season 3 of the Unibet Open saw some of the largest prize pools, with the buy-in for most tournaments set at around €1,650. As a result, the Main Events held in London, Prague and Warsaw hold the top three spots.

Since 2014, the buy-in for Unibet Open Main Events has been reduced to approx. €1,100, and therefore the first prizes hover between $80,000 and $100,000.

YearEventBuy-InEntriesWinnerPrize in US$
2009London£2,750266Thanh Doan$305,326
2009Prague€ 1,650451Fuat Can$245,983
2009Warsawzł7,000401Jimmy Jonsson$239,778
2010Budapest€ 1,650460Anthon-Pieter Wink$235,665
2011Barcelona€ 1,650387Rubén Sánchez Cebollada$212,246

Biggest Unibet Open Main Event Fields

Three of the five largest Unibet Open Main Event fields of all time came in consecutive years in the Romanian capital Bucharest. Only two Main Events have surpassed 600 entries, with the 2017 European Open closing in on 700 entries when it was held in Las Vegas.

YearEventBuy-InEntriesWinnerPrize in US$
2017Las Vegas$1,100673Joe Serock$113,059
2016Bucharest€ 1,100603Traian Bostan$106,273
2018Bucharest€ 1,100592Anton Vinokurov$120,346
2017Bucharest€ 1,100502Marius Pertea$107,754
2010Budapest€ 1,650460Anthon-Pieter Wink$235,665

Unibet Open Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Unibet Open?

The Unibet Open is a major international poker tour run by Unibet since 2007.

What was the largest Unibet Open Main Event?

The largest-ever Unibet Open Main event took place in Las Vegas in 2017 with 673 entries. It was won by Joe Serock for $113,059

What was the biggest Unibet Open Main Event first prize?

The biggest-ever Unibet Open Main Event first prize was at Unibet Open London in 2009. Thanh Doan defeated a 266-player field to win $305,326.