The 2025 Irish Open is adding a competitive twist this year with a Ryder Cup-style team challenge between two of poker’s leading training communities. Simplify Poker Academy will face off against JakaCoaching in a festival-long competition that promises plenty of banter and bragging rights, if not actual prize money.

The concept comes from Michael Dwyer, a prominent member of JakaCoaching, who’ll be captaining his team in the absence of Faraz Jaka. Facing him across the felt will be Dara O’Kearney, leading a squad drawn from Simplify Poker Academy members, his private students, and a contingent from the Turkish version of the site.

How the Format Works

The rules are deliberately straightforward. Before each event kicks off, both captains nominate which players will count toward their team total, ensuring equal numbers on both sides. If one team has two women and the other has four, only two from the larger group can be nominated to keep things fair.

Scoring is based on results. Each player earns points equal to their cash amount in euros divided by the number of bullets they fired. It’s a system that rewards deep runs while accounting for re-entries, keeping both teams competitive right through to the Main Event, which will likely determine the overall winner.

To prevent any single player from dominating the points tally, there’s a five-event cap per player across the festival. That addresses Dwyer’s concern about O’Kearney fielding Ray Wheatley in everything. Both teams expect to field more than five players in the bigger tournaments like the Main, mind you.

International Squads

Despite Dwyer’s initial pitch to frame this as “Battle of the Brands” or Ireland versus the rest of the world, the reality is more mixed. Team Jaka consists mainly of travelling Americans with some Irish support. Team Simplify leans European but includes Americans who’ve thrown in their lot with O’Kearney’s squad. David Lappin has dubbed it the “Doke-Dwyer deathmatch,” which probably captures the spirit better than any geographical angle.

Steve Dunnett, who won a seat to the Irish Open through a Simplify Poker contest, will be among those representing the Academy. The Turkish contingent adds an interesting international flavour to what’s shaping up as a properly global affair.

The Craic and the Competition

Dwyer’s already working on team morale, reportedly telling his WhatsApp group that the main objective is “the craic and to give Dara’s team a hiding.” He’s since removed O’Kearney from the group chat, apparently realising that having the opposing captain in there wasn’t the smartest tactical move. O’Kearney claims he’s still getting intelligence from sources inside the camp.

There’s no prize pool beyond pride. That’s often when poker players are at their most competitive, frankly. The format should generate plenty of interest throughout the festival, giving spectators and players alike something extra to follow beyond their own results.

Whether you’re backing the Americans and Irish of Team Jaka or the European coalition of Team Simplify, the Irish Open just got a bit more interesting.