Adrian State Wins First-Ever PokerStars Open Main Event

Romanian Adrian State was crowned the winner of the inaugural PokerStars Open, a tour announced back in December.

Despite the €1,100 Main Event boasting a €1 million guarantee, the event in Campione, Italy shattered all expectations and attracted an incredible 2,324 entries, building a huge €2,326,080 prize pool.

After four days of play, State won a career-high €363,000 (roughly $400,000), which will see him jump from 10th to 7th on Romania’s all-time money list.

State won the juicy top prize after defeating Italian Giorgio Soceanu, who won €225,000 for his efforts, more than doubling his career earnings of $182,831.

“It’s a big privilege to win,” State told PokerNews.

“This tournament was huge, and I have had a difficult period, running under EV. I was preparing a lot for this tournament, so when this win came to me, I was very happy.”

Despite vaulting to the top of the middle tier of the new PokerStars Live League leaderboard, he won’t go out of his way to chase the top prize, which is €25,600 worth of PokerStars entries (four EPT Main Events and four PokerStars Open Main Events).

“I will gladly participate when I have free time, but I would like to spend more time at home with my wife and my little daughter.”

With EPT Paris having been cancelled, the next stop on the PokerStars Open is the historic Irish Open, a series where this author will proudly be a part of.

Despite Ireland poker sites facing an uncertain future, the Irish Open should go off without a hitch.

PokerStars Open 2025