Dora Coyle Shines with Runner-Up Finish at 2025 Champions Club Winter Poker Open Main Event After Winning Seat at Oak Cliff Card Club

The 2025 Champions Club Winter Poker Open $1,500 Main Event concluded with Dora Coyle delivering an outstanding performance, finishing as the runner-up and taking home $161,000 after an intense heads-up showdown against champion Ryan Freeman.

What makes Coyle’s run even more impressive is how it started—by winning her seat through a satellite tournament at Oak Cliff Card Club in Dallas. Her journey from a local qualifier to nearly capturing the title is a testament to the opportunities Oak Cliff Card Club provides its players and the talent brewing in the Dallas poker scene.

Coyle made her presence known at the final table early on, surging into the chip lead after a pivotal all-in preflop hand where her pocket aces held strong against Trung Pham’s pocket kings. From there, she skillfully leveraged her big stack, knocking out several competitors, including Alejandro Jauregui in fourth place when her queen-eight connected with the flop, sending Jauregui to the rail.

Three-handed play saw Coyle with a commanding chip advantage over Ryan Freeman and Trevor Lewis. She eliminated Lewis in third place after flopping a set of fours against his turned two pair, setting the stage for a thrilling heads-up battle.

Heads-up play began with Coyle holding a 2:1 chip lead. Although she applied pressure throughout, Freeman managed to even the stacks after winning a key hand with trip nines against her pocket jacks. The tournament’s final hand saw Coyle shove all in with ace-eight on an ace-high turn, only to run into Freeman’s ace-ten. The river failed to improve her hand, and she finished as the well-deserved runner-up.

Despite falling just short of the title, Coyle reflected positively on her run:

“I’m incredibly proud of how I played. Winning the satellite at Oak Cliff Card Club gave me the chance to play on this big stage, and I’m so grateful for all the support I received. Hopefully, my deep run shows others—especially women in poker—that anything is possible.”

With $161,000 in winnings and a breakout performance under her belt, Dora Coyle’s journey from a satellite winner at Oak Cliff Card Club to a major final table contender is truly inspiring.