A bunch of different tournament innovations are set to make the player experience even better for the 2026 Irish Open festival. From the introduction of “hands per level” for final tables to various other tweaks to tourney structures, the Irish Open aims to give players the smoothest possible experience during our 2026 tournaments.
Changing the clock
For almost all final tables, the duration of blind levels is set to switch from a traditional clock-based structure to one based on “hands per level”. The new format has been extensively tested at European Poker Tour events and is set to ensure that play remains fair throughout a tournament and short stacks don’t get pushed around!
Using a conventional tournament clock makes it easier for more unscrupulous players to manipulate where and when the big blind will land each orbit and target any short stacks. The new system was first devised by EPT Tournament Director Toby Stone and was used with great success at EPTs last year.
The switch to the new format will also mean it’s no longer necessary to keep reducing the level durations as the number of remaining players reduces to maintain a consistent blind level duration. The number of hands chosen for each blind level will be determined by the tournament team running each event but is likely to be around 20-24 hands.
Tournament co-ordinator Nick O’Hara said: “The formula for how many hands we set per level isn’t fixed in stone and it isn’t a one-size-fits-all either. We’ve carried out lots of tests and are confident we will be introducing a system that’s a lot fairer and ensures that players can’t speed up or slow down play to the disadvantage of any short stacks. However, there are always some anomalies – we had a High Roller final table at the International Poker Open play twice as fast as expected! We set 18 hands for the level which should have taken them around 40 minutes but they raced through in 21 minutes – about double the normal speed!”
Main Event structure tweaks
There is no doubt that Simon Wilson’s storming performance on the final day of the 2025 Irish Open helped end the Main Event at a reasonable hour back on April 10 last year! However, with 19 players starting the final day, the tournament may well have gone on until 5am! Tournament organisers are well aware that super-late finishes don’t benefit anyone, least of all tired players and exhausted dealers and floor staff. Rather than leave it to chance in 2026, some small tweaks to the structure on the first few days of the Main Event is set to ensure that the final day starts with an actual final table – or certainly a more reasonable number of players than 19!
For the 2026 Main Event, all standard Day 1s will feature a 40-minute clock instead of a 45-minute clock. Additionally, an ante will be introduced in the very first level rather than Level 2 (making it 100/100/100). Over the course of the day, the tournament will end up two levels ahead – with very little impact on players. We are also adding an extra level on Day 2 so play will end at midnight.
Tournament co-ordinator Nick O’Hara said: “It’s vital that we don’t start the final day with so many players. Ideally, we’d like to start the final day with 8, 9 or 10! And we make that a far more likely scenario by ensuring we get through more levels early on in the tournament. These will be barely noticeable changes for players but the benefits will cascade throughout the tournament to ensure we end up with a really great final.”
Shot clocks abound!
For the first time, this year’s Irish Open festival will feature shot clocks giving players 30 seconds to make a decision. All tournaments with buy-ins of €3,000 or more will have a shot clock from the very beginning of the event. Players can use Time Bank cards to extend their thinking time. Each player will get four Time Bank cards when taking their seat on Day 1 plus an additional time bank card at each break. They will get another four on Day 2 plus one more at each break.
For the Luxon Pay Mystery Bounty and Main Event, the shot clock will be introduced from the start of Day 3. Players will get four Time Bank cards at the start of both Day 3 and Day 4 plus an additional card at each break.
Time Bank cards “carry over” – all you have to if you’ve made it through the day is pop any remaining cards into your bag along with your chips.
More bounty opportunities!
In most of our Mystery Bounty tournaments to date, bounties haven’t been introduced until we reach the money. However, for 2026, mystery bounties will kick in when we reach 20% of the field and we’ll be paying out 15% of the field. This innovation will give far more players a shot at winning a bounty even if they don’t actually cash in the tournament.
Tournament co-ordinator Nick O’Hara said: “A big part of the Mystery Bounty concept is that you don’t have to run deep in a tournament to win a lot of money. We’re now making that even more of a possibility! Typically, 15% of the field in any tournament makes the money so, in 2026, with bounties set to kick in at about 20%, you’ll have a chance to win bounties even without cashing.”
Extra day for the Mini
The Mini Irish Open, which attracted 6,411 entries last year, is getting an extra start flight for the 2026 event. That makes 14 in total – starting with Day 1a on Thursday, March 26. On April 5, the penultimate day of the festival, we’ll have three final starting flights – Day 1/L at 11am, Day 1/M at 3pm and Day 1/N – a 15-minute turbo – at 8pm.
