The 2026 Irish Open is taking place from March 26 to April 6 at the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) in Merrion Road, Ballsbridge. With a line-up featuring 86 different tournaments, this year’s festival – sponsored once again by PokerStars and PaddyPower – will be the biggest in Europe.
The €1,000,000 guaranteed Luxon Pay Mystery Bounty, which made a stunning debut in 2025, is once again the very first tournament of the festival and gets underway at noon on March 26, with the first of four starting flights.
The €1,000,000 guaranteed Mini Irish Open, which also kicks off on March 26, has more starting flights than ever before – 14 in total – running throughout the festival.
The Main Event starts on Sunday, March 29 and features a €2.5 million guarantee.
Opening hours
- The RDS venue is open 24/7.
- The dedicated Cash Game area is open 24/7 with 50+ cash tables and a dedicated bar and coffee/snacks food station.
- The Craic Den is open from noon to 2am.
Tournament highlights at the 2026 Irish Open
With an extra 17 tournaments on the schedule, the 2026 Irish Open is going to be huge! Click here for full details on all 86 tournaments taking place. Highlights include:
– €2.5 million guaranteed Main Event (March 29 – April 6) – five starting flights, single re-entry each flight
– €1 million guaranteed Mini Irish Open (March 26 – April 6) – 14 starting flights, unlimited re-entries
– €1 million guaranteed Luxon Pay Mystery Bounty (March 26 – 31) – four starting flights, single re-entry each flight
– €10k Super High Roller (April 1 – 2) – unlimited re-entries
– €1,150 Ladies High Roller (April 5 – April 6) – single re-entry
– €200 Deaf Championship (March 26 – March 28) – single re-entry
New events
This year’s festival is introducing a whole host of new formats, many of which have never been played in Ireland before. From Kings and Queens to the new Cuatro Knockouts, from Old Dogs and Young Pups to the Sviten Special, plus exciting formats such as Flip and Go, the Shoot-out Championship and the Triathlon Championship, the 2026 schedule puts fun firmly in the limelight! See our highlights story for more details. We are also hosting a “festival within a festival” for Deaf players, a new Mixed 8-Game Championship High Roller, a new Ladies High Roller, a new PLO Five Card tourney and the return of the popular APAT championship.
Tournament areas
Tournaments will be taking place in the spectacular Main Hall of the RDS – plus Hall 2 from Tuesday, March 31. Overall, there will be at least 280 poker tables creating a playing area the size of a football field. The REGISTRATION desk (open from 11am on Thursday, March 26), CASH DESK and QUALIFIERS REGISTRATION DESK are all located in the Main Hall.
Satellites
You can win your way into the Irish Open Main Event on PokerStars and Paddy Power and via the iPoker network. See our satellites page for more info. In 2025, more than 1,300 players qualified for the Main Event in online satellites.
There are a total of 17 live Main Event satellites taking place at the RDS from March 29 to April 4 in addition to satellites for the Luxon Pay Mystery Bounty and all the High Roller tournaments. All satellites are “milestone” satellites which award seats as soon as you reach a certain chip stack size – either 50,000 or 100,000 depending on the buy-in. See the schedule for more details.
Cash games
The Irish Open cash game scene is one of the festival’s big attractions! The dedicated cash games area features an automated registration system to make joining a game as easy as possible. The Cash Game area has 50+ tables running 24/7 plus its own dedicated bar and coffee/food station. Any variant will be available, subject to demand, starting from €1/€2 NLH / PLO. You can transfer funds to the cage using Luxon Pay – just click “Irish Open chip transfers” under Shop in your Luxon Pay account. There is also an ATM at the venue.
How to register
The easiest way to register for all the Irish Open tournaments is ONLINE with Luxon Pay. If you register online, then all you need to do when you arrive at the RDS is pick up your seat assignment from the REGISTRATION desk (open from 11am on Thursday, March 26). See below for others ways to register.
PokerStars Live smartphone app
Before heading to the Irish Open, we strongly recommend you download PokerStars Live, the official app for registering for both tournaments and cash games. It’s the quintessential tool for players needing the complete lowdown on all the poker action at the festival.
Create your player profile ahead of time and once at the event, you can just scan your unique QR code and register for a tournament in seconds. No lines, no hassle. The app will tell you everything you need to know about the festival – including tournament schedules, buy-in info, structures and registration hours. Featuring a live clock, the app will also give you real-time tournament information including number of entrants, results and seat draw info.
The app is also great for cash game players making it easy to find tables offering your preferred games and stakes without waiting around.
Download the PokerStars Live app now for Apple iOS or Google Play/Android.
Luxon Pay
The Official Payment Provider is Luxon Pay. European players can register for ALL of this year’s tournaments online – in advance – using their Luxon Pay account. For full details, see our Luxon Pay article. Registering for Irish Open tournaments couldn’t be easier: log into your account, click “Shop” and scroll down to “Irish Open tournaments”. Make sure you have enough dosh in your account for the chosen event, then click “Buy Now”. Boom – you’re in! Please note that you can also send money to the cage for cash games – just click Merchants on Luxon Pay and then “Irish Open chip transfers”. Winnings can be paid out as a combination of funds to your Luxon account and cash.
Luxon Pay €1,150 Main Event Raffle
Luxon Pay is giving players tons of chances to win a €1,150 Main Event seat at the 2026 Irish Open simply by buying into ANY tournament between Day 1 and Day 8 of the festival (March 26 to April 2) using their Luxon Pay account. There will be four different raffle draws, each covering a specific tournament buy-in “window”: Day 1-3 (for a Day 1a seat), Day 4-6 (for a Day 1b seat), Day 7 (for a Day 1c seat) and Day 8 (for a Day 1d or 1e seat).
Re-entries
Luxon Pay makes it easy to re-enter a tournament on the same day. Open your previous transaction and choose “send again” or go back to the tournament list and click on “re-enter”. You will then need to return to the registration desk for your new seat assignment.
PokerStars/Paddy Power
You can register for all Irish Open tournaments via the PokerStars client, or Main Event only via your Paddy Power account.
Other ways to register
If Luxon Pay isn’t available in your country, you can also register on-site. If you have cash (including US $, CAD $ or £ sterling) or a bank debit card, head first to the CASH DESK to swap funds for chips which you can then use for your buy-ins at the Registration Desk. We can’t accept credit cards or Amex. You can also buy in on site using your PokerStars or Paddy Power account. If you want to wire money to the cage, please note we have a €10,000 minimum. You can also get cash by using your debit card at the cash desk; onsite ATMs will restrict you to your daily withdrawal limit.
Reg desk opening times
The Registration Desk will be open from 11am on Thursday, March 26. You can register for the Main Event whenever the Registration Desk is open and not too busy. For all other tournaments, you can register up to one hour before the start flight begins for that event. YOU MUST BRING PHOTO ID.
For most tournaments, late registration will be open for the first eight levels. For the Main Event and the Mini Irish Open, late reg is open for the first ten levels. See the schedule for full tournament details, late reg times and structure sheets.
For some multi-day tournaments, excluding the Main Event, registration will be open until the start of Day 2. For the Main Event, late reg is open until the end of Level 10.
Where to eat and drink
There will be multiple food options at the event including food trucks outside plus a coffee station, sandwich bar and drinks bar inside the Main Hall. The Cash Game area also has its own bar plus a tea/coffee/food station.
Live updates
There will be Irish Open live updates throughout the festival plus live reporting on PokerNews, covering the Main Event from start to finish. All coverage can be accessed via the 2026 schedule (along with structure, event description and gallery) – just click the green arrow next to the chosen event. The official photographers are Mickey May, Martin O’Brien, Evelin Rom and Danny Maxwell.
Live stream
Award-winning poker commentators James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton, along with Pokerstars Team Pro Nick Walsh & 2017 Irish Open champion Griffin Benger will be hosting the Irish Open live stream. Expect well known Irish poker personalities to join the broadcast
Coverage will start on Friday April 3 and conclude with the Main Event final table on Monday April 6. The broadcast will be available on the PokerStars YouTube channel, the PokerStars Twitch channel, the PokerStars LIVE Facebook page and the Irish Open YouTube channel.
Follow us on socials
We love seeing how much everyone is enjoying the event so do tag @irishpokeropen with the hashtag #irishpokeropen. Following us also means you’ll be in with a chance to win merchandise as well as keep up with all the news before, during and after the event.
Event hosts
Our event hosts are Phil “Let Me Entertain You” Baker and Phil “The Tower” Heald.
The Craic Den – fun, games & entertainment
The Craic Den players’ lounge will be open from 12pm to 2am every day with a full roster of games and contests – all hosted by Phil “Let Me Entertain You” Baker. Long-standing player favourites such as Beer Pong, Race Night, Shuffleboard and Corn Hole are all on the schedule plus some great new contests such as Banging Bingo and I’m a Poker Player, Get Me Out of Here. Spraggy’s Quid Games on April 1 will be a real highlight followed with the new inflatable Sumo suit wrestling challenge. There will – of course – be live music every night with a whole bunch of new performers. Players will get their chance in the limelight on our popular Karaoke and Lip Sync nights. For a full low-down on all the entertainment and outings on offer during the festival, please see our Craic Den story.
Getting to the venue from Dublin Airport
The Aircoach (Route 702 / 703) runs from Dublin Airport to right outside the RDS on Merrion Road and takes around 30-40 minutes. It’s typically about €8–€13 one way. Taxis take around 20-30 minutes and cost around €30-€40.
Hotels
See our hotels page for a full list of properties within easy distance of the RDS festival venue. With an extended schedule in place – and Dublin likely to be full of football fans if Ireland make the World Cup play-off final on March 31, we urge players to book their Irish Open accommodation as soon as possible. The closest hotels to the RDS are the Herbert Park Hotel and the Clayton Ballsbridge – both will sell out well in advance of the event.
Our Official Travel Partner is MainEventTravel.com. MET’s rates are generally less than most major online travel providers.
Parking
There is 24-hour secure parking at the RDS for just €10/day.
Frequently Asked Questions
For more info and FAQs, please click here.
