The Irish Open has been nominated for two different awards in the fifth Global Poker Awards. In the award for Best Event, the Irish Open Main Event is up against three other tournaments which all take place in Vegas – the WSOP Main Event, the WPT Prime Championship and the WPT World Championship.
The 2023 Irish Open broke all records for a poker tournament in Ireland with a staggering 2,491 entries, creating a guarantee-busting €2,428,725 prize pool. PokerStars qualifier David Docherty won the Main Event for a career-best first prize of €365,000.
The Irish Open has also been nominated for the title of Best Stand-Alone Festival, a brand new award introduced this year. The Global Poker Awards first launched in 2019. Each votable category has its own voting panel comprised of industry experts who whittle down potential award-winners in a preliminary ballot. The Awards ceremony will be taking place at the PokerGo Studio at Aria Resort and Casino on Saturday, February 24.
Irish Open regulars also nominated for Awards
Among the many individuals who have been nominated in the 2023 Global Poker Awards are EPT Prague winner and Irish Open regular Padraig O’Neill. Irish poker fans were thrilled with O’Neill’s triumph in Prague – he is only the second Irish player to win an EPT Main Event in close to 20 years of the EPT’s existence. Marle Spragg, who cashed twice at the 2023 Irish Open, has been nominated for three different awards including Best X/Twitter Personality. Both O’Neill and Spragg are set to attend this year’s Irish Open.
Irish Open regulars Dara O’Kearney and David Lappin have been nominated yet again for their Chip Race Poker Podcast. Their show won a Global Poker Award in 2018 and was nominated again in 2021 and 2022. We wish them luck! PokerStars Live, featuring James Hartigan, Joe Stapleton, Nick Walsh and 2017 Irish Open champion Griffin Benger, has also been nominated. Last year was the first time that the Irish Open live stream was produced by PokerStars.
Irish Open organiser Paul O’Reilly said: “In terms of funding, we are very much the underdog. Forget DeSantis or Haley! In the Best Event award, this is like a local village councillor going up against Trump. The WPT Prime Championship had a $5 million guarantee, the World Championship had a $40 million guarantee and the WSOP is … well … it’s the WSOP, nuff said. These nominations are testament to the hard work of the team, staff, media and players that all come together every year to make the Irish Open such a special event. We are in superb company in both categories and to have made it this far is an incredible achievement. We are truly thrilled.”
