As we come within shouting distance of this year’s Irish Open, PokerStars has unleashed a full-blown season of March Madness – mega-satellites running every week and each guaranteeing 25 seats to the €2.5 million guaranteed Irish Open Main Event.
The first €109 mega-sat kicks off at 20:05 this Sunday (March 1) – and if you can play on PokerStars, it would be bonkers to miss it!
Last year, there were only two mega-sats, but scores of players still locked up seats in the run-up to the event. This year? PokerStars is going way bigger. Mega-sats are taking place every week from March 1 through March 22. That’s multiple chances to punch your ticket to Dublin.
The Sunday mega-sats are not the only direct qualifiers each week either. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, PokerStars hosts €109 qualifiers with four seats guaranteed. Feeder satellites into all these qualifiers start from as little as €1.10.
Global reach
The Irish Open’s partnership with PokerStars sends players from all over the globe to compete in the Main Event and hundreds have already qualified – including players from countries as far afield as Brazil and Mexico. Those already assured of a seat include last year’s champion Simon Wilson, 2023 champion David Docherty, 2013 champion Ian Simpson, new Paddy Power Ambassador Dara O’Kearney, PokerStars Ambassador Ben “Spraggy” Spragg, EPT founder John Duthie and British players Robbie Bull and Ben Sweetman. Irish players are also thriving in the qualifiers – a quarter of those who have already won seats hail from the Emerald Isle.
In 2023, the first year that PokerStars sponsored the Irish Open, some 350 players qualified on PokerStars including eventual champion David Docherty. By last year, the number of qualifiers had more than doubled with PokerStars sending 832 qualifiers to the event (and Paddy Power a further 513.)
All signs suggest 2026 will smash right through those numbers once again.
Emerald Edition Silver Pass winners top 50
More than 50 players have already secured an Emerald Edition Silver Pass – way ahead of this stage last year. The Emerald Edition is a special $2,500 prize bundle that features all the normal benefits of PokerStars’ acclaimed Silver Power Pass plus extra value in the form of a €250 Mini Irish Open ticket, courtesy of the Irish Open.
Last year, there were 86 Emerald Edition Silver Power Pass winners in the record-breaking Main Event – with 22 of them making the money including award-winning podcaster David Lappin and UKIPT Brighton finalist Oli Hutchins.
Willie Elliot, PokerStars Live Events Customer Engagement Manager, is expecting big numbers yet again for this year’s festival. He said: “Everyone loves free money and getting a free Mini Irish Open ticket is basically that! I think it’s highly likely we will have even more Emerald Pass winners this year. Even when people have a choice of festival, they’re very tempted to use their Pass for the Irish Open because of the free Mini ticket.”
With mega-sats now firing weekly and Silver Pass winners already stacking up, the road to Dublin is getting busier by the day. If you’re planning to be part of the 2026 Irish Open, this is your moment.
