2018 Irish Open Champion Ryan Mandara has just scored the biggest cash of his live poker career after taking down the $10,300 EPT Cyprus High Roller event for $709,285. Mandara’s sensational victory in the flagship PokerStars tournament came in record time after he dispatched six of his eight final table opponents with ruthless efficiency and took just three swift hands…
Finnish poker pro Tero Laurila has won the record-breaking 2024 Irish Open Main Event for a first prize of €292,685. The 38-year-old – a former floorball coach from the small town of Kouvola – used to primarily play cash but has been playing more and more tournaments in recent years. He was cheered on during the final by his friend,…
The stats are IN and – as we thought – this year’s Irish Open has blown all previous editions of Europe’s longest-running tournament through the roof! With tons more tables – 178 in total – numbers rocketed at this year’s Irish Open. Across the 35 different tournaments on the schedule, there were more than 17,000 entries (up from some 10,000 in 2023)…
Friend of the Irish Open Darren Chow certainly made the most of his first ever trip to Ireland. Not only did he cash twice during the Irish Open festival but he then headed straight down to Cork to compete in the Irish Deaf Poker Championships and chopped the €130 Main Event. Chow, a garden landscaper by profession, is also an…
Friend of the Irish Open Elizabeth Bennett-Martin enjoyed another fantastic Irish Open this year, cashing a total of four times during the record-breaking festival including a Main Event cash and 17th in the Liam Flood tournament. The 2023 Irish Open Ladies Event champion has enjoyed myriad achievements in the last 12 months including a runner-up finish in the PCA Ladies Event,…
James Clarke from the UK won his first Irish Open trophy in the early hours of Tuesday morning after taking down the €250 Seniors Event. Clarke, who already has more than $1 million in live event cashes, won €16,778 after beating Ireland’s Michael Murray heads-up. The Seniors tournament was yet ANOTHER event at this year’s Irish Open which massively increased…
Congrats to London-based French player Merivan Hassan who snagged the very last Championship trophy at the 2024 Irish Open when he won the Liam Flood Memorial tournament around 4am this morning. Hassan outlasted another record field at the RDS – there were 389 in the tournament (compared to 211 last year) to secure by his biggest ever live cash –…
From 3,233 entries, the Irish Open Main Event has been whittled down to just nine players over the course of the festival. They took their seats at the final table to battle it out for the life-changing top prize of €415,615. Stephen Groom was the chip leader at the start of the final table with 17,725,000, closely tailed by Hiep…
The final day of the 2024 Irish Open, easily the most spectacular poker festival Ireland has ever known, kicked off today at noon. The Main Event has broken its own record to become the richest poker tournament ever held in Ireland and the €500,000 Mini Irish Open has attracted absolutely bonkers numbers and now holds the record as Ireland’s largest…
Sapiano leads Day 1f Mini Irish Open survivors with 985,000 It was a bumper day for the €200 Mini Irish Open with two whole flights – Day 1E and Day 1F – taking place over the day. The Mini’s been attracting people all week keen to fight for the juicy €500k guarantee – which was duly matched then breached in…
The Irish Open is well-known for welcoming players from all over the world with a warm embrace – and this year well over 50 different nationalities have turned up for a hug! From Australia to Argentina, from South Korea to Uruguay, the Main Event has once again proved a truly multinational event. This year’s giant, record-breaking field of 3,233 players…
The family name O’Brien sounds very Irish, as a matter of fact five local players with that surname are competing on Day 1c of the 2024 Irish Open Main Event. But Alexandra O’Brien is actually from Germany and resides in the UK. She won her trip to Dublin during the special live-recording of the Poker In the Ears podcast for…
As part of the festivities, there’s a players’ lounge amusingly called “The Craic Den” which functions as “chill out zone” during the day and transforms somewhat as day turns to night into a pub/ games room /nightclub. We snuck in to see whether the den lived up to its name… Bedecked with plush chairs, sofas and tables, players can relax…
The Main Event dominated yesterday’s poker at the Royal Dublin Society – and how!! Less than five hours into Day 1c of the €1,150 buy-in, €1 million guaranteed Main Event, we smashed through the record set last year (having also cruised through the €1 million guarantee the day before). Every Day 1 this year has been a record-breaker, entry numbers boosted…
The Irish Open has borne witness to so many special moments in its time. There are countless stories of precious memories and fast friendships forged by patrons over the years so we thought, why don’t we ask those attending for some of their most treasured moments and memories. Who better to start with than the legend himself, Mr Padraig Parkinson?…
We’re deep into the 2024 Irish Open and it’s safe to say that the event’s been a slam dunk so far. The number of entries in all events has been amazing and are exceding those from the 2023 tournaments by a significant margin. For example, there were 136 entries in this year’s Ladies’ Event compared to 63 in 2023. It’s…
We decided to have a pint this afternoon with Scottish poker legend Niall “Firaldo” Farrell. Surprisingly, I was the only one to order a Guinness as Firaldo was on the H20 grind after three fearless days of partying and poker. Firaldo, who likely needs no introduction to most poker enthusiasts, is one of only a few players with a live…
In April 2011, an Englishman embarked on a journey to Dublin and was buzzing to join the action of the Irish Open. His live poker resumé until then featured three minor cashes for around £1,000, essentially what one now needs to enter the Irish Open Main Event. Ian Simpson didn’t have to pay the entry fee of €3,500 to enter…
It’s a wrap on the poker section of the Firaldo Irish Open Leaderboard and four players are now through to the second part of the contest which is all about the craic. Well done David Lappin, Ferdia O’Connell, Jim Reid and PokerStars Team Pro Spraggy! However, as Firaldo told me just now: “Much like the real world, there is no…
Gabriel Bitton leads €500k guaranteed Mini Irish Open Gabriel Bitton is a massive chip leader in the €500k guaranteed Mini Irish Open after bagging up 1,250,000 at the end of Day 1c last night. There were 487 entries yesterday so Bitton’s stack puts him well clear of all the other flights’ chip leaders. Among others through to Monday’s final are…
Massive congrats to Canada’s Miruna Muller who took down the giant €250 Ladies Event last night for €6,132. She triumphed after beating fellow Canadian Manal Bousnina heads-up and following a three-way deal that saw Muller, Bousnina and third-placed American Una Kelly all lock up some cash in advance. She came to the Irish Open with her great mate Friend of…
Late reg has now closed in the €250 single re-entry Ladies Event and we are delighted to announce that this year’s field is well over double last year’s. Were they all lured by the promise of a sterling silver Claddagh pendant for the finalists? Who knows! But here they all are (or were) – 136 entries in total, creating a €28,508…
Award-winning The Chip Race podcaster David Lappin is the current leader in the Firaldo Irish Open Leaderboard after racking up €10,150 in prize money and bumping Ferdia O’Connell down into second place. The Firaldo Irish Open Leaderboard – a unique combo of poker tournaments and three NON-poker events – is the first time that anyone has ever attempted to combine…
Tonkaaaa secures first live event title in €5k High Roller Congrats to PokerStars Team Pro Parker “tonkaaaa” Talbot for navigating through a field of 111 entries in front of a massive rail to win the two-day €5,000 Luxon Pay High Roller 8-Max for €134,279. Despite having more than $1.6 million in live tournament cashes, Talbot – remarkably – had never won a…
Congrats to PokerStars Team Pro Parker “tonkaaaa” Talbot for navigating through a field of 111 entries in front of a massive rail to win the two-day €5,000 Luxon Pay High Roller 8-Max for €134,279. Despite having more than $1.6 million in live tournament cashes, Talbot – remarkably – had never won a live event and was royally ribbed about this by his…
A whole host of female combatants are planning to rock up for tomorrow’s €250 Ladies Event. They include WSOP Online International Ladies Championship winner Jessica Marks, PokerStars Ambassador Marle Spragg and PokerStars Team Pro Georgina James, Women’s International Chess Master Sabrina Chavannes, Irish Open Ambassador Karen Muir, Debs Worley-Roberts, Rachel Warburton and Charlie Waters. Also in the field will be…
With around two hours to go before late reg ends for the day, there are already more than 360 players in the €1 million guaranteed, €1,150 buy-in Main Event. Among the combatants are defending champ David Docherty and Luxon Pay MD Tom Waters who finished fourth last year. Also competing today are Team PokerStars Pro Spraggy, Sunday Million champ Jessica…
Day 1 of the unlimited re-entry €5k Luxon Pay High Roller 8-Max kicked off yesterday – the first chance for the big bucks players to flash their cash and get stuck in. There were 80 entries with 48 getting through to today’s second (and final) day. Players can buy-in for the first time – or re-enter – up until the start…
It was the biggest side event ever held at the Irish Open but in the early hours of this morning, Argentina’s Mario Niciforo outlasted a record field of 599 entries to win €18,127 in The Hendon Mob Championship. Last night’s victory represents one of Niciforo’s very few cashes outside of South America and his only cash in Europe, although (according…
Today’s inflatable Sumo Wrestling bout and inflatable Horse Racing obstacle course race was even funnier than we could ever possibly have imagined. The PokerStars Ireland v England challenge continues tomorrow in the lush surroundings of The Craic Den. Games Night will start around 10.30pm. On Thursday it’s Darts Poker, then a day off, then the contest resumes on Saturday with…
2022 Main Event runner-up Ferdia O’Connell is the current leader in the Firaldo Irish Open Leaderboard after racking up €7,940 in prize money and bounties in last night’s €550 PLO Mystery Bounty. Ferdia , who finished third last night, won €180,000 in 2018 after qualifying online via a €0.01 online satellite. Canada’s Jim Reid, who probably didn’t imagine he’d be…
Round 2 of the €350 sell-out heads-up tournament is well under way and last year’s Main Event champion David Docherty is already through to Round 3 (which starts at 5pm). Among those who sat down at noon for the mano-a-mano contest were Kevin O’Connell, Martin Gorenc, Daniel Laidlaw, plus Canadian Friends of the Irish Open Tim Silman and Raph Verdurgo.…
Sunshine for Helio – chip leader at the end of Mini Day 1a Brazilian Libardi Helio was the man who refused to submit to the poker gods’ whims on the first day of the €500k guaranteed Irish Open Mini event last night. He headed the counts at close of play with 720,000. He has Xavier Agapit (635,000) and Pawel Madynski…
The PokerStars Ireland v England challenge kicks off today at 2pm on the green outside The Craic Den player lounge at 2pm. Come along and watch Irish PokerStars’ Ambassador Fintan Hand and England’s Team PokerStars Pro Spraggy leading their elite teams in an inflatable Sumo Wrestling bout and inflatable Horse Racing obstacle course race. In the mud – by the…
Triple Crown winner Niall “Firaldo” Farrell has added even more fun to this year’s Irish Open by setting up his own unofficial leaderboard. The Firaldo Irish Open Leaderboard – a unique combo of poker tournaments and three NON-poker events – is the first time that anyone has ever attempted to combine the entertainment elements of the Irish Open and the actual…
From castles and cathedrals to gourmet restaurants and lively bars with Guinness on tap, Dublin has it all. The Irish Open gives players from all over the world the chance to explore one of Europe’s most iconic cities. Off the felt, there is tons to do in Dublin and our Royal Dublin Society venue is an easy bus ride into…
Irish Open headline sponsor PokerStars is hosting a fun Ireland v England challenge during this year’s Irish Open festival – with the two nations going head-to-head in a series of tense contests both on and off the felt. The action kicks off around 2pm on Tuesday, March 26. Head for the lawn just outside The Craic Den player lounge to watch…
An unprecedented number of players will be competing at this year’s Irish Open for a fraction of the normal buy-in after winning their entry online. The Irish Open’s second year of partnership with PokerStars and Paddy Power has already reaped huge rewards for players with hundreds winning full prize packages or €1,150 Main Event seats. PokerStars sends 450+ to Irish…
For many players at the Irish Open, action at the tables really does play second fiddle to the “craic”. The festival is long known for its non-stop provision of fun, games and live music as well as excursions to fun attractions around the city. At the Irish Open, the pain of busting is swiftly soothed by the knowledge that you’re…
Massive congrats to Irish Open stalwart Barny Boatman who has just been signed as the latest member of PokerStars Team Pro. Pictured with his close friend and two-time EPT champion Victoria Coren Mitchell, the announcement came during a live recording of the 300th episode of the Poker In The Ears podcast, hosted by PokerStars live stream commentators James Hartigan and…
The 2024 Irish Open will be taking place March 25 to April 1 at the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) in Merrion Road, Ballsbridge. The €500,000 guaranteed Mini Irish Open, which has nine starting flights, starts on Monday, March 25. The €1 million guaranteed Main Event starts on Wednesday, March 27. All halls will be open from noon on March 25.…
The Ladies’ event is one of the consistent fixtures on the Irish Open schedule and always attracts a substantial field. Last year’s winner Elizabeth Bennett-Martin – now a Friend of the Irish Open – will be energetically defending her title this year and, after a fantastic year at the tables, will be serious competition for everyone who enters! Elizabeth snagged a…
The Herbert Park and Clayton Ballsbridge are now SOLD OUT for nearly every single night of the 2024 Irish Open festival. The rush for rooms shows just how huge this year’s tournament is going to be – but it may leave some of you scrabbling around trying to find last-minute accommodation. FEAR NOT! MainEventTravel.com – the Irish Open’s Official Travel Partner…
The Irish Open is thrilled to announce that the brand new players’ app PokerLens will be available for everyone competing at this year’s festival – for both tournaments and cash games. For full instructions on how to use PokerLens for the Irish Open, see our dedicated PokerLens page. PokerLens enables you to set up a profile in advance which is…
In line with poker festivals all over the world, all satellites taking place during this year’s Irish Open will be “milestone” satellites awarding seats as soon as you reach a certain chip stack size. The Irish Poker Open is the longest-running No Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament in Europe and is taking place this year from March 25 to April…
PokerStars players don’t have to wait until March to get a taste of Irish Open excitement! To whet everyone’s appetites, Irish Open sponsor PokerStars is hosting a special Irish Open Online series next week featuring an overall guaranteed prize pool of nearly $650,000. The Series will include a total of 17 events, all carrying substantial guarantees and each awarding an…
With 35 different tournaments on the schedule and a full roster of entertainment planned for the bars and lounge, players at this year’s Irish Open are set for a fabulous week in Dublin. The Irish Poker Open is the longest-running No Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament in Europe and is taking place this year from March 25 to April 1…
Friend of the Irish Open Elizabeth Bennett-Martin has enjoyed a sensational year since taking down last year’s Irish Open Ladies Event. Her myriad achievements have included a runner-up finish in the PCA Ladies Event, a final table at the WSOP Ladies Circuit Event in New York, two WSOP cashes in Las Vegas and a cash in the WSOP Paradise Mini…
iPoker has launched a new promotion part of a series of events during the year with this one offering more than €20,000 in added seats and packages. The promotion is the focus of the iPoker network’s Road to Dublin which gets underway this weekend. The Road to Dublin promotion covers 15 different tournaments on its network which includes Dublin-based giant Paddy…
One of the most prestigious card rooms in Canada is giving players the chance to win their way into this year’s €1,150 Irish Open Main Event. The Playground in Quebec is now an official casino partner for this year’s Irish Open and is set to send a large number of players to the €1 million guaranteed Main Event. The Irish…
Dusk Till Dawn, one of the UK’s leading poker venues, is hosting its first ever satellite for the Irish Open. The £50 + £10 qualifier in early March comes with ten £1,500 packages guaranteed for this year’s €1,150 Main Event. The Irish Poker Open is the longest-running No Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament in Europe and is taking place this…
The easiest way to register for all this year’s Irish Open tournaments is online with our Official Payment Partner Luxon Pay. Luxon Pay makes it super easy to buy in for any event and will save you a ton of time when you arrive at the Royal Dublin Society venue ready to play. All you will need to do is…
For many players at the Irish Open, the lively cash game scene is one of the big attractions of the festival. Cash games at the Irish Open offer even more fun and banter (if that were possible!) than tournaments – where tensions can understandably run a bit on the high side, especially near the bubble. Every night at the Irish Open,…
PokerStars’ Power Path satellites give recreational players their best chance ever to win their way into the Irish Open. With free tickets for the first step available every day, the Power Path means players could be competing in Dublin this year without having to lay out a single cent. The PokerStars Power Path is a four-step qualifying route beginning with…
Paddy Power is running an exclusive satellite for the Irish Open every Tuesday with an extra €1,150 Irish Open seat added to the prize pool. The €50 buy-in satellite will take place weekly at 8.30pm and will be live-streamed by Paddy Power Twitch Ambassador Conor “ccoonnoorrr” O’Driscoll. As an added bonus, the Irish pro is hosting a freeroll 90 minutes…
For PokerStars Team Pro Fintan “easywithaces” Hand, 2023 was one of the best years of his live poker career. The former Fitzwilliam Casino dealer from Dublin won his first UKIPT Main Event title last year in Edinburgh and also had another huge score in the UKIPT Nottingham High Roller. In fact, Fintan won more than two-thirds of his entire live…
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…
Ontario poker players have a lot to celebrate this week with the news that PokerStars is launching online satellites in their province for the €1 million guaranteed Irish Open Main Event. The Irish Open is hugely popular with Canadians and dozens fly over every year to take part in the festival and enjoy the unique Irish Open atmosphere. Ontarians will…
Irish Poker Open Ambassador Karen Muir ended 2023 on a high note when she finished second for €18,000 in the Irish Poker Tour event held in Dublin. Karen fought Italian Davide Raschella heads-up in the tournament which was sponsored by Irish Open partner Paddy Power. Karen said: “It was a great feeling to add this one to my bankroll and it rounded off a great 2023.…
A huge roster of online satellites is about to unleash on iPoker for the 2024 Irish Poker Open. Feeder satellites – including daily freebuys – will get underway next Monday (January 8) across nearly 20 sites on the iPoker network. Players can choose to work their way up through the various steps or buy in direct to the seat-only and package qualifiers. Seat-only…
For many poker players in Northern Ireland, the highlight of their year is an event that’s surprisingly close to home. The Irish Open in Dublin is widely viewed as the pinnacle of the poker calendar for Irish players, with poker fans both north and south seeing it as a chance to win life-changing money. Daryl McAleenan is one of Northern…
PokerStars has launched a colossal schedule of satellites for next year’s €1 million guaranteed Irish Open Main Event, starting December 17 and running right up to Sunday, March 24, just before the festival kicks off on March 25. A total of 350 players qualified for this year’s event on PokerStars including champion David Docherty who won €365,000 after snagging his…
Irish Open regular Padraig O’Neill has won a record-breaking EPT Prague for a monster first prize of €1,030,000. Known to all as “Smidge”, the 34-year-old from Drumlish in County Longford started the final day with just 12 big blinds, the shortest stack of the five remaining players. However, he managed to edge his way back into contention and eventually seized…
Irish Open Ambassador Karen Muir was flying the flag for Ireland and the Irish Open last weekend when she competed at Queens of Tallinn, the first women-only poker festival in Northern Europe.“When you tell people about the Irish Open, the reaction is always very positive The festival, hosted by OlyBet and the Olympic Park Casino in Tallinn’s luxurious Hilton Hotel…
Irish poker pro Nick Newport has just four words of advice for poker fans hoping to compete at next year’s Irish Open – “play the online satellites!” Newport has been playing the satellites on Paddy Power since they started in early November. With three seats guaranteed every week – one on Wednesday and two every Sunday – the sats are a great…
Former Irish Open champion Griffin Benger has won the last tournament of PokerStars’ prestigious North American Poker Tour event in Las Vegas. Benger had one of the biggest scores of his career when he took down the Irish Open Main Event in 2017. He beat a 1,129-entry field to snag a €200,000 first prize; others on that epic final table…
Online satellites are underway now on Paddy Power for the €1 million guaranteed Main Event at next year’s Irish Poker Open. The festival, the longest-running No Limit Hold’em tournament in the world outside of Vegas, is running from Monday, March 25 through to Monday, April 1. Next year will be the 40th edition of the festival and, once again, it…
Irish Open champion David Docherty has won the 2023 UKIPT Player of the Year race after a sensational year in which he dominated the leaderboard virtually throughout the season. Docherty’s victory in the record-breaking Irish Open last April – for a first prize of €365,000 – was an incredible feat. The €1,150 buy-in Main Event attracted a staggering 2,491 entries making it the…
After record-breaking fields in almost every event at this year’s Irish Open, excitement is already building about next year’s schedule. The 2024 event will be the 40th live edition of the Irish Open making it the longest-running No Limit poker tournament in Europe. The festival runs from Monday, March 25 through to Monday, April 1 with 34 different tournaments on…
Festival features €1 million GTD Main Event and runs from March 25-April 1 After a record-breaking Irish Poker Open earlier this year, dates are now set for the 2024 edition which once again will be held at the Royal Dublin Society in Ballsbridge, Dublin and sponsored by PokerStars and Paddy Power. The festival will be running from March 25 to…
Irish Open High Roller winner Benny Glaser is enjoying an unbelievable run during this year’s PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker with a record-breaking SIX titles – and there is still another week of the series to go. Four days ago, the PokerNews headline about Glaser read “What more can we say?!” And that’s BEFORE he won another two events. Glaser,…
Karen Muir, one of Ireland’s most successful female live tournament players, has joined the Irish Open as their newest Ambassador. Karen is a well-known player in the Irish poker community as well as in Europe where she plays regularly in tournaments and cash games at major festivals. She will be joining fellow Ambassador Chris Dowling in raising awareness of the…
Irish Open organiser JP McCann and Ambassador Chris Dowling looked particularly dapper last night as they attended the inaugural Flutter Charity Ball in Dublin which was being held to raise funds for BUMBLEance, the children’s Ambulance Service of Ireland. Flutter, the company which owns Irish Open sponsors Paddy Power and PokerStars, has nominated BUMBLEance as its Charity of the Year…
Mark Buckley, who has been competing at the Irish Open for many years and is a well-known player in the Dublin poker community, has scored the second biggest cash of his career at EPT Barcelona. Buckley, a commercial sales rep and amateur dog breeder, beat a tough 128-entry field in the €1,500 buy-in PLO event to win a first prize…
With two more cashes at UKIPT Blackpool, Irish Open Champion David Docherty has extended his lead still further at the top of the UKIPT leader board. There are four more UKIPT events to go this year but the Scottish player is looking very strong with an 80-point lead over his nearest rival Fotios Ntamaris from Greece. In Blackpool, Docherty finished…
Irish Open champion David Docherty has ousted Andy Black from the top spot in the UKIPT Player of the Year race after a fantastic performance at the 2023 PokerStars Summer Festival Malta. Docherty finished fourth in the €1,100 Malta Main Event for €52,660 and now has a clear lead on the UKIPT leaderboard with a total of 190 points. The…
Despite busting out of the Irish Open Main Event in fifth place, veteran Irish player Andy Black is now #1 in the Ireland all-time money list AND is top of the new UKIPT Leaderboard. It’s proof – to Andy – that his new strategy is working out. For the last four months, Andy has dedicated himself to playing a game…
Legendary poker player Doyle Brunson is being mourned the world over after passing at the age of 89. Nicknamed “Texas Dolly” and “The Godfather of Poker”, Brunson was – without a shadow of a doubt – one of the greatest and most influential players the game has ever known. He first rose to fame in the 1970s and was still…
In poker, as in most competitive sports, it’s the winners who snag the headlines – along with trophies, bragging rights and a professionally-taken winner pic. But at this year’s Irish Open, there were many players who quietly excelled in side events without ever being put in the spotlight. Chief among this year’s unsung heroes was Nottingham player Wadey Ashraf who managed…
The 2023 Irish Open Delivery was the stuff of dreams for many players but none more so than Donegal delivery driver Declan Rice. Declan was runner-up in the Main Event and snagged a life-changing €228,700 after winning his seat in an £80 satellite. His phenomenal achievement stunned players and media alike and will remain an iconic moment at Europe’s oldest…
There were 36 different tournaments during the Irish Open 2023 festival – often filling the spectacular Main Hall at the RDS to capacity and providing some very chunky prize pools for players. Nearly all the side events held this year broke records. To read updates on almost all the major side events, please head to https://irishpokeropen.com/live-updates/. Use the drop-down to…
The 2023 Irish Open Main Event – the biggest poker tournament ever held in Ireland — ended Monday evening (April 10) with PokerStars qualifier David Docherty taking home a first prize of €365,000. The €1,150 buy-in Main Event attracted a staggering 2,491 entries, creating a guarantee-busting €2,428,725 prize pool, up 22% up on last year. Docherty, who made the final of EPT…
Gerry Walsh wins €550 JP Poker Masters Championship Gerry Walsh has won the JP Poker Masters Championship for €23,418 after beating Jarlath Kilgallon heads-up. Walsh’s victory – his biggest live cash – came after a five-way ICM deal which then morphed into three-handed deal. Kilgallon takes home €18,545. There were 347 entries – well up on last year’s field of 302.…
Championship Event – €550 JP Poker Masters The JP Masters has finished Day 1 with 28 players remaining of the 347 entries – well up on last year’s field of 302. The current chip leader is Marius Ignat on 895k; he faces a tough battle today though – the remaining field includes 2022 Americas Cup winner Mor Kamber, EPT High…
The 2023 Irish Open Main Event is officially the biggest poker tournament ever held in Ireland with a staggering 2,491 entries, creating a €2,428,725 prize pool with €365,000 for the winner. 311 players are cashing here in the record-breaking event; there were 160 players at the start of Day 3. The UK’s Carl Shaw was the chip leader at the…
The Irish Open is known for its eclectic mix of players from all over the world and the 2023 edition is no exception. From Scotland to South Africa, from Iceland to Australia – the Main Event is proving truly multinational. This year’s record-breaking Main Event field hail from nearly 60 countries. To be sure, the majority are home-grown talent. There…
The 2023 Irish Open Main Event is officially the biggest poker tournament ever held in Ireland with a staggering 2,491 entries, creating a €2,428,725 prize pool with €365,000 for the winner. A total of 311 players will get a share of the prize pool, with a min-cash worth €1.975. This year’s field is 22% up on last year’s (already) record-breaking…
Last night’s organised event in the Players Lounge was the PokerStars Corn Hole contest. Up for grabs: two Main Event tickets. Job in hand: throwing little bean bags into a hole. The game of Corn Hole is known by many names*, but very little else about it has changed since its creator Heyliger de Windt first tossed a beanbag into…
If you thought yesterday was busy – with a record-breaking 644 runners in the Main Event, then you’re going to be simply blown away by Day 1c today. People have flown in from all over the world for this one – and, at the time of writing, the field has already soared to over 980 entries. The Irish Open is a…
Bennet-Martin takes down €250 Championship Ladies Event Congrats to Canadian Elizabeth Bennett-Martin who has won the €250 Irish Open Championship Ladies Event for €3,690 after seeing off stiff competition from the 63-runner field. Bennett-Martin first discovered the existence of the Irish Open at the PCA when Nick O’Hara suggested that she try it out, and after a tester trip in…
Dublin is not only the home of the Irish Open, it’s also home to Flutter HQ – the company that owns Irish Open event sponsors PokerStars and Paddy Power. It was thus a no-brainer to give the Flutter folk a chance to have their very own event at the Irish Open. A total of 165 Flutter staff took part in the…
€250 Championship Ladies Event The Ladies event is one of the consistent fixtures on the Irish Open schedule and always attracts a substantial field. This year’s Ladies Event is at 2pm today and features a 15,000 starting stack and 30-minute clock. Among those set to compete is American player Kelly Saxby, who now runs Retail Marketing for MainEventTravel, plus Charlie…
Another cracking day is on offer at the RDS with Day 1b of the €1 million guaranteed Irish Open Main Event starting at noon along with Day 2 of the APAT Irish Amateur Poker Championship (13 players left). The €250 Championship Ladies Event starts at 2pm with a €150 PLO Deepstack currently planned for 6pm and three different Main Event…
Today’s schedule boasts no fewer than five championship events including the finals of the €350 Heads-Up and €5k Luxon Pay High Roller plus the Main Event, the America’s Cup and the APAT Irish Amateur Poker Championship Day 1. >>LIVE UPDATES FOR ALL CHAMPIONSHIP SIDE EVENTS ARE HERE>> Event 10: €5k Luxon Pay High Roller Day 2 The winner of the…
It’s Day 1a of the €1 million guaranteed 2023 Irish Open Main Event and – judging by the huge fields in all the events held so far – this year’s €1,150 buy-in Main Event is going to be a corker. All poker action is now in the spectacular Main Hall of the RDS after two days in (the not-exactly-tiny) Hall 3.…
Day 1 of the Irish Open 2023 is in the bag and players are now filling Hall 3 to capacity for today’s busy roster of Championship events and satellites. (So busy that the €150 PLO Deepstack had to be cancelled.) See schedule here and live updates here. Heads-Up tournament The €350 Heads-up tournament kicked off at 2pm with 64 runners…
Click to download RDS guide PDF The Irish Open – sponsored by PokerStars and Paddy Power – is taking place April 3-10 at the Royal Dublin Society (RDS), a spectacular venue in the Ballsbridge area of Dublin. The €1 million guaranteed Main Event starts on Wednesday, April 5. On April 3 and 4 – the first two days of the Irish Open…
Long after players have forgotten their ignominious departure from the Main Event, or the time they were TOTALLY ROBBED with a one-outer, they will STILL remember the “craic” they had at the Irish Open. The Irish Open has a reputation for being an event where the pain of busting is soothed by the knowledge that you’re about to have a…
The exact schedule for this year’s UKIPT may still be behind wraps but the good news is that players at the Irish Open will be able to get a really good head start on the 2023 UKIPT Leaderboard. PokerStars has announced that, for the first time, this year’s UKIPT Player of the Year Leaderboard will include the Irish Open. Some…
Benny Glaser, one of the UK’s most successful poker players, is heading back to the Irish Open next week for another stab at the Main Event title. Glaser, who holds multiple poker records, was runner-up in the Irish Open High Roller in 2019 as well as running deep in that year’s Main Event. Still only 33, Glaser has an extraordinary…
Players from all over the world will be flocking to Dublin next month to take part in the Irish Open. The annual festival – which is taking place this year from April 3 to 10 at the Royal Dublin Society – is an annual trip that most regulars wouldn’t dream of missing. Last year players from nearly 60 countries took part in…
Danish photographer Mickey May first started covering the Irish Open in 2006. To celebrate next month’s event, we asked her to choose a dozen images from over the years and say a bit about what they mean to her: Vincent Melinn was my first very Irish Open champion! He won the event in 2006 and he was from Ireland too.…
Nottinghamshire poker player Alexandru Talica will be making his first-ever trip to Ireland next month after winning the Irish Open & MainEventTravel’s “Luck of the Irish” competition and snagging a €2,200 Irish Open Main Event prize package. Alex was up against stiff competition in the contest which was run on MainEventTravel.com’s Facebook page to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day this weekend.…
Award-winning poker commentators James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton will be making their Irish Open debut next month and hosting the live stream. Hartigan and Stapes, who are usually found behind the mic at events like PokerStars’ European Poker Tour and the PCA, will be joined in the commentary booth by 2017 Irish Open champion Griffin Benger and Team PokerStars Pro…
The Irish Open is well-known for making sure that pockets don’t get too stretched when it comes to tournament buy-ins. After all, players have got to have something left in their wallets to enjoy the craic at the bar. With that in mind, this year’s Irish Open once again offers up a plentiful choice of tournaments with loads of buy-ins…
If the JP Poker Masters Championship side event at the Irish Open sounds rather grand, don’t let the name put you off! The €550 buy-in event is a really popular tournament and a lot of fun. Part of the fun element dates back to the event’s heritage; it was first held by JP McCann as a stand-alone festival back in…
The Mystery Bounty Championship event made its Irish Open debut last year and was an instant hit with players, attracting more than 180 entries. Mystery Bounty tournaments have become enormously popular over the last few years with almost all the major tours opting to include at least one edition on their festival schedules. Mystery Bounties have been around for…
Irish PokerStars Ambassador Fintan “EasyWithAces” Hand will be competing at this year’s Irish Open – and hosting his own “meet-up” tourney there with fans of his popular Twitch stream. Fintan hails from Dublin and now lives just a 15-minute walk from the Royal Dublin Society venue but, somewhat surprisingly, he has only ever played the Main Event once before. Back in…
This year the Irish Open is hosting a mini-smorgasbord of two-day High Roller events: a €5k tournament on April 4 and a €3k event four days later. High Rollers are increasingly popular at the Irish Open and starting to attract seriously big fields. This year seems likely to break records once again. The history of High Rollers at the Irish…
If you’re Irish, you know all about the “Granny Rule”. It’s how top international footballers were recruited to play for Ireland despite only having the most tenuous of connections to the Emerald Isle. Or, in Tony Cascarino’s case, no connection at all. In his autobiography, Cascarino – who is also a keen poker player – admitted that, despite making a record…
Since 2015, the Liam Flood Memorial tournament has been one of the key Championship tournaments on the Irish Open schedule. The tournament – which is always a six-max and always a turbo – is a favourite with players who appreciate the chance to remember the former Irish Open organiser and poker legend in an annual event. The Irish Open was founded…
If you’re planning to play this year’s Irish Open Heads-Up tournament, then don’t leave it too late before you register. This event is capped at 64 players and almost always sells out! The easiest way to register is with our Official Payment Partner Luxon Pay. The Heads-Up tourney is a stalwart on the Irish Open schedule and involves six rounds…
This year PokerStars and Paddy Power will be breaking records by enabling hundreds of online qualifiers to compete at the Irish Open for as little as … nothing at all. Not since the heady days of the pre-Black Friday World Series of Poker has PokerStars run so many satellites for an external event. It’s a big commitment from the world’s…
The Ladies event is one of the consistent fixtures on the Irish Open schedule and always attracts a substantial field. For some women, it’s a chance to try out live poker for the first time, for others it’s a chance to catch up with old mates. This year’s Ladies Event at the Irish Open is taking place on Thursday, April…
As our Official Travel Partner, MainEventTravel.com is always hot on finding the best deals for all our players and has negotiated great room rates at the Clayton Hotel Ballsbridge. This is one of the finest 4-star hotels in South Dublin and lies just four minutes’ walk from this year’s Irish Open venue at the Royal Dublin Society. Set in a…
One of players’ favourite events on the Irish Open calendar is The Hendon Mob Championship, a one-day, €250 buy-in Hold’em affair taking place this year on April 4. THMC is one of nearly a dozen Championship tournaments being held at the Irish Open this year but – thanks to its association with the world-renowned Hendon Mob database, and the original Hendon…
Thanks to our partnership with MainEventTravel.com, we have a load of hotel deals for this year’s Irish Open. A particular gem is the Herbert Park, a gorgeous hotel that lies just a stone’s throw from this year’s Royal Dublin Society venue. MainEventTravel’s special offers at the Herbert Park include a €2,309 deal for five nights and that includes your €1,150…
Barny Boatman has only missed one Irish Open in the last 22 years. Apart from a time when he was living in Madrid and couldn’t get a flight, the legendary Londoner and former Hendon Mobster has played every single live Irish Open Main Event since 2000. The year 2000 was also when The Hendon Mob really got going. The group…
Thousands of poker players from all over the world will be making their annual pilgrimage to Dublin in a couple of months to take part in the Irish Poker Open. The €1 million guaranteed event – which is taking place at the Royal Dublin Society from April 3 to April 10 – is considered an absolute must on the international…
It’s now ten years since Ian Simpson won the Irish Poker Open in Dublin for a monster cash of €265,000. It was a moment that means a lot more to him though than just a tournament title because – only minutes after lifting the trophy aloft – Ian got down on bended knee and proposed to his then-girlfriend Emma. Who, of course,…
Legendary poker player and 2022 Irish Open champion Steve O’Dwyer will be competing at this year’s tournament to defend his Main Event title. O’Dwyer, who has lived in Dublin for over ten years, won a stunning victory in the city last year when he smashed through a field of more than 2,000 entries to take down the €1,150 buy-in event.…
Every year hundreds of Canadians make their way to Dublin to compete in the Irish Poker Open. It’s an annual migration that many of them wouldn’t miss for the world – and they rank the event their favourite overseas tournament. For Canadians, the Irish Open is all about the “craic” – getting together with old friends, making new friends, listening to…
Satellites are now up and running on the iPoker network for April’s €1,150 buy-in Irish Poker Open Main Event. The network is providing a huge selection of feeders – from as little as €0.50 – into direct qualifiers that will be running multiple times a day. Both seat-only tickets and full €2,250 packages are up for grabs. The iPoker provision means…
Poker presenter Laura Cornelius has hosted the Irish Open more times than she can count but it was last year’s winner interview with poker legend Steve O’Dwyer that has had the biggest impact on her. O’Dwyer, who has won more than $33 million in live tournaments and has more than 30 victories to his name, is normally a reserved and…
Hendon Mob co-founder Joe Beevers loves the Irish Open – and not just because he’s a former champion. The Hertfordshire-based player has been a regular for decades and – back in the day – attended the event every year with his fellow Hendon Mobsters Ram Vaswami, Barny Boatman and Ross Boatman. This year’s festival is running April 3-10 at the Royal Dublin Society…
Irish Open satellites are now live on PokerStars with at least 23 entries to April’s Main Event guaranteed every single week. The PokerStars schedule is one of the biggest satellite programmes that the site has ever run and guarantees that hundreds of players will win seats – or full prize packages – to the event. The Irish Open is the longest-running No…
Popular poker presenter Laura Cornelius will be back in Dublin this April in her linchpin role as host for the Irish Poker Open. The former PokerNews presenter plays a leading role at the festival – introducing the action as well as interviewing players, chatting to event winners, and reporting on all the fun and excitement at the tournament. Click below…
PokerStars is ringing in the New Year by launching a massive schedule of satellites for the Irish Poker Open – starting on January 1 and running right up to the night before the €1 million guaranteed event kicks off in April. The PokerStars schedule is one of the biggest satellite programmes that the site has ever run and guarantees that hundreds…
Paddy Power will certainly be spreading the love this Christmas with a bunch of seats into next year’s €1 million guaranteed Irish Poker Open Main Event up for grabs. The popular site is playing Santa throughout the holiday period with three online qualifiers including a special satellite on December 28 with five €1,150 seats guaranteed. Tomorrow, on Christmas Day, there’s…
Welcome to Chris Dowling, first Irish Poker Open Ambassador! The Irish Poker Open is delighted to announce that Chris Dowling has become our very first Ambassador and is ready to spread the word about the festival far and wide. Chris’s role will be to raise awareness of the Irish Poker Open both at home in Ireland and overseas, and help…
Online satellites are running now for the €1 million guaranteed Main Event at next year’s Irish Poker Open. The festival, the longest-running No Limit Hold’em tournament in the world outside of Vegas, is taking place in April 2023 at the historic Royal Dublin Society. The Irish Poker Open has a long association with the world’s biggest online poker operators and…
Through MainEventTravel.com, the 2023 Irish Poker Open is offering exclusive deals at Herbert Park, the Clayton Ballsbridge, and the Maldron Hotel. The partnership with MainEventTravel.com also means that players can book their accommodation, flights, and Main Event buy-ins all in one place.
The Irish Open has a brand new home for 2023 with the eight-day festival taking place at the Royal Dublin Society in Ballsbridge, Dublin for the first time.
The Irish Poker Open main event returned to the live felt in 2022, after two years of being held online during the pandemic. There was apparently plenty of pent-up demand for live action, as the €1,150 buy-in no-limit hold’em event attracted a record live field of 2,040 entries to the Citywest Hotel in Dublin to build a prize pool of…
After a two-year hiatus, the Irish Poker Open, one of Europe’s most popular poker tournaments, will be back in April with an eight-day festival at CityWest in Dublin. For many poker players, the Irish Open is their favourite tournament of the year. With its legendary atmosphere and a raft of exciting tournaments, the Irish Open always offers players a terrific…