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UKIPT Leaderboard points for Irish Open players

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…

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Here, there and everywhere – the cosmopolitan mix of the Irish Open

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…

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Mickey May celebrates 17 years of the Irish Open

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.…

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Talica to compete in Irish Open Main Event after winning €2,200 MainEventTravel competition

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.…

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“Everyone loves a chop pot” – Hartigan and Stapes to host Irish Open 2023 live stream

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…

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The 2023 Irish Open schedule – something for everyone!

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…

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Irish Open 2023 highlights: JP Poker Masters, April 8

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…

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Irish Open 2023 highlights: Mystery Bounties, April 9 and April 10

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…

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EasyWithAces: PokerStars Team Pro Fintan Hand heading to 2023 Irish Open

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…

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Irish Open 2023 highlights: The America’s Cup, April 5

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…

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Irish Open 2023 highlights: The Liam Flood Memorial, April 9

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…

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Irish Open 2023 highlights: The €350 buy-in Heads-Up tournament, April 4

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…

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PokerStars sending hundreds of qualifiers to Irish Open

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…

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Irish Open 2023 highlights: The €250 buy-in Ladies Event, April 6

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…

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Exclusive rates at the 4* Clayton Hotel Ballsbridge

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…

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Irish Open 2023 highlights: The Hendon Mob Championship, April 4

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…

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Herbert Park – the ideal place to stay for this year’s Irish Open

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…

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Barny Boatman on the Irish Open: “It’s like coming home for Christmas”

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…

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The Irish Poker Open’s illustrious past

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…

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Aiming deep for 2023: Ian Simpson celebrates ten years since his Irish Open victory

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,…

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Steve O’Dwyer to defend title at Irish Open 2023

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.…

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Canucks galore – why Canadians fly more than 3,000 miles to compete at the Irish Open

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…

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Satellites get going on iPoker; feeders as little as €0.50

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…

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Steve O’Dwyer: the interview that moved Laura Cornelius to tears  …

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…

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How the Hendon Mob set up the world’s first poker tournament live stream at the 2003 Irish Open

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…

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PokerStars Irish Open satellites go live

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…

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PokerStars to launch huge schedule of Irish Open satellites

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…

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Paddy Power plays Santa with Irish Open satellites over holiday period

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…

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Welcome to Chris Dowling, first Irish Poker Open Ambassador!

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…

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Satellites underway for Irish Poker Open

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…

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Irish Open appoints MainEventTravel.com

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.

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Irish Open heads to a new venue for 2023

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.

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Steve O’Dwyer wins Irish Open 2022 for €318,700

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…

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Dates set for legendary Irish Open 2022

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…

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