Irish Open headline sponsor PokerStars is set to launch a huge schedule of satellites for next year’s €2.5 million guaranteed Main Event, starting on November 16 and running right up to Sunday, March 29.
The partnership with PokerStars has been fantastic for would-be qualifiers with more than 830 seats generated on PokerStars for this year’s Main Event, including 86 players who took part after winning a PokerStars Power Path Silver Pass.
The PokerStars satellites guarantee that hundreds of players will win seats or packages to next year’s Irish Open which is taking place March 26 to April 6 at the historic Royal Dublin Society.
Qualifiers four times a week on Stars
On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, PokerStars is hosting €109 qualifiers with four seats guaranteed. Feeder satellites will start from as little as €1.10. A bumper qualifier – with eight €1,500 packages guaranteed – will take place every Sunday. The packages include the €1,150 entry buy-in plus extra cash to go towards expenses. Nearer the time, PokerStars will also be hosting a series of Mega Sats with 25 seats guaranteed. Satellites will run on PokerStars.com plus regional sites including PokerStars.it, .fr and .es
One of this year’s qualifiers was former champion David Docherty who won €365,000 in 2023 after snagging his entry in a €109 qualifier. He said: “In the last three years, I’ve actually fired 12 bullets at the Main Event and ALL of them were online satellite tickets! The Irish Open online satellites are a great way for recreational players to fund a great weekend at a prestigious event for cheap – or for professional players to keep their costs down. There are so many seats available that winning one shouldn’t be seen as out of reach for anyone. Give them a shot and hopefully I’ll see you in Dublin next year!”
Qualifiers winning big at 2025 Irish Open
Overall, nearly 200 qualifiers made the money in the 2025 Main Event, winning well over €1 million between them. This included 22 players who had won themselves a $2,500 Silver Pass prize package after navigating their way through PokerStars’ Power Path, kicking off with a $0.50 Step 1 Spin & Go.
The last qualifier standing was British player Brandon Harris who scored his biggest live cash by far when he finished sixth for €100,000. Harris made good use of his time in Dublin, also cashing in the €350 NLH 6-Max Championship and the Mini Irish Open. Two other PokerStars qualifiers made the final table: Panteleimon Pontos from Greece, who was seventh for €77,500 and Romania’s Robert Fluereci who was eighth for €59,030.
Nick Newport is a serial qualifier who has already urged would-be entrants to play the online satellites and will likely be among the very earliest entrants when satellites get underway on PokerStars. He said: “It just makes sense to play satellites! They tend to be a little bit softer than regular tournaments and it’s a great way to get into bigger buy-in tournaments for cheap.”
Winning multiple tickets
Players can win multiple tickets for the Main Event. The first ticket is a MUST play but all further tickets will be credited as ‘players choice’ tickets and can be used in various ways – including as re-entries for the Main Event, entry to the numerous €1,150 events on offer or combined to be used for one of the bigger buy-in events. Snagging a Power Path silver pass – which awards $2,500 worth of buy-ins – is another great way to win your way into the richest poker tournament in Ireland.
Cedric Billot, Associate Director of Live Events at PokerStars, said, “We are delighted to continue our highly successful collaboration with the Irish Open for a fourth year running. The Irish Open exemplifies the very best of live poker and offers an unforgettable experience. Nothing beats the community spirit at this multi-award-winning festival and we are looking forward to keeping the buzz going for 2026 and welcoming our numerous online qualifiers to next year’s event.”
Event organiser Paul O’Reilly said: “This year we broke records YET AGAIN and that’s certainly down to our amazing partnership with PokerStars. PokerStars offers players so many options, with a great mix of seat-only and full prize. Just take our 2023 champion – David Docherty won his ticket online for $109 and turned it into a huge €365,000 first prize so it definitely pays to try to win your way into the event and experience the Irish Open craic.”
The Irish Open, which won Best Standalone Festival at the Global Poker Awards in February and the SiGMA award for Best Live Poker Event in September, is the longest-running No Limit poker tournament in Europe. As well as the €2.5 million guaranteed €1,150 Main Event, next year’s schedule also includes the €1,000,000 guaranteed Mini Irish Open and the €1,000,000 guaranteed Luxon Pay Mystery Bounty which made its debut this year and instantly became the biggest Mystery Bounty ever held in Ireland. Click here for the full 2026 schedule.
