The Irish Open has officially landed in Sydney, and after three days of action at Poker Palace, the first ever Irish Open Sydney festival is now officially in the history books.
The A$360 Mini Irish Open and A$880 Lucky 8’s opening flights were scheduled for the opening days, and players have been battling it out in these events, while satellites have also been running for the massive A$1,000,000 GTD Main Event.
JP McCann and the Irish Open crew are having an absolute blast Down Under, and it’s safe to say the Poker Palace team has pulled out all the stops to make the event shine from day one. With green everywhere you look, walking through the venue almost feels like being back in Dublin!
The Mini Irish Open Gets Underway
The first major event to get the cards in the air was the A$360 Mini Irish Open, which comes with a huge A$500,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Three starting flights have now been completed, with Day 1A attracting 92 entries, Day 1B bringing in 93 entries, and Day 1C producing another 107 entries.
That gives the Mini Irish Open 292 entries across the first three flights, with plenty more starting flights still to come.
Mini Irish Open – Chipcounts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oliver Corrie | 2.4M |
| 2 | Majid Saab | 1.79M |
| 3 | Soumen Sen | 1.35M |
| 4 | Gregory Natale | 1.19M |
| 5 | Lawrence A Lowe | 1.14M |
| 6 | Justin Huang | 1.11M |
| 7 | James Lai | 925K |
| 8 | Anthony Eramya | 755K |
| 9 | Wyn Pham | 705K |
| 10 | Pranav Bhatt | 690K |
| 11 | Thai Vo | 625K |
| 12 | Todd O’Kelly | 570K |
| 13 | Jhye Kelley | 560K |
| 14 | Daniel Tolomeo | 405K |
| 15 | Johnel Guinto | 390K |
Oliver Corrie currently sits at the top of the early leaderboard with a monster 2.4 million, putting him well clear of the chasing pack. Gregory Natale, Majib Saab, and Lawrence Lowe are also comfortably into seven figures, while Justin Huang has also crossed the million-chip mark.
There is still plenty of time for the leaderboard to change, however, with further flights (8 left to play) giving players the opportunity to build their stacks and secure their place in Day 2, which takes place on Friday, September 11.
>> Check out the full tournament schedule for Irish Open Sydney 2026
It is also worth noting that all players are already in the money. While 15% of the field is paid in each Day 1, play continues until just 5% remain and these players advance to Day 2.
Lucky 8’s Joins The Action
Wednesday also saw the start of the A$880 Lucky 8’s, which comes with a A$250,000 guaranteed prize pool.
The opening Day 1A attracted 45 entries, with 15 players advancing to the next stage.
It was Giovanna Nocera who emerged with the biggest stack from the first flight, finishing with an impressive 954,000 chips.
Lucky 8’s Day 1A – Chipcounts
| Player | Chips |
|---|---|
| Giovanna Nocera | 954K |
| Altanbagana Tumurbaatar | 316K |
| Andrew Harvey | 304.5K |
| Michael Kanaan | 279.5K |
| Nicholas Lee | 257.5K |
| Kan Liu | 230.5K |
| Pranav Bhatt | 219K |
| Majid Saab | 160K |
| Gavin Ogilvy | 147K |
| Jim Pizanias | 145K |
| Liwei Chi | 143K |
| Adrian Buttery | 141K |
| Steven Yahko | 111.5K |
| Zheqi Wang | 106K |
| Kai Zhou | 91.5K |
Nocera’s 954,000 gives her a sizeable lead after the opening flight, with Tumurbaatar and Harvey the only other players above the 300K mark.
There are still more flights to come in the Lucky 8’s, so those 15 players will have plenty of company before the tournament reaches its final stages.
Interestingly, there is some crossover between the two early leaderboards.
Both Pranav Bhatt and Majid Saab have already put themselves in strong positions in both events, with Saab particularly enjoying an excellent opening few days.
The Satellites Are Already Sending Players Towards The Main Event
Away from the two headline early tournaments, there has also been plenty of satellite action taking place at Poker Palace.
With the A$2,000 Irish Open Sydney Main Event carrying a massive A$1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool, there has been no shortage of players looking for a cheaper route into the firecracker of Irish Open Sydney.
The satellite tables have already been busy, with players fighting for their chance to join the field and take their shot at what promises to be one of the biggest poker tournaments ever held in Australia. Make sure to follow our social media channels, so you won’t miss a single moment of the Main Event!
The Craic Den Kicking Off Soon
The Craic Den, our world renowned players’ lounge, is the true heartbeat of the Irish Open in Dublin. When we bring the Craic Den to Sydney, we want to keep that same atmosphere, energy and sense of fun alive.
With plenty planned, including live music, Beer Pong, Banging Bingo and Quid Games to name just a few, there’s something for everyone to get involved in. And most importantly, the host of the Craic Den in Dublin, our very own Phil Baker, has also made his way Down Under and is ready to give our Australian friends a slice of Ireland in its truest Craic Den form!
Of course, we couldn’t let the Craic Den arrive unnoticed, so we’re kicking things off in true Irish style with an incredible live Irish band on Friday night!
Sydney Has Arrived
The first three days Down Under have given us a great taste of what is to come – and with the Main Event still waiting in line and the Craic Den ready to rock, things are only going to get better.
The Irish Open Sydney marks the first time our event has travelled outside Europe, bringing the Irish Open experience to Poker Palace in Sydney.
There is still a huge amount of poker to be played, but the opening days have already delivered exactly what you would expect from an Irish Open festival: plenty of tables, plenty of chips and plenty of players looking to write their own piece of Irish Open history.
