On-line satellites for the Irish Open 2026 are dwell far sooner than common, with seats beginning at €1 and freerolls on choose platforms.
PokerStars, Paddy Energy, and a broad lineup of iPoker skins have confirmed weekly seat ensures throughout Predominant Occasion and chosen facet occasions.
Organizers goal to prime the document participation of the 2025 version when greater than 1,300 gamers certified on-line and the Predominant Occasion set new highs for entries and prize cash.
How one can qualify on-line for 2026
PokerStars will award seats beginning November 17 and plans at the very least 4 qualifier runs every week, guaranteeing dozens of packages throughout the month. iPoker community manufacturers start qualifiers on November 10, with frequent seat feeders scheduled nearly each different day. Paddy Energy will comply with later this month and can be rolling out freerolls.
The push comes after a breakout 12 months for on-line pathways. The 2025 sequence noticed greater than 1,200 Predominant Occasion seats gained on PokerStars and iPoker mixed, with practically 200 qualifiers cashing. These performances translated into over €14.7 million in complete prizes throughout the pageant.
Flutter’s poker portfolio will once more be central to the marketing campaign. PokerStars and Paddy Energy return as headline sponsors in 2026, with Betfair and Sky Poker set to hitch the satellite tv for pc rollout by 12 months finish. That continuity mirrors different early dwell bulletins, as PokerStars confirmed its 2026 tour stops, together with a March slot for Irish Open.
Entry factors begin at €1, with broad ladders and direct seat qualifiers featured on each ecosystems. Paddy Energy’s freerolls add a zero value route, an interesting choice after final 12 months’s on-line qualifiers booked seven determine mixed cashes within the Predominant Occasion alone.
Larger schedule, larger ambitions
Irish Open 2026 runs March 26 to April 6 on the Royal Dublin Society in Dublin, Eire. The pageant expands to 86 occasions, up from 60, with an eye fixed on contemporary codecs alongside returning crowd favorites.
The €1,150 Predominant Occasion carries a €2.5 million assure. A €1,150 Luxon Pay Thriller Bounty ensures €1 million. The €250 Mini Irish Open additionally boasts a €1 million assure, following its document subject final spring.
Organizers are including extra combined video games and novelty codecs. Debuts in Eire embody a Combined 8 Sport Championship Excessive Curler, a brand new Girls Excessive Curler, and a 5 Card PLO. Neighborhood centric fixtures return, together with APAT and devoted occasions for Deaf gamers after a robust displaying in 2025.
A number of tournaments nod to WSOP improvements and popularized on-line codecs. Kings and Queens will stability entrants throughout ladies and men on separate flights. Outdated Canines and Younger Pups splits the sector by age group, echoing the WSOP Battle of the Ages. A quick paced Flip and Go, impressed by WSOP and GGPoker’s idea, traces its dwell lineage to the format first detailed within the 2021 WSOP schedule.
The lineup additionally options Sviten Particular and Cuatro Knockout, the 4 means bounty format that gained traction after its EPT Barcelona debut. Selection has been a core driver of progress and might be outstanding once more throughout the 12 day slate.
Momentum from a document breaking 2025
Final 12 months’s Irish Open set new marks throughout the board. The €1,150 Predominant Occasion reached 4,562 entries and a €4.45 million prize pool. The Mini Irish Open grew to become the most important poker event ever held in Eire.
A complete of 26,474 entries generated practically €14.8 million awarded, with on-line qualifiers contributing materially at each stage. PokerStars despatched greater than 800 on-line gamers to the Predominant Occasion. iPoker contributed over 450. Virtually 200 qualifiers cashed and collectively booked greater than €1 million from the Predominant Occasion alone.
That pipeline started months prematurely and is being replicated earlier for 2026. PokerStars’ weekly cadence and iPoker’s close to every day seat feeders are designed to easy demand and construct a broader base of qualifiers throughout Europe and past.
Sponsorship stability helps too. PokerStars and Paddy Energy have shared headline billing for 3 consecutive years and return in 2026. Their involvement coincides with broader plans for PokerStars LIVE subsequent 12 months, the place the operator set EPT Paris for February and mapped out a spring run that dovetails into Dublin.
Key Irish Open 2026 particulars at a look
Predominant venue
Royal Dublin Society, Ballsbridge
Pageant dates
March 26 to April 6, 2026
Whole occasions
86 scheduled tournaments
Predominant Occasion
€1,150 purchase in, €2.5 million assure
Thriller Bounty
€1,150 purchase in, €1 million assure
Mini Irish Open
€250 purchase in, €1 million assure
Satellite tv for pc begin dates
iPoker November 10. PokerStars November 17. Paddy Energy late November
Purchase in paths
From €1 on all platforms. Freerolls on Paddy Energy
Sponsors
PokerStars and Paddy Energy as headline sponsors
Early satellite tv for pc entry provides gamers an extended runway to plan a seat, decide codecs, and goal for particular dates on the schedule.
The pageant expects one other surge in demand as new codecs and expanded combined sport choices go dwell.
With qualifiers now working, the highway to Dublin begins this month and continues by way of the winter towards opening day on March 26.













