The Irish Poker Open 2026 is likely one of the most spectacular poker festivals in Europe, with organizers confirming the return of this iconic occasion to the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) from March 26 to April 6, 2026. Referred to as the longest-running No-Restrict Texas Maintain’em match outdoors of Las Vegas, the Irish Open combines world-class poker with the unrivaled spirit of Irish hospitality.
This yr’s pageant guarantees to be the most important but, with 86 occasions on the schedule — 17 greater than in 2025 — together with record-breaking prize swimming pools throughout headline tournaments.
Highlights embody the €2,500,000 assured Major Occasion and the €1,000,000 assured Mini Irish Open.
The €1,000,000 assured Luxon Pay Thriller Bounty will even make a return. It debuted in 2025 and have become the most important Thriller Bounty ever held in Eire.
Anticipate Irish Poker Open on-line qualifiers to return quickly to PokerStars.
IPO 2026 Overview
The Irish Poker Open 2026 is shaping as much as be the most important version in its 46-year historical past, that includes:
A report 86-event schedule
€2.5 million assured Major Occasion
Widespread aspect occasions just like the Mini Irish Open and Luxon Pay Thriller Bounty
On-line qualifiers by PokerStars and Paddy Energy Poker
Combining world-class poker with Irish hospitality and leisure, the pageant continues to honor its legacy whereas setting new data. For professionals, leisure gamers, and followers alike, the Irish Poker Open stays a spotlight of the worldwide poker calendar.
2026 Irish Poker Open Highlights
The 2026 schedule is stacked with a mixture of returning favorites and thrilling new codecs designed to maintain the motion fierce from begin to end. Headline tournaments embody:
Major Occasion: €2,500,000 Assured
The crown jewel of the Irish Poker Open. In 2025, the Major Occasion drew 4,562 entries and generated a record-breaking €4,447,950 prize pool, making it the richest poker match ever held in Eire. With a good larger assure this yr, expectations are excessive for one more historic turnout.
Mini Irish Open: €1,000,000 Assured
A fan-favorite occasion that delivers large worth for a modest buy-in. The Mini Irish Open has change into one of the vital accessible methods for gamers to expertise the fun of a serious worldwide match.
Luxon Pay Thriller Bounty: €1,000,000 Assured
Launched in 2025, this immediately turned the biggest Thriller Bounty match in Irish historical past. It returns in 2026 with a €1M assure and guarantees excessive drama as gamers hunt for large bounties alongside match glory.
Aspect Occasions & Championships
The expanded schedule contains standard codecs resembling Pot Restrict Omaha (PLO), Excessive Curler occasions, Heads-Up Championships, Women Championship, Seniors Occasions, and blended video games. With 86 occasions in whole, there’s one thing for each sort of poker participant.
The Craic Den
Extra than simply poker, the pageant is thought for its legendary leisure hub, the Craic Den, the place gamers and followers collect nightly for reside music, events, and the famously heat Irish ambiance.
Irish Poker Open On-line Satellites & Partnerships
The Irish Open owes a lot of its worldwide success to its key partnerships with PokerStars, Paddy Energy, and the iPoker Community. These companions will as soon as once more supply intensive on-line qualification routes. In 2025, greater than 1,300 gamers secured their seats by on-line satellites, many turning small buy-ins into possibilities at six-figure scores.
For 2026, on-line satellites kick off on PokerStars on November 16, 2025, giving gamers months of alternatives to safe their spot.
“The Irish Open exemplifies the easiest of reside poker and gives an unforgettable expertise,” Cedric Billot, Affiliate Director of Dwell Occasions at PokerStars stated by way of press launch. “Nothing beats the group spirit at this multi-award-winning pageant, and we’re wanting ahead to conserving the excitement going for 2026 and welcoming our quite a few on-line qualifiers.”
What Gamers Can Anticipate in 2026
The Irish Poker Open has all the time been greater than a poker pageant—it’s an expertise steeped in custom, camaraderie, and enjoyable. In 2026, gamers can count on:
File-Breaking Numbers: With expanded ensures and extra occasions, organizers are aiming for the biggest Irish Open in historical past.
Competition Environment: Every day leisure, social occasions, and the Craic Den make the Irish Open as a lot about group as competitors.
Number of Codecs: From big-field freezeouts to area of interest codecs like PLO and blended video games, the 2026 schedule caters to each enjoying type.
International Participant Pool: 1000’s of worldwide gamers journey to Dublin every spring, making it one of the vital numerous poker occasions in Europe.
Paul O’Reilly, one of many occasion’s long-time organizers, emphasised this custom:
“The Irish Open has all the time been about extra than simply playing cards and chips — it’s a convention, a gathering and a large annual celebration of the sport all of us love. We’ve been breaking data yearly and goal to make 2026 larger and higher than ever earlier than.”
The Historical past of the Irish Poker Open
The Irish Poker Open has a storied historical past relationship again to 1980, when it was based by bookmaker Terry Rogers. Impressed by the World Collection of Poker in Las Vegas, Rogers introduced the format to Dublin, creating a novel mix of aggressive poker and Irish hospitality that has endured for over 4 many years.
Key moments in its historical past embody:
First Main European No-Restrict Maintain’em Occasion: The Irish Open was the primary of its variety outdoors of Las Vegas.
Attracting Legends: The pageant has welcomed poker greats resembling Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, and Phil Hellmuth over time.
A Rising Legacy: From modest beginnings, the occasion has grown right into a pageant with tens of hundreds of entries and multi-million-euro prize swimming pools.
At this time, the Irish Poker Open stays Europe’s oldest poker pageant and one of many continent’s most prestigious poker traditions.
Wanting Again: The 2025 Irish Poker Open
The 2025 pageant set a brand new benchmark for reside poker in Eire:
69 occasions on schedule
25,000+ entries throughout the sequence
€14.5 Million+ in whole prize swimming pools
File major occasion: 4,562 entries, €4,447,950 prize pool
Along with record-breaking fields, the pageant collected accolades, together with:
Greatest Stand-Alone Competition on the International Poker Awards (Feb 2025)
Greatest Dwell Poker Occasion on the SiGMA Awards (Sept 2025)
The introduction of the Luxon Pay Thriller Bounty and report numbers within the Major Occasion solidified the Irish Open’s repute as a must-play international poker pageant.
Irish Open Open FAQ 2026
When will the Irish Poker Open run in 2026?
The Irish Poker Open in partnership with PokerStars and PaddyPower returns March 26 to April 6, 2026.
The place is the IPO being held in 2026?
The Irish Poker Open is being held at Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, Eire.
Does the Irish Poker Open return to Dublin subsequent yr?
Sure it does! The pageant will run March 26 to April 6, 2026.
Can I qualify on-line to the IPO 2026?
Sure you possibly can! On-line qualifiers begin on PokerStars in November 2025.
Who’s sponsoring the Irish Poker Open 2026?
PokerStars and Paddy Energy are as soon as once more supporting the IPO with headline sponsorship for 2026.
Can I win my strategy to the Irish Poker Open 2026?
On-line satellites and qualifying routes will open up on PokerStars from November 2025.
Will there be packages given away to the 2026 IPO?
Packages to the IPO will likely be given away on PokerStars, Paddy Energy and little doubt throughout the iPoker Community.
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