The Irish Poker Open

The Irish Open is the world’s second oldest poker tournament. One of the most important tournaments in Europe, the Irish Open attracts some of the biggest entry fields in European Poker and can therefore boast some of the biggest cash prizes for main event winners.

Irish Poker Open History

The first Irish Open was organised in 1981 by Irish bookmaker Terry Rogers, an associate of World Series of Poker founder Benny Binion. For nearly two decades the tournament was held annually at the Eccentric Club in Dublin over the Easter Weekend. In 1999 Terry Rogers passed away, and Irish bookmaker Paddy Power took over sponsorship of the event.

With the backing of a major bookmaker and online poker presence, the Irish Open entered a period of rapid growth. The Irish Open moved to the Merrion Casino shortly after Rogers’ death, but within a few years had begun to attract so many entries that it was forced to move to the larger Ballsbridge Hotel.

At present the Irish Open is hosted at the Burlington Hotel. The tournament prize money has grown as entries have increased, with the guaranteed prize now well in excess of a million Euros. Despite the popularity of the tournament, it still manages to draw a strong British presence with Irish players regularly taking a number of seats at the final table.

Irish Poker Open Format

The Irish Open tournament is a No Limit Texas Hold ‘em event. The number of entries is restricted to 1000 players, with can qualify either through a €4,500 buy-in or a by winning an online satellite tournament with Paddy Power.

Irish Poker Open Winners

2008 Neil Channing
2007 Marty Smyth
2006 Vincent Melinn
2005 John Falconer
2004 Ivan Donaghy
2003 Joe Beevers