Irish Open Braces for Impact as Starting Flight Survivors Combine

A total of 1,236 players will return to the Royal Dublin Society today for Day 2 of the €1,250 Main Event at the 2026 Irish Open, each chasing a deep run and the chance to etch their name into Irish poker folklore.

Sponsored by PokerStars and Paddy Power Poker, play resumes at 12:00 p.m. local time following five action-packed starting flights that drew a record-breaking 5,003 entries.

The massive turnout pushed the prize pool to a remarkable €4,852,910, comfortably surpassing the €2,500,000 guarantee and marking a huge success for the Irish Poker Open and its organisers.

In a tightly contested leaderboard, where less than 30 big blinds separate the top seven stacks, it is Kristian Svanbom who will return later today as the chip leader. The Swede topped the charts of Day 1d, the busiest of all five flights, and will start the day with 150 big blinds.

Rounding out the podium is Day 1b chip leader Lawrence Penfold with 796,000, followed closely by Massimiliano Cordeschi, carrying 773,000 from the opening Day 1a flight.

Notably, Alexander Rizvi (748,000) and Alex Todd (746,000) each advanced from Day 1c, having ended their flight with just a single big blind between them. Their efforts see them return fourth and fifth on the leaderboard heading into today.

Top Ten Chip Counts

Rank	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Kristian Svanbom	Sweden	899,000	150
2	Lawrence Penfold	United Kingdom	796,000	133
3	Massimiliano Cordeschi	Italy	773,000	129
4	Alexander Rizvi	United Kingdom	748,000	125
5	Alex Todd	United Kingdom	746,000	124
6	Glenn Cochrane	United Kingdom	740,000	123
7	Jiri Kocab	Czechia	731,000	122
8	Abel Pruchon	France	666,000	111
9	Fraser Bellamy	United Kingdom	665,000	111
10	Florian Bock	Germany	655,000	109

Entry to Day 2 doesn’t require you to be a chip leader, though, and there are plenty of players further down the leaderboard with an abundance of experience in poker's big occasions.   

Players such as former champion Ian Simpson (554,000), Matthew Davenport (477,000), Will Kassouf (468,000), PokerStars Team Pro member David Lappin (296,000) and reigning champion Simon Wilson (261,000) all found their way through their respective flights to ensure they are among the action when cards are in the air.   

Kicking off at noon local time, Day 2 is scheduled to resume on Level 16, with blinds of 3,000/ 6,000 and a big blind ante of 6,000. The plan is to play 10 hour-long levels, with play for the day ending at the conclusion of Level 25. At that point, the remaining players will bag their chips and progress to Day 3.