€1,150 Main Event Day 1de | 2026 Irish Open

04-03-2026 19:03 UTC+1

After 46 Successful Years the Irish Poker Open is Going International; 3 New Stops Announced

Chad Holloway

Level 9 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

The longest-running poker tournament outside of Las Vegas is the Irish Poker Open (IPO), which debuted in Dublin back in 1980. Now, for the very first time, after 46 years, the IPO is expanding to an international stage.

The current IPO kicked off back on March 26 and will run through the weekend, wrapping up on April 6. On Friday night, organizers took the opportunity to make a splash with the announcement of three international Irish Poker Open destinations set to debut across 2026–2027.

The announcement revealed IPO stops in Australia, Marrakech, and the United States.

Sydney gets the first international Irish Open with a 10-day festival at the Poker Palace from September 6–15 featuring numerous tournaments, including a $2,000 buy-in, $1 million guaranteed Main Event.
Marrakech will host the second overseas stop, November 10-15, with a six-day event at the glamorous Casino de Marrakech featuring a €1,150 buy-in, €500,000 guaranteed Main Event.
USA – the third stop is being planned for one of North America’s most prestigious poker venues, though the exact location is still a mystery. The Irish Open’s United States debut is set for 2027, with full details to be announced soon.

Here’s a look at the official announcement that was shown to players in the tournament room. The video is the opening act of a longer documentary, which will be released shortly after this year’s IPO festival.

Click here for more information regarding the big announcement!

04-03-2026 19:02 UTC+1

Field Sends Wietse to the Rail

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Stewart Morrison

Level 9 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

On a flop of 4♣J♦Q♣, small blind Hasper Wietse put 10,000 into the middle, adding to the already substantial 25,000 in the pot. Joseph Field then moved all in from the big blind, and, after taking some time to consider, Wietse called, putting himself at risk.

Hasper Wietse: Q♥10♣ All in
Joseph Field: A♥A♣

The 3♥ river was no help to Wietse, seeing his stack of roughly 40,000 pushed one seat to his left as he headed away from the tournament area.

Player	Chips	Progress
Joseph Field	140,000
Hasper Wietse	Busted

Tags: Joseph Field Hasper Wietse

04-03-2026 19:01 UTC+1

John Bell

170,000 58,000

Table 15Seat 4

04-03-2026 18:53 UTC+1

MacKenzie Trending Back in the Right Direction

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Stewart Morrison

Level 9 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Andrew MacKenzie opened to 2,500 from early position, with only Thijs Dirkzwager calling in the big blind.

Both players checked on the A♠7♦7♣ flop, and when MacKenzie opted for the delayed continuation bet, his 3,000 wager was enough to shake Dirkzwager off the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Andrew MacKenzie	136,000 9,000	9,000
Thijs Dirkzwager	45,500 45,500	45,500

Tags: Andrew MacKenzie Thijs Dirkzwager

04-03-2026 18:53 UTC+1

Sanz Flipped Out

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Frank Visser

Level 9 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Mats Viking opened under the gun to 3,000. Edwin Roycroft made it 9,000 to go in the next seat over, after which the action folded to PokerStars ambassador Guillermo Sanz in the big blind.

Sanz thought for a moment before moving all in for 42,500. Viking quickly folded, but Roycroft snap-called with the covering stack.

Guillermo Sanz: A♥K♦ All in
Edwin Roycroft: Q♦Q♣

Sanz increased his outs on the 7♦6♦10♦ flop, but Roycroft's queen reigned supreme on the 6♣ turn and 9♣ runout to set Sanz's fate in stone.

Player	Chips	Progress
Tahar Said	240,000 25,600	25,600
Mats Viking	140,000
Edwin Roycroft	97,500
Guillermo Sanz	Busted

Tags: Edwin Roycroft Guillermo Sanz Mats Viking

04-03-2026 18:45 UTC+1

Ins and Outs

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Frank Visser

Level 9 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Jamie Sequeira	50,000 50,000	50,000
Kully Sidhu	50,000
Kelly Slay	Busted
Tobias ten Napel	Busted
Bixi Yao	Busted
Quinten Spyckerelle	Busted
Ludovic Geilich	Busted
Soraya Estrada	Busted
Jordan Bamford	Busted
Taago Tamm	Busted
Waheed Ashraf	Busted
Andy Black	Busted

04-03-2026 18:41 UTC+1

Koper Kicker Takes It

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Stewart Morrison

Level 9 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

In the final hand before the blinds were raised, Tobias Hoellerer made it 2,300 from the button. Only Szymon Koper called, defending his big blind.

The dealer spread a 8♠2♠4♥ flop, on which Koper check-called a continuation bet of 3,300.

Both the J♠ turn and the 8♦ river checked through, and when Hoellerer flipped over his 6♦4♦, Koper revealed he had him out-kicked with his K♣4♣.

Player	Chips	Progress
Tobias Hoellerer	63,800
Szymon Koper	47,000 47,000	47,000

Tags: Szymon Koper Tobias Hoellerer

Level: 9

Blinds: 600/1,200

Ante: 1,200

04-03-2026 18:35 UTC+1

Blaise Bourgeois

140,000 25,000

Table 44Seat 2

04-03-2026 18:35 UTC+1

Frey Exits the Fray

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Frank Visser

Level 8 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

In a small pot, Frederico Morais had put in 15,000 from early position on the 4♦5♣Q♣ flop. Richard Frey then moved all in for 30,000 on the button, and Iani Tulica reshoved in the big blind, covering Morais' stack of about 100,000.

Morais went deep into the tank, but eventually relinquished his cards to force a showdown.

Richard Frey: A♥Q♠ All in
Iani Tulica: 7♣3♣

Tulica completed his flush on the K♣ turn, leaving Frey drawing dead. The 5♥ river was rendered meaningless as Frey headed towards the exit.