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€1,150 Main Event
Day 1de Started
2026 Irish Open
€1,150 Main Event
Day: 1de
Event Info
2026 Irish Open
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1de
Buy-in
€1,150
Prize Pool
€4,852,910
Total Entries
5,003
Level
44
Blinds
2,000,000 / 4,000,000
Ante
4,000,000
Entries
2,762
Players Left
742
Players Left 1 / 5,003
Filter
(1)
The time has arrived for the last two starting flights of the 2026 Irish Open €1,150 Main Event. The tournament sponsored PokerStars and Paddy Power Poker boasts a guaranteed prize pool of €2,500,000, but with 2,241 entries on the previous three starting days, that number will get shattered as Day 1d and Day 1e play out at the Royal Dublin Society today.
In fact, this year's Main Event is on pace to set a new attendance record by a couple of dozen entries, meaning all eyes today will be on the number 4,562, the record-breaking number of entries from last year's edition. Day 1d will kick off at noon local time, while the turbo flight of Day 1e provides a final shot to make Day 2 at 8 p.m.
All registrants today will be chasing Lawrence Penfold. The old-school online grinder captured the overall chip lead on Day 1b by amassing a stack of 796,000, good for 133 big blinds when play restarts on Day 2. Penfold is followed by Italian player Massimiliano Cordeschi, who gathered 773,000 chips on Day 1a. Meanwhile, third-place finisher in the 2025 Mini Irish Open, Alexander Rizvi, has made a good start at bettering that score in the big Main Event, bagging 748,000 chips on Day 1c for a third place on the overall leaderboard.
Day 1a, 1b and 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lawrence Penfold | United Kingdom | 796,000 | 133 |
| 2 | Massimiliano Cordeschi | Italy | 773,000 | 129 |
| 3 | Alexander Rizvi | United Kingdom | 748,000 | 125 |
| 4 | Alex Todd | United Kingdom | 746,000 | 124 |
| 5 | Abel Pruchon | France | 666,000 | 111 |
| 6 | Fraser Bellamy | United Kingdom | 665,000 | 111 |
| 7 | Ronan Sweeney | Ireland | 627,000 | 105 |
| 8 | Yan Birg | Belgium | 618,000 | 103 |
| 9 | Hamza Nasir | United Kingdom | 617,000 | 103 |
| 10 | Karl Nolan | Ireland | 557,000 | 93 |
Day 1d will follow the same structure as the previous three starting flights; 15 40-minute levels will be played today, ending around midnight. Each fresh entry will receive 50,000 chips, and the first level will be 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante. A single reentry is allowed per starting day, and late registration will end after the 50-minute dinner break, which is scheduled after Level 10, around 7:20 p.m. local time.
Day 1e, meanwhile, has a faster structure with 20-minute levels. The same ten levels of late registration apply, meaning the latest anyone can enter the 2026 Irish Open Main Event is when the clock strikes midnight. Day 1e will then play five more levels, and is scheduled for a late-night finish around 1:40 a.m. PokerNews will provide an in-depth live report for Day 1d, while Day 1e's chip counts will be posted before the start of Day 2. The PokerStars live stream will also start today, kicking off at 8:30 p.m. local time on their YouTube channel.
Day 1d Structure
| Level | Length (min) | Small Blind | Big Blind | Ante |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 2 | 40 | 100 | 200 | 200 |
| 3 | 40 | 100 | 300 | 300 |
| 4 | 40 | 200 | 400 | 400 |
| Break | 20 | |||
| 5 | 40 | 200 | 500 | 500 |
| 6 | 40 | 300 | 600 | 600 |
| 7 | 40 | 400 | 800 | 800 |
| Break | 20 | |||
| 8 | 40 | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| 9 | 40 | 600 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
| 10 | 40 | 800 | 1,600 | 1,600 |
| Dinner Break | 50 | |||
| 11 | 40 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| 12 | 40 | 1,000 | 2,500 | 2,500 |
| 13 | 40 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 3,000 |
| Break | 20 | |||
| 14 | 40 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 |
| 15 | 40 | 2,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 |
How large will the 2026 Irish Open Main Event get? Stay tuned to PokerNews to find out, as we will bring you all the latest from the final starting flights live from the tournament floor in Dublin.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/100
Ante: 100
Level 1
: Blinds 100/100, 100 ante
Day 1d of the 2026 Irish Open is underway, with 597 players in from the start.
Level 1
: Blinds 100/100, 100 ante
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Level 1
: Blinds 100/100, 100 ante
Level 1
: Blinds 100/100, 100 ante
Tommy Nyberg and Melanie Simpson had gathered 4,000 preflop when Simpson bet 2,100 on the 6♠5♦8♣ flop from the big blind. Nyberg quickly called, and did so too when Simpson sized up to 4,500 on the 2♣ river.
The 4♥ river was then checked to showdown, where Simpson tabled K♦K♣ for an overpair. Nyberg showed Q♥Q♣ for a no-good pair of queens, and the pot was shipped Simpson's way.
Level 1
: Blinds 100/100, 100 ante
Serge De Bruyne opened to 300 from the hijack, which gathered calls from the cutoff as well as both David Casey and Ross Boatman in the blinds.
The action checked to De Bruyne on the 9♠A♣3♣ flop, and he continued for 500. The cutoff folded, but both Casey and Boatman called.
The action checked through on the 5♥, but when Casey checked for a third time on the 8♥ river, Boatman put 5,200 into the middle.
De Bruyne quickly folded, and Casey followed suit.
"Did you mean to bet 1,200?" a player at the table asked, to which Boatman confirmed he did indeed throw in a 5,000 chip by mistake.
Level 1
: Blinds 100/100, 100 ante
Picking up the action on a 9♠3♠4♥ flop, Pierre Gamet bet 1,600 from the small blind into a pot of 3,700, and was called by John Bell on the button.
Gamet sized up to 3,700 on the 3♥ turn, again receiving a swift call from his opponent. Gamet then entered the tank on the A♣ river, deciding on a bet of 12,000 after about a minute of thought.
Bell confirmed the amount before he let go of his cards, surrendering the pot to his neighbor.
Level 1
: Blinds 100/100, 100 ante
