€1,150 Main Event
Day 3 Started
2026 Irish Open
€1,150 Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
2026 Irish Open
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
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
122
Players Left
10
Players Left 1 / 5,003
Filter
(1)
Just 122 players of the record-breaking field of 5,003 entries remain in the 2026 €1,150 Irish Open Main Event. Notably, three previous Irish Open Main Event champions will return to the Royal Dublin Society at noon local time today for Day 4, still in contention to become the first person to claim their second Irish Open title since Mickey Finn last did so in 1998.
The massive growth of the Irish Open in the past few years culminated in this year's gargantuan prize pool of €4,852,910. This means that 2022 champion Steve O'Dwyer, 2019 winner Weijie Zheng, and Dan Wilson, who conquered the crown in 2016, have a lot more money to play for this time around; this year's €517,100 top prize is nearly twice as much as any of them were awarded for their victories.
O'Dwyer bagged the biggest of the three, his stack of 4,375,000 being worth nearly 73 big blinds at the start of Day 3 and netting him an eighth place in the current standings. Zheng follows with 3,085,000 in chips, while Wilson's 2,715,000 also brings him above the average stack of around 2,000,000. The chiplead, meanwhile, is in the hands of Ukrainian native Ivan Chegusov with 5,250,000, with Irish pro Conor O'Driscoll and the last representative from the African continent Gavin Sardini being the only other players who crossed the mark of 5,000,000 chips.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Chegusov | Ukraine | 5,250,000 | 88 |
| 2 | Conor O'Driscoll | Ireland | 5,025,000 | 84 |
| 3 | Gavin Sardini | South Africa | 5,015,000 | 84 |
| 4 | Manuel Ferrari | Italy | 4,915,000 | 82 |
| 5 | Kenneth Svendsen | Norway | 4,735,000 | 79 |
| 6 | Narcis Nedelcu | Romania | 4,600,000 | 77 |
| 7 | Barry Furlong | Ireland | 4,495,000 | 75 |
| 8 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | 4,375,000 | 73 |
| 9 | Gerard Carbo | Spain | 4,300,000 | 72 |
| 10 | Mircea Stanescu | Romania | 4,100,000 | 68 |
Event sponsor PokerStars still has a horse in the race as ambassador Alex Romero made Day 3 with 1,270,000, while regulars Kevin Killeen (2,240,000), Stephen Kehoe (1,560,000), and Jamie Flynn (1,130,000) are among the Irishmen looking to keep the prestigious trophy on home soil. Meanwhile, Nikolai Mamut (870,000), Dutch grinder Dwayne Sluis (765,000), and EPT champion Ian Hamilton (660,000) are among the short stacks in the field, all bringing less than 15 big blinds to Day 3.
Day 3 will restart with blinds at 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. Ten 60-minute levels are scheduled for today, with a break after every two levels. A 50-minute dinner break is set after the sixth level of the day, around 6:40 p.m. local time. At the end of the night, the survivors of Day 3 will bag for Day 4, the final day of the tournament. A 30-second shot clock will come into play today, and PokerStars will also host a cards-up live stream on their YouTube and Twitch channels.
Each contender has locked up €5,970 for making it this far. Five-figure payouts will be reached when 55 players remain, but the real eye-catching number will not be reached until the final six are reached tomorrow.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €517,100 | 16-17 | €24,120 |
| 2 | €323,250 | 18-20 | €20,960 |
| 3 | €230,900 | 21-23 | €18,250 |
| 4 | €177,620 | 24-27 | €15,870 |
| 5 | €136,650 | 28-31 | €13,780 |
| 6 | €105,070 | 32-39 | €11,990 |
| 7 | €80,800 | 40-55 | €10,430 |
| 8 | €62,170 | 56-71 | €9,070 |
| 9 | €47,800 | 72-95 | €7,910 |
| 10-11 | €39,840 | 96-119 | €6,890 |
| 12-13 | €33,190 | 120-122 | €5,970 |
| 14-15 | €27,710 |
PokerNews will be back on the floor in Dublin today to provide in-depth coverage, so stay tuned as Day 3 of the 2026 Irish Open Main Event will get underway shortly.
Level: 26
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 60,000
Level 26
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
The remaining 122 players have taken their seats, and cards are in the air for Day 3 of the €1,150 Irish Open Main Event.
Level 26
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Joseph Field was all in for 840,000 on the button and at risk against Aiden Cullinane on the button.
Joseph Field: A♠J♠ 
Aiden Cullinane: Q♥Q♦
The 7♦2♦8♣ flop brought no help to Field, and the Q♠ turn locked up the pot for Cullinane. Field said his goodbyes as the meaningless K♦ river completed the board, and headed to the exit.
Over at another table, Hugh Desmond was also eliminated during the first minutes of the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,605,000
990,000
|
990,000 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Level 26
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Seeing a raise to 150,000 from Gilbert Black under the gun, Valentin Imperatore moved all in for 895,000 from the cutoff.
Black gave it serious consideration, but ultimately opted to fold.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,200,000
1,000,000
|
1,000,000 |
|
1,940,000
1,045,000
|
1,045,000 |
Level 26
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
The action was joined as Christopher Gee had committed the remainder of his short stack, roughly 200,000, into the middle from the big blind. It was Gareth Hamilton who had him at risk.
Christopher Gee: 9♦5♦
Gareth Hamilton: A♥6♠
The J♥Q♠3♠7♦K♦ board saw ace-high remain the best hand, and Gee was eliminated.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,700,000
55,000
|
55,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Level 26
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Thomas Avgustin raised to 120,000 in middle position. It folded to Leo Worthington-Leese in the big blind, who bumped it up to 450,000.
Avgustin spent one of his time bank cards before moving all in, only to be snap-called by Worthington-Leese.
Leo Worthington-Leese: A♠K♠
Thomas Avgustin: J♣10♣
Worthington-Leese flopped two pair on K♥8♥A♦, and Avgusting was unable to find Broadway on the 4♣9♥ runout. Worthington-Leese's stack was counted as 1,950,000, and he doubled up to nearly twice the average stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,990,000
1,980,000
|
1,980,000 |
|
1,200,000
1,115,000
|
1,115,000 |
Level 26
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Terry Farrelly got his last 600,000 or so in from the big blind and was at risk against Tyrell Soleyn in the hijack.
Terry Farrelly: A♣J♥
Tyrell Soleyn: A♥K♦
The 5♠8♠4♦6♣ turn brought a straight draw on the board, but Soleyn made a pair of kings on the K♣ river to secure the pot and send Farelly to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,625,000
640,000
|
640,000 |
|
|
Busted |
