Europe’s oldest poker tournament is back and it’s ready for one almighty party – are you up for the craic?
The Irish Open is steeped in history. It’s the oldest poker tournament in Europe (the second in the world after the WSOP Main Event) and it’s been drawing in enthusiastic punters since 1980. The first tournament was played as five-card stud but it’s been no-limit hold’em ever since and it’s attracted the likes of Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar and Chip Reese to the Emerald Isle, all in search of the trophy and the craic.
Mike Sexton summed it up perfectly last year when he said: ‘It’s the most friendly and fun-loving tourney you can experience. What I like is that it’s not just about poker. It’s laughter, drinking and hanging out in the bar.’
The good news is that it’s back! There were rumours going round last year that the 2015 Irish Open was going to be the last. Thankfully we can now officially scotch those and announce that the organisers are looking to put it back on the map as Europe’s biggest poker festival. The 2016 buy-in has been dropped to just €1,150 making it much more accessible but it comes with a whopping €500k.
It’s set to run March 21-28, back at the Citywest Hotel, with a full schedule of 32 events to suit all bankrolls. The Main Event starts on March 24 with two Day 1s culminating in the final table on March 28. The Mini Irish Open is back too and the two-day event starts on March 27 with a €250 buy-in.
Satellites for the Main Event are running now on the iPoker network, including Paddy Power Poker, Betfair, Coral Poker, Ladbrokes and Boyle Poker. A number of MPN skins are also running satellites from January 21 including BetVictor, 32Red, Stan James and Betsson.
Click here for more information including a full schedule and details of all the satellites. Final word goes back to the organisers who say their aim ‘is to bring the craic back to the event.’ We’ll raise a glass to that!
Now watch highlights of the 2015 Irish open…
PokerPlayer is the World’s best poker mag and you can read it free here
