- The Irish Poker Open (IPO), co-sponsored by PokerStars and Paddy Power, came to a close after its Main Event broke attendance records.
- The event at the Royal Dublin Society drew a record-breaking 2491 entrants across all starting flights.
- The Main Event’s €1 million guarantee created a total prize pool of €2.4 million, blowing its guarantee out of proportion.
- The event beat last year’s turnout by 22%, becoming the largest poker tournament ever to be held in Ireland.
- The IPO also included 39 more events, including a €250 Mini Irish Open, €1100 Mystery Bounty, and €3k and €5k High Roller games.
The longest-running poker festival in Europe, the Irish Poker Open (IPO) co-sponsored by two Flutter brands PokerStars and Paddy Power has come to an end.
The marquee €1 million-guaranteed Main Event created multiple records after 2491 entrants entered the €1150 buy-in tournament across all starting flights, making it the best-attended Main Event in the tour’s 42-year-long history.
With a total prize pool of €2.4 million, it blew its seven-figure guarantee out of proportion, surpassing it by nearly 2.5 times. It became the second-largest IPO Main Event in terms of prize money awarded and the biggest poker tournament ever to be held in Ireland in terms of participation.
The event beats last year’s turnout — which saw a field of 2040 runners — by 22% for a total prize pool of €1.98 million. That edition was also a record-breaker, thanks to a colossal appetite created post-pandemic for live poker.
The IPO Main Event got underway on April 5 at a new venue at the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) in Dublin, moving away from the CityWest Hotel where it was held in previous years. The event allowed single re-entry per flight (including the first few levels on Day 2) and utilized the best stack forward policy.
