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€1,150 Main Event
Day 1de Completed
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
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
When the doors opened for the 2026 Irish Open earlier today, the masses swarmed into the halls of the Royal Dublin Society.
Sponsored by PokerStars and Paddy Power Poker, Day 1d of the €1,150 Main Event promised to be the busiest flight of all, and that promise was delivered. When registration closed, 2,037 of poker’s heroes, hotshots and hopefuls had ensured that the previous record for a Day 1 flight at the Irish Open had been smashed.
Including the turbo Day 1e flight, which is yet to conclude but has already closed registration, a total of 5,003 entries were recorded, creating a mammoth prize pool of €4,852,910; almost doubling the initial guarantee.
Owing to its many years of success, it was also announced today that the Irish Open will be packing its bags and going global, with stops scheduled in Australia, Morocco and the U.S.A.
With records being broken and huge news being dropped, the buzz in the room spread to the tables, but amid the light-hearted chatter, there was still a job to do: bag chips for Day 2.
When all was said and done, 487 players achieved that goal, securing their spots in the lineup to continue playing for what will be life-changing money for the eventual champion.
Leading the way from flight Day 1d, Kristian Svanbom found a late-night miracle to catapult him to the top of the leaderboard. The Swede found himself with the worst of it in a three-way all-in, but the river bailed him out, and the resulting chips saw him well on his way to holding the end-of-day chip lead.
Not far behind, Glenn Cochrane enjoyed a successful day at the tables and, having bagged 740,000, will begin Day 2 with 123 big blinds. Hot on their heels, and rounding out the podium places, is Jiri Kocab of Czechia, with a stack of 731,000.
Day 1d Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kristian Svanbom | Sweden | 899,000 | 150 |
| 2 | Glenn Cochrane | United Kingdom | 740,000 | 123 |
| 3 | Jiri Kocab | Czechia | 731,000 | 122 |
| 4 | Florian Bock | Germany | 655,000 | 109 |
| 5 | Iani Tulica | Romania | 629,000 | 105 |
| 6 | Francesco Gisolfi | Italy | 621,000 | 104 |
| 7 | Gilbert Black | United Kingdom | 620,000 | 103 |
| 8 | Ian Hamilton | United Kingdom | 609,000 | 102 |
| 9 | Sushil Krishan | Germany | 533,000 | 89 |
| 10 | Tai Quoc Hoang | United Kingdom | 525,000 | 88 |
Further down the chip counts, heavy hitters such as Ian Hamilton (609,000), William Kassouf (468,000), hometown hero Kevin Killeen (441,000), Dean Lyall (346,000), reigning champion Simon Wilson (261,000) and double high roller champion Roope Tarmi (204,000) also progressed. PokerStars Team Pro members Rory Jennings (193,000), Julien Brecard (148,000) and Guillermo Sanz (58,000) will also be in the mix when chips are emptied onto the felt for Day 2.
Not all who entered prospered, though. Players such as Benjamin Spragg, John Duthie, Fintan Hand and Dara O'Kearney all fell shy of putting chips into a bag.
With late registration now closed in the turbo flight, it is just a matter of time before the full Day 2 lineup is confirmed.
Starting at noon local time tomorrow, Day 2 is scheduled to resume on Level 16, with blinds of 3,000/ 6,000 and a big blind ante of 6,000. The plan is to play 10 hour-long levels, with play for the day ending at the conclusion of Level 25. At that point, the remaining players will bag their chips and progress to Day 3.
2026 Irish Open Main Event - Remaining Schedule
| Day | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Day 2 | April 4 | 12:00 p.m. |
| Day 3 | April 5 | 12:00 p.m. |
| Day 4 | April 6 | 1:00 p.m. |
Be sure to tune into PokerNews where you will find live coverage of all the major moments until a 2026 Irish Open Champion is crowned.
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
All of the 487 survivors of Day 1d have put their chips in the bags as 15 levels have been played out.
In the meantime, the late registration of the Day 1e turbo flight has been closed with 725 entries on the clock, bringing the total number of entries in the 2026 Irish Open Main event to 5,003, obliterating the previous record.
Stay tuned for the chip counts of Day 1d, as well as a recap of the day. The Day 1e chip counts will be posted before the start of Day 2.
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Daniel Curia made it 12,000 to go in the hijack. Rik van Etten pushed in a three-bet to 32,000 on the button, which Curia called after some thought.
Curia then led out with a bet of 25,000 on the 6♥2♠3♥ flop, and fired another 25,000 on the 2♥ turn when Van Etten called the flop bet.
Curia promised Van Etten he would show if he received a fold, and Van Etten obliged by mucking his cards.
Curia tabled J♠J♥ for a pair of jacks, and he raked in one of the final pots of Day 1d.
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
The floor has announced that Day 1d will conclude once each table has played three last hands.
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Conal Prendergast kicked off the action with a raise to 10,000 in middle position. Lewis Rookyard flat-called in middle position, and table chipleader Florian Bock came along on the button.
David Phelan then pushed in his stack of 53,000 from the big blind, seeing Prendergast rejam for about 500,000. Rookyard snap-called his stack of 125,000 in the middle, prompting Bock to get out of the way and muck his cards.
David Phelan: A♥A♦ 
Lewis Rookyard: K♠K♥
Conal Prendergast: 8♥8♦
Phelan's aces flopped top set on A♣5♣7♦ and improved to quads on the A♠ turn. Rookyard stayed alive by winning the side pot when the 9♥ river did not bring an eight, while Phelan tripled up by shipping the main pot.
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Kristian Svanbom in middle position, Joseph East in the hijack, and Josep Ruiz in the cutoff had each put in 35,000 on the 6♥2♦6♣ flop. The J♥ then fell on the turn, prompting Svanbom to push all in.
He covered both opponents and saw East call off his remaining 80,000 chips. Ruiz went deep into the tank before also committing his stack, putting his 155,000 chips at risk.
Joseph East: 2♠2♥
Josep Ruiz: K♦6♦
Kristian Svanbom: 7♠6♠
Svanbom had the worst hand of the three contenders, but it became the best hand when he improved to a full house on the 7♥ river.
East and Ruiz left the table in a stunned state as Svanbom gleefully dragged the massive pot and solidified his position as one of the chipleaders in the room.
