With late registration officially at an end in the closing flight of the Irish Poker Open Main Event, the final entry tally is in – and it's another record-breaking field.
Following Irishman Simon Wilson's victory over a then-record-breaking field of 4,562 in 2025, poker's biggest party set a new high watermark with 5,003 entrants across the five Day 1 flights. From that number, only 1,236 players remain – all of whom will return to the Royal Dublin Society tournament venue for Day 2 play on April 4.
The record-breaking field generated a total prize pool of €4,852,910, more than double the set guarantee.
With 86 countries represented in the Main Event field, the Irish Poker Open has cemented its status as one of the premier destinations for poker players across the globe. Alongside the announcement of a trio of international festivals across 2026-2027, the record-breaking Main Event field sets April 3, 2026 as a date that will live on in Irish Poker Open history.
Notable names still in the hunt
As expected, the Day 2 field is rife with notable names and top-level professionals. When play resumes tomorrow at 12:00pm local time, the blinds will be 3,000/6,000 (6,000).
Sweden's Kristian Svanbom holds the chip lead headed into Day 2 with 899,000. The United Kingdom's Lawrence Penfold isn't far off with 796,000 while Italy's Massimiliano Cordeschi rounds out the podium places with 773,000.
888poker Ambassador Ian Simpson snuck into the top 20 stacks with 554,000. Will Kassouf, everyone's favorite tablemate, will start Day 2 with 468,000 – good for a position within the top 50. ACR Poker Team Online member Conor O'Driscoll has a sizable stack with 391,000, with Leo Worthington-Leese not far behind on a stack of 335,000.
Additional notables in the field include:
- David Lappin: 296,000
- Stephen O'Dwyer: 275,000
- Daniel Smiljkovic: 267,000
- Simon Wilson: 261,000
- Barny Boatman: 200,000
- Rory Jennings: 193,000
- Parker Talbot: 187,000
Follow along with action from Day 2 in the Irish Poker Open with coverage on the PokerStars YouTube channel.
