Fans of the Irish Open are delighted to learn that Europe's longest-running poker tournament is returning to a live setting in 2022 following two years of online festivals. The 2022 Irish Open takes place at the Citywest Hotel Dublin this Easter from April 11-18.
Forty-two tournaments, including 14 Championship events, adorn the busting schedule. These events run over the course of eight days and come with a wide range of buy-ins from €100 to €5,000.
Of course, the tournament everyone is looking forward to is the €1,150 buy-in Irish Open Main Event. It commences on April 13 with the first of four Day 1s, with the fourth and final flight featuring a turbo blind structure. There is no word of a guarantee on the Main Event yet, which is understandable with all the recent uncertainty around travel and indoor events, but the prize pool should top seven figures if previous year's Main Events are anything to go by.
Other highlights include the €250 The Hendon Mob Championship, a €5,000 High Roller, the €550 JP Poker Masters, and the Liam Flood Memorial which is a €250 buy-in turbo affair.
Full 2022 Irish Open Schedule
| Date | Time (GMT) | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 11 Apr | 12:00 p.m. | #1: Championship Event - €350 NLHE 6-max |
| 2:00 p.m. | #2: Championship Event - €350 8-Game Mix | |
| 4:00 p.m. | #3: €150 NLHE | |
| 6:00 p.m. | #4: €150 PLO | |
| 8:00 p.m. | #5: €115 Main Event Satellite - 5 seats GTD | |
| 8:00 p.m. | #6: €530 Satellite to €5,000 High Roller | |
| Tue 12 Apr | 12:00 p.m. | #7: Championship Event €350 NLHE Heads-Up (64-cap) |
| 2:00 p.m. | #7: Championship Event €350 NLHE Heads-Up Round 2 | |
| 2:00 p.m. | #8: €530 Satellite to €5,000 High Roller | |
| 4:00 p.m. | #7: Championship Event €350 NLHE Heads-Up Round 3 | |
| 4:00 p.m. | #9: €250 The Hendon Mob Championship | |
| 6:00 p.m. | #10: €150 PLO Deepstack | |
| 8:00 p.m. | #11: €115 Main Event Satellite - 10 seats GTD | |
| 8:00 p.m. | #12: Championship Event €5,000 High Roller Day 1 | |
| Wed 13 Apr | 12:00 p.m. | #7: Championship Event €350 NLHE Heads-Up quarter-finals |
| 12:00 p.m. | #13: €1,150 Irish Open Main Event Day 1A | |
| 12:00 p.m. | #14: €115 Main Event Satellite - 5 seats GTD | |
| 1:00 p.m. | #12: Championship Event €5,000 High Roller final day | |
| 2:00 p.m. | #7: Championship Event €350 NLHE Heads-Up semi-final | |
| 2:00 p.m. | #15: Championship Event €350 America's Cup | |
| 4:00 p.m. | #7: Championship Event €350 NLHE Heads-Up final | |
| 4:00 p.m. | #16: €115 Main Event Satellite - 5 seats GTD | |
| 6:00 p.m. | #17: €150 NLHE Deepstack | |
| 8:00 p.m. | #18: €115 Main Event Satellite - 20 seats GTD | |
| Thu 14 Apr | 12:00 p.m. | #13: €1,150 Irish Open Main Event Day 1B |
| 12:00 p.m. | #19: €115 Main Event Satellite - 5 seats GTD | |
| 2:00 p.m. | #20: Championship Event €250 Irish open Ladies | |
| 2:00 p.m. | #21: Championship Event €250 Irish Open Short Deck | |
| 4:00 p.m. | #22: €115 Main Event Satellite - 5 seats GTD | |
| 6:00 p.m. | #23: €150 PLO Deepstack | |
| 8:00 p.m. | #24: €115 Main Event Satellite - 20 seats GTD | |
| Fri 15 Apr | 12:00 p.m. | #13: €1,150 Irish Open Main Event Day 1C |
| 12:00 p.m. | #25: €115 Main Event Turbo Satellite - 5 seats GTD | |
| 4:00 p.m. | #26: €115 Main Event Turbo Satellite - 5 seats GTD | |
| 6:00 p.m. | #27: €115 Main Event Turbo Satellite - 5 seats GTD | |
| 8:00 p.m. | #28: €150 NLHE Deepstack | |
| 10:00 p.m. | #13: €1,150 Irish Open Main Event Day 1D Turbo | |
| Sat 16 Apr | 12:00 p.m. | #13: €1,150 Irish Open Main Event Day 2 |
| 2:00 p.m. | #29: Championship Event - €550 JP Poker Masters Day 1 | |
| 4:00 p.m. | #30: €150 NLHE Bounty - €25 Bounties | |
| 6:00 p.m. | #31: Championship Event €350 Irish Open PLO 6-Max Day 1 | |
| 8:00 p.m. | #32: €2,000 Irish Open High Roller 8-Max Day 1 | |
| Sun 17 Apr | 12:00 p.m. | €1,150 Irish Open Main Event Day 3 |
| 12:00 p.m. | #29: €550 JP Poker Masters final day | |
| 12:00 p.m. | #31: €350 Irish Open PLO 6-Max final day | |
| 1:00 p.m. | #32: €2,000 High Roller 8-Max final day | |
| 1:00 p.m. | #33: Championship Event €250 Mini Irish Open Day 1 | |
| 4:00 p..m. | #34: €1,100 NLHE Mystery Bounty 8-Max Day 1 | |
| 6:00 p.m. | #35: Championship Event €250 Liam Flood Memorial Turbo | |
| 8:00 p.m. | #36: €150 NLHE Deepstack Turbo | |
| Mon 18 Apr | 12:00 p.m. | #33: Championship Event €250 Mini Irish Open final day |
| 12:00 p.m. | #37: Championship Event €250 Irish Open Seniors (50+) | |
| 1:00 p.m. | #13: €1,150 Irish Open Main Event final day | |
| 1:00 p.m. | #34: €1,100 NLHE Mystery Bounty final day | |
| 1:00 p.m. | #38: €150 PLO 6-Max Deepstack Turbo | |
| 2:00 p.m. | #39: €250 Tag Team Event | |
| 4:00 p.m. | #40: €1,100 PLO 8-Max | |
| 6:00 p.m. | #41: €150 NLHE 6-Max Deepstack Turbo | |
| 8:00 p.m. | #42: €150 NLHE Deepstack Hyper Turbo |
Zheng is the Reigning Champion
You have to go back to 2019 to find when the Irish Open Main Event last took place at an actual poker table. partypoker stepped in when COVID-19 put paid to the 2020 edition and again in 2021. Brazil's Pablo Silva triumphed in the former with Pavel Veksler winning the Main Event last time around.
Weijie Zheng is, therefore, considered the reigning Irish Open Main Event champion. Zheng came out on top of a 1,807-strong field in 2019, to win €300,000 of the €1,805,870 prize pool. With five of Zheng's six live scores stemming from Dublin-based events, it would be surprising if he did not show his face in the 2022 Irish Open Main Event.
Other former Irish Open Main Event champions include the likes of Ryan Mandara, Griffin Benger, Dan Wilson, and Ian Simpson who famously proposed to his then-girlfriend after taking down the tournament.
Irish Open Main Event Satellites Galore
There are dozens of €1,150 Irish Open Main Event seats guaranteed to be won at the Citywest Hotel Dublin during the festival. However, some of our readers prefer winning their seats online before making travel arrangements.
Paddy Power Poker is one of the online poker sites offering Irish Open Main Event satellites. A €50 buy-in satellite runs each Sunday that has at least one €1,150 seat guaranteed. This satellite has feeders from only €2 feeding into it.
partypoker is another place you can win an Irish Open Main Event seat. Centrolls costing €0.01 eventually feed into the €109 buy-in final, which also runs on a Sunday, and has 10x €1,150 seats guaranteed to be won.
