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From Dublin to Down Under: Irish Open Begins Historic Sydney Debut

3 hours ago

Samantha Doyle 3 hours ago

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Irish Poker Open holds first-ever international event in Sydney (Aug 31 - Sep 14).
Festival features 40+ events, including a A$1M guaranteed Main Event.
Expansion follows record Dublin turnout; future stops planned in Marrakech and the US.

The Irish Open has spent more than four decades bringing international players to Ireland. Now, for the first time, it is taking the tournament to them.

The inaugural Irish Open Sydney is underway at Poker Palace in Club Marconi, where play began on August 31 and will continue through September 14. The first overseas festival in Irish Open history includes more than 40 tournaments, almost A$2 million in guarantees and an A$1 million Main Event.

The Sydney debut begins a wider international push that will also include Marrakech later this year and a first US festival in 2027.

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The Irish Open Goes Global After a Record Dublin Year

Timing the international expansion after the 2026 Dublin festival makes some sense.

The Irish Open Main Event reached 5,003 entries in April, generating €4,852,910 and becoming one of the largest €1,000–€2,000 buy-in tournaments anywhere in the world. Across the full Dublin festival, organisers reported more than 32,000 entries.

Sydney now gets its first shot at exporting that model.

The Sydney schedule is a melting pot of recognizable Irish Open formats and tournaments designed specifically for the new market.

The A$600 Asia-Pacific Cup is making its debut, while the programme also includes a Deaf Championship Main Event, Ladies Championship, Sviten Special, Mixed 8 Game High Roller, PLO events and the inaugural Sydney Poker Open.

The latter comes at the other end of the festival, carrying a A$880 buy-in and A$100,000 guarantee.

A$1 Million Main Event Anchors the Festival

The central test arrives from September 6 when the A$2,000 Main Event begins.

A$1 million is guaranteed, with six starting flights available and two of them played as turbos. Organisers have also scheduled 18 super satellites guaranteeing 170 seats collectively.

The tournament actually began, in a slightly unusual sense, five months before Sydney opened its doors.

A remote Day 1 was held at the Royal Dublin Society during April's Irish Open. Four players survived and booked automatic spots in Sydney's Day 2, meaning they crossed continents with both chips and a cash already secured. Oliver Hutchins leads that quartet with 602,000.

Opening Flights Underway in Sydney

The first two days have been about building fields rather than crowning champions.

Event #1, the A$360 Mini Irish Open, began with Day 1A on August 31 before its second starting flight ran September 1. The tournament carries a A$500,000 guarantee and continues through several further flights.

The A$880 Lucky 8’s begins on September 2 with A$250,000 guaranteed. Five opening flights are scheduled before the final on September 6.

Main Event satellites have also been running nightly during the opening stretch.