Irish Poker Open 2020 Schedule
Partypoker came to the rescue of the 2020 Irish Open when organizers had to pull the plug on Europe’s longest-running poker festival. The online site agreed to host as much of the bustling.
- Bustling 21-Event Irish Poker Masters Schedule Grab £40 Worth of SPINS and MTT Tickets The 2020 Irish Poker Masters takes place online at partypoker after plans for the live equivalent were dashed.
- 2020 International Poker Open starts tonight on Unibet. The celebrated International Poker Open gets underway tonight live on Unibet Poker. The six-day bonanza of IPO fun features a total of 12 scheduled events – plus numerous superqualifier satellites – with the flagship €50,000 guarantee Main Event starting on Saturday.
The celebrated International Poker Open gets underway tonight live on Unibet Poker. The six-day bonanza of IPO fun features a total of 12 scheduled events – plus numerous superqualifier satellites – with the flagship €50,000 guarantee Main Event starting on Saturday. All 12 events on the schedule come with a prize pool guarantee, with more than €150,000 guaranteed across the whole festival. Click here for the full schedule or search for “IPO” on the Unibet poker client.
The €50 buy-in IPO Warm Up is the first official tournament on the schedule. It starts at 7pm tonight (Ireland/UK time) and comes with a €15k guarantee. Other festival highlights include a two-day, €25k guaranteed High Roller Event, a €25k guaranteed Mini Main Event, the €2k guarantee #QUEENRULES Ladies’ Event and a €4k guarantee Omaha tournament.
The move online will give IPO regulars a very different experience from their annual jaunt to Dublin but Unibet Ambassador Ian Simpson aims to keep up the bants by live-streaming every single day of the festival on his Twitch channel.
He said: “While we can’t meet in person to enjoy the famous craic that comes with Irish poker, the Unibet twitch community is the nicest on the internet. We will all be railing each other as we chase the gorgeous trophies that are on offer. We’ll be going live every day at 6pm local time.
Satellites
IPO satellites have been running on Unibet since September. Each of the last four Sunday night qualifiers guaranteed five €300 Main Event seats but turnout has been huge, crushing the guarantee and awarding seats to 35+ players. There are still plenty more chances to win your way into the Main Event – the IPO superqualifiers are running every night with three on Saturday at 4.30pm, 5.30pm and 6.30pm (Ireland/UK time.) The final Unibet qualifier takes place on Friday night at 7pm with ten seats guaranteed.
Irish Poker Open 2020 Schedule Saturday
If you’re after tips on playing satellites, then don’t miss Unibet Ambassador Dara O’Kearney, author of the best-selling Poker Satellite Strategy, who will be chatting to IPO tournament director Nick O’Hara in a Facebook Live session tonight at 7pm. Dara’s book, published in February 2019, is considered the absolute “bible” for recreational and professional satellite players alike. He said: “The IPO has been a highlight of the Irish poker calendar for my career. It was one of the first live events I ever played. As we head back into lockdown, it’s sad the event can’t take place live but I know the craic will be transferred to the Unibet client.”
The International Poker Open has been one of Europe’s longest-running and most popular live poker events and has been held annually since 2008. Tournament director Nick O’Hara said: “Obviously it’s a real shame that we couldn’t have a live event this year but restrictions around Covid-19, and concern for player & staff safety, really made it impossible. We’re very grateful to the amazing Unibet who have been extremely supportive and ensured that IPO 2020 could still go ahead. The entire festival – including side events and a ton of satellites – is being hosted on the Unibet poker client.”
Facebook live and updates
O’Hara will be hosting a Facebook Live session every night of the festival starting at 7pm tonight, Thursday and Friday, and 6pm on Saturday and Sunday. He added: “Social media is one of the ways we can keep up the legendary IPO atmosphere so I’ll be going on Facebook live every night to give updates about the festival and chat with special guests. Tonight we have Dara O’Kearney at 7pm and then Andy Black at 7.30pm. Over the next few days, I’ll also be joined by David Lappin, Ian Simpson, Philip Baker and many others. We’d love everyone to join our IPO facebook group so you can keep up with what’s happening in the tourneys and get involved.”
Main Event
The €300 IPO Main Event starts on Saturday at 6pm UK time – with one re-entry permitted until the end of late registration (15 levels.) All players start with a 25,000 stack with blind levels set at 12 minutes on Day 1 and 20 minutes on Sunday.
Unibet Ambassador David Lappin, who finished 11th in last year’s Main Event, said: “The IPO Dublin has been a consistent fixture on the Irish poker calendar since 2007 so there was no way Unibet were going to let 2020 be the exception and it’s still going to be a lot of fun.”
It’s easy to set up a Unibet account – and you can play via either via the Unibet Poker Client or directly from your browser. See unibet.com/poker for more details.
Last year British player Luke Boynton took down the Main Event for €24,450. The 35-year-old from Birmingham, who had been playing poker for around 15 years, was involved in a six-way ICM chop before going on to win the event and the prestigious IPO trophy. It was a lifetime best cash for Boynton and took his total live tournament winnings to over $40k. There were 755 entries in total with 95 players getting a share of the €191,395 prize pool.
Nataly Sopacuaperu, Unibet Open’s Head of Events, said: “We’ve been sponsoring the IPO since 2018 and we are delighted that we can help make this year’s event a success by hosting it online. The IPO is a significant date in the poker calendar and even though this year’s event will be very different, Ian Simpson’s Twitch stream and the Facebook live sessions will be a lot of fun and help create the community atmosphere that players relish at live events.”
For full details, please visit https://internationalpokeropen.ie/.
Unibet Open announces first stop of 2020 in DublinThe Unibet Open has announced the first stop of 2020 with a five-day festival in Dublin next February.
This will be Unibet Open’s third visit to the Irish capital – following a record-breaking event in 2018 and the tour’s debut there in 2011. Unibet Open Dublin, which takes place at the Bonnington Hotel, kicks off on February 26, with the €250,000 guarantee Main Event starting on February 27.
The Main Event features a €1,000 + €100 buy-in and there will be three start flights in total – Day 1a, Day 1b and a Day 1c turbo. All players receive a 30,000 starting stack and have a single re-entry option into Day 1c.
As well as the flagship Main Event, other highlights of the festival will include the invitational Unibet Tag Team Championship and Unibet Battle Royale tournament. The schedule also features a two-day €2,200 High Roller starting February 26 with a single re-entry option. Other tournaments on offer include the #QueenRules Ladies Event, Turbo, Hyperturbo and Flip tournaments, a Pot Limit Omaha event, a SuperStack tourney, Progressive Knockout and the popular Unibet Community Freeroll. There is also a new €100 + €10 event on the schedule called the Mini ME which will mirror the Main Event giving players a generous 30,000 starting stack.
How to Qualify Online
There will be plenty of opportunities for players to qualify for the Unibet Open Dublin Main Event online. Satellites are already underway on Unibet Poker with €2,000 packages up for grabs that include the €1,100 Main Event buy-in, four nights’ accommodation at the beautifully-refurbished Bonnington Hotel for qualifier and guest plus €250 towards travel expenses. Feeder satellites start from as little as one cent with five packages guaranteed in the weekly €250 qualifier on Sundays.
All Unibet qualifiers will get a free dinner each night of the event, as well as must-have Unibet merchandise, the chance to mingle with Unibet Ambassadors and full access to the Welcome Drinks and Players Party.
The Bonnington Hotel, which has been fully refurbished to a very high standard, is an outstanding venue for the Unibet Open. Ideally located just 10 minutes’ drive from both the airport and city centre, the hotel boasts a ton of amenities including a gorgeous indoor swimming pool, well-equipped gym, spa, sauna, steam room and hot tub. The hotel is just 15 minutes’ walk from Croke Park – the third largest sports stadium in Europe.
Off the felt
Off the felt, there will be plenty of opportunities for players to have fun at Unibet Open Dublin. Unibet will be hosting a Welcome Drinks party at the start of the festival followed by the Unibet Players Party on the Saturday night.
Live Stream in Dublin
Unibet Ambassador David Vanderheyden and co-commentator Henry Kilbane will be hosting a live stream throughout the festival covering the Tag Team Championship, the Unibet Battle Royale and the flagship Main Event. The live stream can be found on Unibet Open website, Twitch, youtube and facebook.
Unibet Open Dublin history
The last Unibet Open in Dublin was held in 2018 and attracted more than 1,500 entries across the whole festival, with nearly €600,000 awarded in prize money. British player Paul Jux-Holderness defeated a 359-strong field in the Main Event to win a first prize of €74,900 with 47 players paid from the €359,000 prize pool. Jux-Holderness, who hails from Bournemouth, also finished third in the €2,200 High Roller for a further €8,860.
The first Unibet Open Dublin was in 2011 when English poker pro Paul Vas Nunes took down the Main Event for €105,300 after besting a field of 260 players. It was one of Nunes’ earliest recorded cashes and he has since won more than $1.7 million at live poker tournaments.
Dublin Poker Festival
In addition to the Unibet Open, Unibet is proud to announce that it will also be sponsoring the 2020 Dublin Poker Festival which takes place just before the Unibet Open in mid-February. The festival, which is also at the Bonnington Hotel, kicks off on February 13 with a packed schedule featuring nearly 40 events. Highlights of the 11-day festival include the €570 European Deepstack Main Event and €230 Amateur Championship of Poker. Satellites for both events will be running on Unibet Poker from early January. ACOP satellites start from as little as €2 with weekly qualifiers at 8pm on Tuesdays guaranteeing two €230 seats. The European Deepstack satellites start from €5 with weekly qualifiers at 8pm on Mondays offering two €570 seats guaranteed.
Unibet Open event manager Kasia Scanlon said: “We’re really looking forward to our return visit to Dublin in February. The last Unibet Open there – in 2018 – was just fantastic; it’s always an incredible atmosphere in Dublin with players having a great time, enjoying both the poker and the city’s legendary hospitality. Heading to Dublin is always very special for me because my very first event with Unibet was our debut festival there in 2011. We know next February’s Dublin stop is going to provide an amazing start to the 14th season of the Unibet Open.”
Unibet Open Tournament Director Glenn Doyle added: “This will be the first time I’ve been Unibet Open Tournament Director in my home city and I’m really looking forward to it. Obviously, I have a lot of experience when it comes to poker tournaments in Dublin and I can say without any hesitation that nothing beats the atmosphere here – the Irish love poker and they love ‘the craic’ so I know all our players are going to have a great time.”
Irish Poker Open 2020 Schedule 2019
Further 2020 Unibet Open stops will be announced in the New Year.