The location may be different and the craic might not be the same, but the 2021 Irish Open will still offer plenty of action this month.
Partypoker, the Irish poker event’s sponsor, announced in December that the festival will take place online this year.
The decision was made in light of COVID-19 restrictions in Ireland and a desire to avoid an unplanned, last-minute change. With a plan in place, the organizers have just announced the full schedule.
Something for everyone online
The 2021 Irish Open Online will feature 25 tournaments with buy-ins ranging from €22 to €5,300. The action starts on March 26 and the final event will end on April 7.
As ever, Partypoker will offer a combination of direct buy-ins and satellite entries. It will also be making full use of this year’s online dynamics by introducing an 8-max Progressive Knockout (PKO) tournament.
The €55 MTT will feature a €250,000 guarantee and the first of nine starting flights gets underway on March 28.
It would be difficult to host an event with nine starting days at the Irish Open’s traditional host venue, the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. Therefore, having the series take place online for the second year in a row has its benefits.
Last year’s online festival was a huge success. The €1,100 main event attracted 2,945 entrants and the series as a whole paid out €5.6 million.
This year’s main event will again be the proverbial star of the show. The buy-in remains the same, as does the €1 million guarantee, which, going by last year’s numbers, will almost certainly be beaten.
To give players as many chances as possible to participate, satellites for the Irish Open Main Event start at €0.01, and 30 players will qualify every week.
A little bit of craic will be lost
For all of the innovations and excitement heading into this year’s series, it’s hard to ignore the elephant in the room. The Irish Open is the longest-running No-Limit Texas Hold’em tournament series in Europe.
After seeing the success of the WSOP in Las Vegas, Irishman Terry Rogers set up his own event in 1980. Early incarnations of the Irish Open attracted Europe’s finest along with American pros like Stu Ungar, Doyle Brunson, and Chip Reese.
Part of the tournament’s allure was the famous Irish craic. Play at the felt was lively, but things were often livelier away from the table. This tradition has been maintained over the years, which is why the Irish Open remains one of Europe’s biggest poker events.
Hosting the series online is certainly in keeping with the zeitgeist. However, once COVID-19 restrictions ease, players will no doubt be eager to return to felt at Dublin’s Citywest Hotel.
