The Irish Poker Tour (IPT) has recently released some of its key dates for 2026. The announcement was made during the IPT’s flagship Killarney Festival, which broke its own record, but only just, setting a new standard of 899 entries in the €700 buy-in Main Event, up slightly on 881 in 2024.
The eight events announced so far include key stops that are all essentially repeats of the 2025 calendar, such as the recently concluded Killarney Festival, which once again returns to the Gleneagle Hotel in September, 2026.
The year kicks off with the Galway Poker Festival at the Galmont, with the €300,000 guaranteed €620+€80 Galway Poker Cup, plus a strong line up of supporting events. The €260+€40 Clodagh Cup has a €40,000 guarantee and the Monsterstack on the final day of the festival has a €170+€30 buy-in, with a €20,000 assured prize pool. There’s also Omaha events, a €1,100 High Roller, a €400 Mystery Bounty and the low stakes €125+€25 Dan Sheridan Poker Cup, which will payout at least €15,000 in prizes.
What’s That Coming Over the Hill, Is It a Munster?
Most of the events that have been announced have not had their schedules confirmed yet, such as the Limerick €30k In A Day or the €100k for €100 at the Greene Isle, just before St Patrick’s Day. But one other event that has already been fully scheduled is the Muster Poker Festival, which runs from January 30 to February 2nd.
It has had a guarantee of €100,000 placed on its Main Event for the first time, however the buy-in has risen from €200 to €250 (€215+€35). Side events include the festival closing €150 MonsterStack, although one can’t help but think that they’ve missed a trick here, by not naming it the MunsterStack.
What’s That Coming Over the Hill, Yes, It’s A Monster!
It has also been announced that The Monster (not the side event, but a full festival in its own right), which takes place at The Green Isle in Dublin from April 29 – May 4, will have a bigger guarantee than ever before. In 2025 the Monster was indeed pretty big, with a €250,000 guarantee and cost just €150 to play. It had almost 2,000 entries. This suggests that the new guarantee will be at least €300,000, but will the buy-in also be pushed upwards, as is the case for the 2026 Munster (not Monster) Main Event?
The Monster is not the only event that will see guarantees shifting north, with some promised to be “truly massive,” but full details have yet to be revealed on that front.
| Dates | Event Name | Venue | Location | Main Event Buy-In | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 6–11, 2026 | Galway Poker Festival | The Galmont | Galway | €620+€80 | €300,000 |
| January 24, 2026 | Limerick €30K In A Day | Castletroy Hotel | Limerick | TBC | €30,000 |
| Jan 30–Feb 2, 2026 | Munster Poker Festival | Charleville Park | Charleville | €215+€35 | €100,000 |
| March 12–15, 2026 | €100K For €100 | The Green Isle | Dublin | €100 | €100,000 |
| Apr 29–May 4, 2026 | The Monster | The Green Isle | Dublin | TBC | TBC |
| July, 2026 | Summer In Dublin | The Green Isle | Dublin | TBC | TBC |
| September, 2026 | Killarney Poker Festival | The Gleneagle | Killarney | TBC | TBC |
| November, 2026 | Dublin Winter Festival | The Green Isle | Dublin | TBC | TBC |
IPT Events Overseas
The IPT usually holds over 20 festivals per year and the remainder of the 2026 season will be announced in due course. Irish Poker Tour founder and operator Fintan Gavin teased that an international event, in an as-yet unannounced sunshine destination, will take place in June. He also stated that there will be at least one UK event, the first of which will be in the second quarter of the year.
In previous years the PT has held overseas events in the Slovakian capital Bratislava and in Troia (Portugal). Most recently the IPT teamed up with the Smart Poker Tour festival in Sunny Beach (Bulgaria), where a PLO Championship was held. It won by none other than the man who always plays in shorts, Fintan Gavin.
Will the 2026 overseas June event be another collaboration with the Smart Poker Tour in Bulgaria? Will the IPT be returning to Portugal or will a new destination be selected to visit? Could it be Malta, which has a very crowded autumn poker calendar, but is usually quieter in June? There’s been a notable increase in the number of Irish players visiting Malta for poker in the last year, so it’s a possibility. Or maybe there’s another location in mind, perhaps Albania, which seems to be on the rise as a poker destination?
In 2025 the IPT held two events in the UK, Glasgow in March and the soon-to-be-held London Poker Festival (November 4-9). It remains to be seen whether both of these will continue, or whether a new UK location will be chosen for an Irish Poker invasion.
Yet-To-Be Announced Events
The IPT is mostly a grassroots, low stakes tour, with affordable buy-ins and attractive guarantees. It holds over 20 events per year, with just a few, such as the Galway and Killarney featuring larger buy-in Main Events. The majority have Main Events that cost €200-€300 to enter and many are weekenders rather than full-week festivals. The IPT travels throughout Ireland all year long hosting these events, making it a truly accessible national tour, ideal for both pros and recreational players.
The as-yet unannounced stops of the tour are likely to include visits to Clonmel, Athlone, Leitrim, Sligo, Portlaoise, Loughrea as well as several further events in Dublin.
How to Qualify for Irish Poker Tour Events
Paddy Power is the main online partner and has been running satellites to events on the IPT throughout 2025. However, the tour has also had qualifying options to some events on WPT Global and on Unibet Poker. No details have been revealed about what the qualifying options will be for 2026, but it’s safe to assume there will be online routes into most IPT stops, wherever they may be held.
