Just 122 players of the record-breaking field of 5,003 entries remain in the 2026 €1,150 Irish Open Main Event. Notably, three previous Irish Open Main Event champions will return to the Royal Dublin Society at noon local time today for Day 4, still in contention to become the first person to claim their second Irish Open title since Mickey Finn last did so in 1998.
The massive growth of the Irish Open in the past few years culminated in this year's gargantuan prize pool of €4,852,910. This means that 2022 champion Steve O'Dwyer, 2019 winner Weijie Zheng, and Dan Wilson, who conquered the crown in 2016, have a lot more money to play for this time around; this year's €517,100 top prize is nearly twice as much as any of them were awarded for their victories.
O'Dwyer bagged the biggest of the three, his stack of 4,375,000 being worth nearly 73 big blinds at the start of Day 3 and netting him an eighth place in the current standings. Zheng follows with 3,085,000 in chips, while Wilson's 2,715,000 also brings him above the average stack of around 2,000,000. The chiplead, meanwhile, is in the hands of Ukrainian native Ivan Chegusov with 5,250,000, with Irish pro Conor O'Driscoll and the last representative from the African continent Gavin Sardini being the only other players who crossed the mark of 5,000,000 chips.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Chegusov | Ukraine | 5,250,000 | 88 |
| 2 | Conor O'Driscoll | Ireland | 5,025,000 | 84 |
| 3 | Gavin Sardini | South Africa | 5,015,000 | 84 |
| 4 | Manuel Ferrari | Italy | 4,915,000 | 82 |
| 5 | Kenneth Svendsen | Norway | 4,735,000 | 79 |
| 6 | Narcis Nedelcu | Romania | 4,600,000 | 77 |
| 7 | Barry Furlong | Ireland | 4,495,000 | 75 |
| 8 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | 4,375,000 | 73 |
| 9 | Gerard Carbo | Spain | 4,300,000 | 72 |
| 10 | Mircea Stanescu | Romania | 4,100,000 | 68 |
Event sponsor PokerStars still has a horse in the race as ambassador Alex Romero made Day 3 with 1,270,000, while regulars Kevin Killeen (2,240,000), Stephen Kehoe (1,560,000), and Jamie Flynn (1,130,000) are among the Irishmen looking to keep the prestigious trophy on home soil. Meanwhile, Nikolai Mamut (870,000), Dutch grinder Dwayne Sluis (765,000), and EPT champion Ian Hamilton (660,000) are among the short stacks in the field, all bringing less than 15 big blinds to Day 3.
Day 3 will restart with blinds at 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. Ten 60-minute levels are scheduled for today, with a break after every two levels. A 50-minute dinner break is set after the sixth level of the day, around 6:40 p.m. local time. At the end of the night, the survivors of Day 3 will bag for Day 4, the final day of the tournament.
Each contender has locked up €5,970 for making it this far. Five-figure payouts will be reached when 55 players remain, but the real eye-catching number will not be reached until the final six are reached tomorrow.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €517,100 | 16-17 | €24,120 |
| 2 | €323,250 | 18-20 | €20,960 |
| 3 | €230,900 | 21-23 | €18,250 |
| 4 | €177,620 | 24-27 | €15,870 |
| 5 | €136,650 | 28-31 | €13,780 |
| 6 | €105,070 | 32-39 | €11,990 |
| 7 | €80,800 | 40-55 | €10,430 |
| 8 | €62,170 | 56-71 | €9,070 |
| 9 | €47,800 | 72-95 | €7,910 |
| 10-11 | €39,840 | 96-119 | €6,890 |
| 12-13 | €33,190 | 120-122 | €5,970 |
| 14-15 | €27,710 |
PokerNews will be back on the floor in Dublin today to provide in-depth coverage, so stay tuned as Day 3 of the 2026 Irish Open Main Event will get underway shortly.