Overview
- Narcis Nedelcu won the 2026 Irish Open Main Event and took €336,798 after a five-way deal left €70,227 for the winner.
- The final five—Nedelcu, Danilo Donnini, Vasyl Palandiuk, Daryl McAleenan, and Oliver Gayko—agreed to an ICM chop that guaranteed at least €250,493 each.
- ICM, or Independent Chip Model, pays players based on their chip stacks to cut risk when stacks are close and blinds are high, which organizers said fit the final-table dynamics.
- The Main Event drew a record 5,003 entries for a €4,852,910 prize pool, far above the €2.5 million guarantee and the original €517,100 first-place payout.
- Organizers said the Irish Open brand will add events in Sydney on September 6–15 and Marrakech on November 10–15, with a U.S. stop targeted for early 2027.