International Poker Open Returning the Day Covid Rules Are Lifted
It’s been a long 18 months, so the proverb ‘absence makes the heart grow stronger’ will be put to the test when the 2021 Unibet International Poker Open gets underway in Dublin during October. A competition that has been staged annually since 2007, in 2019 the €300 entry tournament was won by Luke Boynton. The English player collected €24,250 for outlasting 755 rival entrants.
The Unibet International Poker Open returns to Dublin’s Bonnington Hotel in October. ©International Poker Open
Due to the live poker shutdown caused by Covid-19, the 2020 International Poker Open (IPO) was played online at the sponsor’s website, UnibetPoker. On that occasion, Dublin’s Ciaran Cooney – playing under the alias ‘Underraiser’ – snagged a €12,524.58 winner’s prize.
Traditionally this tournament, staged a short taxi ride from Dublin Airport in the Bonnington Hotel, attracts over 1,000 players. Despite live poker players only just returning from a long hibernation, organizers are bracing themselves for similar or even greater figures in 2021.
The Shutters Go Up on Live Irish Poker
The Unibet Poker sponsored event is due to begin on Friday, October 22nd, the day the Irish Government has declared they will lift all Covid-19 restrictions on the country. That announcement was made on August 31st, days later the 2021 IPO was formally launched.
“Because of the timing we have been forced into preparing everything within five weeks – the normal timeframe is six months!” Nick O’Hara, the longstanding director of the IPO, told Online-Casinos.Com. “Thankfully the reaction to the announcement of the competition going ahead in 2021 has been simply amazing.”
“Our current daily capacity allows for 400 players. However, I am expecting the first two days of play to sell out. So, I am advising people to pre-book their sets online. There are an additional three live day-one flights. But such is the level of interest I am currently working on a plan to put an additional 25 tables under a marquee which we will put up in the car park,” says O’Hara.
Will the Demand for a Seat Surpass Supply?
The record entry for the IPO came in 2009 when 1,440 players took part. Such is O’Hara’s optimism the former PokerStars Live floor manager is doing all he can to ensure the potential for that many people to be accommodated is in place.
“Qualifiers are underway on the sponsor’s online poker site and they normally generate 100 tickets,” O’Hara explained. “Additionally, Unibet Poker will host a day one qualifier on Sunday, October 17th. But to meet the demand we are looking at additional ways to accommodate everyone that wants to play the tournament.”
Nick O’Hara is expecting the first two days of the IPO to sell out.©International Poker Open
O’Hara continues: “It is possible Ireland’s Covid-19 rules may change before the scheduled start of the International Poker Open meaning, with some restrictions, indoor poker can resume. If that is the case, we will possibly add additional day one flights on Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st of October.”
Once all day-one flights have been played all those who remain in the competition will play simultaneously on Sunday 24th. The final day of play, when O’Hara expects “around just two tables to be left”, will be on Monday 25th. The day is a bank holiday in Ireland.
Leslie a Celebrated High Roller
Ireland is renowned for its vibrant poker scene and with all card room, casino, and pub games suspended since the Covid-19 outbreak, it is expected this grand re-opening will be embraced by its poker enthusiasts.
Complementing the main event are several low-level side tournaments. The exception, with a ceiling €500 entry, is the ‘Leslie McLean Celebration – High Roller’. Leslie McLean, who was a popular and respected poker veteran that played in Dublin’s poker events for many years, passed away in early 2021 aged 87.
One of the original characters of Irish poker – who played alongside stalwarts such as World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event winner Noel Furlong, Irish Open director Liam Flood, and Terry Rogers the man credited for bringing Texas Hold’em to Europe – Leslie McLean made the headlines in 2003 when his son, Alan, and grandson Stephen, all played the WSOP main event. It was the first time three generations of the same family had played the feature event at poker’s Holy Grail.
