﻿{"id":2219,"date":"2026-03-24T00:14:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T16:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/?p=2219"},"modified":"2026-03-24T00:14:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T16:14:32","slug":"irish-open-2026-david-lappin-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/irish-open-2026-david-lappin-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish Open 2026: Highly Anticipated | David Lappin Praises it as an Unmissable Poker Event"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2219\" class=\"elementor elementor-2219\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-756844a1 e-flex e-con-boxed wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-column-slider-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"756844a1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b4569f3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b4569f3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"max-width: 860px; margin: 0 auto; line-height: 1.9; font-size: 18px; color: #1f2937;\"><p data-start=\"227\" data-end=\"306\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2227\" src=\"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c258f4f8ba-300x199.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c258f4f8ba-300x199.webp 300w, https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c258f4f8ba-1024x680.webp 1024w, https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c258f4f8ba-768x510.webp 768w, https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c258f4f8ba-18x12.webp 18w, https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c258f4f8ba.webp 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p><p data-start=\"227\" data-end=\"306\">PokerStars Ambassador David Lappin looks ahead to the Irish Open and the 2026 PokerStars Live League, noting the continued growth in tournament scale.<\/p><h3 data-section-id=\"clhmhf\" data-start=\"313\" data-end=\"340\">Irish Open becomes the focus of European poker this year.<\/h3><p data-start=\"342\" data-end=\"485\">along with <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Irish Open<\/span><\/span> With its influence continuing to expand, the 2026 tournament has once again become a focus of attention in the European poker world.<span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">David Lappin<\/span><\/span> It is stated that this event is not only of special significance to Irish players, but also attracts poker players from all over the world.<\/p><p data-start=\"487\" data-end=\"543\">He pointed out that the greatest appeal of the Irish Open comes from its unique atmosphere, which allows every participant to immerse themselves in it, making it an unmissable stop on the poker tour.<\/p><h3 data-section-id=\"clhmhf\" data-start=\"313\" data-end=\"340\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2237\" src=\"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/bc6d5ce6fe-300x199.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/bc6d5ce6fe-300x199.webp 300w, https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/bc6d5ce6fe-18x12.webp 18w, https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/bc6d5ce6fe.webp 700w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/h3><h3 data-section-id=\"1hnh1fw\" data-start=\"550\" data-end=\"575\">PokerStars drives rapid growth in the tournament scene.<\/h3><p data-start=\"577\" data-end=\"642\">In <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">PokerStars<\/span><\/span> Driven by this, the number of participants in the Irish Open continues to rise:<\/p><ul data-start=\"644\" data-end=\"681\"><li data-section-id=\"1shahg0\" data-start=\"644\" data-end=\"662\"><p data-start=\"646\" data-end=\"662\">2021: 1,880 people<\/p><\/li><li data-section-id=\"1m930gg\" data-start=\"663\" data-end=\"681\"><p data-start=\"665\" data-end=\"681\">2025: 4,562 people<\/p><\/li><\/ul><p data-start=\"683\" data-end=\"739\">Lappin predicts that the number of participants could exceed 9,000 to 10,000 in the coming years, making it one of the world&#039;s largest live poker tournaments.<\/p><p data-start=\"741\" data-end=\"822\">In addition, 2026 <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">PokerStars Live League<\/span><\/span> This will also be a focal point, with players vying for points to compete for a \u20ac100,000 free spot.<\/p><h3 data-section-id=\"14l1gzl\" data-start=\"829\" data-end=\"863\">A list of Irish Open champions in recent years (2021\u20132025)<\/h3><div class=\"TyagGW_tableContainer\"><div class=\"group TyagGW_tableWrapper flex flex-col-reverse w-fit\" tabindex=\"-1\"><table class=\"w-fit min-w-(--thread-content-width)\" data-start=\"865\" data-end=\"1324\"><thead data-start=\"865\" data-end=\"903\"><tr data-start=\"865\" data-end=\"903\"><th class=\"\" data-start=\"865\" data-end=\"870\" data-col-size=\"sm\">years<\/th><th class=\"\" data-start=\"870\" data-end=\"875\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Buy<\/th><th class=\"\" data-start=\"875\" data-end=\"882\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Number of participants<\/th><th class=\"\" data-start=\"882\" data-end=\"887\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Prize pool<\/th><th class=\"\" data-start=\"887\" data-end=\"892\" data-col-size=\"sm\">champion<\/th><th class=\"\" data-start=\"892\" data-end=\"897\" data-col-size=\"sm\">country<\/th><th class=\"\" data-start=\"897\" data-end=\"903\" data-col-size=\"sm\">bonus<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody data-start=\"967\" data-end=\"1324\"><tr data-start=\"967\" data-end=\"1037\"><td data-start=\"967\" data-end=\"974\" data-col-size=\"sm\">2025<\/td><td data-start=\"974\" data-end=\"983\" data-col-size=\"sm\">\u20ac1,150<\/td><td data-start=\"983\" data-end=\"991\" data-col-size=\"sm\">4,562<\/td><td data-start=\"991\" data-end=\"1004\" data-col-size=\"sm\">\u20ac4,447,950<\/td><td data-start=\"1004\" data-end=\"1019\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Simon Wilson<\/td><td data-start=\"1019\" data-end=\"1025\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Ireland<\/td><td data-start=\"1025\" data-end=\"1037\" data-col-size=\"sm\">\u20ac600,000<\/td><\/tr><tr data-start=\"1038\" data-end=\"1107\"><td data-start=\"1038\" data-end=\"1045\" data-col-size=\"sm\">2024<\/td><td data-col-size=\"sm\" data-start=\"1045\" data-end=\"1054\">\u20ac1,150<\/td><td data-col-size=\"sm\" data-start=\"1054\" data-end=\"1062\">3,233<\/td><td data-col-size=\"sm\" data-start=\"1062\" data-end=\"1075\">\u20ac3,152,175<\/td><td data-col-size=\"sm\" data-start=\"1075\" data-end=\"1090\">Tero Laurila<\/td><td data-col-size=\"sm\" data-start=\"1090\" data-end=\"1095\">Finland<\/td><td data-col-size=\"sm\" data-start=\"1095\" data-end=\"1107\">\u20ac292,685<\/td><\/tr><tr data-start=\"1108\" data-end=\"1180\"><td data-start=\"1108\" data-end=\"1115\" data-col-size=\"sm\">2023<\/td><td data-start=\"1115\" data-end=\"1124\" data-col-size=\"sm\">\u20ac1,150<\/td><td data-start=\"1124\" data-end=\"1132\" data-col-size=\"sm\">2,491<\/td><td data-start=\"1132\" data-end=\"1145\" data-col-size=\"sm\">\u20ac2,428,725<\/td><td data-start=\"1145\" data-end=\"1162\" data-col-size=\"sm\">David Docherty<\/td><td data-start=\"1162\" data-end=\"1168\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Scotland<\/td><td data-start=\"1168\" data-end=\"1180\" data-col-size=\"sm\">\u20ac365,000<\/td><\/tr><tr data-start=\"1181\" data-end=\"1252\"><td data-start=\"1181\" data-end=\"1188\" data-col-size=\"sm\">2022<\/td><td data-start=\"1188\" data-end=\"1197\" data-col-size=\"sm\">\u20ac1,150<\/td><td data-start=\"1197\" data-end=\"1205\" data-col-size=\"sm\">2,040<\/td><td data-start=\"1205\" data-end=\"1218\" data-col-size=\"sm\">\u20ac1,989,000<\/td><td data-start=\"1218\" data-end=\"1234\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Steve O&#039;Dwyer<\/td><td data-start=\"1234\" data-end=\"1240\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Ireland<\/td><td data-start=\"1240\" data-end=\"1252\" data-col-size=\"sm\">\u20ac318,700<\/td><\/tr><tr data-start=\"1253\" data-end=\"1324\"><td data-start=\"1253\" data-end=\"1260\" data-col-size=\"sm\">2021<\/td><td data-start=\"1260\" data-end=\"1269\" data-col-size=\"sm\">\u20ac1,100<\/td><td data-start=\"1269\" data-end=\"1277\" data-col-size=\"sm\">1,880<\/td><td data-start=\"1277\" data-end=\"1290\" data-col-size=\"sm\">\u20ac1,880,000<\/td><td data-start=\"1290\" data-end=\"1306\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Pavel Veksler<\/td><td data-start=\"1306\" data-end=\"1312\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Ukraine<\/td><td data-start=\"1312\" data-end=\"1324\" data-col-size=\"sm\">\u20ac265,999<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/div><h3 data-section-id=\"13z6ydm\" data-start=\"1331\" data-end=\"1346\">The number of people advancing online has reached a new high.<\/h3><p data-start=\"1348\" data-end=\"1412\">Lappin stated that the number of participants advancing online in the 2026 tournament is expected to reach approximately 1,500, setting a new record and demonstrating the continued strengthening of the trend of combining online and offline events.<\/p><h3 data-section-id=\"nojjim\" data-start=\"1419\" data-end=\"1436\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2236\" src=\"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c25876eee0-300x150.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c25876eee0-300x150.webp 300w, https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c25876eee0-1024x512.webp 1024w, https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c25876eee0-768x384.webp 768w, https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c25876eee0-18x9.webp 18w, https:\/\/hunter.poker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c25876eee0.webp 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/h3><h3 data-section-id=\"nojjim\" data-start=\"1419\" data-end=\"1436\">As an ambassador: player-centric<\/h3><p data-start=\"1438\" data-end=\"1501\">As <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">PokerStars<\/span><\/span> The newly appointed ambassador, Lappin, emphasized that players are always at the core.<\/p><p data-start=\"1503\" data-end=\"1549\">He stated that he hopes to keep the platform &quot;fair and trustworthy&quot; and is committed to improving the overall experience for players in online and live events.<\/p><h3 data-section-id=\"13gk1cv\" data-start=\"1556\" data-end=\"1564\">Summarize<\/h3><p data-start=\"1566\" data-end=\"1674\">With the expansion in scale, the growth in the number of participants, and the support of platform resources,<span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Irish Open<\/span><\/span> It is gradually moving towards becoming one of the world&#039;s top poker events. The 2026 event is expected to reach new heights, becoming a must-attend event for poker players throughout the year.<\/p><h3>Want to transform your strategy from &quot;knowing how to use it&quot; to &quot;making stable profits&quot;?<\/h3><p><span style=\"color: #333300;\">If you have already mastered the basics, the following practical strategies will truly impact your profitability:<\/span><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/texas-holdem-flop-strategy\/\">How to play Texas Hold&#039;em after the flop? A complete guide to PFR heads-up pot C-bet and turn strategies.<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/poker-defense-pfc-cbet\/\">Texas Hold&#039;em Defense Tutorial: How can a Pre-Flop Caller (PFC) counter a C-bet? Complete Practical Strategy Analysis<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/double-barrel-strategy-poker\/\">Texas Hold&#039;em Double Barrel Strategy: When is the second shot most profitable?<\/a><br \/>Texas Hold&#039;em Bluff Strategy: When to Bluff? A Complete Semi-Bluff Guide<br \/>Texas Hold&#039;em Delay C-bet Strategy: When Should You Delay Your Attack?<br \/>Texas Hold&#039;em Check-Raise Strategy: The Core Skills of Offensive Defense<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/multiway-pot-strategy-poker\/\">Texas Hold&#039;em Multi-Player Pot Strategies: Correct Playing Techniques and Avoidance Guidelines for Pots with 3 or More Players<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/3bet-pot-strategy-spr\/\">Texas Hold&#039;em 3-bet pot strategy: How to simplify decision-making and control SPR after the flop?<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/texas-holdem-pot-effective-stack-spr\/\">Texas Hold&#039;em Pot, Effective Stack, and SPR Judgment: A Complete Strategy Tutorial on Pot and Effective Stack<\/a><br \/>Texas Hold&#039;em Range Tutorial: How to use Range to judge your opponents and make decisions?<\/p><p><em><span style=\"color: #333300;\">Hunter Poker offers comprehensive strategy tutorials and hand analysis to help players upgrade from &quot;reading cards&quot; to &quot;reading ranges&quot; and &quot;making decisions,&quot; truly achieving long-term profitability.<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Texas Hold&#039;em starting hands chart is the most important basic tool in Texas Hold&#039;em. This article provides a complete starting hands chart and positional strategy to help beginners quickly determine which hands to play, improving decision-making and win rate.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[325],"tags":[921,922,928,874,919,918,927,406,920,929,923,925,924,724,926,930],"class_list":["post-2219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-325","tag-e100","tag-000-event","tag-2026-pokerstars-live-league","tag-david-lappin","tag-european-poker-tournament","tag-irish-open-2026","tag-irish-poker","tag-live-poker","tag-online-qualifiers","tag-poker-champions","tag-poker-festival","tag-poker-masters","tag-poker-tournament-preview","tag-pokerstars","tag-record-participation","tag-top-global-poker-event"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2219"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2243,"href":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2219\/revisions\/2243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}