Sligo €20k in a Day Wrap
When you walk through the doors of the Adelaide Casino in Sligo, the décor and furnishings create a sense of calm. At the back is the poker area, which has been meticulously designed to offer the perfect setting in which to play poker. Last time out, we had a great turnout on a wet November evening. With the sun yet again back with a vengeance, that has not stopped the poker players flocking in their droves.
First up was the Adelaide €20k in a Day 1A which saw a total of 129 making up the field. In the mix was the Bryant Brothers, Ray and Robbie Bryant, both having picked up trophies at the last IPT event in Dundalk and ready to strike while the iron was hot.
Also pulling up a pew fresh from her birthday celebrations was Tanya Masters. Trying her luck again was runner-up at the last event in Sligo, Laura Sentes, hoping to do one better this time around.
From this field there were 19 players who made it through to the final, with the biggest stacks bagged up by Robert John Crawford who had 380,000. Shane Bunnett managed to pull in 512,000, while the largest stack went to Tadgh Kelly who had 570,000.
Next up was the Hyper 1B, from this flight there were 58 players in the mix. In total 15 players made it through to the final. The biggest stack was bagged by Charlie Porter who had 306,000. The second largest stack brought forward from this flight was with Robbie Bryant who had 230,000.
At 9.30pm sharp players took their seats for the final. From a total of 187 entries, we were left with 33. The great turnout throughout the day saw the guarantee easily surpassed, topping out at €30,515.
When it got down to the final table it was hard not to see a familiar story developing yet again.
Knock? Knock?
Who’s there?
Robbie Bryant…
Yet again, the Tullamore man navigated the entire field to make it into the final three. Control shifted between them, and eventually a deal was discussed and agreed upon. An ICM deal was agreed, with play continuing for the trophy and €900.
In third place was Matthew Blayney who took home €4,600. Battling it out in the heads up was Donegal’s Charlie Porter who had, what seemed like an insurmountable task of stopping Robbie on his way to yet another winner’s photo.
As is so often the case at the IPT, it feels more like a community than a competition. With Robbie’s recent run of form, the crowd, his brother and even himself, were saying they would be delighted to see Charlie take home the trophy.
Charlie is an IPT regular who has had a very good run of form of late (Winner of Northwest Poker Bundoran €15k – One Day, Bundoran – € 3,365, June 2026) and it’s very rare you don’t see him with a smile on his face enjoying every moment with those in the poker world.
Charlie had taken a sip of his beer when he agreed upon the 3-way ICM deal, looking like a man who was happy with his days work. Although he didn’t leave with the trophy, Charlie Porter left in 2nd place with €4,890.
Robbie Bryant has been humble and resilient throughout his recent rise to the top of the Irish Poker Tour leaderboard and adds yet another trophy to the ever-growing collection at the Midlands Card Club, Tullamore.
Winner of the Adelaide €20k in a Day Final was Robbie Bryant, €6,225.
Congratulations to Robbie and all those in Tullamore who eagerly await the updates from the twins when they are on the road.
Until the next time….
July 23, 2026 – July 26, 2026 – The Green Isle Dublin – IPT
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Robbie Bryant strikes again…Winner of Adelaide €20k in a Day Final after a 3-way ICM deal – €6,225
Once again, through a massive field of competitors, Robbie Bryant comes out victorious.
The trophy cabinet at Tullamore is going to be packed by the end of the year.
It was great to see Robbie talking with the lads at the MCC who had stayed up late to see if he could bag another.
Well that’s it until next time…
Next up – Summer In Dublin 2026 – Thursday, July 23, 2026 – Sunday, July 26, 2026
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Down to the final 3 and an ICM deal has been agreed upon, play continues for the trophy and a bigger payout
Charlie Porter, Robbie Bryant and Matthew Blayney left.
Will Robbie take home his 2nd IPT Main Event trophy this year?
Can Charlie get his hands on a trophy to bring back up the road? He has had some good runs of recent, last month he won the Northwest Poker Bundoran €15k – One Day.
Or will it be Matthew who won the Main Event in the IPT’s Loughrea event in 2025?
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59 entries so far in the Main Event 1A – REG open until LVL 9 – Currently at LVL 6
Chipleaders in Flight 1A –
Edgar Cale — 123,000
Cormac Farrell — 97,000
Des Connolly — 82,000
Mahmood Rasheed — 81,000
Seamus Doherty — 72,500
Niall K Campbell — 62,500
Aleksandras Nagreckis — 62,000
Matthew Twomey — 62,000
David Grealis — 59,000
Peter Burnett — 58,000
Paul Hanna — 58,000
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Kevin Carragher leads the Northern PF €10k Opener 1A – 370,000
Paul Carr — 349,000
Shane Crosby — 200,000
Matthew Blayney — 190,000
Frederico Hitner — 175,000
Robbie Bryant — 155,000
Dickie Whiteside — 110,000
Derek Baker — 85,000
Tomas Flanagan — 85,000
Adrian Creagh — 110,000
Ryan Crampsey — 60,000
Brian Berry — 28,000
Oleksander Onyshchenko — 25,000
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Northern PF Main Event 1A – Off and running – Open for REG until LVL 9
The Main Event has begun, with a guarantee of €75K
Over the next 3 days players will fight it out to secure a stack to bring forward to the final on Sunday.
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Tomas Flanagan pulls further ahead with the chip lead in the Northern PF €10k Opener 1A – 223,000
Craig Young – 150,000
Robbie Bryant – 145,000
Matthew O’Brien – 142,000
Derek Baker – 130,000
Matthew Blayney – 111,000
Kevin Carragher – 80,000
Frederico Hitner – 78,500
Seamus Brady – 76,000
Vasileios Kontogiannis – 65,000
Paul Carr – 60,000
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Prize pool for the opener now at €10,282 – REG closing soon
For those that havent had a chance to register for the Opener there will be another opportunity in the form of the –
19:00 – €10k Festival Opener 1B Hyper
Final for this will be settled tonight –
21:30 – €10k Opener Final
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More legs on show than a centipede convention
The heatwave has brought sunshine and with it the poker players are dressed for the occasion, t-shirts, shorts and sunglasses are the uniforms in which these players will do battle today.
Who can bring the heat from the street to the felt?
Current leaderboard in the Northern PF €10k Opener 1A –
Tomas Flanagan – 135,000
Matthew Blayney – 77,000
Marcus McHale – 72,000
Matthew O’Brien – 70,300
Karolis Brazdeikis – 69,000
Stay tuned to Live Poker Updates for all the action.
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47 players and counting in the Opener
Flight 1A is steadily growing in numbers with the prize pool sitting at €7,671 and 47 players signed up already.
For those looking for value the Northern Main Event Target Satellite has just kicked off with 3 seats available for the Main Event (€300) – REG open until LVL 8
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€10k Festival 1A Opener off and running – REG open until LVL 9
What a perfect way to get away from the scorching sun we are starting to get use to. Pull up a pew at The Fairways Hotel in Dundalk.
€10k Festival 1A Opener is off and running with REG still open for a few hours yet, giving those still at work chance to buy in later in the day.
Players also have the chance to qualify for the first trophy of the event through the
19:00 €10k Festival Opener 1B Hyper
Other events running today –
16:00 – Northern Main Event Target Satellite – €60
19:00 – Northern Main Event Day 1A – €300
21:30 – €10k Festival Opener Final
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Chat GPT aint got nothin on me, next stop….The IPT
There once was a man from Dundalk,
Who’d much rather run than walk.
Until one day by the Fairways,
He heard laughter, chatter and talk.
Instead of just sauntering by.
He poked his head in for a while.
The hours flew by as he laughed and smiled,
And a thought came to his mind
“I wish the IPT was here every night”
Instead of leaving it to chance why not book your place tonight.
Paddy Power Poker Satellite’s
Tonight (Wednesday) – 8:30pm Irish time
€10 Re-Entry Satellite
1 x €300 Main Event Seat Guaranteed
Tomorrow (Thursday) – 8:30pm Irish time
€10 Re-Entry Satellite
1 x €690 Package Guaranteed (Main Event seat plus 2 nights at the Fairways Hotel)
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Not long now until the Northern Poker Festival
For those who have not yet booked there accommodation for the up and coming event at the Fairways Hotel Dundalk.
Contact Susie on – +353 87 262 5430
The surrounding area has alot to offer for those wishing to mix action at the tables with a weekend away.
Historic & Folklore
- Proleek Dolmen – A 5,000-year-old portal tomb. Local legend says if you can throw a pebble onto the capstone and leave it there, your wish will come true.
- Cú Chulainn’s Castle – Associated with Ireland’s legendary warrior Cú Chulainn.
- Hill of Faughart – Birthplace of St. Brigid and packed with ancient wells, ruins and folklore.
- St Brigid’s Shrine and Well – One of Ireland’s most important pilgrimage sites.
Mountains & Scenery
- Cooley Mountains – Home of the Táin Bó Cúailnge, Ireland’s greatest epic tale.
- Slieve Foye – Superb views over Carlingford Lough.
- Ravensdale Forest – Popular for walking trails and mountain biking.
- Carlingford Lough – One of the most scenic stretches of coastline on the east coast.
For Sports Fans
- Dundalk Stadium – Ireland’s only all-weather horse racing venue and a major greyhound racing centre.
Here is also the fixtures in the World Cup that will be settled during the Northern Poker Festival –
Friday 26 June
8:00pm
- Norway vs Senegal
- France vs Iraq
Saturday 27 June
1:00am
- Uruguay vs Spain
- Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia
4:00am
- New Zealand vs Egypt
- Belgium vs Iran
10:00pm
- Panama vs England
- Croatia vs Ghana
Sunday 28 June
12:30am
- Colombia vs Portugal
- DR Congo vs Uzbekistan
3:00am
- Jordan vs Argentina
- Algeria vs Austria
8:00pm
- First Round of 32 match:
- Group A Runner-up vs Group B Runner-up
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Now we’re Dundalkin
Next week Ireland’s No. 1 live poker experience opens up shop in Dundalk. A short drive for those in the North to stake a claim. Situated in Louth, the smallest county in Ireland.
If you are wanting to top up on a bit of luck before the games begin. Just outside the town of Dundalk is the famous Proleek Dolmen, which is a megalithic tomb that is over 5,000 years old. Local legend says that if you can throw a stone onto the capstone and it stays there, you will have good luck.
Maybe those from Belfast with a miss spent youth can finally put their stone throwing abilities to use?
For more info about the Northern Poker Festival 2026 –
https://irishpokertour.com/poker-festivals/northern-poker-festival-2026/
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Cross Country Summer Swing Begins in Dundalk
Donal’s Corner
The Irish Poker Tour is once again flapping its wings and taking off across Ireland this summer bringing its unique brand of big time poker, high class tournaments and utter madness to a town near you. Starting in Dundalk on June 26th-28th, we move to The Adelaide in Sligo (July 11th), The Green Isle (July 23rd-26th), The Eglinton in Galway (Aug 13th-16th), Athlone Springs (Aug 22nd), before Limerick’s Castletroy Park (Sept 5th) points us towards Autumn.
The Northern Poker Festival in Dundalk’s Fairways hotel is a familiar venue for Tour regulars and the list of trophy winners truly ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous. In no particular order; James Walsh, Paul Carr, Mary Galvin, Shane Keary, Daryl McAleenan, Nick Slade (2 on successive nights), Hugh Smyth, Darren Harbinson and Darren Millar have all topped the podium in Dundalk in recent years. You can rate them yourself on the “How did HE win a trophy?”, to “Well, obviously SHE won” spectrum.
Bartlomioej Grabwski pocketed €20,500 for winning last year’s Main Event out of a €90,000+ pool. €75,000 is the ME guarantee again for a very affordable €300 entry and the action begins with €10k Opener at 14:00 on Friday 26th at a very comfortable venue which provides great facilities, fine food and beverages, and extensive free car parking.
The atmosphere is sure to be crackling as the cream of Ulster poker take on the best from the rest of Ireland and beyond. Neither side is ever quite able to appreciate the talents of the other men and this often leads to some questionable exchanges but everybody remains friends, eventually.
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