Dublin Poker Festival 2026: Dates, Events, And How To Qualify On WPT® Global

What Dublin Poker Festival actually is

Dublin Poker Festival brings several long-running Irish brands under one roof, all run by D4 Events. You are not looking at a one-off Main Event with a few small sides. This is a full festival built around slow structures and affordable buy-ins.

The 2026 schedule includes:

• European Deepstack Poker Championship
• ACOP – Amateur Championship of Poker
• Irish Seniors Poker Championship
• Irish Ladies Poker Championship

European Deepstack returns for another edition with a €700 buy-in and a big guarantee. ACOP keeps its role as the flagship amateur championship, while Seniors and Ladies give more recreational players their own headline moments.

Key dates, venue, and headline guarantees

All action takes place at: Bonnington Dublin Hotel Swords Road, Whitehall, Dublin 9

The hotel sits about 15 minutes from Dublin Airport by taxi or airport bus, and you are a short ride from the city centre pubs when play ends.

Headline 2026 Guarantees

Festival-wide you get more than €400,000 guaranteed across a packed schedule of events.

European Deepstack vs ACOP: which is your main target?

You can see the festival as two main paths.

1. European Deepstack Poker Championship

This is the bigger flagship. The €700 buy-in and €200,000 guarantee bring a tougher mix of Irish and European regulars, plus satellite winners and a few shot-takers.

Structure highlights:

• Multiple live Day 1 flights
• EU Deepstacks OnLive Day 1 Feb 15th @ 8pm UTC+0 on WPT® Global before the festival
• Live Day 1s on 26–27 February
• Day 2 on 28 February and the final on 1 March

OnLive Day 1 lets you start your tournament online, then continue live in Dublin if you advance. If you want a single headline event for the trip, this is the natural choice.

2. ACOP – Amateur Championship of Poker OnLive Day 1 Feb 8th @ 8pm UTC+0

ACOP aims at serious recreational players with a deep but accessible structure.

ACOP OnLive Day 1 Feb 8th @ 8pm UTC+0

Fields tend to mix Irish regulars, qualifiers from WPT® Global, and visiting recs who want room to play without committing a €700 bullet. Many players treat ACOP as their “main” and then decide on the Deepstack once they see how the week goes.

How to qualify on WPT® Global

WPT® Global sits behind the scenes as a satellite partner for the festival. If the platform operates legally where you live, you can try to win seats from small online buy-ins instead of booking everything directly.

Path to the European Deepstack + €100k Golden Ticket

The route to a €700 European Deepstack seat uses a simple step ladder:

The Golden Ticket promo:

• Win the designated $88 Golden Ticket satellite and you receive a Golden Ticket along with your seat.
• If you then win the live European Deepstack, WPT® Global adds €100,000 to your prize money.
• It is still the same live tournament. The extra €100,000 sits as added value for a small group of satellite winners.

Note: The Golden Ticket bonus is always paid under the official WPT® Global promo terms.

Path to ACOP seats

ACOP seats follow a cheaper step path, with $4.40 feeders into $44 ACOP qualifiers that award €350 ACOP seats. Exact seat counts per $44 final can change, so you should always check the current lobby.

OnLive Day 1: start from home, finish in Dublin

For the European Deepstack, WPT® Global runs an online Day 1 before the live flights. You play the same structure online. If you bag chips, you bring that stack into the live Day 2 at the Bonnington.

This setup:

• Cuts down the number of live re-entries you feel pressure to fire
• Reduces days you must spend in the hotel
• Still feeds you into the same prize pool and final table as the live Day 1 players

Hotel deals and trip basics

The Bonnington runs a player deal for festival guests:

Where Dublin sits in your Q1 2026 live calendar

For non-US WPT® Global players, Dublin Poker Festival lands in a busy stretch:

• January: WPT® Global Winter Classic at Playground near Montreal
• Late Jan – Early Feb: WPT® Prime Cambodia and WPT® Cambodia Championship
• 19 Feb – 1 March: Dublin Poker Festival at the Bonnington
• Late Feb – Early March: The Festival Bratislava and WPT® Prime Cyprus

Responsible play and practical next steps

A week at Dublin Poker Festival should feel like a holiday first and a poker project second. Real-money poker carries real financial risk. It should not be used to solve money problems, chase losses, or cover life expenses.

Before you commit:

1. Make sure online poker is legal where you live and that you are old enough to play.
2. Set a clear total budget for satellites, flights, hotel, and live entries.
3. Decide in advance how many bullets you are willing to fire in each event.

If you do decide to qualify on WPT® Global: Confirm the platform is available in your country, check the latest satellite schedule, and cross-check dates on the official Dublin Poker Festival site before you book flights.