EBF & IBF Tournament

The Irish Open
2026

Tenpin Ireland's flagship international open comes to Dundonald International Ice Bowl, Belfast from 18–25 October 2026 — an EBF and IBF sanctioned singles mixed tournament with 8-game qualification and four final steps on Finals Day.

calendar_month 18–25 October 2026 location_on DIIB, Belfast public EBF & IBF Tournament

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Final Results · Sunday 25 October 2026

Ben Robinson — Irish Open 2026 Champion

1Ben Robinson🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England
2William Clasborn🇸🇪 Sweden
3Erik Larsson🇸🇪 Sweden

Tenpin Ireland Member Prizes

Awarded to the highest-finishing Tenpin Ireland members in each age category, in addition to any general prize won at the Open. Subject to confirmation of current membership; juniors under 18 receive a voucher.

Adults

Men

1stChristopher Sloan5th overall€150
2ndTaylor Williams7th overall€100

Women

1stAimee Kellegher19th overall€150
2ndHannah Masterson22nd overall€100

Seniors

Men

1stKenny Donnelly23rd overall€150
2ndPaul McCauley30th overall€100

Women

1stPhil Joyce44th overall€150
2ndDonna Horton55th overall€100

Juniors

Mixed

1stColum Staines15th overall€200
2ndEd Marshall18th overall€150
3rdLucy Masterson51st overall€100

Thank you

On behalf of Tenpin Ireland, thank you to every athlete who travelled to Belfast for the Irish Open 2026, and to all the volunteers, scorers and tournament staff who gave their time across the week. Our thanks to Dundonald International Ice Bowl for hosting us, to Sport Ireland, Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council and Deep RiverRock for their support, and to all our national sponsors, including Coolwick, Tenpin Toolkit, BowlersMart and Lanetalk.

Stepladder Round Robin Top 18 Top 36 Qualifying

At a Glance

Dates: 18–25 October 2026
Venue: Dundonald International Ice Bowl, Belfast
Sanctioning: EBF Tournament and IBF Tournament — open to athletes from all zones
Category: Open
Event: Singles Mixed
Qualification: 8 games — 2 series of 4 games
Re-entries: 4 games — unlimited, subject to availability
Squad capacity: 36 athletes per squad
Women’s handicap: 8 pins per game (maximum scratch game 292)
Ball regulations: 78d hardness minimum

Qualification Squads & Fees

Sixteen qualification squads run from Sunday 18 to Saturday 24 October, each with 36 spots. A primary entry is 2 squads (8 games) — the cost is the total of the two squads you book.

Squad	Day	Date	Time	Spots	Entry	Re-entry
01	Sunday	18 Oct	08.30	36	€50	—
02	Sunday	18 Oct	11.30	36	€50	—
03	Monday	19 Oct	19.30	36	€55	€55
04	Tuesday	20 Oct	19.30	36	€55	€55
05	Thursday	22 Oct	10.00	36	€60	€60
06	Thursday	22 Oct	13.00	36	€60	€60
07	Thursday	22 Oct	16.00	36	€60	€60
08	Thursday	22 Oct	19.00 — cancelled	36	€60	€60
09	Friday	23 Oct	10.00	36	€65	€65
10	Friday	23 Oct	13.00	36	€65	€65
11	Friday	23 Oct	16.00	36	€65	€65
12	Friday	23 Oct	19.00	36	€65	€65
13	Saturday	24 Oct	10.00	36	€70	€70
14	Saturday	24 Oct	13.00	36	€70	€70
15	Saturday	24 Oct	16.00	36	€70	€70
16	Saturday	24 Oct	19.00	36	€70	€70

Primary entry (8 games, 2 squads) is the total cost of the 2 squads booked — for example, Squad 07 (€60) + Squad 14 (€70) = €130. Registration closes 20 minutes before squad times. See who's in each squad →

Finals Day — Sunday 25 October

The Irish Open concludes with four final steps on Sunday 25 October, with lane maintenance between each step.

Final Step 1

Top 36 schedule 10.00

Final Step 2

Top 18 schedule 13.00

Final Step 3

Top 8 schedule 15.30

Final Step 4

Top 3 schedule 18.00

Tournament Format

8-game qualification — two series of 4 games with unlimited 4-game re-entries — feeding four final steps, from the top 36 down to a stepladder final.

Qualifying Round

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8 games — 2 series of 4, with re-entries

Qualification is over 8 games — 2 series of 4 games. 4-game re-entries (unlimited, subject to availability) can be used to replace the lower of the initial two series, providing the re-entry score is higher than that series; if not, the initial series total is retained. The higher of the initial two series must be retained for the qualification total. Re-entry reservations are taken on a first-come, first-served basis, with waiting lists made where necessary. Women’s bonus: 8 pins per game.

The Final Steps — Sunday 25 October

1

Final Step 1
Top 36 · 10.00

The top 36 athletes after qualifying progress to Final Step 1, carrying 50% of their qualifying pinfall forward, and bowl a further 4 games. The top 18 on overall combined pinfall progress to Final Step 2. Women’s bonus: 8 pins per game.
2

Final Step 2
Top 18 · 13.00

The 18 athletes contest a further 4 games, with the top 8 on overall combined pinfall progressing to Final Step 3. Women’s bonus: 8 pins per game.
3

Final Step 3
Top 8 · 15.30

The top 8 compete in a 7-game round robin to determine the top 3 stepladder finalists. Bonus points: win 30, draw 15, loss 0. The 3 athletes with the largest overall combined pinfall and bonus total after the 7 round-robin games are seeded 1 to 3. Women’s bonus: 8 pins per game.
4

Final Step 4
Top 3 · 18.00

The top 3 athletes contest a stepladder final. Seed 3 plays Seed 2 in a one-game semi-final; the winner meets Seed 1 in the final. Seed 1 must be defeated twice to lose the title. Women’s bonus: 8 pins per game.

Tie Rules

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Qualifying cut (Top 36): if a tie occurs for 36th place, it will be broken by the player with the highest scratch pinfall single game within their counting 8-game qualifying block.

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In Final Step 1, Step 2 and the Top 8: ties are decided by the highest last game on scratch pinfall.

balance

Stepladder: ties will be decided by a 9th & 10th frame roll-off.

Entries & Booking

Entries for the Irish Open 2026 are now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered and took part.

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Primary entry

2 squads (8 games). The cost is the total of the 2 squads booked — for example, Squad 07 (€60) + Squad 14 (€70) = €130.

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Booking before the tournament

A maximum of four squads can be booked in advance: a primary entry (2 squads) and 2 re-entries. If squads are oversubscribed, primary entries take precedence over re-entries.

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Booking during the tournament

Unlimited, subject to availability.

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Cancellations

Booking cancellations are possible.

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Registration deadline

20 minutes before squad times.

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Prize Fund

trending_up Increases with entries

The prize fund is conditional, increasing per entry received — the more entries, the bigger the fund and the more places paid. The two columns below are worked examples from the tournament application. No tax is applied to prizes.

Position	80 Entries and 80 Re-entries	150 Entries and 150 Re-entries
1	€3,000	€5,000
2	€1,950	€3,000
3	€1,500	€2,100
4	€1,200	€1,750
5	€975	€1,500
6	€825	€1,300
7	€725	€1,150
8	€625	€1,000
9	€575	€850
10	€525	€800
11	€475	€750
12	€450	€700
13	€425	€650
14	€400	€600
15	€375	€550
16	€350	€500
17	€325	€450
18	€300	€400
19	—	€375
20	—	€350
21	—	€325
22	—	€300
23	—	€275
24	—	€250
Total	€15,000	€24,925

Worked examples of the conditional prize fund — the final fund and places paid are determined by entries received.

Lane Conditions & Movements

Dressing Specifications

Oil pattern: Kegel Navigate
Oil machine: Kegel Kustodian Ion
Cleaner: Kegel Defense-C
Pattern prepared by: Tenpin Ireland
Dressing done by: The centre

Lane Assignments & Movements

Lane draws: Randomly done by the organiser, then according to qualifying positions in following rounds
Athletes per pair: 2 to 4, depending on squad sizes
Frequency of movement: After each game
Movement method: Left lane moves left, right lane moves right
Lanes to move: 2 to 4, depending on squad sizes