A busy Day 1a of the €1,150 Irish Open Main Event, sponsored by PokerStars and Paddy Power Poker, saw 379 entries being made at the Royal Dublin Society, a step up from the 324 the event knew on Day 1a in 2023. After more than 12 hours of play, only 72 of them remained and they all bagged and tagged for Day 2, which will take place on Saturday, March 30.
Among the players who had chips remaining at the end of play was PokerStars Ambassador Fintan Hand, who experienced a late-night surge to end up with an above-average stack of 252,000 chips, good for 63 big blinds at the start of Day 2. However, Hand is still some ways away from chipleader Pascal Baumgartner, who managed to bag 329,500 at the end of the night.
Baumgartner finished third in the 2018 Irish Open Main Event for €100,000, his largest-ever live cash, and has made good strides for another deep run in Dublin. Following Baumgartner closely is Niclas Thumm with 322,500 chips, while Ville Jantunen rounds out the top three with a stack of 305,500. Meanwhile, Simon Wilson was the best-performing Irishman on Day 1, securing fourth place with 303,500 chips in his bag.
End of Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pascal Baumgartner | Switzerland | 329,500 | 82 |
| 2 | Niclas Thumm | Germany | 322,500 | 81 |
| 3 | Ville Jantunen | Finland | 305,500 | 76 |
| 4 | Simon Wilson | Ireland | 303,500 | 76 |
| 5 | Max Deveson | United Kingdom | 302,000 | 76 |
| 6 | Patrick Larkin | Ireland | 301,500 | 75 |
| 7 | Sebestyen Csoti | Hungary | 283,000 | 71 |
| 8 | Jorge Ramella | Uruguay | 259,000 | 65 |
| 9 | April Wiggins | United States | 257,500 | 64 |
| 10 | Nadja Sutter | Switzerland | 256,000 | 64 |
Also making it through on Day 1a were the likes of podcaster Adam McKola (229,500), Irish pride Marc Macdonnell (80,000), and bracelet winners Benny Glaser (205,000), Tobias Peters (193,000), Juha Helppi (192,000), Marius Kudzmanas (161,500), and Jessica Marks (129,000).
Among the less lucky ones were Irish all-time money leader Andy Black, poker couple Benjamin Spragg and Marle Spragg, and defending champion David Docherty who all fired one or two unsuccessful bullets throughout the day.
However, they need not fret as they can try again tomorrow, Thursday, March 28, when Day 1b kicks off at noon local time. Just like on Day 1a, 14 levels of 45 minutes will be played, with a single reentry being available to the players during the late registration period of ten levels.
The guaranteed prize pool of €1,000,000 is already well on its way to being shattered and Day 1b is expected to make significant progress to that magic seven-figure number, so check back in to PokerNews tomorrow for another thrilling starting flight of the €1,150 Irish Open Main Event.
