Leo Worthington-Leese Leads Day 1c of Irish Poker Festival €3,000 Main Event
The last two flights of the 2024 Irish Poker Festival €3,000 Main Event are now over, here at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. After a total of 59 entrants were combined in Day 1a and 1b, Day 1c broke records with 137 entries.
Players like Niall Farrell qualified for Day 2 through Day 1c after unsuccessful attempts earlier in the week, while recent EPT Cyprus Eureka Main Event champion Leo Worthington-Leese was entering the tournament for the first time today. It seems like one bullet was enough for him, as he ended the day as the chip leader with 288,700. Second in chips is Ravi Sheth (265,600), while Farrell takes third place (258,000).
2024 Irish Poker Festival €3,000 Main Event Day 1c Top Ten
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leo Worthington-Leese | United Kingdom | 288,700 | 180 |
| 2 | Ravi Sheth | United Kingdom | 265,600 | 166 |
| 3 | Niall Farrell | United Kingdom | 258,000 | 161 |
| 4 | Raul Martinez | Spain | 250,700 | 157 |
| 5 | Lukas Paliulis | Lithuania | 189,800 | 119 |
| 6 | Richard Ashby | United Kingdom | 178,000 | 111 |
| 7 | Noel Hayes | Ireland | 173,400 | 108 |
| 8 | Alex Todd | United Kingdom | 171,000 | 107 |
| 9 | Aleksander Januskevic | Lithuania | 168,300 | 105 |
| 10 | James Donnelly | Ireland | 154,500 | 97 |
Day 1c's Action
Despite a slow start, more players quickly joined the field, including Andy Black, Thomas Murphy, Olga Iermolcheva, Mallory Frere, and Michael Sklenicka, who was first in chips during the first break of the day. But by the second break after Level 4, Worthington-Leese had already taken the lead in chip counts. He held the top spot until the end, calling with jacks on an ace-high board to take chips for example.
With him, only three players surpassed 200,000 chips by day's end: Raul Martinez, who hit a full house in one of the last hands, ending with 250,700; Farrell, who doubled up in Level 8, catching Mircea Rus bluffing; and Sheth.
Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Richard Ashby (178,000) also bagged a big stack, as did Alex Todd (171,000), who reentered after being one of the first eliminated players today.
"The Chip Race" podcast co-host Dara O'Kearney managed to bag 123,100 chips, along with Eoghan O'Dea (122,900), Adi Rajkovic (117,100), and Lars Kamphues (102,100). The 2023 EPT Prague champion Padraig O'Neill (26,800) and Nils Pudel (18,300) also qualified for Day 2, though with some of the shortest stacks.
Bobby James, Roope Tarmi, and Kuljinder Sidhu did not qualify for Day 2. Olga Iermolcheva also fell short, being eliminated in a three-way all-in situation. However, all of them still have the opportunity to enter or re-enter the tournament on Day 2 until the end of Level 12.
A few hours after the end of Day 1c, Day 1d Turbo ended with 22 remaining players out of 31 entries. Tomas Flanagan (183,400) had the biggest stack, in flight where Andy Black (78,600), Leo Lombardozzi (48,500) or Maria Lampropulos (44,800) found a bag.
For the 121 remaining players, Day 2 kicks off tomorrow, Saturday, November 2 at 1 p.m. local time. Blinds will start at 800/1,600 with a big blind ante of 1,600.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the latest action from the tables and find out who makes it through to the third and final day.