Record-Breaking Irish Open Main Event Moves Onto Bubble-Bursting Day 2
The 2024 Irish Open €1,150 Main Event blew all records out of the water. The total entry count of 3,233 crushed the previous record of 2,491 that was set in 2023. This amazing turnout amassed a staggering prize pool of €3,152,175. This money will be divided among a portion of the 743 players who survived one of the four starting flights and return today at noon local time to the Royal Dublin Society for Day 2, although the exact payouts have not been announced at the time of writing.
The bubble is set to take place today, however, and Dutchman Henk Pol will be looking forward to that stage of the tournament as he managed to grab the overall chip lead, managing to bag 426,500 chips on the massive Day 1c. Not much is known about Pol, who only has a few recorded live cashes in his home region. Meanwhile, Simon Maher was the best-performing Irishman and will start with 415,000 chips to his name. The only other player who accumulated more than 100 big blinds is Samuel Goodman, who returns with 411,500 chips in his bag.
Start of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henk Pol | Netherlands | 426,500 | 107 |
| 2 | Simon Maher | Ireland | 415,000 | 104 |
| 3 | Samuel Goodman | United Kingdom | 411,500 | 103 |
| 4 | Glenn Keogh | Ireland | 393,000 | 98 |
| 5 | Konstantinos Vatseris | Greece | 389,000 | 97 |
| 6 | Michael Khan | Canada | 388,500 | 97 |
| 7 | James Wickens | United Kingdom | 384,000 | 96 |
| 8 | Kevin Sheerin | Ireland | 378,500 | 95 |
| 9 | Firat Baltaci | Netherlands | 370,000 | 93 |
| 10 | Gary McMahon | Ireland | 363,500 | 91 |
The Irish Open is sponsored by PokerStars and Paddy Power Poker this year, and their ambassadors saw great success in reaching Day 2. Fintan Hand (252,000), Georgina James (173,500), Benjamin Spragg (105,000), Sebastian Huber (85,000), and €5,000 High Roller winner Parker Talbot (34,000) will represent the Red Spades, while Paddy Power has Conor O'Driscoll (88,000) still in the field.
Other notables who still have a shot at becoming the Irish Open champion include Ankit Ahuja (280,000), Adam McKola (229,500), Ilari Sahamies (209,500), Benny Glaser (205,000), Juha Helppi (192,000), Luca Pagano (172,500), Jon Kyte (151,000), and Triple Crown winner Niall Farrell (142,500).
Meanwhile, Ireland has the likes of Simon Wilson (303,500), Stephen Kehoe (269,000) Paul Carr (226,500), David Lappin (111,000), Andy Black (108,500), Marc Macdonnell (80,000), and Dara O'Kearney (66,500) still in the mix to try and keep the trophy home.
Play will restart in Level 15: 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 big blind ante. All levels will be 60 minutes in length from here on out, and eight of them will be played on Day 2, ending with blinds at 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante. With a 20-minute break after every two levels, play is expected to conclude around 9 p.m. local time, promising an early night for those who survive. There will also be a cards-up live stream hosted on the PokerStars Twitch and YouTube channels, which operates on a 30-minute delay.
Stay tuned as PokerNews will be providing all of the exciting action of Day 2 of the Irish Open Main Event.