To say it was a busy day at the Royal Dublin Society on Day 1b of the 2024 €1,150 Irish Open Main Event would be an understatement. The second of four starting days blew all the records out of the water, ending up with 833 entries on the clock at the end of the late registration period. Meanwhile, the €1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool was also shattered to bits, as €1,355,250 has been collected thus far.
At the end of the day, 169 players were left standing, and they all secured a bag for Day 2, which takes place on Saturday, March 30. Leading them is hometown hero Glenn Keogh, who ended up with a stack of 393,000 chips, good for 98 big blinds at the start of Day 2. Keogh is no stranger to success in Dublin, with two of his three largest recorded live cashes having taken place in the Irish capital.
Also bagging big were James Wickens from the United Kingdom and Dutchman Firat Baltaci, who sit in second and third place with 384,000 and 370,000 chips respectively. Meanwhile, Jakob Linden from Sweden (355,000) and Alexander D'Souza from Australia (353,000) round out the international top five, while Austria, the United States, and Finland also have a representative in the top ten.
End of Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glenn Keogh | Ireland | 393,000 | 98 |
| 2 | James Wickens | United Kingdom | 384,000 | 96 |
| 3 | Firat Baltaci | Netherlands | 370,000 | 93 |
| 4 | Jakob Linden | Sweden | 355,000 | 89 |
| 5 | Alexander D'Souza | Australia | 353,000 | 88 |
| 6 | Samuel Klocker | Austria | 341,500 | 85 |
| 7 | Brian Moore | United States | 340,000 | 85 |
| 8 | Aidan Quinlan | Ireland | 328,500 | 82 |
| 9 | Ka Wing Pun | United Kingdom | 321,500 | 80 |
| 10 | Luka Sorainen | Finland | 308,500 | 77 |
Other players who managed to make it through on Day 1b include former PokerStars employee turned crusher Ankit Ahuja (280,000), old-school legends Ilari Sahamies (209,500) and Luca Pagano (172,500), and triple crown winner Niall Farrell (142,500).
Those who showed up on Day 1b but will have to make another attempt tomorrow in Day 1c or Day 1d include defending champion David Docherty, Irish all-time money leader Andy Black, PokerStars Ambassador Felix Schneiders, EPT Prague winner Padraig O'Neill, and runner-up in the same tournament Jon Kyte.
They can try again tomorrow, Friday, March 29 from noon onwards as that is when Day 1c of the Main Event kicks off. The penultimate day is expected to be the busiest of them all, and for those who get unlucky in it there is a turbo flight Day 1d planned at 8 p.m. on the same day,
Tune back in then to PokerNews to see how the final starting flights of the Irish Open Main Event play out, and witness if the attendance record gets broken for the third consecutive year.
