In a four-way pot between Ulf Gustafsson in the small blind, Paul McGann in the big blind, Raitis Romanovs under the gun, and Keith Smith in the hijack, 4,000 chips had been gathered.
The flop read 10♣9♥3♥ and the action checked to Smith, who fired a bet of 3,000. Gustafsson then made it 8,000 to go, which folded out McGann. Romanovs, however, called cold and Smith tossed in the extra chips as well.
On the subsequent 4♦ turn, Gustafsson sized up to 15,000. Romanovs quickly folded but Smith still stuck around with a call. Gustaffson then put Smith all in for 16,000 on the 10♠ river and the latter slammed in a call.
Gustafsson tabled K♠K♣ for two pair with kings, beating the J♦J♣ Smith showed. Smith headed towards the exit while Gustafsson chipped up to a six-figure stack.
James Quinn jammed in his final 5,000 or so chips from under the gun. Garry Hurson sat in the small blind and did not see Quinn's raise, trying to raise against Seamus Cahill in the big blind instead. After an explanation, Hurson had to call Quinn and the cards went on their backs.
James Quinn: J♥J♣
Garry Hurson: A♣2♦
The 3♣9♥5♥ flop gave Hurson a draw to the wheel, and it came in on the 4♦ turn. Quinn had no outs left to hit as the 2♥ river completed the board, and he booked an early exit out of the Main Event.
Marcus Hallabro raised to 300 from the hijack and received calls from Paul McVeigh in the cutoff and Stephen Ryan on the button. Beat Schegel then made it 1,200 to go from the big blind and all three players called.
Schegel continued for 1,500 on the 4♥4♣7♣ flop and Hallabro and McVeigh called before Ryan got out of the way. Schegel slowed down and checked the 4♠ turn, after which Hallabro bet 3,200 chips.
McVeigh came along and Schegel tossed in a call as well, and the subsequent 6♣ river was checked by all players. Hallabro showed 7♦6♥ for a full house and McVeigh played the same full house with 7♠5♠.
However, Schegel had A♥A♣ for a better full house and raked in the big pot.
The 2024 Irish Open €1,150 Main Event, sponsored by PokerStars and Paddy Power Poker, boasts a €1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool, but if history is anything to go by, that number might be eclipsed today on Day 1b, which kicks off at the Royal Dublin Society at noon local time.
Last year, 644 entries were made during the second of four starting flights, and the expectation is that this year there will be even more of them. Eventual champion David Docherty took a pivotal step in that flight, securing the chip lead on his way to victory.
Whoever ends up with the most chips this time around will have to surpass Day 1a chipleader Pascal Baumgartner, who ended up with 329,500 chips, to grab the overall chip lead. Meanwhile, Irish grinder Simon Wilson (303,500) and UKIPT London High Roller champion Jorge Ramella (259,000) also found themselves in the top ten chip counts after the first starting flight had whittled its 379 entries down to just 72.
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
Docherty also made an appearance on the first starting flight but fell shortly before the day ended. The expectation is that he will return today for Day 1b, as will many other faces from yesterday, alongside heaps of new names.
David Docherty
Day 1b will play 14 levels of 45 minutes each, with a break after every three of them. Every registrant will receive 30,000 chips, worth 300 big blinds at the start of play and just under 19 of them when late registration closes at the end of Level 10.
One reentry is allowed per starting flight, and those who use up both bullets today still have Day 1c and the turbo flight of Day 1d to look forward to, both taking place tomorrow, Friday, March 29.
Irish Open Main Event Day 1b Structure
Level
Small Blind
Big Blind
Big Blind Ante
Duration
1
100
100
45 min.
2
100
200
45 min.
3
100
200
200
45 min.
Break
20 min.
4
100
300
300
45 min.
5
200
400
400
45 min.
6
200
500
500
45 min.
Break
20 min.
7
300
600
600
45 min.
8
400
800
800
45 min.
9
500
1,000
1,000
45 min.
Dinner Break
60 min.
10
600
1,200
1,200
45 min.
11
800
1,600
1,600
45 min.
12
1,000
2,000
2,000
45 min.
Break
20 min.
13
1,000
2,500
2,500
45 min.
14
1,500
3,000
3,000
45 min.
Stay tuned as PokerNews will provide all of the Day 1b action from the tournament floor in Dublin, from the deep-stacked beginning to the thrilling and volatile conclusion.
