On a turn of 2♥K♠8♦2♠ and with 55,000 chips in the pot, Felix Schneiders checked out of the big blind to Jonathan Condron under the gun. Condron then jammed all in for 64,300 chips, barely being covered by Schneiders.
Schneiders mulled his decision over for a good while before committing to a call to put his opponent at risk.
Jonathan Condron: A♦7♦
Felix Schneiders: K♥10♥
It looked like Condron's bluff would be his last hand of the Main Event, but the A♣ river saw him hit an ace to double up. Schneiders, meanwhile, was left with just 6,000 chips.
Those chips went in the next hand when Gareth McMahon raised to 10,000 from the cutoff and Matz Lindman called on the button. Schneiders also committed his chips from the small blind and the 2♣Q♦5♣ was checked through by McMahon and Lindman.
The 7♦ turn saw McMahon check-fold to a bet of Lindman, after which the cards were tabled.
Felix Schneiders: 5♥4♣
Matz Lindman: 4♠4♣
Schneider's pair of fives was the better hand and held on the 10♠ river, seeing him quadruple up.
The very next hand, Schneiders' chips went in again from the button, and his old nemesis Jonathan Condron made the call in the small blind.
Felix Schneiders: A♦A♣
Jonathan Condron: Q♠Q♣
The board ran out an inconsequential 3♣2♥7♣9♦4♠ and Schneiders doubled again to end up with around the same stack he started the day with.
Mircea Rus raised under the gun to 8,500 and it folded all the way around to small blind Andy Black who woke up with a hand good enough to put his last 87,500 in the middle. A very quick call followed by Rus after the big blind folded.
Andy Black: A♥Q♦
Mircea Rus: A♠A♦
The board was dealt 10♠4♠3♣4♦6♠ and Rus eliminated Black from the tournament.
It folded to hometown hero Fintan Hand in the small blind and he moved all-in, covering Victor Pop Cuc in the big blind who had 58,000 in front of him. Upon looking at his cards he quickly called and the cards went on their backs.
Victor Pop Cuc: A♣Q♦
Fintan Hand: A♦4♦
The A♥K♠8♥ flop and 6♠ turn only brought chop outs to Hand, but the 4♥ on the river improved Hand to two pair to send Pop Cuc to the rail.
There will be 479 players who receive a payout, with the minimum cash amounting to €1,760. However, all eyes will be on the top prize of €415,615 which the eventual champion will receive.
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.