Veaceslav Jumir Leads After Day 1a of €350 Main event
The opening day of the €350 Main event at the Bonnington Dublin Hotel has come to a close after it produced plenty of action as players battled it out in the hunt for their spot on Day 2, which plays out on Sunday, October 27.
Day 1a saw a total of 80 entries, with only 12 surviving after fifteen 40-minute levels. Topping the counts is Veaceslav Jumir of Moldova, who managed to bring through a stack of 350,000 ahead of Day 2.
Veaceslav Jumir is no stranger to the International Poker Open, having reached the final table in two side events at last year’s series, where he placed fourth and seventh. This August, the Moldovan earned his largest cash of €4,750, and as the current chip leader heading into Day 2 of the Main Event, he's undoubtedly aiming to surpass that achievement with an even bigger score.
End of Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veaceslav Jumir | Moldova | 350,000 | 70 |
| 2 | Luke Walsh | Ireland | 302,000 | 60 |
| 3 | Steven Lee | Ireland | 263,000 | 53 |
| 4 | Raymond Wheatley | Ireland | 231,000 | 46 |
| 5 | Thomas Murphy | Ireland | 231,000 | 46 |
| 6 | John Burke | Ireland | 205,000 | 41 |
| 7 | Pablo Villena | Spain | 181,000 | 36 |
| 8 | Joe Ward | Ireland | 147,000 | 29 |
| 9 | Richard O'Neill | Ireland | 144,000 | 29 |
| 10 | Matthew Flanagan | Ireland | 117,000 | 23 |
Following close behind Jumir, and as the only other player over the 300,000-chip mark, is Ireland's Luke Walsh (302,000). The Irishman joined the tournament near the end of late registration and steadily grew his stack with consistent aggression. With over seven figures in live tournament earnings, Walsh will be one to watch on Day 2.
Rounding out the counts in third is Stephen Lee (263,000), while last year's final tablist, Richard O'Neill, maneuvered his way through the day and bagged up a stack of 144,000. O'Neill was seated from the near the very start and after picking off a bluff from Duane McDonnell during Level 9, O'Neill never really looked in trouble of exiting the event. O'Neill finished fifth in this event in 2023 and must be feeling a bit of deja vu as he makes back-to-back Day 2's.
Tomorrow, Day 1b gets underway at 2 p.m. local time and follows the same structure as today. Any player who didn’t manage to make it through today has the chance to try up to two times again tomorrow since all entrants are allowed one reentry per flight.
That concludes PokerNews’ coverage of Day 1a from the IPO Main Event. Be sure to tune back in tomorrow to catch all the action from the second of six opening flights.