€1,150 Main Event
Day 1b Completed
2023 Irish Open
€1,150 Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1b
2023 Irish Open
Buy-in
€1,150
Prize Pool
€2,428,725
Entries
2,491
Level
41
Blinds
600,000 / 1,200,000
Ante
1,200,000
Entries
644
Players Left
226
David Docherty Gathers Massive Lead on Day 1b
Level 10
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Day 1b of the €1,150, €1 Million Guaranteed Irish Poker Main Event at the Royal Dublin Society was completed Thursday evening. David Docherty overwhelmingly leads 226 players to Day 2 with an imposing stack of 405,300.
The second of four starting flights in the Main Event attracted a total of 644 runners, blowing the numbers of last edition's Day 1b out of the water. This day also saw the guarantee being broken, as all flights combined now have over 1,100 entries.
Chip leader Docherty's last big score was when he made the final table of EPT London in 2022. He will be looking to achieve the same feat in Dublin and has made an excellent start to that journey on Day 1b.
The nearest contender is Finland's Arto Mansner with 302,600 chips. Other notables in the top 10 include bracelet winner Carl Shaw and Dutchman Michel Molenaar.
Top 10 Leaderboard from Day 1b
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Docherty | United Kingdom | 405,300 | 338 |
| 2 | Arto Mansner | Finland | 302,600 | 252 |
| 3 | Aaron McCreanor | United Kingdom | 257,400 | 215 |
| 4 | Russell Ming Yeow Lim | Singapore | 232,500 | 194 |
| 5 | Daniel Rohrbasser | United Kingdom | 231,000 | 193 |
| 6 | Carl Shaw | United Kingdom | 212,000 | 177 |
| 7 | Iosif Spulber | United Kingdom | 208,800 | 174 |
| 8 | Michel Molenaar | Netherlands | 199,000 | 166 |
| 9 | Michael O'Neill | Ireland | 198,000 | 165 |
| 10 | James McCourt | United Kingdom | 187,700 | 156 |
Other notable players who made it through the second starting flight include Paddy Power Ambassador Tom Parsons (109,000), Niall Farrell (72,000), and Dominik Nitsche (48,800).
Conor Beresford also made it through Day 1b with a stack of 175,200, most of which he won in a must-read three-way preflop all-in, worth over 150 big blinds at the time.
Players who played today but will have to try their luck on Day 1c or Day 1d to still have a shot at the trophy include Steve O'Dwyer and PokerStars Ambassadors Benjamin Spragg and Parker Talbot.
Those who bagged on Day 1b will return on April 8 at noon for Day 2, which will combine the remaining players from all four starting flights. The third and fourth will be happening on Friday, April 7, with Day 1c starting at noon and a turbo-structured Day 1d starting at 10 p.m. for the night owls.
The last two flights are expected to attract an even bigger field, so be sure to check in with PokerNews who will be live reporting all throughout Day 1c.
End of Day 1b Chip Counts (full)
Level 10
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
405,300 | |
|
302,600 | 97,600 |
|
257,400 | |
|
232,500 | 2,500 |
|
231,000 | 55,400 |
|
212,000 | 212,000 |
|
208,800 | 208,800 |
|
199,000 | 51,000 |
|
198,000 | 198,000 |
|
|
187,700 | 187,700 |
|
|
182,900 | 86,400 |
|
178,900 | 178,900 |
|
178,700 | 178,700 |
|
|
178,500 | 178,500 |
|
175,200 | 37,200 |
|
|
169,000 | 24,000 |
|
|
168,800 | 168,800 |
|
164,500 | 164,500 |
|
|
162,800 | 162,800 |
|
162,400 | 162,400 |
|
|
158,500 | 90,500 |
|
|
158,000 | 158,000 |
|
158,000 | 158,000 |
|
158,000 | 123,000 |
|
157,000 | 157,000 |
Day 1b Has Now Concluded
Level 10
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
After 10 levels of play, Day 1b has now concluded. Out of 644 entrants, 229 have made it through the flight and will be coming back for Day 2. The prize pool has now reached €1,096,875, meaning the guarantee has already been surpassed with two flights to come. Standby for a full recap.
Chamani Doubles With Pocket Queens
Level 10
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Stephen Cherry raised and Sihao Zhang reraised to 7,000. Ronit Chamani moved all in for 26,000 and Zhang made the call. Two players flipped over their cards in what was one of the final hands of the night.
Ronit Chamani: 
Sihao Zhang: 
The board ran out 
. Chamani's pocket queens held and she doubled up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
58,000 | |
|
54,000 |
Rohrbasser Catches Bluff Near End of Day
Level 10
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
There was a sum of roughly 75,000 chips in the middle on a completed board of 
. Elliot Hackney from early position had put his opponent Daniel Rohrbasser on the button all-in for 50,300.
Rohrbasser was in doubt about whether to put his stack at risk this late on the day, but decided he could not let his hand go and put in a single chip signaling a call.
Hackney exclaimed that his opponent made the right call and tried to muck his hand, but was forced to show the 
as it concerned an all-in situation. Rohrbasser had 
for the overpair and soared in the ranks just before the end of play.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
175,600 | |
|
12,700 |
Players To Be Dealt Five More Hands
Level 10
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
The tournament director has announced that there will be five more hands to play before Day 1b concludes.
Lim Stacks Up to Over 200,000 Chips
Level 10
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Russell Ming Yeow Lim raised from early position and was three-bet by Carl Shaw. The small blind came along and Lim also made the call.
The flop came 
and all three players checked. The turn was the 
and action picked back up as Mansner led out for 15,000. Lim called, as did Shaw.
The river was the 
and Mansner led out again for 30,000. Lim eventually made the call and flipped over 
for a pair of aces. He took down what was a huge pot and with that stacked up to become one of the tournament chip leaders.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
230,000 | |
|
|
205,000 | 81,000 |
Nitsche Triples His Hopes, Mameche Wins Big Side Pot
Level 10
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Elias Fisz raised from under the gun to 2,500 and received calls from Slimane Mameche in middle position and Desmond O'Leary in the hijack. Dominik Nitsche was short in the cutoff and went all-in for his last 7,000 chips. The action folded back to Mameche who called, as did O'Leary.
The duo checked the 
flop for the side pot before the turn was put on the felt. Mameche bet out 12,000, to which O'Leary responded by going all-in himself for 43,000 chips. Nameche called the rest off and all three players showed their hands.
Dominik Nitsche:
Desmond O'Leary: 
Slimane Mameche:
Mameche was on course to scoop the whole pot with his turned flush, but the 
gave Nitsche the nuts. Nitsche tripled up, while Mameche was not unhappy with the side pot.
O'Leary was the only one left without chips and had to leave the tournament area during the last level of the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
113,000 | |
|
26,000 | -9,500 |
|
|
Busted |
Heaney Takes Down Three Bet Pot
Level 10
: Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Kelly Kellner raised to 2,500 and Ciaran Heaney reraised to 7,500. Kellner called and action went to the flop.
The flop came . Kellner checked, Heaney bet 10,000 and Kellner folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
71,000 | |
|
59,000 | 59,000 |