Stephen Freeman had opened to 25,000 in middle position and was flat-called by Eduard Fechita in the hijack.
It folded to Ian Simpson in the big blind, who committed his stack of 112,000 and was called by both opponents.
Freeman and Fechita checked through the 3♠7♠9♦K♣J♦ board. Simpson tabled A♥10♠ for ace-high, after which Freeman celebrated and showed J♣8♠ for a pair of jacks.
Freeman's celebration was premature, however, as Fechita had the best hand with his K♠Q♦, taking down the pot and earning Simpson's bounty.
Santtu Leinonen pushed in his stack of 234,000 from the small blind and was called by Stephen Freeman in the big blind.
Santtu Leinonen: A♦8♠
Stephen Freeman: 9♦6♣
Freeman flopped two pair on 10♦10♥6♦ to take the lead. The 3♠ turn and J♦ river could not save Leinonen, who took his exit just before the table broke.
Ben Miller raised to 40,000 in the cutoff and was three-bet to 110,000 by Fabian Rolli on the button. It folded back to Miller, who put in a call to the 10♣J♦4♦ flop.
Rolli continued for 85,000, seeing Miller check-call. Rolli sized up to 130,000 on the Q♠ turn, with Miller putting in another check-call.
Rolli then put Miller all-in for 300,000 on the 9♣ river. Miller quickly let go of his cards this time, surrendering the pot to Rolli.
Philip Butt and Robbie Bull were heads-up on a flop of 9♣2♠J♦, where Butt checked from the small blind to Bull in middle position. Bull put in a bet of 45,000, which Butt raised to 105,000.
Bull made the call too the 5♥ turn, where he called Butt's bet of 155,000 as well. Butt then slowed down on the K♣ river, checking over to Bull.
Bull quickly put his opponent all-in for 575,000, seeing his opponent quickly fold as Butt surrendered the pot.
Erik Sturkenboom in the big blind and Yurii Zabrodotskyi in middle position were looking at a completed board of A♥2♥10♥J♠3♦.
Sturkenboom assembled 500,000 chips and pushed them into the pot of 750,000, sending Zabrodotskyi into the tank. After a minute or so, Zabrodotskyi tossed in a calling chip.
Sturkenboom shook his head as he tabled 10♦7♥ for a pair of tens. Zabrodotskyi showed K♦Q♥ for a straight, shipping the large pot and leaving Sturkenboom with 14 big blinds.
Catching the action on a completed board of 3♣A♥J♠2♠10♦, Patrick Clarke in the big blind and Chen Xiacheng under the gun had built a modest pot of 250,000 when Clarke checked to Xiacheng.
Xiacheng then fired 350,000 and was snapped off by Clarke. Xiacheng tabled K♣Q♦ for the rivered nuts, causing Clarke to slam his fist on the table and angrily toss his cards into the muck.
Patrick Eagers was at risk for 490,000 under the gun and had been looked up by Vasileios Zisis in the big blind.
Patrick Eagers: 10♥10♦
Vasileios Zisis: A♥K♥
Eagers kindly asked for a diamond after the A♦9♦3♦ flop, and his request was granted on the 5♦ turn. Zisis's top pair was drawing dead against the flush of Eagers, rendering the Q♠ river meaningless.
Eagers doubled up to seven figures, surpassing Zisis in the counts.
The €1,150 Luxon Mystery Bounty at the 2025 Irish Open, sponsored by PokerStars and Paddy Power Poker, drew a bumper crowd of 1,222 entries to the halls of the Royal Dublin Society, of which 385 sat down for Day 2 at the start of today. Over the course of ten levels, they were whittled down to just 30 contenders, with Romanian grinder Florian Duta claiming the best position on the hunt for the lion's share of the €595,725 cash prize pool, the €102,600 first-place prize.
Duta is a long-time regular on the international poker circuit, amassing over three million in live earnings over the past 15 years, earning him a second place on Romania's all-time money list. Duta bagged 5,510,000 at the end of Day 2, being the only player to cross the five-million mark and starting Day 3 with 138 big blinds.
Following Duta in the counts is Terrance Reid from the United States. Reid ended Day 2 with 4,875,000 as he is looking to debut at the Irish Open with a bang. European regular Nils Pudel rounds out the top three with 3,895,00, while bracelet winner Tobias Peters and Day 1d chipleader Yurii Zabrodotskyi also secured a spot in the top ten.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Florian Duta
Romania
5,510,000
138
2
Terrance Reid
United States
4,875,000
122
3
Nils Pudel
Germany
3,895,000
97
4
Chen Xiacheng
China
3,205,000
80
5
Tobias Peters
Netherlands
2,805,000
70
6
Yurii Zabrodotskyi
Ukraine
2,740,000
69
7
Maksim Petrov
Estonia
2,515,000
63
8
Philip Joyce
United Kingdom
2,485,000
62
9
Adrian Ziemichod
Poland
2,440,000
61
10
Fabian Rolli
Switzerland
2,435,000
61
Terrance Reid
Other notable survivors include Scottish grinder Robbie Bull (1,760,000), start-of-day chipleader Nikolaos Angelou (1,205,000), and Canadian bracelet winner Michael Khan (1,125,000). Meanwhile, Ireland's best-performing representative was Ruairi McLaughlin, with 2,160,000.
Day 2 Action
The day started with 385 players taking their seats. With only 181 players getting paid, many had to fall before the money. PokerStars'Benjamin Spragg and Marle Spragg were among the early casualties of the day, along with the likes of Jon Kyte, Marc MacDonnell, and Frank Stepuchin.
Eventually, the bubble was reached. With no less than five all-in and calls during the first hand of bubble play, Leo Worthington-Leese, Rafael Navas, and Nikolaos Mouroutiswere all eliminated, sharing two min-cashes of €840 between them.
Leo Worthington-Leese
After the bubble, the bounties came into play, resulting in a fast pace of eliminations. Red Spades Alex Romero (162nd - €840) and Fintan Hand (142nd - €960), as was Triple Crown winner and Day 1a chipleader Niall Farrell (152nd - €840).
Day 1b leader Mark Finnane reached 77th place for €1,280, while Jorge Rios finished in 54th for €1,680. Rios had already declared his tournament a success earlier in the day, however. He had pulled the top bounty of €102,600, the only six-figure bounty in play from the €595,725 bounty prize pool, stating he felt "like he had already won the tournament."
Jorge Rios
During the final level of Day 2, Mateusz Moolhuizen (38th - €1.940) hit the exit, while 2015 Irish Open Main Event champion Patrick Clarke was one of the final casualties, falling in 32nd for €1,940, joining 2013 champion Ian Simpson at the rail as he fell earlier in the night in 85th for €1,280.
When all was said and done, 30 players remained, who had all guaranteed themselves a payout of €2,220. They will return tomorrow, April 14, at noon local time, for the penultimate day of the tournament, which will start in Level 25: 20,000/40,000 (40,000). All levels will remain 60 minutes long, and the plan is to play down to a final table, where the five-figure payouts will be reached.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
1
€102,600
10-11
€7,260
2
€63,860
12-13
€6,060
3
€45,620
14-15
€5,040
4
€35,080
16-17
€4,200
5
€27,000
18-20
€3,500
6
€20,785
21-23
€2,940
7
€15,980
24-27
€2,560
8
€12,280
28-30
€2,220
9
€9,440
PokerNews will be back on the floor in Dublin tomorrow, so tune back in then to not miss any of the mystery bounty action.
