Mark Murphy put in a raise to 250,000 in the cutoff. The action folded to Florian Duta in the big blind, who opted to defend.
Duta and Murphy checked through the 4♦3♣4♥ flop before Duta bet 190,000 on the 8♠ turn. Murphy called to the 7♦ river, where he called Duta's bet of 215,000 as well.
Duta revealed 4♠2♠ for flopped trips, taking down the pot when Murphy's cards hit the muck.
Nikolaos Angelou raised to 300,000 under the gun. It folded to Philip Joyce in the big blind, who called to the A♥7♣10♣ flop. Angelou continued for 225,000, which Joyce check-called.
Angelou sized up to 750,000 on the K♣ turn, but Joyce stuck around, check-calling undetered. When the 10♥ hit the river, Angelou put in 1,800,000 chips.
This bet sent Joyce into the tank. After a few minutes, he slammed in a call. Angelou quickly flipped up Q♥J♣ for a straight.
Joyce made sure he had read the hand correctly before mucking his cards and being left with around 15 big blinds, seeing his opponent cross the eight-figure mark.
Action was picked up on the flop of J♠10♣8♣ with around 950,000 in the pot. Nikolaos Angelou led out for 200,000 from the small blind and Florian Duta called in the big blind.
Angelou led again on the A♦ turn, this time for 400,000, Duta called. He led once more on the 4♦ river, this time sizing up to 1,500,000. Duta called quickly and was at risk.
He had 10♥4♥ for two pair and cracked the K♣K♦ of Angelou.
Still in the previous level, Philip Joyce raised to 300,000 in the cutoff and was three-bet to 750,000 by Nikolaos Angelou on the button. It folded back to Joyce, who clicked it back to 1,350,000.
Angelou called to the 7♦9♥7♣ flop, where he called Joyce's continuation-bet of 375,000. The 6♦ fell on the turn and saw Joyce put in 525,000 chips, receiving another call from Angelou.
The 2♥ river prompted Joyce to go all in for 1,700,000, being snapped off by Angelou. Joyce tabled K♥K♣ but was outdone by Angelou's A♠A♣ for the higher overpair.
Joyce said goodbye with his cowboys in the muck, leaving the field on the bubble of the unofficial final table.
Ben Miller was first to act and raised to 1,200,000, exactly half of his stack. Patrick Eagers then shoved all in from middle position, after which the action folded back to Miller.
He made a quick call to put himself at risk of becoming the final elimination of Day 3.
Ben Miller: A♣Q♣
Patrick Eagers: A♦K♠
Miller needed running outs after the 7♥9♥K♣ flop, and the Q♠ turn gave him an opportunity. The 6♥ river did not bring another queen, however, eliminating him in ninth place as the bubble of the official final table.
After eight levels of play on Day 3 of the €1,150 Luxon Mystery Bounty at the 2025 Irish Open, sponsored by PokerStars and Paddy Power Poker, the final table of eight players has been reached. They have survived a record-setting field of 1,222 entries and will come back tomorrow to the Royal Dublin Society to divide the biggest prizes of the €595,725 cash prize pool, with €102,600 being reserved for first place.
Leading the final table is Greek player Nikolaos Angelou, who found aces at least three times at the final two tables. The best starting hand in poker helped him gather a stack of 19,550,000 at the end of the day, nearly 100 big blinds when play resumes on the final day. Angelou was the overall chipleader after the starting flights and found himself at the top of the leaderboard once more after Day 3.
Angelou's lead is a sizable one, as the nearest contender is Yannick Jobin, who has less than half of Angelou's chips with 8,100,000. The podium is completed by regulars Nils Pudel and Fabian Rolli, who share third place as they both bagged 6,550,000 chips.
Yannick Jobin
Longtime pro Tobias Peters doubled up three times in the last level of the night to make the final table with 5,200,000, while start-of-day chipleader Florian Duta knew a rough day and ended with 4,625,000, less than he started Day 3 with. Meanwhile, Ireland's last hope is Patrick Eagers, who sits in the middle of the pack with 6,450,000.
Final Table Seating and Chip Counts
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Nikolaos Angelou
Greece
19,550,000
98
2
Yannick Jobin
Switzerland
8,100,000
41
3
Maksim Petrov
Estonia
4,000,000
20
4
Patrick Eagers
Ireland
6,450,000
32
5
Fabian Rolli
Switzerland
6,550,000
33
6
Florian Duta
Romania
4,625,000
23
7
Nils Pudel
Germany
6,550,000
33
8
Tobias Peters
Netherlands
5,200,000
26
Day 3 Action
The day started with 30 hopefuls returning to the tables. Scottish grinder Robbie Bull was among the early casualties of the day, finishing in 26th for €2,560, and Robert Sherwood received the same amount for his 25th place, leaving three tables in play. Day 1d chipleader Yurii Zabrodotskyi's run ended in 24th, also picking up €2,560, while Angelou's rise in the counts started when he eliminated Adrian Ziemichod in 23rd for €2,940.
Mark Murphy delivered the sickest beat of the day when his pocket nines beat both the queens of Ruairi McLaughlin and the kings of Eduard Fechita, sending both home with €4,200 and setting the stage for the final two tables.
Mark Murphy
Murphy's meteoric rise seemed to continue when he busted Stephen Freeman in 15th for €5,040, but he got his pocket queens in against the aces of Angelou not much later in a huge preflop clash, ending his run in 12th, one spot higher than final American standing Terrance Reid, with both players being paid €6,060.
Angelou also coolered Philip Joyce (11th - €7,260) to the rail with aces against kings before Vasileios Zisis became the unofficial final table bubble in 10th place (€7,260).
The nine remaining players converged onto one table, with one elimination to go before the day would end. Peters started the final table as by far the shortest stack but doubled up three times in a row, leaving Ben Miller as the final elimination of the day, finishing in ninth place for €9,440 after losing ace-queen against the ace-king of Eagers.
Ben Miller
The eight remaining players will return tomorrow, April 14, for the final day of the tournament. They have guaranteed themselves €12,280 from the cash prize pool, but all will be looking to win the Irish Open trophy and the six-figure payout that comes with it. There are still two five-figure bounties up for grabs as well, incentivizing plenty of action for all-in situations.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
1
€102,600
2
€63,860
3
€45,620
4
€35,080
5
€27,000
6
€20,785
7
€15,980
8
€12,280
Day 4 will recommence at 1 p.m. local time, with one more hand to play in Level 32: 100,000/200,000 (200,000), after which the blinds will increase to 125,000/250,000 (250,000). Levels will remain 60 minutes long until the final three players have been reached or a deal has been agreed, at which point the clock will be reduced to 40 minutes. Day 4 is the final day of the tournament, so play will continue until a winner has been crowned.
Tune back in to PokerNews tomorrow to find out who will conquer the coveted Irish Open trophy and who will take home the big bounties still in play.
