Michael Molenaar The Chip Leader After Day 2 of the Irish Open Main Event
After another action filled day here in the €1,150 Main Event, 1,393 started today's play here at the Royal Dublin Society. Of the players that took to the felt over the nine one hour long levels that took place today, only 218 remain to battle it out for a share of the record breaking prizepool of €4,447,950, all of which hoping to take home the sumptuous first place price of €600,000.
Leading the pack into Day 2 is Dutchman Michel Molenaar with 3,815,000. Molenaar's rise up the chip counts when he won an immense pot with a full house against Steven Roche. Molenaar already cashed in the biggest event this series, the €10,000 Super High Roller, for €34,000 having finished sixth.
Day 1b chip leader Michel Karim is hot on his heels having bagged 3,415,000 chips by the time play came to an end. He left Marta Guixeras short-stacked in the early stages of Level 18. The Swede will be looking to add to his $173,955 in tournament cashes.
Rounding off the podium is Tyler Spaugh who surged up the chip counts late on in today's play. He has recorded a 68th placed finish in the €1,100 Luxon Mystery Bounty for €1,460. Maybe another deep run is on the cards?
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michel Molenaar | Netherlands | 3,815,000 | 153 |
| 2 | Michel Karim | Sweden | 3,415,000 | 137 |
| 3 | Tyler Spaugh | United Kingdom | 3,185,000 | 127 |
| 4 | Silviu Tanase | Romania | 3,050,000 | 122 |
| 5 | Robert Fluereci | Romania | 2,825,000 | 113 |
| 6 | Marc Sen | Switzerland | 2,750,000 | 110 |
| 7 | Carl Shaw | United Kingdom | 2,535,000 | 101 |
| 8 | David Pollock | Ireland | 2,440,000 | 98 |
| 9 | Georgios Skarparis | Cyprus | 2,345,000 | 94 |
| 10 | Simon Levy | United States | 2,300,000 | 92 |
Day 2 Action
The field thinned out at a fairly generous pace at the start of play today. €10,000 Super High Roller Champion Robbie Toan hit the showers early, along with Conor Beresford and Arian Kashani. Tero Laurila will not be able to defend his title as he was also eliminated shortly after the payouts were announced.
The bubble quickly loomed, and amongst the hustle and bustle of the packed tournament floors, the hand was missed by all forms of media, so only those at the table, and Christian Marek himself, will know what happened. If anyone knows, feel free to let us know. As a sweetener, he will be the first entry into the 2026 Main Event.Marc Foggin fell the place before Malek after he moved all in versus Maksim Petrov.
PokerStars Ambassadors Fintan Hand, Sebastian Huber and Caitlin Comeskey all found cashes of €2,270, but Parker Talbot remains in play with a stack of 835,000, putting him essentially slap-bang in the middle of the pack. Day 1a chip leader Martin Ilavsky, fell by the wayside early into the money, securing also a min cash of €1,960.
The 218 strong field return tomorrow at noon local time in what is sure to be a true test of stamina. Blinds start at 15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 big blind ante.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as the chips continue to fly here in Dublin.