Three-way to a turn of 10♣K♣5♠Q♠, Cathal Shine checked from the big blind before Steven Roche put a bet of 25,000 into the relatively small pot from middle position.
Uzair Choudhary called in the cutoff, after which Shine seized the moment and jammed all in for 225,000.
Roche put in a call with the covering stack, while Choudhary reluctantly mucked his cards.
Cathal Shine: J♣6♣
Steven Roche: J♥9♥
Shine had jammed into a straight, and the K♠ river did not bring him a club. The Irish regular was eliminated from the Main Event and went to pick up his cash.
Steven Roche under the gun and Michel Molenaar in middle position had put 355,000 into the pot when the 10♥10♦9♥10♣ fell on the turn. Roche checked over to Molenaar, who bet 225,000.
Roche then promptly moved in his stack of 965,000, which Molenaar snap-called, slightly covering his opponent.
Steven Roche: Q♣J♣
Michel Molenaar: K♠K♥
Roche had no outs left against the full house of Molenaar, who raked in the gigantic pot on the 7♣ river, eliminating Roche in the process.
Arriving on a completed board of K♦7♦6♣J♥2♠, Lai Hok Him checked from the big blind to Kully Sidhu on the button. Sidhu then fired a sizable bet of 450,000 into the pot of 480,000.
Him made a quick call but quickly mucked his cards when Sidhu showed K♥J♣ for top two pair.
John Gilchrist moved all in for 295,000 on the button, and was looked up by Bernard Norris in the big blind.
John Gilchrist: Q♠Q♣
Bernard Norris: A♥4♦
Gilchrist's ladies held without much sweat on the 10♥J♣3♥8♠8♦ runout, doubling him up. Norris was left with 165,000, which he would lose shortly after the hand.
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 Guixerasshort-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
Robert Fluereci
The field thinned out at a fairly generous pace at the start of play today. €10,000 Super High Roller ChampionRobbie 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.
Shawn Lytle
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.
