The 2025 Irish Open €1,150 Main Event has blown all expectations out of the water. For the first time, the Main Event sported a guaranteed prize pool of €2,500,000. However, when 4,548 entries were made across the five starting flights, that guarantee was absolutely crushed. The final prize pool amounted to €4,434,300 when the late registration of the last flight ended, a new record for the Irish Open.
About a third of the field made it through to Day 2, with the halls of the Royal Dublin Society being filled with the 1,393 players taking their seats at noon local time. Among them is Irish Open sponsor PokerStars' ambassador Fintan Hand, who accumulated 280,500 on his starting flight, well above the average stack of 162,000 and equaling over 70 big blinds. The Irishman is still some ways away from chipleader Michael Rolt's 765,000, however, which Rolt gathered on Day 1d.
Day 1b leader Michel Karim and Day 1c leader Borja Urrea complete the top three with 671,500 and 628,000 respectively. Meanwhile, the most notable name on the top of the leaderboard is that of Timothy Chung, whose 555,500 secured him ninth place.
Start of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Rolt | United Kingdom | 765,000 | 191 |
| 2 | Michel Karim | Sweden | 671,500 | 168 |
| 3 | Borja Urrea | Spain | 628,000 | 157 |
| 4 | Oleksii Buhrim | Ukraine | 627,500 | 157 |
| 5 | Niall Campbell | Ireland | 605,000 | 151 |
| 6 | Uzair Choudhary | Canada | 595,000 | 149 |
| 7 | David Pollock | Ireland | 572,500 | 143 |
| 8 | Jason Tompkins | Ireland | 559,500 | 140 |
| 9 | Timothy Chung | Hong Kong | 555,500 | 139 |
| 10 | Gonzalo Veiga | Spain | 555,000 | 139 |
EPT champions Niall Farrell (240,500), Steve O'Dwyer (213,000), Tom Middleton (181,000), Ian Hamilton (158,000), Stephen Song (116,500), and Giuliano Bendinelli (90,000) have also found their way to Day 2, as have many more notables, including Christopher Brammer (363,000), Carl Shaw (336,000), Jamie Walden (187,500), and Robert Cowen (169,500).
Day 2 will resume with blinds at 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 ante. The Main Event will play nine 60-minute levels today, although due to the huge turnout, that will be subject to change. A short break will take place after every two levels, with a 45-minute dinner break scheduled after Level 20, around 6:45 p.m. local time.
The payout structure has not yet been made public, but with the bubble set to burst today, it is expected to be announced shortly after the shuffle up and deal. The cards-up live stream will also start today, and can be found on PokerStars' Twitch and YouTube channels.
The PokerNews team will be on the floor in Dublin to provide you with live updates throughout Day 2, so stay glued to this page as the bubble-bursting action will get underway shortly.
