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€1,150 Main Event
Day 1b Completed
2026 Irish Open
€1,150 Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
2026 Irish Open
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1b
Buy-in
€1,150
Prize Pool
€4,852,910
Total Entries
5,003
Level
44
Blinds
2,000,000 / 4,000,000
Ante
4,000,000
Entries
709
Players Left
149
Players Left 1 / 5,003
Filter
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Day 1b of the 2026 Irish Open €1,150 Main Event, sponsored by PokerStars and Paddy Power Poker, saw 709 entries being made during its ten levels of registration. With Day 1b totaling nearly two dozen entries more than last year's edition, the tournament stands at 1,176 total entries and is still on course to set a new record as the €2,500,000 guaranteed prize pool is already almost halfway met.
After 15 levels of play at the Royal Dublin Society, the 149 survivors bagged up for Day 2, joining the 93 players who made it through on Day 1a on Saturday. Topping the counts was Lawrence Penfold, who cracked James O'Connor's pocket aces during the last level of the night by hitting quad queens. Penfold, a former PokerStars Supernova Elite player, rode the momentum to gather some more chips during the final hands and ended Day 1b with 796,000, nearly 18 starting stacks and good for 133 big blinds at the start of Day 2.
Penfold is followed by Frenchman Abel Pruchon with 666,000, while Fraser Bellamy sits in third with just 1,000 fewer chips. The international top ten also features South Africa's Gavin Sardini, Italy's Danilo Donnini, and Vincent Ciarrocchi from the United States.
End of Day 1b Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lawrence Penfold | United Kingdom | 796,000 | 133 |
| 2 | Abel Pruchon | France | 666,000 | 111 |
| 3 | Fraser Bellamy | United Kingdom | 665,000 | 111 |
| 4 | Hamza Nasir | United Kingdom | 617,000 | 103 |
| 5 | Gavin Sardini | South Africa | 544,000 | 91 |
| 6 | Thomas Waters | United Kingdom | 532,000 | 89 |
| 7 | Pierre Basely | France | 530,000 | 88 |
| 8 | Danilo Donnini | Italy | 527,000 | 88 |
| 9 | Vincent Ciarrocchi | United States | 521,000 | 87 |
| 10 | Ben Dixon | United Kingdom | 519,000 | 87 |
Meanwhile, Anthony Fagan became the best-performing Irishman by gathering 396,000 chips. Other notable hometown players include Conor O'Driscoll (391,000), 2016 Irish Open winner Dan Wilson (290,000), EPT Prague champion Padraig O'Neill (224,000), and Michael Dwyer (138,000).
Three PokerStars ambassadors tried their luck today, but Sebastian Huber, Adam McKola, and Marle Spragg all busted before the end of the day. PaddyPower Poker ambassador Dara O'Kearney was eliminated just after the final break of the night, not long after defending champion Simon Wilson had lost his last chips. Other players who will have to try to make Day 2 on another starting flight include Sinead Davenport, Matthew Davenport, Barny Boatman, Parker Talbot, and Ankit Ahuja.
The Irish Open Main Event will continue tomorrow, Thursday, April 2, at noon local time with Day 1c, the third of five starting flights. Day 1c will follow the same structure as Day 1b, meaning another 15 40-minute levels of play are on the cards. Late registration is open for the first ten levels, with a single reentry allowed per flight.
PokerNews will be back on the floor at the "shuffle up and deal" tomorrow, so tune back in then for all the latest poker news from the Irish Open in Dublin.
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
The 709 entries of Day 1b have been whittled down to 149 players, who are all bagging up as play has been completed.
Stay tuned for full chip counts and a recap of the day.
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
A completed board of 8♥A♣A♥5♦J♦ was already dealt when Juan Lyons slid a bet of 129,000 into a big pot of 225,000 from under the gun, leaving only 5,000 behind.
His opponent was Ben Dixon in the hijack, who snap-called and tabled A♠J♠ for a full house. Lyons shook his head and sighed as he returned his cards face down to forfeit the pot.
Lyons became one of the final eliminations of Day 1b as he lost his final chip not much later.
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
The floor has announced that three more hands will be played on each table before Day 1b wraps up.
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Augustas Bareisa opened to 10,000 in the hijack, which Nicolas Bokowski three-bet to 30,000 in the small blind. Bareisa then moved all in for 145,000, and Bokowski looked him up with the covering stack.
Augustas Bareisa: A♠3♠ 
Nicolas Bokowski: A♥10♦
Neither player improved on the 6♥8♠Q♠J♦4♦ runout, seeing Bareisa exit late on Day 1b.
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Level 15
: Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
James O'Connor and Lawrence Penfold got all their chips in the middle preflop, with O'Connor's stack of about 175,000 being at risk.
James O'Connor: A♠A♥
Lawrence Penfold: Q♥Q♦
Penfold flopped a set on 9♦2♠Q♠ to take a big lead, and he locked up the pot when the Q♣ turn provided him with quads.
O'Connor said his goodbyes as the meaningless 5♠ river rolled off, and Penfold added some more chips to his impressive stack.
