€1,150 Main Event Day 1de | 2026 Irish Open

04-03-2026 22:03 UTC+1

Van De Zande's Fold Impresses Campbell

Frank Visser

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

Niall Campbell opened to 5,000 in the hijack, and Matthieu Van De Zande called on the button. The two went heads up to the 2♦6♠6♥ flop, which they checked through. The 7♠ turn saw Campbell bet 5,500, which Van De Zande quickly called.

Campbell then piled in 25,000 on the 6♦ river. Van De Zande took a minute to think things through before he folded. Campbell rewarded him by showing 7♥7♦ for sevens full, prompting Van De Zande to claim he folded 8♣7♣.

"Wow, that might be the best fold I've ever seen," an amazed Campbell said as he stacked up his chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Kevin Doherty	270,000
Matthieu Van De Zande	260,000 15,000	15,000
Niall Campbell	175,000

Tags: Niall Campbell Mattheiu Van De Zande

04-03-2026 22:00 UTC+1

Rodriguez Checks it Back

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Stewart Morrison

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

Jose-Luis Rodriguez opened to 6,000 in early position, which only Thomas Venet called in the small blind.

Venet opted to check-call a bet of 10,000 on the 5♣Q♠7♠ flop, but then chose to lead out for 11,000 on the 6♣ turn. Rodriguez wanted to play for more, though, and put in a raise to 35,000, which Venet called.

Both players checked on the 5♥ river, and when Rodriguez flipped over Q♣10♣, Venet returned his cards to the dealer.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jose-Luis Rodriguez	163,000 163,000	163,000
Thomas Venet	96,000 7,700	7,700

Tags: Jose-Luis Rodriguez Thomas Venet

04-03-2026 21:49 UTC+1

Forde Five-Bets in Blinds

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Frank Visser

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

Stephen Forde limped in from the small blind, seeing Carl Brain make it 8,500 in the big blind. Forde wanted to call but threw in too many chips and accidentally made a minimum raise instead.

Brain then four-bet to 31,000, but Forde forewent the passive route this time and jammed all in for 133,000.

"I know you weren't trying to angle me," Brain said as he smiled and laid down his cards.

Player	Chips	Progress
Carl Brain	243,000
Stephen Forde	166,000

Tags: Carl Brain Stephen Forde

04-03-2026 21:45 UTC+1

Dowler Puts Pressure on O'Sullivan

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Stewart Morrison

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

In the final hand at the table before the blinds increased, Conor O'Sullivan opened to 4,000 from under the gun, which only Matthew Dowler called in the cutoff.

O'Sullivan continued for 7,000 on the Q♥A♥6♠ flop, but didn't hang around when Dowler raised to 21,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Matthew Dowler	100,000 100,000	100,000
Conor O'Sullivan	47,000 47,000	47,000

Tags: Conor O'Sullivan Matthew Dowler

04-03-2026 21:42 UTC+1

Liechti Tables Nuts

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Frank Visser

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

In a pot worth 40,000, Markus Liechti checked the 10♦3♣9♥6♥ turn from middle position to Brian O'Connell in the cutoff. O'Connell then bet 21,000, and Liechti responded by moving all in for 71,500.

O'Connell spent some time in the tank before he called with the covering stack.

Markus Liechti: 8♥7♦ All in
Brian O'Connell: A♥Q♥

O'Connell needed a heart to knock out Liechti, but the river came the meaningless J♣ instead. Liechti's straight doubled him up, surpassing O'Connell in the counts.

Player	Chips	Progress
Tijmen Bronkhorst	390,000 52,000	52,000
Mael Chicot	285,000 5,000	5,000
Adrien Burgniard	250,000
Blaise Bourgeois	245,000

Markus Liechti	183,000 183,000	183,000
Brian O'Connell	70,000 135,000	135,000

Tags: Brian O'Connell Markus Liechti

04-03-2026 21:36 UTC+1

Cushion Takes Out Spragg

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Stewart Morrison

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

In the previous level, Sarah Cushion opened to 6,000 from the cutoff before seeing Benjamin Spragg move all in for 44,500 from the small blind. When the action folded back to Cushion, she gave it careful consideration before calling.

Benjamin Spragg: K♠6♠ All in
Sarah Cushion: 7♥7♦

There was something for everyone on the A♠7♠2♦ flop; however, the K♦ turn and 9♣ river were unable to save Spragg, who saw his chips move across the table to their new owner.

https://twitter.com/PokerNews/status/2040173085354041470?s=20

Player	Chips	Progress
Sarah Cushion	172,000 172,000	172,000
Benjamin Spragg	Busted

Tags: Benjamin Spragg Sarah Cushion

Level: 12

Blinds: 1,000/2,500

Ante: 2,500

04-03-2026 21:26 UTC+1

Chegusov Welcomes Walden to the Table

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Stewart Morrison

Level 11 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Jamie Walden joined the table on the button, and when the action folded to him, he got involved immediately. After putting in a raise to 4,500, he found himself facing a three-bet of 13,000 by Ivan Chegusov in the big blind. Walden called.

Chegusov continued for 8,000 on the K♠6♠10♦ flop, and Walden called again.

The action checked through on the 9♦ turn, but Chegusov picked the aggression back up on the 6♣ river, with a bet of 24,000.

Walden called but was shown bad news. Chegusov flipped over K♥2♠, and Walden mucked his cards.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jamie Walden	175,000 175,000	175,000

Ivan Chegusov	143,000 143,000	143,000

Tags: Ivan Chegusov Jamie Walden

04-03-2026 21:24 UTC+1

Some Post-Dinner Eliminations

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Frank Visser

Level 11 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Simon Williams	Busted
Pascal Vos	Busted
Sascha Manns	Busted
Aidan Quinlan	Busted
Tarmo Tammel	Busted
David Rosich	Busted
Tamer Kamel	Busted
Peggy Crawford	Busted
Dara O'Kearney	Busted
Hong Pham	Busted
Cory Desmond	Busted
Hiep Ninh	Busted
Chris Dowling	Busted
Jamie Sequeira	Busted

04-03-2026 21:20 UTC+1

Murphy Kicked Out After Being Out Kicked

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Stewart Morrison

Level 11 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

The action was joined as Christopher Murphy committed his stack of roughly 40,000 into the middle blind versus blind, and Gerard McCullough had called to put him at risk.

Christopher Murphy: A♠5♦ All in
Gerard McCullough: A♣9♥

The 9♣6♠4♣J♦8♥ board was unable to save Murphy, who saw all his chips pushed one seat to his left.