Mohanveer Bhasin limped from middle position before Veaceslav Jumir raised to 4,500 out of the small blind. Bhasin called.
Jumir continued with a bet of 3,500 on the 7♣2♦3♠ flop and was met by a raise to 11,000 from Bhasin. Jumir quickly called.
Jumir check-called a bet of 16,000 from Bhasin on the 5♣ turn.
The river came the J♠ and Jumir check-called another bet from Bhasin, this time for 21,000. Upon being called, Bhasin announced queen-high, and Jumir tabled A♦A♣ to take down the pot.
Steven Lee raised to button to 8,000 and Raymond Wheatley defended from the big blind.
Wheatley check-called a bet of 6,000 from Lee on the 10♠J♠2♣ flop.
Wheatley check-called another bet from Lee when the4♦ dropped on the turn, this time for 14,000.
After the dealer put the 5♦ down on the river, Wheatley bet 40,000 and Lee called. Wheatley tabled 5♠5♥ for a rivered set of fives and Lee mucked his hand.
The opening day of the €350 Main event at the Bonnington Dublin Hotel has come to a close after it produced plenty of action as players battled it out in the hunt for their spot on Day 2, which plays out on Sunday, October 27.
Day 1a saw a total of 80 entries, with only 12 surviving after fifteen 40-minute levels. Topping the counts is Veaceslav Jumir of Moldova, who managed to bring through a stack of 350,000 ahead of Day 2.
Veaceslav Jumir is no stranger to the International Poker Open, having reached the final table in two side events at last year’s series, where he placed fourth and seventh. This August, the Moldovan earned his largest cash of €4,750, and as the current chip leader heading into Day 2 of the Main Event, he's undoubtedly aiming to surpass that achievement with an even bigger score.
End of Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Veaceslav Jumir
Moldova
350,000
70
2
Luke Walsh
Ireland
302,000
60
3
Steven Lee
Ireland
263,000
53
4
Raymond Wheatley
Ireland
231,000
46
5
Thomas Murphy
Ireland
231,000
46
6
John Burke
Ireland
205,000
41
7
Pablo Villena
Spain
181,000
36
8
Joe Ward
Ireland
147,000
29
9
Richard O'Neill
Ireland
144,000
29
10
Matthew Flanagan
Ireland
117,000
23
Luke Walsh
Following close behind Jumir, and as the only other player over the 300,000-chip mark, is Ireland's Luke Walsh (302,000). The Irishman joined the tournament near the end of late registration and steadily grew his stack with consistent aggression. With over seven figures in live tournament earnings, Walsh will be one to watch on Day 2.
Rounding out the counts in third is Stephen Lee (263,000), while last year's final tablist, Richard O'Neill, maneuvered his way through the day and bagged up a stack of 144,000. O'Neill was seated from the near the very start and after picking off a bluff fromDuane McDonnell during Level 9, O'Neill never really looked in trouble of exiting the event. O'Neill finished fifth in this event in 2023 and must be feeling a bit of deja vu as he makes back-to-back Day 2's.
Richard O'Neill
Tomorrow, Day 1b gets underway at 2 p.m. local time and follows the same structure as today. Any player who didn’t manage to make it through today has the chance to try up to two times again tomorrow since all entrants are allowed one reentry per flight.
That concludes PokerNews’ coverage of Day 1a from the IPO Main Event. Be sure to tune back in tomorrow to catch all the action from the second of six opening flights.
