€1,100 Main Event Day 2 | 2018 Unibet Open Dublin

11-24-2018 11:17 UTC

Day 2 of the 2018 Unibet Open Dublin Main Event Kicks Off at Noon

Christian Zetzsche

After three starting days and 10 levels each, the 2018 Unibet Open Dublin €1,100 Main Event has seen a field of 359 entries emerge at the Bonnington Hotel Dublin and 123 players remain in contention for the title, bragging rights and trophy that come along with it at the end of the 11th season of the popular tournament series.

Once the cards go in the air at 12 p.m. noon local time, the payouts will be announced and best-positioned to join the champion's club in the Irish capital is Finnish online qualifier Elias Vaaraniemi, who bagged up impressive 379,200 on Day 1a. In fact, the top three going into Day 2 were all at the top of the leaderboard already when the first of three starting days had wrapped, as Per Helge Gassand (367,000) and Henri Koivisto (330,500) follow in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

Former Irish Open champion and Unibet Poker ambassador Ian Simpson bagged up the most chips on Day 1b, claiming 284,200 to his name, and he is fourth in chips. Other notables with big stacks include John Keown (241,200), €2,200 High Roller champion Benny Glaser (207,400), UnibetPoker.fr ambassador Quentin Lecomte (159,400), Irish poker legend Mick McCloskey (142,900) and Day 1c chip leader Patrick Clarke (122,200).

Unibet will have several other brand ambassadors heading into Day 2 such as David Lappin (107,000), Andrey "renyad" Yanyuk (90,600), Rauno "Estonian Jesus" Tahvonen (86,200), Lisa “STPeach” Vannatta (77,900), Dara O'Kearney (65,900), Alan "hotted89" Widmann (29,200) and two-time Unibet Open champion Dan Murariu (27,400).

The action recommences with level 11 and blinds of 1,200/2,400 and a running ante of 400. A maximum of 11 levels of 60 minutes each or down to the final table are scheduled for penultimate tournament day, whichever of the two comes first. The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor to provide all the action and the live stream of the feature table will be available on a security delay of 30 minutes on the Unibet Open Twitch Channel.

2018 Unibet Open Dublin €1,100 Main Event Schedule

Main Event Day	Date	Time	Entries	Remaining	Further Information
1a	Thursday, November 22nd, 2018	12:00	97	24	Play 10 levels of 60 minutes, late reg start of level 7 approx. 19:30
1b	Friday, November 23rd, 2018	12:00	198	64	Play 10 levels of 60 minutes, late reg start of level 7 approx. 19:30
1c	Friday, November 23rd, 2018	21:00	64	35	Play 10 levels of 20 minutes, late reg start of level 7 approx. 23:15
2	Saturday, November 24th, 2018	12:00	359	123	Play max. 11 levels of 60 minutes or down to final table
3	Sunday, November 25th, 2018	12:00	tba	tba	Play down to a champion

Tags: Benny Glaser Dan Murariu Dara O'Kearney David Elias Vaaraniemi Henri Koivisto Ian Simpson John Keown Patrick Clarke Per Helge Gassand Quentin Lecomte

11-24-2018 12:56 UTC

Vaaraniemi With Massive Stack; King Gone

Christian Zetzsche

Level 11 : 1,200/2,400, 400 ante

Patrick Clarke won two bigger pots to essentially double his stack and Elias Vaaraniemi skyrocketed to more than half a million in chips, dominating the field early on.

Greg King made the headlines for most of Day 1b before plummeting to an average stack, and he has just been eliminated by Pierre de Montesquiou. King jammed a flop with and the Frenchman called with for top and bottom pair. The turn was an additional sweat, but the river blanked.

Player	Chips	Progress
Elias Vaaraniemi	600,000 220,800	220,800

Pierre de Montesquiou	245,000 76,200	76,200
Patrick Clarke	240,000 117,800	117,800

Pavao Veza	160,000 74,700	74,700
Tuomo Niskanen	160,000 35,000	35,000
Greg King	Busted

Tags: Elias Vaaraniemi Greg King Patrick Clarke Pierre de Montesquiou

11-24-2018 13:05 UTC

Huxley and Kevmath on the Rail

Christian Zetzsche

Level 12 : 1,500/3,000, 500 ante

Phillip Huxley jammed first to act for what appeared to be 42,000 and Dara O'Kearney in the small blind asked for a count, then reshoved to isolate.

Huxley had the and O'Kearney tabled . On the flop, Huxley knocked on the table with the words "good hand" before grabbing his belongings. The Brit was drawing dead on the turn, which made the river a formality.

Kevin Mathers, to most simply known by his online nickname "Kevmath" as the ultimate source for all things poker on social media, also busted shortly after. He got it in with the and Richard O'Neill dealt the final blow with . O'Neill flopped a queen and Mathers missed out on a gutshot to bust just before the blinds went up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Richard O'Neill	165,000 59,300	59,300
Dara O'Kearney	130,000 64,100	64,100

Phillip Huxley	Busted
Kevin Mathers	Busted

Tags: Dara O'Kearney Kevin Mathers Phillip Huxley Richard O'Neill

11-24-2018 13:20 UTC

Kron Bests Van Brabander

Christian Zetzsche

Level 12 : 1,500/3,000, 500 ante

Julien Kron made it 6,000 to go from the cutoff and Charlotte van Brabander three-bet all in for her last 34,000 in the small blind, which Kron quickly called when it was his turn to act.

CharlotteVan Brabander:
Julien Kron:

The Belgian was ahead preflop but fell behind on the flop, and things got worse on the turn. Only two aces were left for Van Brabander, and the river was the blank . Van Brabander will likely enter the €80+10 Queen Rules Side Event shortly, a Ladies Event hosted by Unibet Poker ambassador Daiva Byrne. So far, there are three tables running with a total of 25 entries.

Player	Chips	Progress
Julien Kron	320,000 120,400	120,400
Charlotte Van Brabander	Busted

Tags: Charlotte Van Brabander Daiva Byrne Julien Kron

11-24-2018 14:54 UTC

No Cash for Bulboaca; Lappin Doubles

Christian Zetzsche

Level 13 : 2,000/4,000, 500 ante

Ana Raluca Bulboaca qualified for the event through an online freeroll and had been nursing a very similar stack for quite some time. Just now, Ricardo Klassen raised to 8,500 and the Romanian three-bet all in on the button, Klassen called and the stack sizes were within a few big blinds.

Ana Raluca Bulboaca:
Ricardo Klassen:

The board came and the stacks were counted, Klassen had 89,500 and that beat Bulboaca by one big blind.

At the same time on the feature table, David Lappin three-bet all in for 89,000 with the and Pascal Rabany snap-called from the under-the-gun position with . Lappin flipped a big sweat on and the turn improved him to a straight. No ace but the came on the river, securing the double for the Irishman.

Player	Chips	Progress
Elias Vaaraniemi	800,000 130,000	130,000

Ricardo Klassen	180,000 115,000	115,000
David Lappin	180,000 55,000	55,000

Pascal Rabany	100,000 -24,000	-24,000
Ana Raluca Bulboaca	Busted

Tags: Ana Raluca Bulboaca David Lappin Pascal Rabany Ricardo Klassen

11-24-2018 15:14 UTC

Simpson Vanishes; Foley Big; Glaser Short

Christian Zetzsche

Level 13 : 2,000/4,000, 500 ante

Benny Glaser and Paul Jux Holderness already clashed in the €2,200 High Roller and Glaser won, while his countryman had to settle for third place. Just now, Glaser bet the turn for 40,000 into a pot of 90,000 and Jux Holderness moved all in for 132,000.

The clock was eventually called on Glaser, who sent his cards into the muck.

Ian Simpson had started the day fourth in chips, but nothing went his way. Sean Foley confirmed that he won the final hand against Simpson in a flip, it was a battle button versus small blind and Foley four-bet with ace-king suited to best the pocket jacks of Simpson.

Player	Chips	Progress
Sean Foley	480,000 363,700	363,700
John Farrell	370,000 150,000	150,000
Paul Jux Holderness	265,000 75,000	75,000
Jack Sinclair	170,000 90,000	90,000

Benny Glaser	105,000 -75,000	-75,000

Ian Simpson	Busted

Georgios Tavoularis	Busted
Mark Rink	Busted
Luke Walsh	Busted
Bogdan Petrascu	Busted

Tags: Benny Glaser Ian Simpson Paul Jux Holderness Sean Foley

11-24-2018 15:35 UTC

Linno Loses Almost All To Black

Christian Zetzsche

Level 14 : 2,500/5,000, 500 ante

Mario Linno had previously bet-folded against the shove of Andy Black and now bet again, making it 25,000 to go on the flop when Black in the big blind had checked to him. Black check-raised all in for 116,000 and Linno reluctantly called with the slightly superior stack.

Andy Black:
Mario Linno:

Neither the turn nor the river provided any help and Linno was already on his way out, but Black called him back as he had some chips left over. Not far away from the money bubble, Linno has a mountain to climb with some four big blinds.

Player	Chips	Progress
Andy Black	270,000 200,000	200,000
Mario Linno	Busted

Tags: Andy Black Mario Linno

11-24-2018 16:04 UTC

Hotted89 Departs; 50 Players Remain

Christian Zetzsche

Level 14 : 2,500/5,000, 500 ante

Alan "hotted89" Widmann defended his big blind and went with his flush draw on the flop. Emil Brunnberg snap-called with and Widmann tabled . Neither the turn nor the river were of any help for the esports gamer and he busted shortly before the money.

Fellow German Bjorn Kadgien and 2018 WSOP Europe Main Event champion Jack Sinclair suffered the same fate, which reduced the field to the last 50 hopefuls.

Player	Chips	Progress
Emil Brunnberg	245,000 105,000	105,000
Alan Widmann	Busted

Jack Sinclair	Busted

Bjorn Kadgien	Busted

Tags: Alan Widmann Bjorn Kadgien Emil Brunnberg Jack Sinclair

11-24-2018 16:25 UTC

Dara O'Kearney Talks About His Past as Marathon Runner; Sattelites and a Close Call in Las Vegas

Christian Zetzsche

Level 14 : 2,500/5,000, 500 ante

There is an interesting saying that is often (ab)used to explain how we as humans are creatures of habit. For most of us, those habits remain the same throughout our life and it may be very difficult to learn new skills and change habits, patterns and our character.

“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

I’d love to be a dog, especially one with a caring family that gets treats regularly, has a nice garden to fool around and an interesting neighborhood to explore. The life of a dog is much less complicated than the one of a human.

Some 12 years ago, an “old Irish dog” decided to learn how to play poker and has since earned more than $1 million on the live circuit. Online he is an even bigger beast with more close to $2 million in cashes, well-known as one of the undisputed masters of satellite tournaments.

Who am I talking about? Former Irish international ultra runner Dara O’Kearney, known to most players in Ireland and the UK as “Doke” only. Now in his fifties, the Irishman can easily take on the younger generation when it comes to running and playing cards.

O'Kearney started playing poker in 2007 when he was already 43 years old. “I played a little bit of draw poker in my childhood, but then didn't play for another 25 years and really only took it up late on. I was a recreational marathon runner for years, originally I just took up running to gain a bit of fitness and lose a bit of weight. I got more into it over time.”

In his thirties he was a “pretty serious recreational runner”, O'Kearney then ran an ultra marathon when he turned 40 as an experiment and ended up winning that race in New York.

“For the next two years, I was a top class ultra runner, representing Ireland in several races, setting Irish records. But actually, my professional running career only lasted two years.”

What followed was a different kind of endurance challenge for the Irishman, who has since become well-known not just on the live poker tables but also the virtual felt. O'Kearney has become a satellite crusher, giving lessons to poker enthusiasts with regards to the perfect strategy, and his Pocket Fives profile boasts several Triple Crowns.

O'Kearney admitted that he became very good very quickly in the first few years of the current decade, mostly in satellites with a new format.

“I think there was one year on Stars where I played 500 tournaments and they were all satellites. My profit for the year was six figures and I had an insane hourly and ROI. In the middle part of the decade things started drying up and got tougher, I moved away from satellites and concentrated on regular MTT's.”

With new softwares developing, giving far more players access to a lot of information, it wasn't as easy to crush the online tables. However, O'Kearney worked very hard on his game and has since racked up more than $2 million in cashes at the virtual felt.

Apart from the online tables, his success at the live tables kick-started in the year 2015 after he made a deep run during the World Series of Poker and finished runner-up to Upeshka De Silva in Event #45 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em for $262,502. Back then, the unique opportunity may not have hit O'Kearney entirely, but he received a ton of messages with encouragement while it unfolded.

“No, I didn't, I really didn't. It was very bizarre to me. In Vegas you are in your own bubble, I knew it was a big deal just from the number of people that sent me messages and so on. But it was only until I got home until people told me that in poker clubs all over Ireland it was shown on the screens and people stopped to watch it.”

It took almost a full year for O'Kearney to realize how big of a deal it really was, as the Irishman recalled in the interview. For almost a decade, no Irishman had won a bracelet and O'Kearney came so close, not any of the new rising stars or big names.

“I think it was a month before the following trip to Vegas, I was on one of my weekly long runs. I was just running around the park and then it suddenly kind of hit me. Oh my god, I could have won a bracelet there. If I had won the last flip, I would have been right back in it.”

De Silva even went as far to haunt O'Kearney on his home soil in the current year, after he randomly appeared at the Irish Poker Masters in September 2018. The festival took place at the Gleneagle Hotel and you can guess three times who battled in heads-up for the title in the €2,200 High Roller. Sadly, there was no happy end this time either and De Silva grabbed the top prize of €30,000 to further build his status of nemesis.

On Day 2 of the 2018 Unibet Open Dublin €1,100 Main Event, O'Kearney has once again proven his ability to grind with a below-average stack and remains in contention with 50 players remaining and 47 spots paid. After the second break, he will move to the feature table and you can watch “the master in action,” as fellow countryman and Unibet Poker ambassador David Lappin added.

Tags: Dara O'Kearney David Lappin Upeshka De Silva

11-24-2018 16:43 UTC

The Bubble Bursts Without Hand-For-Hand

Christian Zetzsche

Level 15 : 3,000/6,000, 1,000 ante

Barry McMahon busts right on the money bubble

Kasper Mellanen busted over on the feature table and when Barry McMahon ran with into the of Thomas Fitzgerald, finding no help on a board of , the dealers were instructed to stop after their current hand.

There was one further showdown and Raiko Vannas failed to improve with ace-queen against the of Robert Franks, reducing the field from 50 to 47 hopefuls and letting the bubble burst without the need to play hand-for-hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Thomas Fitzgerald	530,000 205,000	205,000
Kasper Mellanen	Busted
Barry McMahon	Busted
Raiko Vannas	Busted

Tags: Barry McMahon Kasper Mellanen Raiko Vannas Robert Franks Thomas Fitzgerald