Welcome to Day 2 of the Irish Open �5,000 High Roller, held at the Royal Dublin Society. The event starts at 13:00 and will play down to a winner today.
There are currently 40 players remaining out of 61 entrants, making for a prize pool of �282,506. Late registration remains open until 14:20, so expect to see those entry numbers grow and the prize pool increase significantly during the first few levels of play.
Steve O'Dwyer, last year��s Irish Open Main Event champion, is currently the chip leader with 293,880 chips. He goes into Day 2 with a significant lead over second place Roberto Romanello, who is sitting on 208,000 chips.
The field is full of familiar faces and tough competition. Benny Glaser, Jonathan McCann, PokerStars Ambassador Benjamin Spragg, Jack Sinclair and Conor Beresford are among the players who will be looking to move towards the payouts as the day progresses.
Top Ten Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | 293,000 |
| 2 | Roberto Romanello | Wales | 208,000 |
| 3 | Andrew Crookston | USA | 183,000 |
| 4 | Kuljinder Sidhu | UK | 173,000 |
| 5 | Blake Vogdes | USA | 163,500 |
| 6 | Ewen Trevidy | UK | 132,000 |
| 7 | Tobias Schwecht | Germany | 114,900 |
| 8 | Michel Karim | Sweden | 113,500 |
| 9 | Marijus Vicas | USA | 104,100 |
| 10 | Michael Wilklow | Ireland | 98,400 |
Alex Peffly won last year��s �5,000 High Roller for �111,835. Peffly is still in this year��s event with a relatively short stack of 28,500. Can he make a comeback, or is the road paved for a new champion?
When action resumes, blinds will be on 800/1,600 with a 1,600 ante. Blind levels are running for 40 minutes, with a 20 minute break every three levels and a 40 minute dinner break at the end of Level 17.
PokerNews will be bringing you the action straight from the tournament floor, so stay tuned as we watch players battle it out beyond the bubble, through to the payouts, and ultimately down to a winner.