Big Lead for Niels Buch after Day 1b of Irish Poker Festival €3,000 Main Event
Another flight of the 2024 Irish Poker Festival €3,000 Main Event came to an end here at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. After 11 players out of 21 entrants qualified through Day 1a, 18 more players from Day 1b's 38 entries advanced to Day 2.
At the end of the night, Germany's Niels Buch emerged as the chip leader with 290,600 chips. Already in second place at the dinner break, he extended his lead over the final levels. He is followed by a close duo, as Cedric Danneker (160,500) and Keith Cummins (160,400) almost bagged identical stacks of 100 big blinds.
2024 Irish Poker Festival €3,000 Main Event Day 1b Top Ten
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niels Buch | Germany | 290,600 | 182 |
| 2 | Cedric Danneker | France | 160,500 | 100 |
| 3 | Keith Cummins | Ireland | 160,400 | 100 |
| 4 | Conor O'Driscoll | Ireland | 147,700 | 92 |
| 5 | Marc MacDonnell | Ireland | 140,900 | 88 |
| 6 | Simeon Tsonev | Bulgaria | 134,000 | 84 |
| 7 | Panagiotis Mavritsakis | Greece | 107,300 | 67 |
| 8 | Jamie Dwan | United Kingdom | 101,700 | 64 |
| 9 | Marius Bareisis | Lithuania | 98,600 | 62 |
| 10 | Vasilijus Piskunovas | Lithuania | 91,400 | 57 |
Day 1b's Action
As on Day 1a, only one table was in play at the start of the day. Bryson Wittke was among the early entrants, but he ran into kings, losing half of his stack within minutes. He ultimately became the day's first elimination.
Triple Crown winner Niall Farrell later joined the field, but his stack kept dwindling. He was eliminated shortly before the dinner break. The same fate awaited Raul Martinez, who was eliminated twice during the day.
Along with Farrell, another EPT champion was in Day 1b: EPT Prague winner Padraig O'Neill. Despite losing a pot to Leo Lombardozzi's straight, he managed to double through the French player. However, it wasn't enough to advance to the next stage, as he was knocked out with ace-queen against Panagiotis Mavritsakis' ace-king shortly before the end of the day. He’ll have to come back tomorrow on Day 1c or Day 1d like Lombardozzi, who tripled up but ultimately became the last player eliminated today.
Unlike them, the defending champion Michel Molenaar managed to find a bag (31,200), though he is last in chips along with Joseph Wrafter (31,200). Looking higher in the chip counts, Conor O’Driscoll (147,700) and Marc MacDonnell (140,900) secured stacks above the average, while Jamie Dwan ended with 101,700. Chris Dowling also qualified for Day 2 (76,300), as did Janet Kosloff (76,200).
Tomorrow, both Day 1c and Day 1d will take place. Day 1c will start at noon local time and follow the same structure as previous flights, with players competing in ten 60-minute levels. The later flight, Day 1d, will start at 8 p.m. with each level lasting 30 minutes.
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