€3,000 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2024 Irish Poker Festival
€3,000 Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2024 Irish Poker Festival
Buy-in
€3,000
Prize Pool
€753,330
Entries
285
Level
32
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
200,000
Entries
21
Players Left
11
Level 10
: Blinds 700/1,400, 1,400 ante
As is often the case in poker tournaments, Day 1a of the 2024 Irish Poker Festival €3,000 Main Event was expected to be the smallest flight of the four scheduled. Although the total entrants for the remaining flights aren’t yet known, it’s fairly certain this was indeed the smallest, as only 21 entrants registered for the first flight.
After ten 60-minute levels today at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dublin, Ireland, 11 players advanced to Saturday's Day 2. Leading the pack is Alec Torelli with 268,000 chips. Torelli, who was among the chip leaders at dinner, steadily grew his stack until the end of the day. He is followed by Simon Wilson, who held the chip lead for a while but lost significant pots in the last levels, and Michael Dwyer, in third place with 113,000 chips.
2024 Irish Poker Festival €3,000 Main Event Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alec Torelli | United States | 268,000 | 168 |
| 2 | Simon Wilson | Ireland | 165,200 | 103 |
| 3 | Michael Dwyer | Ireland | 113,000 | 71 |
| 4 | Karl Hedderman | Ireland | 86,000 | 54 |
| 5 | Seamus Cahill | Ireland | 82,900 | 52 |
| 6 | John Dwyer | United States | 80,000 | 50 |
| 7 | Espen Myrmo | Norway | 73,200 | 46 |
| 8 | Conor Bergin | Ireland | 62,100 | 39 |
| 9 | Alan Gilmore | Ireland | 40,900 | 26 |
| 10 | Andzej Bilat | Lithuania | 38,500 | 24 |
| 11 | Temur Aliev | Georgia | 31,900 | 20 |
Day 1a's action
Despite a small start with only six players seated at the beginning of the day, it didn’t take long to see the first chips flying. A few minutes after the beginning of the second level, Leo Lombardozzi called Mindaugas Kriauciunas’s stack with a full house. But Kriauciunas had a better full house and doubled up. Down to a few blinds, Lombardozzi became the first player eliminated of the day moments later.
After the first break and another level, Christian Dressler was next to be eliminated. He was the only player to reenter the tournament, but he wasn't successful on his second attempt either.
At the same time, Torelli found himself with only 10,000 chips, one-fifth of the starting stack. However, he managed a comeback, becoming, along with Wilson, one of the first players to reach 100,000. On his way to the top of the chip counts, he found aces and then hit a nut flush to crack Michel Molenaar's aces. The defending champion was eliminated a few hands later, not long before the dinner break.
After dinner, marked the start of a more aggressive phase, with several players busting out before the end of Day 1a. Michael Sklenicka was one of them, as well as Mantas Stikelis, who lost a flip with eights against Karl Hedderman's ace-queen. Shortly before, Stikelis had lost a big part of his stack in a three-way all-in situation with kings, where both Temur Aliev and Alan Gilmore hit a straight and doubled up.
Aliev doubled up again several times after that, but he remains last in chips with 31,900. Alan Gilmore (40,900) and Andzej Bilat (38,500) also have stacks under 30 big blinds.
Like Aliev, Espen Myrmo (73,200) doubled up during the last levels. He did so through Wilson, who as in the race for the chip lead as he had previously reached 250,000. However, several pot losses and Seamus Cahill winning a flip against him ultimately decreased Wilson’s stack.
Same as Day 1a, Day 1b starts tomorrow, Thursday, October 31, at 1 p.m. and follows the same structure as today, with ten 60-minute levels.
Be sure to tune back in tomorrow to catch all the action from the second of four opening flights!
Level 10
: Blinds 700/1,400, 1,400 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
268,000
73,000
|
73,000 |
|
||
|
165,200
15,200
|
15,200 |
|
113,000
-2,000
|
-2,000 |
|
||
|
86,000
1,500
|
1,500 |
|
82,900
900
|
900 |
|
80,000
12,000
|
12,000 |
|
73,200
-34,800
|
-34,800 |
|
62,100
-14,900
|
-14,900 |
|
40,900
3,900
|
3,900 |
|
38,500
19,300
|
19,300 |
|
31,900
-700
|
-700 |
Level 10
: Blinds 700/1,400, 1,400 ante
The remaining 11 players have bagged up their chips for the end of Day 1a.
A full chip count and recap will follow shortly.
Level 10
: Blinds 700/1,400, 1,400 ante
Karl Hedderman in the small blind limped, then snap-called after Temur Aliev in the big blind raised all-in for 15,600.
Temur Aliev: A♥K♠ 
Karl Hedderman: Q♠Q♦
The dealer fanned a board of 8♥3♠A♦3♦4♠ and Aliev won the flip to double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
84,500
-20,500
|
-20,500 |
|
|
32,600
-12,400
|
-12,400 |
Level 10
: Blinds 700/1,400, 1,400 ante
Simon Wilson raised to 3,000 under the gun and Seamus Cahill three-bet to 10,700 out of the small blind, Wilson four-bet shoved for Cahill's remaining 30,000 and Cahill snap-called.
Seamus Cahill: A♣K♦
Simon Wilson: 10♠10♦
The flip went favorably for Cahill as the board ran out A♥3♦K♠6♥7♦ to give him two pair on the flop, and earn him a double-up right at the end of the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
150,000
-52,000
|
-52,000 |
|
|
82,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
Level 10
: Blinds 700/1,400, 1,400 ante
The tournament director just stopped the clock. Five more hands will be played tonight before wrapping up.
Level 10
: Blinds 700/1,400, 1,400 ante
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Level 10
: Blinds 700/1,400, 1,400 ante
Temur Aliev raised to 3,000 from the cutoff with only Michael Dwyer calling from the button.
When the dealer fanned out the flop of J♠10♠5♥, Aliev continued with a bet of 3,000. Dwyer raised to 8,500 and Aliev didn't take long to release his cards and forfeit the pot to Dwyer.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
115,000
-35,000
|
-35,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
45,000
-5,000
|
-5,000 |
Level 10
: Blinds 700/1,400, 1,400 ante
Heads-up on a flop of 4♥3♥7♠, Simon Wilson on the button bet 2,700 and he was called by Conor Bergin in the big blind.
Both players checked the A♣ turn leading to the 9♠ river where Bergin led out for 20,500.
Wilson went into the tank, but decided to fold.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
202,000
-16,000
|
-16,000 |
|
|
77,000
16,000
|
16,000 |