Ian Simpson Tops Day 1b; Daniel Clarke Bags the Lead on Day 1c

Ian Simpson and Alan “Hotted89” Widmann both advanced to Day 2

The final two starting days of the 2018 Unibet Open Dublin €1,100 Main Event are done and dusted, and the tournament easily surpassed the guaranteed prize pool of €250,000 thanks to 198 entries on Day 1b and 64 additional players in the turbo heat 1c. A field of 359 entries has emerged, and 123 survivors are still in contention for their share of the €359,000 prize pool.

A very familiar face topped the counts on Day 1b, as Unibet Poker ambassador Ian Simpson bagged up 284,200 to claim the top spot ahead of John Keown (241,200) and three-time WSOP bracelet winner Benny Glaser. It has been very successful few days for the Brit in the Irish capital, who won the €2,200 High Roller and late-registered Day 1b to finish third in chips with 207,400.

Other big stacks and notables among the 64 Day 1b survivors were Julien Kron (199,600), Irish poker legend Mick McCloskey (144,000), Monica Vaka (118,100), Ivan Tononi (106,200), Jason Tompkins (98,600), 2017 Unibet Open Bucharest finalist Pavao Veza (85,300), and Antoine Vranken (49,800).

The vast majority of online qualifiers took to the tables and they were joined by the Battle Royale XI esports gamers and Unibet Poker ambassadors. Simpson shined the most, beaming with pride on the feature table when his wife Emma came over to rail, but he was by far not the only one that punched the ticket for Day 2 today. Quentin Lecomte (159,400) and David Lappin (107,000) spent the entire day on the same table, where they were joined late on by Lisa “STPeach” Vannatta (77,900). Dara Kearney also made it through on the first bullet and bagged up 65,900.

Tag Team partners Lisa “STPeach” Vannatta and Dara O’Kearney both reached Day 2 of the Main Event in Dublin

In a rough spell for the esports crew in level seven, a trio departed within a few minutes including Scott "Sco" McMillan, Sophia "Djarii" White and Sven “Svennoss” Edelenbosch. White took a flip with ace-queen against pocket jacks and found no help on a six-high board.

Plenty of notables were left empty-handed without anything to show for. The Unibet ambassadors Alexandre Reard and Fredrik Bergmann were among them, both suffering a less than optimal start into the day and bowing out much earlier than they had hoped for. Bergmann had a kicker problem with jack-ten against Scott "Sco" McMillan, who held queen-jack and the superior kicker on a jack-high flop.

The esports gamers in action
The esports gamers in action

Mike Hill, Toni Ojala, Ronni Borg, Kevin Killeen, 2018 Unibet Open champion Andreas Wiborg and Mihai Manole also failed to find a bag for Day 2. Wiborg’s attempt to win a second title in the cxurrent year ended in level eight when he moved all in for fewer than 10 big blinds with ace-king. Julien Kron was behind preflop with ace-deuce suited, but running diamonds improved the Frenchman to a flush.

Turbo Heat 1c draws 64 Entries

Hearthstone pro Andrey "reynad" Yanyuk, who won the Battle Royale XI, ran with top pair into a set and re-entered the turbo heat to bag up the third-biggest stack with 90,600 as 35 players out of 64 entries made it through. Only 2014 Irish Open champion and two-time EPT Main Event finalist Patrick Clarke (122,200) and €2,200 High Roller third-place finisher Paul Jux Holderness (105,200) were ahead of Yanyuk.

Also advancing from Day 1c were Unibet Poker ambassador Rauno Tahvonen (86,200), Alan "hotted89" Widmann (29,200) and two-time Unibet Open champion Dan Murariu (27,400), the hopes of Mateusz Moolhuizen to claim a third title at the end of season 11 vanished mid-way through the turbo heat. Andy Black (70,900), Paul Leckey (50,500), Tuomo Niskanen (50,200), and former Unibet Open champion Martin Soukup (37,300) will be back for Day 2, too.

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

Once all players of both heats today had bagged up their chips, a remaining field of 123 hopefuls emerged and they will be back in their seats at the Bonnington Hotel in Dublin when Day 2 kicks off at 12 p.m. local time on Saturday, November 24th, 2018. More than half of them will miss out on the money, and the payout structure will be announced when the cards go back in the air.

Along with the PokerNews live updates, you can also follow the action on the Unibet Open Twitch stream, which broadcasts all hole cards on a security delay of 30 minutes until a champion is crowned at the end of the weekend.

Day 2 Seat Draw

Table Seat Player Country Chips Big Blinds
1 1 Trevor Dinneen Ireland 59,400 25
1 2 Nicolas Torossian France 30,900 13
1 3 Charlotte Van Brabander Belgium 47,600 20
1 4 Ricardo Klaassen Netherlands 123,000 51
1 5 Ivan Tononi Italy 106,200 44
1 6 Oystein Nordli Norway 61,200 26
1 7 Antoine Vranken Netherlands 49,800 21
1 8 Ana Raluca Bulboaca Romania 70,600 29
           
2 1 Henri Koivisto Finland 330,500 138
2 2 John Byrne Ireland 14,600 6
2 3 Jonathan Lowe United Kingdom 49,100 20
2 5 Alan Widmann Germany 29,200 12
2 6 Tomas Montrimas Lithuania 50,800 21
2 7 Ville Hakala Finland 28,700 12
2 8 Scott Robinson Ireland 149,400 62
           
3 1 Monica Vaka Norway 118,100 49
3 2 Alexandre Poux France 78,300 33
3 3 Jakub Groblewski Poland 44,800 19
3 4 Feargus Murphy Ireland 43,700 18
3 5 Kevin Fitzpatrick Ireland 56,200 23
3 6 Anko Hoogendijk Netherlands 40,000 17
3 7 Janos Szappanos Hungary 85,700 36
3 8 Christopher Heidelbacher Romania 74,700 31
           
4 1 John Farrell Ireland 108,700 45
4 2 Phillip Huxley United Kingdom 26,300 11
4 3 Georgios Tavoularis Greece 34,700 14
4 4 Gunnar Wedde Norway 62,400 26
4 5 Andrew Whitehouse United Kingdom 142,900 60
4 6 Markus Jordan Germany 86,200 36
4 7 Miikka Kaihovaara Finland 61,800 26
4 8 Dara O’Kearney Ireland 65,900 27
           
5 1 Erik Bloma Sweden 36,500 15
5 2 Mikko Koponen Finland 84,600 35
5 3 James O’Brien Ireland 91,000 38
5 4 Gary Stokes Ireland 37,200 16
5 5 Alex Irwin Ireland 60,000 25
5 6 Bogdan Petrascu Romania 104,500 44
5 7 Zoltan Boszormenyi Hungary 25,300 11
5 8 Jan Marcus Ohman Sweden 157,900 66
           
6 1 Andrey Yanyuk United States 90,600 38
6 2 Lisa Vannatta Canada 77,900 32
6 3 Daniel Effendy Germany 72,300 30
6 4 Robbie McCormack Ireland 75,300 31
6 5 Tuomo Niskanen Finland 50,200 21
6 6 Christopher Nash United Kingdom 68,300 28
6 7 Jaakko Kayhko Finland 30,300 13
6 8 Markus Heikkila Sweden 104,300 43
           
7 1 Greg King Ireland 85,500 36
7 2 Thomas Fitzgerald Ireland 236,600 99
7 3 Daniel Price Isle of Man 29,000 12
7 4 Per Helge Gaassand Norway 367,000 153
7 5 Pierre de Montesquiou France 168,800 70
7 6 Paul Kristoffersson Sweden 40,000 17
7 7 Paul Leckey Ireland 50,500 21
7 8 Peter Self United Kingdom 60,600 25
           
8 1 Nicolas Storm-Christensen Denmark 55,900 23
8 2 Sean Foley Ireland 116,300 48
8 3 Ian Simpson United Kingdom 284,200 118
8 4 Cornelis Aantjes Netherlands 44,200 18
8 5 Periklis Charmpilas Greece 51,700 22
8 6 Cristian Dina Romania 92,600 39
8 7 Patrick Clarke Ireland 122,200 51
8 8 Mariusz Niski Poland 34,700 14
           
9 1 John Keown Ireland 241,200 101
9 2 Rauno Tahvonen Estonia 85,100 35
9 3 Mick McCloskey Ireland 144,000 60
9 4 Andy Black Ireland 70,900 30
9 5 Vamshi Vandanapu England 66,500 28
9 6 Rory De Vos Netherlands 60,200 25
9 7 Bjorn Kadgien Germany 29,700 12
9 8 Daniel Pettersen Norway 90,500 38
           
10 1 Elias Vaaraniemi Finland 379,200 158
10 2 Ovidiu Tureac Romania 137,600 57
10 3 Quentin Lecomte France 159,400 66
10 4 Lauri Kervinen Finland 82,000 34
10 5 Rune Torbla Norway 99,300 41
10 6 Martin Soukup Czech Republic 37,300 16
10 7 Michael Brock United Kingdom 140,200 58
10 8 Toby Locke United Kingdom 48,300 20
           
11 1 Stephen Kavanagh Ireland 27,800 12
11 2 Joachim Gjerstad Norway 54,700 23
11 3 Emil Brunnberg Sweden 57,800 24
11 4 Hendrik Mertens Netherlands 46,300 19
11 5 Pavao Veza Croatia 85,300 36
11 6 Jamie Byrne Ireland 61,400 26
11 7 Barry McMahon Ireland 108,900 45
11 8 Peter Curry Ireland 29,800 12
           
18 1 Mario Linno Estonia 71,300 30
18 2 Richard Oneill Ireland 105,700 44
18 3 Jason Tompkins Ireland 98,600 41
18 4 David Lappin Ireland 107,000 45
18 5 Barrie Pietersz Netherlands 49,900 21
18 6 Kevin Mathers United States 55,000 23
18 7 Dan Murariu Romania 27,400 11
           
19 1 Raiko Vannas Estonia 67,900 28
19 2 Robert Franks United Kingdom 48,400 20
19 3 Keith Brennan Ireland 154,200 64
19 5 Larry Ryan Ireland 62,400 26
19 6 Joseph Ellis United Kingdom 131,600 55
19 7 Emmett Mullin Ireland 82,800 35
19 8 Luke Walsh Ireland 135,200 56
           
20 2 Konstantinos Souliotis Greece 103,700 43
20 3 Marina Adriaans Netherlands 65,000 27
20 4 Sergiu Covrig Romania 54,000 23
20 5 David Schable France 46,600 19
20 6 Jack Sinclair United Kingdom 64,700 27
20 7 Julien Kron France 199,600 83
20 8 Kasper Mellanen Finland 166,000 69
           
21 1 Michael Tucknott United Kingdom 110,400 46
21 2 Jason Keating Ireland 46,000 19
21 3 Benny Glaser United Kingdom 207,400 86
21 4 Jari Hurri Finland 75,500 31
21 5 Peter Cahill Ireland 153,000 64
21 6 Paul Jux Holderness United Kingdom 105,200 44
21 8 Mark Rink Netherlands 80,400 34
           
22 1 Apostol Beg Romania 87,500 36
22 2 Klemen Kregar Slovenia 73,400 31
22 3 John Hanaphy Ireland 50,000 21
22 4 Jorma Vuoksenmaa Finland 24,000 10
22 5 Antti Tiainen Finland 34,600 14
22 6 Kasper Henrikson Denmark 12,700 5
22 7 Pascal Rabany France 124,000 52
22 8 Chris Dowling Ireland 62,900 26