The record-breaking Irish Poker Open Main Event is in the money, and Day 2 survivors are bagged up and heading to bed (or the Craic Den for a lip-syncing competition).
A hopeful 218 players put chips in bags heading into Day 3 of the biggest ever marquee event at the Irish Poker Open. The plan on Day 3 is to play down to the final table before the champion is crowned on Monday.
Big stacks and big money
On top of the world is Dutchman Michel Molenaar (pictured above) with a stack of 3,815,000 (127bb). Molenaar built a stack courtesy of a huge pot late on against Steven Roche. Roche moved all-in on a draw on the turn but was actually drawing dead against Molenaar's full house.
David Pollock is representing the locals as the Irishman with the biggest stack. He bagged 2,440,000 for Day 3.
Former Irish Poker Open Main Event champion Steven O'Dwyer is still in the hunt with 1,050,000. O'Dwyer won this event back in 2022 for €318,700, so he knows what it takes to close it out. The top prize is even bigger this year.
'Boston' Rob Mariano came here telling the world he was going to win it. He put up a very decent effort and made Day 2 with a solid stack but ended up falling before the money.
Others who made the money before busting included PokerStars ambassador Finton Hand (232nd), Chris Brammer (337th), David Lappin (347th), David Docherty (369th), Griffin Benger (440th), Tom Hall (444th) and Caitlin Comeskey (531st).
Main Event Day 3 top 10 stacks
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michel Molenaar | 3,815,000 |
| 2 | Michel Karim | 3,415,000 |
| 3 | Tyler Spaugh | 3,185,000 |
| 4 | Silviu-Teodor Tanase | 3,050,000 |
| 5 | Robert Fluereci | 2,825,000 |
| 6 | Marc Sen | 2,750,000 |
| 7 | Carl John Paul Shaw | 2,535,000 |
| 8 | David Pollock | 2,440,000 |
| 9 | Georgios Skarparis | 2,345,000 |
| 10 | Simon Levy | 2,300,000 |
How to watch the final two days
The remaining 218 players have already locked up €4,140, but all eyes are on the massive payouts awaiting the deepest of runs. A cool €600,000 sits up top, waiting for the winner of the largest-ever Irish Poker Open Main Event.
If you want to follow along with all the action from Dublin, PokerStars is streaming the action from here on out. Head over to its YouTube channel to watch along with cards-up coverage with commentary from James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton.
Day 3 could be a long one, as the plan is to play down to the final table on Sunday. The winner will be crowned on Monday. Both restarts are currently scheduled for noon local time, which is 7am EST.
2025 Irish Poker Open final table payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €600,000 |
| 2 | €316,000 |
| 3 | €225,000 |
| 4 | €170,000 |
| 5 | €130,000 |
| 6 | €100,000 |
| 7 | €77,500 |
| 8 | €59,030 |
| 9 | €45,800 |
