The 2020 Irish Open continued on April 8 and what a fantastic day of poker it was. The €1 million guaranteed Irish Open Main Event’s first starting flight attracted a field of 831, meaning €831,000 is already in the prize pool with three more Day 1s to go!
Germany’s Philipp Krist started his quest for Irish Open glory in style. Krist finished Day 1A of the Main Event with a tournament-leading 328,011 chips. Robert Bickley of the United Kingdom was the only other player to bag up more than 300,000 chips at the close of play.
A trio of stellar names also bagged up top 10 stacks. Calvin Anderson (222,410) is one of the most respected and feared tournament players of his generation. He finished eighth on Day 1A.
Canada’s Mark Radoja (195,466) and the UK’s Ben Farrell (192,570) finished with enough chips to be ninth and tenth-place at the end of the first flight.
2020 Irish Open Main Event Day 1A Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philipp Krist | Germany | 328,011 |
| 2 | Robert Bickley | United Kingdom | 320,432 |
| 3 | Jacob Daniels | Mexico | 291,883 |
| 4 | Marc Radgen | Austria | 276,757 |
| 5 | Ruben Gravlien | Norway | 270,179 |
| 6 | Stephen Kane | United Kingdom | 236,967 |
| 7 | James Graham | United Kingdom | 231,449 |
| 8 | Calvin Anderson | Mexico | 222,410 |
| 9 | Mark Radoja | Canada | 195,466 |
| 10 | Ben Farrell | United Kingdom | 192,570 |
Plenty of well-known pros and established players were among the 302 who made it through to Day 2.
These included Mustapha Kanit, Jason Wheeler, Niall Farrell, former Irish Open Main Event champion Griffin Benger, our very own Kristen Bicknell, Marvin Rettenmaier, Sami Kelopuro and many more!
Joao Vieira Wins €2K High Roller
Joao Vieira came out on top of a 154-strong field in the €2,100 High Roller event to walk away with €70,809 and the title of champion.
Vieira overcame a talented final table on his way to victory. Swedish legend Simon Mattsson was the first player to bust from the final table, his eighth-place finish netting him €9,240.
Finnish superstar Juha Helppi fell in seventh before Guntis Aleskins and Elliot Smith crashed out to leave only four players in the hunt for the title. Those four became three when Wilhelm Isaak busted and scooped €26,180.
Heads-up was set when Aaron Vanblarcum fell by the wayside in third, a result worth €36,960.
Vieira and Simon Higgins locked horns heads-up in a battle for the lion’s share of the prize pool. No deal was struck despite there being a €20,000 difference between first and second place. This meant Higgins had to make do with a €50,820 consolation prize when Vieira defeated him, still a massive score for a Wednesday night!
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joao Vieira | Netherlands | €70,809 |
| 2 | Simon Higgins | United Kingdom | €50,820 |
| 3 | Aaron Vanblarcum | Mexico | €36,960 |
| 4 | Wilhelm Isaak | Germany | €26,180 |
| 5 | Elliot Smith | Canada | €18,480 |
| 6 | Guntis Aleskins | Latvia | €14,630 |
| 7 | Juha Helppi | Finland | €11,642 |
| 8 | Simon Mattsson | Sweden | €9,240 |
All the 2020 Irish Open Champions So Far
| Event | Entrants | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| #01 €100K Gtd 6-Max | 441 | Christopher Andler | €18,615 |
| #02 €30K Gtd Deepstack | 335 | Przemyslaw Piotrowski | €9,748 |
| #03 €500K Gtd High Roller | 179 | Ioannis Angelou-Konstas | €172,188 |
| #04 €15K Gtd PLO Deepstack | 167 | Matthew Eardley | €6,239 |
| #05 €40K Gtd Heads Up | 175 | Gabor Szabo | €11,025 |
| #06 €50K Gtd Hendon Mob Championship | 379 | Sosia Jiang | €18,381 |
| #08 €200K Gtd High Roller | 154 | Joao Vieira | €70,809 |
| #09 €50K Gtd Deepstack | 540 | Robert Malvasi | €15,098 |
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