David Docherty Gathers Massive Lead on Day 1b
Day 1b of the �1,150, �1 Million Guaranteed Irish Poker Main Event at the Royal Dublin Society was completed Thursday evening. David Docherty overwhelmingly leads 226 players to Day 2 with an imposing stack of 405,300.
The second of four starting flights in the Main Event attracted a total of 644 runners, blowing the numbers of last edition's Day 1b out of the water. This day also saw the guarantee being broken, as all flights combined now have over 1,100 entries.
Chip leader Docherty's last big score was when he made the final table of EPT London in 2022. He will be looking to achieve the same feat in Dublin and has made an excellent start to that journey on Day 1b.
The nearest contender is Finland's Arto Mansner with 302,600 chips. Other notables in the top 10 include bracelet winner Carl Shaw and Dutchman Michel Molenaar.
Top 10 Leaderboard from Day 1b
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Docherty | United Kingdom | 405,300 | 338 |
| 2 | Arto Mansner | Finland | 302,600 | 252 |
| 3 | Aaron McCreanor | United Kingdom | 257,400 | 215 |
| 4 | Russell Ming Yeow Lim | Singapore | 232,500 | 194 |
| 5 | Daniel Rohrbasser | United Kingdom | 231,000 | 193 |
| 6 | Carl Shaw | United Kingdom | 212,000 | 177 |
| 7 | Iosif Spulber | United Kingdom | 208,800 | 174 |
| 8 | Michel Molenaar | Netherlands | 199,000 | 166 |
| 9 | Michael O'Neill | Ireland | 198,000 | 165 |
| 10 | James McCourt | United Kingdom | 187,700 | 156 |
Other notable players who made it through the second starting flight include Paddy Power Ambassador Tom Parsons (109,000), Niall Farrell (72,000), and Dominik Nitsche (48,800).
Conor Beresford also made it through Day 1b with a stack of 175,200, most of which he won in a must-read three-way preflop all-in, worth over 150 big blinds at the time.
Players who played today but will have to try their luck on Day 1c or Day 1d to still have a shot at the trophy include Steve O'Dwyer and PokerStars Ambassadors Benjamin Spragg and Parker Talbot.
Those who bagged on Day 1b will return on April 8 at noon for Day 2, which will combine the remaining players from all four starting flights. The third and fourth will be happening on Friday, April 7, with Day 1c starting at noon and a turbo-structured Day 1d starting at 10 p.m. for the night owls.
The last two flights are expected to attract an even bigger field, so be sure to check in with PokerNews who will be live reporting all throughout Day 1c.