Soraya Estrada Gonzalez
Day 1J of the Mini Irish Open was the biggest flight to date, with a staggering 819 players crowding into the action as players continued to chase their share of the now €853,363 prize pool, well ahead of expectations as the €1,000,000 guarantee comes into view. At the end of a day of frantic play, 41 players were left to bag chips for Day 2.
At the top was Neculai Macovei, who shut down with an enormous 1,660,000 in chips. Second-place finisher Soraya Estrada Gonzalez (1,555,000) followed closely on his heels, and Gerald MacDonald (1,440,000), Conor Mac Mahon (1,245,000), and Sean James Foley (1,045,000) took up the other slots in the top five. Each of these players has stacked their chances quite high with deep stacks heading into play on Day 2.
119 players made it into the money in Day 1J after grinding out a record–breaking field to win themselves a min–cash. A thrilling money bubble witnessed Davide Lipari busted as an unfortunate stone bubble—going all-in with two pair only to be rivered by the superior two pair in a mad beat that short-ended his tourney heart-breakingly short of the cash.
The moment the bubble burst, the action exploded, with short stacks shoving all in and large stacks applying the squeeze relentlessly. The post-bubble chaos quickly trimmed the field to the final survivors. It was Soraya Estrada Gonzalez who finished the night in movie style, delivering a double knockout on the Day 2 bubble by eliminating both Kingswell and O’Brien in the same hand. The huge pot pushed Gonzalez into second in chips overall and busted the remaining 41 players’ way into the bags.
With just three flights remaining until Day 2 begins, the battle to make it to the survivors is in its final stages. Day 1K starts on Sunday, April 20th at 11:00 AM, and gives players one of their last opportunities to pick up a stack for Day 2 and a chance to be crowned Mini Irish Open champion.
You can view all the live action, updates, and chip counts here on the Irish Open website as the action builds to a huge Day 2!
