$$ Cash 4 Seat $$

A few years ago, when jetting was not yet Easy and before Ryan had taken to the Air, the idea of a Briton visiting Estonia would have been laughed out of the departure lounge. But low-cost air travel has not only allowed stag nights to go rampaging around Europe’s medieval old towns, it has also made Tallinn a destination so attractive that two British poker players flew there this week and destroyed the field at the inaugural PokerStars Baltic Festival.

In truth, I don’t know which airline Thomas Partridge and James Keys took en route to Tallinn this week. What I do know is that they could probably hire a private jet to take them home. When this tournament reached its climax after about five-and-a-half hours play today, it was Partridge and Keys heads up for the title, and the winner’s cheque of €76,750.

Heads up in Tallinn: Thomas Partridge, left, and James Keys

Partridge, a 24-year-old player from Teign Valley in Devon, clinched it after a brief battle against his friend. His king-high flush in spades, versus Keys’ two pair, sealed the deal, forcing Keys to settle for €48,505. Partridge, meanwhile, is the first champion of what is very likely to become a fixture on the poker calendar. He is also off to the PCA in the Bahamas as the winner of a bonus package put up by PokerStars. Job done.

“I haven’t played many live tournaments,” Partridge said. “But our friend qualified and encouraged us to come along as well. I’m very pleased with the way it went. Now I’m going to try to improve my game before going to the Bahamas.”

Thomas Partridge

We began day three with 17 players and all eyeing the top prize. Natasha Ellis, another Briton, was the first out the door, when her pocket eights couldn’t beat Q-J, and that started a rush of eliminations that took us to our final table of nine in double-quick time. Among those to fall short were Andrius Tapinas, Lithuania’s finest, and the local hope Imre Leibold. But the pace had been frantic and the action brutal; few were spared the bloodshed.

The final table

Going into the final, the leader was Michael Fardan, from Denmark, who had personally accounted for at least five of the early eliminations. He had Keys out-chipped by a small handful, with Partridge breathing down their necks. And although we were at a final, the pace didn’t slacken one bit. Finland’s Antti Kärkkäinen, Johan Nilsson, of Sweden, Jerry Wong, of Holland, and another Finn, Petri Heinanen, were sent packing.

Michael Fardan

Then it got really ugly. Fardan and Keys were still huge in chips when they got involved in a monster pot. The board had all kinds of possibilities - two fives, an ace and a king - and Keys showed A-K when Fardan called his huge river bet. Muck, and Keys finished Fardan off with pocket tens soon after.

He wasn’t even done. Claus Bek Nielsen must have loved finding pocket kings four-handed, and slyly managed to get all of his chips in the middle, called by the dominant Keys. But he was dominant in more ways than one: he also had pocket aces in a vicious cooler.

Claus Bek Nielsen

Nielsen departed, leaving the Norwegian Kenneth Danielsen to do battle with the Brits.

That didn’t last long. He struggled gamely, and pushed Keys off a few pots, but then along came another cooler: A-10 versus A-K. Keys was in unstoppable form as Danielsen became our final Nordic representative to depart.

Kenneth Danielsen

Throughout all this, Partridge had been playing it steady. He was taking down anything that was on offer while avoiding the major confrontations, and with Keys on his left - and picking up all these monsters - it was an exercise primarily in damage limitation. Heads up was a different story, though. Keys won the first small pot, but after that every pot was big and they all went to Partridge. In chunks of 200,000-odd each, he reeled in the two-to-one deficit and took the lead.

Partridge and Keys heads up

The winning pot was the kind that so often wins major tournaments: it was the first time two big hands went up against each other and all of the chips went in. Partridge’s flush faded Keys’ full house outs and the two shook hands with customary British understatement and politeness. Even their railbirds didn’t know whether to cheer: they really didn’t mind who won. “I don’t want to look too happy because my friend lost,” said Partridge.

But soon champagne was in both of their mitts, and our new champion was crowned.

Read all the action from today on our level-by-level updates. And Swedish might look like utter nonsense, but there’s enough of it at our Swedish blog to make you think someone must understand it.

Introduction to the final day
Level 16&17 updates
Level 18&19 updates
Level 20 updates

There’s more from the video blog team at PokerStars.tv. And thanks once again, and for the whole week, to Rene Velli, who has provided some excellent photographs.

The next major event we’ll be covering at PokerStars blog will be the World Series final table from Las Vegas. Does EasyJet fly to Nevada?

Good night.

This post contains live updates from day three, level 20 of the PokerStars Baltic Festival in Tallinn. It’s now final table time.

The full chip counts at the start of the level are available on the chip counts page. Approximate counts will appear here updated throughout the level. A full breakdown of the prizewinners to date and the full payout structure is on the prize structure page.

Blinds: 8,000-16,000 (2,000 ante)

Thomas Partridge wins €76,750 plus $15,000 package to PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
A full wrap of the day to come. Check out the prizewinners page to see who won what.

8.40pm: Game over
Thomas Partridge wins!
James Keys, UK, PokerStars qualifier, out in second winning €48,505
It’s all over. There was minimal pre-flop action and Thomas Partridge led out 50,000 on a flop of [3s][qs][2c]. Keys called. The turn came [9s] and then it all kicked off. Partridge bet 120,000, Keys moved all in and Partridge snap-called. He had [ks][5s] for the flush and Keys had turned two pair with his [9h][2h]. Keys had full house outs but the [3h] on the river was not one of them.

8.30pm: One way traffic
Thomas Partridge has been dominating this heads up battle so far and he has just taken another decent pot to put him up to about 2,400,000.

There was 40,000 each in the pot pre-flop, then the cards came: [5s][7c][6s]. Partridge checked, Keys bet 50,000, Partridge made it 175,000 and Keys called. The turn came [10s] and Partridge led out for 175,000. Keys let it go.

Heads up

8.25pm: Approximate chips
It’s now:
Thomas Partridge: 2,100,000
Kames Keys: 900,000 approx

8.20pm: New chip leader
Thomas Partridge has now taken the chip lead when he bet 200,000 on the river, with the board showing [7h][8d][ad][ah][kd]. Partridge had [7d][4d] for the flush and Keys mucked.

8.15pm: Keys being hauled in
Partridge has now taken another big pot in this heads up battle. There was some small action on the flop of [6s][8c][3h] but it was when the [9s] turn came that more money flew in. Partridge checked, Keys bet 105,000 and Partridge called. The river was [3s] and Partridge checked again. Keys bet 280,000 and Partridge called, showing [7h][8s] to take it.

8.05pm: And another
Partridge has taken another one, in what was almost a carbon copy of the last hand. Keys limped and Partridge made it 100,000 more, which Keys called. The flop came [8c][7h][qd] and Partridge bet 100,000, which Keys called. The turn was [3c] and Partridge announced he was all in. Keys let it go.

8pm: Partridge takes one
After James Keys took the first small pot of heads up play, Thomas Partridge took the second, and it was worth a bit more. Partridge made up the big blind and Keys bet about 80,000. Called. The flop came [ah][5s][5h] and Keys check-called a 90,000 bet from Partridge. The turn was [9h] and Keys check-folded when Partridge moved all in.

7.55pm: Heads up
The two Britons from the final table have made it to heads up. Here’s what they have at the moment:

James Keys: 2,300,000
Thomas Partridge: 784,000

Thomas Partridge

James Keys

This post contains live updates from day two, levels 18 and 19 of the PokerStars Baltic Festival in Tallinn. It’s now final table time.

The full chip counts at the start of the level are available on the chip counts page. Approximate counts will appear here updated throughout the level. A full breakdown of the prizewinners to date and the full payout structure is on the prize structure page.

Blinds:
Level 18: 4,000-8,000 (1,000 ante).
Level 19: 6,000-12,000 (1,000 ante)

7.40pm: Another cooler
Kenneth Danielsen, Norway, PokerStars qualifier, out in third winning €30,085
James Keys has played excellently all week in Tallinn, but even he would admit that he’s found some great cards when it mattered late on here. He’s now accounted for Kenneth Danielsen, who shoved with [ac][10c] and Keys found [ad][ks]. The board came [as][jd][jc][5s][3s] which was not the miracle ten.

Kenneth Danielsen

Keys accounts for another one and will now go heads up against his friend and countryman Thomas Partridge.

7.30pm: Strength
James Keys just took some away from the short stack Kenneth Danielsen. It was a peculiar one: the board was [6h][5d][8c] and Danielsen bet 60,000, which Keys called. The turn was [4d] and both players checked, and then it grew strange on the river of [7c]. The board was now showing a straight, and Danielsen bet 140,000. Keys moved all in, which comfortably covered Danielsen, since he only had about 300,000 behind. He folded, to fight another day.

7.20pm: Counts
The approximate three handed counts are as follows:

James Keys: 1,900,000
Thomas Partridge: 850,000
Kenneth Danielsen: 450,000

7.15pm: Ouch
Claus Bek Nielsen, Denmark, out in fourth, winning €17,805
Aces against kings four handed is always going to result in something nasty. They went through the motions — the raise, the re-raise, the all in, the call — and it was Claus Bek Nielsen whose [kh][ks] had run headlong into James Keys’ [ah][ad]. This one played itself and the board ran out dry. Nielsen is out in fourth and Keys is now runaway chip leader with about 1.9m.

Claus Bek Nielsen

7.10pm: Without further ado…
Michael Fardan, Denmark, out in fifth, winning €14,121
He wasn’t going to hang around before getting his chips in, and any ace would do. It was [ac][6c] but James Keys had pocket tens. Another one flopped and Fardan was done.

7.05pm: Biggest pot of the tournament
The two biggest stacks going to the final table were Michael Fardan and James Keys and they have just tangled in a whopper. Fardan opened on the button 30,000 and Keys reraised from the big blind, making it another 42,000. Fardan called. The flop came [5s][ac][3d] and Keys check-called Fardan’s bet of 130,000. The turn was [5d], which both of them checked, and the river was [kd]. Keys paused and then bet 180,000. Fardan paused, but then called 180,000 and was shown [as][ks]. He mucked and is down to his last 60,000 or so.

Keys, meanwhile, is up to 1,200,000 after a pot worth more than 700,000.

6.45pm: Partridge accounts for another
Petri Heinanen, Finland, out in sixth, winning €11,665
Petri Heinanen’s day is done. Thomas Partridge, and his chip lead, made a late position raise to about 35,000 and was then obliged to put in the extra when Heinanen shoved for about 90,000. Heinanen had [kh][kd] and that was pretty good against Partridge’s [ah][10s]. But an ace came on the turn and that was it for Heinanen.

Petri Heinanen

6.35pm: Chips
Here are the six-handed chip counts:

Claus Bek Nielsen - 531,000
Kenneth Danielsen - 395,000
Michael Fardan - 630,000
Thomas Partridge - 717,000
James Keys - 706,000
Petri Heinanen - 102,000

6.33pm: Heinanen doubles
It was the last hand of the level and Heinanen wins it to survive into the next. He had [qc][jd] and he got it all in against Michael Fardan’s [ah][5d]. He turned a queen to double up to 102,000, which is still the short stack. But it’s a stack at least. A five minute break now.

6.30pm: Heinanen gives it back
Just after doubling up, Petri Heinanen has given most of it away. He and Kenneth Danielsen see a flop of [3d][kh][6d] and Danielsen bets 42,000; Heinanen moves all in and Danielsen calls. Danielsen has [ac][kc], which has Heinanen’s [ks][qh] outkicked. There’s nothing important on turn or river and Danielsen doubles up. He had about 200,000 before the hand and double that at the end.

6.25pm: Petri dishes out the double up
Petri Heinanen re-raised all in from the small blind after Michael Fardan had opened from mid position. Fardan called, but this time was behind with his [ad][9c] as Heinanen had [as][qs]. The flop gave chop possibilities when it came [7c][js][jh], but the turn [4h] and the river [ks] changed nothing.

6.20pm: Video introduction

Here’s how our video blogger introduced today’s final table:

6.10pm: Wong out
Jerry Wong, Holland, out in seventh, winning €9,823
He had no choice but to get his last 20,000 in on the button, and both the blinds called. The flop came [6s][qh][4d][3d][qd] and Wong’s [jc][5c] was no good. Nielsen’s [ac][5s] took it. We lose Wong in two tortuous hands for him.

Jerry Wong

6.05pm: Nielsen doubles through Wong
Ace cracking time. In a battle of the blinds, Claus Bek Nielsen and Jerry Wong have seen four cards — [5d][8c][10c][jd] — when Wong check-raises all in. Nielsen calls and shows [js][8d]; Wong has [ah][as], which are on the verge of being cracked. The river is [2h] and that’s enough to send Nielsen past 500,000 and peg Wong back to his last 20,000.

6pm: Down to seven
Johan Nilsson, Sweden, out in eigth, winning €8,288
This one was interesting. Michael Fardan opened for 21,000 and Thomas Partridge, to his left, called. Johan Nilsson moved all in from the big blind, another 140,000, and Fardan counted out the call. The action wasn’t done, though. Partridge now moved all in for about 400,000, a damaging amount even for the chip leader to call. Fardan got out the way, and patted himself on the back when the hands were shown:

Nisson: [9d][9s]
Partridge: [ah][as]

The flop came with four spades on it, which gave Partridge the nut flush. Not that he needed it. Nilsson is out, Partridge is our new leader.

5.50pm: Player down
Antti Kärkkäinen, Finland, out in ninth, winning €6,753
We’ve lost our first one, and it was the birthday boy from Finland Antti Kärkkäinen. He got it all in pre-flop with [7h][7s] and Michael Fardan called with [ah][qd]. That particular hand has been very good to Fardan so far today, and so it continued. The flop came [8c][10h][kh] but it was the [js] on the turn that sealed it. Kärkkäinen, 29 today, now has time to celebrate it.

5.46pm: Must be nice
The first hand of the final table and Michael Fardan opens for 25,000. He has the biggest stack in town. It’s folded around to Jerry Wong in the big blind, who folds and shows the mighty [7s][2s]. It’s just as well he didn’t try anything tricky: Fardan shows pocket kings.

On the next hand, Petri Heinanen opens for 25,000 and Johan Nilsson announces that he’s all in on the button. Fold, fold, fold, etc.

5.45pm: Players are back
The nine finalists have returned to their seats and final table play is due to begin. Here’s who they are:

Seat 1 : Johan Nilsson, 44, Stockholm, Sweden - PokerStars qualifier - 110,000
With a background in bridge - he was on the board of the biggest bridge club in Europe for 16 years - Nilsson has also played poker for the past four or five years, mainly as a hobby. He works at a bank in Stockholm and he’s know by his friends in the bridge community as “the banker” (”bankmannen”). He has two children, aged 16 and 14, and lives with his fiance and her three children. This is only his third live tournament - he has cashed in two of them.

Seat 2 : Jerry Wong, 29, The Hague, Netherlands - 317,000
Wong has been playing poker for three years and calls himself a part time player. He’s also a dealer at a local poker club in The Hague in Holland. If he places himself first or second in this tournament, it will be his biggest cash in a live tournament. Wong mostly plays online poker where he then prefers to play cash games. When he plays live, it is usually tournaments.

Seat 3: Claus Bek Nielsen, 31, Copenhagen, Denmark - PokerStars player - 287,000
Nielsen is a well-known figure in the European poker community as he often covers the PokerStars European Poker Tour for the largest online Danish poker news site. Claus’s best result to date was a 10th place finish at EPT Warsaw in season four, where he was disappointed to bubble the final table. Nielsen also won a tournament in the Caribbean in January last year for $23,230.

Seat 4: Kenneth Danielsen, 24, Dröbak, Norway - 368,000
Danielsen has played poker for five years but says he only plays it when he has time. He spends the most of his time with his friends traveling around the world. He only play tournaments and mostly online. This is his biggest cash in a tournament so far.

Seat 5: Michael Fardan, 40, Copenhagen, Denmark - 695,000
Fardan is Danish but has been living in Vilnius, Lithuania for the last six years, working as an ex-pat for various companies. He describes himself as a “happy amateur” but for the past three months has been concentrating full time on poker. Like many Danish poker players, Fardan is also a backgammon player and is friends with many well-known figures in the Danish backgammon community such as Gus Hansen, Sander Lylloff and fellow Baltic Festival finalist Claus Bek Nielsen. Two weeks ago Michael became the Lithuanian Omaha Champion; he was the only non-Lithuanian in the tournament.

Seat 6: Thomas Partridge, 24, from Teign Valley, Devon, UK - 465,000
Partridge mainly plays cash games online but he competed at the World Series of Poker this summer, playing the main event and several side events. He cashed once in a $1,500 NHLE event for $6,604. He studied Politics at Warwick University.

Seat 7: James Keys, 24, from Nottingham, UK - 609,000
Keys is one of a group of British poker players who studied at university together, meet up at tournaments in the UK and all came to Tallinn together. Fellow finalist Thomas Partridge is also in the group, along with PokerStars qualifier Rupert Elder and Scott O’Reilly. Keys’ best live result to date was his final table appearance at the 2007 WSOPE Main Event in London where he came ninth for £61,540. He also cashed again the following year for £25,340. He also won a deepstack tournament at Dusk Til Dawn in September for £29,981.

Seat 8: Antti Kärkkäinen, 29, Tampere, Finland - 117,000
Kärkkäinen has found a great way to celebrate his 29th birthday by making the final table at the inaugural PokerStars Baltic Festival. This isn’t his best result though - he came second in the €1,000 hold ‘em/Omaha in the Helsinki Freezeout 2009 in January this year for €37,300. He also has a string of results in other smaller tournaments in Helsinki. Kärkkäinen has been a professional poker player for four years but also still a multi-media student at the University of Technology in Tempere. He said: “I’ve been a student for nine years now actually. Poker has delayed it a bit.”

Seat 9: Petri Heinanen, 33, Helsinki, Finland - 120,000
Originally from Tampere in Finland, Heinanen now lives in Helsinki. He spent 15 years as a professional footballer before injuries forced him out of the game - allowing him to turn to poker, which has been his main income for three years. This is his biggest live tournament cash but he has also has some deep finishes online. He normally plays pot limit Omaha cash games and no limit Texas hold ‘em tournaments. Petri’s identical twin brother Pasi also competed in the main event.

5.15pm: Here’s your final table chip leader

Michael Fardan

Final table chips

Here’s how they will line up at the final table:

Seat 1 - Johan Nilsson, Sweden, PokerStars qualifier, 110,000
Seat 2 - Jerry Wong, Netherlands, 317,000
Seat 3 - Claus Bek Nielsen, Denmark, PokerStars player, 287,000
Seat 4 - Kenneth Danielsen, Norway, PokerStars qualifier, 368,000
Seat 5 - Michael Fardan, Denmark, 695,000
Seat 6 - Thomas Partridge, UK, 465,000
Seat 7 - James Keys, UK, 609,000
Seat 8 - Antti Kärkkäinen, Finland, 117,000
Seat 9 - Petri Heinanen, Finland, 118,000

4.45pm: Dinner
Not unreasonably, they’re taking a 45 minute break before the final table starts. That’ll give us a chance to gather our thoughts, not to mention the biographies and chip counts.

Here’s a quick video, which you can watch 17 times to while away the next 45 mins.

4.40pm: And…out! Final table time
Just like that, we’re down to nine Again Michael Fardan was the player doing the assassinating as Matias Knaapinen’s charge comes to an end. The short stack over night, he had double up at least twice, but was caught out when he pushed pre-flop with [ks][9s]. Fardan found [ad][qs] and the board ran [6d][10d][4s][10s][2h], which sent Knaapinen to the rail and Fardan to the final table. He’ll be joined there by Keys, Partridge, Danielsen, Wong, Nielsen and Heinanen. Their starting final table stacks are being counted now.

Matias Knaapinen

4.35pm: Out! Out!
Within the first couple of hands of the restart, two players are all in, there are two calls, and two players are out. There’s one on each table: Peeter Grunthal has [kh][jd] and he’s in trouble against Claus Nielsen’s [ac][ks]. The board gives him no help at all, and an ace rivers to give the pot to Nielsen and send Grunthal out.

Peeter Grunthal

At the same time on the other table, Einar Olafsson moves all in from the small blind and is called by Michael Fardan in the big. Fardan has [kh][9h] and it’s better than Olafsson’s [jd][10d]. Although the Icelandic player picked up a flush draw on the [ad][ac][4c][7d] board, it missed when the [7h] rivered.

Einar Olafsson

We are down to 10.

4.30pm: Chips
There’s been a massive amount of to-ing and fro-ing in that last level. How it affected the chip counts can best be seen by looking at the chip count page. Sneak preview: James Keys is still the leader.

James Keys

4.25pm: Back
There are 12 players remaining, and we’re now playing level 18. Here’s a video to keep you occupied before the action gets going properly again.

This post contains live updates from day two, levels 16 and 17 of the PokerStars Baltic Festival in Tallinn.

At the level’s start, 17 players remained from a starting field of 307. The full chip counts at the start of the level are available on the chip counts page. Approximate counts will appear here updated throughout the level. A full breakdown of the prizewinners to date and the full payout structure is on the prize structure page.

Blinds:
Level 16: 2,500-5,000 (500 ante).
Level 17: 3,000-6,000 (500 ante)

4.10pm: Level over
That’s the end of that level. There’s a chip count and a chip race now going on. The details will be on the chip count page.

4.10pm: Priit Plakk unstuck
The Estonian player Priit Plakk got it all in against James Keys, with the Brit comfortably covering the home hope. Keys had [9s][9h] and Plakk had [ah][qs] and they were racing. Plakk’s chances got slimmer and slimmer as flop and turn came [10s][6s][6d][3d] and the [9c] on the river added insult to injury. Keys stacks up another 80,000-odd and Plakk is gone.

Priit Plakk

4.05pm: Another one out
Jerry Wong has just accounted for Patrik Kaltrud when the Norwegian was all in for his last 110,000 behind [ad][6d] and Wong called with [5h][5s]. The board gave no help - [qc][9h][3d][7s][8h] - and Kaltrud is out in 14th. We have about 10 minutes left in this level, with 13 players. The full counts are coming at the end of the level.

Jerry Wong

4pm: Tapinas done
And that’s that for Tapinas. He moved all in for his last 25,000 with [8s][3c]. Peeter Grunthal called with [kh][2s] and that stayed good on a dry board. Andrius Tapinas is our 15th placed finisher.

3.55pm: Double up for Danielsen
It’s been a terrible few minutes for Andrius Tapinas, who has now doubled up Kenneth Danielsen and is left as the tournament short stack. Tapinas flopped top-pair tens with his J-10, but Danielsen had pocket jacks, which stayed good. Tapinas is down to the felt, while Danielsen is something close to 300,000.

3.45pm: Worst hand wins
Andrius Tapinas has just doubled up Antti Karkkainen, all in pre-flop. Tapinas was in good shape with [ah][qd] against Karkkainen’s [ad][jd] but a jack flopped and stayed ahead. That’s a pot worth about 150,000. The full chip counts will be with us at the end of this level, in about 20 minutes time.

Antti Karkkainen

3.40pm: Action on both tables
Matias Knaapinen raised to 14,500 from the cut off and Einar Olafsson moved all in from the small blind. It was about 100,000 total and Knaapinen folded. On the other tables, James Keys, Claus Bec Nielsen and Petri Heinanen got all the way to the river on a double-paired board - queens and fours. Heinanen and Keys both had aces and they might have thought that was good, but Nielsen had pocket kings, which were good.

3.30pm: Kaltrud breathing again
Patrik Kaltrud is back with close to 100,000 after his pocket tens held up against Michael Fardan’s [jc][qs]. There were three clubs on the board by the turn and so Fardan had a flush draw and two overcards by the time the river was dealt. But that was a harmless [2d] and Kaltrud doubled.

3.20pm: Another double up for Knaapinen
Matias Knaapinen is now stacking up about 200,000 chips after doubling through Einar Olafsson. Knaapinen was in the big blind and saw a flop with Olafsson and Michael Fardan. It came: [10s][3h][5c] and Knaapinen checked, then Olafsson bet 20,5000 and Fardan folded. Knaapinen moved all in, for another 58,000, and Olafsson called. The Icelandic player had [as][ks] and was behind Knaapinen’s [10c][2c]. By the time the turn came [2d], the hand was over. And the [10h] on the river to fill the boat was just rubbing it in.

3.05pm: Level up
That was the last action of that level and we move seemlessly into the next. It’s level 17, where the blinds are 3,000 - 6,000 and the ante 500. There are 15 players left.

3.05pm: Leibold departs in 16th
Imre Leibold had plenty of outs when he got it all in on a board of [10s][8d][7s][4d] with [as][8s]. He was up against a big hand and a bigger stack: Michael Fardan had [5s][6s], the straight, and had Leibold well covered. The river was [6c], which did not fill the flush and Leibold was out. The all in was about 145,000, which gets added to Fardan’s stack, and puts him in the chip lead.

Imre Leibold

3pm: Tapinas muscle
Andrius Tapinas is throwing his weight around. He raised to 12,000 in the cut off and picked up both blinds as callers: Peeter Grunthal and Kenneth Danielsen. The flop came [kc][4h][8s] and Grunthal checked, but Danielsen bet 14,500. Tapinas re-raised to 39,000 and that was more than enough for both of the others.

2.45pm: Nielsen takes on Keys
Claus Nielsen raised to 12,500 from under-the-gun and picked up two callers: James Keys in mid position and Antti Karkkainen in the big blind. The flop came [as][qh][3d] and after Karkkainen checked, Nielsen put out the continuation bet of 21,000. Keys called by Karkkainen folded. The turn was [6d] and Nielsen remained aggressive, making it another 36,000. Keys folded.

On the other table, Matias Knaapinen was all in again, this time re-raising Michael Fadan’s 12,000 opener. Fardan thought better of it and let it go.

Matias Knaapinen

2.30pm: Double up for Matias Knaapinen
The overnight short-stack Matias Knaapinen has doubled up. He moved in a couple of times and got no takers, and then Patrik Kaltrud finally took the bait. Kaltrud had [kh][qh] and Knaapinen [ac][3s] and the board bricked all the way, taking Knaapinen past 100,000.

2.25pm: Natasha Ellis out in 17th
Natasha Ellis didn’t have much option but to shove with pocket eights. Johan Nilsson called with [qc][jc] and although the flop was blank: [7s][kd][3d], and killer [jh] came on the turn and Ellis was ousted in 17th. She earns €3,070 (47,892 EEK).

Natasha Ellis out in Tallinn

2.20pm: Double up
Peeter Grunthal earns the first double up of the day, when his pocket tens flop a set to better Antti Karkkainen. Grunthal earns some breathing space.

2.15pm: Play under way
Play gets under way with the 17 players on two tables. The first two three bets pick up pots on each table: Imre Leibold re-raising Patrik Kaltrund and Einar Olafsson re-raised by Michael Fardan. Good enough.

Good afternoon, good morning, good everything and welcome to the final chapter in the first book of the PokerStars Baltic Poker Festival.

It’s the last day of what has been a terrific week: 307 players parted with €1,000 apiece (or the online qualification equivalent) to take their place in the Main Event in Tallinn, and now only 17 remain. Today we will play to a winner, who will earn €76,750 from their Estonian sojourn, and will become the inaugural Baltic Festival champion. Wowsers.

Tallinn Old Town

Let’s start with a run through of your runners and riders, listed in order of chips:

James Keys, UK, 442,000
Michael Fardan, Denmark , 373,000
Thomas Partridge, UK, 350,000
Andrius Tapinas, Lithuania, 262,000
Johan Nilsson, Sweden, 222,500
Antti Karkkainen, Finland, 198,500
Claus Bek Nielsen, Denmark, 170,000
Imre Leibold, Estonia, 157,000
Kenneth Danielsen, Norway, 152,500
Einar Olafsson, Iceland, 125,500
Patrik Kaltrud, Norway, 123,000
Yet San Wong, Netherlands, 111,500
Petri Heinanen , Finland, 110,000
Priit Plakk Estonia, 88,000
Peeter Grunthal, Estonia, 76,000
Natasha Ellis, UK, 71,000
Matias Knaapinen, Finland, 53,500

Even the least observant is going to notice a considerable northern European flavour to that line-up. Anyone from further afield has been sent packing, leaving the Brits to scrap it out with the Nordics, and a decent smattering of local players.

On the first day here, Imre Leibold was mentioned as being the hottest prospect in Estonian poker, and he’s lived up to the billing, cruising to the final day. Meanwhile Andrius Tapinas is widely considered to be the best Lithuanian tournament player. He is a television presenter by day (poker shows, obviously) and a poker player by night (PokerStars, obviously, where he is a SuperNova) and he has steadily and stealthily worked his way to the top handful too.

Andrius Tapinas

We will start today at the beginning of level 17, where the blinds are 2,500-5,000 (500 ante) meaning that there’s still plenty of play, even if it’s going to be frantic stuff for the shorter stacks. We’ll keep track of all the major pots and eliminations on the main blog pages, the prizewinners will be on the prizewinners’ page, and the full official chip counts will be on the chip count page, updated in full every two levels.

Ordinarily at major poker tournaments, we say something like: “The only place to follow all the action is right here on PokerStars blog”, and there’s something slightly metaphorical about the claim. But here in the Baltics, PokerStars blog is quite literally the only place you can follow the action. So stand by.

James Keys, foreground, and Michael Fardan. The two chip leaders

It’s a thankless task following British poker players at major international tournaments across the world. Sure, there have been the occasional triumph, but more often than not it’s a story of so near and yet so far. No one told us - no one even hinted - that all we had to do was come to the Baltics.

For it’s here, in the Main Event of the inaugural PokerStars Baltic Festival, that James Keys, a Briton, is the chip leader going into the final day; Thomas Partridge, a Briton, is third in chips; and Natasha Ellis, a Briton, is also still among the final 17 players still standing. Britannia rules the day!

James Keys

Thomas Partridge

Natasha Ellis

Day two proper began at noon in Tallinn with 121 players still in the hunt and only 32 places in the money. We were thinking we might be here all night as the loose target was to play down close to a final table. But as is so often the case, the pace was rapid from the off. Ten, twenty, thirty players departed, and suddenly the bubble was in sight.

That’s when it got cruel. It always gets cruel, but try telling Katja Thater that. She one one of the big stacks at that stage, and she had pocket kings all in pre-flop against Keys’ pocket jacks. Then: bing! A jack on the flop, Thater was out, and Keys cruised into a lead that he never relinquished.

Katja Thater

The bubble burst when Michael Fardan also cracked pocket kings. This time they were in the hand of Christian Schneider and it was a battle of the blinds on the bubble. Eeeeew. Fardan had A-Q and turned an ace, which sent Scheider back to Austria penniless and the rest of them into the money.

Michael Fardan, background

One of the remaining few was the Team PokerStars Pro and World Champion Peter Eastgate. This is the last tournament he will play before traveling to Vegas next week to hand his world crown over to the latest victor from the November Nine.

Peter Eastgate

Although the €2,455 Eastgate picked up for 23rd place (he ran into the straight of Johan Nilsson to end his participation here) will qualify as the most “min” of “min-cashes” for the nine million dollar man, this year has been sensational for Eastgate. Among other successes, he won a side event at the PCA, finished second at EPT London, and capped the year with another deep run. A more than worthy world champion.

Tomorrow, though, we will play down to that winner. Unlocking Keys will be the target. Can anyone go father than Fardan? Or will Partridge pick off the pear pair of them. Enough. I’m going to bed.

Full chip counts are on the chip-count page. Take a look back on the day as it unfolded with our level-by-level updates, the links to which are below. Or read it all in Swedish, if you’re a masochist. Video blogs are available at PokerStars.tv, and thanks again to Rene Velli’s trigger finger.

Day two introduction
Levels 9&10 updates
Levels 11&12 updates
Levels 13&14 updates
Levels 15&16 updates

Chip leader James Keys

Play resumes at 2pm. Be sure to join us.

This post contains live updates from day two, levels 15 and 16 of the PokerStars Baltic Festival in Tallinn.

At the level’s start, 29 players remained from a starting field of 307. The full chip counts at the start of the level are available on the chip counts page. Approximate counts will appear here updated throughout the level. A full breakdown of the prizewinners to date and the full payout structure is on the prize structure page.

Blinds:
Level 15: 2,000-4,000 (400 ante)
Level 16: 2,500-5,000 (500 ante).

9pm: Overnight chips
The full chip count for the remaining 17 players is on the chip count page.

8.45pm: How they went
Phew. After some to-ing and fro-ing when they were down to 19, eventually two went out on one hand. Three players were all in pre-flop, and the player with the worst hand had the biggest stack. The hands were:

Kaspars Renga: [ac][as]
Kimmo Kurko: [qc][qh]
Andrius Tapinas: [10d][10h]

In chips, Tapinas covered Kurko who covered Renga.

Kurko decided to play his PokerStars Blog One Time Chip™ here, and who could blame him. Tapinas, however, kept his in it cellophane wrapper, and that proved to be the wisest policy. The flop came [2d][6s][10s] and the turn [9h] and river [4h] helped nobody. Kurko and Renga were knocked out. Tapinas goes into tomorrow. As do we.

A full wrap will follow, but the key info is this: there are 17 players left and James Keys of Great Britain is at the chip lead. He has 442,000, with Michael Fardan second, with 372,000.

8.40pm: Two busted, day over
Details to come.

8.25pm: Eliminations
Joachim Buch was the 19th player to fall, leaving us one short of the end of the day. The full list of prizewinners is on the prizewinner’s page. We’ve recently said goodbye to:

21 - Timo Peri, Finland
22 - Robert Lundh, Sweden
23 - Peter Eastgate, Denmark
24 - Sigurd Eskeland, Norway
25 - Raigo Aasmaa, Estonia
26 - Joel Sallinen, Finland
27 - Heiki Laja, Estonia
28 - Eduards Rakuss, Latvia

8.20pm: Another one for Keys
When you’re a dominant chip leader, you can take a flier with pocket fives and plenty of times you’ll end up knocking someone out. So it proved when James Keys had [5d][5c] and Joachim Buch had [jd][9s]. They got it all in pre-flop and the board ran [10h][3c][6h][2c][as] and Buch read no more.

8.10pm: Down to 18
No, we’re not there yet. But the recently-announced tournament schedule is that we’re playing down to 18 players tonight and to a winner tomorrow.

8.05pm: Eastgate out
The World Champion has left the Baltics. Well, not the whole region yet, but his participation in the Baltic Festival is done. He limped from the button, and Johan Nilsson called from the small blind, with Patrik Kaltrud checking the big. The flop came [as]kc][3c] and after the two blinds checked, Eastgate made a small bet, which only Nilsson called. The turn was [4d] and it went check, bet, call again. And the river was [5s], which Nilsson checked again. Eastgate pushed and Nilsson called instantly. He had [ac][2s] for the straight and Eastgate mucked. That is that.

8pm: Chips
Those long-awaited new chip counts are in, and they’re in the usual place, which is the chip count page. James Keys is way ahead, with Michael Fardan on his shoulder and Thomas Partridge not much further back.

James Keys

Don’t forget, you can get all the crucial tournament info by following the links in the widget on the right hand side of this page, or by clicking the red links here.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS
CLICK HERE FOR PRIZEWINNERS TO DATE

7.50pm: Another one down
The day 1b chip leader Aleksandr Lozkin is out. He’s made the money, but it’s a min cash, after he moved all in for his last 40,000 or so with [ad][10c] and was in kicker trouble against Patrik Kaltrud’s [ac][js]. He had a royal flush draw to chop on the flop of [10h][jh][qh] but turn and river were dry and Lozkin departed.

7.45pm: Back!
The remaining 29 players are back, down now to four tables. There’s a World Champion among them, let’s not forget.

Peter Eastgate

Full chip counts are on their way. In the meantime, spend some time with Tony G, who was preparing for the High Roller event when our video blog team caught up with him.

This post contains live updates from day two, levels 12 and 13 of the PokerStars Baltic Festival in Tallinn.

At the level’s start, 85 players remained from a starting field of 307. The full chip counts at the start of the level are available on the chip counts page. Approximate counts will appear here updated throughout the level. A full breakdown of the prize structure is on the prize structure page.

Blinds:
Level 13: 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)
Level 14: 1,500-3,000 (300 ante).

7.25pm: A breather
Players are now on a 15 minute break and that will allow us to get a full run down of the chip counts after a breathless bubble-some level.

7.20pm: Heinanen, the great survivor
Petri Heinanen, who survived a couple of all ins around bubble time, has just done it again. This time he shoved over Matias Knaapinen’s button raise and Knaapinen called. They showed:

Heinanen: [qh][10s]
Knaapinen: [kc][js]

And when the board ran out [10h][3d][9d][ah][5h] that ten on the flop took it down for Heinanen.

7.15pm: Brit on Brit action accounts for Pritchard
Thomas Partridge and Joe Pritchard got it all in pre-flop. Partridge had [jd][jc] and Pritchard [ah][9h], meaning Partridge was already ahead. Although Pritchard picked up plenty of outs on the flop of [8h][4h][8c], the turn [8d] and river [9c] didn’t help. Pritchard becomes our 31st placed finisher.

7pm: Double up for Ellis, plus chip leader action
Claus Bek Nielsen opened to 8,000 and Natasha Ellis moved her short stack of 25,000 all in. Nielsen eventually made the call and showed [ks][js], which was almost the same as Ellis’s [kd][jd]. But that “almost” played: the flop had two diamonds on it, and there was another on the river, giving the flush, and the 55,000 pot to Ellis.

Meanwhile, these two Brits are the probably chip leaders at this stage:
Thomas Patridge: 240,000
James Keys: 380,000

All stacks are approximate. At the end of this level we’ll do a full count and we’ll know precisely where we’re at.

6.50pm: A cash in three continents for Ellis
As an on-off PokerStars qualifier, Natasha Ellis has travelled a long way across the world, popping up on the LAPT, the APPT and now the Baltic Poker Festival. She has now cashed in her third continent as a PokerStars qualifier and is still going strong.

Another player who has earned quite enough congratulations, but deserves all the plaudits he gets, is the reigning World Champion Peter Eastgate. He has also made the money here, something he seems to do for fun. Again he’s the last remaining Team PokerStars Pro to boot.

6.45pm: Bubble drama
The bubble has burst, and it’s the Austrian player Christian Schneider who departs in 33rd, the unluckiest spot in the Baltics. It was a battle of the blinds when it happened, with two of the big stacks going at it. Michael Fardan raised with [ad][qc] in the small blind, Schneider found kings in the big blind, and they got it all in. The flop was all right for the kings: [7c][7h][9c] but the turn was an ace, which sent Fardan into the lead. He faded the king on the river and Schneider was gone.

Jonathan Fardan, left, and Christian Schneider, seated

6.30pm: Closing in on the bubble
That was the last significant action of level 13 and we’re now into the next one. Which is level 14, following custom. The blinds here are 1,500-3,000 (300 ante) and 34 players remain. It’s bubble time very soon - and don’t the video blog team know it:

6.25pm: Englishman No 2
At the same time that Keys was still piling up that huge stack won in the pot against Katja Thater, his countryman Thomas Partridge was all in on the table next door. The board was all out [9c][5s][2d][10s][7h] and Partridge was all in. It was a massive pot against Patrik Kaltrud. Eventually the Norwegian player folded, giving Partridge everything in the middle. When he counted it into stacks, it was close to 180,000.

6.15pm: Thater unlocked by Keys
It was almost certainly the biggest pot of the tournament so far and it has just accounted for the Team PokerStars Pro Katja Thater. She has been on a tear today, and got beyond 110,000 at one point, which is 85,000 more than what she started with. But after three and four betting pre-flop, it was kings against jacks for the money. The British player James Keys had the jacks, and Thater had the kings. But there was a jack on the flop and that’s a cruel, cruel blow for Thater. “It’s been two years like this,” she said, as she reported the details of her own demise.

Keys is past 220,000 and is leading this thing.

6.10pm: Shoving, calling, doubling
There’s already about 15,000 in the pot and a flop of [ah][7h][5c] out when Matias Knaapinen and Einar Olafsson get involved. Knaapinen checks, and Olafsson bets 6,600 but is then forced to ask for more. Knaapinen check-raises to 14,000. Olafsson answers, moving all in with a stack that covers Kaapininen. That’s fine: Knaapinen calls instantly and shows [5h][5d], well ahead of Olafsson’s [ac][6h]. The turn and river are blank and Knaapinen’s set is good enough to double up.

6pm: Ellis triples
Natasha Ellis was down, and now she’s up again. Somehow - I didn’t see it - she was down to her last 11,200 in chips and she got them all in against two players. One of them, Ville Wallin of Finland, she had covered, another Joachim Buch, she did not. And it was Buch in the lead when they showed their hands pre-flop:

Buch: [ac][js]
Ellis: [kh][9h]
Wallin: [qh][5s]

The flop only favoured one of them. It came nine high. And then Ellis managed to fade all running cards, a jack or an ace or a queen, and all but tripled up to around 35,000 total.

5.45pm: Brits versus Tönsberg versus Katja Thater
There’s was I getting excited about four Britons still in the Main Event — James Keys, Thomas Partridge, Natasha Ellis and Joe Pritchard — when the residents of Tönsberg, Norway, go and ruin the party. Isn’t that always the way? Until recently, Tönsberg had three players remaining in the tournament — Frode Langemyr, Patrik Kalterud, and Morten Ramm — which is impressive enough, even before you learn that Tönsberg is a town of about 36,000 inhabitants.

Ramm, the comedian, has had his last laugh, though. As has, in the last five minutes, Langemyr. He ran kings into Katja Thater’s aces and the Team PokerStars Pro now has more than 120,000. Right in the mix.

5.40pm: Tables
With the Main Event now down to five tables a lot of the big stacks are obviously close by one another. Kimmo Kurko is now betting immediately into Claus Bek Nielsen, for example, which can’t be fun.

5.31pm: The leader
Here’s Claus Bek Nielsen today:

And this is his closest challenger, Michael Fardan.

5.30pm: Refreshed
They’re due back from the dinner break at 5.30pm, and when they return they will have chip stacks detailed on the chip count page. Claus Bek Nielsen is out front, but he’s hotly pursued by his countryman Michael Fardan.

This post contains live updates from day two, levels 11 and 12 of the PokerStars Baltic Festival in Tallinn.

At the level’s start, 85 players remained from a starting field of 307. The full chip counts at the start of the level are available on the chip counts page. Approximate counts will appear here updated throughout the level. A full breakdown of the prize structure is on the prize structure page.

Blinds:
Level 12: 1,000-2,000 (200 ante)
Level 11: 800-1,600 (200 ante).

4.25pm: Afternoon tea Dinner
With that, we’re off to dinner. There are 45 players left as we continue to slice through the field. I’m fairly sure that it’s Claus Bek Nielsen still in charge at the moment with close to 200,000, although he’s lost a bit from his high point. A full chip count is currently being undertaken, which will appear on the chip count page as soon as it’s done.

Back in a few minutes. Well, 60.

4.20pm: Double up
Nice time to double up for Jari Karkkainen. He was the overnight short stack with only 6,900, but now he has close to 60,000 after the most recent hand. I think they got it all in pre-flop - him and Eric Brix that is - and Brix had [9d][9s] to Karkkainen’s [ac][js]. The board was kind to the Finn: it ran [ks][3d][10d][4s][qh] for the straight.

Brix is down to about 20,000.

4.05pm: Dinner preparations
There are 15 minutes until the dinner break, and some will enjoy their meal more than others. For instance Katja Thater and Imre Leibold will be savouring it: the Team PokerStars Pro has now risen to around 95,000, while Leibold, after despatching JC Alvarado, is getting somewhere close. They are also neighbours on table 13.

Similarly closely positioned are Natasha Ellis and Thomas Partridge. They’re sitting in the two and three seat of table 12, and each have around 80,000. They’ve also discovered that they are two of about four British players in the field. For once in Tallinn, British journalists do not outnumber players!

Thomas Partridge

3.55pm: Alvarado downed
The Team PokerStars Pro JC Alvarado has endured a day today that is almost the flipside of his opener. Back then, he soared close to the chip lead, but now he is out having never gained any traction at any point. His elimination hand seemed to be standard. He was down to less than about 18,000 and when Imre Leibold opened to 5,000, Alvarado called in his big blind but then shoved instantly on the flop of [9d][ks][6c]. Most observers, including Leibold, could see that this was pre-meditated, and Leibold instantly called with [jh][jc]. Alvarado’s pocket threes weren’t good enough.

The pro from Mexico is now free to focus on this evening’s High Roller event, which is starting at 5.30pm.

3.50pm: Oh, I should probably tell you
We’re now into level 12, where the blinds are up to 1,000-2,000 (200 ante) and there are 53 players left. We’ve already gone through about half the field, but there’s still some way to go.

3.45pm: Ace-king good
Two hands played out simultaneously on neighbouring tables, with A-K the winner both times. “No diamond, no diamond!” came the cry from Kimmo Kurko on table 23, who was involved in a three-way coup. He had [ah][kh], Einar Olafsson had [ad][ks] but the player really at risk was Dmitriy Michnik with [8s][8h]. The flop was out, with two diamonds on it and an ace. Michnik’s prospects were looking bleak, and Olafsson had the chance to make a backdoor flush to win a huge pot. As it turned out the diamonds didn’t come, and neither did an eight, meaning Olafsson and Kurko chopped Michnik’s chips between them.

There was a good deal of fists thumped on tables a few metres to the left. There, Madis Ormisson and Sami Toivonen got all their chips in pre-flop, Ormisson with [9h][9c] and Toivonen with [ah][ks]. Once the [kh] flopped the fist pumping began and it didn’t end until Ormisson was sent packing.

3.30pm: Take me to your new chip leader
Claus Bek Nielsen, who has been looking somewhat alien-esque in his pointed hood and black shades, is now a runaway chip leader here. “He had a set,” explained a media representative with characteristic verbosity. However he managed it, he’s up to about 250,000.

Claus Bek Nielsen

3.25pm: Video, video
Here’s the Danish tennis star Kenneth Carlsen, and the Norwegian comedian Morten Ramm, having a natter.

3.15pm: Leader to rail in three levels
Bo Erichsen, the overnight chip leader, is now out. It had seemed that maybe Peter Eastgate might be his assassin, since Erichsen had been moved to his right, but it turns out that the danger was lurking on the other side, in the shape of Michael Fardan. Erichsen raised under-the-gun and Fardan called in the big blind with [kd][qd]. The flop came [10s][9c][7d] and Fardan checked. Erichsen bet — he had pocket eights — and Fardan called. The turn came [jd] which was a monster for Fardan, giving him the nut straight and the second-nut flush draw. The [9d] on the river only improved matters for Fardan.

Erichsen was crippled, down to about 4,000, and that went in on the next hand. Out.

3pm: Ellis on the up
Natasha Ellis has been trying to get out to see the Tallinn Old Town since day one, but her continued participation here has so far scuppered any sight-seeing. She ground through an unexciting day 1a, finishing with about 22,000 after stealing blinds late on, and then headed to the bar in the Swissotel for a nightcap. Day 1b, the scheduled day for tourism, was largely spent recovering from that nightcap, and now today she is back at the tables - and thriving. After a slow couple of levels, she found kings to double up through a pair of tens. And now she has just knocked out Marja Suonvieri, a PokerStars qualifier from Finland, in a classic queens against A-K duel. In this event, Ellis’ [qd][qs] beat Suonvieri’s [ah][ks] all in pre-flop. Ellis took the 15,000 and is now past 50,000. The Old Town will still be there next week.

Natasha Ellis

2.45pm: Nice catch for Katja
At the last break (a matter of 15 minutes ago), Katja Thater had 16,000. She now has more than 50,000, thanks to a flopped set of sevens to crack kings. Nice catch.

Johan Nilsson has also had a crushing 15 minutes. He’s up to 140,000 now. In other tournament news, the overnight chip leader Bo Erichsen has just been moved to the unenviable seat immediately to Peter Eastgate’s right.

It’s been a steady day for Erichsen so far: he has about 58,000 still, slightly fewer than his starting total, but still healthy. Eastgate is getting involved in pretty much every pot, though, so Erichsen’s stack could start to move in either direction very soon.

2.35pm: Leader
“Is it possible that a player called Yet Sang Wong could have 111,000 chips?” asked chip counter, media co-ordinator, surrogate mother to 500 poker players across the world, Mad Harper. It was possible, and it was the truth. At the end of the last level, the Dutchman had edged ahead of even Peter Eastgate and Johan Nilsson. I dropped by to see how he’d done it and found Wong in a pot against Sigurd Eskeland. The flop was [kd][kh][4d] and Wong checked, Eskeland bet 4,500 and now Wong raised to 13,800. Called by Eskeland. The turn was [6c] and this time Wong led out, making it 22,500.

Yet Sang Wong

Eskeland folded this time, but proved that yes, it is possible that he’s gone from 31,000 overnight to more than 110,000.

2.25pm: Chips!
The full chip counts are now in. Check out the chip count page for all the info.

2.20pm: Return
Players have returned from their break and we’re off again. We took an official chip count at the break, the findings of which will be on the chip count page as soon as possible. This man, Johan Nilsson, will be near the top.

Johan Nilsson

This post contains live updates from day two, levels nine and 10 of the PokerStars Baltic Festival in Tallinn.

At the level’s start, 121 players remained from a starting field of 307. The full chip counts at the start of the level are available on the chip counts page. Approximate counts will appear here updated throughout the level. A full breakdown of the prize structure is on the prize structure page.

Blinds:
Level ten: 600-1,200 (100 ante)
Level nine: 400-800 (100 ante).

2.10pm: Level over
That’s the end of level 10, so while players take a break, have a watch of a video:

2.05pm: Partridge plucks at Thater
Katja Thater raised to 3,200 from early position and Thomas Partridge, in the cut off seat, made it 6,000. Thater called. The flop came [5s][3s][qs] and Thater bet 6,000. Partridge moved all in for 26,000 and that sent Thater into the tank. “You have only one spade?” she asked, but receiving no reply from Partridge, she mucked. Partridge showed [ah][3c] and then quickly disappeared for the break at the end of the level.

2pm: Elite series poker
Johan Nilsson is one of the best bridge players in Sweden, and has been on the board of the biggest bridge club in Europe for 16 years. This week, he’s in the Baltics for poker - and he’s adapted pretty well indeed. He’s our chip leader at the moment, with about 115,000, and that’s already close to double what he started with. Late last night, he bagged up 65,000 and today the chips have been flooding in. He knocked out two short stacks in the first level, when his A-Q out-flopped pocket sevens and K-J, and then he was the gracious beneficiary of a mis-judge all in shove by a player with pocket fives. By the point the money went in, his big blind 10-7 had made two pair. The second level is drawing to a close, and the Swede looks likely to have the most at the moment.

1.40pm: Pre-flop aggression
Madis Ormisson, with about 32,000, made it 3,600 to play from the hijack and Christian Schneider, from the button, re-raised to 9,000 from his stack of close to 50,000. Antti Kärkkäinen, who covered them both, asked for a count from Schneider, before announcing that he was all in, an increasingly common four bet. Neither of the others fancied risking their whole stack and quietly got out the way.

1.35pm: Thater picking her spots
Katja Thater, having made a successful squeeze play earlier, has just demonstrated the benefit of taking every situation as it comes. She mucked A-K pre-flop this time after a raise and a flat call when she was on the button felt a little suspicious. She was right: one opponent had pocket kings, another pocket nines and a nine on the flop ended that one.

1.20pm: Lozkin loving it
Yesterday’s chip leader Aleksandr Lozkin has started today where he left off last night. He had 65,300 over night, but now he has close to 95,000 and is clearly keen to make a charge on this one.

Aleksandr Lozkin

JC Alvarado, who was also among the chip leaders on his day one, has found it slightly tougher going today. He is down to about 45,000, although will always be adding a few more. Just recently, he looked at a cut-off raise to 2,500 from Shawn Grant and immediately bumped it up to 6,200 from the button. Grant folded.

JC Alvarado

1.10pm: Thater squeezing
Thomas Partridge opened to 3,000 under-the-gun and Mike Beck Meincke called from the cut off. Katja Thater was in the big blind and had seen enough: she moved all in for about 21,000. Patridge winced and folded; Meincke clearly considered calling, but eventually he folded to, showing pocket eights. That saw no reason to return any information, sliding her cards into the muck and adding another six grand to her stack.

Katja Thater

1.05pm: New level
We’ve effortlessly moved into the second level of the day, the 10th overall. An even 100 players made it this far, with Peter Eastgate leading them.

12.50pm: Eastgate leader
Peter Eastgate has doubled up in what seems to be the biggest pot of the day so far. With [7c][8c] in the hole, Eastgate defended his big blind to an early-position raise from Tero Jokela. The flop came 10-4-6 rainbow, but the real action kicked off when the turn brought a 9. All the money went in and Eastgate’s straight had bettered Jokela’s pocket jacks, sending Eastgate up to around 100,000. He’s the first player into six figures.

Peter Eastgate

12.40pm: Nielsen on the rack
Claus Bek Nielsen and his neighbour got involved in an ugly pre-flop raising battle that proved costly to the Dane. It was folded to Nielsen on the button, who made it 2,200. The small blind, Mikhail Mun of Russia, made is 7,200 but Nielsen wasn’t convinced. He dwelled for a good while before making it 14,500 but that didn’t impress Mun, who shoved for about another 29,000. Nielsen had him covered but was clearly daunted by the prospect of shipping more than three quarters of his stack in the opening level.

Claus Bek Nielsen

“You made it so big that I have to call this,” Nielsen said. Well, there’s “have to” and “don’t have to” and Nielsen eventually opted for the latter. He folded and Mun took his stack to about 50,000, while Nielsen is down to the high 20,000s.

It was a bad couple of hands for Danish journalists as Jonas Huttel, another of that breed, was sent to the rail. He ran A-K into jacks to double up a short stack, and then moved his own dwindling pile all in pre-flop, running 10-8 into A-J and getting no help. Huttel is now chatting to his friend Peter Eastgate.

12.30pm: Kristoffersen eliminated; blame it on the (Es)Stones
Gunnar Rabe opened from under the gun to 2,500 and Heiki Laja, on the button, put in a re-raise, making it closer to 8,000. In the big blind, the small stack Mats Kristoffersen under-called all in, which put the decision back on Rabe. We’ve seen a lot of the Swede deep in EPT tournaments, where he’s always a PokerStars qualifier, and always still around on at least day two. This is how come: he folds this hand and claps his hand in self congratulation when he sees Laja’s pocket kings and Kristoffersen’s pocket jacks. The board runs all the way and the kings hold up, sending Kristoffersen to the rail and give Laja another few thousand to take him past 50,000.

12.20pm: Eliminations:
As usual, there have been a flurry of quick eliminations at the start of the level and, in the blink of an eye, we’re down to 117.