$$ Cash 4 Seat $$

Copenhagen has never really conformed to the eight-handed, eight-hour thank-you-very-much final. An early hours finish in season two, the flip-flop heads-up of Grospellier-Petersson in season three, and the five-hour marathon in season four. Casino Copenhagen seemed to have shed its malingering reputation when Jens Kyllonen made easy work of winning on home-ish turf last year.

But season six may have proved that the old curse never left, it just took a one year sabbatical. Anton Wigg, a 22-year-old PokerStars qualifier from Stockholm, Sweden, won 3,675,000 DKK tonight (€493,754), after an often debilitating final table, one featuring moments of sheer panic, separated by long periods of abject folding.

In a three and three-quarter hour heads-up match against Francesco De Vivo, the Swede finally put one of the longest running EPTs to bed for another year. In some sports the equivalent would have required a referee to make a points decision, but here the Danish judge said this one would continue to the death.

It was Wigg’s perseverance that won it. Going into the heads-up Wigg caught and then pulled away from De Vivo, a former Italian player of the year. That was until one hand 90 minutes in flipped things back to De Vivo whose seven-eight caught the turn, trumping Wigg’s ace-ten.

Francesco de Vivo

But Wigg never looked like permitting this title to slip away. He called De Vivo’s next all-in an hour later and his queens looked good. But De Vivo held an ace and flopped two more. It was a setback that would have crushed most, but Wigg never resigned himself to the fate the poker gods seemed to have laid out for him.

He scored a quick double up with ace-jack, and then another with kings, restoring some order. Then he got the lead back a third time. Having endured losing it twice Wigg made sure it was third time lucky.

Anton Wigg

De Vivo moved all-in with [kd][ts] for 5,365,000 and Wigg called with [ah][jd]. Cynics predicted another Italian revival but not this time. The board dangled a straight draw in De Vivo’s face but it was merely a tease. On a board of [qh][9h][qd][2d][8h] Wigg’s ace-jack held up, giving him the first prize and a seat in the Monte Carlo Grand Final, and leaving De Vivo with 2,275,000 DKK for second.

“It feels wonderful,” Wigg said, admitting that it was a tough final table, but that he had felt confident coming into today. “I was here to win.” On De Vivo, he said: “I think he played really, really well but he was a little bit passive in the heads up.”

It was an “unusual” start to the day with nine players, not eight, remaining from day four. While these weren’t the “official” finalists they were as good as, and most settled for calling them that when play began. After all, we’d grown used to seeing them all hand after hand for two hours last night. It seemed wrong not to allow them all into the club.

It took more than four hours to bust that ninth place “bubble boy”, including the two hours the previous night. Eventually it was Magnus Hansen who departed, finally allowing “officialdom” to begin.

Magnus Hansen

Nearly two more hours would pass before the eighth place finisher departed. If EPT Copenhagen demands patience from players Jesper Petersen had that in buckets. He hung on until he had no choice but to press the shove button, unable to dig himself out of his short stack’s eighth place hole.

Jesper Petersen

Morten Guldhammer would last an hour longer. Guldhammer, whose eccentricities and volatility had enraged and entertained in equal measure, played every hand in attack formation, fearless when it came to calling big bets, relentless, heroic and quixotic quest for every chip.

Morten Guldhammer

Ultimately it would end in seventh place, a series of big hands, part robbing Guldhammer, other parts liberal donations, that combined to extinguish his overnight stack.

As Guldhammer surrendered Anton Wigg commandeered the lead. Wigg had seen off Petersen and would do the same to Roberto Romanello in sixth place when the Welshman had four-bet him all-in with [9h][8h] not counting on Wigg holding aces. Romanello looked devastated as the board at first promised hope but then took it away again. He was still hard to console several hours later.

Roberto Romanello

While Romanello’s track record in tournaments around the world marked him out as a full time tournament Pro, Rich Loth from Denmark was the exact opposite. A recreational player from Aalborg, Loth bought in directly into EPT Copenhagen as a treat, and would finish in fifth place, walking away with 715,000 DKK with which to buy even more treats.

Richard Loth

He’d been crippled calling the all-in of Yorane Kerignard moments before and lost the rest, less than a blind, to Francesco de Vivo in the next hand. Ten minutes later Kerignard would join him, another victim of Wigg who was now stretching his poker legs. He and Kerignard grappled with kings and ace-queen; Wigg’s kings ending the better off.

Yorane Kerignard

It was an advantage that looked likely to make short work of Klein and De Vivo three-handed, and one that saw off Morten Klein in third place when Wigg’s [jc][9c] walloped Klein’s [ac][td] making a straight on the river.

Morten Klein

But Copenhagen had one last trick up its sleeve, a heads up stretching into Monday morning, a salute to finals of Copenhagen past. This place wouldn’t have it any other way.

That’s it for another incarnation of EPT Copenhagen. We may not have been out in the snow much but the action inside never left us any need, except for slippery trips to the hot dog shop opposite the casino.

Of course, it doesn’t have to end here. Those with the will, imagination and some privacy can put the clock back 11 and a half hours and re-live the whole thing, clicking back through the links below featuring all the dispatches from today. Go on, no one’s looking.

Introduction to the players
Level 25
Levels 26 and 27
Level 28, 29 and 30

Our thanks to Neil Stoddart for the photography this week and to our German, Swedish and Dutch brothers and sisters who wrote about EPT Copenhagen in those same language without any guarantee that anyone was reading. You can also find a full official list of who finished where on our prize winners page.

Next stop for us will Berlin in nine days time, a new venue, a new city and a new event that has everyone looking forward to life underneath the lantern by the barrack gate in Marlene-Dietrich Platz. If you can’t join us there you can join us here, with live coverage on the PokerStars Blog from the very start.

In the meantime there’s always the NAPT at the Venetian, coverage of which continues on the blog. Until Berlin then, cheerio.

1.20am: Anton Wigg wins EPT Copenhagen, earning 3,675,000 DKK
Francesco De Vivo runner up, earning 2,275,000 DKK
After a titanic heads-up battle, Anton Wigg wins the EPT Copenhagen title and a monster pile of cash amounting to nearly half a million euros.

Wigg, from Sweden, opened the pot with a raise to 285,000 before facing a three-bet to 800,000 from Francesco De Vivo. Wigg moved all in - call. One more time the players were in a pre-flop heads-up showdown:

Wigg: [ad][jd]
De Vivo: [kc][ts]

The board ran [qh][9h][qd][2d][8h] and, yes, we finally had a champion. Credit to Italy’s Francesco De Vivo for his battling and patient performance.

On his win Anton said “This win will bring confidence, a lot of that and a bigger bankroll. I’ll also buy an apartment and my mum will be happy about that.”

So that’s it. We’ve got a full wrap of the final being polished off right now. It’ll be with you shortly. In the meantime, why not take a look at what everyone won? You’ll find that info on the prize page.

1.17am: Anton Wigg wins EPT Copenhagen
It’s over… finally. Details coming soon!

1.15am: Wigg back where all wigs should be: on top
This one didn’t get going until the turn, and then it got a bit pricey. The four cards out were [3c][7d][4h][8c] and Wigg bet 475,000. Francesco De Vivo called. The river was [qc] (back-door clubs, anyone?) and Wigg bet 845,000.

De Vivo also called that one, but he was beaten. Wigg had made runner-runner top two pair, showing [qh][8h]. That’ll work for the chip lead again. — HS

1.10amAggression pre, passive post
Francesco De Vivo raised from the button and was called by Anton Wigg in the big blind. Both players checked the [7s][ac][5s] flop before Wigg took the pot down with a 500,000 bet on the turn.

1.05am: Trips for De Vivo
This one got all the way to the river, and there was betting, calling and everything. Wigg called a pre-flop raise from De Vivo and the flop was [ad][as][10d]. They both checked that, and then Wigg check-called De Vivo’s bet of 300,000 on the [8c]. The river was [5h] and De Vivo bet 600,000. Wigg called and was shown [ah][4h], which was good, good, good.

1am: Wigg aggression
Francesco De Vivo started this pot off with a 350,000 raise before Anton Wigg three-bet to 850,000. De Vivo stared his opponent down for a moment or two but slid his cards in to the muck.

12.50am: The all-in matters now
Anton Wigg opened with a 285,000 raise from the button to face a three-bet to one million from Francesco De Vivo. Wigg casually moved in for around five million. It wasn’t an automatic call this time from the Italian; the raise was a little too much. De Vivo folded - and with that he gave up the chip lead, just, for the first time in a while.

12.45am: Fightback
Anton Wigg’s fine fightback has got him right back in it. Current counts:

De Vivo: 7,900,000
Wigg: 4,600,000

12.35am: All in, call!
They’re back with new blinds of 60,000-120,000 - and all the chips are immediately in the middle. Wigg raises pre-flop and De Vivo shoves. Insta-call from Wigg and he tables [ks][kh]. It’s a huge hand, but De Vivo tables [as][5s] and points suggestively at the ace.

The flop looks like it might be helping the tournament-ending suck-out. It comes [3d][8s][3s], giving De Vivo a flush draw. The turn is [5d], safe for Wigg, but he still needs to fade an eight, a five or a spade.

The river is [9d] and that’s OK. Wigg doubles up again and now has 5,100,000. — HS

12.30am: We’re back
That was the shortest 15 minutes of my life.

12.25am: 15 minute break
That’s the end of another level.

12.25am: And Wigg gets himself back in it
The first hand after the massive double up, Anton Wigg moves all in pre-flop for his last 1,300,000-odd. Francesco De Vivo insta-calls.

Wigg: [ah][js]
De Vivo: [8d][7d]

Wigg is well ahead - but has been here plenty of times before, only to lose. Not this time, though, as the board misses De Vivo and Wigg doubles up. He still has about 2.6m, which is still plently to play with. — HS.

12.21am: Huuuge pot for De Vivo
This was the big clash we have been waiting for, and Francesco De Vivo came from behind to win it. He had raised to 300,000, Anton Wigg re-raised to 825,000, De Vivo moved all in and Wigg called. De Vivo was the man at risk, and he needed help:

Wigg: [qh][qc]
De Vivo: [ac][9c]

The flop was emphatic, coming [4s][ad][ah], but a queen would still win the pot and the title for Wigg. It didn’t come, the turn was [6d] and river [7s].

After that, De Vivo moved on to 11million, way ahead of Wigg’s 1.3 million.

12.20am: Double up
There’s been a major hand. Details are coming.

12.19am: It’s time for a gallery!
Enjoy some pictures:

Two views of this heads up:

And here are our players:

Anton Wigg

Francesco De Vivo

12.15am: More slowness
Both checked the [9c][4s][3h] flop, and on the [ad] turn Francesco De Vivo made it 300,000. Call. Wigg then checked the [kd] river, as did De Vivo.
De Vivo: [kh][qh]
Wigg: [ks][9d]
On we go. — SY

12.11am: Sixes checked down
Francesco De Vivo raised to 300,000 and Anton Wigg called. They both checked the the [ad][as][qh], checked the [7h] turn and checked the [10c] river. De Vivo showed pocket sixes to win a small pot. — SY

12.10am: Flushed board
A limped pot brought a [8s][6s][2s] flop. The rest of the action was less predictable - especially given what they were holding. Anton Wigg led for 125,000 and was called by Francesco De Vivo. Both players checked the [3s] turn before Wigg led again for 275,000 on the [js] river. De Vivo called with [7s][ts] for a flopped flush, slow-played. Wigg was defeated, but again De Vivo perhaps missed some betting along the way. — MC

12.05am: De Vivo channels Jerry Yang
Anton Wigg raises to 250,000 and Francesco De Vivo makes it “One mirrion.” Wigg folds to the three bet - there have been hardly any of them, and it gets the respect it deserves. — HS

12am: It’s tomorrow
As we pass midnight, we deal the 214th hand of the final table. — HS

11.55pm: Two late barrels do the job
Francesco De Vivo raised from the button and was called by Anton Wigg. Both players checked the flop to give the board a [qc][8d][6d][jc] look on the turn. Wigg check-called a 300,000 bet but check-folded to a 600,000 bet on the [6h] river. — HS

11.45pm: Limped aces lose
Francesco De Vivo limped in with pocket aces and they saw a flop of [7h][6d][2d]. De Vivo bet 100,000 and Anton Wigg called. Both then checked the [10s] turn, and on the [5h] river Wigg made it 300,000 and got a call. [2][10] for Wigg, beating De Vivo’s slow-played aces. — SY

11.40pm: Wigg trying to chip up
Anton Wigg is turning up the aggression as he tries to close the gap ahead of him. On this one Francesco de Vivo made it 300,000 and Wigg called. Both checked the [5c][10d][7d] flop, but on the [7h] turn Wigg made it 400,000 and De Vivo folded.

11.35pm: Pendulum swings further from Wigg
The two players saw a [7s][ac][4c] flop. Francesco De Vivo checked to face a 325,000 bet from Anton Wigg that he called. Both players checked the [3s] turn to go to the [ah] river. De Vivo picked up the initiative with a 500,000 bet and was called very quickly. De Vivo tabled [ad][6d] for trip sixes. Wigg showed [ks] and had called him down with king high. The pendulum has truly swung towards the Italian now. — MC

11.30pm: Pick the bones out of this one
Francesco De Vivo raised pre-flop and Anton Wigg called. They saw a flop of [2c][9d][2d] and Wigg check-called De Vivo’s 500,000 bet. It’s already a weird one: check-calling the flop has not been seen very much. The turn was [3h] and Wigg again checked. But that only prompted De Vivo to shove all in, for about 6,900,000. That covered Wigg, who looked perplexed and folded. — HS

11.25pm: Seven beats seven
Anton Wigg raised up to 250,000 from the button and was quickly called by Francesco de Vivo in the big blind. The Italian checked before the flop came [tc][8c][6h]. Wigg checked behind and they both checked the [5s] turn. De Vivo then led for 250,000 on the [3d] river. Call. Wigg tabled 7-6 and it was good as De Vivo showed a 7 as well and mucked. — MC

11.20pm: This is i- Oh, actually it’s a double up for De Vivo
It looked for the world like this was all over, and Anton Wigg would be crowned our latest PokerStars EPT champion. But no.

Francesco De Vivo raised to 300,000, Wigg made it 825,000, De Vivo moved all - around 3.2 million in total - and Wigg called.

Wigg: [ad][10h]
De Vivo: [7h][8h]

The flop was [5c][jh][jc], a great one for Wigg, but the turn was [8c], shooting De Vivo into the lead. The [3s] river kept him there, and from being virtually out the man from Italy takes the chip lead with 7.9 million against Wigg’s 4.6 million. — SY

11.10pm: Italy 1, Sweden 0
This one went to Francesco De Vivo. He raised to 300,000 and got a call from Anton Wigg. Both checked the [as][qc][kc] flop, but on the [2c] turn Wigg checked, De Vivo went to count out a bet and Wigg folded before the stack had even crossed the line. — SY

11pm: Level up
We’re into level 29 and we’re going to keep this in the same post. No one can tell us we’re wrong. The blinds are now 50,000-100,000 with a 5,000 ante. Will we finish? We might.*

*We might not.

10.50pm: Three bet! Three bet!
De Vivo opens for 225,000 and Wigg makes the deep reach. Wigg makes it 740,000 and De Vivo folds, showing an ace.

That’s the end of the level - players take a 15 minute break. — HS.

10.45pm: Wigg wins another
Anton Wigg makes it 200,000 and Francesco De Vivo calls. The flop comes [10c][ks][ad] and both check, but on the [2d] turn De Vivo gives a little smile, Wigg bets and De Vivo folds. — SY

10.40pm: What can I tell you?
Anton Wigg is gradually, gradually pulling clear here and is getting close to a 2:1 chip lead. There have been no major pots, however, he has simply found the bet button and De Vivo has still got a check-mark beside the auto-”Fold To Any Bet” option. — HS

10.30pm: Million plus pot to Wigg
Anton Wigg has taken the most significant pot of this heads-up so far. Francesco De Vivo limped from the button and then called Wigg’s 275,000 raise. The flop came [7d][6s][ac] and Wigg’s 375,000 bet was called by the Italian. Wigg kept up the pressure on the [qd] turn with a 850,000 bet. Too much pressure for De Vivo who folded. — MC

10.25pm: Here’s a pot
They go calmly to the flop - and check the [4s][9c][7s] board. Then the [8s] turns and Francesco De Vivo bets 160,000, which Wigg calls. The river is [7c] and De Vivo bets 600,000 at it, but when Wigg announces re-raise, De Vivo folds. That’s a pretty big pot by the standards of this heads up. — HS

10.20pm: Nothing to see here
Really. — HS

10.10pm: The routine
Here’s how this heads-up has been going in the past 20 minutes: raise from Anton Wigg, fold from Francesco De Vivo. So far, Wigg has taken all the tiny pots, but De Vivo has taken the larger ones. All things are relative and there have been no notable fireworks.

De Vivo has a 1.5m chip lead. — HS

9.50pm: River dance
Another limped pot brought a [7s][kd][4h] flop. Anton Wigg had a 110,000 stab at it from the big blind but Francesco De Vivo called. Both checked the [7d] turn before Wigg bet 225,000 on the [9c] river. He couldn’t stand the heat of De Vivo’s raise to 1,000,000 though and folded. — MC

9.46pm: First heads-up hand
The first hand played out between the two was limped to go to a [3h][jh][8d] flop. Anton Wigg led for 110,000 from the big blind and was called Francesco De Vivo on the button. The turn [2h] and river [2c] were both checked through. De Vivo tabled [7c][8c] and it was good for the pot as Wigg folded. — SY

9.40pm: This is real action. Morten Klein is OUT!
Well, well, well. On the button, Anton Wigg raises to 205,000 and Morten Klein, on the small blind, re-raises to 540,000. Wigg shoves all in and Klein insta-calls.

Wigg: [jc][9c]
Klein: [ac][10d]

They both have opportunities here, but the flop and turn only favour Klein. It comes [6h][7h][qc][ks]. That leaves Wigg drawing to any ten or any nine and - boom - there’s the [10c] on the river.

Klein takes 1,400,000 DKK for third, and we’re heads up. And if ever an expression said “I’m out” this is it:

Morten Klein

9.35pm: ‘You got it’
Francesco de Vivo raised it up to 225,000 from the button and was called by Morten Klein in the big blind to go to a [kd][5c][8h] flop. Klein checked to De Vivo who bet 300,000. “You got it said” Klein and folded.

9.32pm: Action. Sorry, that’s a lie
The first action after the dinner break is hardly that. Morten Klein limps from the button and Francesco de Vivo raises to 200,000 from the small blind. Anton Wigg gets out the way, leaving Klein with a decision. He takes the easy way out. Fold. — HS

9.30pm: We’re back!
The players are back around the table and cards are in the air.

9.15pm: Tumbleweed
We’re still waiting.

9pm: Hello?
Well, we thought the dinner break was scheduled for 45 minutes. But no-one has come back to the table yet. We’re watching, you’re watching, nobody is playing. Presumably the service in the hotel restaurants is a little slow tonight.

Anyway, I’m sure it’ll all kick off again soon. Stay tuned for the three-handed action.

Copenhagen: on a warm day

PokerStars Blog reporting team: Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

8pm: Dinner
That’s it, we’re on a dinner break. Just the 45 minutes, so don’t go far.

7.55pm: New chipleader!
Monster hand alert…. Francesco De Vivo has doubled up through Anton Wigg to take the chip lead. De Vivo had opened with a raise to 160,000, Wigg re-raised to 425,000, then the Italian fired it up to 1,075,000. This time Wigg announced he was all in… call!

Wigg: [jc][js]
De Vivo: [kc][ks]

The Italian needed to dodge one of the two more jacks in the deck to double up - and board obliged, running [10h][10s][5d][as][7d].

That means the chip counts now look something like this:
De Vivo, 5,800,000
Wigg, 4,000,000
Klein, 2,600,000.

7.50pm: Three-way raised pot you say?
For the first time three-handed all three players saw a flop after a raise. Anton Wigg opened to 140,000 and was called by both players to see the [4s][9s][tc] flop. Wigg’s c-bet was only called by Klein both they both checked through the [4h] turn and [kd] river. Wigg tabled 10-8 and it was good for the pot as Klein folded.

7.45pm: It’s better than nothing. Just.
Here’s some action. Or sort of. Morten Klein raises to 150,000 from the button and Anton Wigg calls from the big blind. The flop is [jc][10c][kd] and they both check it. They also check the [8s] turn but Klein bets 275,000 on the [7s] river, which is enough to persuade Wigg to let it go. — HS

7.40pm: Another small one
It’s an unraised battle of the blinds between Anton Wigg and Francesco De Vivo. The flop is [6d][ah][9d] and De Vivo bets 140,000, which Wigg calls. The turn is [7s] and they both check. They also check the [5c] river, and De Vivo shows [as][jc]. Wigg has a nine, beaten, but probably thinks he got away cheaply as De Vivo didn’t bet the pair of aces. — HS

7.35pm: One for Italy
Anton Wigg opened from the button again to 140,000 and this time it was De Vivo who took him on but with a call rather than a raise. The flop came [5c][tc][td] and Wigg continued his aggression with a 180,000 bet when checked to him. This was treated with a raise to 480,000 from De Vivo. Wigg open folded [ah][kd] and was shown [7s][7h] by his Italian opponent. — MC

7.30pm: Three handed three-betting
Anton Wigg was first to act on the button and made a raise to 140,000 before Morten Klein three-bet to 335,000 from the small blind. Wigg looked like he was going to four-bet but just made the call. The flop came [ks][7d][kh] and both checked through to the [th] turn. Klein found his betting shoes again (albeit a children’s size) and led for 160,000. Snap-fold from Wigg. — MC

7.22pm: Wigg waises
Anton Wigg makes it 180,000 from the small blind and Morten Klein calls from the big. On the [9d][6h][5s] flop Wigg makes it 240,000 and Klein folds quickly. — SY.

7.10pm: Klein fighting
Anton Wigg, the dominant chip leader, raised to 235,000, looking to exert pressure on the other two remaining players. But Wigg did not count on Morten Klein announcing re-raise - and mucked his hand before even seeing the amount. — SY.

Anton Wigg: Towers of chips

7.05pm: Yorane trouble now
Yorane Kerignard opened for 150,000 which was raised by Anton Wigg to 415,000. At this point Kerignard moved all-in, 2,475,000 in total, and was called by Wigg at top speed. Kerignard would need help, showing [as][qd] to Wigg’s [kc][kd]. A huge hand that would leave the tournament three handed. The board ran [2s][th][tc][9d][5c]. That was it for Kerignard, out in fourth place. — SB.

7pm: Blind battle
Action folded around to Yorane Kerignard in the small blind who completed. Anton Wigg checked his option to go to a [5s][jd][ks] flop. Kerignard check-called a 225,000 bet before both players checked through the [6h] turn and [th] river. Kerignard opened A-5 but Wigg got there on the river with Q-10. — MC.

6.55pm: Richard Loth eliminated in 5th place earning 715,000 DKK
Richard Loth was left with just 40,000 after his major accident in the previous hand. So when Yorane Kerignard raised to 150,000 it was no surprise when Loth tossed his micro stack in the middle.

Richard Loth

Francesco De Vivo called the 150,000. While Loth could only watch, Kerignard and De Vivo checked down the [5d][7h][2c][4h][qh] board… and De Vivo’s [q][j] was good. We never got to see Loth’s hand. We’re down to four. — SY.

6.50pm: Dane downed, nearly
Francesco De Vivo started things off with a 210,000 raise and was treated to a rare three-bet by Richard Loth to 1,200,000 all-in. The Italian thought through his options and made the call all-in for 1,155,000. Showdown:

De Vido: [ac][jd]
Loth: [6c][6h]

The board ran [as][8d][ks][7h][8c]. The ace door card enough to send the pot the Italian’s way, leaving the last remaining Dane with just 45,000. — MC.

6.42pm: Play resumes
Players are on their way back and should be at it again shortly.

6.27pm: Break time
That’s the end of the level. A fifteen minute break until we start level 27.

6.15pm: Battle of the blinds…. draw
Yorane Kerignard called from the small blind and Anton Wigg checked his option from the big blind. Both checked the [3c][9h][jh] flop, and on the turn Kergnard bet 85,000 and got a call. Both then slowed down again on the [ah] river. Both revealed their hands, both had K-4. Chop, chop. We move on. — SY.

6.10pm: Roberto Romanello eliminated in sixth place
Roberto Romanello opened for 150,000 pre-flop and was re-raised by chip leader Anton Wigg to 385,000. Romanello then shoved in what would be his last act in EPT Copenhagen. He had [9h][8h] but Wigg showed [ah][as]. Romanello’s head slumped as he stood to watch but hopes were revived on the [6h][kh][9c] flop, good for a loud “oooh” across Copenhagen.

Roberto Romanello

But the hope was short lived. A [6c] turn and a [ts] river sent Romanello to the rail in sixth place. — SB.

6pm: Check-check
Roberto Romanello picks up a small pot against Anton Wigg who had raised pre-flop from the button. Romanello called from the big blind for a flop of [7d][2d][5d]. Romanello checked by Wigg made it 165,000. Romanello called for a [5h]. That, and the [7s] on the river were checked down, Romanello taking the pot with ace high to Wigg’s king-high. — SB.

5.55pm: Morten Guldhammer eliminated in 7th place for 425,000 DKK
His run here in Copenhagen was the stuff that dreams are made of. Getting into the event via a $1 qualifier on PokerStars, he had a real shot at running deep on the final table. But now Morten Guldhammer is out, busting in a straight race with Yorane Kerignard.

Morten Guldhammer

Guldhammer started it off with a 125,000 bet, Keringnard re-raised to 525,0000, Guldhammer moved all in (875,000 total) and Kerignard called.

Kerignard: [qc][qd]
Guldhammer: [ad][kd]

The board ran [6s][2h][5s][jc][qh], and Guldhammer’s fairytale run was over. — SY.

5.45pm: De foldo
Yorane Kerignard raised to 130,000 from first position and everyone folded except Francesco De Vivo in the big blind who defended with a call. The flop came [ac][td][qh] where both players checked. De Vivo had enough of defending on the [7h] turn as he check-folded to a 115,000 bet. — MC.

5.40pm: Hang on, what’s this?
Richard Loth just moved all-in for 710,000 on the button and Roberto Romanello was ready to call in the small blind. He showed [ac][qc] to Loth’s [ad][jc]. Would this be the end of Loth? Of course not. The board ran [4s][jd][ks][kd][9d]. Loth couldn’t watch until the reaction of the crowd told him he’d doubled up. We play on.

5.35pm: Some action in the blinds
It was folded around to Richard Loth in the small blind, who called. Richard Romanello checked his option in the big blind. Both checked the [qh][5s][2d], but on the [8c] turn Loth bet 75,000. Call. On the [qs] river Loth made it 125,000, and again got a call.

Romanello: [5c][jh]
Loth: [as][4d]

The paired five for Romanello was good.

5.30pm: Limp, fold, limp, fold, shove
After four hands in a row where action folded around to the blinds, who checked it down, we had an all-in. Morten Guldhammer open shoved for 800,000 from under-the-gun. Were we going to see a call? Of course not, they all folded. — MC.

5.15pm: Pass the fives
Yorane Kerignard raised and then faced an all-in re-raise from Morten Guldhammer for around 650,000 more. He passed pocket fives, and was shown [ad][kc] by the Dane. - SY.

5.12pm: Wigg consolidates
Francesco De Vivo tried his luck with a bet of 135,000 from the button, but then mucked when chip leader Anton Wigg bumped it up to 330,000 from the big blind. — MC.

5.05pm: Play resumes
And we’re back. We play on. Seven left, six more eliminations to go.

Morten Guldhammer

PokerStars Blog reporting team: Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

4.50pm: Break time
And that’s the end of the level. Blinds up and a 15 minute break.

4.45pm: Jesper Ptersen eliminated in 8th place (282,800 DKK)
Jesper Petersen managed to get his chips in first this time and with the best hand but it hasn’t stopped him being eliminated. Chip leader Anton Wigg opened with a 92,000 raise and then called Petersen’s 414,000 all-in push from the big blind to go to showdown:

Wigg: [as][4c]
Petersen: [ac][qs]

The board ran [4h][7h][3s][8d][9c]. The door card paired Wigg’s kicker and we lose the first player from the official final table. — MC.

4.38pm: Slow down
Four hands in a row won with raise and takes: Step forward messrs. Guldhammer, Keringnard (twice) and Wigg. — SY.

4.30pm: Forced out for another
Jesper Petersen is down to just 11 big blinds after being forced out of another pot. He opened with a 120,000 raise from the small blind before Francesco De Vivo quickly moved all-in from the big blind. A pained looking Petersen thought for a while but let it go. He’s struggling at the moment but he’s not out yet. — MC.

4.25pm: Klein trips
Roberto Romanello made it 96,000 from the button and got a call from Morten Klein in the small blind. Jesper Petersen folded his big blind. Both players checked the [qs][qd][2h] flop, but on the [9s] turn Klein made it 120,000. After giving it some thought, Romanello folded - and was shown a queen for his trouble. — SY.

4.20pm: Petersen jacks it in
Morten Klein raised to 110,000 before Jesper Petersen three-bet to 270,000. The raise represented about a third of his stack and it looked like the rest would be going in when Klein raised again for all his chips, but no, he folded. Even more surprising was that Petersen revealed what he folded; [jh][jd]. — MC.

4.10pm: Guldhammer all-in
Was this to be the end of Morten Guldhammer? All-in for 612,000, here for a dollar gone for a few hundred thousand DKK? No. Morten Klein had the decision to call but passed on it. — SB.

4.05pm: Romenallo action
Richard Loth raised from the button to 92,000, and Roberto Romanello wasted no time in re-raising from the small blind to 235,000. Morten Klein was in the big blind and asked Romenallo for a count of his chips… before folding. Loth followed him into the muck, and Romanello picked up the pot. - SY.

4pm: Raising and taking
Francesco De Vivo makes it 105,000 and takes the blinds and antes. Then next hand Jesper Petersen raises to 100,000 - and he takes the blinds and antes as well. — SY.

3.55pm: C-bet does it
Anton Wigg opened the pot with a 92,000 raise from first position and found business in Morten Klein in the big blind. He called to go to a [3h][9c][2d]. This particular flop didn’t do it for him as he check-folded to a Wigg continuation bet. — MC.

3.48pm: Guldhammer calls on the river
Yorane Kerignard just won a pot worth over a million from Morten Guldhammer. He opened for 90,000 which Guldhammer called. On the flop of [tc][ad][9c] Kerignard checked to Guldhammer, then called when the Dane bet 235,000. On the [jd] the both checked for a [3h] river card. Kerignard now bet 260,000 which Guldhammer called in a flash, showing [a][8]. Kerignard showed [ac][kc] though, taking the pot of around 1.3 million. — SB.

Morten Guldhammer

3.40pm: Three-high for Klein
Jesper Petersen kicked off the first hand of eight-handed play with a raise from first position to 125,000. Morten Klein was the only caller from the big blind for a flop of [8c][qh][4h] flop. Petersen continued his aggression with a 115,000 bet that Klein raised to 235,000. After a dwell that included a lot of fiddling with his chips he called to see the [kc] turn. Klein led out this time with a 250,000 bet. It did the trick as Petersen folded only to be shown [2h][3h] for a three-high flush draw. — MC.

3.33pm: We’re off
Cards are back in the air. Here we go until we get a winner.

3.20pm: Say cheese
Photographs now. This is the official final after all. Once they’re done we should be back up and running in no time. — SB.

3.15pm: Taking things back a bit
Tournament officials have announced that with 13 minutes left until the break they’re going to replay this level with the blinds staying at 20,000-40,000 with a 4,000 ante for a further 75 minutes. — SB.

3.10pm: Making it official
A short break now before we start our ‘official’ final table of eight.

3.05pm: Magnus Hansen eliminated in 9th place, earning 215,000 DKK
Magnus Hansen opened with a raise, and Anton Wigg re-raised to 257,000. Hansen, moved all in - call! Hansen, with 1,247,000 was at risk, but he was only just covered by Wigg.

Hansen: [10c][10d]
Wigg: [ad][ks]

The race was more or less won straight from the off, with the flop coming [kh][qh][4c], and the [3h] turn and [3s] river kept Wigg ahead. He now sits on the chip lead with around 2.5million, while Hansen leaves, reflecting on what could have been.

We’re now down to eight, and the official, official final table. — SY.

3pm: Romanello leaks some to Petersen
Roberto Romanello raised from early position to 81,000 and then called Jesper Petersen’s three-bet to 220,000. The flop came [ac][2d][as] and Romanello check-called a relatively small 80,000 bet. With the board as scary as it was the two players were done with putting chips in the middle. The [6d] turn and [4c] river were checked through. Petersen opened pocket nines which was good for the pot as the Welshman could only muster pocket eights. — MC.

2.51pm: Cautious De Vivo
Roberto Romanello made it 96,000 and only Francesco De Vivo called, which should have sounded alarm bells. The flop was [6s][8h][5d] and Romanello put out 96,000 again. But this time De Vivo, who has something of a tight image, re-raised to 250,000. Call. On the [as] turn Romanello seized the initiative with a bet of 250,000 - and De Vivo open folded [10c][10d]. — SY.

2.40pm: Slow down
Few pots getting past first gear. Roberto Romanello raised from the small blind and after an aching amount of time Morten Klein folded. — SB.

2.35pm: I know what you’re thinking
Earlier in the week PokerStars laid on a special Mind Training seminar. I already know you want to know more…

Watch EPT Copenhagen 2010: Mental Training on PokerStars.tv

2.30pm: Klein take Morten’s Guld
Morten Klein just doubled up to 1.8million through Morten Guldhammer. Klein raised to 110,000 before Guldhammer min-raised to 210,000. Klein moved all-in and Guldhammer called quickly to take it to a showdown:

Klein: [ah][ac]
Guldhammer: [ad][2c]

The board ran [jd][4h][tc][td][4c]. Klein moved up into second place in chips whereas Guldhammer slips back, with 1.3 million. — MC.

Morten Klein

2.20pm: Guldhammer drops the hammer
Morten Guldhammer raises to 100,000 and takes the blinds and ante - turning over 7-2 in triumph! Only Magnus Hansen is showing similar aggression, taking the blinds and antes the hand before. — SY.

2.15pm: All in again
Morten Klein just moved all-in again. The action folded around to him in the small and his 80,000 raise was called by Jesper Petersen in the big blind. The flop came down queen-high and Klein open shoved, forcing Petersen to fold. Klein then showed [qs], adding a little more to his stack. — MC.

2.12pm: Video, video
Here’s the video take on the start of today’s play…

Watch EPT Copenhagen 2010: Final Table Introduction on PokerStars.tv

2.10pm: Guldhammer retakes chip lead
Morten Guldhammer is back at the top of the pile. He min raised to 80,000 and got a call from Morten Klein in the big blind. The flop was [7s][8h][10s], and Guldhammer’s 100,000 bet was enough to take it down. — SY.

2.05pm: An all-in from the off
First hand first all in. Here we go, this’ll be done by sundown. Well, not eactly. In a battle of the Mortens the Morten Klein moved all in with [ad][jc] and was called by the Morten Guldhammer in the small blind with [ac][js]. Nothing twisted on the [7c][6c][ks][th][9c] board and things continue as if nothing happened. — SB.

2pm: Here we go then, we’re off.
It’s a fairly prompt start today. We’re off.

Click through for full profiles of today’s nine players. Keep an eye on the chip count page for all the movements in stacks. Find out how they got there with a look back at yesterday’s wrap and see who is already in the money on prizewinner’s page.

You can also watch this over at EPT Live.

Play is due to start at 2pm.

Poker strategies change like the wind, from the “fold everything but aces” of the old school to the “five bet with air” of the new guard. But whatever the fashion, one truism will endure: if you’re on a heater, you should ride it.

Morten Guldhammer has been on the mother of all heaters over the past couple of months. He won a $1 qualifying satellite on PokerStars, arranged in conjunction with Denmark’s Ekstra Bladet newspaper, to earn his passage to the EPT Copenhagen field. He beat something like 1,500 players over two rounds even to get to the casino this week - but the story doesn’t end there.

Morten Guldhammer

Guldhammer tore through days one, two and three, always comfortable and always enjoying every minute of his (all but) freeroll. But that proved to be nothing compared with his heroics of day four, when he went from the middle of the pack to become this tournament’s dominant force in a matter of a couple of hours.

Morten Guldhammer

“Massive chip leader!” Guldhammer declared as he cracked Damien Fouquet’s pocket kings with his jack ten, shortly after making his debut on the featured tabled. By that point, he had already knocked out at least three other players to give him the funds to foil Fouquet.

He kept up this dramatic show throughout a further three hours, always willing to set his chips to work. He doubled up a couple of short stacks when they were down to nine, but Guldhammer was the undisputed story of the day - reaching a high water mark of more than 3.5 million, before finishing with 2,033,000. “No one can beat me!” he claimed. We will see.

Of the nine players returning tomorrow for the final table, Guldhammer is the most unpredictable, the most entertaining and the one having the most fun. He is not, however, the chip leader.

Nine-handed play lasted for more than two hours - long enough for tournament officials to agree to play tomorrow’s final with the extra man, instead of the EPT’s usual eight. That passage of play actually allowed Italy’s Francesco De Vivo to stand firm with his stack of 2,073,000 and take a slender lead into tomorrow’s final.

</formFrancesco De Vivo: the tortoise to Guldhammer’s hare

De Vivo’s day four can be defined by two major hands: one a terrific call with a pair of aces, for his tournament life, to pick off Roberto Romanello’s bluff. He then eliminated Mads Wissing with flopped trip nines. That gave him the stack to sit tight.

The full line up for tomorrow is as follows:

Francesco De Vivo, Italy, 2,073,000
Morten Guldhammer, Denmark, PokerStars qualifier, 2,033,000
Roberto Romanello, UK, 1,551,000
Richard Loth, Denmark, 1,436,000
Anton Wigg, Sweden, PokerStars qualifier, 1,412,000
Yorane Kerignard, France, PokerStars qualifier, 1,164,000
Magnus Hansen, Denmark, 1,164,000
Jesper Petersen, Denmark, PokerStars player, 968,000
Morten Klein, Norway, 748,000

Those nine form an almost perfect microcosm of the full 423 starting field. Loth, Petersen and Hansen join Guldhammer as representatives of the strong local contingent, while the rest of Scandinavia has Wigg (Sweden) and Klein (Norway) to get behind. De Vivo obviously continues Italy’s fine showing at EPT events over the past couple of seasons, and Kerignard is there from France.

The British player Romanello has already laid one particular hoodoo to rest in making it to the final table. So far during this tournament, no overnight chip leader has made it through the next day. But Romanello has.

Roberto Romanello

The Welshman has overcome food poisoning, a long spell on the same table as Guldhammer, and that chip-leader’s curse. He could make it back-to-back EPT successes for Britain should he follow Jake Cody into the winner’s enclosure tomorrow.

Uncle Sam, however, has paid for his hubris. Hats off to the PokerStars qualifiers Paul Szyszko, Ricky Fohrenbach and Chris Dombrowski for going deep, but North America, which sent only a handful of folk to Copenhagen, will not be represented at the final table. That’s mainly because of a small almighty tournament beginning today at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Follow all the action from the PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour on the PokerStars Blog. Now! Do it now!

Ricky Fohrenbach: missed the final table

Paul Szyszko: out in 10th

As it must always be, we lost more players today than still remain. Among them was the Team PokerStars Pro Peter Eastgate, who fell short of his third final table of the season. His 80,000 Danish Kroner is among the smallest of his many, many career cashes, but at least it’s in his local currency so he saves on exchange fees. Up yours, Travelex!

Peter Eastgate: a min-cash is a min-cash

Also falling short of the last nine were the internet demon Andrew “tufat” Teng, and Andrey Vlasenko, who might have made his second final table of the season, but didn’t. Blame Guldhammer. All the players in the money can be found over on the prizewinners page.

Andrew Teng

How they busted - be it banged to rights, caught bluffing or brutalised - can be found in today’s coverage at any of the following links:

Introduction: Making 24 look like eight
Levels 20 and 21 updates
Levels 22 and 23
Level 24

All this is also available in the anxious yelpings of Swedish. And then dodge the tumbleweed in the German or Dutch coverage of a tournament in which their combined efforts mustered only two min-cashes (both from Dutchies).

We will be back all guns blazing tomorrow for all the action until we have a winner. Keep your eyes peeled.

Crowd. With eyes peeled

10.15pm: You know what, why not stop now?
All the players and staff have agreed that the end of this level offered a convenient opportunity to end this one for the night. That’s it - we’ll play a nine-handed final table tomorrow.

A full wrap of today’s events, when we went from 24 down to nine, will be with you shortly.

Play is due to resume at 2pm tomorrow. We’ll leave you with the official end-of-day counts, which are over on the chip count page. –HS

10.05pm: Time for another break
We’re off for another 15 minutes. Another one of these, and they’ve had the equivalent of the 45-minute dinner break they wanted to postpone.

Things will start again at 10.20pm. Stick around punks. — HS

10pm: Chip leader bullied out
With Morten Guldhammer riding up and down the chip leaderboard, Francesco De Vivo has assumed the chip lead - almost by default as he hasn’t been playing many hands at all. His tightness was again indicated a moment ago when he opened to 70,000 from the cut off - one of the first times he has opened a pot - and Magnus Hansen re-raised to 215,000 from the big blind. De Vivo folded. — HS

9.50pm: Wigg whams Guldhammer
Anton Wigg, quite for a while nursing the short stack, just opened for 72,000. Morten Guldhammer raised to 172,000. Wigg then moved in and Guldhammer, rather predictably, called showing [kh][6h] to Wigg’s [ah][qs].

The board ran [7s][8s][qh][td][6d]. Another Guldhammer blow, down to 1,760,000. Wigg does his stack some good, up to 1,488,000. — SB.

9.40pm: What a fold
Morten Klein limped in from under-the-gun and picked up the two blind players to go to a [3s][ts][7h] flop. Richard Loth led for 110,000 from the big blind before Klein raised to 240,000. Guldhammer folded from the small blind but Loth moved all-in. Klein got up out of his seat and after a painful looking dwell open folded pocket aces. Loth then did him the courtesy of showing him his pocket sevens. — MC.

9.25pm: Another for Loth
Francesco De Vivo started things off with a raise to 70,000 in first position and was called by Richard Loth in the cut-off and Jesper Petersen in the big blind. The flop came [js][7h][9s]. Loth was first to bet when the action was checked to him. The amount was 135,000 and it was enough to make the other two fold. — MC.

9.20pm: Do nothing
Francesco de Vivo raised from the small blind and was called by Romanello in the big blind. The saw a flop of [tc][6d][2s], a turn of [6s] and a river card [4c]. On every street they checked it down. De Vivo turned over [jh][js] to win the hand. — SB.

Roberto Romanello

9.15pm: Three-betting is in the name
Roberto Romanello opened with a raise to 70,000 from early position. Magnus Hansen then made it 190,000 to go from the button. Romanello stared his opponent down but let it go. — MC.

9.10pm: Loth all-in
Richard Loth just pulled off a vital double up through Morten Guldhammer, who had just taken a chunk of his chips. Guldhammer returned them when he called Loth’s all in. Loth showed [ah][ks] to Guldhammer’s [ad][7c]. The board ran [kd][2s][4d][9s][3c]. — SB.

9pm: Loth left short
Get involved in a pot with Morten Guldhammer at your peril. Just ask, well, a whole host of people who tangled with him earlier and are now on the rail. Richard Loth isn’t out but is now left pretty short and will be wondering why he got involved.

Guldhammer raised and was called by Loth and Yorane Kerignard in the big blind. The flop came [5h][td][4h] and Gulhammer saw his 120,000 bet raised to 290,000 by Loth. Kerignard got out of the way but Guldhammer re-raised to 520,000. Loth only had 447,000 left but found a way to fold. — MC.

8.55pm: C-bet does the trick
Jesper Petersen raised to 70,000 and was called by Magnus Borg Hansen to go to a [qc][9c][2c] flop. Hansen checked and then folded to Petersen’s 100,000 c-bet.

8.50pm: Play…
… resumes. Level 24 here we come.

Morten Guldhammer

PokerStars Blog reporting team: Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

5.28pm: Break time
That’s the end of the level. All done for 15 minutes.

5.25pm: Wigg wham
Anton Wigg continues to take pots. On this one Mads Wissing raised to 38,000. It was folded around to Wigg on the big blind, who called. They both checked the [7c][as][6h] flop, but on the [5d] turn Wigg bet 48,000 - call. Both then slowed down again on the [4d] river - and Wigg turned over [ac][9h]. It was good. — SY.

5.20pm: Guldhammer blow
Morten Guldhammer opened for 36,000 on the button. Damien Fouquet was in the big blind and raised to 96,000. Guldhammer called for a flop of [9h][9c][jd]. Both checked and Fouquet made it 100,000 on the [9s] turn. Guldhammer called in the flash for a [6s] river. Fouquet checked, then plonk, Guldhammer dumped 100,000 into the middle.

Fouquet took some time over the decision, but called, mucking his hand when Guldhammer showed [6][6]. — SB.

5.15pm: Italians go nuts as De Vivo stays alive
This is a very good call from Francesco De Vivo, who just extended his tournament perhaps all the way into tomorrow when he might have been out already.

The Italian raised to 38,000 from the small blind and Roberto Romanello called from the big. The two of them saw a flop of [as][ks][5h] and De Vivo bet 35,000, which Romanello called.

Francesco de Vivo

The turn was [js] and De Vivo slowed down, check-calling Romanello’s 80,000 bet. The river was [5h] and De Vivo checked again. Romanello announced that he was all in, very comfortably covering De Vivo’s 300,000-odd stack, and putting the Italian on the brink of elimination.

He took his time but made the call, and Romanello instantly said: “Good call.” De Vivo showed [ah][10s] and Romanello mucked. — HS

5.05pm: Déjà vu almost
Andrew Teng was one card away from eliminating Morten Klein in a similar way to how he busted Ricky Fohrenbach. The button raised to 37,000 before Klein moved all-in for 436,000. Teng paused, asked for a count and then moved all-in himself. The button insta-folded to leave it at heads-up showdown:

Klein: [as][jh]
Teng: [jd][js]

The board ran [5s][3c][6d][4d][ac]. Klein hitting his three-outer on the river to stay alive. –MC

5pm: To the turn
Damien Fouquet just won a modest pot against Jesper Petersen. On a board of [9s][8h][jc][5d] and betting all the way, Petersen checked the turn and folded when Fouquet bet 120,000. Too much.

4.50pm: Final nail in the coffin
After being crippled just before it wasn’t going to be too long before Chris Dombrowski got the rest of his chips in. He moved his last 139,000 into the middle from early position and was looked up by Francesco De Vivo in the small blind.

Chris Dombrowski

De Vivo: [kh][ks]
Dombrowski: [ac][4d]

The board ran [3c][jh][6s][7h][jd] to send Dombrowski packing in 15th for 100,000 DKK. –MC

4.45pm: Italian back from the brink
Francesco De Vivo moved all in under-the-gun for 165,000 and Chris Dombrowski moved all in from two spots to his left. Dombrowski had about 350,000. Everyone else got out the way and they were on their backs:

De Vivo: [8c][8h]
Dombrowski: [ad][ac]

That was looking bleak for the Italian, but the window card changed it all. It was [8d]. The next four out  were [9c][js][7c][9h] and De Vivo made a full house to double up. Dombrowski is now the man under pressure. — HS.

4.45pm: That’s more like it
A better result for Yorane Kerignard after he moved all in with [ad][qc]. Morten Guldhammer called with [jd][9s] and a board of [qh][6c][4d][5d][kd], taking Kerignard back up to more than 400,000. — SB.

4.40pm: Steve Vollers eliminated in 16th
Steven Vollers is out, after surviving as short stack for some time now. He shoved for 111,000 and was called by Morten Guldhammer who showed [3s][3h] to Vollers’s [as][kc]. The board ran [9h][4h][6h][3d][5s], the turn making the river card irrelevant. He leaves in 16th place. — SB.

4.35pm: The line up with two tables remaining

Outer table:

Seat 1: Francesco De Vivo
Seat 2: Roberto Romanello
Seat 3: Mads Wissing
Seat 4: Chris Dombrowski
Seat 5: Magnus Borg Hansen
Seat 6: Morten Klein
Seat 7: Andrew Teng
Seat 8: Anton Wigg

Feature table:

Seat 1: Morten Guldhammer
Seat 2: Richard Loth
Seat 3: Damien Fouquet
Seat 4: Andrey Vlasenko
Seat 5: Paul Szyszko
Seat 6: Jesper Petersen
Seat 7: Yorane Kerignard
Seat 8: Steven Vollers

4.30pm: Two table time
The surprise departure of PokerStars qualifier Ricky Fohrenbach in 17th place means we’re now down to two tables, the halfway point of the day.

There was a button raise to 37,000 before Fohrenbach moved all-in for 425,000. Andrew Teng was in the big blind and thought for an age before moving all-in too. The button folded to leave it a heads-up showdown:

Fohrenbach: [3c][3h]
Teng: [ah][9h]

The board ran [7h][6s][7d][js][6s], counterfeiting Fohrenbach’s hand by the river, sending him to the door with 80,000 DKK. — MC

4.25pm: Feature table action
Richard Loth has just taken a nice pot from Andrey Vlasenko on the feature table - small-ish, but he won’t complain.

He raised to 42,000 from the button pre-flop and Vlasenko called from the big blind. The flop was [8c][9h][kd] and they both checked. The turn was [7c] and Vlasenko led for 60,000, which Loth called, and the [5h] rivered.

Vlasenko bet 100,000 an and Loth dwelled a while before calling. Vlasenko showed his [as][9d] but Loth’s [ks][10s] was better. — HS

4.15pm: No back down
Part of the reason this is moving at such a pace is that no one is prepared to back down. A hand just played out between Roberto Romanello and Mads Wissing, where the Dane showed that he wasn’t scared of tangling with the big stack.

Wissing made it 42,000 from late position and Romanello called from the big blind. The flop came [7d][3c][5d] and after Romanello checked, Wissing bet 74,000. Call. The turn was [7h] and Romanello bet 76,000 at it. Wissing moved all in for just more than 300,000, and Romanello ruefully folded. — HS.

4.10pm: Klein caught with pants down
Morten Klein just took on Roberto Romanello and came off second best. He raised from late position and was called by Romanello to go to a [8d][3h][9d] flop. Romanello check-called a 47,000 bet before both checked through the [8c] turn. The river came [5s] and once more Romanello checked and then snap-called his opponent’s 125,000 bet.

Klein could only manage to show [ah][7c]. Romanello took the pot with [js][9s]. –MC

4pm: Guldhammer means “Gold Hammer”
Not since Chris Moneymaker has there ever been a more appropriately named player than Morten “Gold Hammer” Guldhammer. He has just sent Thomas Pettersson to the rail - another hammer blow, and more gold for him.

Pettersson moved all in pre-flop for about 150,000 and Guldhammer called. He was well behind, though, tabling [ks][8s] to Pettersson’s [ac][kh].

However the flop came [9h][qs][7s][10h][6h], rivering a straight around Guldhammer’s eight. Pettersson is out and Guldhammer is unstoppable. - HS.

3.55pm: Back from the break
Players have returned from their break and retaken their seats. The full counts will be on the chip-count page imminently.

Damien Fouquet is the current leader, with 1,750,000. Roberto Romanello has 1,400,000 and Anton Wigg is third with 1,250,000. — HS

3.47pm: Edging into the break
The two other tables had already gone off on their break, but Anton Wigg and Andrew Teng were still involved in a hand. Teng limped from the small blind and Wigg bumped it up another 21,000 more (in addition to his 12,000 blind).

Teng dragged his limp back into his stack and replaced it with a tower of yellows worth 100,000. Wigg laughed and folded and Teng showed him [qd][6s].

That’s the end of the level and there’s a 15 minute break before we return with 18 left.

Full chip counts are coming. — HS

3.46pm: Stig Rossen eliminated in 19th place
It isn’t over until the fat lady sings, or in musical theatre star Stig Rossen’s case, you move all-in with pocket sevens and get called by Damien Fouquet.

Stig Rossen

Rossen opened for 27,000 from under the gun which Fouquet called from the small blind. Both checked the [ad][9h][4h] flop for a [tc] turn. Now Fouquet made it 40,000 which was called for an [ah] on the river. Fouquet checked to Rossen who moved in for 300,000. Fouquet waited a long time before calling, showing [a][6] to eliminate Rossen. — SB

3.44pm: Junker downed horribly
Denmark, shed a tear for Henrik Junker. He just got busted by Roberto Romanello in the most cruel way.

Romanello started it with a raise to 26,000 and Junker re-raised to 68,000. Call. The flop was [7s][qs][9c] and Junker slowly counted out his chips, before pushing 104,000 of them over the line. Romanello had the Dane covered, and announced: “All-in.” Junker called in an instant for his remaining 450,000.

Junker: [kc][kh]
Romanello: [ad][qc]

“You’ve got me,” said Romenallo. “I’m having a bad day.” But it was about to get a whole lot better. The turn was [10h], but the river was [qd], making trips for the Brit and sending the unfortunate Junker to the rail. That pot moved Romanello up to over a million once more. — SY

3.43pm: Teng takes
Ricky Fohrenbach must’ve looked at today’s table draw with a sense of fear as he has the two big stacks at his table to his left and they also happen to be fearless and aggressive. Andrew Teng is directly to his left and he’s just handed a load of chips that way.

Andrew Teng

Fohrenbach raised pre-flop, bet the flop and the turn before checking the river. Teng called all the way and checked behind on the river too. The final board read [4d][as][3h][qs][4c] and Fohrenbach’s [kc][tc] couldn’t beat Teng’s [5c][5s]. –MC

3.42pm: Double-up for Wissing
Mads Wissing has just doubled-up through Roberto Romanello. It all went in pre-flop with Wissing’s pocket queens holding against the Brits pocket eights. Pot worth around 400,000 — MC

3.39pm: Guld-Hammer time
Morten Guldhammer has taken down another sizable pot and this time they came from Roberto Romanello. Romanello raised from early position and was called by Guldhammer before a [3c][9s][4c] flop came down. Guldhammer then led for 45,000 and called Romanello’s raise to 101,000. After the turn came [jh] Guldhammer moved all in for around 700,000! Romanello folded and started to chuckle when his opponent revealed [kc][jc]. –MC

3.35pm: Vollers all-in
Steven Vollers moved all-in from the small blind with just Richard Loth to call. Loth tanked for a while, at first nodding then tapping the tops of his hands for a bit. Eventually he called, ahead, showing [kc][9h] to Vollers’s [9c][8d]. The board ran out [qc][7s][ah][7h][qh] splitting the pot between them. Vollers survives. - SB.

3.25pm: Another (Guld-)hammer blow
Janne Nevalainen has just become the latest victim of Morten Guldhammer, who continues the heater of his life. It bears repeating: Guldhammer qualified for this tournament in a $1 tournament organised by a local newspaper in conjunction with PokerStars. Now he is in the last 20.

This hand was pretty typical of the way Guldhammer has been playing. He raised to 26,000 pre-flop from early position and Nevalainen moved all in for 220,000. Guldhammer called with a typical flourish, tabling [qc][jh].

That was dominating Nevalainen’s [js][10s] and the flop brought possibilities for all of them. It came [4c][qs][8s] - top pair for Gulhammer but a flush draw for Nevalainen. It didn’t hit, and in fact Guldhammer wound up with a full house as the turn and river came [8c][8d]. — HS

3.20pm: Here Wigg go
Anton Wigg is looking for another scalp as he increases the pressure on his outer table. Sitting on the left of Andrew Teng, the two of them just got in a tangle, with Wigg finally brushing the Brit aside.

First Teng raised to 29,000 from the cut-off, but Wigg, sitting on the button, bumped it up to 92,000. Teng was not done yet, counting out the 62,000 extra, then adding a little more than 100,000 more for good measure.

Wigg then made Teng’s hair stand on end. “I’m all in,” he said, so quietly that the dealer repeated it. Teng wasted no time in tossing his cards into the muck.

A little earlier, Wigg had raised to 29,000 under the gun, and got a call from Morten Klein (who had got no action with his aces the hand before). They saw a [10c][4d][8c] flop, and Wigg it 42,000 - getting a quick fold. — SY

3.15pm: Vlasenko wins one from Fouquet
Andrey Vlasenko just took a couple of hundred thousand from Damien Fouquet. The Frenchman opened on the button for 28,000 and was called in the small blind for a flop of [jh][jd][7h]. Both checked for a turn card [9c]. Vlasenko checked and Fouquet bet out 45,000 which was called. The river came [2c]. Both checked, Vlasenko’s [js][9s] beating Fouquet’s [ks][7s]. — SB

3.12pm: Peter Eastgate eliminated in 22nd place
Peter Eastgate is out, becoming our 22nd place finisher after being on the losing end of a hand against Jesper Petersen.

Peter Eastgate

Eastgate had opened for 27,000, called by Petersen on the big blind for a flop of [jc][6h][qc]. Petersen checked, Eastgate made it 31,000 which Petersen called for a turn card [ad]. Petersen checked again before Eastgate bet 69,000. Petersen raised and Eastgate moved all-in, showing [jh][jd] but was trailing Petersen’s [th][kh] straight. The [7c] on the river changed nothing. — SB.

3.08pm: Cooler for 23rd
On the very next hand Magnus Borg Hansen raised from first position before calling the all-in shove of Kristijonas Andrulis in the small blind. It was a coller as Hansen tabled [ac][ad] to his opponent’s [kd][kc] and the board ran [9c][7d][ts][9s][9d], Andrulis takes home 80,000 DKK as well. –MC

3.06pm: First elimination of the day
Anton Wigg opened with a raise to 28,000 in the cut-off before Nicolo Calia re-raised all-in from the small blind. Wigg called with [as][5c] and the Italian opened [7s][8s] before the board ran [qs][ks][jc][9d][ac]. That seals the first elimination of the day. Calia wins 80,000 DKK for his 24th place finish. — MC

3.05pm: Calm before the storm
It certainly was the calm before the storm on table one where there have now been two eliminations in as many hands. First it was the Italian Nicolo Calia to bite the dust and he was quickly followed by Kristijonas Andrulis. Details of both hands coming right up. — MC

3pm: Junker
Henrik Junker and Mads Wissing are playing out one of those personal scraps within a larger battle that sometimes develop at about this stage. Junker raised to 32,000 from the cut off and Wissing raised to 66,000 from the small blind. Junker showed the [ad] but folded.

On the next hand, Junker again raised to 27,000 from mid-position and again Wissing, this time with the button, made it 66,000. Junker dwelled a little while but soon announced he was all in, which persuaded Wissing out of it. Junker took back the chips he lost on the last pot.

It’s been a good morning for Junker, especially in PokerStars Blog land. We (and by “we”, I mean “I”) reported that he was out in the last hand of last night. But in fact that was Jens Sundberg - it was a case of mistaken identity - and Junker is still in. Apologies to all the friends and family of Junker. Reports of his death had been greatly exaggerated. — HS

2.55pm: And here’s a video
This is the video team’s take on the start of the day…

Watch EPT Copenhagen 2010: Day 4 Introduction on PokerStars.tv

2.50pm: More from the outer tables
Paul Szyszko raised from second position and only picked up Henrik Junker on the button to go to a [9c][6s][3h] flop. Szyszko continued his aggression with a 30,000 c-bet. Call. The turn came [4c] where Szyszko’s aggression deserted him as he check-folded to a 55,000 bet from Junker. — MC

2.40pm: Stranger danger
The chips were going in long before the board read [2s][qs][5d][2h]. Peter Eastgate, brow furrowed more than usual, and Damien Fouquet playing with the abandon of a man with nothing to prove, had each put hundreds into the middle.

Fouquet checked the turn and Eastgate bet 77,000. Fouquet raised this to 154,000 which Eastgate then called for a river card [4d], making this pot worth 448,000. Now Fouquet bet big, 220,000. Eastgate called almost immediately, although we never got to see his cards. Fouquet showed [5s][5c], taking the pot.

Eastgate may be no stranger to feature tables, deep into main events, but Fouquet certainly is. This is his first live event anywhere. Anders Beckman, famous in Sweden as the actor in the Yellow Pages commercial, who sat with him on day one, pointed out Fouquet’s amazing story, noting how on that first day Fouquet had been making the basic mistakes common among rookies. “Now he’s the chip leader,” said Beckman. “It’s amazing. — SB.

2.35pm: A view from the outside
Some early skirmishes from the outer tables.

On table Romanello, Morten Guldhammer has been the most active player, and has had the audacity to take on the chip leader. The confidence of qualifying for $1 can do that to you.

There was at least 100,000 in the pot and four cards exposed: [8h][3s][jc][10d]. Guldhammer bet 40,000 and Romanello called. The river was [5d] and Guldhammer moved all in, for about 450,000.

Romanello asked for the count but when he was told, he mucked. “Good laydown,” Guldhammer said. “I had queen high.” He then tabled [qs][2c] to general gasps.

This earned him a few chips back after he lost some earlier on when Henrik Junker had moved all in, forcing a fold.

On table Teng, it’s Ricky Fohrenbach calling the early shots, but with mixed fortunes. He raised to 29,000 pre-flop and was called by Anton Wigg. The flop came [kc][3h][3s] and both players checked. The turn was [qh] and it looked like some chips went in - but it was right at the time Guldhammer was pulling off his bluff on the other table, and I was distracted. Sue me*.

Anyhow, they both went to a river of [6d], where Fohrenbach bet 99,000. Wigg called and they showed their hands: Fohrenbach had [ks][5s] and Wigg had [kd][jd]. That made the most important card that [qh]. It meant they chopped the pot. — HS

*Don’t sue me.

2.26pm: Level up
Play moves into level 20 proper now.

2.25pm: Early action
First blood on the feature table goes to Jesper Petersen with an innocent looking raise on a flop of [3h][qc][3s]. He followed up that modest pot with a nice meaty one against Richard Loth, who opened for 27,000 pre-flop which Petersen called. On the flop of [5h][jh][ad] Loth bet another 40,000 which Petersen called for a [3h] on the turn.

Now Loth checked and Petersen maintained the pace, betting 50,000 which Loth eventually called. On the [8c] river Loth checked again as Petersen threw out 85,000. Loth looked down at his cards again. “Eight-five?” he asked, and pushed the call over the line showing pocket kings. Petersen held ace-jack to take his second pot of the day. — SB.

2.20pm: We’re off
All the official announcements were made over the PA system before Thomas Kremser announced “Shuffle up and deal.”

1.50pm: A little administration
While we’re at it with the links, don’t forget you can keep track of all today’s chip counts on the cleverly named chip count page and do the same with the eliminations. Guess what we called the prizewinners page? — SB.

1.30pm: Welcome back
A good half hour until the start. When things do get under way we’ll play three minutes of level 19 at blinds of 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante before things turn up a notch to 6,000-12,000, 1,000 ante. No sign of the players yet so twiddle your thumbs while reading today’s introduction, which you can find here. — SB.

Peter Eastgate

PokerStars Blog reporting team: Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

With just 24 players left, we’re down to three tables of eight. That makes finding your favorite player in the list below just a little bit easier.

While the purists will look at table one with interest, seeing as it has chipped-up Brit Andrew Teng and some other tasty stacks, we at Blog HQ are betting our last dollar that table two will be selected as the starting feature table for the EPT Live web broadcast. Why? Look no further than former world champion Peter Eastgate (seat one), and Danish star of musical theater Stig Rossen (seat five).

1 1 Francesco De Vivo, Italy, 269,000
1 2 Nicolo Calia, Italy, 193000
1 3 Kristijonas Andrulis, Lithuania, PokerStars player, 157,000
1 4 Chris Dombrowski, USA, 452,000
1 5 Magnus Borg Hansen, Denmark, 300,000
1 6 Ricky Fohrenbach, USA, PokerStars qualifier, 426,000
1 7 Andrew Teng, UK, 1,005,000
1 8 Anton Wigg, Sweden, PokerStars qualifier, 949,000

2 1 Peter Eastgate, Denmark, Team PokerStars Pro, 726,000
2 2 Richard Loth, Denmark, 737,000
2 3 Damien Fouquet, France, 934,000
2 4 Andrey Vlasenko, Russia, 641,000
2 5 Stig Rossen, Denmark, 529,000
2 6 Jesper Petersen, Denmark, 377,000
2 7 Yorane Kerignard, France, PokerStars qualifier, 243,000
2 8 Steven Vollers, Netherlands, 127,000

3 1 Paul Szyszko, USA, PokerStars qualifier, 761,000
3 2 Roberto Romanello, UK, 1,400,000
3 3 Thomas Pettersson, Sweden, 265,000
3 4 Janne Nevalainen, Finland, 216,000
3 5 Henrik Junker, Denmark, 263,000
3 6 Morten Klein, Norway, 621,000
3 7 Mads Wissing, Denmark, 303,000
3 8 Morten Guldhammer, Denmark, 592,000

It takes all sorts of personal attributes to lead an EPT at the day three stage. Talent of course, some luck, courage, patience and a spot of good timing. For one player today though, the day would need just a little more.

Roberto Romanello has the chip lead tonight thanks to some Celtic poker prowess and an unlikely cure-all recipe, handed down from the mother-in-law of tournament director Gerard Serra. Serra passed it on to Romanello to calm the Welshman’s sleepless mind and food poisoned stomach, restoring order to both his game and internal workings.

Roberto Romanello

The effects were remarkable. This hand-me-down concoction (recipe not for general release, although not unlikely to rule him out of any future Olympic competition) powered Romanello from 349,200 at the start to 1,400,000 at the close. All the more staggering when you consider the state of the Welshman’s stack on day one - just 6,000 at one point. Today he illustrated that by picking off a red and yellow chip from his three tiered tower of over a million. “Great comeback,” said Annette Obrestad watching on the rail. That summed it up perfectly.

Andrew Teng’s day took a similar route, albeit without the need of a nurse.

Andrew Teng

Teng made it a British one-two by busting a string of players to take over as Romanello’s main rival. The size of the pair’s lead was easy to judge late in the proceedings when Teng was moved to Romanello’s left, their two stacks casting a shadow over the others, and putting the load-bearing capabilities of the table legs to the test.

Those two look the most likely source of carnage tomorrow, picking up where they left off today. But at least elimination for those less fortunate now comes with financial compensation. The bubble burst today after a drawn out spell mid-afternoon that featured no less than ten all-ins before Craig Hopkins fell in the 11th.

Craig Hopkins (center) faces up to life on the bubble

Those eliminated included a few surprises, each detailed on the prize winners and payouts page. Roberto Romanello should take note that no overnight chip leader has yet made it through the following day. That curse applied to Csaba Toth today who’s earlier lead crumbled, instead turning into a 41st place finish. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier followed him in 40th place, one of 11 Team PokerStars Pros, players and qualifiers who cashed today.

Csaba Toth

If Romanello and Teng are to hold on to their lead they’ll have to beat away some fearsome adversaries, not least the figure of local boy and former World Champion Peter Eastgate who bagged up 726,000 tonight, good for fourth place.

Peter Eastgate

Even better placed was Anton Wigg from Sweden, in third with 949,000. That bunch, and the likely lads listed on the updated chip count page out to steal their thunder, should make the race to the final tomorrow a quality page turner.

We of course live only for that and head off now to be plugged back into our stasis booths until things restart tomorrow at 2pm, once we’ve scraped a few things into the ice lake across the road of course. You on the other hand can look back through all of today’s action at the links below.

Introduction: Who you calling fish
Levels 15 and 16
Levels 17 and 18
Levels 19 and 20

What can we say about our sister blogs that hasn’t been told before with casual innuendo and mildly offensive stereotypes? So check out natural blondness on the Swedish blog, the engineering on the German version and the, um, pages on the Dutch blog that were once below sea level. After that nonsense, let’s just thank Neil Stoddart for the photography and be on our way.

So that’s it. Be back here tomorrow afternoon where we’ll have everything on the blog and live coverage on EPTLive.com. Till then.

10.05pm: Top chips
As advertised, full chip counts are on their way. But here’s a sneak preview of the top three:

Roberto Romanello: 1,400,000
Andrew Teng: 1,005,000
Anton Wigg: 949,000

(Let’s not forget Peter Eastgate, with 726,000.)

10pm: Junker kicked in the proverbials; day is done
Jens Sundeberg is our last man out this evening, busted in pretty emphatic circumstances, by Paul Szyszko. The two of them got it all in pre-flop: Szyszko had [8c][8h] and was behind Sundeberg’s [10h][10s]. But those tens were rendered, well, junk, by the [kc][2c][8s] flop. The [8d] seemed like overkill, but it was actually just a safety blanket. The river was [10c] meaning our last player went out with a full house losing to quads.

The all in was about 250,000, so Szyszko is very well set for tomorrow.

The full counts for the final 24 will be with us very shortly, as will a full wrap of the day’s action. –HS

NB - Originally this report said Henrik Junker had been eliminated. That was an error.

10pm: The Dutchie got passed to the left
Ricky Fohrenbach has taken care of another player. He raised from the button before Pieter van Gendernen moved all in from the button. Fohrenbach thought for about five seconds and made the call with [ah][jc]. Off to the races as the Dutchman turned over [7h][7d]. The board came [js][ac][tc][qc][qs]. — MC

9.50pm: Two hands; two eliminations
It’s getting brutal out there, and Jens Klaning and James Bowey have just perished.

Klaning’s elimination went like this: Peter Eastgate raised to 26,000 from early position and after Anton Wigg called on the button, Klaning squeezed all in for about 120,000.

Eastgate moved all in, persuading Wigg out of there, and there were two of them left. Eastgate had [6c][6d]; Klaning had [ac][7c]. The board was totally dry and Klaning was sent to the rail. Eastgate is up to 570,000.

Bowey’s end went this way: Morten Klein raised to 26,000 and Bowey moved all in for about 120,000 from the big blind. Klein called with [qh][qd], which was way ahead of Bowey’s [kd][qc]. Ahead they stayed as the board ran [ac][as][7c][3s][6d].

Bowey out. — HS

9.45pm: Cold
This one is not for the faint-hearted, especially if you’re a supporter of Thomas Froslev. He just lost about 80 percent of his stack to Damien Fouquet in circumstances that are not particularly pleasant. (He was out soon after.)

They got it all in pre-flop, Froslev with [kd][kc] and Fouquet with [ac][jc]. Froslev flopped a set when the first three community cards came [6s][kh][qc] but Fouquet still had some outs.

The [2c] on the turn increased his chances further, and then the [10h] on the river gave the Frenchman a straight, doubling him up to about 600,000 and leaving Froslev very short indeed.

So short, in fact, that he was all in soon after with pocket twos, and was looked up by Ricky Fohrenbach and his king-nine. Fohrenbach flopped a nine and Froslev is out. — HS

9.38pm: Gentile not so fab
Fabian Gentile is the latest player to succumb. He got it all in pre-flop with [as][ts] but ran straight into Anton Wigg’s [ah][as]. The board ran [9c][kh][8c][4s][6d] before his exit was confirmed. –MC

9.35pm: Three times De Vivo
Francesco De Vivo has moved all-in three times in a row now. Still no takers, although in the last go Roberto Romanello thought about it. “Will you show if I pass?” asked the Welshman. De Vivo gave some tacit agreement and Romanello passed. De Vivo showed [jd][jh]. “I call,” said Romanello, only joking of course. De Vivo plays on. — SB.

9.30pm: Petersen re-sucks to stay alive
A swift roller coaster of emotions for Jesper Petersen, who looked like he was going to be bad-beat out of the tournament, but ended up re-sucking to double up.

Folded to him in the small blind, Janne Nevalainen raised to 28,000 and Petersen re-raised from the big blind. He meant to move all in, but ended up leaving a couple of towers of reds behind the line, meaning it was down to Nevalainen to four-bet and Petersen to call.

Petersen’s total was 212,000 and Nevalainen had about 50,000 more than that. Their hands? Nevalainen: [as][7h] and Petersen: [ac][jd].

Petersen was furious at the seven on the flop, but since there was also an eight and a nine, he had plenty of outs. The ten on the turn gave Petersen the straight and doubled him up. — HS

9.20pm: KK K’OD
Our $1 rebuy satellite winner Morten Guldhammer is still going strong and has just accounted for the demise of another player. The action folded around to Kristian Kofoed in the small blind and he moved all in for 114,000. Guldhammer mentioned something about not letting his opponent steal his big blind and made the call.

Kofoed: [qs][th]
Guldhammer :[ad][3h]

The board came [5h][4c][8c][kc][8h] and with that we’re down to 32 players and just four tables. — MC

9.10pm: Helppi out
Juha Helppi is not going to pull himself into the black for EPT events. He’s out. He told our Finnish colleagues at dinner time that he had seen only two hands of note today: one ace-king and one pair of eights. But when he found pocket jacks soon after the break, he probably ended up wishing they had been rags. He shoved them straight into pocket queens and is now on the rail. — HS

9.07pm: Double ups and drop outs
Kristijonas Andrulis opened for 83,000 and Thomas Pettersson moved in on the button. Something about the dinner break has hurried players along with their all ins and they come thick and fast. Andrulis eventually calls the extra 74,000 and show’s [js][2s] to Pettersson’s [ad][ks]. “Oooooh,” say a few people watching. The board ran out [6d][ts][7c][4d][tc]. A double up for Pettersson.

On a table along another all in, this time from David Adelskov holding [ah][jh], called by the animated Morten Guldhammer with [3d][3h]. The board ran out [td][2d][9s][4d][4c]. Another player gone. — SB

9.05pm: He can afford it
Chip leader Andrew Teng opened the pot with a 25,000 raise from early position that Peter Eastgate called from mid-position before Jesper Petersen moved all in for 87,000. Teng then re-raised all in to try and force Easgate out. Eastgate thought for a while, rubbed his head a few times but ultimately folded to leave it heads-up.

Teng: [kh][jd]
Petersen: [ad][qc]

The board ran [7d][as][3h][2s][8s]. Teng is still on 1.3million and can’t complain too much about that. — MC

9pm: Fohrenbach fighting back
Ricky Fohrenbach has built his stack up again after a slight hiccup before dinner. He and Pieter van Genderen went to a [10s][7h][9d] flop and then on to a [qd] turn. Van Genderen checked and Fohrenbach bet 36,000. But Van Genderen wasn’t done, raising to 72,000. Fohrenbach called.

The river was [7s] and Van Genderen bet 62,000. “Call,” came Fohrenbach’s firm response. Van Genderen showed [qh][5h] but Fohrenbach’s two pair, with his [9c][qs] was better. — HS

8.55pm: Thorsson’s run comes to an end
Kristoffer Thorsson is out. He had a short stack returning from the dinner break and doubled it up once - [ad][jh] versus Fabian Gentile’s [kh][jd] - but couldn’t beat Andrey Vlasenko’s [jd][jh] with his [qs][10s]. Thorssen has had an award-winning week, but couldn’t see it through to the weekend. — HS

8.50pm: Quaade out
Thomas Quaade is out in 37th place, taking away his apple and 65,000 DKK. He moved in with [jh][jc] only to be called by Magnus Hansen with [ks][kh]. The board ran out [7h][th][5c][2h][2c] sending Quaade to the rail. — SB

8.45pm: The final stretch
Righto, they’re back. There are 36 players left and their chip counts are all over there on the chip count page.

The prizewinners to date are all over there on the prizewinner’s page.

One player high on the first page and not (yet) on the second is our chip leader, Andrew Teng. He leads his fellow Brit, Roberto Romanello, by the smallest of margins.

Andrew Teng

8.30pm: Dinner time movies
One of the only Lithuanians in the field is still going strong deep into day three. He’s the PokerStars qualifier Kristijonas Andrulis, and he chatted to the cameras earlier:

Watch EPT Copenhagen 2010: Kristijonas Andrulis on PokerStars.tv

PokerStars Blog reporting team: Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.