$$ Cash 4 Seat $$

Live updates from day 5, level 28 of EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking right here. You can also follow live coverage from the feature table on EPT Live.

Blinds 5,000-40,000-80,000.

8.33pm:Maxim Lykov is the EPT6 Kyiv champion, earning €330,000
After a relatively short heads-up battle we have crowned our inaugural winner of the EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship. The action started with a raise from Lykov which Dovzhenko called to see a [4s][jd][7s] flop. Both players checked before Dovzhenko bet 400,000 on the [4c] turn. Lykov treated this with a raise up to 1,000,000 then Dovzhenko moved all in and received an instant call from Lykov. Lykov tabled 4-10 for trip fours and Dovzhenko tabled J-9 for two-pair. The river came [ad] and a champion is crowned.

8.26pm: It’s all over
Lykov is our EPT Kyiv champion. Details coming right up.

8.22pm: Pre flop action
Dovzhenko raised to 240,000 but folded to Lykov’s 580,000 three-bet.

8.15pm: Big betting
With the flop showing [jd][5s][ks] and 480,000 in the middle, Lykov made it 250,000 which Dovzhenko called. The turn came [7c] which Lykov checked before Dovzhenko made a pot winning bet of 500,000.

8.12pm: Checking
On a flop of [jc][5s][js] Lykov checked before Dovzhenko made it 225,000. Lykov called. An [ad] on the turn, checked by both. A [qh] on the river, checked by both. Dovzhenko showed an ace, beating Lykov’s queen.

8.08pm: All in call
Hold on though. After Dovzhenko limped to see the [2d][2h][8s] flop there was no betting on the [jd] turn but after the [8h] on the river Lykov bet, was re-raised all-in by Dovzhenko then snap called by Lykov. Dovzhenko showed eight-three, Lykov eight-queen for an anti-climactic split pot.

8pm: Second flop of heads up
Lykov puts in 220,000 which Dovzhenko calls for a [kd][kc][9c] flop. Both check and do the same after the [ad] turn. After the [5c] river, Dovzhenko bet 350,000 which Lykov called. But Dovzhenko showed [ac][3c] for the flush.

7.50pm: Vitaly Tolokonnikov, Russia, eliminated in 3rd, earning €140,000
Tolokonnikov made it 210,000 pre-flop which Lykov raised to 550,000 before Tolokonnikov moved all-in. Lykov called showing [ad][jc] while Tolokonnikov turned over [7d][7h] for another classic race. The flop kept the tension flowing: [3c][qs][5h]. Tolokonnikov was ahead until the [ah] hit the turn. Now Tolokonnikov needed a seven on the river but got a [8d] instead. Within minutes of the restart we’re heads up in Kyiv.

7.35pm: Last level, or five more hours?
The three players have retaken their seats after dinner and are mighty close to that €330,000 first prize. With the stacks pretty even — just a big blind between first and second, for example — it’s anyone’s game, meaning there could still be a good deal of play in this tournament yet. Here are the stacks:

Alexander Dovzhenko - 3,110,000
Vitaly Tolokonnikov - 3,050,000
Maxim Lykov - 2,755,000

And here’s what they look like:

From left to right, Maxim Lykov, Alexander Dovzhenko, Vitaly Tolokonnikov

Live updates from day 5, level 27 of EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking right here. You can also follow live coverage from the feature table on EPT Live.

Blinds 5,000-30,000-60,000.

6.35pm: Break time
So that’s dinner then. Three players will pop down to the refectory thinking they could be taking home €330,000. When they come back in 60 minutes, they’ll find these chips:

Alexander Dovzhenko - 3,515,000
Vitaly Tolokonnikov - 3,115,000
Maxim Lykov - 2,285,000

In other words, they’re all still in it.

Prizewinners to date can be found on the prizewinners page.

6.32pm: Bit of a think
Lykov makes his standard raise of 140,000. Dovzhenko raises to 400,000 before Lykov re-raises all-in for 2,280,000. He smiles while Dovzhenko looks fierce. He takes his time about it but the Ukrainian passes, ending the level.

6.30pm: C-betting good
Lykov and Dovzhenko get to a flop, with Lykov having raised and Dovzhenko calling. The flop is queen high and Lykov bets 175,000, which is good.

6.25pm: 145 from the button
The bet is 145,000, the position is the button, and each of Lykov, Dovzhenko and Tolokonnikov have done so in the past three hands, each of them picking up blinds and antes.

6.15pm: Pots are getting bigger
On a board reading [3d][kd][9c][8d] Lykov bet 200,000 which Dovzhenko called. On a [5c] river, Lykov came out betting again, 505,000 this time, too much for Dovzhenko who mucked his hand.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

6.10pm: Arthur Simonyan eliminated in 4th earning €100,000
Arthur Simonyan had been the short stack for most of today. Finally he could hold on no longer and pushed for his last 275,000 with [qc][8c], only to walk into the [10d][10c] of Alexander Dovzhenko. The Russian needed help from the dealer, and the [kc][4d][8d] gave a small ray of hope, but the [4h] turn and [kd] river ended his day.

Simonyan is the first player to leave Kyiv with a bag containing six-figures of Euros, while Dovzhenko soars to 4.4million chips. Vitaly Tolokonnikov has 3.1million, and Maxim Lykov 1.4million.

5.59pm: Lucasz Plichta, Poland, eliminated in 5th earning €80,000
Tolokonnikov made it 140,000 before Plichta re-raised all-in for 790,000. Tolokonnikov called with [qc][qh] to Plichta’s [8d][8c]. The board had elements of cruelty to it, landing as it did: [10h][8h][qs][9s][5s]. After a long spell five handed Plichta’s exit leaves just four.

5.55pm: Simonyon asks the questions
Another Simonyon push. Any takers? No.

5.50pm: The new pattern
The new style of play here is this: raise, re-raise, four bet shove. This time, the players in the clinch were Alexander Dovzhenko and Maxim Lykov; the former with the original raise (75,000), then Lykov’s 275,000 re-raise, then a chip-leader size shove. Fold.

Alexander Dovzhenko, right, and Maxim Lykov

5.44pm: Tolokonnikov aggression
Vitaly Tolokonnikov re-raises all-in against Lucasz Plichta. It’s good.

5.41pm: A hand
Dovzhenko made it 140,000 pre-flop, called by Max Lykov. On the [8d][8c][5c] flop Lykov checked to Dovzhenko who made it 200,000 to play. Too rich. He takes it down.

5.40pm: Raise and take it
This is now a very long five-handed battle and the tournament is in slow-down mode before the dinner break.

5.20pm: Quiet men get involved
Vitaly Tolokonnikov raises to 130,000 from the button and Arthur Simonyan calls from the big blind. The flop comes ace high, and Simonyan’s check is all the encouragement his countryman needs to continuation bet 150,000. Folds.

5.17pm: First pot of the level for Plichta
Lucasz Plichta and Maxim Lykov saw and checked a [7d][8d][2c] flop. Plichta check-called a 155,000 bet on the [4c] turn, and then both checked the [js] river. Plichta’s pocket sixes were good.

5.15pm: Back
They’re back. So are we. They’re playing. We’re watching. We also did some chip counting and we scribbled that on the chip-count page.

Here’s a nice aerial view of the tournament room.

Live updates from day 5, level 26 of EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking right here. You can also follow live coverage from the feature table on EPT Live.

Blinds 5,000-25,000-50,000.

4.55pm: Lykov shoves
Dovzhenko made it 135,000 pre-flop and both Simonyan and Lykov called from the blinds. After a flop of [4h][2d][6h] Simonyan and Lykov checked before Dovzhenko bet 250,000. Lykov then re-raised all-in, a total of 1,190,000. Dovzhenko asked for a count and descended into the tank for several minutes before re-emerging to fold.

4.45pm: The ace does it
Tolokonnikov made it 120,000 which Plichta called from the small blind. The flop came [8h][4c][ac] They both check that, then the [6d] turn but Plichta bets 140,000 on the [9c] river. Tolokonnikov called, showing Ace-three, betting than Plichta’s king-queen.

4.43pm: What they’re after
It looks like this:

4.37pm: Simonyan back in it
Arthur Simonyan doubled up when he pushed all-in for 625,000 with [ah][kc] only to be insta-called by Alexander Dovzhenko with [qh][qd].

Simonyan needed an ace or a king to keep his tournament hopes alive - and the flop duly came [ad][7c][6s]. The turn of [8h] and river of [kh] ensured he doubled his stack to 1.3million.

Arthur Simonyan

4.35pm: A gentle reminder
Just to make sure you’re aware, we’re updating chip counts continually throughout the levels. You can always click through to the chip count page to see them, and the easiest way to do that is hinted at below. Also, there’s a prize pool page, which will tell you who has won the dosh so far, and how much those remaining are chasing.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

4.30pm: Million dollar pot
Alexander Dovzhenko has just made a marvellous call to take a million-plus pot from Maxim Lykov. It was only the two of them to the flop, which came [2s][6h][7d] and Lykov bet 135,000. Dovzhenko called. The turn was [js] and Lykov bet another 255,000. Called as well. The river was [4d] and Lykov this time bet 275,000. Dovzhenko took an age, but eventually found the call and he was bang on. Although he only had A-Q for ace-high, he beat Lykov’s K-10 three-barrel bluff. The Ukrainian is now past four million, while Lykov is on the slide.

Maxim Lykov

4.18pm: Lykov takes them on
Maxim Lykov, who had been slipping slightly in chips, has moved up a gear to get back in contention. He has just re-raised pre-flop three hands in a row to win them all and move up to 2.17million - increasing his stack by a third.

4.15pm: Plichta steps in
A tense hand, started by Dovzhenko’s raise to 135,000 on the button. Tolokonnikov called from the small blind before Plichta re-raised to 400,000 on the big. The action was folded back to Tolokonnikov who tanked for a few minutes, getting a count, and some close up camera time, before folding.

4.08: Dovzhenko turns the screw
Alexander Dovzhenko picks up another one. Facing a 135,000 raise from Vitaly Tolokonnikov, who is second in chips, he pushed all-in, forcing an insta-fold from the Russian. Dovzhenko is no up to 3.7million.

4.05pm: Tolokonnikov takes a slice from Simonyan
Vitaly Tolokonnikov raises on the button and Arthur Simonyan, who has been very quiet, calls from the big blind. The flop comes [qs][8c][2c] and Tolokonnikov’s continuation bet takes it. He shows a queen for top pair.

3.55pm: Value bet with a deuce. Wins.
Alexander Dovzhenko raises pre-flop and the only caller is the man to his right, Maxim Lykov. The flop comes [2s][qc][8c], checked, the turn is [4d], checked. The river is [qs] and then Lykov bets 200,000. Dovzhenko, who has barely put a foot wrong when he’s been calling on the river, stumbles this time. He calls and is shown 10-2, for bottom pair. Dovzhenko mucks, presumably with ace-high, and the common consensus is that that was a value bet from Lykov, which worked perfectly.

3.50pm: Tolokonnikov and Lykov again
Vitaly Tolokonnikov raised to 120,000 pre-flop which Maxim Lykov raised to 335,000. With the action back on Tolokonnikov the Russian announced all-in, 1,315,000 total, which prompts Lykov to fold.

3.46pm: Simonyan all-in
A Lucasz Plichta raise of 150,000 is met by the all-in of Arthur Simonyan, 740,000 in total. Plichta doesn’t fancy it and folds.

3.40pm: Play resumes
The five players have returned to their seats behind the following stacks:

Alexander Dovzhenko - 3,589,000
Maxim Lykov - 1,900,000
Lucasz Plichta - 1,896,000
Vitaly Tolokonnikov - 1,724,000
Arthur Simonyan - 520,000

That man at the top is the local hope Alexander Dovzhenko. He looks like this:

Remember, the mid-level chip counts are on the chip-counts page.

Live updates from day 5, level 25 of EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking right here. You can also follow live coverage from the feature table on EPT Live.

Blinds 4,000-20,000-40,000.

3.35pm: The level ends
The last hand of the level starts with a Dovzhenko raise of 95,000 from under-the-gun. Tolokonnikov called before Simonyan looked at his cards, thought a bit, then pushed in for 516,000. Dovzhenko and Tolokonniov skip this one and head for a 15 minute break.

3.22pm: Button and blinds
Alexander Dovzhenko bet pre-flop which Tolokonnikov and Plichta called from the blinds for a flop of [4s][9h][ac]. Tolokonnikov and Plichta checked and Dovzhenko made it 175,000. That did it. Both fold.

3.20pm: Lykov gets some back
Again it’s Maxim Lykov and Lucasz Plichta going to war. This time the Polish player raises late position and Lykov calls from the small blind. They check the flop of [4s][10h][8s] and then Lykov bets 120,000 on the turn of [7h]. Plichta calls. The river is [ah] and Lykov bets 155,000. This time Plichta gets out the way.

3.15pm: Out of the darkness
Arthur Simonyan, remember him? He just moved all-in for 416,000 finding no takers.

3.10pm: Plichta picks off Tolokonnikov
In an unraised pot, Lucasz Plichta and Vitaly Tolokonnikov saw a flop of [4h][8h][10c] and checked. The turn was [5c] and Tolokonnikov had a tickle: 40,000. Plichta was having none of that, bumped it up to 100,000 and that was that. On the next hand, Plichta three-bet Maxim Lykov pre-flop and took that one down too. He’s making some moves.

3.02pm: Step forward Lucasz Plichta
Maxim Lykov raised to 95,000 from the button which Alexander Dovzhenko called from the small blind. Then Lucasz Plichta stepped in, raising things to 440,000 total. That ruined everything for the others, who prompty fold. Plichta showed jacks.

2.51pm: Out of the small blind
Alexander Dovzhenko made it 100,000 from the button which Vitaly Tolokonnikov raised to 270,000 from the small blind. Back to Dovzhenko he called for a [9d][6h][5h] flop which Tolokonnikov bet 300,000 on. Dovzhenko passed.

2.50pm: Battle royale
This is becoming a good little battle between Maxim Lykov and Vitaly Tolokonnikov. After showing that nine-deuce earlier, Lykov re-raised Tolokonnikov’s opener, making it 225,000. Tolokonnikov said the poker equivalent of: “Have some of this!” and four-bet shoved for his million-odd. Lykov folded.

2.45pm: Lykov at it
Vitaly Kolokonnikov made it 95,000 pre-flop which Maxim Lykov raised to 245,000. Kolokonnikov tapped the table and mucked his cards. Lykov showed him nine-deuce.

2.40pm: Chips
Get the latest five-handed chip counts on the chip count page.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

2.37pm: Adrian Schaap, Holland, eliminated in 6th earning €60,000
Adrian Schaap’s tournament is over. Maxim Lykov raised, Schaap shoved and Lykov called. Pocket tens for Lykov against Schaap’s [ah][qc], a classic race situation. The board ran: [4s][4d][3h][jd][2h]. After losing any number of coin flips, Lykov’s hand finally holds up and Schaap departs.

Adrian Schaap

2.32pm: Dovzhenko re-raising
Adrian Schaap made it 87,000 pre-flop which Alexander Dovzhenko re-raised to 265,000. A minute or so of deep thought followed before Schaap passed.

2.30pm: Plichta doubles, Lykov pays (again)
Maxim Lykov opens to 100,000 from under-the-gun. We’ve seen this before. Lucasz Plichta moves all in from the button and after the blinds get out the way, Lykov calls. He has [ac][jh] and it’s a good call because Plichta has [kc][10c]. The flop — [3s][2d][5h] — is no good for Plichta. The turn — [6h] — isn’t much good either. But the river. Oh, the river. It comes [10h]. Plichta allows himself a clench of his fist as his cheeks turn an even brighter shade of scarlet.

Lucasz Plichta

2.20pm: Kolokonnikov moves in
After a pre-flop raise from Maxim Lykov, Vitaly Kolokonnikov moved all-in for 535,000 total. The action came back to Lykov who wasted no time in calling, showing [ac][kd] to Kolokonnikov’s [js][jd]. The flop and turn: [5s][9c][10s] [qd] gave Lykov more outs and Kolokonnikov cause to worry, but not for long when a harmless [4d] hit the river. Kolokonnikov back up to 1,154,000.

Vitaly Kolokonnikov

2.15pm: Simonyan doubles
First hand after the break and Lucasz Plichta raises from the cut off to 105,000 and Arthur Simonyan insta-shoved his short stack all in. Plichta was pretty-much forced to call the extra 200,000, even though he didn’t much look like he wanted to. Simonyan showed [qc][qs] and Plichta only had [as][3s]. There were no spades on the flop, and no ace on turn nor river. Simonyan doubles and Plichta is now the short stack with a little more than 500,000.

2.10pm: They’re back
The six remaining players are back in their seats. Alexander Dovzhenko is way ahead here, but Maxim Lykov still has all the moves and is breathing down his neck. After Adrian Schaap’s double up, the short stack has become Arthur Simonyan. Something like this:

Alexander Dovzhenko, Ukraine, 3,768,000
Maxim Lykov, Russia, 2,552,000
Lucasz Plichta, Poland, PokerStars qualifier, 953,000
Adrian Schaap , Holland, 746,000
Vitaly Tolokonnikov, Russia, 623,000
Arthur Simonyan, Russia, 365,000

Follow the blow-by-blow action right where you are. (Hit Refresh or F5 for the latest.) Find chip counts on the chip count page. Find prizewinners to date on the prizewinners page. Find all the same in Russian or German at the Russian or German blogs.

Live updates from day 5, level 24 of EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking right here. You can also follow live coverage from the feature table on EPT Live.

Blinds 3,000-15,000-30,000.

1.55pm: Level over
That’s the end of that level and so we go to the next with six players. There’ll be a 15 minute break now; check the chips counts in the usual place.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

1.50pm: Schaap doubles up
A chink emerges in the previously-impenetrable armour of Alexander Dovzhenko. The Ukrainian raises from early position and Adrian Schaap moves all in for 269,000 more. Everyone else gets out the way and Dovzhenko calls. It’s good news for Schaap: his [ac][jc] is ahead of Dovzhenko’s [kd][js] and an ace on the river seals the deal.

1.42pm: Another for Plichta
Lucasz Plichta continues his impressive progress. Vitaly Tolokonnikov made it 75,000 and Plichta came in with a re-raise to 225,000. It’s enough to take the pot, and the man from Poland eases up to around 956,000.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

1.35pm: Torsten Tent, Germany, PokerStars qualifier, eliminated in 7th earning €45,000
The micro-stacked Torsten Tent moved it all in pre-flop. He had no other move, sitting with only about three big blinds. Max Lykov called instantly and initially it looked pretty good for the German. He had [ac][8s] to Lykov’s [kd][8d]. But then the flop came [kc][8h][3c] and there was no ace on turn or river, costing Tent his tournament life. He qualified for the event in a FPP satellite on PokerStars; he leaves €45,000 richer.

Torsten Tent

1.28pm: Dovzhenko has Lykov’s number
Alexander Dovzhenko just took another pot from his only serious rival here, Max Lykov. It was a battle of the blinds, unraised, and the flop came [7c][8d][2h]. Lykov bet 50,000 and Dovzhenko called. The turn was [3h] and Dovzhenko called Lykov’s 110,000 bet. The river was the [kc] and they repeated the procedure again, this time Lykov’s 100,000 bet was called. Lykov showed A-7 but Dovzhenko’s 8-5 was better. He’s now past 400,000 in chips. And you can find all those counts on the chip-count page.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

1.20pm: Lykov finds the value
Another raised pot — raised, of course, by Maxim Lykov — and Vitaly Tolokonnikov is his lone customer. The flop came [as][6d][3c] and both checked. They both also checked the turn of [jd] and then Lykov bet 150,000, which sent Tolokonnikov into the tank. Eventually he called and was shown pocket queens by Lykov. It was a good value bet; Tolokonnikov mucked.

1.09pm: Vadim Markushevski eliminated in 8th place earning €30,000
Vadim Markushevski becomes our first final table casualty, falling in a monster pot against Alexander Dovzhenko. What started as a normal pre-flop raise from Markushevski became a huge pot that left Dovzhenko as clear chip leader with 3.8million.

Markushevski raised and then faced a re-raise to 240,000 by Dovzhenko. Undeterred, Markushevski came back with a re-re-raise to 590,000, but Dovzhenko wasted no time in moving all-in for around 1.6million more. Markushevski showed pain as he thought through the hand. He called almost reluctantly, and to observers it looked like it would be a classic aces-against-kings confrontation.

They went on their backs, with Dovzhenko covering Markushevski by around 100,000, and sure enough:

Markushevski: [kh][ks]
Dovzhenko: [ah][ac]

The board ran [8c][2s][10s][4c][10d] and Markushevski from Belarus leaves with €30,000 to add to his bankroll.

Vadim Markushevski

1.03pm: Pushy Plichta
Lucasz Plichta continues his new-found aggression, and again takes down the blind and antes with a 80,000 pre-flop raise.

1pm: Video action
Action continues on the feature table, but spend a few minutes away to see how the video blog team set up the final day:

Watch EPT Kyiv S6: Final Table Introduction on PokerStars.tv

12.55pm: Schaap snaps
Max Lykov has a stab at Adrian Schaap’s big blind, but the obdurate Dutchman is going nowhere and calls. The flop comes [8c][10d][4c] and Schaap insta-pushes all in. Lykov flashes A-Q as he folds, reminding the table that he sometimes has a hand, and also that he can lay it down.

12.54pm: Bullying the bully
Max Lykov raises to 70,000, as is his style. Vitaly Tolokonnikov re-raises to 200,000 and Lykov folds. Next hand.

12.51pm: Chips
At all times, you can get the latest counts on the chip count page. In other words:

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

12.50pm: Squeeze
Lucasz Plichta raised to 82,000 under-the-gun and Alexander Dovzhenko called on the button. That was enough to encourage Vadim Markushevski to re-raise to 300,000 from the big blind and the squeeze play was good. Plichta and Dovzhenko folded.

12.40pm: Lykov licked by Dovzhenko
It’s folded to Maxim Lykov in the small blind and, as chip leader, he does what he’s supposed to and raises to 85,000. Alexander Dovzhenko calls in the big blind, which possibly wasn’t part of the plan. The flop comes [ks][4h][5s] and they both check. The turn is the [10c] and Lykov now fancies it, betting 110,000. Call from Dovzhenko. The river was [10s] and Lykov slowed down and checked. Dovzhenko bet 300,000 into a 400,000 pot and Lykov called to make this the biggest pot of the day. Dovzhenko showed [qs][8s] for the rivered flush and took it down.

12.35pm: Smooth transition
The new level starts instantly and we’re now playing blinds of 15,000-30,000 with a 3,000 ante. Yep, it’s the moment when the big blind becomes the size of a tournament starting stack.

Welcome to the final table of EPT Kyiv. The following eight players will today play down to a winner; there will be a new champion and the first in a CIS country.

Here is some brief biographical information about those players — get used to it, especially if you’re listening to EPT Live, where it will be repeated over and over again before you can remember it by rote. (We share our information.)

Seat 1: Vadim Markushevski, 22, Minsk, Belarus - 1,662,000 chips

Markushevski doesn’t consider himself a professional poker player but he has had some pretty astounding results for a “recreational” player. Last year he won close to a million dollars when he came fourth in a 2008 WCOOP event and he followed that up in January this year by coming second in the inaugural PokerStars.net Russian Poker Tour event in St Petersburg in January. Although he still spends most of his time running his business, Markushevski is also reaping rich rewards with his part-time poker hobby.

Seat 2: Lucasz Plichta, 22, Gdansk, Poland - PokerStars FPP qualifier - 731,000 chips

Plichta qualified for EPT Kyiv in a 2,500 frequent player point satellite only two weeks before the event began. Effectively, that means he has free-rolled his way to the best result of his poker career to date. Plichta. who is currently studying economics at Gdansk University, has been playing poker for nearly three years and has already notched up some good online results. His best so far was fourth place in a $650 no limit hold ‘em event for which he won around $55,000. Plichta was the only representative of Poland at EPT Kyiv and has now made it to the final eight.

Seat 3: Adrian Schaap, 45, Rotterdam, Holland - 520,000 chips

Schaap, who owns a chain of American grill style restaurants, has been playing recreational poker for five years. He frequently plays on the European Poker Tour and has cashed in two main events so far: in Prague on season four and in Monte Carlo last season. In the past year, he has also taken up playing cash games among top Dutch pros, including Marc Naalden. He is hoping his two daughters will be able to fly out to cheer him on at the final but even if they can’t, he has few friends here who will support him, including Raoul Refos. Making the final is Schaap’s dream and now he dreams of winning the event, in the process becoming the third consecutive Dutch winner of an EPT after Constant Rijkenberg and Pieter de Korver.

Seat 4: Arthur Simonyan, 43, from Moscow, Russia - 531,000 chips

A businessman from Moscow, Simonyan started playing poker in 2006 and has now turned professional. He only plays live tournaments and specialises in no-limit hold ‘em multi-table events. His best result to date was in 2007 when he won $10,000 in a local Moscow event.

Seat 5: Torsten Tent, 31, Korbach, Germany - PokerStars qualifier - 264,000 chips

Tent is a production manager for a large tyre manufacturer in Germany and plays poker for a hobby, where he’s recently been enjoying considerable success. He won a World Series package on PokerStars this sumer but unfortunately couldn’t find time to get to Las Vegas and he also won his seat for EPT Kyiv online in a $11 rebuy satellite. His favorite game is pot limit Omaha and he usually plays the lower stakes online. “When I’m at home surfing the internet, I’m usually playing poker online at the same time,” he said. “There is always space for a table on the desktop. Tent will celebrate his success here in Kyiv with friends from Germany and Austria who also played the Main Event.

Seat 6: Maxim Lykov, 21, Moscow Russia - 2,597,000 chips

Lykov was overnight chip leader on day three and retained the lead for much of the penultimate day’s play, until his one-man mission to eliminate the short stacks backfired slightly. He’s a professional poker player and specialises in multi-table no limit hold ‘em tournaments, both online and offline. Known as “Decay”, Lykov has already had considerable success in the internet card-rooms but cemented his reputation as a good live player by coming third in the $5k no limit hold ‘em shootout at the World Series this summer. The win netted him $145,000 at his first WSOP.

Seat 7: Alexander Dovzhenko, 45, Kiev, Ukraine - 1,590,000 chips

Dovzhenko is the oldest player at the final table and has a string of results going back many years, reflecting 15 years’ experience in the game. Making the final table in Kyiv is his best live result to date although he cashed three times at the World Series this summer and came 56th at EPT San Remo last season for €13,700. The former chess player started his poker career with seven-card stud and it is still his favourite game. Dovzhenko, who plays online as “berserk64″, is a close friend of the Team PokerStars Pro Alex Kravchenko. Coming up to congratulate his friend, Kravchenko said: “He is a very good player, one of the best in Ukraine. I would say he was a favourite to win this event.”

Seat 8: Vitaly Tolokonnikov, 22, Moscow, Russia - 1,019,000 chips

Tolokonnikov started playing poker about three-and-a-half years ago while studying at university. He is now a professional player, dividing his time between playing live and online. His favorite game is Texas hold ‘em and the best result of his career to date is making the PokerStars EPT Kyiv final table.

* * * * *

Live updates from day 4, level 23 of EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking right here. You can also follow live coverage from the feature table on EPT Live.

Blinds 2,000-12,000-24,000.

12.33pm: Last of the level
The last hand of the level starts well then fizzles out. Alexander Dovzhenko made it 60,000 before Vadim Markushevski made it 155,000. The action came back to Dovzhenko who looked serious for a while then folded. Blinds up. — SB

12.28pm: Lykov firing
Maxim Lykov made it 66,000 pre-flop. Vadim Markushevski called on the button before the blinds folded. The flop came [ad][qc][9c] prompting Lykov to bet 85,000.Too much for Markushevski. - SB

12.22pm: First hand
Lucasz Plichta starts the first hand by raising to 62,000 from under-the-gun which Maxim Lykov called. The flop came [2d][8h][8c] which Plichta bet at, 79,000 total. Lykov thought about it but passed. First hand to Plichta. — SB

12.20pm: Welcome back
The eight finalists are at the final table, and play is about to begin once Thomas Kremser has completed the introductions. Their profiles will be up shortly, but for now settle back and enjoy the ride.

12.10am: Done for the day
That’s it for tonight’s poker action. A full report on the events of the day will be published on the blog shortly. In the meantime catch up on the official chip counts going into the final day. — SB

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

12.05am: Done for the night. Good morning
Michael Meyburg moved all-in but contrary to the recent trend Vitaly Kolokonnikov called showing [ad][10s] to Meyburg’s [7d][7c]. It was effectively over on the [qs][10c][js] flop. Meyburg needed a seven but the turn came [5c] and the river [8d]. It sent the German PokerStars qualifier, who qualified for nothing, out in ninth place for €23,000, the final departure for the night. The last eight will return at noon tomorrow and play until one of them becomes the first ever EPT Kyiv champion. — SB

12am: Big one
A massive pot just played out between two of the biggest stacks. It was a battle of the blinds that got ugly for Max Lykov. He raised from the small blind and Alexander Dovzhenko raised to 87,000 from the big. The flop came [7h][5c][js] and after Lykov checked, Dovzhenko bet 100,000. Lykov called. The turn was the [2c] and Lykov checked again. Dovzhenko bet again, this time 250,000. Lykov called. The river was [10c] and this time they both slowed down and each checked. Dovzhenko showed his hand first — pocket queens — and Lykov mucked. The Ukrainian moves a couple of spots nearer to the chip lead again.

11.53pm: Poland all-in
Vadim Markushevski bet pre-flop and Poland’s Lucasz Plichta came out with an all-in flourish. Markushevski called with [ad][2d] to Plichta’s [qg][qs]. Plichta needed to dodge aces and did just that. A double up for Plichta, up to 739,000. — SB

11.46pm: Tent knocked over
Torsten Tent made it 65,000 pre-flop which Maxim Lykov called. Lykov made it 140,000 on a [5h][8s][10c] flop and 232,000 on the [as] river with Tent calling all the way. He made a last bet of 656,000 on the river to make a huge pot. Tent agonised over the decision, eventually calling and showing pocket eights for a set. But Lykov showed queen-jack for a straight. Tent said one of those family unfriendly words and took over the short stack. Lykov up to 3.1million. — SB

11.38pm: All-in
Michael Meyburg moves all in for 310,000 with predictable results. No callers. — SB

11.30pm: Simonyan chips up
It’s very cagey, but Arthur Simonyan has been loving this. His latest pre-flop reraise of one of the chip leaders brings him up past 600,000, more than he could possibly have hoped when he was but a micro-stack. - HS

11.18pm: Here we go
Michael Meyburg moves all-in for 260,000. Could this be the one? Nope. No takers. — SB

11.13pm: Lykov takes another nibble out of Schaap
Max Lykov raises to 58,000 pre-flop from early position. Adrian Schaap calls from late. It’s just the two of them and they see a flop of [2s][qh][8d]. Both check. The turn is [10c] and Lykov bets 111,000. It’s good.

11.10pm: Meyburg moves in
Andrew Meyburg moves all in under-the-gun for his 250,000 stack. Everyone folds.

11pm: Late night
This is our latest night of the week so far, and they’ve been playing nine handed for more than a full level. As they return, the leader is Max Lykov, from Russia. We still need to lose one more player until we have an official final table.

Don’t forget where you can find the chip counts:

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

Max Lykov

Today’s story is simple: the final table of EPT Kyiv will be one of the most cosmopolitan ever seen on the European Poker Tour — a notable achievement on what is already the greatest celebration of the international appeal of this game. From a starting field of 296, eight players remain. They come from six different European countries.

We’ve had similar before — San Remo last season, for instance — but you get this kind of diversity nowhere else but the EPT.

So, did you hear the one about the three Russians, the Belarussian, the Ukrainian, the German, the Pole and the Dutchman? No, neither did I. But it’s no joke, they will tomorrow file into the Palace of Sports to play the final table of EPT Kyiv and chase the first prize of €330,000. Putting it another way, get to know this lot:

Maxim Lykov, Russia, 2,597,000
Vadim Markushevski, Belarus, 1,662,000
Alexander Dovzhenko, Ukraine, 1,590,000
Vitaly Tolokonnikov, Russia, 1,019,000
Lucasz Plichta, Poland, 731,000
Arthur Simonyan, Russia, 531,000
Adrian Schaap, Holland, 520,000
Torsten Tent, Germany, 264,000

Locals are obviously delighted to see a Ukrainian in the top three of that chart. Alexander Dovzhenko was a formidable force this afternoon, cheered on from the partisan crowd, especially when he became the final home hope, and even more so when he took the chip lead for long periods.

Joram Voelklein doubled Dovzhenko up early, then Nikita Nikolaev lost to his aces. Neither of those remain in the tournament; Dovzhenko is at the final table in his home town.

Alexander Dovzhenko

Vadim Markushevski and Maxim Lykov are EPT wrecking balls in the more traditional style. Both young, expensively-attired and insanely aggressive, they have each picked off the short stacks and stayed out of each other’s way. Lykov was on the featured table from start to finish, riding high and then dipping low, but emerging with the chip lead. Markushevski, on the other hand, was sent bouncing around the room by the table draws, but always had a huge, steady stack.

Maxim Lykov

Vadim Markushevski

There’s also nothing unusual about the presence of Torsten Tent and Lucasz Plichta at a final table. They’re both PokerStars qualifiers, in this tournament for a combined buy in of not very much at all.

Tent was a massive stack until he got coolered for a huge chunk of it by Lykov, and will start the final table as the short stack. But he will still have high hopes of emulating his country-folk Moritz Kranich, Sebastian Ruthenberg and Sandra Naujoks as EPT champions.

Plichta’s journey is perhaps even more impressive. He was the only representative in Kyiv from Poland, an FPP satellite champion. He’s free-rolling, and has free-rolled all the way to the final.

Lucasz Plichta

Of course, we have also loved and lost. A moment’s silence please for the likes of Andrew Malott, Alex Fitzgerald, Grigory Zima, Iliya Gorodetskiy, Bernard Boutboul, Jonas Kronwitter and many others.

Most notable of all, we lost Michael Meyberg, a PokerStars qualifier and a German. He went out in ninth and missed out on the final table by a pip.

No matter, all of those eliminated today will find their exploits etched forever on the prizewinners page. Give them some company over there with a click.

Make our German and/or Russian colleagues happy with a nibble in their direction over at the German or the Russian blogs. You don’t have to stay for long; a click is a click and they’ll never know.

Either that, or you can fritter away some time with our level-by-level review of the day. This was written live and as it happened, and you’ll find typos aplenty to prove it.

Try Level 17 for starters, then rattle through:
Level 18
Level 19
Level 20
before kicking back with a glass of something cold and a bumper Level 21 and 22 special.
(And then let Level 23 take you into slumber.)

There’s telly at PokerStars.tv and tomorrow’s action will be at EPT Live. All photographs are (c) Neil Stoddart.

Good night, and see you tomorrow for the punchline.

Ah, what the heck. Here’s a video blog and then a picture of a cannon, a statue and a kid with a balloon. Fill your boots.

Watch EPT Kyiv S6: Day 4 Overview on PokerStars.tv

A cannon, today

A statue, today

A kid with a balloon, today

Live updates from day 4, level 22 of EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking right here. You can also follow live coverage from the feature table on EPT Live.

Blinds 2,000-10,000-20,000.

10.46pm: End of the level
That’s it for this level. Players take a short break before play resumes. — SB

10.40pm: Don’t three-bet me
Adrian Schaap raised to 55,000 only to see the aggressive Maxim Lykov three-bet to 115,000. As happened before when Schaap doubled up through Lykov, the former four-bet all in. No snap call this time though as a fold was quick in coming. –MC

10.35pm: Chips
Just a big, flashing red gentle reminder that you can find the regularly-updated chip counts by visiting our chip count page. How? Well…

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

10.32pm: Re-raise
Alexander Dovzhenko made it 51,000 pre-flop which Vitaly Kolokonnikov raised to 127,000. Dovzhenko thought about it but passed. — SB

10.28: Simonyan cagey play
Vitaly Tolokonnikov and Arthur Simonyan both played a raised pot that was checked to the turn giving us a [qh][8h][8s][5h] board. Vitaly Tolokonnikov was the first to apply pressure with a bet that was good enough to take the pot as Simonyvan folded.

10.20pm: Schaap enters pot, loses
Adrian Schaap has been very quiet since they went down to one table, although he just entered a pot against Alexander Dovzhenko, who has been continually involved. Dovzhenko raised to 50,000 pre-flop, Schaap called, and the flop came [6d][5h][7d]. They both checked and then Dovzhenko fired 60,000 at the [6s] turn. It was good as Schapp got out the way. — HS

Adrian Schaap

10.15pm: River bet good
A raised pot between Maxim Lykov and Vadim Markushevski brought a [3c][7h][ad] flop where the latter led out for 80,000 and was called. Both players checked the [2s] turn before Markushevski checked folded to a 88,000 river bet from Lykov. — MC

10.10pm: Plichta picks off bluff
Short-stacked Lucasz Plichta is still battling on. Vitaly Tolokonnikov raised from early position to 48,000 and the Polish player moved all in. It wasn’t much more for Tolokonnikov to call, but he didn’t fancy it, was possibly ‘at it’ in poker terminology, and Plichta stacked up a few more. -HS

10.03pm: Tent on tenterhooks
On a flop of [as][7s][qc] Torsten Tent makes it 70,000 which Alexander Dovzhenko called. On the [10h] turn Dovzhenko moved all-in which Tent called showing king-jack for an ace-high straight. Dovzhenko showed pocket sevens for a set and needed the board to pair. Tent couldn’t watch but would make it, the river landing a harmless [8s]. They each have roughly 1.4 million. — SB

Torsten Tent

10pm: Anticlimax
On the stroke of 10pm, Alexander Dovzhenko raised to 50,000 and Vitaly Tolokonnikov reraises all in, another 425,000. Dovzhenko surprised everyone by callng, but it was anticlimactic. Both players had an off-suit A-Q and there were already chopping once a rainbow flop was dealt. - HS

9.52pm: Introducing new EPT presenter Michelle Orpe

Watch EPT Kyiv S6: Michelle Orpe NEW EPT Presenter on PokerStars.tv

9.48pm: Plichta on parade
Lucasz Plichta moves all-in. The action works its way around the table but no one wants the business. — SB

9.35pm: Pot of a million
A pot worth nearly 1 million develops after a three way [9s][8h][3s] flop involving Adrian Schaap, Maxim Lykov and Vadim Markushevski. With already 578,00 in the middle, Schaap checked and Lykov made it 88,000, Markushevski raised to 200,000 and Lykov called for a [5c] on the turn. Both checked for a [8s] on the river. Another 200,000 from Markushevski which Lykov called showing six-seven for a straight. For Markushevski a powerless pair of tens. — SB

9.28pm: Hell of a lot of consonants
Vadim Markushevski and Alexander Dovzhenko tangle on a [ad][7s][3d] flop. Dovzhenko bets 50,000 and Markushevski calls. The both check the [10s] turn for a [5c] river card. Markushevski made it 80,000 which is called and shows ace-jack. Dovzhenko doesn’t show his card and now surrenders the chip lead to Markushevski who has 2.3 million. - SB

9.22pm: All in!
Michael Meyburg shoves in pre-flop for 256,000. No one fancies it. We play on. — SB

9.14pm: Simonyan on fire
Arthur Simonyan has burst into life since the last break, calling a Lykov bet of 40,000 Torsten Tent then moved in for 1,087,000. While Lykov folded Simonyan called showing pocket jacks. Tent immediately regretting things, showing pocket eights. The flop came [ad][10d][5d], leaving Tent with just a single out. It wasn’t the [qh] on the turn, nor the [3c] on the river. We play on. — SB

9.10pm: Will they, will they? No…
Vitaly Kolokonnikov moved all-in, found no takers. — SB

9.04pm: Schaap doubles up
Adrian Schaap made it 46,000 pre-flop which Maxim Lykov raised to 100,000. Tolokonnikov looked like he might jump in as well but folded before Schaap made the move all-in. Lykov called with [as][6d]. Schaap turned over pocket kings. The board came: [3c][kc][2d][ac][5h]. Schaap still here as we play on. — SB

8.59pm: Any takers?
Tolokonnikov moves all-in when the action is folded to him in the small blind. The big blind wants none of it. — SB

8.50pm: Action again
After a quiet spell Arthur Aimonyan moved all-in for 116,000. Michael Meyburg thought about it but it was Maxim Lykov who called with [as][3s]. Simonyan though was ahead with [ah][js]. the board missed both, coming [6h][kd][8d][10h][8h]. Simonyan up to 254,000. — SB

8.33pm: Pseudo final table
Nine players have now made it to one table. But it’s not the final table. We play eight-handed on the EPT and one player will need to be eliminated before we can packup and go home. Vitaly Tolokonnikov is the man under the most pressure.

8.30pm: Outer table shenanigans cripples Tolokonnikov
After a period of nothingness on the outer table — raise and take it poker, with the big stack of Vadim Markushevski to the fore — it kicked off on the very hand after Maslov’s elimination on the feature table. The short stack Michael Meyburg moved all in and Vitaly Tolokonnikov called in the big blind. They had to wait until the cameras could film them and then Tolokonnikov showed [as][8d] to Meyburg’s [jh][js]. Meyburg can’t lose an all in today and he wasn’t going to start now. The jacks were good and Tolokonnikov will take the smallest stack to the psuedo final table. Meyburg has about 300,000. - HS

8.20pm: Lykov and Maslov clash on TV
Maxim Lykov makes it 40,000 from under-the-gun which is called in the big blind by Alexey Maslov. They saw a flop of [ac][5c][9s]. Both check for a [jd] turn. Maslov checks before Lykov bets 52,000. Maslov announces raise and makes it 170,000. A huge pot becomes even bigger when Lykov re-raises all-in which Maslov calls, showing [as][8s]. But Lykov has the better hand, ace-jack for two pair. Maslov out. We’re down to one table. - SB

8.08pm: Eleven become ten
Two long names duel in a hand but only one survives. Volodymyr Pilyavskyy is out, his gallant white knuckle survival job has finally run its course. He moved in for 26,000 against Vadim Markushevski. At least he had a hand. Pilyavsky showed [as][ks] to Markushevski’s slightly less impressive [4][10d]. Not to worry though as the flop delivered a brutal [10c][qs][4h]. Nothing on the turn or river to change that. Ten players remain. — SB

8.01pm: Last Frenchman falls
Adrian Schaap raised it up from under-the-gun before Bernard Boutboul strangely called all in with [8c][9d] for a total of 56,000. Schaap took a few chips back and tabled [ah][kh] before the cameras starting rolling and the board came [qd][6c][ts][kc][th] to end the Frenchman’s dreams.–MC

8pm: They’re all chasing this man…

7.55pm: We’re back
The players have returned from dinner, and it’s now a straight run to the final eight who will come back tomorrow to fight for the title.

Live updates from day 4, level 19 of EPT Kyiv Sports Poker Championship brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking right here. You can also follow live coverage from the feature table on EPT Live.

Blinds 1,000-6,000-12,000.

7.10pm: Dinner chips
We’ve just done that full, official, accurate count, verified by two independent sources, and it’s over on the chip count page. Yes, that’s the chip count page.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

7pm: Dinner
The Malott elimination was the last action of the level. Players are now taking a dinner break, which will last for one hour. We’ll count some chips, grab a bite, and then be back.

Andrew Malott uses PФКЗЯSTДЯS ЬLФG ФИЭ-TIMЗ CHIP™. It doesn’t work. But he uses it.
We’ve been waiting for this for a long, long time this week, but here it is. Andrew Malott just used his PФКЗЯSTДЯS ЬLФG ФИЭ-TIMЗ CHIP™, the Ukrainian release of the PokerStars Blog One-Time Chip™. (Click through to the original explanation of this disc of poker wonderment.)

As described below, Malott had two pair, aces and fours, but he’d run into Alexander Dovzhenko’s set of queens, with only the river to be dealt. “Is this a good time to play my [PokerStars Blog] One Time [Chip™]?” Of course, he actually meant: “Is this a good time to play my PФКЗЯSTДЯS ЬLФG ФИЭ-TIMЗ CHIP™,” but we let him off because he doesn’t speak Ukrainian.

Unfortunately for Malott, and for this tournament in general, this time the PФКЗЯSTДЯS ЬLФG ФИЭ-TIMЗ CHIP™ couldn’t work its magic* and the miracle two outer didn’t come.

But that was some textbook use of the hottest item of poker gadgetry and we salute him for that. (We also salute him for this whole tournament. He’s been a great guy and a great player throughout.) - HS

*PokerStars Blog One-Time Chip™ Enterprises does not guarantee success.

6.48pm: That’s your Malott
A pretty brutal hand has caused the demise of the likable PokerStars qualifier Andrew Malott. His conqueror was local hero Alexander Dovzhenko who called a pre-flop raise in position to see a [9h][4s][qc] flop. Malott continued his aggression with a 45,000 bet that was called to take us to the [ah] turn.

This is where the fireworks really went off as a Malott checked raised a 100,000 bet up to 240,000 before calling for all his chips when the Ukrainian moved all in. Malott confidently turned over [ah][4d] for two-pair but Dovzhenko flipped over [qs][qd] for a set. The river came [9d] to confirm Malot’s surprise exit.–MC

6.35pm: Firing blanks
On a board of [4c][4s][ah][3s][jh] Vitaly Tolokonnikov fired off bigger and bigger bets (34,000, 56,000, 160,000) which Maxim Lykov continued to call. At the showdown both had nothing, Tolokonnikov showing seven-six, while Lykov’s king-high was good. — SB

6.30pm: “How many lives have you got?”
Volodymyr Pilyavskyy’s charmed life continues. He’s got a micro-stack, only 33,000 at the start of this hand, and got it all in pre-flop with [ah][3c]. Michael Meyburg called from the big blind with [as][qs] and it looked like it was all over for the Ukrainian. But after a blank flop, the [3h] turned and Pilyavskyy doubled up. “How many lives have you got?” pondered Adrian Schaap aloud. He got no reply. - HS

6.20pm: Double up but not much
Arthur Simonyan moves in with pocket kings and Lucasz Plichta called with pocket jacks. The board helped no one and the chips went to Simonyen, still the short stack. — SB

6.18pm: Big bets, no flop
Alexey Maslov made it 31,000 pre-flop which Maxim Lykov raised to 77,000. Maslov then came back at him, 206,000 in total which Lykov folded. — SB

6.16pm: Raising and raising
Vadim Markushevski made it 31,000 pre-flop which Vitaly Tolokonnikov re-raised to 90,000. Torsten Tent sighed heavily and folded the big blind and the action returned to Markushevski. Tolokonnikov got the same reaction from him though, taking the pot. - SB

6.15pm: Slow down
There are a couple of very short stacks on the outer table, but they’re clinging on. Michael Meyburg is one of them, and he’s been all in countless times — pretty much any time it’s folded to him or he’s first to act — but no one is finding the hand to call him down. A couple of unraised pots, usually battles of the blinds, have seen a pot, but there’s been no hands of interest out there for quite some time. - HS

5.58pm: Ace high good again
Andrew Malott, who grieved for the loss of fellow American Alex Fitzgerald, was betting again, 36,000 from under-the-gun, getting a caller in Alexander Dovzhenko in the cut off. Both checked the [8c][6h][8s] flop for a [4c] turn card. Now Malott made it 71,000 which Dovzhenko eventually called for a [kd] on the river. Both checked again, Malott turning over [7c][9c] to be beaten by Dovzhenko’s [ad][qc]. - SB

5.55pm: Ace high good
Maxim Lykov and Alexey Maslov got involved, with Maslov firing twice on flop and turn on a board of [2c][7c][qc][qd][7d]. Lykov called all the way and his ace-high turned out to be good against Maslov’s king-high. - HS

5.48pm: Simonyan survives
Over on the feature table Arthur Simonyan was short-stacked but got a magical double up courtesy of Maxim Lykov. Lykov raised to 30,000 pre-flop and was called by Simonyan who left very little behind.

The flop came [as][8s][6s] and the remainder of the chips flew in. Lykov had A-J, Simonyan 9-10 - and the [7s] turn and [10h] river filled Simonyan’s straight. -SY

5.45pm: Maxim Lykov
He’s no longer the chip leader, but he’s looking kind of relaxed. This is Max Lykov:

5.35pm: Malott hammers Fitzgerald
Alex Fitzgerald got very close, but will not be reaching his second EPT final table. His friend and countryman Andrew Malott became his assassin, when Malott raised from the button to 31,000 and Fitzgerald, in the big blind, shoved for his last 200,000.

Alex Fitzgerald

Malott asked for a count but then called before it was completed, tabling [ac][8c]. Fitzgerald was in trouble with [kc][js] and he got no help from any of flop, turn or river. Assassinato assassinated by Malott. They bumped fists and a very, very dangerous player is gone. - HS

5.37pm: This tank’s made in Germany
Michael Meyburg opened with a raise to 35,000 from the cut-off and is called by Adrian Schaap in the next seat before a [ah][as][4h] came down. Meyburg checked raised a 46,000 bet up to 100,000 only to face an all-in bet from Schaap for 218,000 total. Meyburg went in to a five minute silent tank only interrupted by an apology to the table four minutes in. The fold came at the five minute mark and he’s left himself with 143,000.
– MC

5.35pm: Kronwitter busted
Jonas Kronwitter is out. After Maslov opened, he moved in for 215,000 with [as][qd] and was insta-called by Alexey Maslov with [ac][ks]. The board failed to deliver Kronwitter’s much needed queen and he became the 15th finisher. — SB

5.25pm: New level begins
the new level begins with Maslov makes it 130,000 behind some earlier betting. He gets no takers to a 73,000 pot. — SB