$$ Cash 4 Seat $$

Updates from level 28 of EPT Vilamoura, brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Blinds: 40,000-80,000 (8,000 ante)

8.40pm: Antonio Matias wins EPT Vilamoura for €404,793
And just like that, we have a new EPT champion. Neuville bet 240,000 from the button pre-flop, and Matias called. Then it all kicked off on the [jd][7h][8h] flop. First Matias checked, then Neuville made it 315,000, Matias made it 500,000 more, Neuville announced all in - call!

Matias: [8s][7d] for two pair
Neuville: [jh][10s] for top pair and a gutshot straight draw

But whatever hopes PokerStars qualifier Neuville had left were extinguished when the [7c] turn made Matias a full house. The [2c] river was of no consequence whatsoever.

The locals who remained on the rail cheered as their man from Portugal realised he had become the newest (and oldest) EPT champion, aged 54. A huge, long hug from his tearful wife, and then he was off for interviews and photo shoots.

Neuville had played a blinding tournament, and is our runner-up for €257,681.

A full tournament wrap will be with you shortly. Thanks for watching.

8.35pm: We have a decision!
Antonio Matias is the EPT Vilamoura champion. Full details of winning hand to follow.

8.30pm: Back again
Here they are again. These are the players’ stacks:

Antonio Matias: 7,940,000
Pierre Neuville: 1,710,000

Antonio Matias

Pierre Neuville

Updates from level 24 of EPT Vilamoura, brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Blinds: 30,000-60,000 (6,000 ante)

8.20pm: Level end
That was the last meaningful action of the level and the stacks at the end are:

Antonio Matias: 7,940,000
Pierre Neuville: 1,710,000

8.15pm: Last hand to Matias
In the last hand of the level Neuville called from the button and Matias checked. On the [kh][kc][4d] flop Matias check-called Neuville’s 85,000 bet. But on the [kd] river Matias bet out 150,000, forcing Neuville to muck.

8.10pm: More heads up action
Antonio Matias limped from the button and then called Pierre Neuville’s raise up to 185,000 before a [2h][9c][5c] flop came down. Neuville led for 200,000 and Matias called. Neuville then led out for 500,000 on the [3s] turn and that was good enough to make Matias fold.

8.05pm: Some action
The two get to see a [js][kd][qd] flop and [kc] turn. Matias bets 150,000, but then folds when Neuville comes back with 500,000. Next hand Neuville bets out 165,000 from the button and Matias calls. They see a [ad][9s][3s] flop, Matias checks, Neuville bets 200,000 and Matias calls. The [7s] is checked by both players, and then Neuville is forced to fold when Matias fires out 375,000 on the [8d] river.

7.45pm: Six hands in a row
Hand 1: Pierre Neuville bets 180,000 from the button, Antonio Matias folds.
Hand 2: Matias bets 150,000 from the button, Neuville folds.
Hand 3: Neuville calls from the button, Matias checks. They see a [qh][2h][8s] flop. Matias checks, Neuville bets 75,000 and Matias folds.
Hand 4: This time Matias calls from the button and Neuville checks his option. The flop comes [8s][5d][qc], Neuville bets 60,000 and Matias calls. The turn comes [3d], Neuville checks, Matias bets 100,000 and Neuville folds.
Hand 5: Neuville bets 155,000 from the button and Matias folds.
Hand 6: Matias makes it 130,000 from the button and Neuville calls. They both check the [qc][as][8c] flop and the [4s] turn, and on the [5c] river Neuville bets
125,000 but is forced to lay it down when Matias fires back with a re-raise to 310,000.

7.45pm: Heads-up long haul
On the first pot of interest in about six, Antonio Matias limped from the button and Pierre Neuville checked his option to see a [qd][4h][kc] flop. They both checked. Neuville led for 75,000 on the [6s] turn and then Matias raised to 250,000. Neuville made it 750,000. Matias called and the [6c] rivered. Both players checked and Neuville tabled [qh][4d] for two-pair and the pot as Matias mucked.

7.35pm: Double up for Neuville
Pierre Neuville gets a double up, the first of several he’s likely to need here. He bet 175,000 from the button and Matias called. The flop came [9s][10d][5c] and Neuville called Matias’ 200,000 bet. On the [js] turn Matias made it 250,000, but then Neuville moved all-in for 295,000 more.
Matias shrugged his shoulders. “I have to call,” he said. And call he did.
Matias: [kc][9d]
Neuville: [7s][8c]
Neuville had turned the straight, and Matias had to hit a queen to fill a higher straight, but the river came a [6c].

7.30pm: Small pot for Matias
Antonio Matias called from the button and Pierre Neuville checked his option to see a [7d][5d][9s] flop. They both checked through to the [jc] turn. Neuville led for 125,000 and was called before they both checked the [jc] river. Matias opened [ah][4s] for ace high and after a brief stare at the board and his cards Neuville mucked to send the pot to his opponent.

7.20pm: Is this a sign of things to come?
In the very first hand of heads-up play Pierre Neuville makes it 170,000 with the button, and Antonio Matias moves all in. Neuville looks a little shocked, and the announcer jokes Matias wants to watch a football match on the TV. Neuville folds, saying: “I have no cards.”
Next hand Matias calls from the small blind and Neuville checks. They see a [kd][ac][2h] flop and both check. They also check the [3c] turn but Neuville’s 150,000 bet on the [8h] river is enough to take this one and make the tiniest of dents in Matias’s stack.

7.10pm: Heads up chip counts
With two of them left, here’s what they’re playing:
Antonio Matias: 8,380,000
Pierre Neuville: 1,245,000

7.05pm: Sarwer slain
Jeff Sarwer is out in third. Action started with a raise to 125,000 from Antonio Matias and was called by both of the others, so they all got to see a [9c][7h][3c] flop. Sarwer was the first to put money in the pot with a 275,000 bet.  Matias almost immediately moved all in and after a lot of talk with his opponent and the crowd he called all in with [9s][5s] but saw he was behind to Matias’ [ts][td]. Sarwer’s supporters erupted when the turn fell [5c], making him two pair, but there was final twist in this already twisted tale as the river came [3d] to counterfeit the Canadian’s hand. He leaves us in third place for €156,170 after another compelling performance this week.

7pm: Slow start
The early skirmishes of this level are small ones. First Antonio Matias folds his button, Pierre Neuville makes it 160,000 from the small blind and Jeff Sarwer folds. Next hand Neuville folds his button, Sarwer calls from the small blind and Matias checks his option. They see a [9d][6c][ad] flop and Sarwer’s 65,000 bet is enough to take it. Next hand Sarwer folds his button, Matias calls from the small blind and Neuville checks his option. The flop comes [jh][10c][qs], Matias checks, Neuville bets 75,000 and Matias calls. On the [10h] flop it’s Matias who leads out with 100,000 - that’s enough to take the pot there and then.

6.55pm: Back from the break
In an early pot after the break Sarwer opens for 160,000 on the button, called by Matias. The flop comes [th][qh][kd]. Matias bet 100,000 which Sarwer called for a [ts] on the turn. Both checked for a [5h] on the river. Check check. Matias showed [as][3c] to take the pot.

6.50pm: Three-handed continues
That pot at the end of the last level gave Antonio Matias an even more dominant leads. These are the stacks of the players as they return for level 26:

Antonio Matias: 6,095,000
Jeff Sarwer: 2,010,000
Pierre Neuville: 1,520,000

Have another look at that trophy:

Updates from level 26 of EPT Vilamoura, brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Blinds: 25,000-50,000 (5,000 ante)

6.36pm: Level, surely
And with that, it’s the end of level 26. Farewell, level 26, but we look forward to meeting level 27 after a 15-minute break.

Meanwhile, here are the approx chips:

Antonio Matias, 6,095,000
Jeff Sarwer, 2,010,000
Pierre Neuville, 1,520,000

6.35pm: Matias again
Antonio Matias raised to 125,000 from the button and Jeff Sarwer called from the big blind before a [2d][as][ah] flop came down. Sarwer came out betting for 150,000 and called Matias’ min raise to 300,000. The turn brought the [9h] and Matias continued his aggressive stance with a 375,000 bet when checked to him. Sarwer studied his opponent and called to see the [3s] river where both players slowed to checks. Maitas opened [8c][9s] for a turned pair of nines. Sarwer slid his cards into muck aggressively and got up to have his fifteen minute break.

6.30pm: Family pot
Sarwer opened on the button for 125,000. Matias called, so did Neuville for a flop of [6d][4s][kh]. Matias bet 250,000 and Neuville and Sarwer folded in turn.

6.25pm: Slowdown
There are 135,000 chips that are doing an awful lot of work at the moment, with scant reward. Each of the three players is raising 135,000 pre-flop, but no one is calling. That means no flops and now significant swings. The calm before the storm, surely.

In other news, Jeff Sarwer has attracted one of the most decorated rails in EPT history. The online sensations Shaun Deeb, Jason Mercier, Ryan Franklin, Ricky Fohrenbach, Jonathan Aguiar and Jim Collopy are all in the house watching Sarwer.

6.20pm: Two pots to pass in
Two pots to Jeff Sarwer. The first after he raised on the button to 135,000, picking up the blinds and antes. The second after Pierre Neuville opened for 125,000 in the small blind and Sarwer called on the big. On a flop of [tc][ts][kc] Neuville checked. Sarwer made it 110,000 forcing Neuville to pass.

6.15pm: Double up for Neuville
A pre-flop all-in showdown between PokerStars qualifier Pierre Neuville and Jeff Sarwer started with the former raising to 125,000 from the small blind only to face a three-bet to 300,000 from the latter.

Neuville responded with an all-in push for 885,000 total and was called after a period of deliberation. Neuville opened [ac][kh] and Sarwer grimaced as he tabled [ac][2s]. The board ran [5h][9c][qs][ad][5d] to double the Belgian up to more than 1.8 million.

6.05pm: Are you watching?
Jeff Sarwer opened for 125,000 on the button. Pierre Neuville called for a flop of [th][4h][qs]. Neuville checked. Sarwer bet 135,000 before Neuville re-raised to 335,000 total. Sarwer called for a turn card [3c]. Neuville checked, so did Sarwer for a [kc] on the river. Neuville now made it 405,000. Sarwer went for his orange chips and while counting them out turned to look at Shaun Deeb on the rail. He wanted him to see this. Sarwer called and told Neuville to show a broken hand. Neuville turned over [ah][7c]. Sarwer turned over his [4c][js] taking the pot, and getting a nod from Deeb.

6pm: Friends and foes
Antonio Matias and Jeff Sarwer are continually at each other’s throats - in a poker sense at least. Although they’re both laughing and joking with each other, pretty much every pot is being played out between them, with Matias taking down the most recent few.

On the button, Matias made it 100,000 and Sarwer called from the big blind. The flop came [kd][ad][qh] and Sarwer check-folded to Matias’s 250,000 bet.

The next hand, Sarwer raised to 135,000 from the small blind and Matias called in the big. The flop was [3c][2c][10s] and Sarwer bet 90,000. Matias made it 200,000 and Sarwer folded again.

Sarwer caught up with our video blog team shortly before this three-handed
battle:

Watch EPT6 Vilamoura Jeff Sarwer Chat Three Handed on PokerStars.tv

5.55pm: A limped pot!
I’m not sure the last time we had a limped pot but it feels quite novel. Antonio Matias limped from the small blind and Pierre Neuville checked his option. When the flop came down [4c][9c][5s] Matias check-called a 75,000 pot before leading out for 100,000 on the [2d] turn to take the pot down.

At this stage the chips look something like this:
Antonio Matias, 5,000,000
Jeff Sarwer, 2,800,000
Pierre Neuville, 1,800,000

5.50pm: Raising
On a flop of [3h][8s][2d] and a standard bet and a call pre-flop, both Antonio Matias and Pierre Neuville check for a [5h] turn. Matias was still stacking his chips from the Sarwer hand and bet a casual 50,000. Neuville then reraised to 225,000. Matias raised again, 500,000 total. Neuville moved all-in for another 300,000 or so more but Matias passed.

5.45pm: Chip leaders go at it
The player who will be most delighted with this hand is the one not involved in it, Pierre Neuville. The two big stacks just tangled in a hand worth more than 2,500,000. Antonio Matias raised to 130,000 from the button and Jeff Sarwer called from the big blind. The flop came [2d][qc][7d] and Sarwer checked, but then raised after Matias bet 160,000. Sarwer’s raise was for 220,000 more.

It wasn’t over. Matias re-raised, 600,000 more than that, and Sarwer asked for a million more than that with his god-knows-how-many-”re”-raise. Matias then announced he was all in - it did seem to be heading that way - and Sarwer went into the tank.

There was some good humour between the two of them, Sarwer saying: “I’m going to need some help here,” and Matias bringing some sunglasses out of his top pocket, for the first time, putting them on and then taking one of the lenses out and peering through it, winking one eye.

Sarwer laughed, then eventually folded, saying: “If it’s a bluff, it’s a good bluff.” Sarwer led the applause, joined hastily from the packed rail. Sarwer still has about 3 million, but Matias has retaken the chip lead.

5.40pm: Matias takes one, then Neuville takes another
Antonio Matias raised to 105,000 from the button and both players called to see a [2d][qs][5h] flop. Neither fancied calling Matias’ 215,000 continuation bet and the pot goes to the local man.

Two hands later Jeff Sarwer raised from the button to 125,000 and Pierre Neuville called from the big blind. The flop came down [6d][9s][qs] before Neuville check-called Sarwer’s 130,000 bet. Both checked through the [9c] turn before Neuville took down the pot with a 400,000 bet on the [as] river.

5.30pm: Neuville takes four in a r- oh, no he doesn’t
Pierre Neuville is the short stack, but he’s not afraid to put it to work. Antonio Matias folds his button and Neuville raised to 85,000 from the small blind. Jeff Sarwer lets him have it. The next hand, Neuville raises to 135,000 from the button and gets that one through. Then the next hand, he gets a walk in the big blind, and this possibly encourages him to limp in the small blind the next time. Sarwer checks his option and the flop comes [7s][5d][2c] and Neuville bets 50,000. It looks as though Sarwer might fold, but the minute he says: “Raise,” Neuville’s cards hit the muck.

Pierre Neuville

5.25pm: Nothing to see here
Five hands and little to say about any of them. Matias and Sarwer saw a flop. [kh][4h][qd] which Sarwer bet at, leaving Matias to fold. Matias then raised pre-flop from under the gun. No takers. Sarwer did the same, no takers. Pierre Neuville, yes you’ve guessed it. And so on.

5.20pm: The rich get richer
First hand into the new level and the chip-leading Jeff Sarwer adds to his stack. Antonio Matias folds his button, Pierre Neuville raises to 75,000 and Sarwer calls from the big blind. The flop comes [6c][jh][kc] and Neuville bets 200,000, which Sarwer calls. The turn is [9s] and after Neuville bets, Sarwer bets 300,000 and that takes it.

5.15pm: We’re back
Play resumes three handed at the final of EPT Vilamoura. The chip counts are as follows:

Jeff Sarwer - 4,220,000
Antonio Matias - 3,815,000
Pierre Neuville - 1,590,000

Jeff Sarwer

Updates from level 25 of EPT Vilamoura, brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Blinds: 20,000-40,000 (4,000 ante)

5pm: Neuville doubles
Jeff Sarwer opened the pot with a raise to 105,000 that Pierre Neuville called from the big blind to see the [tc][4s][jc] flop. Neuville checked to face a 200,000 bet from Sarwer that he raised all in for just less than 800,000. Sarwer called instantly with [kc][2c] for a flush draw. Neuville tabled [qd][jd] for top pair and the turn came [4h] and river [7s] to miss Sarwer’s draw doubling up Neuville in the process.

That’s the end of the level and we’ll have full three-handed counts momentarily.

4.55pm: Show one
Antonio Matias opened for 90,000 on the button. Jeff Sarwer called from the big blind for a flop of [qh][3h][th]. Sarwer checked and Matias bet 180,000. Sarwer folded and asked to see one card. Matias showed him the [qs].

4.50pm: Matias v Sarwer Part II
It’s the same two again, but with added chips involved. Jeff Sarwer opens with 95,000 on the button, Antonio Matias calls in the small blind, as does Pierre Neuville in the big.
The flop is [jc][qs][3h], and now Matias leads out with 105,000. Neuville folds, but Sarwer calls. On the [qc] turn Matias again bets 105,000 but now Sarwer raises to 220,000. Matias is going nowhere, but instead re-re-raises by another 250,000. Sarwer thinks for a while before letting it go. “You show?” he asks Matias. Indeed he does… [kc][9c].

4.45pm: Matias v Sarwer Part I
Pierre Neuville folds, Jeff Sarwer makes it 95,000 from the small blind, and Antonio Matias calls from the big. On the [9d][as][10s] flop Sarwer checks but Matias makes it 125,000. “I’m sure you have an ace,” says Sarwer. “Nice hand.”

4.40pm: Crippled and out - Jan Skampa departs in fourth
The very next hand Jan Skampa moved the last of his chips into the middle when folded to him in the small blind. Jeff Sarwer looked at his cards and called from the big blind with [kh][js]. Skampa turned over his dominated [kd][7c] before the board came [8d][3s][4s][8s][qd]. Jan Skampa leaves us in fourth place to healthy applause. He wins €117,128.

Sarwer now has something like five million.

4.35pm: Biggest hand of the week
Jeff Sarwer opened from under the gun, 90,000 total. The action was folded back to Jan Skampa in the big blind who raised to 260,000. Skampa still had a pile of orange chips next to him, yet to be stacked from his victorious hand against Silva. Sarwer fired back with another raise, 430,000 on top. Skampa, still quiet, announced all-in and in reply Sarwer performed one of the quickest calls ever heard on the EPT.

[kh][9h] for Skampa, [qc][qs] for Sarwer.

It’s the biggest hand of the week. Sarwer looked up at Shaun Deeb on the stage overlooking the table, an expression on his face as if to say: “Did I do right?” Sarwer stepped away from the table, pacing up and down, grinning slightly. Pierre Neuville came over to say a few words as Skampa counted out chips. It’s going to be close.

“I made the right decision, whatever happens, right?” says Sarwer, to the rail, the other players, to everyone. “I have nothing to worry about!” he added, a sentiment good for a round of applause. The count is done and Sarwer is the all-in player.

The flop: [9c][6s][6d]. Skampa was standing, Sarwer was back in his chair. The turn [2d]. Still tense. The river [6h].

Sarwer leapt from his chair, and as has been the custom for local players, yelled “Vamos!” to great cheers. Then he ran up and down the rail high fiving everyone, then ran over to Deeb to do the same. He returned to his chair out of breath. It would take him several hands to stack his chips. Skampa sat still and quiet. He never did get to stack those orange chips. He’s left with 540,000.

4.30pm: Joao Silva out in fifth
To the horror of the loud local rail, Joao Silva, who lives only half an hour up the road, has busted. Jan Skampa made it 100,000 under the gun. Jeff Sarwer and Antonio Matias got out of the way, but Silva called from the small blind and Pierre Neuville from the big.
The flop came [2h][3h][3c] and Silva and Neuville checked. Skampa made it 175,000 and after a moment or two Silva decided to re-raise to 550,000. Neuville folded but Skampa moved all-in, called by Silva.
Skampa: [qh][qs]
Silva: [jh][js]
Silva needed to catch a jack, but the [9h] turn and [3d] river were no help. He leaves with €78,085.

4.25pm: More frustration for Neuville
Pierre Neuville opened the pot with a raise to 90,000 and was called by Antonio Matias in the big blind to see a [ah][jd][qd] flop. Matias came out betting at this point for 100,000 and was called. The turn came [4s] and very quickly Matias bet 100,000 again. It was good enough to take the pot as a frustrated looking Neuville folded.

4.20pm: Two to Sarwer
Two modest pots headed the way of Jeff Sarwer. In the first he raised on the button to 90,000. Joao Silva called from the big blind for a flop of [8h][7c][kd]. Silva checked before Sarwer bet another 95,000. Too much for Silva. Sarwer followed this up by raising from under the gun a few hands later. This time no takers.

Jeff Sarwer

4.15pm: Check-raise for the win
Jan Skampa opens for 110,000 on the button. It’s too expensive for Jeff Sarwer in the small blind, but Antonio Matias calls from the big blind. They see a [3s][8d][ac] flop. Matias checks and Skampa bets 135,000 which sends Matias into the tank. Once he came out, he re-raised another 250,000 and got an insta-fold from Skampa to applause from the local railers.

4.10pm: Sarwer attacks Silva
João Silva raised to 100,000 from the cut-off and was called by Pierre Neuville on the button and Jeff Sarwer in the big blind. The flop came down [ac][3s][6d] and Silva continued his aggression with a very quick bet of 165,000 when checked to him. Neuville folded quickly but Sarwer raised up to 330,000 after staring his opponent down for a minute or so. He obviously saw something as Silva folded.

4.05pm: Chatter
The video blog team grabbed a few words with each of our final table players ahead of the action. They’ve battled the vagaries of our internet connection here to finally get them online. Show them your appreciation with a click on that white arrow head.

Final table interviews part one:

Watch EPT6 Vilamoura Final Table Interviews on PokerStars.tv

Watch EPT6 Vilamoura Final Table Interviews Part 2 on PokerStars.tv

4.00pm: Skampa in no hurry
Pierre Neuville is in the small blind. The action has been folded to him and he raises 95,000. Jan Skampa is in the big blind and calls. When he puts chips into the pot his arm moves slowly and he adds an occasional flick of the wrist at the end. The see a flop of [5h][9h][8h]. Neuville makes it another 135,000. Skampa calls for a [4c] turn. Now Neuville makes it 300,000. Skampa, a stealth man, hardly speaking or making any noise, moved all-in. Neuville performed a fast fold, leaving Skampa with around 2 million chips.

3.55pm: Michel Abecassis out in sixth place
Antonio Matias opened on the button for 93,000. Joao Silva folded in the small blind, but Michel Abecassis moved all-in from the big blind for 344,000. Matias thought for a minute before making the call:
Abecassis: [as][7s]
Matias: [qs][jd]
The Frenchman was ahead, but the flop of [8d][4c][qc] was a crushing blow. The [7c] turn meant another seven or an ace could save his tournament life, but the [3h] sent him to the rail, where he collects €62,468 for his sixth-place finish.

3.54pm: Skampa v Matias
Jan Skampa and Antonio Matias just went to battle in two hands with the former coming out victorious on both occasions. Firstly Skampa raised from the cut-off and Matias called from the big blind to see a [8d][tc][qh] flop. Matias ended up check-folding to a 120,000 bet from Skampa.

The next hand Skampa raised from the cut-off and Matias called from the small blind to see a [9h][5h][jh] flop. Matias once again check-folded to a Skampa bet of 135,000. Skampa flashed the [ah] when his opponent folded.

3.53pm: A pair of all-ins
Michel Abecassis moved all-in on the small blind but gets no takers. That doesn’t stop his girlfriend on the rail, ever present since day three, silently raising her arms in mock celebration.

A hand or so later the action is folded to Jan Skampa in the small blind who calls before Jeff Sarwer raises form the big, another 70,000. Skampa then moves all-in. Sarwer grins, the grins some more before folding.

3.50pm: Sarwer and Skampa short and sweet
Jan Skampa raised to 95,000 from the hijack seat; Jeff Sarwer re-raised to 227,000 from the cut-off. Fold.

3.45pm: Back
We’re back, they’re back. We’re sitting behind laptops, they’re sitting behind these stacks:

Jan Skampa: 1,040,000
Jeff Sarwer: 1,936,000
Antonio Matias: 2,359,000
Joao Silva: 1,983,000
Michel Abecassis: 340,000
Pierre Neuville: 1,777,000

And here’s what they’re all playing for:

Vilamoura trophy

Updates from level 24 of EPT Vilamoura, brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Blinds: 15,000-30,000 (3,000 ante)

3.31pm: Take a breather
We’re on a 15-minute break. Back soon.

3.30pm: Down to six
The last hand of the level and Pierre Neuville opened for 75,000. Ryan Franklin was next to act and moved all-in for roughly 550,000, Jeff Sarwer said the same making it an easy fold for Antonio Matias. Neuville also folded. To the showdown. [8h][8s] for Franklin, [jc][jd] for Sarwer. [th][3c][js] on the flop. Franklin got up but Sarwer told him to sit down again.

But the [5s] secured his exit. An irrelevant [4d] on the river and Franklin departs in seventh place.

3.28pm: Sarwer back
Jeff Sarwer, now officially off tilt (see below), is back in the thick of the action. Pierre Neuville raised to 70,000 and Sarwer re-raised from the small blind, making it 180,000 total. Neuville called. The flop came [qs][5c][as] and Sarwer bet 250,000, which took it down.

3.25pm: I’m off tilt!
“I’m officially back now, I’m over it guys!” mused Jeff Sarwer to his table mates and the rail. Tournament director then announces “Jeff is not tilting anymore after getting his aces cracked by kings”. Laughter erupted around the rail.

Thirty seconds later Sarwer was officially back in the groove after he raised to 70,000 from under-the-gun and took the blinds and antes.

3.20pm: What was that?
Ryan Franklin opens from under-the-gun, placing 185,000 out in front of himself. The card caller announces the raise but no, Franklin had actually announced “all-in” only he was heard by just Skampa and Sarwer next to him. The action is on Pierre Neuville before he realises it’s an all-in, not a raise. Neuville folds, giving a polite lesson to rookie Franklin on
all-in etiquette. No harm done.

3.17pm: Golden Silva
The roof has just come off Casino Vilamoura as the local hero Joao Silva has doubled up to close to two million. Jeff Sarwer raised from the cut off to 70,000 and Antonio Matias called from the button. Silva moved all in from the small blind, a total of 945,000, and Sarwer stalled.

Eventually he said call and when Matias insta-folded, Sarwer showed [ah][as] and immediately explained his stalling as an attempt to get Matias involved too. There were
no problems there, but it looked like Silva’s day was done, when he tabled [kd][kc].

As an extremely loud local contingent felt their hearts enter their mouths, the dealer dealt [2d][10s][2c]. No help. The turn was [8c]. No help. But the river [ks] was one of the two outs left in the deck for Silva and the room erupted.

3.15pm: Back where he started
Ryan Franklin moved all-in from the button. Skampa folded the small blind but Sarwer cannot let things like this go easily. He lifted his sunglasses up a little to count Franklin’s chips. Somewhere in the region of 500,000. He declined the dealer’s offer of a count and folded. A few hands later he made what he’d paid to Franklin back when he raised 70,000
from the button. Matias and Silva passed.

3.10pm: Sarwer v Neuville
Jeff Sarwer was first to act and made a raise to 70,000 that only Pierre Neuville called from the button. The flop came [4s][8s][td] and a Sarwer continuation bet of 135,000 was enough to take the pot down.

3.05pm: All bases covered
Pierre Neuville told reporters how he had been preparing for this tournament by revising certain situations: aces in this position, suited connectors in that, etc., etc. Just recently, Jan Skampa raised from under-the-gun at the precise moment that Neuville took delivery of a club sandwich in the small blind. It wasn’t immediately obvious what Neuville’s revision cards said about this particular scenario, but he opted for the quick bite with the right hand, fold cards with the left option. Textbook.

3pm: Silva starting to shine
Jan Skampa opens for 72,000 from the cut off. Joao Silva calls from the big blind for a flop of [th][7h][js]. Silva checked. Skampa made it 90,000. Silva called. On the [7s] turn Silva checked again. Skampa made it 175,000 and again Silva called. Now a [2h] on the river. Silva checked for a last time, Skampa did the same, showing [kd][8d] to Silva’s [jc][qc].

That latter hand was accompanied by a local cheer from what must be 200 people on the rail behind him. He has close to a million now.

2.50pm: You win one, you lose one
Pierre Neuville raised back-to-back, the first time picking up blinds and antes with a 75,000 move from the cut-off, the second time making it 70,000 and picking up Antonio Matias as a customer in the big blind.

The flop came [3s][jc][10s] and they both checked, but Matias bet 40,000 at the [3d] turn. Neuville called and they saw the [6h] on the river. Matias bet 52,000 and Neuville folded.

2.45pm: Abecassis doubles
The action folded around to Michel Abecassis in the cut-off who moved all in for 186,000 before Ryan Franklin re-raised all in from the small blind. Skampa folded from the big blind to leave us with a heads-up show down:

Abecassis: [ah][2h]
Franklin: [ac][3c]

Everyone was expecting a chopped pot but then the flop came down [ad][3d][5d] to give Franklin two-pair. Abecassis was getting ready to leave - and the turn came [4s] to hand the lead to the Frenchman and the double-up was confirmed when the river came [7s].

2.40pm: Opportunistic raise
Jeff Sarwer has arrested his brief slump after a spot of opportunistic raising on the button. Michel Abecassis folded his cards under-the-gun and Pierre Neuville, to his left and in the nine seat, raised to 77,000. Ryan Franklin, in the one seat (ie, the other side of the dealer) put 75,000 chips in the middle but thought he was raising; he hadn’t seen Neuville’s
actions and had mistaken Abecassis’s mucked cards for those of Neuville.

The tournament director Thomas Kremser was called to adjudicate on whether Franklin’s move went as a raise, but as the American had not specifically said “Raise”, it went as a call. Sarwer spotted his chance after all this confusion, and announced a raise from the button, of 325,000.

Neither Neuville nor Franklin actually wanted it that much and folded. Sarwer took down their much disputed 75,000 each, plus blinds and antes.

2.35pm: A Portuguese roar
Joao Silva open shoved for 335,000. The action reached Jeff Sarwer who, without any of the dramatics of the previous hand against Skampa, announced call. There was a pause as Sarwer counted out the chips but a roar to lift the roof when Silva turned over [ac][qh].
Sarwer showed [4h][4c] and comforted himself with the words “twenty per cent.”

There was another roar after the board ran: [6d][kd][jh][tc][7h]. Silva had been nervously rubbing his hands together on each street but now lifted his arms in the air. The hometown hero is back in this. Sarwer takes another knock, down to 1.4 million.

2.30pm: Skampa takes one
The very next hand the action folded around to Jan Skampa in the small blind who made a raise to 90,000 only to be re-raised to 220,000 by Jeff Sarwer in the big blind. Skampa’s response was to move all in for a total of 1,228,000. Sarwer took three minutes at least to decide to fold but all that while he was chatting to himself and his opponent trying to get a read or trigger to call. Even edging his stack forward didn’t make Skampa move a muscle and he takes down the pot.

2.25pm: Franklin all-in
Jeff Sarwer opened for 70,000 from early position. The action was folded back to Ryan Franklin in the blinds who moved all-in. Sarwer asked for a count. It’s 797,000 to call, which Sarwer had counted before the dealer confirmed. His sunglasses are off and he’s rubbing his eyes. He has a decision, but chooses to fold. “Nice hand,” he says.

Ryan Franklin

2.20pm: Tough on the short stacks
Michel Abecassis moved all in under-the-gun and took the blinds and antes. But he gave it all back on the next two hands when he was forced to fold his big blind to a raise from Antonio Matias on the button and then his small blind to similar pre-flop action from Jeff Sarwer.

2.15pm: Silva lining his pockets
Our second shortest stack at the table João Silva just moved all in from first position for 335,000 and managed to take the blinds and antes as everyone folded.

2.10pm: Learning Portuguese
The Portuguese players are still prospering on the Algarve, which is more than you can say for some of the Team PokerStars Pros and their attempts to learn the local language. Allow the video blog team to explain:

2.10pm: Seven back for the cash
That’s the end of the first break and the magnificent seven will return. That first level of the day was great for Pierre Neuville and not so good for Antonio Matias, although he still retains a chip lead. Joao Silva and Michel Abecassis are going to need to get busy.

The full stacks on their return are:

Antonio Matias, 2,550,000
Pierre Neuville, 2,260,000
Jeff Sarwer, 2,110,000
Jan Skampa, 1,090,000
Ryan Franklin, 941,000
Joao Silva, 343,000
Michel Abecassis, 255,000

Updates from level 23 of EPT Vilamoura, brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Blinds: 12,000-24,000 (2,000 ante)

1.58pm: End of the level
That’s level 23 in the books. Players are now taking a 15-minute break. We’ll be back shortly - take a look at the chip count page for the latest, err, chip counts.

While you wait for the new level, here’s how the video blog team set out the start of today’s action…

Watch EPT6 Vilamoura Final Table Intro on PokerStars.tv

1.55pm: Hi-ho, Silva
On the last hand before the break, Joao Silva moves all in for 290,000. Nobody wants to play with him, though, and he picks up the blinds and antes.

1.50pm: Franklin’s good call
Ryan Franklin opened the pot with a raise to 55,000 from under-the-gun and was called only by Pierre Neuville in the big blind. Both players checked through the [3h][7d][9c] flop before Neuville led out for 70,000 on the [3s] turn. Franklin called as he did when Neuville bet 125,000 on the [7h] river. The call was good as Neuville could only muster [kh][jh] to Franklin’s [8c][8d].

1.45pm: Neuville the new force
Pierre Neuville explained last night how he was unafraid of getting involved with the aggressive youngsters at the table, and today he’s proved to be good to his word. He’s not afraid to take on aggressive older players either. Two hands have just taken Neuville very close to the chip lead. They played out like this:

First up, Joao Silva raised to 60,000 and Neuville called in the cut off. The flop came [5c][4s][10s] and Neuville called a 70,000 bet from Silva. The turn was [4c] and after Silva checked, Neuville bet 120,000 and won.

That was merely small fry compared with this one though. Neuville raised from early position, making it 60,000. Antonio Matias called in the small blind and the two of them saw a flop of [2d][7c][5h], which they both checked. The turn was [kd] and Matias bet 105,000, which Neuville called. The river was another king, this time [ks] and Matias bet 227,000. Neuville announced that he was all in - a total of 1,063,000.

Matias didn’t like it much, but said: “I have to call. I call.” Neuville exposed [5s][5d] for the flopped set and the rivered full house. Those two kings on turn and river had been the worst thing in the world for Matias’ [ac][kc] and he relinquished the chip lead for the first time since about 1987.

1.33pm: Clock fold
The action was folded around to Michel Abecassis on the button who raised to 60,000, called by Pierre Neuville in the small blind to see a [3h][3s][kh] flop. Both players checked before Neuville led out for 65,000 after the [2h] came down on the turn. Call. Neuville bet 125,000 on the [2c] river and after a long dwell Abecassis folded, but only after the clock had been called.

1.25pm: Massive pot, no information
Don’t get your hopes up: this hand is the poker equivalent of a detective novel with the last page ripped out. Ryan Franklin opened from under-the-gun to 55,000. It was the second successive pot he had done so. Although he got it through the first time, Antonio Matias was lying in wait on the second occasion and called the raise. The flop came [3s][3c][kd] and Franklin bet 105,000 at it, but Matias raised to 250,000. Franklin wasn’t done: he made it 405,000 more and Matias called. All of this took place in a deathly hush, and things didn’t change on the turn of [3h]. Franklin silently checked, Matias announced all in and Franklin instantly folded, shipping about half his stack to the chip leader.

1.23pm: Raise and takes
First Joao Silva takes the blinds and antes with pre-flop bet of 60,000. Then Pierre Neuville repeats the trick with a 62,000 pre-flop bet on the next hand.

1.20pm: Sarwer aggression
After winning the blinds and antes on the previous hand, Pierre Neuville again bets 62,000 but gets a call from Jeff Sarwer on the button. The flop comes [10d][2d][7c] and Neuville bets 95,000, only for Sarwer to hit back with 215,000. At this point two of your PokerStars Blog team members discussed possibilities. “Neuville has kings,” said one. “No, he has [ad][3d],” said the other. Neuville folds and quite clearly your two bloggers need a lesson in hand analysis.

1.15pm: No further than the flop
Jeff Sarwer started proceedings with a raise to 65,000 from under-the-gun and was called by Pierre Neuville on the button and Jan Skampa in the big blind. Neither of them hung around though after a 135,000 bet from Sarwer after the [7d][6c][5d] flop.

1.10pm: Neuville firing
João Silva raised to 60,000 from the cut-off but folded to a re-raise to 150,000 from Pierre Neuville in the small blind.

1.05pm: Four-bet
Jan Skampa, who has been the most active player despite the two big stacks to his left, opened again from early position. This time he was made to regret it though. Skampa raised to 56,000; Jeff Sarwer re-raised to 135,000; and Antonio Matias, re-re-raised to 500,000. Skampa quickly scarpered, Sarwer thought a while longer but let it go, and Matias showed [qs][qd].

On the next hand, Matias opened to 48,000 and Michel Abecassis shoved for around 300,000. Matias folded.

1pm: Andrei Vlasenko, eliminated in eighth place for €31,234
Andrei Vlasenko is the first player eliminated today. The action started with a 55,000 raise from Ryan Franklin that was called by Antonio Matias in the small blind before Andrei Vlasenko moved all in from the big blind. Franklin then moved all in behind, forcing the chip leader to fold. Vlasenko showed [9d][9c] was behind Franklin’s [ts][th]. The board ran [qh][ad][3d][js][6h] sending Vlasenko home in 8th place for € 31,234.

12.50pm: Skampa going nowhere
Antonio Matias raised to 56,000 from early position and Jan Skampa called in the big blind. The flop was [5d][ks][kc] and Skampa check-called Matias’ bet of 56,000. The [9h] turn brought a repeat: Skampa checked, Matias bet 56,000, Skampa called. The river was [ac] and they both checked. Matias was first to show: [qh][10h] and Skampa’s [js][jc] took it.

12.47pm: Early action
The action is folded around to Michel Abecassis who completes and Pierre Neuville checks his option from the big blind. After the flop came down [ks][2h][6d] Abecassis check-folded to a 40,000 bet.

On the next hand Jeff Sarwer raised it up to 52,000 from early position and was called by Ryan Franklin in the big blind for a [7d][tc][ks] flop. Franklin then check-folded to a 55,000 bet from Sarwer.

12.40pm: Portuguese men of war
After a straightforward first hand - Jan Skampa raising to 41,000 from the cut off and taking it - the second hand of the final table was more complicated, and more costly for Joao Silva. Antonio Matias raised to 42,000 from the button and Silva called in the big blind. The flop came [5d][kd][ac] and after Silva checked, Matias bet 58,000, which Silva called. The turn was [kh] and Silva bet 75,000 (three of the new gold 25,000 chips). Matias was unimpressed, depositing a raise to 250,000 in the middle. Silva folded.

12.35pm: Cards in the air
After introductions to each player, applause and more applause the final table is now underway.

12.20pm: Hang in there
Finishing touches being made. The start can’t be too far away now.

12pm: Pick your winner

The line up for today. You can find their profiles here.

Antonio Matias, Portugal, 3,003,000
Jeff Sarwer, Canada, 1,983,000
Ryan Franklin, United States, 1,047,000
Pierre Neuville, Belgium, 1,027,000
Jan Skampa, Czech Republic, 926,000
Joao Silva, Portugal, 780,000
Michel Abecassis, France, 488,000
Andrei Vlasenko, Russia, 371,000

11.50pm: Ready for the start
We’re nearly ready for the start of the EPT Vilamoura final table, we’re just short a few players. Eight to be exact. We assume they’re off somewhere having their picture taken or perhaps suggesting which of their features they’d like exagerated/toned down on any future MS Paint portrait.

In the meantime some housekeeping. There’s nine minutes remaining on the current level 22, with blinds still pegged at 10,000/ 20,000 with a 2,000 ante. Then things will revert to the blind levels detailed above for 75 minute levels until we have a winner some time tonight.

The final table is set for the Main Event of EPT Vilamoura, with the following players gunning for the €404,793 first prize.

For a full list of prizewinners to date, see the prizewinners page. There’s also a full prize structure there.

Stay tuned to PokerStars Blog throughout the day for all the latest updates.

Final table player profiles:

Seat 1: Ryan Franklin, 18, Lake Tahoe, USA - 1,047,000 chips

Despite living in the one of the best casino destinations in the world, Franklin, 18, is too young to play in his home town so instead made his way to Portugal for his first live tournament. Having just graduated from high school Franklin is now taking a year odd to focus on poker before going to university next year. He has already had some big results online including individual wins of $94,000 and $71,000 in separate tournaments. The switch to live poker doesn’t seem to have fazed him, being “super-excited” to have made a final table on his debut in the live environment.

Seat 2: Jan Skampa, 23, Prague, Czech Republic - 926,000 chips

Jan Skampa is an economics student at Charles’s University in his home town of Prague but spends most of his time as a poker player. The 23-year-old has been playing poker for five years, having learned the game from friends, but he’s been playing seriously for three years, scoring his first big result in August at the WPT in Slovakia, $24,508 for eighth place. He followed that with a win a month later, $24,881 at a WPT side event in Cyprus. His progress this week hasn’t always been straightforward. He finished well on day one but ended day two as one of the short stacks. But on day three he was able to turn things around with some good cards and good situations, and by making the final table in Vilamoura he’s already guaranteed the biggest pay-day of his career.

Seat 3; Jeff Sarwer, 31, Kingston, Ontario, Canada - 1,983,000 chips

This is the second EPT event in a row in which Sarwer has gone deep. Disappointed to have busted in tenth place in Warsaw earlier this month, a result worth approximately €30,705, Sarwer arrived in Portugal determined not to let the same thing happen again and has been either first or second in chips since day two. Sarwer has a background in chess, emerging as a young phenomenon having learned the game at four. His chess career as a young boy became the inspiration for memorable scenes from the film Searching for Bobby Fischer before he quit the game. Now living in Gdansk, Poland, Sarwer switched his attentions to poker a year ago, cashing in Prague last season.

Seat 4: Antonio Matias, 54, Setubal, Portugal - 3,003,000 chips

António Matias couldn’t have hoped for a better experience at his very first EPT event. The 54-year-old businessman usually plays cash games but didn’t want to miss the first EPT in his home country. He said: “I’m an economist and the general director of a travel agency. Poker is really just a hobby for me as my work means I spend a lot of time abroad - in Luanda, Angola - or I’m at home in Setúbal with my wife and two daughters. No limit hold ‘em is my beach.” Matias also likes watching football in his free time and is a keen supporter of Benfica, one of the top three teams in Portugal.

Seat 5: Andrei Vlasenko, 45, Moscow, Russia - 371,000 chips

Vlasenko has only been playing poker for a year and says this is by far his best result so far. The 45-year-old businessman originally hails from Moscow but has been living in Marbella on Spain’s Costa del Sol for the past 11 years where he works in real estate. He said he is thrilled to have made the EPT Vilamoura final table but says his wife Olga will be even more excited than him. “She taught me everything I know,” he said. Olga has been supporting her husband at the tournament and also caring for the couple’s two-year-old daughter, Daria.

Seat 6: João Silva, 27, Lagos, Portugal - 780,000 chips

Even though there is another Portuguese player at the final, only João Silva can really say he is playing at home. The 27-year-old pro came to his first EPT event from Lagos, a small city in the Algarve region around half an hour from Vilamoura. He quit his job as an IT consultant 14 months ago to dedicate himself 100% to poker. He says he prefers playing cash but he has already made more than €32,000 in four live tournaments since August this year, including three final tables and a first place in Casino Estoril. When he is not playing poker, he loves to go to the Algarve’s beaches and kite surf. Even though he is far away from the chip lead, he assures that he has only one goal in EPT Vilamoura: “To win it!”

Seat 7: Michel Abecassis, 57, Paris, France - 488,000 chips

Before becoming one of the best-known faces of French poker, Michel Abécassis embraced many different careers. He originally studied to become a doctor but, despite qualifying, he quickly set aside his stethoscope to become one of the best bridge players in the world. After 13 French Champion titles and two European titles, Abécassis decided he had to find more lucrative employment. He became a journalist at the French magazine Elle where he swiftly became chief editor. In 1997, Abécassis discovered poker and thus began another career. He has five titles in French tournaments, and has made two World Series final tables and won a pot-limit Omaha tournament at the 2002 WCOOP. Despite playing many EPT events, this is Abécassis’ first final table on the tour. He came tenth in London in 2006 and 21st in Warsaw last month.

Seat 8: Pierre Neuville, 67, Knokke, Belgium - PokerStars player - 1,027,000 chips

Neuville started playing poker 50 years ago at university when he and his fellow students used to play every day. He then took 25 years off while working at Hasbro games where he eventually became vice president. After he retired two years ago, he decided to follow his dream of playing poker around the world. He took his wife to the PCA in the Bahamas in 2008 and finished in 18th place, laying to rest his wife’s doubts that he could compete against world-class players. The following season he did even better and, although hugely disappointed to bubble the final table, he took ninth place in San Remo on season five winning €78,800. He believes making the final here in Portugal has a lot to do with being better prepared. Up against younger players, Neuville tries to give himself an edge by making sure that he is fit and also by planning scenarios ahead of time. Neuville has had tons of support from the Belgian poker community and woke up this morning to a barrage of emails from fans. He feels he is proving that ‘older’ players can handle the modern game against young aggressive players.

Day four of the inaugural EPT event in Vilamoura was not for the faint-hearted. This year’s tournament structure is one of the best in the world, but remarkably even a stack of more than a million chips going into the penultimate day doesn’t guarantee a thing.

Just ask Antony Lellouche.

The massive overnight leader, and seasoned EPT veteran, was one of the first fallers on a day of huge hands and shocking bust-outs. At the end of it, the Portuguese player Antonio Matias is the leader going to the final table. He held most of the monsters and was behind most of those bust-outs, with the full result of all this carnage a final table line-up that looks like this:

Antonio Matias, Portugal, 3,003,000
Jeff Sarwer, Canada, 1,983,000
Ryan Franklin, United States, 1,047,000
Pierre Neuville, Belgium, 1,027,000
Jan Skampa, Czech Republic, 926,000
Joao Silva, Portugal, 780,000
Michel Abecassis, France, 488,000
Andrei Vlasenko, Russia, 371,000

Antonio Matias

Matias’s charge into the lead really gathered steam when he knocked out Lellouche in two huge pots. On the second of those, Lellouche bluff-shoved all in with a busted draw that Matias snapped off with trip twos.

Matias sat with more than 1.5 million at that point, it grew beyond 2 million as the day progressed, and with 3,003,000 at day’s close he is going to be a huge threat at tomorrow’s final table.

The same applies to Jeff Sarwer. “Make me the villain,” Sarwer quipped last night, when we joked that we were getting tired of writing about him on PokerStars Blog and had now run out of things to say. But it’s tough to make a villain out of a player who is rapidly becoming the story of season six.

Jeff Sarwer

He’s been chip-leader or thereabouts on at least five days we’ve had to write these wrap-up reports. A relatively recent convert to poker from chess, he’s clearly doing something very right indeed - and now he is second in chips going to his first final table. The ride continues.

Of course to get to those eight, we had to lose 16 others. Among them were the PokerStars qualifier - and official Friend of PokerStars Blog - Matt Johns, who ran kings into aces and then sevens into more aces, all within the first orbit. That’s no way to end what had been a terrific first appearance on the EPT from Johns. As a self-professed impoverished student, the €10,151 is going to help, but he’ll probably be ruing what might have been. Next time, Matt.

Matt Johns

He was joined on the rail by the likes of Jim “Mr_BigQueso” Collopy and another online phenom, Ruben Visser, whose big overnight stack followed the example set by Lellouche’s (ie, it vanished).

Ruben Visser

Visser’s Team PokerStars Pro colleague Jude Ainsworth deserves special mention too. Although he went out in 13th, that’s a cash on his EPT debut since joining the Team. Plenty more are sure to follow.

Jude Ainsworth

The full list of prizewinners so far is on the prizewinners page, where you’ll also see the target for all those remaining eight, namely the €404,793 first prize.

As we drift off into the Algarve night, there’s still plenty for you to keep you entertained. The LAPT Playa Conchal is under way, so check out all the updates from Costa Rica. You can watch all kinds of televisual entertainment over on PokerStars.tv. When you’ve done all that - and not before - you can check out all the action from today with our level-by-level updates:

Level 18 updates
Level 19 updates
Level 20 updates
Level 21 updates
Level 22 updates

Join us tomorrow for this showdown. There’s the online phenomenon in Ryan “HITTHEPANDA” Franklin, there’s the chess prodigy Jeff Sarwer. There’s the EPT veterans Pierre Neuville and Michel Abecassis and there’s the eastern European dark horses Jan Skampa and Andrei Vlasenko. Then there’s the home hopes Joao Silva and our leader, Antonio Matias.

It should be fun. Until then, goodnight.

Updates from level 22 of EPT Vilamoura, brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey and Howard Swains.

Blinds: 10,000-20,000 (2,000 ante)

8pm: Over
On the stroke of 8pm, this day is done. The short-stacked Claudio Coelho moved all in from the hijack seat - about 120,000 or so - and Jeff Sarwer re-raised from the small blind, convincing Antonio Matias to get out the way.

Sarwer was already ahead pre-flop with [ah][7h] against Coelho’s [ac][6h] but the flop sealed it emphatically. It came [kh][2h][4h] giving him the nut flush. Coelho is out in ninth and our final table is set.

A full chip count is imminent, but these are the players (in seat order):

Ryan Franklin, United States
Jan Skampa, Czech Republic
Jeff Sarwer, Canada
Antonio Matias, Portugal
Andrei Vlasenko, Russia
Joao Silva, Portugal
Michel Abecassis, France
Pierre Neuville, Belgium

7.55pm: Skampa-in about
Jeff Sarwer opened for 45,000. It’s called by Jan Skampa when the action reached him in the big blind. The flop comes [qh][tc][qc] which Skampa checks and Sarwer bet another 47,000. Skampa paused and then re-raised, 145,000 in total. Sarwer stared at Skampa, at his chips and then sat still. Both of them hardly moved. Sarwer passed. “Nice hand,” he said quietly .

7.50pm: Flush anyone?
Jan Skampa opened with a raise to 50,000 and was called by Jeff Sarwer and Pierre Neuville to see a [8d][7c][5c] flop. It was checked to Sarwer and he bet 104,000 only to be called by Neuville from the small blind. The turn came [jc] and this time Neuville check-called a 225,000 bet leaving himself only 209,000 behind. When the river came [5d] Neuville moved in for the last of his chips and Sarwer folded saying “Thanks for that, you obviously have a big hand.” Neuville flashed [9c] and raked in the big pot.

7.45pm: Silva golden
Joao Silva made it 50,000 from the button and Pierre Neuville called from the small blind for a flop of [6c][4c][2h]. Both checked for a [7d] on the turn. Now Neuville made it 60,000 which Silva called  for an [8c] on the river. Both checked that. Neuville turned over [as][qh] but Silva had him beaten with [ad][2d].

7.30pm: Silva survives
The first all-in didn’t take long. Joao Silva moved all-in with [ac][8s] for a little more than 300,000. Claudio Coelho called with [kh][ks]. Silva needed an ace to survive and got it on the flop: [jd][3s][as]. Coelho was out of his chair holding his head. The turn and river came [6d][9c] and Silva raised his arms in the air. Coelho looked devastated, refusing to shake Antonio Matias’s hand as an act of sympathy. Instead he’s left with 150,000.

Joao Silva

7.25pm: Chips
After a short delay to arrange the pseudo final table, here are the all important chip counts (in seat order):
1 - Claudio Coelho, Portugal, 448,000
2 - Ryan Franklin, United States, 1,219,000
3 - Jan Skampa, Czech Republic, 682,000
4 - Jeff Sarwer, Canada, 2,353,000
5 - Antonio Matias, Portugal, 2,986,000
6 - Andrei Vlasenko, Russia, 379,000
7 - Joao Silva, Portugal, 303,000
8 - Michel Abecassis, France, 544,000
9 - Pierre Neuville, Belgium, 705,000

7.05pm: Terrazas departs
Ryan Franklin opened for 48,000 and Santiago Terrazas re-raised another 97,000 more. Franklin then re-raised all-in and Terrazas called. He didn’t like what he saw. His [9s][9h] was out-gunned by Franklin’s [kh][kc]. The board ran: [3s][6d][7c][6h][qs]. No change for Terrazas who is eliminated in tenth place.

Santiago Terrazas

The remaining nine players are now gathering around the pseudo final table. One more to depart before we reach the final eight who will return tomorrow. Full chips of those nine are on their way.

7pm: This is poker
Action folded around to Jan Skampa who raised to 46,000 and was called Antonio Matias in the big blind. The flop was [5s][2d][qd]. Skampa continued his aggression with a 52,000 bet that Matias min-raised to 104,000. Skampa responded with another raise, up to 220,000 before Matias fought back again with what looked like another min raise. Skampa decided to bail and and folded only to be shown [td][js] by his opponent to cheers from his supporters on the rail.

Antonio Matias

6.55pm: Double-quick eliminations
Two players have just hit the rail in very quick succession. First up, Gino Gabriel raised from under-the-gun to 50,000 before Ryan Franklin moved all in for around 400,000 and Gabriel snap called all in with a similar sized stack. Franklin tabled [tc][td] and was in a very strong position against Gabriel’s [ad][th]. The board ran [2d][kd][5h][kh][jh] to eliminate the final British player in 12th place.

About two hands later, and on the same table, this happened:

Jeff Sarwer opened for 45,000 from the cut off and Tome Moreira raised 75,000 more from the button. Sarwer tanked for a while, Moreira standing up. Sarwer then turned to him and announced all in. Moreira stood, lifting his cards off the table to stare at them before calling. Sarwer immediately said: “Good call”. [as][th] for Moreira, [kc][9h] for Sarwer. Then the flop: [js][3h][9d]. Sarwer was now ahead, leaving Moreira in need of a ten or an ace. When the [3d] landed on the turn he gathered his things ready to leave. When the [ks] landed on the river he did just that, shaking hands with Sarwer to a round of applause.

“I’m surprised he had it in him,” said Sarwer. Remember the ace-jack fold? I was surprised.”

Moreira and Gabriel now find themselves on the prizewinners page, where you can see who has won what so far. The down-side is that they’re no longer on the chip-counts page, which is still the best place to find information of those remaining.

6.50pm: No takers
First hand back after the break and Andrei Vlasenko shoved, getting no takers. Second hand back from the break Vlasenko shoved again, still no takers. Joao Silva was trying the same on the other table and you guessed it, no takers.

6.45pm: All in action
The action started with an under-the-gun 48,000 raise from Ryan Franklin before Gino Gabriel three-bet to 170,000 and Santiago Terrazas moved all in. Franklin folded but Gabriel called with [js][jh]. Terrazas opened [ks][kc] and the board ran [ah][5h][3h][5c][3s] to more than double-up the Spanish player.

6.40pm: Hidden talents
With Jude Ainsworth’s elimination in the last level, Team PokerStars Pro took their leave of EPT Vilamoura. That gives them more time to work on their hidden talents, showcased in this video blog:

6.35pm: We’re back
Play has resumed in Vilamoura. Just 12 players remain and we play on until that figure is down to eight. Check out the latest scores on the now updated chip count page. Missing someone? You might find them here on the prize winners and payout page.

Pierre Neuville

Updates from level 21 of EPT Vilamoura, brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Blinds: 5,000-10,000 (1,000 ante)

6.15pm: Another break
That’s the end of another level. The remaining 12 players are taking a 15 minute break.

6.10pm: Skampa in no hurry
Claudio Coelho limped and Jan Skampa made up the small blind. Antonio Matias checked his option for a flop of [7h][5d][8h]. Skampa made it 42,000 before Matias folded. At this point Pierre Neuville stepped away from the table. “Dah, I missed my plane…” Neuville had been a short stack coming in today and was on the 7pm flight home. Not now. Coelho called for a [3h]. Skampa, a serious and clean looking young man, made it another 90,000. Coelho folded [6s][6c] face up.

6.05pm: Time to play back
Jeff Sarwer, as you would expect, if dominating his table with just over min bet raises that are getting through most of the time. At some point an opponent was bound to play back and that someone was Gino Gabriel. Sarwer did his usual 35,000 raise before Gabriel re-raised to 100,000 from the big blind. Sarwer called and they went to a [ad][ac][5s] flop where both players checked. When the turn came [9c] Gabriel moved all in for 425,000. Sarwer asked for a count, thought about it for a while then smiled and said “Nice hand” as he slid his cards in to the muck.

5.50pm: The Matias show continues
Jan Skampa raised to 42,000 in the cut off and Antonio Matias called on the button. The two of them saw a flop of [7s][4s][qd] and Skampa bet 66,000, which Matias called. The turn was [8c] and the procedure was repeated: Skampa bet 132,000 and Matias called. The river was [2s] and now Skampa slowed down. He checked, as did Matias, who tabled [ts][9s] for the rivered ten-high flush. Skampa mucked and Matias added even more to his huge stack.

5.42pm: Three-way all in
This crazy little pot started with Irish Team PokerStars Pro Jude Ainsworth raising to 38,000 from first position and he was called by Antonio Matias in the small blind and Michel Abecassis in the big blind. The flop came down [kc][th][9s] before Matias led out for 60,000 and was cold called by Abecassis before Ainsworth moved all in for 278,000. Matias looked like he was trying to figure out where he was in the hand and then announced a call. He soon knew where he was when Abecassis moved all in behind for a total of 428,000. It wasn’t much more to call now though and he did just that.

Ainsworth: [kh][kd]
Matias: [ks][jd]
Abecassis: [qh][jh]

The turn came [qc] to to help Matias hit his gutshot to catch up with Abecassis and the river came [3c] failing to pair the board. This means Ainsworth is eliminated in 13th place and the other two players chopped the pot.

5.35pm: Skampa skooling
Jan Skampa might have only the second biggest stack on table three, but he’s assumed the table captain’s mantle. He pushed Jude Ainsworth off a pot with a judicious re-raise pre-flop and he just took some chips from Claudio Coelho with ace high. Coehlo opened to 32,000, Skampa called in the small blind and the flop came [3d][7h][4d] which both players checked. The turn was [9c] and Skampa check-called Coehlo’s 32,000 bet. The river, [5h], was checked by both. Skampa’s [ah][8h] was better than Coehlo’s [kh][qc].

5.30pm: No Victory for Visser
One of two remaining Team PokerStars Pros Ruben Visser has been eliminated. He pushed his short stack in from early position with [qh][th] but ran into Jeff Sarwer’s [ad][ks] in the big blind. The board came [5s][7h][7d][7c][8d] offering no help for the young Dutch maestro who leaves to generous applause.

5.25pm: Long awaited elimination
Coelho is back in action, this time seeing off 102. Crippled by the hand against Jude Ainsworth, 102 shoved with [8s][8c] getting called by Coelho with [jh][th]. The board came: [tc][5d][7d][ks][2s] to bust him in 15th place.

5.20pm: Coelho the clown
Claudio Coelho limped under the gun and Jude Ainsworth and Pierre Neuville called from the blinds. The flop came [6c][qh][5d]. Ainsworth and Neuville checked before Coelho made it 33,000. Ainsworth folded but Neuville called for a [qd] on the turn. Neuville checked that and Coelho moved in a tower worth 75,000, grinning at Neuville. Neuville was having none of it though and re-raised Coelho, 200,000 total. Coelho stopped grinning and began rubbing his cards on the table while bouncing in his chair.

He began staring at Neuville again but the Belgian had a get-on-with-it expression. Then, after a minute of waiting, Neuville mimed playing a violin in faux sympathy for Coelho who folded his [7s][7d] face up. Neuville grinned, looked like he would show but instead mucked his cards, laughing and giving Coelho a pat on the back.

5.15pm: Lifelines
An open shove by Aurelien Guiglini in the small blind, called by Jude Ainsworth in the big. The Team PokerStars Pro was covered but only just. He showed [ad][jc] to Guiglini’s [td][ts]. Ainsworth got nothing from the flop but a jack on the turn. He did a quiet fist pump while Claudio Coelho waved goodbye to him. A blank river and Guiglini was left with less than 50,000. Ainsworth gets a lifeline.

5.10pm: Bad timing
The action folded around to Hugo Felix on the button who open shoved with his last 176,000. Ryan Franklin was in the next seat and asked for a count all the while looking as if he had a difficult decision to make. The count was done and he announced “call” to give us a show down when Gino Gabriel in the big blind folded. Felix tabled [jd][7c] against Franklin’s [as][ad]. Gabriel had evaded the trap. The board ran [2h][qd][4h][3c][td] busting Felix.

5.05pm: Matias still going strong
Pierre Neuville raised to 42,000 from early position and Antonio Matias was the only caller from the button. The flop came [js][3s][kc] and Neuville check-called Matias’s 60,000 bet. The turn was [2h] and they both checked. The river was [9s] and they both checked that too. Matias’ [ad][jd] was good.

5pm: New level
After the first level of the tournament during which no one was eliminated, 16 players return for the start of level 21. Their chips, as ever, are on the chip count page and you’ll doubtless notice a few short stacks there. The pressure is on Ruben Visser and Ryan Franklin, among others.

In much safer waters are Antonio Matias, Jeff Sarwer and this man, Jan Skampa:

Jan Skampa