A mere 49 hours from now, the 2010 Spring Championship of Online Poker will begin. On just the first day, PokerStars is guaranteeing nearly $7 million in prize money.

Across the globe, Red Bull sales have spiked. Snack food stores have been depleted such that Frito Lay has declared a state of emergency. No matter where you look over the next couple of weeks, you simply won't find bigger poker tournaments. It's going to be a hoot.

We here at the PokerStars Blog are all geared up and ready to go. We'll be recapping every final table (yes, there are 114 of them), so you can wake up in the morning and see who is wallowing around in life changing money.

So, get some rest over the next two nights, because it all begins Sunday. We'll see you there.

2010 Spring Championship of Online Poker

Sunday, 02 May 2010

13:00 ET
Event 01-L: $22 NL Hold'em [6-max], $250K guaranteed
Event 01-M: $215 NL Hold'em [6-max], $1M guaranteed
Event 01-H: $2,100 NL Hold'em [6-max], $1M guaranteed

17:00 ET
Event 02-L: $22 NL Hold'em, $500K guaranteed (2-day event)
Event 02-M: $215 NL Hold'em, $2M guaranteed (2-day event)
Event 02-H: $2,100 NL Hold'em, $2M guaranteed (2-day event)

Monday, 03 May 2010

14:00 ET
Event 03-L: $5.50 NL Hold'em [6-max, rebuys], $250K guaranteed
Event 03-M: $55 NL Hold'em [6-max, rebuys], $500K guaranteed
Event 03-H: $530 NL Hold'em [6-max, rebuys], $1M guaranteed

17:00 ET
Event 04-L: $16.50 FL Badugi, $25K guaranteed
Event 04-M: $162 FL Badugi, $50K guaranteed
Event 04-H: $1,575 FL Badugi, $75K guaranteed

20:00 ET
Event 05-L: $11 PL Omaha [turbo, 1R1A], $50K guaranteed
Event 05-M: $109 PL Omaha [turbo, 1R1A], $100K guaranteed
Event 05-H: $1,050 PL Omaha [turbo, 1R1A], $150K guaranteed

Tuesday, 04 May 2010

14:00 ET
Event 06-L: $11 PL 5-Card Draw, $25K guaranteed
Event 06-M: $109 PL 5-Card Draw, $50K guaranteed
Event 06-H: $1,050 PL 5-Card Draw, $75K guaranteed

17:00 ET
Event 07-L: $16.50 NL Hold'em [Heads-Up Match Play], $100K guaranteed
Event 07-M: $162 NL Hold'em [Heads-Up Match Play], $250K guaranteed
Event 07-H: $1,575 NL Hold'em [Heads-Up Match Play], $500K guaranteed

20:00 ET
Event 08-L: $11 NL Hold'em, $100K guaranteed
Event 08-M: $109 NL Hold'em, $200K guaranteed
Event 08-H: $1,050 NL Hold'em, $500K guaranteed

Wednesday, 05 May 2010

14:00 ET
Event 09-L: $22 Mixed Hold'em [6-max], $100K guaranteed
Event 09-M: $215 Mixed Hold'em [6-max], $200K guaranteed
Event 09-H: $2,100 Mixed Hold'em [6-max], $400K guaranteed

17:00 ET
Event 10-L: $33 7-Card Stud High, $25K guaranteed
Event 10-M: $320 7-Card Stud High, $50K guaranteed
Event 10-H: $3,150 7-Card Stud High, $100K guaranteed

Thursday, 06 May 2010

14:00 ET
Event 11-L: $22 PL Omaha [Heads-Up Match Play], $25K guaranteed
Event 11-M: $215 PL Omaha [Heads-Up Match Play], $100K guaranteed
Event 11-H: $2,100 PL Omaha [Heads-Up Match Play], $200K guaranteed

17:00 ET
Event 12-L: $16.50 NL Hold'em (Ante up), $100K guaranteed
Event 12-M: $162 NL Hold'em (Ante up), $200K guaranteed
Event 12-H: $1,575 NL Hold'em (Ante up), $300K guaranteed

Friday, 07 May 2010

14:00 ET
Event 13-L: $16.50 NL Hold'em [Ante Up!], $50K guaranteed
Event 13-M: $162 NL Hold'em [Ante Up!], $100K guaranteed
Event 13-H: $1,575 NL Hold'em [Ante Up!], $200K guaranteed

17:00 ET
Event 14-L: $55 FL Omaha Hi/Lo, $50K guaranteed
Event 14-M: $530 FL Omaha Hi/Lo, $150K guaranteed
Event 14-H: $5,200 FL Omaha Hi/Lo, $250K guaranteed

20:00 ET
Event 15-L: $16.50 NL Hold'em [2X Chance, turbo], $250K guaranteed
Event 15-M: $162 NL Hold'em [2X Chance, turbo], $500K guaranteed
Event 15-H: $1,575 NL Hold'em [2X Chance, turbo], $750K guaranteed

Saturday, 08 May 2010

14:00 ET
Event 16-L: $22 NL Hold'em - Quadruple Shootout [10-max], $150K guaranteed
Event 16-M: $215 NL Hold'em - Triple Shootout [10-max], $150K guaranteed
Event 16-H: $2,100 NL Hold'em - Double Shootout [10-max], $200K guaranteed

17:00 ET
Event 17-L: $16.50 PL Omaha - (6-max rebuys), $100K guaranteed
Event 17-M: $162 PL Omaha - (6-max rebuys), $250K guaranteed
Event 17-H: $1,575 PL Omaha - (6-max rebuys), $500K guaranteed

20:00 ET
Event 18-L: $22 FL Hold'em (turbo), $25K guaranteed
Event 18-M: $215 FL Hold'em (turbo), $100K guaranteed
Event 18-H: $2,100 FL Hold'em (turbo), $150K guaranteed

Sunday, 09 May 2010

13:00 ET
Event 19-L: $22 NL Hold'em [big antes], $250K guaranteed
Event 19-M: $215 NL Hold'em [big antes], $750K guaranteed
Event 19-H: $2,100 NL Hold'em [big antes], $750K guaranteed

17:00 ET
Event 20-L: $22 NL Hold'em, $500K guaranteed (2-day event)
Event 20-M: $215 NL Hold'em, $2M guaranteed (2-day event)
Event 20-H: $2,100 NL Hold'em, $2M guaranteed (2-day event)

Monday, 10 May 2010

14:00 ET
Event 21-L: $16.50 PL Hold'em / PL Omaha, $75K guaranteed
Event 21-M: $162 PL Hold'em / PL Omaha, $200K guaranteed
Event 21-H: $1,575 PL Hold'em / PL Omaha, $300K guaranteed

17:00 ET
Event 22-L: $33 NL Hold'em [4-max], $150K guaranteed
Event 22-M: $320 NL Hold'em [4-max], $300K guaranteed
Event 22-H: $3,150 NL Hold'em [4-max], $500K guaranteed

20:00 ET
Event 23-L: $11 NL Hold'em [turbo, rebuys], $150K guaranteed
Event 23-M: $109 NL Hold'em [turbo, rebuys], $300K guaranteed
Event 23-H: $1,050 NL Hold'em [turbo, rebuys], $500K guaranteed

Tuesday, 11 May 2010

14:00 ET
Event 24-L: $11 Triple Draw 2-7, $25K guaranteed
Event 24-M: $109 Triple Draw 2-7, $50K guaranteed
Event 24-H: $1,050 Triple Draw 2-7, $75K guaranteed

17:00 ET
Event 25-L: $22 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo, $50K guaranteed
Event 25-M: $215 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo, $100K guaranteed
Event 25-H: $2,100 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo, $150K guaranteed

20:00 ET
Event 26-L: $11 NL Hold'em, $100K guaranteed
Event 26-M: $109 NL Hold'em, $200K guaranteed
Event 26-H: $1,050 NL Hold'em, $500K guaranteed

Wednesday, 12 May 2010

14:00 ET
Event 27-L: $22 Razz, $50K guaranteed
Event 27-M: $215 Razz, $100K guaranteed
Event 27-H: $2,100 Razz, $150K guaranteed

17:00 ET
Event 28-L: $11 NL Hold'em (rebuys), $200K guaranteed
Event 28-M: $109 NL Hold'em (rebuys), $400K guaranteed
Event 28-H: $1,050 NL Hold'em (rebuys), $600K guaranteed

Thursday, 13 May 2010

14:00 ET
Event 29-L: $33 8-Game, $75K guaranteed
Event 29-M: $320 8-Game, $150K guaranteed
Event 29-H: $3,150 8-Game, $250K guaranteed

17:00 ET
Event 30-L: $11 PL Omaha Hi/Lo, $75K guaranteed
Event 30-M: $109 PL Omaha Hi/Lo, $150K guaranteed
Event 30-H: $1,050 PL Omaha Hi/Lo, $300K guaranteed

Friday, 14 May 2010

14:00 ET
Event 31-L: $22 NL Hold'em [1 rebuy, 1 add-on], $250K guaranteed
Event 31-M: $215 NL Hold'em [1 rebuy, 1 add-on], $500K guaranteed
Event 31-H: $2,100 NL Hold'em [1 rebuy, 1 add-on], $1M guaranteed

17:00 ET
Event 32-L: $55 FL Hold'em [6-max], $100K guaranteed
Event 32-M: $530 FL Hold'em [6-max], $200K guaranteed
Event 32-H: $5,200 FL Hold'em [6-max], $300K guaranteed

20:00 ET
Event 33-L: $22 NL Omaha Hi/Lo (turbo), $50K guaranteed
Event 33-M: $215 NL Omaha Hi/Lo (turbo), $100K guaranteed
Event 33-H: $2,100 NL Omaha Hi/Lo (turbo), $200K guaranteed

Saturday, 15 May 2010

14:00 ET
Event 34-L: $55 PL Omaha [6-max], $100K guaranteed
Event 34-M: $530 PL Omaha [6-max], $250K guaranteed
Event 34-H: $5,200 PL Omaha [6-max], $500K guaranteed

15:30 ET
Event 35-L: $270 NL Hold'em [Heads-Up Match Play], $250K guaranteed (2-day event)
Event 35-M: $2,600 NL Hold'em [Heads-Up Match Play], $500K guaranteed (2-day event)
Event 35-H: $25,500 NL Hold'em [Heads-Up Match Play], $750K guaranteed (2-day event)

17:00 ET
Event 36-L: $22 HORSE, $50K guaranteed
Event 36-M: $215 HORSE, $100K guaranteed
Event 36-H: $2,100 HORSE, $150K guaranteed

Sunday, 16 May 2010

13:00 ET
Event 37-L: $22 NL Hold'em, $200K guaranteed
Event 37-M: $215 NL Hold'em, $750K guaranteed
Event 37-H: $2,100 NL Hold'em, $750K guaranteed

17:00 ET
Event 38-L: $109 NLHE Main Event - L, $1M guaranteed (2-day event)
Event 38-M: $1,050 NLHE Main Event - M, $3M guaranteed (2-day event)
Event 38-H: $10,300 NLHE Main Event - H, $5M guaranteed, $1M guaranteed to 1st, (2-day event)

TOTAL GUARANTEED PRIZE POOL: $45,000,000

8.15pm: Two double-ups in two minutes
Sorel Mizzi and Paul Bernende both doubled-up with two minutes of each other on different tables.

Firstly Mizzi got it all with big slick versus the pocket tens of Javier Garcia. A king appeared on the flop and Mizzi's up to 280,000. Garcia down to 300,000.

Then on the other table a flop was out as [jh][9s][qh] before all the chips went in between Berende and Oliver Busquet. Berende tabled [9h][9d] for middle set to Busquet's [kh][ts] for a flopped straight. The Dutchman looked resigned to his fate but the turn came a magic [qs] to give a full house. He's up to 640,000 now. Busquet is down to 450,000. --MC

8pm: Golser out-drawn and out
Luke Schwartz has eliminated Markus Golser to move to 450,000. He raised and then moved all-in when Golser three-bet. Golser had got his chips in good with [as][kd] to Schwartz's [as][js]. The board came [7c][qc][6h][kh][td] to make a straight for the Brit.

When the turn came Schwartz said "Ooh, more outs now" and when one of those outs came he shouted "YES. You lot are f####d now". He then shook Golser's hand and added "Unlucky." --MC

7.55pm: Schwartz knocks out Golser
Full details coming.

7.55pm: Bari talking nonsense
Allen Bari is getting talkative. It must be something to do with his growing chip stack and the approach of the money spots. He raised from early position and was called by Michael Friedrich in the big blind. When Friedrich check-raised Bari's 21,000 bet on the [3c][3s][2c] board Bari folded claiming to have Kings. 'You never bluff, right?' he questioned. 'I had kings.' Sure you did, Allen, sure you did.

The next hand Bari raised under the gun to 18,000 and was called by Javier Garcia in the hijack. Bari check-called 23,000 on the [3d][9h][7h] board before check-folding the [2c] turn. This time he showed ace-king. -- RD

7.50pm: The last Team Pro falls
Chad Brown, the last Team PokerStars Pro, has been eliminated by the big stacked Oliver Busquets. Busquets raised to 20,000 and then called Brown's 75,000 all-in push. Brown tabled [qs][td] to Busquets [ac][jd] and the board ran [kd][2s][ad][3s][6c]. Brown flopped a gutshot draw that he to but failed to hit. Busquet up to 830,000. We're down to 13 players now. --MC

7.40pm: Suck out by Saout
Mikael Azoulay has been eliminated by Antoine Saout. They got it all-in pre-flop with Saout behind with [7s][7h] to Azoulay's [8h][8s] and the board ran [kh][2d][9h][7d][ad]. Saout got lucky and hit his set on the turn. We say goodbye to the very entertaining Azoulay. Saout up to 450,000. --MC

7.30pm: Play resumes
Most of the players are back in there seats. Play is underway regardless. --MC

6.15pm: Chips and seat draw
There are fifteen players currently preparing for their final push towards the money and the final table. Eight places are paying out with the first pay out giving our high rollers €85,000. The winner stands to pick up an incredible €1,000,000. None of that will be decided tonight though. No, but the bubble will and one player will have to feel the agony and heartache of coming so close but yet so far. Here are the draws for the final levels of the day and the chips as they stand.

Table 1
1 - Dori Yacoub - 1,050,000
2 - Javier Garcia - 443,000
3 - Antoine Saout - 388,000
4 - Tom Marchese - 372,000
5 - Michael Friedrich - 466,000
6 - Sorel Mizzi - 151,000
7 - Allen Bari - 649,000
8 - Mikael Azoulay - 64,000

Table 2
1 - Chad Brown, Team PokerStars Pro - 95,000
2 - Matt Marafioti - 137,000
3 - Tobias Reinkemeier - 362,000
4 - Markus Golser - 151,000
5 - Paul Berende - 356,000
6 - Olivier Busquet - 762,000
7 - Luke Schwartz - 199,000

5.55pm: DINNER BREAK
Players are on a 90 minute dinner break now. Updated chip counts and two table seat draw on the way. --MC

5.50pm: Min-raise river bluff gone wrong
Ronny Kaiser is out after min-raise bluffing on the river. He Oliver Busquet and Chad Brown all saw a [6h][kd][7c] flop where Kaiser led out for 22,000. Only Busquet called to see the [ad] turn. Kaiser check-called a 45,500 bet from Busquet and they went to the [td] river. Kaiser checked again and this time Busquet bet 120,000. Kaiser only had twice as much as that left and moved it all-in. Busquet called and Kaiser said "You got it" and held his cards out facedown ready to muck.

Kaiser tabled [5d][6d] for a flush and Kaiser mucked and said "So sick". Busquet into second place on 690,000. --MC

Brave move from Ronny Kaiser

5.45pm: ElkY out as he runs into the nuts
Dori Yacoub is on fire and has just knocked out Team PokerStars Pro Elky with the rivered nuts. ElkY had bet 70,000 - around half of his stack - on the river of a [3h][8h][5c][kc][9c] board when Dori Yacoub moved all-in. ElkY did not look happy with the news and seeing so many chips out there felt he had to make the call. Yacoub showed [ac][7c] for the backdoor nut flush and stretched his chip lead to around 950,000.

As Yacoub raked in the pot Matt Marafioti said, 'I think we're playing with Eli Elezra's cousin here.' -- RD

Dori Yacoub is close to one million chips

5.35pm: Stretching his lead
Dori Yacoub has extended his lead even further by moving onto 675,000. EklY raised to 13,000 and was called by Tom Marchese in the cut-off and the man himself on the button. The flop came [4h][6s][5d] and ElkY's 18,000 c-bet was only called by Yacoub. Heads-up to the [3s] turn and ElkY check-called a 22,000 bet before both checked the [5c] river. Yacoub tabled [ac][5s] and took the pot as ElkY mucked. --MC

5.30pm: More aces bad news for Lyndaker
Javier Garcia has gone on a bit of a tear and is up over 400,000 now. A large chunk of his chips just came from Richard Lyndaker who is out in 18th. Lyndaker's three-bet shove came at just the wrong time. -- RD

5.20pm: Berende all-in with aces
Paul Berende would have been out of this tournament at least twice last night if he hadn't been saved by river cards, now he's not far behidn the chip leaders with 380,000. Ronny Kaiser opened to 13,000 from the cut-off with [5d][5h] and Berende naturally three-bet from the button with [ad][as] to 26,500. Kaiser moved all-in and Berende obviously called. An ace on the [kc][ah][7s] flop left Kaiser drawing super thin. Kaiser is still fairly well stacked.

We have 18 players left. Check the chip counts by clicking here. -- RD

5.10pm: Salamzy busts
Najibullah Salamzy has been eliminated by Ronny Kaiser. Kaiser opened to 13,500 and then called Salamzy's 39,500 push from the small blind. Salamzy was ahead with his [qs][ts] to Kaiser's [9c][7c] but failed to stay there through the [7d][6d][5d][kd][6s] board. We're down to 18 players now. --MC

5.00pm: Blinds up and nowhere to hide
There are 19 players left and with only eight getting paid there really is little point in blinding yourself out at this point. Alex Kravchenko was one of the players that had to double or die and unfortunately for the Team PokerStars Pro it was the latter. Bubble dynamics will no doubt kick in before too long but we still have a few more players to lose first. -- RD

Alex Kravchenko was one of our most recent fallers

PokerStars Blog reporting team on the €25k High Roller in Monte Carlo (in order of coffees drunk today): Rick Dacey (5) and Marc Convey (3)

That was the last hand of the level. Over to the new post for level 16.

4.48pm: Rub your eyes
Matt Woodward is down to 35,000 after folded a full-house on the river to ElkY. The board read [2h][jh][jc][qs][kc] and Woodward led out for 65,000 leaving himself just 35,000 behind. ElkY then put him all-in. The auto-call didn't come like you'd expect instead Woodward thought for a while and open folded [2s][2c] for a full-house. ElkY flashed the case two and raked in the pot. "Oh you had jack-deuce" said Woodward.

Other players at the table could not believe what they were seeing and questioned Woodward on his play.

The 35,000 he had left didn't fair him too well and he was out shortly after. --MC

So long Matt Woodward

4.35pm: New chip leader
Dori Yacoub started today with less than 60,000 but after doubling-up through Matt Woodward he now sits on 630,000 chips. Yacoub opened to 11,500 and then called Woodward's three-bet to 27,500. Both checked the [jc][3d]kd] flop to go to the [9c] turn. Yacoub checked again and when Woodward bet 37,000 he snap-raised to 100,000. Woodward went into the tank and Yacoub said to him "I'll show if you fold".

Woodward then moved all-in and Yacoub quickly called-off his last 289,000 with [ah][ad]. Woodward winced and tabled [jc][jc]. The river came [2c] and Woodward handed over the extra chips. He's down to 150,000 now. --MC

4.20pm: Busquet set
In a three-way pot on the [qd][7d][jh][8c] board Markus Golsa bets 35,000 into Luke Schwartz, who has checked out of the blinds, and Olivier Busquet on the button. Busquet called, Schwartz did not. The river completed an unlikely straight but little else. Golsa fired out a 70,000 bet into the American who slowly made a min-raise to 140,000. Golsa called and was shown a flopped set with [7h][7s]. -- RD

4.15pm: Brown races back into contention
Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown has put a stop to the recent glut of Team Pros going out in showdowns. Ronny Kaiser opened the pot with a raise to 11,500 and was called by Oliver Busquet and Luke Schwartz before Brown moved all-in for 71,000. Kaiser and Busquet folded but Schwartz said "I guess I got to call and hope we're racing" and called.

There were indeed racing as Brown tabled [ac][th] to the Brit's [5d][5c] and the board ran [ad][8s][2h][ts][4s]. Brown hitting two-pair to go to 170,000, the same now as Schwartz. --MC

4.05pm: Saout shoves
Sorel Mizzi raised under the gun to 12,000 and was called in two spots before Antoine Saout moved all-in from the small blind for 235,000. Mizzi passed and Mikael Azoulay started stacking his chips as if to call before knocking a tower of reds down by mistake. This seemed to break his trance and he instantly mucked his hand. -- RD

3.50pm: Play resumes
Players are back in their seats for level 15. Below is a picture of current chip leader Michael Friedrich.

3.35pm: Colour-up
Players are on a quick break while the black 100 denomination chips are coloured up.

3.30pm: 'I hate this game'
Players are busting out at such a rate we finding it difficult to keep up. News has just reached us that the latest casualty is Team PokerStars Pro Leo Fernandez. He got it in good with [ah][ks] against Michael Friedrich's [ac][qd] but the board ran [3d][qc][3s][qh][6d]. Friedrich has now leapfrogged Sorell Mizzi to claim the lead with 571,800. --MC

3.25pm:The tightest man in the tournament
If you're one for statistics I've got a good one for you. The statistically tightest player in today's field has been Gus Hansen. I bet you never thought you'd ever read that fact. There is unfortunately a very good explanation for it; he was a no-show and now he's out. It took exactly 2hrs 26mins and 20secs for Hansen's 62,200 to be blinded away and he was eventually all-in from the small blind. --MC

3.20pm: Mizzi crushed by the nut flush - and still wins
You want to know the secret of winning poker? It's play good, run good. Dren Ukella moved all-in under the gun and was snapped off by Sorel Mizzi in the big blind. Ukella, who made the final table at the 2008 EPT Barcelona, tabled [ad][kd] and Mizzi [qs][qc].

Flop: [4d][td][8d]

The flopped nuts for Ukella created a huge explosion of laughter before the oooo's and ahhh's of a paired eight with the [8d] on the turn. And the river? It's the [8c] cue another painful amount of laughter as the big German stomped away from the table with his hands around his head. -- RD

Sorel Mizzi: playing good, running better

3.10pm:Thorson flushed out
Team PokerStars Pro William Thoson has been eliminated the harshest of circumstances. Allen Bari raised to 8,000 and was called by Tom Marchese before Thorson moved all-in for 75,000. Bari folded bur Marchese called. Showdown:

Marchese: [9h][9c]
Thorson: [9c][9h]

The board ran [kh][jh][3h][2s][ah]. Thorson hit a set on the river but it also made a flush for Marchese to scoop the pot. He's up to 420,000 and takes over the chip lead from Sorel Mizzi.

Another Team Pro Rino Mathis is out as well. He never recovered from being so short and was eliminated by Allen Bari. It also seems another dangerous player has bit the dust. The short-stacked Yevgeniyy Timoshenko is no longer in his seat and is presumed out. --MC

The unlucky Team PokerStars Pro William Thorson

3pm: Marafioti doubles
Matt Marafioti has doubled-up to 185,000 with pocket kings. Peter Jetten opened the pot with a 10,000 raise from early position before Marafioto three-bet to 24,100 from the next seat. The action folded back around to Jetten who slid a big stack of chips over the line. It was enough to cover Marafioti and he double checked his cards before calling all-in. Jetten tabled pocket jacks and he failed to find the two-outer need. He's now short on 27,000. --MC

2.50pm: Azoulay causing mirth and merriment
Mikael Azoulay is having a great time in this High Roller event. Yesterday he busted Dario Minieri in a flush versus top set set-up and was chip leader for a while. Today he's banging around in pots limping into pots and moving all-in post-flop. It's making Timoshenko giggle but to be fair to Azoulay it is taking away a lot of the pro's post flop abilities... at the moment.

News just in: David Paredes has busted to Michael Friedrich. Friedrich had raised William Thorson's initial raise before Paredes moved all-in over the top with pocket eights. Thorson moved out the way and Friedrich called with aces. -- RD

2.40Pm: Rino's river bet
Team PokerStars Pro Rino Mathis is down to 49,000 after bluffing off some chips to Richard Lyndaker. Mathis opened from the hijack and was called by Mathis is the cut-off to go to a [8s][td][7c] flop. Mathis made a c-bet of 16,500 and was called before both players checked the [3c] river. The river came [3c] and Mathis led for 27,200 and was called. "Good call" said the Swiss and tabled [ac][5c] for ace-high.

Lyndaker tabled [qh][th] for the pot. He's up to 204,000 now. --MC

2.30pm: Sorel Mizzi is king of the chips
Canadian MTT pro Sorel Mizzi has built up a large 385,000 stack to take the chip lead here in the High Roller event with 31 players left. Blinds are going up to 2,000-4,000, ante 400 so we can expect some more double up or busts soon. Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown is sat on 65,000 and Yevgeniy Timoshenko has 66,000. Of course there is also Gus Hansen who is still yet to arrive. The Dane has dwindled to 22,000. -- RD

Chad Brown has 16 big blinds coming back from the break

PokerStars Blog reporting team on the €25k High Roller in Monte Carlo (in order of surprise at Gus Hansen's no show): Marc Convey (none) and Rick Dacey (some)

6.10pm: Aleh Plauski eliminated in sixth place
It seems like a lifetime since the last elimination but Aleh Plauski is out. He shoved for 680,000 with [kh][tc] and was called by Nicolas Chouity with [ac][qd]. No drama on the board this time: [2s][5c][7s][9c][qc]. Herve "three-hands to the good" Costa moves up another spot on the payouts. -- SB

6.05pm: Klinger Kerching
Josef Klinger opened for 275,000 which was called by Nicolas Chouity. On the flop of [th][5h][3c] Klinger checked to Chouity who bet 375,000. Klinger then moved all in for 2,360,000 and Chouity asked for a count. "I have to call this," said Chouity, and did so, showing [kh][jh]. But Klinger was in better shape with [ah][4h].

The turn came [jc]. Suddenly Chouity was in the lead and on the verge of eliminating the Austrian, celebrating with friends on the rail. But the hand wasn't finished yet. The [ac] on the river saved Klinger, again, and he's back in the game. - SB

5.55pm: Chips
There's precious little action here. Really very little. Dominykas Karmazinas moved all in and everyone folded. That's about it.

The principal reason for this sloth is the very big payout jumps and the fact that no one has many chips. Here's the current counts:

Nicolas Chouity - 15,655,000
Josef Klinger - 2,655,000
Andrew Chen - 2,605,000
Herve Costa - 1,900,000
Dominykas Karmazinas - 1,745,000
Aleh Plauski - 920,000

5.45pm: Pulling teeth
Aleh Plauski moved his short stack of about one million in pre-flop and picked up no takers. Herve Costa moved his short stack of about 1.5 million in pre-flop and picked up no takers. This is like a poker tournament in slo-mo. -- HS

5.35pm: Klinger M*A*S*H*-es Plauski
Josef Klinger moved all-in. Aleh Plauski called showing [td][th] and Klinger winced as he turned over [9s][ts]. It looked to be the end for Klinger, who has been playing pots trying to build some kind of fighting stack to take on Chouity. But no, the flop changed that: [ah][9c][9s].

Josef Klinger: back in the game

Klinger's arms seemed to fly up involuntary as Plauski was left looking for serious help. The [6d] turn and [qs] river didn't bring that. Klinger doubles up to 2.2 million. Plauski takes his next turn as the short stack with 1,000,000. - SB

5.25pm: Chouity's charge
The chip leader Nicolas Chouity has just won back-to-back hands. First, he three-bet Josef Klinger's opening under-the-gun raise, which was good, and then he opened himself from early position and that too got through. Anyone clashing with Chouity is playing for their whole stack - and doesn't he know it. It should really a case of when rather than if he gets heads up.

Herve Costa moved all in again, by the way. Everyone folded. That's three for three for Costa. -- HS

5.20pm: Costa in a second time
Herve Costa has somehow managed to defy odds/ physics/ and the laws of nature to doubling up for a second time. Unbeaten in the hands he's played today Costa moved in for the second time after Josef Klinger had bet 275,000. Costa's shove - just the second hand he's played today - was for 860,000. Klinger knew he had to call but didn't like it and turned over [qs][js] for a race against Costa's [7s][qh].

The flop gave Klinger outs: [9c][ac][kh]. A queen, jack or ten would send Costa to the rail but the Frenchman was not done. A [7s] on the turn sent the French crowd into rapturous applause. A [qh] on the river was irrelevant. Stand by for a few more ours of Costa, he's back, and up to 1.9 million. Klinger down to 1.5 million. -- SB

5.05pm: Blinds up
We're into the new level, level 30, with blinds at 60,000-120,000 with a 10,000 ante.

5.03pm: Stand off
It's gone tense again with a few cagey raise and take hands. It almost gets fired up again when Josef Klinger and Nicolas Chouity limped before Aleh Plauski moved all-in. Fold fold. -- SB

4.50pm: Roger Hairabedian out in seventh, winning €200,000
And Roger Hairabedian's long grind is over. Nicolas Chouity raised to 230,000 and Hairabedian, with only three big blinds - one of them in the middle already - moved all in for a whopping 80,000 more. Chouity called.

Choity: [ac][3d]
Hairabedian: [js][3s]

The Frenchman was drawing very thin, and it got even thinner on a flop of [ah][as][5d]. He picked up some outs when the [qs] turned, but the [qh] river finished it. That was that. Hairabedian is out in seventh for €200,000. - HS

4.45pm: Allez Aleh Plauski
Aleh Plauski moves all-in with [kc][qd]. Nicolas Chouity called with [as][5d] and Roger Hairbedian's pulse rate went up.

They waited for the board which came [jd][js][5h][7d][qh]. The river saved Plauski and cost Hairabedian about a hundred grand. - SB

4.40pm: Counts
After than long break, here's what they are playing.

Nicolas Chouity, 15,060,000
Dominykas Karmazinas, 3,220,000
Andrew Chen, 2,650,000
Josef Klinger, 2,140,000
Herve Costa, 1,480,000
Aleh Plauski, 590,000
Roger Hairabedian, 350,000

Since then, Andrew Chen won a small pot and the short stacks folded. -- HS

4.35pm: Welcome back
We're off again.

4pm: Er...
...we're still waiting for a resumption. It'll be in about 30 minutes apparently. Let's pretend all this never happened. -- HS

3.45pm: Sorry about this...
We're still experiencing "technical difficulties" which means play is suspended. You're not missing anything. -- HS

3.15pm: The Costa crash
Herve Costa just moved in. So stunned by this - it being the first hand Costa has played all day - the EPT Live broadcast went down, effectively giving Costa more power than the millennium bug. The rest of the hand was played out in the dark.

Costa's shove was for 600,000 with ace-queen, called by Aleh Plauski with ace-ten. The board, as described by Thomas Kremser, came [5][6][5][2][j]. The cheers from the sadistic French crowd said it all - Costa had doubled up to 1.3 million and should now last beyond 5pm.

Herve Costa: Broke the internet

We're on an unscheduled break now as cables are checked and bills are paid. - SB

3.10pm: Costa moves all in, breaks internet
Herve Costa moved all in for his last 600,000. Really. I saw it with my own eyes. But at that precise moment, the feed broadcasting the final table action across the internet - and to the press room in Monte Carlo - broke down. I'm not kidding. We're (well, someone) is fixing the problem at the moment and a satellite drone has just gone down to the tournament floor to find out what the eff is going on. Stand by. --HS

2.50pm: Poker analysis
Let's not beat around the bush: this is a bit anticlimactic so far. The reason is that Herve Costa and Roger Hairabedian are simply folding every hand, waiting for the other to go out, which will earn the man who remains an additional €100,000.

Roger Hairabedian: What can I do?

Furthermore, the likes of Aleh Plauski, Josef Klinger and Andrew Chen don't want to get involved unnecessarily against the chip leader Nicolas Chouity, because they can go broke very easily too, allowing Costa and Hairabedian to eke even further up the ladder. Klinger recently raised pre-flop, Chouity three bet him, and Klinger had to fold.

Only Dominykas Karmazinas and Chouity have the luxury of being able to see a flop at the moment. That is until those two shorties hit the rail, then this should open up a bit. At which point I'll duck out of poker analysis; it's not really my bag. -- HS

2.44pm: Dominykas karma?
Dominykas Karmazinas just doubled up through chip leader Nicolas Chouity. Chouity had opened before Karmazinas shoved for 1,930,000. Chouity thought about it as Karmazinas talked and talked. Chouity called showing [ah][jc]. Karmazinas banged the table showing [ad][kc]. The board ran [2d][3c][qh][3s][5h]. More than 4 million now for Karmazinas. Chouity still has 13 million. - SB

Dominykas Karmazinas

2.40pm: Shoving and not shoving
Aleh Plauski, with 1,400,000, moved all in pre-flop. He got it through. Meanwhile a word on the other short stacks: you might not have read much about Herve Costa today. For good reason. He is at the table but hasn't played a single hand. Not one. Roger Hairabedian, also waiting for aces, now has about seven big blinds. Don't forget, there's a €100,000 money jump for every spot from here to fourth, so this probably makes economical sense. But boy, it doesn't make for much to look at. -- HS

Roger Hairabedian: Folding, good

2.30pm: Klinger on the end
After a delayed re-start three players saw a flop of [ks][7s][4s]. Aleh Plauski checked, as did Dominykas Karmazinas. Josef Klinger then bet 200,000 which only Plauski called for a [4d] turn. Both checked that for a [6h] on the river. Plauski checked but Klinger bet, 400,000 which gave Plauski something to think about. He passed. Klinger up to 2.5 million. - SB

2.10pm: The magnificent seven return
After the last-gasp elimination of Mesbah Guerfi, we are down to seven in Monte Carlo. Arguably, Guerfi has paid the price for actually playing some hands here - it's not been a policy that many players have adopted. That has meant that they've managed to move on up the payout page without contributing much to this as a spectacle. We're hoping for better from here on.

The latest counts are on the chip count page. Nicolas Chouity leads by so far it's not even funny. He has more than 12 million more than his closest challenger. -- HS

Final table action in Monte Carlo

1.55pm: Mesbah Guerfi eliminated in eight place
Mesbah Guerfi began today second in chips but has just become the first to depart. On a flop of [8c][3s][4s] both he and Nicolas Chouity checked for a [4d] turn. Guerfi then bet 310,000 which Chouity called for a [kd] river card. Guerfi then bet big, 785,000. Chouity then announced all-in and he had good reason.

His pocket eights had made him a full house on the river. Guerfi didn't know this and called with ace-king. It was a hand to send him crashing out, while it leaves Chouity with 14.8 million, more than 12 million ahead of Andrew Chen in second place. - SB

1.45pm: Guerfi fights back against Klinger
I guess this is how to deal with Josef Klinger. The Austrian raised again pre-flop and Mesbah Guerfi moved all in from the button, for 2,330,000, which covered even the increased Klinger stack.

Klinger didn't fold instantly - and he hasn't been the kind of player who would stall unnecessarily. But eventually he let it go, temporarily halting his upward surge. -- HS

1.38pm: Three-bet
Andrew Chen tests the water by opening for 185,000. Dominykas Karmazinas announces "raise", making it 420,000 to go. Chen waited for the action to get back to him and passed his cards. -- SB

1.30pm: Klinger continues climb
Again Josef Klinger opened, making it the standard 180,000 from early position. Aleh Plauski asked him for a count of his chips - "About one point nine" - and the two of them went to a flop of [8c][9c][jc]. Plauski checked, Klinger bet 200,000, Plauski called, and that took them to a [5c] turn. Plauski checked, Klinger checked, and the [ah] rivered. Plauski checked for a third time and Klinger now moved in 300,000. Plauski folded.

Klinger has been rewarded for his active approach this afternoon and has all but doubled his starting stack. He now has 2,345,000. -- HS

1.24pm: Chouity all-in
Aleh Plauski opened for 220,000 which Mesbah Guerfi raised to 640,000. Nicolas Chouity then used his chip might to move all-in for more than 9.5 million. Plauski passed and Guerfi looked uncomfortable for a bit. It didn't want to call for his stack though and folded. - SB

1.20pm: Chouity all-in
Aleh Plauski opened for 220,000 which Mesbah Guerfi raised to 640,000. Nicolas Chouity then used his chip might to move all-in for more than 9.5 million. Plauski passed and Guerfi looked uncomfortable for a bit. It didn't want to call for his stack though and folded. - SB

1.15pm: It's not a thriller
Josef Klinger limped from the small blind and Mesbah Guerfi checked his big blind. The flop was a full 24 hours in Dolly Parton's world: [9d][5h][9c]. Klinger checked, Guerfi bet, Klinger folded. Yes, that made the cut, which gives you an idea of the style of play so far. -- HS.

1.05pm: Klinger klings to active line
On the outer table yesterday, Josef Klinger was one of the more active players, not afraid to raise pre-flop, nor to call three bets and go to a flop. The same has been true this afternoon and he has raised three pots in succession - winning all of them without contest. -- HS

1pm: Guerfi folds
Josef Klinger opens for 185,000 and is called by Mesbah Guerfi for a flop of [8h][8d][9d]. Klinger then made it 250,000 which Guerfi called for a [9s] turn. Now Klinger moved all-in. Despite earlier interest Guerfi folded. -- SB

12.55pm: First flop
Our first flop of the afternoon appeared after Aleh Plauski raised and Nicolas Chouity called from the big blind. This was the second shortest stack versus chip leader. The flop came [5s][7s][10h] and after Chouity checked, Plauski bet 325,000 - and Chouity let it go. That's a nice little pot for Plauski. -- HS

12.47pm: Second pot
Chen raises and takes the second and third hands of the day. -- SB

12.46pm: First pot
Chouity opens the first pot with a bet of 140,000 which is folded all round. - SB

12.45pm: Off we go
You might not believe it, but it's true. We're playing. Apologies to my online Scrabble opponent - that game is over. It's poker now. -- HS

12.30pm: A start is imminent
Yeah, we'll be off in a few minutes. -- HS

12.20pm: Waiting, waiting, waiting
The final table has not yet started. We're still waiting for microphones to be attached. Here's a money-making suggestion for anyone with enough knowledge: how to attach a television microphone to eight people in less than an hour. You'd make millions if you could nail that. -- HS

11.30am: Grand final day
Welcome back to Monte Carlo for the final table of the European Poker Tour Grand Final.

This is almost the last day of the last event of the sixth EPT season (were it not for the small matter of the high roller final table tomorrow). This is the last mouthful of a slap up meal served up in 13 courses. From the hors d'oeurves served up in Kyiv to the fish course at the PCA. We're now on Monte Carlo dessert where we're guaranteed sparkles on top.

Only eight players are here to enjoy it, led by Nicolas Chouity from Lebanon, who brings 10,280,000 to the final, a full six million ahead of the next guys. Those next guys are the newcomer Mesbah Guerfi alongside Andrew Chen, who is taking part in his second EPT final table.

The featured table yesterday, the final table today

We have everything you need for the armchair poker experience, including player profiles, which provide you with background to the cast. Click through for the starting chip counts, which will become updated chip counts once we start, and the results so far, all the way back to 128th place.

As for here we'll have detailed action from start to finish while you can watch for yourself on EPTLive.

Players are undergoing the pre-flight checks and we should be under way shortly. By the end of today we'll have a new EPT Grand Final Champion.

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Monte Carlo (in order of previous Grand Finals witnessed): Stephen Bartley (4), Howard Swains (3), Simon Young (2).

2.15pm: G-man out
Tony G never recovered and is out to the same man that crippled him. He moved in with ace-five and was called by Dori Yacoub with ace-ten. Two tens on the flop and that was that. --MC

Tony G in happier times yesterday

2.10pm: Downward spiral
Tobias Reinkemeier hasn't had the best of starts today. He's lost lot's of pots without show down and he's just lost another pot to Olivier Busquet to drop down to 260,000. The German opened with a raise from the button and was called by Busquet to see the [3c][as][qc] flop. Both checked before Busquet led out for 10,000 on the [9d] turn. Call. Both players went back to checking on the [9h] river and Busquet took the pot with [ad][3h] as Reinkemeier. Busquet on 265,000 now. -MC

2pm: Brown does well not to value cut himself
Chad Brown called a 7,600 raise in the big blind from a William Thorson cut-off open raise. Both players checked down to the [9s][5d][4s][ks][ah] river where Thorson bet 14,000. Brown didn't consider raising for that long before calling.

Thorson: [ad][qd]
Brown: [ac][jh]

Thorson takes the pot with his kicker shortly before their table was broken. We now have five tables left. -- RD

1.50pm: Bari willing visitor of Value Town
After Allen Bari check called the 33,000 bet from Tom Marchese on a [2h][qh][6s][ad] turn his fist tapping check on the [7d] river may as well have spelt out in Morse code, 'Don't bluff STOP I will call STOP.' Marchese bet 48,200 and Bari made the call. Marchese showed his top pair [ah][9h] and Bari mucked his hand. Bari is down to 230,000 as Marchese stomps up to 360,000. -- RD

1.40pm: Tony G crippled
Tong G is down to 32,000 after his opponent hit a two-outer on the river to stay alive. All the chips went in on the [5h][5d][2d] flop with Tony G holding [5c][6s] for trips. His opponent was Dori Yacoub and he was drawing thin with [tc][th]. The turn blanked but the river came [tc] to save the man from Lebanon. He's up to 190,000 now. -MC

1.30pm: Hansen the true high roller
Gus Hansen has to be considered the true high roller in this event for one reason. He hasn't even bothered to turn to finish playing his 62,200 starting stack. The Dane has already blinded down to around 35,000 in the €25,000 event as the action gets increasingly short-handed. Phone calls have been made but Hansen is still nowhere to be seen.

Apparently he's on his way but it will have to be an incredible comeback if he makes it all the way back from here. -- RD

Gus Hansen's chips

1.20pm: 'I could beat the five'
A fascinating pot just played out between ElkY and Ronny Kaiser. Daniel Negreanu found out yesterday what a pain the young Swiss star can be when sat to your left. ElkY has that little something different about him though that no-one else in the poker world possesses. It's not tangible and would be hard to describe. It's just ElkY.

ElkY opened the pot with a rise to 5,500 before Kaiser does what he does, a three-bet to 12,900. ElkY then four-bet to 27,7000 before Kaiser five-bet to 60,400. ElkY was going nowhere and made the call to go to the [jh][as][5h] flop. Surprisingly both players checked though to the [7h] turn where ElkY led for a small 33,300. Call. The river came [jd] and ElkY upped the pressure with a 88,800 bet. Kaiser sat in the tank for a few minutes and then slid his cards over the line in a fold. ElkY raked in the pot but before that he showed [9c]. ElkY up to 315,000, Kaiser down to 110,000. "I could beat the five".
said Kaiser and let out a broad smile. --MC

ElkY staring down Kaiser

1.15pm: BLINDS UP: 1,500-3,000(ante 3,000)

1pm: Timoshenko all-in
Yevgeniyy Timoshenko shoved from the button for a little over 20,000 and was called in the big blind by Mikael Azoulay in the big blind who was having a lot of fun keeping Timoshenko waiting to see what he had.

Timoshenko:[qh][tc]
Azoulay: [kc][8c]

Timoshenko flopped top pair on the [qs][6s][9s] flop and no king or runner-runner appeared for Azoulay. Timoshenko is still short but has been granted a lifeline. -- RD

12.50pm: ElkY wins even when he loses
ElkY was playing out of the blinds against Tobias Reinkemeier when he check-called 11,000 on a [5s][kd][7c] flop and 13,500 on a [js] turn. When the [ah] appeared on the river neither player wanted to show their hand with ElkY almost mucking his hand before Reinkemeier, who was due to show his hand first, tossed his cards to the dealer.

At the same table William Thorson doubled through Reinkemeier and then Olivier Busquet did likewise to Thorson. Chips are moving fast and free at table 6. -- RD

12.35pm: Three go at the same time
Three players were eliminated at virtually the same time and they were Andrew Feldman, Dmitry Stelmak and Kamar Fady. We missed Feldman's exit but managed to get the details of the other two.

Stelmak was left short after tangling with Markus Golder. They had got to the river with 40,000 in the pot. The board read [4s][5c][tc][ad][2s] and when Stelmak checked from the small blind Golser moved all-in from the big blind. Stelmak smiled and folded, leaving himself with 60,000. That 60,000 was soon in the middle with his holding of pocket queens. Unfortunately for him Harrison Kaczka woke up with pocket kings and eliminated him.

Kamar Fady was the third shortest stack coming into today and he moved all-in after a Paul Berende raise. Berende called with pocket tens which was way ahead of Fady's pocket fives and stayed that way until the end. --MC

12.25pm: Table draws
Apologies for the delay in seat draws. Minor confusions between the draw last night and players seating themselves today meant we wanted to wait all players were in front of their correct stacks. And here they are...

Table 1
1 - Allen Bari - 250,000
2 - Mikael Azoulay - 93,200
3 - Rino Mathis, Team PokerStars Pro - 148,600
4 - Richard Lyndaker - 77,300
5 - Alex Kravchenko, Team PokerStars Pro - 67,900
6 - Ilya Bulychev - 67,000
7 - Yevgeniyy Timoshenko - 47,000

Table 2
1 - Paul Berende - 187,000
2 - Javier Garcia - 116,600
3 - Kamar Fady - 52,500
4 - Greg Dyer - 100,400
5 - Matt Marafioti- 87,000
6 - Sorel Mizzi - 260,500
7 - Dren Ukella - 102,000

Table 3
1 - Gus Hansen - 62,200
2 - Dmitry Stelmak - 91,700
3 - Markus Golser - 291,700
4 - Michael Friedrich - 144,000
5 - Harrison Kaczka - 104,800
6 - Tony G - 168,500

Table 4
1 - Thomas Marchese - 261,000
2 - Andreas Tinbergen - 37,500
3 - Matt Woodward - 159,400
4 - Mikhail Smirnov - 59,700
5 - Leo Fernandez, Team PokerStars Pro - 173,500
6 - David Paredes - 105,300
7 - Marcello Mangliano - 118,200

Table 5
1 - Antony Lellouche - 136,200
2 - Anthony Guetti - 81,900
3 - Dori Yacoub - 59,700
4 - Peter Jetten - 73,600
5 - Antoine Saout - 224,600
6 - Luke Schwartz - 300,300
7 - Najibullah Salamzy - 140,900

Table 6
1 - Andrew Feldman - 20,600
2 - Tobias Reinkemeier - 457,300
3 - Chad Brown, Team PokerStars Pro - 55,000
4 - Olivier Busquet - 171,400
5 - ElkY, Team PokerStars Pro - 196,500
6 - Ronny Kaiser - 195,400
7 - William Thorson, Team PokerStars Pro - 79,900

12.18pm: We're off
Play has got underway for today. The full seat draw will appear here like magic very soon. --MC

Reinkemeier leads from Schwartz
Welcome back for day 2of the EPT €25K High Roller event. 41 players made it through from the starting 113 players and German Tobias Reinkemeier tops the lot with an impressive 457,300. It's impressive due to the sheer size of his stack but it's more impressive because of the quality of the players he had to contend with to compile it.

Chip leader at the start of play; Tobias Reinkemeier

Today the field is more condensed but still star studded. Reinkemeier will have his work cut out staying ahead of the likes of Luke Schwartz (300,500), Markus Golser (291,000) and Sorel Mizzi (260,400). Six Team PokerStars Pros remain in the hunt and they include ElkY (196,500), Leo Fernadez (173,500) and William Thorson (79,900).

Normally at an EPT tournament we have the money bubble and then the official final table bubble. In this tournament they are one and the same thing. Eight places get paid and eight players will come back tomorrow for the final table. We expect the action to be fast and competitive as these players aim to build a chip winning stack before we reach the critical final stages of the day.

Play is due to start at 12pm CET join us back then for the action.

At noon on Friday, the following eight players will compete for the first prize of €1,700,000.

Winners to date are on the prizewinners page.

You can follow all the action from the Main Event and the High Roller at PokerStars Blog. The latest chip counts will be on the chip count page.

1: Herve Costa, 47, St Paul de Vence, France - 1,590,000



Costa is a local to Monte Carlo and comes from the Provencal village of St Paul de Vence near Nice. He is a recreational poker player and runs a bureau de change as his day job. Costa finished second at the JoaRoyale Poker Tour Final in Antibes in June 2009, winnning €20,000. Two months later he won €13,500 for 44th place at the Grand Final of the Partouche Poker Tour II in Antibes.

2: Roger Hairabedian, 55, Cannes, France - 1,130,000



Hairabedian is a French professional who has been playing the circuit in France and Morocco for many years. His best result to date was winning the €10,000 Grand Prix De Paris tournament in 2008 for €419,520. The former martial arts practitioner only plays live and was ranked the #1 tournament player in France in 2009 by LivePoker magazine. The award was presented at the France Poker Awards during EPT Deauville in January.

3: Aleh Plauski, 26, Minsk, Belarus - PokerStars qualifier - 1,695,000



Plauski has had few live results in addition to a 13th place finish at the WPT Cyprus event won by the Team PokerStars Pro Thomas Bichon. His best online result was in the Sunday $100 re-buy and says he prefers no limit hold 'em re-buy tournaments.

4: Dominykas Karmazinas, 22, Vilnius, Lithuania - PokerStars player - 2,285,000



Dominykas Karmazinas is a student from Vilnius and set himself up for a deep run here when his pocket kings beat the nines of the Team PokerStars Pro Alex Gomes for a pot of 1.2 million chips on day three. He has been playing on the EPT for two seasons and although he hasn't had any main event cashes before, he came sixth in the EPT Berlin High Roller event for €24,000 and also went deep (8th and 9th places) in two EPT London side events. His favourite game is six max no-limit hold 'em.

5: Josef Klinger, 42, Vienna, Austria - PokerStars player - 1,170,000



Klinger rose to fame in Austria as a chess player in the 1980s, but quit chess in the 1990s in favour of poker. When asked what his best results were, he said: "I have no success." But this is far from the case, as he has taken down several large tournaments in Vienna and his biggest live cash to date was for €85,000.

6: Mesbah Guerfi, 34, Paris - 3,670,000



Guerfi is an unfamiliar name on the EPT circuit but no stranger to tournament poker. The 34-year-old Parisian has numerous live cashes, his biggest to date being seventh place in the 2009 Grand Prix de Paris for €52,440. His favourite game is Omaha, but he's proving here in Monte Carlo that he's got some skills in no limit hold'em too.

7: Nicolas Chouity, 23, Beirut, Lebanon - PokerStars qualifier - 10,280,000



Chouity has been playing on the EPT for the past two season and made it into the top 50 at last season's EPT Grand Final for a €31,000 payday. He also came 124th for €8,000 at EPT Berlin this season. He's won numerous online tournaments including a deep run in last year's WCOOP Main Event.

8: Andrew Chen, 22, Ontario, Canada - PokerStars qualifier - 3,670,000



Chen is a well-known Canadian online pro who seems almost certain to win a major live title soon. He has come close many times. After making the final of the PokerStars LAPT Event in San Jose, Costa Rica in 2008, he then final tabled EPT Prague the next month and came third for €257,000. Last summer he was runner-up in a $1,500 WSOP side event for $412,632. This EPT season he has cashed at the EPT London main event and a side event as well as a deep run at the PokerStars.net NAPT Venetian tournament in February.

The thought of coming to Monte Carlo is very attractive and initially the grandeur and wealth to be seen in the form of luxury cars and boats is seductive. Throughout the week though the mood changes and players start busting from tournaments and suddenly players start to ignore the spend lure around them and begrudge paying €20 for a cheeseburger or €12 for a beer. It was most surprising then when 113 of these players managed to put these qualms aside to find the €25,000 needed to enter today.

Chip leader Tobias Reinkemeier

It's no surprise to tell you that today's field was chocker block full of the best poker talent this planet has to offer. Every table was a table of death. By the end of 11 fraught levels action 41 players were left standing and Tobias Reinkemeier had navigated his way to the summit with massive 457,300 stack. The chasing pack include Luke Schwartz with 300,500, Antoine Saout with 224,600 and Tom Marchese with 261,000. Team PokerStars Pros still hanging are ElkY on 196,500, William Thorson on 79,900, Leo Fernandez on 173,500, Rino Matthis on 148,600 and Chad Brown on 55,000. In the pack but definitely not to be counted out are Sorel Mizzi on 260,400, Anthony Lellouche on 136,200 and Markus Golser on 291,000.

Viktor Blom

There was a lot of attention surrounding Viktor Blom today and he managed to build a six-figure stack with ease. His reputation as an aggressive player preceeded him and he always seemed to have it when players bluffed into him or tried to pick him off. Unfortunately he picked the wrong player to try his most adventurous bluff on and lost most of his stack to Tobias Reinkemeier. After a five minute tank the German made the right call and never looked back from that point on. Blom would ultimately bust as did many of the other early pace setters such as John Duthie, Mike McDonald and Dario Mineri.

Tony G and November Niner Antoine Saout also got off to a fine starts but they managed to ride that wave all the way to the end bagging up 168,500 and 224,600 respectively. Later bloomers included Luke Schwartz, Allen Bari and Tom Marchese, who after slow starts set themselves up well for Day 2.

Team PokerStars SportStar Boris Becker

Vanessa Roussa, Jason Mercier, Humerto Brenes and Daniel Neagreanu were amongst the 17 Team PokerStars Pros who turned out but fell. Team PokerStars SportStar Boris Becker also played but busted when his two-pair ran into a bigger two-pair. Erik Seidel, Phil Laak, PCA High Roller Champion Will Reynolds, John Juanda and Nick Shulman fresh from his 18th place finish in the Main Event were other notable casualties.

Phil Laak

Play will resume at 12 noon CET tomorrow and our final 41 players will fight it out all the way down to the the final table of eight. To catch-up on all the action today please follow the links below. Full overnight the counts are available on our chip count page here.

Levels1&2
Levels 3&4
Levels 5&6
Levels 7,8&9

2.15am: Negreanu out
On a nine-high flop Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu and Paul Berende got it all-in. Negreanu had queens and Berende aces. Negreanu's exit pushes Berende up to 160,000. What a comeback. -- RD

2.10am: Mathis cracks aces
Rino Mathis has just got it all-in with eights against pocket aces. A spiked eight on the river doubled him up to 180,000. -- RD

The last four hands of the evening have been annouced. -- RD

2.05am: Berende doubles again
Paul Berende will finish with the overnight chip lead at this rate. He's just got it in with [as][qs] and binked an ace on the river to hit 100,000. 'Champion,' said Tony G , sat next to Berende, with a shake of his head, 'You're a champion.' Berende had only recently doubled with [5c][6c].

Players we have recently lost include Isabelle Mercier, Viktor Blom and John Duthie. Just over 15-minutes left before the bagging and tagging. -- RD

1.50am: Liv Boeree flips out
'Let me win my first race of the day,' asked Liv Boeree as she tabled [8s][8c] to Michael Friedrich's [as][js]. An ace appeared on the flop and no miracle two-outer came on the turn or river. Poor old Liv Boeree couldn't win a flip or fade a draw today - but considering she won €1.3m at San Remo last week I'm sure she'll survive. --RD

1.35am: Berende finds his luckbox button
Paul Berende moved all-in for 20,000 with [5c][6c] and was called by pocket tens. He was open-ended on the flop and got there on the river. The Dutchman is on 45,000 with some chips and one chair. --RD

1.25am: Ummer wishes the break didn't end
Per Ummer is out barely after arriving back at his seat getting it in with [2h][2s] to Luke Schwartz's [as][kh]. The flop was a very unfriendly [ad][8s][ac] and Ummer was gone. --RD

1.10am: Berende does Blom a favour
Paul Berende raised from early position with [ah][jc] to 3,800 and was called by Liv Boeree before Viktor Blom three-bet to 12,400 from his 53,000 stack. Berende moved all-in. Boeree quickly folded before Blom insta-called showing [qs][qd].

The board furthered the cause of neither player's hand with a [8h][2s][6c][5d][8d] board and Blom doubled to 110,000.

That's level 10 over. The players are going on a 15-minute break before playing the last level of the day. We have 51 players left from a starting field of 113. You can expect some more big bust outs in the next 60 minutes. Play starts again at 1.25am.-- RD

1.05am: Duthie doubles
Team PokerStars Pro John Duthie stack had gotten very low of late but he's just doubled-up, luckily, to 63,000. He opened with a raise and was flat called by the small blind before the big blind three-bet. Duthie moved all-in for 28,900 total and found himself up agianst [ks][kd]. Duthie opened [ac][9s] and flopped a two-outer ace to take the pot. Two-outer, you say? The small blind said he folded ace-queen. --MC

1am: Allen on Allan
Allan Baekke has been eliminated by fellow Allen of the Bari variety. Bari raised and was called in three spots before Baekke three-bet to 20,000. Bari then four-bet to 46,000 forcing the three callers to fold but the Dane moved all-in and was called. It was queens for Baekke and kings for Bari. Kaiser had folded queens so Baekke was drawing might thin and not surprisingly he was eliminated. Bari up to 285,000. -MC

12.50am: Daniel doubles
Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu has doubled-up through Per Ummer. His king-ten managed to come from behind to beat the Swede's ace-queen. He's still short on 67,000. --MC

12.45am: Azoulay makes a hero call.. and mucks
Gus Hansen has a certain reputation, I think that's fair to say, and that's something that must have been in the back of Mikael Azoulay's mind when he decided to call a large 49,500 bet from Hansen on the river of a [as][jc][ac][ks][6d] board. He had already called 17,000 on the turn and with the six being irrelevant if he wasn't drawing Azoulay felt he had to make the call. Hansen showed [ad][4d] for top trips. Azoulay instantly mucked his hand and is down to 100,000. Hansen is up to 180,000. --RD

Gus Hansen

12.40am: Battle of France and the blinds
Fellow Frenchmen Anthony Lellouche and ElkY just did battle in the blinds with Lellouche coming out on top. The action had made the river with the board reading [td][2s][2d][as][ks] and 42,000 had made it's way into the middle. Lellouche led out for 21,000 and after some thought ElkY threw in the chips to call. Lellouche tabled [ac][3s] and took the pot as ElkY folded. Lellouche up to 119,000, ElkY down to 45,000. --MC

12.35am: Hansen calls time on McDonald
Gus Hansen has just knocked out Mike McDonald with [th][tc] to 'Timex's [ad][kd]. Hansen very nearly picked up a massive call from Mikael Azoulay who really seemed to want to call with his ace-jack for Hansen's 80,000 isolation shove. McDonald was all-in for 20,000 at this point. Azoulay, after a lot of play acting, folded. The board ran out [9h][4h][9s][7h][3h]. Hansen is up to 110,000. -- RD

12.25am: Not so Dyer now for Greg
Greg Dyer is up to 100,000 after doubling through Richard Lyndaker. Lyndaker opened the pot with a raise to 3,500 from mid-position and then called the 11,000 three-bet from Dyer in the small blind. The flop came [7d][5d][tc] and when Dyer led out for 15,500 Lyndaker set him all-in. Call.

Dyer: [td][8d]
Lyndaker: [kd][qd]

Dyer though diamonds were good for him but not any more. The turn came [8s] and river [8c] to make a boat for Dyer and stack to really maneuver with now. --MC

12.15am: Schwartz moves into second spot
Luke Schwartz just took down a monster pot to move into second position on the chip leader board. Fredrik Keitel raised and then called the Brit's three-bet to see an eight high flop. It was here that the rest of the chips went flying in with Keitel being the player covered. He tabled pocket jacks but Schwartz opened pocket queens. The queens held and Schwartz is up to a massive 310,000 now. --MC

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 800-1,600, ante 200

12.10am: Fernandez flops monster
Mike McDonald must have been pretty happy when Leo Fernandez put most of his stack across the line on a [2d][ah][4c] flop. McDonald held [4s][4d] for middle set while Fernandez had flopped the wheel with [3d][5c]. McDonald set the Argentinian all-in for his 57,700 stack and Fernandez made the call. The turn and river didn't pair and the Team PokerStars Pro doubled up to 115,000. --RD

12.05am: Tom making his Marchese
Tom Marchese has dispatched Nikolay Evdakov. We don't have the details I'm afraid but it puts him up to 270,000. --MC

12am: Boeree bounces back
It didn't take long for Boeree to get the rest of her stack in the middle. When the action folded around to her on the button she moved all-in for around 30,000 and was called by Markus Golser in the small blind. Boeree tabled [9c][9s] and was dominating Golser's pocket sixes. The board ran [kh][ad][5d][qh][qc]. She's up to 63,000 now. Golser's down to 115,000. -MC

Liv Boeree is battling for her tournament life at the moment

11.55pm: Battle of the B's
Liv Boeree had Kings. Viktor Blom had Aces. You do the math. Okay, in case you're not so hot with logic... a relatively short stacked Blom doubled through Boeree, our most recent EPT winner, who wasn't quite so short stacked. She is, however, pretty low on chips now. Blom is on 45,000 and Boeree around 30,000. -- RD

11.45pm: Kravchenko grinding it out
Mike McDonald raised to 3,100 from middle position picking up callers from everyone and their brother (Alex Kravchenko, Dennis Phillips, Gus Hansen and the big blind). Kravchenko was the first to bet the flop to the tune of 7,900 and was called by Phillips. The ultimate blank appeared on the river in the shape of the [2s] and Kravchenko continued his battery upon the board with a 22,000 bet. Phillips folded without so much as a whimper. --RD

11.40pm: Four hand journey with Viktor Blom
We followed the journey of Viktor Blom over the course of four hands he played in a row, the last being a double-up to 33,000 for the Swede.

Hand 1.
Viktor Blom raised to 3,000 from the hijack and was called by player on the button to see a flop. Blom continued with a 4,800 bet and the button folded.

Hand 2.
Blom raised from the hijack and Tony G called from the big blind adding "Some ones got to double you up."

The flop came [jc][qh][5s] and Blom continued with a 4,800 bet when checked to him but folded when Tony G put him all in. Tony G showed king-ten and said "King was probably good there."

Hand 3.
Blom raised to 3,000 and then called Tobias Reinkemeier's 8,000 three-bet. The flop came down [jc][6s][qh] and Blom check-folded to a bet from his opponent even though he only had around 13,000 back.

Hand 4.
Markus Golser raised from under-the-gun to 3,1000 and Blom moved all-in for 13,100. Isabelle Mercier then four-bet to 23,500 forcing Golser to fold what he said was pocket eights. Showdown:

Blom: [kc][kh]
Mercier: [jh][js]

The board ran [8d][5c][3c][qd][3s] to double Blom up to 33,000. -MC

11.25pm: Long goodnight for Langmann
Team PokerStars Pro Florian Langmann has played his last hand of this High Roller tournament after getting it in to a five-bet from Tom Marchese. Langmann was racing for his 85,000 stack with ace-king and failed to spike. --RD

11.20pm: Shorty doubles shorty
William Thorson has doubled-up the other short-stack at his table Andrew Feldman. Thorson raised from under-the-gun and then called the push from Feldman in the small blind. Feldman tabled [ah][qh] to Thorson's [as][9s] and the board ran [td][4d][5c][ks][8c]. Feldman up to a still short stack of 24,000, Thorson down to 55,000. --MC

11.10pm: The big boys are back
We have 64 players left which is approaching half the 113 starting field gone over 8 hours of play. We still have three more to play (starting now) and with plenty of big names left you really should stay with us to the end. --RD

John Duthie is just one of the big names still in

PokerStars Blog reporting team on the €25k High Roller in Monte Carlo (in order of height): Rick Dacey (6') and Marc Convey (6' also as it turns out)

Seat 1: Herve Costa, 1,590,000
Seat 2: Roger Hairabedian, 1,130,000
Seat 3: Aleh Plauski, 1,695,000
Seat 4: Dominykas Karmazinas, 2,285,000
Seat 5: Josef Klinger, 1,170,000
Seat 6: Mesbah Guerfi, 3,670,000
Seat 7: Nicolas Chouity, 10,280,000
Seat 8: Andrew Chen, 3,670,000

9.25pm: Fin
That, folks, is that. Just after Thomas Kremser announced an increase in the blinds to 40,000-80,000 with a 5,000 ante, Craig McCorkell looked down at his stack and, at 65,000, it probably looked more paltry than ever.

He moved it in and Andrew Chen isolated with a raise to 250,000. Chen took the small side pot once everyone folded, and the cards were on their backs:

McCorkell: [qh][4h]
Chen: [ah][10s]

The board, which has not been kind to McCorkell during these crucial later stages, didn't decide to start helping him now. It came [jc][6s][2c][7h][9s] and it was over.

Craig McCorkell: Falls one short of the final table

McCorkell joins all the others on the prizewinners page and the other eight - who feature still on the chip count page are going to tomorrow's final.

A full wrap is on its way.-- HS

BLINDS UP, NOW 40,000-80,000, 5,000 ANTE IN LEVEL 28

9.15pm: Not done yet...
...although Craig McCorkell almost is. This one was pretty brutal. Aleh Plauski moved all in for 830,000 and Craig McCorkell moved all in over the top, isolating. McCorkell had Plauski covered by about 80,000, so this was critical for both of them.

Plauski: [kd][jc]
McCorkell: [ad][qd]

McCorkell might not have minded the [jd] on the flop because there was also a [qs] and a [3c]. The turn was also a bloank: [3d] but the river was the [jd] completing the outdraw and all but booking Plauski's spot at the final, at the direct expense of McCorkell. -- HS

9.05pm: Double up straight away
First hand of the last table and Herve Costa doubles up to 1.6million, getting all in pre-flop with [ah][ks] and finding a call from Craig McCorkell holding [ad][qs]. It was one of those "oooohh" flops, coming [qc][5s][kd], and the [9d] turn and [jd] river secured Costa the goods. -- SY

9pm: Draw and counts
While we wait to get going again, here is the seat draw and current chip counts. Stand by. -- HS

1 - Herve Costa, France, 805,000
2 - Roger Hairabedian, France, 1,260,000
3 - Aleh Plauski, Belarus, 830,000
4 - Dominykas Karmazinas, Lithuania, 2,450,000
5 - Josef Klinger, Austria, 1,200,000
6 - Craig McCorkell, UK, 1,700,000
7 - Mesbah Guerfi, 3,790,000
8 - Nicolas Chouity, Lebanon, 10,130,000
9 - Andrew Chen, Canada, 3,290,000

8.50pm: Matt Perrins out in tenth
We're down to one table. Not the final table, of course, just the last one. By that we mean we have a table of nine players left. Once we lose one more, then we'll have our final table of eight set for tomorrow.

How did we get here? Well the young Brit Matt Perrins completed his quick downfall by busting out to runaway chip leader Nicolas Chouity. Chouity had open-raised and Perrins moved all in over the top for 1,270,000 - Chouity called quickly and found his [ad][qh] was well ahead of Perrins' [ah][8s].

The board ran [jh][3c][10d][7h][7d] and Perrins was heading for the cage to bag his €100,000.

There will be a short break while the remaining players get seated around the feature table. Chips will be updated shortly. -- SY

Matt Perrins: out in tenth

8.40pm: Kling-ing on
Josef Klinger was staring at the exit, but true to his name klung on. He shoved all in from the cut off - it was for about 600,000 give or take - and Aleh Plauski called on the button. Klinger was dominated with [jd][ks] against Plauski's [qs][kd].

The dealer had other ideas though. The flop came [10h][jc][4h] and Plauski couldn't re-draw on the [5c][kh] turn and river. We stay 10 handed and it's Plauski now on fumes on the outer table. -- HS

8.35pm: Double up for Guerfi
Matt Perrins and Mesbah Guerfi saw and checked a [7h][3s][2h] flop. On the [ad] turn Perrins bet 175,000 and Guerfi re-raised to 940,000, effectively committing himself. Perrins moved all in and Guerfi called.

Guerfi: [as][2s]
Perrins: [2c][7d]

Perrins' flopped two pair had been overtaken on the turn, and he was drawing might thin on the river - only a 7 could help. It was [10h].
Guerfi went up to 3,785,000 after that - Perrins tumbled to 1,270,000. -- SY

Mesbah Guerfi

8.30pm: Herve Maria
The punishment continues, it's just not clear who's being punished the most. Herve Costa has doubled up. This has implications for player fatigue as Costa has long since entered a self-preservation mode, being blinding off willingly in a last ditch effort to make the final table. Or maybe ninth.

After twenty minutes of raise and take, Costa moved all-in for 470,000 showing [5c][4c] to Aleh Plauski's call with [ac][th]. We were almost down to nine players when a [4s] hit the flop. The other cards were irrelevant. There were no aces or tens and Costa plays on a little longer. -- SB

8.20pm: Kicker plays
Matt Perrins raised from the button and was called by Nicolas Chouity from the big blind. Chouity then check-called Perrins' 150,000 continuation bet on the [6d][5s][6h] flop. On the [9h] turn it was Chouity who bet first, 220,000. Perrins called. Both then slowed down the [qd] river. Chouity showed A-5, good enough to beat Perrins who had a five with a worse kicker. -- SY

8.05pm: Salvatore Bonevena eliminated
And you know what that means? Yet again we will have a virgin EPT winner, as the Italian was the last previous winner of an EPT still in the field. He can count himself unlucky as well. Nicolas Chouity had opened to 140,000 and Bonavena moved all in for 1,420,000. Chouity, after getting a count, made the call:

Bonavena: [js][jc]
Chouity: [kh][qh]

It was a straight race, and Bonavena lost it early with the [ad][ks][4d] flop. He never regained the lead with the [as] turn and [9c] river. Bonavena, a popular figure on the circuit, collects €80,000 and we're down to ten players. -- SY

Salvatore Bonavena

8pm: Tank-fold then insta-fold
After a period of tank-folding on the outer table, otherwise known as a slo-mo version of raise and take it poker, Dominykas Karmazinas and Josef Klinger just three- and then four-bet pre-flop. Karmazinas raised to 135,000 from the button and Klinger made it 205,000 more from the big blind. Karmazinas asked for a count, was told that there was about a million more in front of Klinger, and then moved all in. Klinger quickly retreated. -- HS

7.55pm: Klingering on
Josef Klinger checked on the flop of [5d][td][8c] having called Matt Perrins button raise. Perrins raised and that was the end of that. Klinger took another raise and take pot, then took another. Meanwhile there are all-ins, calls, flops and everything on the TV table. It's not fair. We play on. -- SB.

7.45pm: Huge pot for Chouity, extends lead
This was a big one between the tournament's two chip daddies. Craig McCorkell called from the small blind then called Nicolas Chouity's raise to 130,000 from the big blind. McCorkell then check-called Chouity's 175,000 bet on the [9s][10s][kc] flop, and did the same on Couity's 250,000 on the [3c] turn.

To the [5c] river, which McCorkell checked again. Chouity bet 340,000 but now McCorkell reached for a re-raise, betting a hefty 1,120,000. "Back door flush," asked a crestfallen Chouity. But he found the call, and is glad he did. Chen showed [jd][9d] but Chouity had [qs][js] for the flopped straight (and straight flush draw).

Chouity up to 7.8million now, McCorkell drops back into the chasing pack with 1.8million. -- SY

7.40pm: Klinger loses his stick
Josef Klinger raised from under-the-gun, making it 140,000, and Matt Perrins three-bet to 380,000 from the small blind. Herve Costa seemed very keen to get involved from the big blind, but eventually passed. No such thing from Klinger, who called.

The flop came [6h][3h][3s] and Klinger checked. Perrins moved in a tower of orange chips, probably about 400,000, and that was enough to get Klinger out the way. -- HS

7.30pm: Show and tell
Salvatore Bonavena re-raised all in for more than one million, knocking the initial raiser (and chip leader) Nicolas Chouity out of the pot. Bonavena then, oddly, showed his hand - [as][6c]. -- SY

7.30pm: One last push
That's all it's got to take to get rid of three more players, and then our final table is set. 11 are retaking their seats and they'll find blinds have gone up to 30,000-60,000 with a 5,000 ante. That's expensive, and to put it in to context each small blind is equivalent to everyone's starting stack on day 1.

Leader at the moment is Nicolas Chouity, a PokerStars qualifier from Lebanon, who has 6,425,000. To see the full list of current chips, go to the chip count page.

Nicolas Chouity

PokerStars Blog reporting team (in order of academic achievement in French): Stephen Bartley ('C' grade GCSE), Simon Young ('C' grade O-Level after a retake - much harder than GCSEs), Howard Swains ("I did not do French" - but he did get an 'A' in German, and was unusually useful in Berlin as a result).