Julian Thew, EPT Baden winner
There are poker players, there are popular poker players, and then there is Julian Thew.

Talk to anyone on the international poker scene for any length of time and you'll never hear a bad word said about the player from Nottingham, England. There are likely to be a few tales of crazy bets with fresh air, turned flushes, horrific outdraws and one-outers on the river. But by general assent, Thew is one of the good guys.

And now he's the good guy who also done good: Thew is the EPT Baden champion, beating 281 other players to the title and earning €670,800. He said in his pre-match interview that he wanted to pay off his mortgage by the time he was 40. He was $20,000 short and had two weeks until the big day.

Consider it paid. And how about another house? Or a car?

The day started in typical fashion in this picturesque little spa town in the Austrian mountains. We supped coffee, ate luxurious pastries, sampled sauerkraut und wurst as these eight eyed a fortune:

Vladimir Poleshchuk - Russia - 624,000
Julian Thew - England - 610,000
Denes Kalo - Hungary - 468,000
Manfred Hammer - Germany - 369,000
Anton Allemann - Switzerland - 254,000
Thierry van den Berg - Holland - PokerStars player - 227,000
Thomas Fuller - USA - 190,000
Ted Lawson - USA - 81,000

But the players had hardly had a chance to wipe the ketchup from their chops before two were on their way out of the tournament arena.

Both were skewered by Vladimir Poleshchuk, of Russia, the player with a name and unforgiving table manner to prompt a thousand "Impaler" references crackling round the media room.

On the very first hand, Anton Allemann, the Swiss player who had stayed near the chip lead for two days, was busted with ace-king on a king-high flop. Vladimir also had a king but the decisive card was the nine that had also appeared: matching the nine in Poleshchuk's hand. Auf Wiedersehen, Anton.

The very next hand and Vladimir was at it again. This time, Ted Lawson, the WSOP bracelet holder from the United States, was on his way. Lawson had king-queen of clubs, but Vladimir had found ace-nine of hearts and the flop was all red and heart-shaped. Lawson was despatched, €83,600 richer for his EPT debut.

At this point Vladimir looked unassailable, both in terms of cards and obvious headlines being produced by the journalists. In the second regard, only Manfred Hammer came close: there were plenty of "Hammertime!" shouts heard around Baden, as well as speculation as to Manfred's middle name. Anything beginning with "C" -- for MC Hammer -- would have been too perfect.

No one ever found out, more's the pity, because Hammer was next to be beaten out of the tournament and again it was Vladimir who did the damage. Manfred had 5-5, all in pre-flop, but Vladimir's ace-queen matched an ace on the flop and while Hammer was our sixth placed finisher, Vladimir broke through the million mark.

By this point, the three quietest players at the table were Thomas Fuller, from the United States, Denes Kalo, from Hungary, and Thierry van den Berg, the PokerStars qualifier from Holland.

But while better things beckoned for the first two -- Fuller, in particular, beginning a charge forward with some aggressive moves and an outdraw of J-J with 7-7 -- van den Berg slid out the door.

Thierry had certainly kept his table chatter up for the opening exchanges, but had been frustratingly card dead and ended up pushing in behind jack-nine. Fuller, who now had enough to back his ace-ten, made the call and sent the final PokerStars qualifier to the rail, €132,900 richer.

When we went four-handed, the action slowed dramatically and the stacks started to level out. Vladimir, Julian and then Thomas all took the chip lead, but never by too much, until a monster hand occurred between the Englishman and the American.

It started as a three-way pot, with only Denes sitting out after Thomas raised in early position. The flop came Kc-6c-Qh and got a little tricky: Thew checked, Vladimir checked, but Thomas slid in a half-pot bet. Thew thought for a moment but ended up raising, which got rid of Vladimir. However Thomas was going nowhere but all in, and Julian called.

We expected big hands and we weren't far wrong. Thomas had pocket sixes and had flopped bottom set. Julian had queen-eight of clubs, for middle pair and the flush draw. They wished each other good luck and the turn was revealed.

Ace. Of. Clubs.

That was the key card for Thew as he filled his flush. Thomas had re-draw outs for the full house, but none came and the young American, whose friend had predicted he'd finish fourth, was felted and out soon after.

Fuller fulfilled that friend's prophesy when he moved in with ace-six and ran into Denes Kalo's pocket sevens. Fuller was gone, with a reputation greatly enhanced by his play here. Thew, although his nemesis at the table, had also become his friend when they shared a table in Barcelona last month, and here around the final table. Thew was among many who acknowledged that Thomas had not made a mistake the whole day.

Still, Julian, Denes and Vladimir had a job to do. No room for regrets or recriminations.

But there was not much left in the day for Vladimir either and now Denes had turned assassinator-in-chief. The Hungarian had a king-jack when all of Vladimir's chips were in the middle, behind ace-queen. Denes had filled a straight by the river and ended it for Poleshchuk. He earned €225,000.

So, it was heads up - and it went on for a long time. The blinds reached 20,000-40,000, the highest ever reached in an EPT tournament.

As the action hotted up, Thew kept cool by means of his now-trademark table fan, and he was waving it casually in the air when Denes was making a power play: shoving all-in pre-flop. Thew hardly hesitated to make the call and showed his ace-eight. It was looking strong against Kalo's ace-five.

But Julian never counts chickens before they're hatched: he's put plenty of outdraws on folk far more brutal than a five popping up now. However, flop, then turn and then river were all blanks and Thew blinked, smiled, shook hands, smiled again, and began life as an EPT champion.

With a house all of his own.

EPT Baden final result:

1st - Julian Thew, England, €670,800 (+ €10,000 buy-in into EPT Grand Final)
2nd - Denes Kalo, Hungary, €375,000
3rd - Vladimir Poleshchuk, Russia, €225,000
4th - Thomas Fuller, USA, €160,820
5th - Thierry van den Berg, Holland, PokerStars qualifier, €132,900
6th - Manfred Hammer, Germany, €105,000
7th - Ted Lawson, USA, €83,600
8th - Anton Allemann, Switzerland, €60,000

9 - Gunnar Rabe - PokerStars qualifier - €38,600
10 - Sebastian Ruthenberg - PokerStars player - €38,600
11 - David Sonelin - Sweden - PokerStars qualifier - €30,000
12 - Michael Durrer - Germany - PokerStars qualifier - €30,000
13 - Age Spets - Norway - €25,700
14 - Hans Eskilsson - Sweden - €25,700
15 - Pascal Perrault - France - €19,300
16 - Peter Gould - England - €19,300
17 - Alexander Kravchenko - Russia - €12,860
18 - Hector Fuentes - Spain - €12,860
19 - Victor Goossens - Holland - €12,860
20 - Alan Smurfit - Ireland - €12,860
21 - Kalil Rahal - France - €12,860
22 - Andreas Hoivold - Norway - €12,860
23 - Jiri Vacek - Hungary - €12,860
24 - Daniel Mangas - Spain - €12,860

Julian Thew, England, wins EPT Baden, earning €670,800

Denes Kalo, Hungary, eliminated in second place, winning €375,000

10.15pm: We have a winner. Julian Thew has ace-eight against Denes Kalo's ace-five and they get it all in pre flop. Denes needs the five and it never materialised: Julian is the champion - and a very popular one at that.

10pm: The heads up battle has been cagey. Very, very cagey. Julian takes a pot, Denes takes a pot, with the stacks similar to how they started after half an hour of play. They've taken a short break for some air. We await the crowning of a champion.

9.15pm: We're heads up between Julian Thew, of England, and Denes Kalo, from Hungary.

They have:

Thew - 1,754,000
Kalo - 1,069,000

Here we go.

9.05pm: Vladimir Poleshchuk, Russia, eliminated in third place, winning €225,000
Denes raises pre-flop from the button and Vladimir comes over the top for his whole stack. Vladimir shows A-Q and is ahead of Denes's K-J, but it's outdraw time, as Denes fills a straight on the river. Down to two.

8.55pm: Thomas Fuller, USA, eliminated in fourth place, winning €160,800.
And just like that, Thomas is gone. He couldn't recover from the crippling blow suffered at the hands of Julian Thew and then moved in with A-6. Denes Kalo calls with 7-7 and hits another seven, ending the hopes of Fuller. Down to three.

The players request a two minute break as the blinds go up to 15,000-30,000, with a 3,000 ante. Thew has more than half the chips in play: 1.8 million. Vladimir is now back in second, with 571,000 and Denes has edged into third. He has 261,000. Thomas, who just lost that massive pot, is trailing with 137,000.

8.45pm: Huge pot. Vladimir raises 70,000 pre-flop and Thomas Fuller starts peering ominously at the Russian's stack. He calls, and then Julian Thew also gets involved. He calls. They see Kc-6c-Qh and Julian and Vladimir check. Thomas, who seems to be strong, fires just more than 100,000 into the 228,000 pot, giving Thew a tough decision. He announces a raise and bumps it up even further: the pot swells to 788,000. Vladimir gets out the way but Thomas moves in and Julian calls. Thomas has a set of sixes, Julian Q-8 of clubs for middle pair and the flush draw. It was already a massive, massive pot and when the ace of clubs came on the turn, it gave Thew the flush and sent him into a commanding chip lead. It's about 1.8 million and Fuller is felted.

8.41pm: Vladimir and Denes play a 150,000 pot: the flop came 10-9-J - check, check - then the turn brought another 10. Check check. The river was a king and Denes bet and took it.

8.40pm: Big pot brewed between the two chip leaders, but soon fizzled out. Thomas Fuller raised pre-flop and Julian Thew called. The flop came 4s-3d-10c and Julian bet it. Thomas folded.

Thomas Fuller is the tournament chip leader, with about 980,000. Thew is second with about 780,000. Vladimir and Denes are third and fourth, respectively.

8.32pm: Julian raises from the small blind and Vladimir calls from the big. The flop comes K-J-6 and both players check, as they do when the 8 comes on the turn. Julian then bets on the J river and sends Vladimir into the tank. The Russian thinks and thinks and then folds.

8.30pm: Julian Thew, who took a bit of a hit from Thomas Fuller a few pots before, raises from the button but is met with a re-raise all in from Vladimir in the small blind. Julian lays it down and loses 60,000.

8.20pm: Thomas Fuller takes down a sizeable pot, betting into a ten high flop, with both Julian and Vladimir still involved. They both pass and the American, who's impressed everyone on this final table, climbs up again.

8.02pm: Big pot - and a double up for Denes Kalo. The chip leader calls the Hungarian player's all in pre flop with pocket nines. Kalo has pocket jacks and there's nothing to worry about on the board. Kalo is back in the game with about 500,000.

8pm: Back from the dinner break, with the four remaining players sitting behind the following chips:

Julian Thew - 986,000
Thomas Fuller - 762,000
Vladimir Poleschuk - 744,000
Denes Kalo - 331,000

And they're playing for:

1st - €670,800
2nd - €375,000
3rd - €225,000
4th - €160,820

6.45pm: That's the dinner break. There are four left, and Julian Thew has edged into the chip lead, ahead of Thomas Fuller, then Vladimir Poleshchuk and Denes Kalo. Full counts to follow.

6.40pm: Julian Thew raises from the button and Thomas Fuller calls from the big blind. The flop comes 4-J-K and Thomas checks. Julian bets and takes it, showing A-K.

6.35pm: Thomas Fuller raises pre-flop and Vladimir calls. It's a lucky-looking flop: 7-7-7 and, after Vladimir checks, Thomas bets into a 200,000 pot. Vladimir then unleashes the check-raise, but it's only the minimum. Thomas Fuller moves all in. Wow. The pot goes up to 760,000, the biggest of the tournament so far. Vladimir folds, and slips right down the board. Thomas shows ace-king for a super-powerful move and he might now be in second place, behind Thew.

6.30pm: Denes Kalo raises to 58,000 from the small blind. Julian calls in the big blind and the flop brings J-Q-J. Both players check and see a scary ace on the turn, which prompts a check from Kalo. Julian tosses 30,000 into a pot of 124,000 and Kalo calls. Julian tables the queen, and scoops.

6.25pm: Three way pot, with Vladimir calling from the button; Denes maing up the small blind and Julian checking the button. The flop comes Ks-Qd-9c and Vladimir makes a small bet. That prompts Denes to move all in and Vladimir quickly folds.

6.15pm: Thomas Fuller raises pre-flop and Vladimir calls. The board comes 6-7-8 rainbow and Thomas puts in a small bet that's an easy call for the Russian. They both check the jack turn, then Thomas fires again on the 9 river, obviously representing the 10 for a straight. Vladimir buys it, and folds. Thomas takes a 230,000 pot.

6pm: No sooner is that last update typed than Kalo moves all-in pre-flop against Thomas Fuller. Fuller folds.

5.50pm: Back from the break and a big pot developed between Julian Thew and Denes Kalo. A sizeable bet on the ragged flop picked it up for Thew. Kalo has been quiet today -- perhaps card dead, perhaps attempting just to edge up the payout scale. Only the television edit will show.

5.20pm: The players take a ten minute break. Chip counts:

Vladimir Poleshchuk - Russia - 984,000
Julian Thew - England - 880,000
Thomas Fuller - USA - 569,000
Denes Kalo - Hungary - 459,000

5.15pm: With all four remaining players sitting with no more than about 400,000 between first and fourth, the action is slow here in Baden. Julian Thew has pinched a couple of blinds and antes, but was also caught with his fingers in the till by Denes Kalo, who called a 50,000 river bet and Julian mucked.

4.45pm: The blinds are at 6,000-12,000 and the stacks are levelling out. Julian Thew just picked up a pot with A-Q, and then re-raised a Thomas Fuller pre-flop raise. Vladimir thought about it, but folded, but Thomas decided to call. The pot was about 250,000 at this point. The flop came Kd-6c-2h and Julian checked. Thomas checked behind and the turn was 9s. Julian bet out for 90,000 which sent Thomas deep into the tank. Thomas eventually folded, and Julian picked up that quarter-million to temporarily halt Thomas's move up the leaderboard.

4.30pm: Thierry van den Berg, Holland, PokerStars qualifier, eliminated in fifth place for €132,900.
Thomas Fuller continues his charge. He raises pre-flop and Thierry van den Berg moves his short stack all in over the top. Fuller calls quickly and shows A-10; Thierry has J-9s. The flop brings queen-eight-king, which is an inside straight draw for the PokerStars qualifier from Holland. But the turn and river are blanks and Thierry is out.

Four players remain:

Vladimir Poleshchuk - Russia - 1million
Julian Thew - England - 700,000
Thomas Fuller - USA - 670,000
Denes Kalo - Hungary - 470,000

4.25pm: Thierry van den Berg, the PokerStars qualifier from Holland, raises pre-flop and Thomas Fuller moves all in for the second hand in a row. He has Van den Berg covered and the Dutchman thinks then folds. Fuller is on the move.

4.20pm: It's tough to get precise chip counts at the moment, but Vladimir is still out front with around about 1 million. Julian Thew remains second with about 700,000.

4.15pm: Thomas Fuller is the next one all in against Vladimir, and he's not in good shape with 7-7 against J-J. That is, until a seven flops and the last remaining American doubles up, handing Vladimir his first hit. Fuller ends with a full house -- sevens full of tens -- and is up to about 250,000.

4.10pm: The chips have been flowing in one direction only today, and that is towards Vladimir Poleshchuk. He now has about 1.2 million in chips.

4pm: Manfred Hammer eliminated in sixth place, winning €105,000
Manfred Hammer finds all his chips in the pot with 5-5 and is called by Vladimir Poleshchuk with A-Q. The flop brings an ace immediately and Hammer never recovers. Hammer time is over. Down to five, with Poleshchuk, the Russian player, having accounted for all three of today's eliminations.

2.35pm: Predictably, it's slowed a little after those amazing early-day bust-outs. Just time to update the tournament situation: they're playing level 20 with blinds of 5,000-10,000 and a 500 running ante.

2.27pm: Ted Lawson, USA, eliminated in seventh place, winning €83,600
As we struggle to contain the urge to use the headline "Vlad the Impaler", Vladimir Poleshchuk earns his second scalp of the day, on the second hand. This time it's Ted Lawson who's all-in with king-queen of clubs. Poleshchuk has ace-nine of hearts and flops three hearts for the flush. Lawson out in seventh and we're down to six, without even completing an orbit of the table.

2.25pm: Anton Allemann, Switzerland, eliminated in eighth place, winning €60,000
An amazing start here in Baden, for everyone except Anton Allemann. The young Swiss player was all in with ace-king on a flop of king-nine-ten. Vladimir Poleshchuk called with king-nine for two pair and Anton was out - first hand of the day

2.15pm: Cards are in the air.

Welcome back to Baden, where we're all set for the final table of today's European Poker Tour (EPT) event. There were 282 players when we began on Sunday afternoon and now there are just eight homes in seven different countries to which the big money will be finding its way.

We have two Americans, a Russian, an Englishman, a Hungarian, a Swiss and a Dutchman currently seated around the trademark sandy baize of the EPT final table. They are, in seat order:

Seat 1: Thierry van den Berg, 35, Holland - 227,000 in chips PokerStars qualifier
Thierry, a former chef from Almere, is a regular PokerStars qualifier and won four EPT seats last year on PokerStars, as well as four World Series seats. He also qualified on PokerStars for EPT Dublin at the end of October. Thierry, who has a 6-year-old daughter, turned pro a year ago. He made the final table of the $5,000 NLHE Six Handed tournament at last summer’s World Series but has never cashed before in an EPT. He said: “I can play my own game today as I’ve finally got a good stack.”

Seat 2: Manfred Hammer, 55, Germany - 369,000
Manfred Hammer, 55, was born in Dinkelsbuehl, Germany but now lives in Bregenz in Austria. Married with three children and two grandchildren, he is the co-owner of a construction company. He says his business means he rarely has time to play poker and this is by far his biggest success. Prior to EPT Baden, his biggest tournament win was second place in an Austrian tournament last July.

Seat 3: Julian Thew, 39, England - 610,000
Father-of-two Julian has been a professional player for two years and is very popular on the European poker circuit. The former draughtsman from Nottingham is having a great year, having just won the Plymouth leg of the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour. He said “I promised myself I’d pay off our mortgage before I turned 40 and that’s in two weeks time - I’m only $20,000 short at the moment. ” This is Julian’s third EPT final table and seventh EPT cash. His biggest EPT win to date was fourth in Copenhagen during season one for $30k.

Seat 4: Vladimir Poleshchuk, 42, Russia - 624,000
Vladimir, a 42-year-old father-of-two from Moscow, has been playing Texas hold’em for six years and turned pro after just a year. Vladimir says his biggest win in poker so far was winning a $1,000 tournament in Korona, Russia, for $40,000. He bought in to last year’s EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo but failed to cash. The former army officer said: “I feel pretty comfortable about my game, and confident about today’s final table. I’ve been playing well against some pretty strong players. And I’ve enjoyed being in Baden; it’s a beautiful town.” Vladimir is being supported here by his wife Elena.

Seat 5: Ted Lawson, 49, South Florida/Las Vegas, USA - 81,000
Despite Baden hosting his EPT debut, Ted Lawson, from South Florida, is well known on the international poker scene. The married father-of-three has ten World Series cashes including three final tables and a bracelet. He now features prominently in both the Cardplayer and Bluff magazine rankings and has made 12 final tables this year. Describing himself as a poker professional, Lawson runs 21st Century Holding, the NASDAQ-listed company he founded with his wife in 1983.

Seat 6: Thomas Fuller, 24, Boulder, Colorado, USA - 190,000
Former psychology student Thomas took up poker after watching the film Rounders and has been a professional player for over two years. He also played in EPT Barcelona last month but had a “bad beat”. He said: “Actually that’s been true of all my big tournaments– I’ve either played badly or taken brutal beats – apart from this one!

Seat 7: Denes Kalo, 31, Hungary : 468,000
Dénes Kaló was born and lives in Budapest, Hungary. He works as the sales manager of a broker company and has been playing poker for 3 years. His best poker result to date was coming second in the 2006 EPM Vienna. Outside of poker, Denes is a sailing enthusiast.

Seat 8: Anton Allemann, 24, Switzerland : 254,000
Anton is one of two psychology students sitting at today’s final table (the other is American Thomas Fuller). He took up poker 18 months ago after a mere glimpse of the payout structure at an EPT event showed how much money could be won. He started playing online but now likes both online and live events. He said: “My previous biggest win was a cash game in Vegas during the World Series – I made $40,000 in one night. I think I’m an aggressive player, but I can also be flexible and adapt to the table conditions”

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a final table.

After a quick, slow, quick, slow day in Baden, we finally shaved the field down from 40 to the eight players who'll duke it out tomorrow for the EPT Baden crown.

They are, in order of chip stacks:

Vladimir Poleshchuk - Russia - 624,000
Julian Thew - England - 610,000
Denes Kalo - Hungary - 468,000
Manfred Hammer - Germany - 369,000
Anton Allemann - Switzerland - 254,000
Thierry van den Berg - Holland - PokerStars qualifier - 227,000
Thomas Fuller - USA - 190,000
Ted Lawson - USA - 81,000

The 40 began falling in the very first hand, and taking the earliest bath was Hevad "RaiNKhan" Khan, the Team PokerStars pro from the United States. RaiNKhan took a nasty beat from Julian Thew at the end of yesterday, and shoved his short stack in when it was folded to him first thing today. Not a bad move most of the time, but Manfred Hammer -- whose name has spawned repeated "Hammer time!" shouts in the press room today -- found aces. That was that for RaiNKhan.

At the same time on the television table, Carlo di Renzo was running into Alan Smurfit's aces. The carnage had officially started.

In went the chips and out went the players. We lost PokerStars qualifiers Matt Tyler and Roman Yitzhaki, as well as well-known European pros Thor Hansen and Surindar Sunar. Soraya Homam, Harald Poeschl and Johann Fest also took the walk.

Then, no sooner had the bubble floated into view, than it was burst by Heimo Kraner, from Austria. We were in the money.

It didn't last long for Daniel Mangas, from Spain, who had his kings outdrawn by Thew's jacks. Thew went on a charge for the rest of the day, finding big cards when necessary, and playing the big stack with aplomb. He's second in chips going into tomorrow.

Among his victims was Pascal Perrault, the final remaining EPT champion after Andreas Hoivold was eliminated in 22nd. Also hitting the spas with a bundle of cash were Alexander Kravchenko, the World Series final table finisher, and David Sonelin and Michael Durrer, PokerStars qualifiers, who perished in 11th and 12th, respectively.

Many of their chips found their way into the stack of Vladimir Poleshchuk, from Russia. He'll take the chip lead into the final. His last victim of the day was the PokerStars player Sebastian Ruthenberg, who couldn't repeat his third place finish in Dortmund earlier this year. He went out in 10th.

When the final nine assembled around the not-really-final-table -- we play to eight on the EPT -- there were a couple of short stacks in front of Gunnar Rabe, from Sweden, and Ted Lawson, of the United States. Rabe was the first to find a hand -- pocket tens -- but they weren't good enough to beat Manfred Hammer's queen-ten, which turned a straight.

So it was over. The eight were decided and they're in line for a monster payout when proceedings begin again at 3 p.m. central European time.

We'll have a blow-by-blow account right here. Don't miss it.

Today's eliminations:

9 - Gunnar Rabe - PokerStars qualifier - €38,600
10 - Sebastian Ruthenberg - PokerStars player - €38,600
11 - David Sonelin - Sweden - PokerStars qualifier - €30,000
12 - Michael Durrer - Germany - PokerStars qualifier - €30,000
13 - Age Spets - Norway - €25,700
14 - Hans Eskilsson - Sweden - €25,700
15 - Pascal Perrault - France - €19,300
16 - Peter Gould - England - €19,300
17 - Alexander Kravchenko - Russia - €12,860
18 - Hector Fuentes - Spain - €12,860
19 - Victor Goossens - Holland - €12,860
20 - Alan Smurfit - Ireland - €12,860
21 - Kalil Rahal - France - €12,860
22 - Andreas Hoivold - Norway - €12,860
23 - Jiri Vacek - Hungary - €12,860
24 - Daniel Mangas - Spain - €12,860

The final table payouts:

1st - €670,800
2nd - €375,000
3rd - €225,000
4th - €160,820
5th - €132,900
6th - €105,000
7th - €83,600
8th - €60,000

Picture (c) Neil Stoddart

Gunnar Rabe, PokerStars qualifier from Sweden, has just burst the TV bubble. He knew he was up against it when the final nine sat down around the pseudo final table; his "chip-and-a-chair" good humour hinted at an inclination to get the chips in behind the first decent hand he found.

Gunnar Rabe, shortly before departing in ninth place
(c) Neil Stoddart

And pocket tens wasn't bad, especially when Manfred Hammer called with queen-ten. But the German player made a straight on the turn, and Rabe was gone.

The final eight are now bagging up and heading home for a good night's rest before the fireworks start afresh tomorrow.

And, just like that, they're down to nine. This time it's Sebastian Ruthenberg, the PokerStars player from Germany, who was on the receiving end.

He lost a huge pot to double up Anton Allemann and then pushed in with 6-6 the next hand. Thierry van den Berg, the PokerStars qualifier from Holland, found aces again and they held. Van Den Berg now has plenty; Ruthenberg has €38,600 for 10th place.

The final nine, who have been moved to one table, are:

Thierry van den Berg - Holland - PokerStars qualifier - 224,000
Manfred Hammer - Germany - 305,000
Gunnar Rabe - Sweden - PokerStars qualifier - 74,000
Julian Thew - England - 602,000
Vladimir Poleshchuk - Russia - 627,000
Ted Lawson - USA - 84,000
Thomas Fuller - USA - 113,000
Denes Kalo - Hungary - 447,000
Anton Allemann - Switzerland - 144,000

Michael Durrer, the PokerStars qualifier from Germany, has just taken two beats and then the miserable walk to the rail.

Michael Durrer - PokerStars qualifier takes €30,000

First, it was Gunnar Rabe, the PokerStars qualifier from Sweden, who doubled through the man from Dusseldorf with ace-ten versus king-queen. Then, when it was Durrer facing Denes Kalo's king-queen, a queen flopped to outdraw ace-jack.

Durrer takes €30,000 for 12th place, but Rabe has now recovered from holding just one blue chip worth 1,000 to sit more comfortably around about 100,000.

Durrer was preceded out of the tournament by Age Spets, from Norway. He was all in pre-flop against Sebastian Ruthenberg and Vladimir Poleshchuk. Poleshchuk bet on the river and Spets didn't show what he had. He merely mucked his hand and left the television table.

* * * * *

And it's all action on the television table -- which you can watch on the EPT Live feed by clicking HERE. David Sonelin, the PokerStars qualifier from Sweden, has just been eliminated by Poleshchuk.

All the money went in on the turn when and ace hit. Sonelin had made top pair, with a five kicker, but the Russian had filled a straight with his king-jack and catapulted into the chip lead. He has more than 600,000 now.

So, those eliminations in full:

11 - David Sonelin - Sweden - PokerStars qualifier - €30,000
12 - Michael Durrer - Germany - PokerStars qualifier - €30,000
13 - Age Spets - Norway - €25,700
14 - Hans Eskilsson - Sweden - €25,700
15 - Pascal Perrault - France - €19,300
16 - Peter Gould - England - €19,300
17 - Alexander Kravchenko - Russia - €12,860
18 - Hector Fuentes - Spain - €12,860
19 - Victor Goossens - Holland - €12,860
20 - Alan Smurfit - Ireland - €12,860
21 - Kalil Rahal - France - €12,860
22 - Andreas Hoivold - Norway - €12,860
23 - Jiri Vacek - Hungary - €12,860
24 - Daniel Mangas - Spain - €12,860

We play down to eight tonight. That's two more and we're done.

When you're hot, you're hot and Julian Thew is somewhere near to the sun at the moment.

Julian Thew - an hour or so before his rush to the chip lead

He just busted Pascal Perrault in a battle of the blinds that got a little ugly courtesy of a pair of pocket aces (Thew's) to Pascal's ace-queen. They did the usual shilly-shallying, raise-reraise pre flop and then flipped. There were no miracles for Perrault and Julian vaulted into the chip lead.

A few hands later and he was at it again. Thomas Fuller, from the United States, raised to 20,000 from early position. From my railbird's perch I'd seen his pocket jacks. Julian asked how much he had behind, and Thomas counted out around 80,000. Julian bumped it up to 100,000, effectively putting Fuller all in, and after a couple of minutes' speech-play, the young American folded.

Ted Lawson led the other players in their guessing as to what Thomas had and he eventually showed them the hooks. Julian tapped the table in appreciation of the laydown and flashed pocket queens.

Julian is leading by some distance now: he's on more than 575,000, with Denes Kalo on about 380,000 and the PokerStars player Sebastian Ruthenberg on about 370,000. The short stacks are Age Spets and Thomas Fuller.

Meanwhile, Hans Eskilsson is out. The former soccer professional from Sweden pushed in with king-four and ran into David Sonelin's ace-queen. The PokerStars qualifier from Sweden continues to prosper under the studio lights.

It's been very slow going since the dinner break, with all 21 players who sampled the fine cuisine here still remaining in the tournament.

David Sonelin, the PokerStars qualifier from Sweden, is still out front, and has now been moved to the featured table. For anyone unaware, you can watch that table on a live webcast by clicking HERE.

The complete list of remaining players is as follows:

Featured table:

Age Spets (Norway)
Vladimir Poleshchuk (Russia)
Hans Eskilsson (Sweden)
Thierry van den Berg (Holland) - PokerStars qualifier
David Sonelin (Sweden) - PokerStars qualifier
Peter Gould (England)
Victor Goossens (Holland)

Table 1:

Denes Kalo (Hungary)
Alan Smurfit (Ireland)
Kalil Rahal (France)
Manfred Hammer (Germany)
Sebastian Ruthenberg (Germany) - PokerStars player
Julian Thew (England)
Gunnar Rabe (Sweden) - PokerStars qualifier

Table 2:

Anton Allemann (Switzerland)
Hector Fuentes (Spain)
Pascal Perrault (France)
Ted Lawson (USA)
Michael Durrer (Germany) - PokerStars qualifier
Alexander Kravchenko (Russia)
Thomas Fuller (USA)

While we wait for the inevitable fireworks to spark that will result in the field thinning to the required eight by the end of the day, why not enjoy some day three photography, courtesyof Neil Stoddart, PokerStars' photographer for the EPT.

Sebastian Ruthenberg, left, and Julian Thew discuss who should have called Gunnar Rabe's all in. Thew called with ace-ten and lost to Rabe's ace-jack


Pascal Perrault: the last remaining former EPT champion in the field


Age Spets, through a looking glass (or something)


Barry Greenstein drops into the EPT Live commentary booth. Follow the link at the top of the page to watch the live webcast


Hans Eskilsson: former football player in the money


It's all happening in there

Today's dinner - which will be served momentarily - is likely to taste a little sweeter for PokerStars qualifier Thierry van den Berg after a big double up in the past ten minutes.

A pre-flop raising battle broke out between the Dutch player and Peter Gould, of England. Thierry raised under-the-gun-plus-one, Peter re-raised from one off the button, Thierry moved all in and Peter was pot-committed. The final re-re-raise was about 30,000 more into a pot of around 90,000.

Thierry van den Berg rubs his hands at the prospect of a double up

Peter knew he was behind as he tabled A-K. Thierry, who spent much of yesterday lamenting the absence of pocket aces from his hand, uttered: "For once in my life," before flipping over those bullets. Good time to get them.

The flop, though, was scary for Thierry. It brought a queen and a ten, meaning "any old jack" would do it for Peter, as he repeated through turn and river. It didn't come, though, and Thierry doubled through to around 100,000.


The board keeps Thierry's hopes alive

Scratching the felt on the same table is Jiri Vacek, who lost near enough all his stack with A-2h against Victor Goossens' pocket fives. In fact, Vacek thought he was out, but tablemate Age Spets called him back suggesting he may have had Goossens covered. He did, as it happens, but he has less than 5,000 left and is itching to shove them in.

* * * * *

Tournament update:

Vacek was all in blind moments after the hand described above. He had jack-nine and couldn't beat K-Q of Thierry van den Berg. He takes €12,860 for 23rd.

Andreas Hoivold just became out 22rd placed finisher, earning €12,860. His A-4 couldn't overtake Gunnar Rabe's K-K and the Dortmund champion is gone. Pascal Perrault is now the lone remaining

* * * * *

Unrelated picture moment


Alexander Kravchenko under surveillance

Shortly after the bubble burst, the world collapsed for Daniel Mangas, from Spain. On the featured table, he re-raised Julian Thew's pre-flop bet and was all in for about 75,000. Julian called with jacks, Daniel flipped kings and was looking good. But Thew spiked a jack on the turn and moves to more than 200,000.

Other selected counts:

David Sonelin - PokerStars qualifier - Sweden - 378,000
Julian Thew - England - 210,000
Denes Kalo - Hungary - 205,000
Sebastian Ruthenberg - PokerStars player - Germany - 190,000
Michael Durrer - PokerStars qualifier - Germany - 140,000
Alexander Kravchenko - Russia - 125,000
Andreas Hoivold - Norway - 79,000
Peter Gould - England - 75,000
Thierry van den Berg - PokerStars qualifier - Sweden - 71,000
Anton Allemann - Switzerland - 70,000
Pascal Perrault - France - 67,000
Gunnar Rabe - PokerStars qualifier - Sweden - 65,000
Alan Smurfit - Ireland - 64,000
Hans Eskilsson - Sweden - 57,000
Age Spets - Norway - 48,000

Recent eliminations:

24th - Daniel Mangas - Spain - €12,860

There are a few subjects in these poker tournaments that always make good blog posts: the introduction, the shots of the town, the first eliminations, the Team PokerStars pros' progress, and, perhaps best of all, the bubble.

That paragraph of filler above is perhaps the best indication that this tournament was different. Before we even got a chance to hype the fact that they were playing hand-for-hand and that the next man out goes home with nothing, he'd been busted and was already on his way. Two and a half days and nothing to show for it. Tough beat.

The man in question this time was Heimo Kraner, from Austria. He moved all in pre-flop with an ace-queen and was called in two spots: Age Spets and chip-leader David Sonelin. The flop was ace-high, pretty good for Kraner, but Spets and Sonelin checked it all the way down and an eight fell on the river. Sonelin bet, Spets folded ace-queen face up, and Sonelin showed pocket eights for the rivered set.

Kraner is gone, we're down to 24, and everyone is getting paid.

David Sonelin with the chip lead

Poker is a game of decisions - and some of them can be worth several hundred thousand euros. As we approach the bubble in an event of this size, the number and importance of every call, raise or fold increases, and the top players have a tendency to make the right move at the right time.

And while most of us amateurs can only dream about playing for so much cash, it is sometimes possible to imagine ones way into these situations: hanging around in these events sometimes affords an insight into the thought processes of the best players.

Moments ago, with 27 players remaining, I caught a sight of Thomas Fuller squeezing his cards and seeing ace-ten off-suit. He was in the big blind and was facing a raise from Gunnar Rabe, the PokerStars qualifier from Sweden, who is hardly shy of putting his chips in the pot.

Gunnar Rabe, top, and Thomas Fuller, front

What would you do? Fuller had a decent stack; Rabe's was somewhat smaller. Fold and let him take it, perhaps advertising that your blind is there for the stealing. Raise and hope that Rabe was on a steal? Calling is another choice, of course, but what flop do you really want to see, especially out of position?

In this instance, Fuller went for option two, and stuck another 25,000 in the pot. That gave Gunnar a decision, and he called with a reluctant shrug.

When the flop came littered with rags, Fuller tried flexing his muscles and moved all in, giving Gunnar a decision to call for his tournament life. But Rabe had actually been in the driver's seat all along. He called and flipped aces. No miracle runner-runner was forthcoming for Thomas.


Thomas Fuller jots down details of the pot that went Rabe's way

Fuller, however, was still sitting behind a healthy enough stack and the very next hand had another tough decision. This time Gyoergy Moger, from Hungary, moved his small stack all in pre-flop. Thomas this time found ace-jack and again he found the call. Moger had fours and they were racing.

But the flop this time was slightly more healthy: a king, ten and a queen meant a straight for the young American. He offered his hand to his opponent, but Moger refused to take it until he'd seen the next two cards. Sure enough, a four came on the turn, giving Moger a set and plenty of full-house outs on the river. Thankfully for Fuller, none came and Moger took the walk.

Up, down, up again in two hands. Who'd be a poker player?

Baden is a sleepy little spa town near to the eastern edge of Austria, close to the borders with Hungary and Slovakia. The permanent residents and tourists alike hike up mountains, eat lavish pastries or relax in the spas.

The bombardment of poker players that occurs once a year must be quite a shock to the system, and when the money pulls into view - as it has during day three - the action becomes even more hectic.

The floor

From a starting field of 40, we're already down to fewer than 30. I'm not naming a specific number because it's sure to be out of date by the time this appears online.

Among those to fall are Roman Yitzhaki, who was the victim of some PokerStars players cannibalism. He was busted with ace-king against David Sonelin's kings; the PokerStars qualifier from Sweden continuing the form that lifted him up the leaderboard late last night.


Roman Yitzhaki: before his departure


David Sonelin: chip leader

And Sonelin's ascendency has continued right the way to the top of the pile. He also knocked out Thor Hansen, whose aces weren't good enough to beat the young Swede's jacks, when they made a flush.

Soraya Homam has also gone, joining Harald Poeschl, Johann Fest, Matt Tyler and Surinder Sunar on the rail.

Pictures (c) Neil Stoddart

Day three has begun in a predictable hurry, with those near the bottom of the overnight leaderboard desperate to begin their climb -- or to hit the spa.

As reported, we have already lost RaiNKhan, whose relaxation will have to wait until after his spell in the EPT Live commentary booth (join him HERE), and Carlo di Renzo, both of whom ran into aces.

But Thor Hansen, who was at the very foot of the table, just got all his stack in the middle and picked up the blinds and antes. He flashed a seven-five off-suit to advertise exactly the kind of hands with which he's prepared to make these moves.

Alexander Kravchenko, who was a dominant force in this year's World Series main event, also just survived an all-in. But his was of the double-up variety. He had ace-king and found a caller in Hans Eskilsson, the former soccer pro turned poker player.

Alexander Kravchenko, right, and Hans Eskilsson, far left

Eskilsson thought for an age before calling with pocket twos. The door card was a king and that was enough to double up Kravchenko.

* * * * *

It looks as though we have just lost both Surindar Sunar, from the feature table, and Matt Tyler, the PokerStars qualifier, from outside. Tyler suddenly appeared on the television feed shaking his friend Julian Thew's hand, and then settled in the bleechers. Hand details to follow.

Surinder, meanwhile, was a victim of Thew's. They got it all in pre-flop with ace-jack versus eights. The jack flopped to give Surinder a potential double-up, but the eight turned and Thew knocked him out.

It's frantic stuff.

Day three begins, and day three is over for RaiNKhan. He pushed his short stack in when it was passed to him two off the button.

Manfred Hammer, in the big blind, called immediately and it looked for all the world like a big hand. It was. It was aces.

RaiNKhan flipped Kh-8d and flopped an eight. But there was no more help and Hammer's aces held up. The final Team PokerStars Pro fell at the first today.

Meanwhile, a similar scenario was being played out on the featured table. Carlo di Renzo, of Italy, ran into Alan Smurfit's aces and that was that mark two.

Incidentally, we began today with about half an hour remaining of level 13, where blinds are 1,000-2,000 with an ante of 200.

Preparations underway for day three

Welcome again to Baden, Austria, for a crucial day three of the €8,000 PokerStars European Poker Tour event.

There's an argument to be made that all days in such a massive tournament are crucial, but today has special claims: we start with 40 players, we will end with eight. The player out first will go home with nothing; those who remain will win at least €60,000. And one of them will take €670,000 by the end of tomorrow night.

That means that today is not only bubble day, but also the day on which tomorrow's television stars and fortune holders are decided. In other words, today is a crucial day on the European Poker Tour.

So, who's in the running?

As usual, the field here has thinned to include an attractive smattering of big-name stars, wily veterans, young guns and online stars. Some players already fit into more than one category; others are busy making the transistion.

The hopes of Team PokerStars rest on the ample shoulders of Hevad "RaiNKhan" Khan, although he has some work to do. RaiNKhan has played an near-perfect tournament so far, but late last night had his jacks cracked by Julian Thew's 5-3, the Englishman hitting a straight on the river and knocking the Team PokerStars pro down to 21,300 in chips. It's not all over for the New Yorker, but he's looking up at 36 of the remaining 40.

Nearer the top of that pile is Michael Durrer, a PokerStars qualifier from Dusseldorf in Germany. Durrer was also close to the chip lead at the end of day one, but was circumspect when asked at the beginning of yesterday to relate the tale of his tournament. "The story happens on Wednesday," he said, referring to the day scheduled for the final table. Durrer might well feature prominently in that.

David Sonelin, a serial PokerStars qualifier from Sweden, is also in the top ten overnight. He survived a huge all in late in the day against Gunnar Rabe (who is, you guessed it, a PokerStars qualifier from Sweden) and finished with 115,500. Rabe is still alive himself, and has a healthy 81,300.

Among the rest of the field are Pascal Perrault and Andreas Hoivold, both previous EPT winners, Alan Smurfit, from Ireland, who won a bracelet at this year's WSOP, Surindar Sunar, the English professional, Alexander Kravchenko, who made the final table of the WSOP main event, and the aforementioned Julian Thew, another English professional and regular high-placed finisher on the EPT.

The featured table, which you can watch in any of six languages by clicking HERE, will begin with Sunar, Thew, Perrault, Smurfit and Durrer.

We'll have all the action from there and the outer tables here on PokerStars blog. Continue to check back for the remainder of the day.

It's crucial.

A reminder of the payouts:

1st - €670,800
2nd - €375,000
3rd - €225,000
4th - €160,820
5th - €132,900
6th - €105,000
7th - €83,600
8th - €60,000

9th-10th €38,600
11th-12th - €30,000
13th-14th - €25,700
15th-16th - €19,300
17th-24th - €12,860

The full chip counts for the 40 remaining players in Baden:

Anton Allemann (Switzerland) 140,000
Acar Mazlum (Switzerland) 136,000
Daniel Mangas (Spain) 134,500
Thomas Fuller (USA) 128,800
Vladimir Poleshchuk (Russia) 122,600
Michael Durrer (Germany) PokerStars qualifier 116,000
David Sonelin (Sweden) PokerStars qualifier 115,500
Julian Thew (UK) 114,700
Victor Goossens (Holland) 108,900
Denes Tamas Kalo (Hungary) 102,200
Sebastian Ruthenberg (Germany) PokerStars player 97,400
Hans Vimmo Eskilsson (Sweden) 96,800
Pascal Perrault (France) 95,700
Gunnar Rabe (Sweden) PokerStars qualifier 81,300
Christophe Defforey (Germany) 81,200
Jiri Vacek (Czech Republic) 78,100
Hector Fuentes (Spain) 77,400
Heimo Krainer (Austria) 73,500
Thierry van den Berg (Holland) PokerStars qualifier 69,800
Roman Yitzhaki (USA) PokerStars player 69,800
Age Spets (Norway) 68,500
Peter Gould (UK) 65,800
Gyoergy Moger (Hungary) 56,500
Dennis Naci Hansen (Denmark) 54,400
Alan Peter Smurfit (Ireland) 49,700
Kalil Rahal (France) 48,900
Andreas Hoivold (Norway) 48,900
Manfred Hammer (Germany) 47,200
Matthew Tyler (UK) PokerStars qualifier 45,600
Christophe Benzimra (France) 37,500
Surinder Sunar (UK) 36,300
Alexander Kravchenko (Russia) 34,800
Harald Poeschl (Austria) 33,800
Johann Fest (Germany) 28,000
Edward Lawson (USA) 25,300
Soraya Homam (Germany) 25,000
Andreas Fluri (Switzerland) 23,300
Hevad Khan (USA) Team PokerStars Pro 21,300
Carlo Di Renzo (Italy) 16,200
Thor Hansen (Norway) 14,400

Play begins tomorrow at 3 p.m.

And there we have it, day two is over.

We started with a field of 156 still afloat in the tournament and now we're down to 40. Some of the biggest names are still around; many others have gone. There's very little mercy shown during the course of one of these days, and this one has been particularly brutal.

It all started, I suppose, when Sander Lyloff, the overnight chip leader, lost two massive pots and was out: leader to loser in a matter of three levels. Then the deluge started: trotting up the stairs from press to poker rooms inevitaby meant passing someone on the way down announcing another big-name departure.

They fell like flies. Barny Boatman lost with a set of nines. Then the Team PokerStars Pros started taking the hits: Noah Boeken couldn't double his overnight short-stack; Dario Minieri's fours lost to queens; Luca Pagano departed; Barry Greenstein signed his book and left; Andre Akkari was on his way back to Brazil; Katja Thater, who'd clung on for hours, eventually also took the fall just before dinner.

By the end, only RaiNKhan of the Team PokerStars pros was still in the field, but he has a micro-stack, after Julian Thew rivered a straight in the final orbit of the day. We also lost both PokerStars qualifiers who had previously won EPTs: Mats Iremark and John Shipley were both eliminated in the early evening.

So where did all the chips go? Well, PokerStars players Sebastian Ruthenberg, from Germany, and Roman Yitzhaki, from the United States, still have plenty. As do PokerStars qualifiers Michael Durrer, Thierry van den Berg, David Sonelin, Matt Tyler and Gunnar Rabe.

Also in the field are Surindar Sunar, Age Spets, Julian Thew, Alexander Kravchenko and Alan Smurfit, among others. The full chip counts for the remaining 40 players will be here as soon as we know them.

In the meantime, here's a review of today's action:

Durrer doubles up -- The travails of a chip leader

Gunnar gunning: the emergence of Gunnar Rabe

Slicing through the field

Dinner break update

Brutal departures

Greenstein exits -- Other PokerStars notables

Day two begins -- Qualifiers or champions? -- Thierry van den Berg and Michael Durrer

Picture (c) Neil Stoddart

The day is definitely drawing to a close now, and were it not for a two-outer recently sending Michael Durrer, the PokerStars qualifier from Germany, to more than 100,000, we'd already be packing up and going home.

But, truth be told, I'm happy: when I spoke to Durrer earlier in the day, asking him for the story so far, he told me to check back later. It was too early for stories, he said. But, having noticed about 30 railbirds crowded around his table late on tonight, the notebook came out and recorded this, among th other scrawls, doodles and nonsense.

We were already past the turn and the board read: Ac-6c-6d-5d. The pot was already monstrous, and Philip Yeh, from Sweden, had put a bet of about 15,000 into it. Durrer, from Dusseldorf, was thinking. He was thinking hard. And then he said all-in, pushing his remaining 35,000 or so into the pot.

Massive pot goes to Michael Durrer

Yeh thought for a far shorter time and called. He had Durrer covered, but only just. However, he definitely had the better hand: his six-ten had made trips, while Durrer's ace-ten was two pair.

That was until the river, when one of the two aces remaining in the deck popped out, to send gasps around the rail and leave Philip punching the table and cursing his ill fortune.

Durrer, however, was smiling. His story is only just beginning.

* * * * *

Another chip lead dwindles

No sooner had the previous post found its way onto PokerStars blog, than Gunnar Rabe, its principal subject, was confirming its content. Chip leaders have really struggled here in Baden, suffering huge hits the minute they seem to accumulate a huge stack.

So it was again for Rabe, the PokerStars qualifier from Sweden. He ended up losing a pot of around 50,000 to fellow Swede and fellow PokerStars qualifier, David Sonelin. Rabe had 5-5, Sonelin A-K and it all went in on a board of 9d-9c-Kc.

There was no miracle five on turn or river and Gunnar was down to about 100,000. Sonelin, meanwhile, is up to about 60,000.