September 2007 Archives

Hevad Khan, the vocal and popular final tablist at this year’s World Series of Poker main event maintained his run of form yesterday by winning the Hold’em 100, the charity event founded 12 years ago which raises money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Fund in the UK.

Tearing through a field which included fellow Team PokerStars players Daniel Negreanu, Noah Boeken, Chris Moneymaker, Katja Thater, Dario Minieri and guest of honour Gavin Griffin (winner of the EPT Grand Final last March), Hevad - known as “RaiNKhaN” on PokerStars, won a tense heads-up battle against Hold'em 100 regular Rory McCafferty, a 34-year-old IT support analyst from Lewisham, London. Rory, whose mum Cathy has made the Hold'em 100 final table three times, won £1,500.

2007 Hold’em 100 Final Table Results

1. Hevad Khan £1,500 + £5200 seat to London EPT [*]
2. Rory McCafferty £1,500
3. Valentine Low £1,000
4. Geoff Marsh £650
5. Barney Cordell £400
6. Phil Shaw £250
7. Geoff Henman £100
8. Mark Patrick £80

[*] since Hevad is already playing London, he will defer the seat to Baden EPT in Austria, October 7-10, 2007.

In town for the EPT London which starts tomorrow, Hevad finished 6th at the WSOP main event this summer, winning $956,243. But it’s hard not to have seen or at least heard of the 22 year old former ‘Starcraft’ player before that break through result.

RainKhaN's unorthodox playing practices brought him to the attention of the PokerStars security team some months ago, when they thought they had dentified 'bot' activity. In other words, they thought it impossible for a human to play so many Sit & Go’s online at the same time. To clear his good name, Hevad made a video of himself playing 36 Sit & Go’s and sent it to PokerStars support.

Case closed.

The Hold’em 100 marked Hevad’s debut appearance as a Team PokerStars player. Not a bad way to warm up for the EPT marathon this week. Congratulations to him, to organisers and to the 78 runners who raised over £8,000 for the Royal Marsden Cancer Fund. Whoever said that poker players weren’t generous?

Guest of honour at the Hold’em 100 was Gavin Griffin, winner of the Season 3 EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. He is in town with his girlfriend Kristen, both of whom are no strangers to raising money for a cause close to their hearts.

Much publicised in Monte Carlo was Gavin and Kristen’s support for the Avon Walk for Life, a breast cancer charity in the United States and the reason behind Gavin’s shock of pink hair - the colour of breast cancer campaigns around the world. Was he surprised how many poker players are happy to dig deep for a good cause?

“I’m not surprised so many poker players turn up for events like this. It’s a good thing – it really allows us to have fun and play wild and crazy for a while and for a good cause.”

There speaks a man after four re-buys.

“I’m looking forward to my first EPT London this week.” He added. “The EPT has a really good structure and it’s my first time in London. We both expected it to be raining, but there’s all this sunshine! Even with the jetlag though all this travelling is something that I love and I wouldn’t be able to do if I wasn’t a poker player. I’m happy to be here.”

No pink hair, just a pink ribbon for Kristen though...

“I’m an engineer” she laughed, “and I start a new job in 4 weeks. I’d be worried about what they might think!”

Fair enough.


Good form

John Talabalai, on a solid run of form after his second place in the WSOP Europe last week, is pretty excited about his first EPT.


John Tabatabai

“After I came second in the WSOP Europe I got a call asking if I’d like to come down to the Hold’em 100. I’m not sure how many re-buys I’ve had. I’ve been all in a lot. But it’s a fun table with a lot of locals from the Vic Casino. There’s Gavin Griffin and Vicky Coren all-in on every hand. No idea how many re-buys though. Four or five?”


In the swing of things

Daniel Negreanu was away from his table between deals, golf club in hand taking a few swings (where do you find a golf club at short notice?) Was the man famous for re-buys on his game today?

“I’ve been really lucky - I keep winning hands! So not many re-buys for me. But other people were re-buying so that’s good! (Swing) It’s been fun working with PokerStars so far. I get to travel to a lot of cool cities here in Europe and I’m falling in love with a lot of places. (Swing) And London will be my second EPT – so I’m looking forward to it.

So is he actually good at golf?

“Getting better...” he smiles (Swing)

Full coverage of the Season 4 EPT London begins on Tuesday.

First, cram some of the best poker players in the world into a subterranean poker cavern in the heart of London. Second, play for charity to tap in to their good natured hearts. Finally, make it a re-buy to give the betting muscles time to warm up. What have you got? Fast paced action and for a good cause at the Hold’em 100.

That’s the scenario this afternoon at the Loose Cannon Sports Bar in London for the Hold’em 100, a prestigious charity poker tournament now in its twelfth year in aid of the Royal Marsden, the UK's leading cancer hospital.

Members of Team PokerStars stopped off on their way to the EPT London to add their support to the event organised by Conrad Brunner who staged the first Hold’em 100 back in 1995.

“A 100-player tournament was a really big deal back then.” Said Brunner. “We didn't think we would get enough players but kicked off the first event with 104 runners. That made it the UK’s biggest ever tournament at the time."

Brunner and his fellow organisers were inspired to turn the Hold’em 100 into an annual event and in 2001 more than 280 players turned up.

“We’ve raised over £100,000 now. People don't believe poker players are generous, but every year we see them splashing out extravagantly on the re-buys, knowing the cash is going to a very good cause.”

Along with familiar Team PokerStars faces such as Chris Moneymaker, Noah Boeken, Daniel Negreanu and Katja Thater were Team PokerStars debutants Dario Minieri and Hevad Khan. The Italian Minieri famously became the first player on Stars to reach the lofty position on ‘Porsche’ on the FPP list, (that’s not its official title but it was somewhere beyond Supernova) whilst RaiNKahN, as he is known online, reached the final table of this year’s World Series of Poker main event, finishing 6th.

Charity aside there was still a tournament to be won and a seat in the EPT London to the winner courtesy of PokerStars. Want to know who won? Check back later for the results.

Before we go on it might be wise to confess something. It’s better to say it now so that we all know where we stand and they’ll be no risk of confusion. To people who know me this is hardly news, but to anyone else out there it should provide a good enough springboard to get this blog underway again… ‘I'm a terrible poker player’.

There, I said it. I feel better.

I'm of the belief that you don't have to be good at poker to get some kind of enjoyment out of it, and looking at the number of people who watch poker on TV the law of averages says that we can’t all be Joe Hachem, Barry Greenstein or Isabelle Mercier. The closest we can come to them is to buy good sunglasses, grow a beard or sew sequins in our jeans. And practice of course, and that’s where PokerStars.net comes in.

For over two years I have written about some of the best players in countries all over the world - talking to them about what it takes to be among the game’s best. Standing just feet away I’ve seen them perform what looks like magic - reads on opponents that make you doubt the non-existence of ESP, and I’ve seen the same players winning again and again making dust of the suggestion that all this is pure chance. So you’d think watching just a little of this from such close range would rub off on me and make me a better player – nope, zip, nothing, nada.

That’s just my story though. I heartily recommend watching the best in the world as one of the better ways to improve your own game. So I offer this as a rallying cry to all those intent on improving and to those who live with their own poker secret – that they too struggle from time to time understanding pot odds or with a tendency to miss three flush on the board. To anyone who has checked, passed, or folded nuts I’ll say this – poker takes a lifetime to learn but you’re in the right place.

Howard Swains wraps up the last day of the World Cup of Poker


Victorious USA: Greg Raymer, Randy Principe,
Tyler Netter, Shaun Deeb & John Kenlan

Poker players all seem to have their signature hands. Many like aces, for obvious reason, but Greg Raymer, for instance, swears by pocket eights, the hand he rode to World Series success in 2004.

And from tomorrow onwards, two other young American players schooled, like Raymer, on PokerStars, will have trouble passing one particular set of hold 'em pocket cards.

And here's why.

This evening in the Gran Casino, Barcelona, Tyler Netter and Shaun Deeb, of Team USA, both won huge pots holding the mighty Q-J off-suit, eliminating their Icelandic and Canadian adversaries from the final of the World Cup of Poker and building the chip stack that would eventually earn their country the top prize of $100,000. Oh yeah, and the small matter of the World Cup itself.

The United States -- Deeb, Netter, Raymer, as well as Randy Principe and John Kenlan -- are champions, beating Romania into second spot after a lengthy heads up duel. But it was those key pots with Q-J that did the damage, sending two other countries in search of sangria, and the United States to the top of the tree.

We convened at 6pm with the deepest of deep stacks and four countries in with a shout. They began with 25,000 in chips and levels starting at 50-100. How about that for a short-handed sit and go?

The World Cup is a team event, and the final is where strength in depth comes into play. Team captains are required to make at least three substitutions, ensuring at least four of their five players have at least an hour around the felt.

And in the first leg, Einar Sveinsson, of Iceland, Razvan Bengulescu, of Romania, Ed Byrne, of Canada and Randy Principe, of the United States took to the tables. And, predictably, it was tight: with the likes of Raymer and Daniel Negreanu looking on like caged lions ready to pounce, no one wanted to be responsible for denying them their chance.

When the first substitutions came at the end of level two, few chips had changed hands. That meant that Cristian Dragomir, the Romanian star player, Tyler Netter, the American captain, Jody Thompson, the Canadian captain, and Magnus Johannesson, Iceland's joker in the pack, had it all to play for. And play they did.


First substitutions: Cristian Dragomir, Tyler Netter, Jody Thompson & Magnus Johannesson

Netter had impressed in his heat before going out in second place, but Johannesson, himself a runner-up in heat five, seemed to have the American's number, pushing him around with a series of aggressive re-raises. In fact, though, it was Netter who was excelling: the television broadcast revealed that Netter made a good lay-down with pocket jacks after Johannesson moved all-in with a flopped set of deuces.

Johannesson then slow-played a flopped straight to earn a few more chips from Netter, and Cristian Dragomir joined in the beating, re-raising his turned set of kings to force Netter into another shrewd lay down.

At this point it was looking grim for the short-stacked United States, and it was soon looking even bleaker. Netter moved all in over the top of Dragomir's pre-flop raise and the Romanian made what turned out to be a great call. He had K-Qs and no one knew at that point how dominant the American Q-Jo would turn out to be.

But this was the turning point. The flop was painless for Romania: 9c-5s-2d. The turn was the eight of spades, which also hardly seemed troubling. Sure, the United States had made an inside straight draw, but Romania now had four to the flush. Only a non-spade jack or ten could win it.

Romania look away now.

Out popped the ten of clubs - one of only four outs - filling the middle-pin straight and doubling up America at the hands of their most dangerous opponents.

We then had some substitutions. The United States and Iceland both wheeled out their big guns: Greg Raymer came in for Netter and Halldor Sverrisson replaced Johannesson. Michael Watson came in for Canada.

But it was the man who stayed, Cristian Dragomir, of Romania, who took the bull by the horns. Anyone could have excused him for being on tilt after the horrific suck-out he had just suffered. And in these circumstances he must have been overjoyed to peer down at pocket kings.

Sverrisson raised from the small blind with A-6 and called Dragomir's re-raise, seeing a king high flop. This, of course, had made the set for the Romanian, and when an ace came on the turn, Sverrisson did exceptionally well to lay down his top pair to an all-in raise from Dragomir.

Iceland, however, were in trouble.

So were Canada, who had left Negreanu on the rail until the end. Michael Watson tried to get things moving for his side, but wasn't getting any help from the board and Greg Raymer was profiting with USA's ill-gotten gains.

Watson eventually gave way to Negreanu at the end of his two-level allotment, but if Team Canada was expecting their star man to send them soaring up the leaderboard, they couldn't be more wrong. They were soaring out the door instead.

Shaun Deeb, in for the United States, raised from early position and Negreanu found pocket sevens. It was all in or fold, and he favoured the first option. Deeb saw his chance to knock out a superstar and took it, tabling K-J. When the king came on the turn, Negreanu was out. Team Canada finished fourth and Negreanu had played precisely two hands.


Daniel busted

Then, it was that Q-J again for Team USA. Andri Bjorgvin, now playing for Iceland, bet from the button and Deeb moved in. The Iceland captain called with A-9 and was ahead. But as Deeb turned to his own captain, Netter, and said: "This is your hand, Tyler," the writing was on the wall. A queen came on the flop and Iceland were sent packing.

Deeb had eliminated both Iceland and Canada, and it seemed wise to keep him on for the heads-up battle. He had a three-to-one chip lead and all the momentum. He was looking strong.

Romania's Cristian Rajala did achieve one double up against Deeb, overtaking 6-6 with K-10. But after Cristian Tardea came in, he couldn't find any help from the board and eventually got his dwindling stack in the middle behind J-8.

Deeb, as was customary, was going nowhere. He'd found ace-queen, called the all in and there were no miracles for Romania.



All the chips went the way of Team USA, and the new World Cup winners were decided.

PokerStars.com World Cup of Poker - Final results

1st - United States (Tyler Netter, Randy Principe, Greg Raymer, John Kenlan, Shaun Deeb) - $100,000

2nd - Romania (Razvan Bengulescu, Florin Constantin, Cristian Rajala, Cristian Tardea, Cristian Dragomir) - $60,000

3rd - Iceland (Andri Bjorgvin, Fridrik Jorgensson, Halldor Sverrisson, Einar Sveinsson, Magnus Johannesson) - $40,000

4th - Canada (Jody Thompson, Ed Byrne, Otto Byrne, Daniel Negreanu, Michael Watson) - $20,000

Quotes:

Daniel Negreanu, Team Canada: “It’s been a lot of fun. I love this kind of environment. It’s not all about the money; it’s about five guys sacrificing personal goals for the whole team. I’ve really enjoyed it. ”

Greg Raymer, Team USA: "I was really impressed by Romania. I thought that one-through-five they had more depth than any other team in the competition. They didn't make any obvious mistakes that I saw."

Randy Principe, Team USA: "It's a dream. And now it's come true."

Tyler Netter, Team USA captain, pointing to World Cup trophy: "Who gets to keep that? I do!?!"

John, Tyler Netter's roommate: "Wooah. That's going to be the centrepiece of the apartment from now on."

Howard Swains reports on the final day of the World Cup of Poker.

Hello again and welcome back to Barcelona for the final of the PokerStars World Cup of Poker.

It's been a fascinating three days, pitting five representatives from each of the eight qualifying countries in five single-table sit and goes to determine who returns here today. And after leaving Mexico, Ireland, Portugal and Germany on the beach, the top four from the heats -- Iceland, Romania, Canada and the United States -- have one more match to play to determine who will be crowned World Champions.

Rules for this final showdown are simple, and they are complicated.

The simple stuff: The game is no limit Texas hold 'em. Players start with 25,000 in chips and will play 30 minute levels, starting at 50-100.

There's serious money at stake:

1st: $100,000 ($20,000 per person)
2nd: $60,000 ($12,000 per person)
3rd: $40,000 ($8,000 per person)
4th: $20,000 ($4,000 per person)

Now the tricky stuff.

The final table is a tag-team event, with team captains able to substitute players during proceedings. In fact, they MUST make substitutions. Although only one player from each team can be at the table at any one time, at least three players from each team must have played at least two levels by the end of level eight (unless the country has been eliminated).

That means that at least four of the country's five representatives will play (again assuming that the country is not eliminated). After level eight, a final substitution can be made and that player - the "closer" - can play until the end.

There are two very famous names in the line-ups today. Daniel Negreanu takes his place as the star of Team Canada, while Greg Raymer lines up for Team USA. Captains will deploy these stars as and when they see fit.

But neither of these players won their heats, proving once again the strength in depth among PokerStars players. And it's highly likely that one of these players will have the final say:

Iceland (topped heats with 45 points)

Friorik Jorgensson
Halldor Sverrisson
Einar Sveinsson
Andri Arnthorsson
Magnus Johannesson


Team Iceland
(and the captain’s brother Sigtryggur on the right)

Romania (44 points)

Razvan Bengulescu
Florin Constantin
Rajala Cristian Mihai
Cristian Tardea
Cristian Dragomir


Team Romania

Canada (40 points)

Michael Watson
Otto Byrne
Daniel Negreanu
Jody Thompson
Ed Byrne


Team Canada

United States (37 points)

Greg Raymer
John Kenlan
Randy Principe
Tyler Netter
Shaun Deeb


Team USA

Cards are in the air.

An Icelandic, a Canadian, a Romanian and an American walk into a casino...

It doesn't sound much like a joke, and it isn't. It's the line-up for tomorrow's final of the World Cup of Poker, decided today in the Gran Casino, Barcelona.

After five heats played over three grueling days, we now have a line up for the main event here tomorrow. Today's two heat winners were teams Iceland and Portugal, but the latter won't be returning: the Portuguese team will join Ireland, Germany and Mexico in the bleachers.

There was everything to play for at the start of the day, with Romania peering down at the chasing pack and knowing that only a disaster of epic proportion could preclude their participation in the final. At the other end of the scale, Mexico knew they needed a miracle to progress, but everyone here knows that poker can often provide such things.

In heat four, which began at 3.30pm, Katja Thater, of Germany, was the star attraction. The World Series bracelet winner, and Team PokerStars member, needed to give her struggling team a boost by securing a top three place. But after running into Romania's aces, held by Cristian Tardea, Katja then had her A-10 outdrawn by A-8 and was out in seventh. The only man beating her out the door was Jody Thompson, of Canada, who had kings when Andri Arnthorsson found aces. Enough said.

That left Ireland and Portugal among those looking for a big result to promote chances of a final appearance, but they ended up being the next two sides sent to the rail, each the victims of Tyler Netter, the Team USA captain, who led from the front for his side.

Netter first busted Noel Peare, of Ireland, with A-K versus A-9. He followed up by winning a race with A-J against Luiz Freitas's 10-10. Team USA's chances had previously been in the balance, but when Netter also eliminated Cristian Tardea, of Romania (this time with aces against A-7), he was bossing this heat and looking good for the final.

Ricardo Rios, meanwhile, had been doing everything he possibly could to rescue something of a helpless situation for Mexico. He needed to earn maximum points and hope his team-mate could manage the same in the final heat. And though he tried his best, earning more points than his three previous team-mates put together, he perished in third - queen-ten not able to overtake ace-queen.

That left USA versus Iceland in the heads-up battle, and Iceland prevailed courtesy of two major pots. First, the Icelandic A-10 beat the American 4-4. Then J-3 for America wasn't good enough to beat ace-queen. It was over, and everything hung in the balance for the final heat.

Heat four results

Andri Arnthorsson, Iceland, 15 points
Tyler Netter, USA, 12 points
Ricardo Rios, Mexico, 9 points
Cristian Tardea, Romania, 7 points
Luiz Freitas, Portugal, 5 points
Noel Peare, Ireland, 3 points
Katja Thater, Germany, 2 points
Jody Thompson, Canada, 1 point

Overall standings after four heats

Romania - 43 points
Canada - 33 points
Iceland - 33 points
USA - 28 points
Ireland - 26 points
Germany - 19 points
Portugal - 18 points
Mexico - 16 points

It was party time in Barcelona for the final heat, especially if you were wearing a Portugal shirt and behind Nuno Coelho -- or "maniac" as he was soon known from the rail. Coelho knew that he needed big points from the heat, and also needed the others to fall in the right order.

He set about achieving the first part of that combination in dramatic fashion, shoving his chips into the pot behind any old hand and watching them accumulate. While the other players had abacuses under the table trying to figure out what permutations could earn their passage to the final, Coelho just went for the win, and it was great to watch.

He was assisted in the early exchanges by Christian Dragomir, of Romania, who was already in clover; Romania had qualified come what may. He shoved all in with 6-7 and couldn't beat Shaun Deeb's A-8.

Then Coelho took over. He crippled Mexico's hopes when his 5-3 outdrew Hector Rodriguez's kings. And he picked up any number of small pots with large bets. But when the next elimination came, Nuno was strangely absent. Instead, Shaun Deeb, of the United States, found queens and punished Mehmet Ogruk, of Germany. With Ogruk, who missed his flush draw, departed Germany's slim hopes of making the final.

And then it all really kicked off. In one monster pot, Coelho ended the hopes of Ireland, Mexico and, it turned out, Portugal. Micky McCloskey, Ireland's star, moved all in. Hector Rodriguez, who'd nursed a short stack for several rounds, joined in too. Then Coelho, who had them both covered, made the call with Q-Jc and hit his flush on the river.

Ireland and Mexico hit the rail and knew they were out. But it took a little longer for the news to sink in that Coelho had run on his own sword too: the eliminations had promoted Team USA to at least fourth in heat five, which would earn enough points to send them to the final.

So it was that the four remaining teams in heat five - Iceland, Canada, USA and Portugal - played out the remainder for just the money and pride. And the finalists soon departed: Ed Byrne, of Canada, went out in fourth ("You've done enough," said Daniel Negreanu); Shaun Deeb, of the United States went out in third. He'd also done enough.

And then Nuno soon polished off Magnus Johannesson, of Iceland, in the heads-up battle to have his day in the sun.

Magnus allowed himself a wry smile, though. He, and Team Iceland, ended up topping the heat table and will return tomorrow for a stab at the big money.

Join us - and Iceland, USA, Canada and Romania - for the World Cup Final tomorrow.

Adios.

Heat five results

Nuno Coelho, Portugal, 15 points
Magnus Johannesson, Iceland, 12 points
Shaun Deeb, USA, 9 points
Ed Byrne, Canada, 7 points
Micky McCloskey, Ireland, 5 points
Hector Rodriguez, Mexico, 3 points
Mehmet Ogruk, Germany, 2 points
Cristian Dragomir, Romania, 1 point

Final standings after five heats

Iceland - 45 points
Romania - 44 points
Canada - 40 points
USA - 37 points
-----------------------------------
Portugal - 33 points
Ireland - 31 points
Germany - 21 points
Mexico - 19 points

Iceland, Romania, Canada and USA qualify for tomorrow's final.

Howard Swains reports on Day 4 of the World Cup of Poker



Welcome back to Barcelona for day three of the PokerStars World Cup of Poker. There are two heats planned for today which, by the time they're done, will have decided the line up for tomorrow's final.

At 3.30pm, representatives of teams Iceland, Ireland, Romania, Germany, Canada, United States, Mexico and Portugal will play the latest heat, worth 15 points for its winner, 12 for its runner-up, all the way down to one point for first out.

And at 9.30pm, we'll be off again, where there will likely still be everything to play for.

Overnight, the standings looked like this:

Romania - 36 points
Canada - 32 points
Ireland - 23 points
Iceland - 18 points
Germany - 17 points
USA - 16 points
Portugal - 13 points
Mexico - 7 points

and although it's looking bleak for Mexico, they are by no means out of it. The top four teams qualify for the final and back-to-back victories could send them through. This is poker, and much stranger things have happened.

Meanwhile Romania and Canada might look comfortable at the top of the pile, but they still have the added cash incentives to play for in these heats. There's a bonus $5,000 to a heat winner in addition to the points; $3,000 for the runner up and $2,000 for third place. That's not to be sniffed at.

Check back here throughout the day for latest updates. There will be chips flying, flags waving, proud chanting and some poker. We'll keep you posted all the way.

Howard Swains reports from day 3 of the World Cup of Poker

They started the day on top of the pile, and by the end of it, they were only looking down from even farther.

Team Romania went one better than their second and third from the opening day when Cristian Mihai crushed Daniel Negreanu, of Canada, in a tense heads-up battle at the end of heat three of the PokerStars.com World Cup of Poker.

It was a bittersweet moment for Negreanu. The Romanian fans rushed to the table to drape him in a Romanian flag, an indication of the affection they hold for Negreanu, who has Romanian parentage and has spent the past two days shmoozing in their mother tongue.

But here he's clad in the red of his adopted home, Canada, and he came up slightly short for them - getting his final chips in the middle with jack-ten and earning a call from the dominant Mihai. With good reason: Mihai had A-3, although he must have shivered at the sight of a jack on the flop.

Not to worry, though. The Romania fans bellowed "ACE!" from the stands, and sure enough one arrived to end the longest heat so far.


Team Romania beats Team Romania Team Canada

It was obvious from the opening exchanges that this wasn't going to be the grind of the first two heats. Martha Herrera, of Mexico, was keen to mix it up early in the match and found herself up against Negreanu's aces. Herrera had the Canadian covered, and also had a flush draw with K-10s and two more spades on the flop. But neither of them hit, sending Martha out and leaving Mexico in trouble with just seven points from three heats.

Next out was Einar Sveinsson, of Iceland. He had legitimate reason to push pre-flop -- ace-queen in the hole -- but Negreanu found queens this time to knock out Iceland, his second victim out of two to perish. It's bad enough for the rest of the table that the multiple bracelet winner was in their heat, but did the poker gods really have to give him cards as well?

For the next hour of so, however, it was another Daniel, Daniel Bolton, of Ireland, who took centre stage. He was on Negreanu's left and had already shown he wasn't to be intimidated, re-raising with regularity and impunity. This aggressive style had built him a sizeable stack and it soon accounted for Luis Medina, of Portugal. Bolton was able to make an easy call with A-8 to dominate Medina's A-2. No miracle deuce and it was all over for the Portuguese.

Play tightened, until the two Daniels, each in possession of the large stacks, tangled. Negreanu came out on top when Bolton's open-ended straight failed to hit. Bolton then gave another small pot to David Windisch, of Germany, who found himself reduced to playing all-in poker - and profiting - for a good while.

He doubled up via Bolton, but shipped it all to Romania on the next hand. He'd taken a chance (you have to in this game) with 10-4, but Mihai had found A-K, made the call and despatched Germany with five points.

That left four, but Randy Principe couldn't last much longer. He too, under the instructions of Greg Raymer, of the United States, had been doing a lot of pre-flop pushing, nicking what he could from the aggressive Daniels. But it ended with an outdraw: Bolton, of Ireland, pushed with 9-4 and Principe made a great call for all his chips with A-10. The nine on the flop was cruel.

So, down to three. And they were fairly even in chips. However, Daniel Bolton knew he had to gamble to take maximum points and he got it in ahead with 4-4. Negreanu's K-10 was a 50-50 chance, and it hit in style: turning a full house.

That left Team Romania I versus Team Romania II, or Team Canada, depending on what language Negreanu is talking at the time. And Mihai was brave and bold against his countryman adversary, edging the heads-up after half an hour or so.

We'll reconvene for heats four and five tomorrow to see who makes it to the final four.

Heat three results

1 - Cristian Mihai, Romania, 15 points
2 - Daniel Negreanu, Canada, 12 points
3 - Daniel Bolton, Ireland, 9 points
4 - Randy Principe, USA, 7 points
5 - David Windisch, Germany, 5 points
6 - Luis Medina, Portugal, 3 points
7 - Einar Sveinsson, Iceland, 2 points
8 - Martha Herrera, Mexico, 1 point

Overall standings after heat three

Romania - 36 points
Canada - 32 points
Ireland - 23 points
Iceland - 18 points
Germany - 17 points
USA - 16 points
Portugal - 13 points
Mexico - 7 points

There's more to actually playing poker than meets the eye... as Howard Swains reports

A couple of stories picked up during the break here in Barcelona. Firstly, Mad Harper, our roving reporter, spoke to Einar Sveinsson, of Iceland, and asked him of his previous poker experience. He remembered qualifying for the World Series 2006 on PokerStars, but also recalls when it all went wrong near the end of the first day.



Glancing around his table, he noticed every single player was wearing sunglasses and, as a newbie, didn't want to be left out of the crowd. So he nipped off during the break to buy his own pair and returned to take his place among the be-shaded crowd.

Problem: sunglasses make things notably darker and Einar ended up missing a possible flush on the board. He bet his top pair hard, and shipped a load of chips to an opponent who had made the flush. Einar is sunglasses-free here in Barcelona.

On the other hand, Randy Principe, of Team USA, is putting his faith in shades. Not just any old shades, though. Greg Raymer has just loaned his trademark lizard-eye sunglasses to his team-mate as Principe attempts send some cold-blooded shivers through his opponents. Principe is the short stack after the break, but who'd bet against him while sporting the world champion's eye-wear?

Howard Swains previews day 3 at the World Cup of Poker

Hang around the peripheries of any poker tournament for any stakes in any city in the world and players are always conducting post mortems of previous days' play, while preparing strategy for the coming contest.

Daniel Negreanu, the celebrity player of Team Canada, has never been shy with the chat. And in the Gran Casino Barcelona yesterday, he was not only the loudest cheerleader, but also the master strategician, advising Michael Watson all the way to first place in the opening heat, and bolstering the confidence of Otto Byrne as he made his debut in a major poker tournament.


Daniel Negreanu coaches the team before heat 3

Today, it's Daniel's turn. He'll take his place in the spotlight around the felt of heat three. And true to form, he's the chirpy one as the players prepare for the second day of the PokerStars World Cup, often by reviewing yesterday's heats and adopting a new strategy for this team-based game.

A reminder: each heat takes the form of an eight-player sit and go, with team points awarded for wherever an individual places in their heat. The winner takes 15 points; second gets 12; all the way down to a solitary point for the first player out.

"It's more than just poker," Negreanu said. "There's so much else you have to think about in this team format. Some of the commentators questioned some of the plays, but I support them 100 percent."

Negreanu now has the chance to show them how it's done. He claimed yesterday that he's "absolutely certain" that he can take second place at least, but his opponents today will enjoy nothing more than undermining that confidence.

Daniel may be accustomed to mixing it with the high stakes crowd like Brunson, Esfandiari and Hansen. But he's never played this group of team players, all fuelled by the desire to haul their country into the next round of the World Cup.

Howard Swains in Barcelona brings us the latest from the World Cup of Poker.

Eight countries, 16 players, two tables, 11 hours and a lot of shouting.

That, in a nutshell, is day one of the PokerStars World Cup of Poker at the Gran Casino Barcelona. There were high hopes, plenty of national pride and a World Champion as well. And at the end of it, it's Team Romania who peer down at the rest. They didn't win either of the heats, but a second and a third place was enough to put them top of the overall standings.

Heat one went the way of Canada, with Michael Watson playing a perfect game that combined patience where necessary with a rare willingness to get his chips in the pot when the opportunity arose. That, in truth, is the way to play these tournaments. The players start with 5,000 chips and a low blind level, but that soon ratchets up, and the chips have to fly.

The opening heat featured Greg Raymer, usually of Team PokerStars, but here representing the United States, as their celebrity player. Fortunate for the US that their celebrity is also a world champion, but no one around the baize today is a rookie, and there's no respect given when the game is poker.

Sure enough, Raymer was among the early chip leaders, but bust in fourth when his K-5 couldn't beat Watson's A-2. Before that, Friorik Jorgensson, from Iceland, had been eliminated in eighth (eights versus aces); Derek Murray, of Ireland, had gone out in seventh (ace-king versus queens); Jorge Marques, the Portuguese player, had finished sixth (sevens versus kings) and Patrick Kubert, of Germany, had become the fifth placed finisher, the victim of a rivered flush.

And after Raymer departed, the pace hardly slackened. The three remaining players had already earned themselves he lion's share of the points, as well as a nice financial sweetener. The heat winner earns a $5,000 bonus, second gets $3,000 and third $2,000.

They knew that they had to play, and play they did -- although it wasn't long before Jorge Marques, of Portugal, was taking the walk. He stuck all his chips in with A-7, but Michael Watson's A-K was never troubled and the heads up battle began between Canada and Romania.

Ravzan Bengulescu, the Romanian representative, confessed to being a Raymer fan, and he must have been overjoyed to outlast his hero. It was unfortunate, though, that he was up against Watson, who had demonstrated that he didn't mind who he knocked out, be they established superstar or one on the way up.

It barely lasted five hands before Romania was all in behind K-Q. Watson called with A-2 and the ace hit the river to give the 15 points to Canada.

Heat one results:

1 - Michael Watson (Canada) - 15 points, plus $5,000
2 - Razvan Bengulescu (Romania) - 12 points, plus $3,000
3 - Jorge Marques (Portugal) - 9 points, plus $2,000
4 - Greg Raymer (USA) - 7 points
5 - Patrick Kubert (Germany) - 5 points
6 - Antonio Childakis (Mexico) - 3 points
7 - Derek Murray (Ireland) - 2 points
8 - Friorik Jorgensson (Iceland) - 1 points

Heat two turned everything on its head. The unfortunate first two countries out of heat one -- Ireland and Iceland -- ended up placing second and first, respectively. But they took their time to get there.

Perhaps intimidated by the studio lights, or perhaps under team instructions, the opening three hours of heat two was among the most circumspect poker tournaments I've ever witnessed. It was as though eight Mensa members were taking a junior high math test: pass, pass, pass, pass, pass.

When the breakthrough eventually came, it was the Portuguese celebrity player Joao Nunes who departed. The blinds were high enough and the table tight enough that players were all in pre flop with a wide variety of hands. Nunes's 6-5 was one of them, but Joe Connolly, of Ireland, found A-2 and called. The better hand held up when an ace rivered.

That -- and a few beers -- woke up the Irish contingent in the crowd and a small-time carnival atmosphere descended on Barcelona. Previously, the Portuguese contingent had been shouting the loudest, but the Irish soon came to town.

And well they might. Connolly then knocked out John Kenlan, of the United States, with ace-king versus ace-queen. Jonathan Stoker, of Mexico, followed him out the door when his deuces couldn't make it through the flop. Otto Byrne, of Canada was out in fourth; Byrne allowing himself to get blinded away before perishing with J-3. Then Joe Connolly was at it again, eliminating Sasa Kojcinovic, of Germany.

That left Ireland and Iceland, the bottom two finishers in heat one, to mix it with Romania, represented by Florin Constantin. But that three-handed party didn't last long: Florin was frozen out by Iceland.

When they got heads-up, both Ireland and Iceland had chips. But they were soon in the middle when both players found aces. Halldor, of Iceland, had the better kicker though, and booted Joe back to his green-clad team-mates for a post mortem and a pint.

Halldor, a veteran of the EPT and various other major tournaments, was the cream that rose to the top in this heat and will be a strong contender should Iceland qualify for the finals.

Heat two results:

1 - Halldor Sverrisson - Iceland - 15 points, plus $5,000
2 - Joe Connolly - Ireland - 12 points, plus $3,000
3 - Florin Constantin - Romania - 9 points, plus $2,000
4 - Sasa Kojcinovic - Germany - 7 points
5 - Otto Byrne - Canada - 5 points
6 - Jonathan Stoker - Mexico - 3 points
7 - John Kenlan USA - - 2 points
8 - Joao Nunes - Portugal - 1 point

But it's delicately poised. No one country is out of contention, no one country can kick back and relax.

Join us tomorrow for heat three.

Overnight standings after two heats:

Romania - 21 points
Canada - 20 points
Iceland - 16 points
Ireland - 14 points
Germany - 12 points
Portugal - 10 points
USA - 8 points
Mexico - 6 points

It was an early start in Barcelona today. As the guards prepared to open the revolving doors to the Gran Casino, Barcelona, at 3.00pm, there were already a cluster of elegantly clad World Cup poker players waiting outside.

This is not the kind of tournament that celebrates a player turning up 45 minutes into the third blind level: here it's all about getting there on time and either playing for -- or vociferously supporting -- the team.

The first heat begins very soon, and features a familiar face in seat four. Greg Raymer, the 2004 World Champion and PokerStars ambassador, is the celebrity player of Team USA and is taking his place in around the opening table.

But reputation counts for little in poker - and Raymer is out there as the man to shoot at.

The full line-up is as follows:

1 - Derek Murray - Ireland
2 - Razvan Bengulescu (captain) - Romania
3 - Jorge Marques - Portugal
4 - Greg Raymer - USA
5 - Friorik Jorgensson - Iceland
6 - Michael Watson - Canada
7 - Antonio Chiladakis (captain) - Mexico
8 - Patrick Kuberyt

A reminder of the rules:

Essentially, we'll be playing five eight-player sit and gos over the next three days (Heats 1-5), with points awarded for the final placing in each heat.

The winner takes 15 points, second is worth 12, third 9, fourth 7, fifth 5, sixth 3, seventh 2 and first out (eighth) is worth 1 point.

These points then go into the players' country tally and countries are ranked in a league table. The top four countries after the heats then go through into the final, details of which will follow later.

But for now, enjoy heat one. The cards are in the air in Barcelona.

Our man in Barcelona Howard Swains is on the scene for the start of the PokerStars World Cup of Poker.

Arguably the last place you expect to see a clutch of online poker maestros is on the beach.

But earlier this evening in Barcelona, within a seagull's swoop or a volleyball's spike of the Mediterranean Sea, about 15 of the world's most celebrated internet poker players gathered for the official table draw for the opening round of the PokerStars World Cup of Poker.

As the waves lapped quietly over the shores of Catalonia, and the champagne arrived on tiny red trays, the eight captains of Teams Ireland, Iceland, Romania, Canada, United States, Mexico, Germany and Portugal decided who would be playing whom in the first heats of the World Cup tomorrow and Wednesday.

It was a grand affair. Slivers of paper bearing players' names were torn up and rustled in a baseball cap, before they were pulled out and allocated a seat on one of the five tables that will comprise the opening heats.

Included in the mix were Team PokerStars members Greg Raymer (USA), Daniel Negreanu (Canada) and Katja Thater (Germany). They might enjoy a healthy and friendly rivalry when they're bearing the PokerStars livery in the major tournaments of the world, but here they are adversaries, pitted against one another with national pride at stake.

The celebrity players are kept apart for the first round, but the gloves will come off as we progress. And let's not forget, they're just one member of a five-person team who will contest the ultimate in team poker events.

The qualifiers, all of whom won events on PokerStars to book their passage to Barcelona, arrived today. They previously knew one another by screen-name only, but soon made one another's acquaintance at a welcome dinner this evening. The talk was of poker, of course, but also of their countries, their family life, their jobs, ambitions and expectations. The World Cup is really an event like no other. It's poker and there's money, but there's something else in the air.

Follow all the action here from tomorrow (Tuesday) where we'll have full details of every move made. Heat one, essentially an eight-player live sit and go, begins at 3.30pm central European time. Heat two will be shuffled up and dealt at 9.30pm.

Time to get patriotic.

Tomorrow begins the World Cup of Poker Finals in Barcelona, Spain. We have already introduced you to ShaunDeeb, Team USA's tournament powerhouse. He will be playing in the World Cup of Poker finals with four other tough Americans, including D-28 and principe4.

D-28

I'm married , 48 years-old , with two sons (18 and 15) and a daughter (12). I love the beach, fishing, golf, and, of course, poker. I have played home games recreationally for 30 years. Making it to the World Cup team is easily my biggest poker achievement. The World Cup of Poker experience is really just sinking in now. I entered on a whim and now am heading to Spain. What a blast! I seem to have some solid teammates, so I'm looking forward to meeting them and hopefully we can bring the cup home to the U.S.

principe4

I am 38 years old and have two beautiful daughters. I have had MS for 10 years and I walk with a cane. The nickname Prince of Poker was given to me by my poker buddies (after winning all the home games). This has been a fairy tale story and I hope to inspire others. I have been playing poker for two years. This is my biggest poker achievement and I hope we can win the cup for USA. It has been a great experience and really lifted my spirits. This has been a dream come true for me and hope the fairytale continues. I also would like to thank PokerStars for this opportunity. This was a freeroll that made my dream come true.USA...USA...USA!

You may already know that two members of Team Cananda's World Cup of Poker Team are a father and son. Now, meet two other members of Canada's Newfoundland team, SirWatts and tilterino.

SirWatts

I'm a 23 year old poker pro from St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. I've been playing poker for three years. My biggest tournament score is $75K for first in the Super Tuesday tournament on Pokerstars, and I've also won the $100 rebuy on Stars twice for around $23-24K.

In the World Cup of Poker, I was happy with my play. I won my first round match and finished second in the National finals round against very tough competition. My second round table was very tough, I outlasted zangbezan (imper1um) but finished second to ocrowe who are both well respected online tournament players.

It's been fun, but Spain will be obviously be the best part. I can't say I ever thought I'd get the chance to represent my province or country in any kind of International competition, so I'm definitely looking forward to that, as well as just meeting the other guys on the team and having fun in Barcelona.

tilterino

I'm 25 years old and from Newfoundland. I play mainly online due to the non-existant live poker scene here. You can usually find me on PokerStars or hanging out with my girlfriend, Michelle. I really enjoy travelling & meeting other poker players. I've been playing poker for a little less than two years.

Once in Spain, I just basically want to have a good time and get to know the other players. It would be fantastic to have a good showing at the event, though. Best of luck to us all.

It's now just one day until the World Cup of Poker Finals get started in Barcleona. As we prepare to begin our coverage from the European Poker Tour event in the same city, here's an introduction to two more World Cup finalists: Team Ireland's luckysod and ROONEY_DIVES.

luckysod

I'm a 38 year old computer engineer. Originally from Dublin but living for last 10 years in the Cork. I've been playing poker all my life but only for the last four or five years seriously. I made the Ireland team last year for the World Cup of Poker competition but we failed to make the money. Hopefully this year we'll have a better showing. My best result online money wise is a $6,500 second place in a $100 freeze out a few weeks ago. My best place in a tourney was a 1st place in a $10 deepstacks a while back with 1700 runners. I was very happy to get through that field. I don't play the Sunday Million very often, but I did manage a top 50 finish a while back.

ROONEY_DIVES

I'm 24 years old. I haven't played much poker in 2007 for various reasons. I enjoy the usual stuff--watching sports, movies, and poker. I've been playing about six years in total, early days just play money or for fun. So far, my biggest achievements have been winning the $10 rebuy a few times on PokerStars, the biggest one be an $11,000 win. I have also won the weekly TLB twice. I'm looking forward to going back to Barcelona and playing on tv again! Many thanks to PokerStars for organizing such a good tournament.

Howard Swains was in Barcelona watching the action at this first stop of the new season's European Poker Tour. Here's his final table report.

Quick, quick, slow, quick.

We started the day wondering whether we'd still be here tomorrow waiting for this intriguing PokerStars.com EPT event to come to a close. Thirteen players came in from the Catalonian sun to chase the €1.1 million first prize. But before the clock even ticked around to 12.30am, we had a champion after one of the quickest final tables in the tour's history.


Sander Lylloff: winner

Sander Lylloff, from Copenhagen, Denmark, continued the Nordic domination of the EPT when he, first, edged onto the final table, then watched three of his adversaries fall in the opening two hours. Then Sander himself joined in the carnage, building his stack as he slayed three of his final five opponents, ending with the brief heads-up assassination of close friend and hotel room-mate Mark Teltscher, from the United Kingdom.

The Cristal champagne that Teltscher ordered for the friends to sup over their battle hadn't even arrived before all the chips were in the middle. Teltscher was delighted: he'd found kings. Lylloff had a meagre looking J-10 but hit two jacks -- on flop and river -- to earn bragging rights and the cheque for €1,170,700.

But, begin at the beginning.

When we convened at 3.30pm, the chip leader was Nikolaus Jedlicka, a PokerStars Supernova VIP from Austria. He had about 100,000 more chips than Mika Paasonen, from Finland, and the now-familiar Lylloff, Teltscher and Juan Maceiras, from Spain.

And while those four hung tough, the shorter stacks began a steady procession out the door, often bust by the young American PokerStars sensation Gregory Dyer.

First out was Voitto Rintala, from Finland, a Dyer victim. Then Philip Yeh was on his way back to Sweden, who slipped up on Davidi Kitai's big slick. But Kitai himself was soon on his way, the result of an unhappy clash of queens against Lylloff's aces.

Things slowed ... for a moment. After some to-ing and fro-ing involving Patrick Bruel, the French actor/singer/poker player and Teltscher, it was Mohamad Kowassie who lost his patience and shoved with Q-3. Gregory Dyer, silent smiling assassin, picked up another big slick and grinned Kowassie out of the tournament.

That brought us to the faux final table. There were nine players around it, which is one too many for the EPT television treatment. Something had to give and it was Juan Maceiras, the popular local, egged on by vociferous Spanish support, who got it in with A-6 but ran into another A-K of Dyer.

Out. Down to eight.

By the time the final eight got together, there had been a change at the top of the pile. Dyer's incredible run had taken him over the million mark, while Nikolaus had slipped down to fourth. The final table lined up like this:

1 - Gregory Dyer (USA) - 1,606,000
2 - Adam Junglen (USA) - 320,000
3 - Nikolaus Jedlicka (Austria) - 569,000
4 - Mika Paasonen (Finland) - 924,000
5 - Mark Teltscher (UK) - 676,000
6 - Sander Lylloff (Denmark) - 502,000
7 - Trond Eidsvig (Norway) - 452,000
8 - Patrick Bruel (France) - 374,000

But no one was in the mood to hang around, it seemed, and three hands into the final we lost Bruel, who had a stab at an ace-high, all-heart flop with pocket 10s. Mark Teltscher had an ace, and a heart to boot, and it was the singer's swansong. C'est la vie.

Then Jedlicka bit the dust, and again it was Teltscher and again it was pocket 10s in the eliminated player's hands. Teltscher had ace-queen and both appeared on the board to win the race for the Englishman.

Six became five. Adam Junglen, the 19-year-old from Ohio, who won the PokerStars Sunday million in July, among countless major tournament results, was the next to perish. He threw it all in behind A-4 and Sander woke up with pocket eights. He made the call and knocked Junglen to the rail.

And, at the blink of an eye or the flip of a chip, we were down to four. Trond Eidsvig hadn't played a hand on the final table before he trap-checked a jack-high flop, but didn't get the expected bet from Mika Paasonen. Instead, Mika came out firing when a 10 came on the turn - with good reason, that had made him two pair, tens and nines, and Eidsvig had trapped himself.

Greg Dyer was the leader of the final four, with Sandor Lylloff the short stack. But an early double up for the Dane, through Dyer, started the comeback.

Meanwhile, Mark Teltscher was accounting for Mika Paasonen. A massive battle-of-the-blinds left the Finn crippled and Greg Dyer finished him off.

Down to three, and finally the action slowed. In fact, it was close to two hours, plus dinner break, before the final three could be parted. They exchanged chips, exchanged chip leads, levelled out, pulled away, levelled out again. But the rot had set in for Dyer, and despite surviving a number of gutsy all-ins, he ran into aces and couldn't wriggle out of that.

So, heads up. Lylloff versus Teltscher. They're friends and are even sharing a hotel room in Barcelona. For some, this might have been a battle for the EPT crown and a million odd euros. For them, it was all about who gets to sleep on the roll-out bed.

And it was quick. Mark found the kings, Sander had a speculative punt with his J-10. And sometimes in poker, fortune favours the brave. The jack on the flop looked dangerous, the second jack on the river looked decisive.

Teltscher, who could have become the first player to win two EPT crowns, was instead gracious in defeat and embraced his friend.

Party round theirs -- all welcome.

The first stop of the new season's European Poker Tour is Barcelona, the final table players have now been decided. They're playing for the following payouts:
1 €1,170,700
2 €673,000
3 €388,800
4 €301,000
5 €250,800
6 €196,500
7 €154,700
8 €104,500



And who is getting ready to play for those big bundles of Euros?

1 - Gregory Dyer (USA) - 1,606,000
2 - Adam Junglen (USA) - 320,000
3 - Nikolaus Jedlicka (Austria) - 569,000
4 - Mika Paasonen (Finland) - 924,000
5 - Mark Teltscher (UK) - 676,000
6 - Sander Lylloff (Denmark) - 502,000
7 - Trond Eidsvig (Norway) - 452,000
8 - Patrick Bruel (France) - 374,000

A little bit about them all:

Seat 1: Greg Dyer, 20, Minneapolis - 1,606,000

Harvard statistics student Greg is too young to even play in a US casino - but he's clocked up some substantial successes online since taking up the game a few years ago. Last February he won a $150 tournament for £21,000 and he has grown his $5 bankroll – borrowed from a friend - to some $150,000. Greg doesn't plan a fulltime poker career but admitted he has had "discussions" with his parents about his new pursuit. "Actually they weren't really worried until I starting winning a lot."

Greg Dyer

Seat 2: Adam Junglen, 19, Stow, Ohio, USA - 320,000

He may be just 19, but Adam Junglen has already made a real name for himself both online and on the live circuit, playing as "AJunglen7" on PokerStars. He won the Sunday Million tournament in July for close to $200,000 – adding to a string of impressive tournament results. He also cashed in this year's Aussie Millions and came 5th in the pot limit event at the Johnny Chan Poker Classic in Canada. Things didn't start so well here in Barcelona - the airline lost his luggage - but Adam's fortunes have changed since then. He survived a table featuring Greg Raymer and Patrick Antonius on day 1B and has been soaring ever since. This is his first final table on the EPT.


Adam "AJunglen7" Junglen

Seat 3: Nikolaus Jedlicka, 20, Vienna, Austria - 569,000

Young Austrian Nikolaus is having a pretty good summer. In June, he won the Austrian Masters main event for €70,940 and he's also cashed in several other smaller events in Austria in the last year. Known as "RealAndyBeal" on PokerStars, Nikolaus is a Supernova VIP player and his buy-in to Barcelona was organised through his frequent play at the site. He's only been playing a couple of years and normally plays Omaha cash games.


Nikolaus "RealAndyBeal" Jedlicka

Seat 4: Mika Paasonen, 29, Haamenlinna, Finland - 924,000

A former security guard in Helsinki, Mika Paasonen's life changed three years ago when he watched the poker movie "Rounders" with a few friends. They started a tiny-stakes home game which prompted Mika to begin playing online, and, after returning a steady month-on-month profit, he turned professional after just a year. Here in Barcelona, he's been playing a tight-aggressive game and has been among the chip leaders since Day 1.


Mika Paasonen

Seat 5: Mark Teltscher, 27, London, UK - 676,000

Mark is already had enormous success at EPTs – he won EPT2 London for £280,000 and came 11 th at the Grand Final for €33,500. Sandwiched between those two successes was another huge win - the $5,000 NLHE tournament at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada - for a further $374,965. As of 2007, he has made nearly a million dollars in live tournament winnings. Mark comes from a backgammon and bridge background – and was an Under 18 bridge champion.


Mark Teltscher

Seat 6: Sander Lylloff, 25, Copenhagen, Denmark - 502,000

Sander Lylloff is better known for backgammon than poker – in fact, some consider him one of the best players in the world. He took up backgammon after failing to get into university, and before that he was a junior chess champion. He's no stranger to EPTs and won a side event at the Monte Carlo Grand Final in Season 2. He and fellow finalist Mark Teltscher are room-mates here in Barcelona but claim there won't be a fight if one of them ends up busting the one!


Sander Lylloff

Seat 7: Trond Eidsvig, 22, Aalesund, Norway - 452,000

Making the final table of EPT Barcelona is Tronde's biggest success in his poker career to date. He turned professional 18 months and played at EPT Dortmund last season, getting knocked early in the second day.


Trond Eidsvig

Seat 8: Patrick Bruel, 47, France - 374,000

Patrick Bruel, 47, is known as the first Frenchman to win a WSOP bracelet (1999) and also hosts the French version of the WPT TV show. In his home country however, Patrick is extremely famous as an actor, singer and media personality with over 40 film credits, including Sabrina with Julia Ormand and Harrison Ford. His 2003 album Entre Deux sold over 2m copies. Although he has played many EPTs, this is Patrick's 1st EPT final table.


Patrick Bruel