Shubin heads field on Day 1a at the PokerStars Marbella Festival
The ground-breaking conjunction of the UKIPT and ESPT tours was always likely to prove seismic and so it proved as a sell-out field of 352 converged at the nexus point of Casino Marbella to do battle.

With sun, sand and sangria beckoning those who were eliminated early, one might have expected the players to play with gay abandon, safe in the knowledge that a wonderful holidaying location lay at their fingertips. Instead the opposite seemed to be the case with careful play the hallmark of the early levels.

However with talent such as Team PokerStars Pro Juan Manuel Pastor, EPT runner-ups Soren Jensen and Fintan Gavin and stalwarts of the UKIPT scene including Season 3's leaderboard winner Tom Hall and Alex Ferguson in the mix, that was unlikely to last long and so it proved - a trickle of eliminations escalating into a cascade toward the end of the day.

Pastor looked to be likely to make it through with a decent stack at one point, though his fortunes suffered late in the day and he was eliminated. Tom Hall did better - making it through with a 19,800 shortstack and keeping his admirable run of UKIPT performances going.whilst Ferguson did even better a 70,000 plus stack giving him a realistic shot at a deep run here.

Even more impressive were the UK's Robert Wybrew and Pole Pawel Keller who both staked healthy claims for the chip lead at various junctures toward the finale but it was the quiet Russian Andrey Vladimirovich Shubin who bested all and sundry to finish the day on top with 202,500, Wybrew close behind with 181,000 and Keller further back in 3rd place with 152,700.

In total 113 players made it through the day and they get a day's rest before returning for day 2 on Friday. The full chip counts can be found here.

With another sell-out day on the cards tomorrow the fur will fly once more as 350 plus further players descend on the Casino to vie for the title.

It is bound to be fascinating so join us there for the 12.00pm start and we'll be glad to detail all the activity of the day.

See you there!

To see updates from levels 5-8, click here.

To see updates from levels 1-4, click here.

11.54pm: The game is up!

The final card has been played and the day is done.

Andrey Vladimirovich Shubin managed to ascend to the top of the pack come the close of play, the silent RUssian with the combed-back hair slipping past the rest of the pack having quietly and effectively accumulated 202,500 in chips.

The 113 players remaining have played 10 hard levels of poker and once they have finished bagging and tagging their chips, they will slope off to bed, ready to get a good night's sleep and return following their day's break on Thursday to resume their challenge for the title.

We'll have a wrap-up post for the day to follow shortly but for now, thanks very much for following - it's been an interesting day full of drama.

11.46pm: Keller's a fan of sobriety
Pawel Keller is going to be bringing 152,700 to play with Friday. One late scoop came at the expense of fellow big stack Jan Brandejs. Facing a 9.900 bet on a [9s] [3h] [8h] [4s] board Pawel decided to play for stacks, moving out 43,000.
"Why so much?" Brandejs muttered wryly before letting it go.
"Chilling at the swimming pool, maybe going to the spa," Keller says of his day off tomorrow.
"I don't want to get drunk!" he adds. -- GC

11.37pm: Four hands to go...
The end of level ten and thus the end of the day approaches. WIth 11 minutes left on the clock, the TD announced there would be four more hands of play.

There are 3 or 4 stacks currently vying for the chip lead in what could prove a grandstand finish...

11.25pm: Hegarty Shaun of his stack
Shaun Hegarty was backed into a corner with his shortstack, and he came out swinging, moving all his chips into the middle with sixes, only to run into the ominous presence of Jose David Amilleta Borao, who delivered a knockout blow with pocket queens.

The bar gains one more patron and the roster of potential champions is reduced by one...137 remain... -- RS

11.08pm: Monton Walks Away
Miguel Gurrea Monton seems to have gotten off lightly with a one orbit penalty, having taken fifteen minutes to move from table 19 to 11. The tables in question are adjacent, and with chips in hand, it is unclear exactly where Monton wandered. The tournament director must have felt the meandering was not ill-intended, having granted a slap on the wrist. Monton however was not exactly ameliorated by the development, needing to take another ambulation to prevent further haranguing of the tournament suits. -- GC

10.46pm: Wybrew joins the 100 club
It's an elite group, though the number of players topping the 100k mark is starting to creep upward as the end of day sees a slew of unfortunates falling foul of coin flips and well-meaning but ill-fated desperation shoves.

Robert Wybrew might just be besting them all now however, having just sent Josef Gulas to the rail to reach 125,000. -- RS

10.35pm Clarke melts the snowmen

We visited the plight of Gary Clarke earlier - a poor start seeing his stack fall to half its starting value. Every time we have passed him by his stack has seemed to be roughly the same - in that 10k -12k region.

He is still struggling somewhat - though his chances and demeanour have both been give a welcome boon - a double through with pocket nines versus his hapless tablemate's eights seeing him rise up the rankings somewhat.

"It's been a rollercoaster ride!" he told us merrily. -- RS

10.24pm: Duped and Doubling
Hector Vazquez must have been practicing the hollywooding he put on for our former front-runner Andoni Exposito. Both players saw an [Ah] [As] [Td] flop which instantly checked through. Next up came the [7h], and Vazquez's small bet of 2,600 was met with a raise to 7,600 by Exposito. The [6h] river brought many of the backdoor draws to completion. After much consternation, forehead rubbing, and eyebrow arching, Vazquez produced a Razzie-worthy bet of 5,100, which was snapped off by Exposito, who claimed a flush. Nothing could beat flopped gin, with Vazquez holding the [Ac] [Ts].

Not too long after Exposito's tournament life was at risk in a big coinflip. His two red nines facing the ace-king offsuit of Joseph Gulas. When the board ran out [Tc] [Ts] [Qs] [4s] [2s] Exposito gave us the loudest battle cry of the tournament so far. Any attempt to keep an even keel ended abruptly as his stack has passed the 100,000 chip mark after near elimination. -- GC

10.01pm: Muhtaseb setting the pace
Nayef Ghazi Muhtaseb hasn't been amongst the chip leaders up till now, but that has all changed, a burst of adrenaline-fuelled run-good propelling him to the apex of the chip standings with a fine 115,000.

This can all change of course over the next few levels but for now at least he can claim to hold dominion over some of europe's finest.

The rest of the major chip leaders have been entered into the database and can be viewed by clicking the link to the right of this post.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 500-1000 ante 100

To view updates from levels 5-8, click here.

PokerStars Blog reporting team at PokerStars Marbella Festival brought to you by UKIPT and ESPT: Rod Stirzaker and Gareth Chantler. Photos by Eric Vogel.

4.15pm: End of level four - 15 minute break
The booming baritone of the tournament director just announced the end of the level over the tannoy and the players needed little encouragement to bolt out of the darkened recesses of the casino into the blazing sunshine outside.

We'll be back shortly for level five! -- RS

3.56pm: Back from the brink
Team Online member Grzegorz "DaWarsaw" Mikielwwicz finished the level with a vengeance.

"I think my lowest point was 2,700," he told us.

Well that's all in the past - he is now stacking 28,000. The capper came in his small blind, facing an early position open to 400 and two calls, Grzegorz made it 1,600. The man had previously been seen squeezing queen two of clubs from the blinds, so its no surprise that he got zero respect. The first two players called and the third, on the button, decided to play for it all - 6,600 total - which got the pot heads up with Grzegorz's pocket aces. As much equity as his nines had, there would be no sweat here for the button, and a huge rush of "good spots" puts DaWarsaw back in the mix. -- GC

3.48pm: Georgy aces the competition
Some hands just play themselves and the conflict that erupted preflop between Georgy Gukasyan and one of his tablemates was unsurprising when all the chips flew into the middle and the pair turned over aces and kings respectively.

No king arrived to sour his cooler and he whooped and high-fived as he collected his brand new chip-challenging stack of 38k.

His morose opponent meanwhile looked ready to make a dent in the bar's supplies of hard liquor - a pittance left for him to try and spin back up. -- RS

3.31pm: Chattha slips the noose
Chaz Chattha just faced a tough decision - his opponent having led for 5k on the river of a [Qs][Qh][Ac][3h][4h] board.

Chaz faced him down and mulled hard about his decision, ultimately choosing to throw his hand away - a decision validated when his opponent triumphantly flipped up pocket queens for quads!

"Nice hand," Chaz quietly agreed, licking his wounds with his stack down to 14k. -- RS

3.12pm: Notables and their progress
A few quick counts from around the tables:-

Surinder Sunar - pensive and in credit --- 24k
Leo Margets - chatty and in slight decline --- 16k
Kevin Williams - newly arrived, chipstack almost untouched --- 20k
Martins Adeniya --- rising inexorably ---28k

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 100-200 ante 25

2.58pm:Gutierrez surprised once more by boon to his stack
Gutierrtez had an eye for the quick pass when he was part of Real Madrid's talented emsemble of players, but he was unwilling to lay down his pocket queens facing a 1k bet from Aleksandr Kniazev on a [Kc][8d][7s][5h][Td] board - pulling a face as if to suggest he might have just scored an own goal.

His bravery was rewarded however as Kniazev showed down a narrowly-pipped pair of jacks to yield the pot to Guti.

The Spaniard is up to 22k and moving in the right direction, though still someway off the current chip leaders... -- RS

2.34pm: Getting ground down
We caught up with Grzegorz Mikielewicz -- that's DaWarsaw to you -- after a rough first two levels, leaving him with about half of starting stack. His most recent orbit went something like this:

UTG - folds

BB - An MP player opens the pot for 300 and the BTN calls. Grzegorz squeezed to 900 and both players called. Not dissuaded, the Team Online member continued for 1,000 on a [8d] [6s] [2h] flop, thinning the field to a single villain. The dealer turned the [Qh] which elicited another bet and call, 1,300 this time. Finally the board completed with the [Kh], which Mikielewicz thought was worth 2,000. It was for both players, DaWarsaw showing [Qc] [2c] for queens up, second best to his opponent's [8h] [9h].

"All day like that. I get full value." Grzegorz lamented to us.

SB - a hand off was in order.

BTN - Our hero called a late position raise and the small blind came along. On a [Js] [4c] [2c] flop he fired 450, but was called in both spots. The turn [Ad], a nice bluffing opportunity surely, was turned down by all as it checked through. All sorts came in on the [8c] river and the small blind lead out for 800, a bet the initial raiser flat called without consternation. It was nothing close to the head rubbing that the Polish pro on the button was experiencing. DaWarsaw gave it up and was rewarded, the small blind tabling [6c] [5c] for a small flush.

CO to MP - Grzegorz decided some folding was in order after all that damage, his stack has been ground down to 3,000 chips.

EP - It is at this point Grzegorz took a walk. Steam break? Not exactly. Nature called. -- GC

1.52pm: Sexy river bluff all in vain for Wealthall
Nick Wealthall has had some ups and downs over the first few levels, one of the downs seeing him go for three streets of value with aces, only to run into a rivered two pair in the hands of his opponent.

However he did make what he insisted we describe as a "sexy river bluff" to compensate for the damage done to his stack.

"It's all worthless though because the image I'd been carefully cultivating means nothing now as I've just been moved from my table!"

Wealthall has 21k... -- RS

1.28pm: Hogwood empties the Basin and soars up the leaderboard

Andrew Robert Hogwood is flying the flag for the UK here and he's just deprived tablemate Yonatan Basin of most of his stack, his pocket queens connecting sweetly with a queen-high flop.

The pair went to war but Basin was unable to table a superior hand, leaving Hogwood to sweep up a monster pot and reach the giddy heights of 33k, whilst Basin was left with the proverbial bowl of rice. - RS

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 75-150

2.20pm: Walk away from the light
Break's over meaning the courtyard full of players basking like lizards in the sun has dispersed as they return to their tables to take up the gauntlet once more.

2.05pm: End of level 2: Break it up
The end of level 2 means the players are now indulging in a 15 minute break to quench their thirsts for sunshine, caffeine, nicotine and maybe even fresh air.

We'll be back soon! -- RS

1.49pm: Alternate universe
There's a thronged rail of want-to-be players crossing their fingers and biting their nails on the sidelines, clutching their alternate tickets with sweaty fingers, desperate to see a host of early bust-outs.

Well their prayers appear to be coming true - already we have seen a number of eliminations in what must be one of the fastest starts for a 20k event ever seen.

35 hopefuls have already been able to take their places at the table and with alternates running for four levels, this number looks set to rise
even higher. -- RS

1.35pm: A snap-shot from the casino

A heavily tatooed Gutierrez sighs as he prepares to relinquish a pot with K-Q on an ace-high board, only to break into a smile as he realises he's chopping the pot - 18k...

Chaz Chattha barrells his opponent off an ace-high board before tapping out a few emails on his ipad - 21k...

Leo Margets happily chats to her tablemates who seem irrepressibly keen to make her acquaintance - 20,500...

Martins Adeniya is impassive and focussed as always as his laser eyes study every action at his table - 18k... -- RS

1.21pm: Margets back on track
The dynamic Leo Margets is back in Marbella to play cards for the second time this year.

"It might not be my first choice for vacation, but I understand it being a perfect poker location. You can party here and the beach is probably one hundred meters away. "

Margets juggles a diversity of passions, taking 'time off' to train for a marathon. That is until her effort got sidetracked by a bout with chicken pox.

"I'm feeling better, but not one hundred percent. It's a bit more serious when you get it as an adult."

"So I have been looking forward to this tournament," she added.

Leo couldn't be more pleased with her addition to PokerStars' prestigious Team Pro.

"I see it as a career achievement. It feels good to be in. It feels a lot like a family."

In a sea of blokes who just rolled out of bed, Margets is radiant, hard to believe she's been under the weather. -- GC

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 50-100

1.05pm: Wealthall spies a touch of value
Nick Wealthall was very excited and bounded over to us as we passed his table with an interesting hand he wished to share between two of his tablemates.

A raise preflop and a call was pretty standard but when the initial raiser led a T-9-6 rainbow board, was raised and now 3-bet his opponent, who called, suddenly an interesting pot was in the making.

An offsuit four on the turn saw a bet from the pre-flop raiser induce a mighty shove from his opponent.

An easy snap-call followed as the PFR held the nuts, whilst his overly enthusiastic companion could only table a tad overplayed ace-ten for top pair - drawing dead going into the river.

"An 800 big blind pot with top pair! I've never seen anything like it. It's incredible - and great!" gushed Wealthall as he dashed back to re-take his seat. -- RS

12.42pm Jewels in the crown

Many of the players will have bustled up to the casino as unknowns looking to write a page in history but there are some players here who have already made their mark in the world one way or another.

These include the multitalented Nick Wealthall who has taken off his media hat to don the metaphorical baseball cap and hoody of the poker player. Some big names from the UK poker scene to have made the trip to Spain include James Mitchell, Martins Adeniya and Surinder Sunar.

Spanish hopes lie partly in the vast numbers they have in attendance and partly in the presence of players such as Team PokerStars Pro Leo Margets, who made a memorable deep run at the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Another Spanish player who will likely attract attention is Jose Maria Gutierrez - the ex-Real Madrid footballer, commonly known as "Guti", boosting the star quality of the field.

We have barely scratched the surface - there are a host of big names duking it out on the felt and we can expect some incendiary face-offs as the day advances. -- RS

12.31pm: DaWarsaw pacing himself

A regular of the Estrellas Poker Tour, Poland's Grzegorz "DaWarsaw" Mikielewicz "loves playing in Spain," treating live MTTs as "like a bonus, something extra," from his usual insane six-max zoom grinding. Mikielewicz typically pours in monster volume, playing millions of hands per year while representing PokerStars' Team Online. He's also a fanatic of the Miami Heat, the team currently trailing the San Antonio Spurs, two games to one, in the NBA finals. Games start at three in the morning European time.

"During the night I go to the hotel lobby to watch. But if I make Day 2, I will skip the game. I will be professional," he told us between pots.

What about action on the outcome?

"Yes... but I bet small," he smiled. -- GC

12.10pm: Cards are in the air!
So a short hiatus to iron out a few procedural gremlins and the tournament is underway - the tournament arena is awash with the sounds of chip riffling - let's get it on!

11.58pm: Bursting at the seams
It looks like we're in for another full day here as tournament staff hurry up the tardy crowd of players and satellite qualifiers. Today is more than sold out; there is a deep list of alternates. Who knew paradise was the place to attract poker players? -- GC

Welcome to the PokerStars Marbella Festival for Day 1b!

Day 1a proved an out and out success - Casino Marbella pulling in a bumper field of 352 for the opening day of this inaugural joint UKIPT ESPT venture.

With the sun beaming down outside the players inside were working up a sweat of their own, and it was Russian Andrey Vladimirovich Shubin who put his chips to best effect, reaching a monumental 202,500 by the close of play.

113 of the 352 entrants made it through the day's play and with another sell-out field promised for today, we anticipate another cracking day of poker.

Sun, sea, sand, sangria and poker - all the ingredients for a compulsive day are here for us and we intend to keep you abreast of all the exciting developments as the race for the title continues.

We're moments away from the start so good luck everyone! -- RS

PokerStars Blog reporting team at PokerStars Marbella Festival brought to you by UKIPT and ESPT: Rod Stirzaker and Gareth Chantler. Photos by Eric Vogel.

9:40pm: Hundred Billion hits as DaWarsaw doubles

Grzegorz "DaWarsaw" Mikielewicz moved all-in from the small blind with two black fives, and raced against the button's [Kd] [Qd]. The flop came a sweaty [Th] [8d] [4s]. The turn was the nut-out-adding card,the [Td]. This would not be the end for DaWarsaw however as the river [3s] was a true brick. As this was happening the Team Online member got word that at a 2c-5c table somewhere in the intertubes, one won $103,800 for hitting the 100 Billionth hand jackpot. Did Grzegorz regret not grinding online today?

"No not at all. I play Zoom anyways and they don't count those hands."

His stack is back to a healthy 32,000.

9.31pm: Rivero busts two in monster pot
Daniel Rodriguez Rivero and two of his tablemates had a three-way war moments ago - Rodriguez coming out a big winner once the dust had settled on a sizzling sequence of raises.

We joined the hand on the flop of a [Kh][6s][7d] board, Rivero checking to his two opponents who also elected to check behind.

This gave no indication of the fireworks to come on the [7c] turn.

Rivero led for 3,200, only for opponent 1 to now shove 16,250 into the middle and opponent 2 (Richard Evans) also slid his similarly sized stack across the line.

Rivero looked shocked and didn't look like he loved making the call but did so nonetheless for a big chunk of his stack.

Cards on their backs:

Rivero - [7h][4d]
Opponent 1 a sneakily-played [Ad][Ac]
Richard Evans - [Kc][2c]

Needing to dodge a king or ace, an irrelevant rivered [9d] was bad news for his opponents as they both hit the rail simultaneously whilst Rivero looked relatively calm as he scooped the giant 50k+ pot.

He is now up to a well-above average 67,500.. -- RS

9:19pm: Unusual play
Try this for a hand reading exercise, dear reader. Thomas O'Shea, easily the most intimidating looking player today (tattoos, biceps, no nonsense demeanor) opened to a regular 2,100 in the cutoff and was flat called by the button, one Renzo Cambianica.

The flop [9d] [6c] [3s] went check-check. Know anyone's holding yet?

The turn was a [6d], which led to another check from O'Shea. This weakness would not stand for the older Cambianica, who decided to move all-in for five time the size of the pot. O'Shea, possessing repose in excess, didn't bat an eyelash. Cambianica's cards are anyone's guess.

9.11pm: Double trouble for Mestre
Raul Mestre has a number of significant cashes to his name - the Spaniard having amassed close to a million in tournament winnings.

It looked like he was destined to fall out of contention here however - his 16BB re-shove with [Ac][9s] called by initial raiser Mark Goodchild's pocket jacks - after a short pause to consider his options.

When the jacks were turned over Mestre indicated with his gestures he felt he was nit rolled - though his surprise turned to delight as a board of [Ah][Ad][Qh][5s][2d] saved his dominated bacon and he doubled through to just over 30k.

8.55pm: Level eight in effect
We enter the final few levels of the day with ten scheduled. Players are well fed and rested after their one hour recuperation so there's no excuses not to pull out their A-game.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 400-800 ante 100

8:01pm: Race em off
Green 25 chips are being coloured up and taken out of play, quite the task actually, as some (ok, most) tables didn't collect them in one player's stack, as they were instructed. Thankfully the staff here has an hour to purge the room of the unwelcome green scourge.

7.50pm: Dinner break!
Level 7 is history and that milestone means the players are now preparing to scatter the local eateries with euros. We are off to eat as well so see you back in an hour for levels eight through ten.

7.45pm: Notable chip stacks
Here are some players with burgeoning chip stacks as we approach the dinner break.

Jake Sharpe --- 68,000
Athir Kamal Ali --- 48,000
Kevin Williams --- 32,225 -- RS

7.34pm: Pearce rains on Victor's parade

Victor Fernandez Fernandez (We assume that isn't a copy paste typo) was relatively short and looking to make a move. When Darren Pearce raised it up from early position he viewed this as a good time to get busy, making a ballsy re-steal with [Th][7h]- only for Pearce to pick him off quickly with pocket aces.

Whoops.

A board of [Ks][Td][4c][3h][9d] couldn't turn things round for Victor and he shrugged resignedly as he gathered his belongings and scarpered.

Pearce in contrast has been on quite a rush - now up to 70k, which won't be a mile off the chip leaders. -- RS

7.15pm: Adeniya doubles
Juan Herrera opened under the gun and was three-bet by Martins Adeniya in the small blind. When Herrera responded in kind with a four-bet, the British pro decided to just call. On a flop of [Ac] [5h] [5s] Adeniya check-called a quick bet of 4,500. The [8h] turn didn't change much, and when checked to, Herrera cut out 9,500 quickly. Playing the fool, Martins took a long time to call. So ponderous was his act, in fact, we wondered with what hand he would show such overt weakness. Well those questions were answered when his river check on the [Kd] river led to Herrera launching 20,000 chips all-in. Adeniya didn't hesitate to reveal the slowplayed pocket aces, and Herrera was left with just a handful of big blinds. -- GC

7.05pm: Zweifel's kings reign supreme
Peter Zweifel is going about his business quietly and effectively, his latest coup seeing him re-raise to isolate following a shove from Kirit Patel, forcing folds from the rest of the table.

His kings were in good shape versus Patel's ace-jack and a series of baby cards peeled off to maintain the status quo and leave Patel hand-shaking his erstwhile tablemates as he departed.

Zweifel however marches up the leaderboard, his stack an impressive 62,000. -- RS

6.50pm: Back for more
Fifteen minute break is done and the players are re-seated for more fun and games.
There's just one brief level before the dinner break for one hour. -- RS

6:40pm: One man club
One player went to break with a stack in excess of 100,000 chips. That was Nikolaj Liljengren of Denmark, who is looking for his first five-figure cash. As was the case yesterday we see low stakes grinders making early moves towards their breakout score. But there are still four levels to play in this tournament, never mind Day 2, 3, and 4. Early days. -- GC

6.35pm: Break time!
Six levels are in the bag, and the players have once more been banished from the tournament area. 15 minutes break and we'll be back with you. See you then! -- RS

6.32pm: The corpulent field slims down
It looks like today's runners will be around 390 in total, though at least 100 of those are no longer in contention as some of the fat has been trimmed off the tournament numbers.

290 remain as we move close to the end of level 6. -- RS

6.21pm: What's the rule?
Yesterday we observed a pot where one-time chip leader Andoni Exposito was caught bluffing the river by the taciturn Joseph Gulas. Exposito mucked his hand and Gulas followed suit. Long story short, the floor was called and it was ruled Gulas didn't need to show his hand to scoop a surrendered pot.

Today, over at table eight, Tim Michels of Germany also decided to muck his hand after being caught on the river. Ninib Messo, the bluff-catcher, looked to keep his top pair, weak kicker to himself, but the dealer had other ideas, to the riotous protests of the table. When she threatened to call the floor over, Messo anti-climactically exposed his hand to move the game along. Michel's tournament took a turn for the worse from there - he's since been felted. -- GC

6.10pm: Margets hits the rail as big draw bricks
Team PokerStars Pro Leo Margets was one of the marquee names on the roster, but her title ambitions have been shelved as she crashes out mid-way through the day.

Her exit hand saw her peel a raise on the button going four way to the flop with [6c][7c].

A board of [8s][7d][3c] was laid out and checked to Margets she led out at the pot and was min-raised.

She made the call, seeing a draw-tastic [5c] hit the turn and moving all-in for her stack when her opponent led out. She'd applied maximum pressure with her big draw and her opponent sweated his decision before finally calling with pocket aces.

A multitude of outs were available to Margets, but she swerved them all and was left packing up her belongings and heading to the rail.

"I think he should have folded, no?!" she said with a touch of exasperation, but in good humour.

Margets' recent case of chicken pox, described earlier, has left her with strict instructions to avoid the sun, meaning cocktails by the pool are off the agenda for now.

"I just want to scratch all my skin off!" she revealed itchily before departing into the shadows to find other diversions. -- RS

5.47pm: Big stacks emerging
With antes and blinds up the players who haven't started the event are starting to bust in accelerating fashion. Some big stacks have been sighted, including perhaps the biggest right now, unknown Guy Itzhaki. We caught Itzhaki in the midst of adding to his 95,000 chip stack with a successful continuation bet in a three-bet pot. We're taking a deep look into the likely chip leader's mysterious past. -- GC

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 200-400 ante 50

5.28pm: Guti shows he's still a top player
Guti might have reached the age where playing football professionally is no longer a possibility but who knows, a whole poker career might be opening up for him.

He has dealt with the opening levels well - his latest coup seeing him contest a four way pot with two tablemates and Chaz Chattha.

A [Jd][Ts][8c] board saw Guttierez lead for 1,100 (around 3/4 pot) and a quick glare from Chattha was the only resistance he met as all folded to leave the Spaniard to show the [Jh] for at least top pair.

Up to 33,000 now - Chattha down to a manageable 26,000. -- RS

5.05pm: Chipped up table of death
Table 32 is producing some fearsomely stacked players - we can only assume several of those 60 to have perished thusfar have been victims of Nikolaj Liljengren and Jun Anthony Longton - the pair having accumulated stacks of 48k and 34k respectively.

Kevin Williams was a late arrival but he too is pushing forward against the tide of blinds and antes to good effect - up to 26k. -- RS

4.59pm: Picking his spots
It's all business for Martins Adeniya today as he has more than doubled his starting stack, to 47,000, "without much resistance." When asked about the prospects of enjoying Marbella the disciplined pro stated, "I hope not to see the sun and the sand. If I bust this I'll probably play the high roller here and some side events."

Live cash, main events, side events, high rollers, he plans to play them all here and across the pond.

"I thought this would be a good tourney to play, with a big guarantee, and all the best players in Vegas," he told us. "It's the reason I delayed my WSOP trip."

Adeniya has traveled to Las Vegas for the full two months each of the past four summers, historically starting out strong before the grind has worn him out.

"If I go out later I'll take the heater at the start - that's the plan anyways."

Focused, relaxed, and clear-headed, he has put himself in a strong position to add to his stellar tournament resume with his first cash on Spanish soil. -- GC

4.44pm: Casualty count rises
We haven't had the official numbers confirmed yet but the early suggestion is that there are around 390 runners total and at least 60 of those have been crushed under the jackboot of variance.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 150-300 ante 25

Level five now in effect - the blinds 150-300 with a 25 ante.

Click here for updates from levels 1-4

PokerStars Blog reporting team at PokerStars Marbella Festival brought to you by UKIPT and ESPT: Rod Stirzaker and Gareth Chantler. Photos by Eric Vogel.

11.42pm: Boehler leads Day 1b and the field at the PokerStars Marbella Festival
Sell-out would be an understatement. The second day 1 flight at this joint UKIPT/ESPT stop was brimming with players hoping to jump into the action. The tournament staff at Casino Marbella went above and beyond to accommodate a total of 411 entrants, blowing away the advertised cap of 350.

Coming out ahead was Canadian Nick Boehler, who outdid day 1A's chip leader Andrey Shubin. The grizzly man at table 10 seat 7 never moved today while chips, 231,700 to be exact, eddied his way. Many players here took the hand before a break off, scurrying away for the restroom or the bar. But today we watched Nick deferring respite in favour of triple barreling.

Both Team PokerStars Pro Leo Margets and her Team Online counterpart Grzegorz "DaWarsaw" Mikielewicz fought valiantly, the latter increasing his chip stack tenfold after early struggles. But it was not to be and both are harshly condemned to a weekend full of Sophie's choices: beach or hammock, rum or tequila, and so forth.

Even more big names showed up today with luminaries like Surinder Sunar due to return tomorrow with 33,500 after steady play. PokerStars' own Nick Wealthall couldn't be so fortunate, having made the distinctly poor choice of playing all day only to be eliminated before the stroke of midnight. An early favourite, Martins Adeniya lost three quarters of his stack in a brutal last level. He'll start day 2 short with 36,000.

Full day 1B final chip counts can be found here and combined day 1A and 1B chip counts can be found here.

The final prize pool breakdown can be found here.

In George Clooney's Syrianna, Marbella plays host to the scene of a gruesome electrocution - a young man leaping into a luxurious estate's hazardous swimming pool. Today featured plenty of electricity, but none fatal, unless you count the 284 tournament lives lost. Tune in tomorrow for more international intrigue as we chronicle the hopes of the combined survivors.

Be there or be here, we'll be bringing you all the latest, starting at 12:00pm local. -- GC

11.42pm: They think it's all over...
...and they are quite right.

The tournament has ground to a halt and we have an outright chip leader, with an improbably gargantuan stack.

We'll be posting up the final wrap up of day 1B shortly with all the juicy morsels of information we know you crave (full chip counts to follow later) but for now thanks for following! -- RS

11.27pm: Four hands to go...

With just 13 minutes to go till the end of the level, the tournament clock has been paused and we are playing four more furious hands.

There are several stacks in the region of 100-200k which could mount a challenge to finish the day as chip leader.

Let's see how these final moments play out... -- RS

11.22pm: Wealthall bows out with the snowmen
A chilly finish ends Nick Wealthall's participation in this tournament. With a dwindling chip stack, pocket eights seemed like a good enough hand to take a stand with. Unfortunately he ran into pocket tens.

"I don't really have any interesting stories to report either," he lamented having struggled to build a stack all day.

11.11pm: It's not the size of the dog in the fight...
...it's the size of his chip stack. And here are some of the big stacks with the final stretch in sight.

Lorenzo Dedaj - 150,000
Victor Patino Gonzalez - 95,000
Keyan Jalili - 90,000
Michael Graydon - 80,000
Ludovic Geilich - 80,000
Charles Chattha -- 65,000 -- RS

11:00pm: Clicking buttons
Martins Adeniya does not like giving up on pots. This led to an outbreak of the technically named "button-clicking." It takes two to b-click the old adage goes, and Adeniya's dance partner was Alejandro Sanchez, who put in a cold four-bet to 11,200, on the button. The bet was clicked back in his direction, Adeniya making it 16,200.

Sanchez decided to take a flop, which came out [Ks] [Ts] [9d]. The size of the continuation bet in this five-bet pot was 7,800 of course, which got raised up to 17,300. Keep track of all that action? Good. Because that was it. Martins mucked quickly and his opponent removed the sunglasses to ask his opponent if he had "air." -- GC

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 600-1200 ante 100

10.47pm: DaWarsaw will watch basketball tomorrow
Level 9 was the end to Team Online's Grzegorz Mikielewicz, admittedly "crazy day."
Down to 17,000, he went all-in under the gun with ace-king. One of the blinds had jacks, and it was a standard race, the flop an unhelpful ten-high.
"Today, it was amazing. The first ninety minutes I could have been up to 50,000, instead I was down to 3,000. All the time I had a really strong hand that ran into a better hand," recounts Mikielewicz.
He made a very strong comeback, but as with all tournaments, the blinds went up, and people get short.

Now DaWarsaw has no excuse to miss game four of the NBA finals at 3am tomorrow, though he "would rather not watch," he remains bullish on Lebron and the gang.

We'll be on the lookout for Grzegorz to return Sunday, with a tan, for the six-max side event.

10.35pm: Roll call of UK players
As this tournament is a joint UKIPT venture, it seems apt to disseminate some information about how some of the better-known British players are performing.

As we saw earlier, Wai Kwan Yuen has amassed an impressive stack. Also faring well to fair are:-
Martins Adeniya -- 85k
James Mitchell -- 45k
Chaz Chattha -- 34k
Kevin Williams -- 26k
Surinder Sunar -- 24k
Nick Wealthall -- 19k

A quick note on Wealthall. His stack has vacillated around the 15-25k mark all day but he doesn't want anyone to think he's not playing pots. Earlier on we reported he had been boasting of "sexy bluffs." His latest vainglorious outpourings have seen him lauding some of the "impressive folds" he's been making.

We love Nick and can't wait to hear what aspects of poker he's been mastering next, whilst being able to simultaneously slide down the leaderboard. -- RS

10.16pm: Yuen sends Zweifel crashing out
The UK's Wai Kwan Yuen may be one of the last female players left gunning for the title but she is refusing to be intimidated by the ranks of men surrounding her.

A huge tangle with Peter Zweifel moments ago saw her kings best Zweifel's pocket nines, leaving him on the rail and Wai shooting into title contention with a mountain of chips - approximately 55k. -- RS

10:08pm: The fearless Miguel Abellan

A particularly stoic player is in the field today, one used to staring down ornery, muscle-bound bovines. That's right; Miguel Abellan is a bull-fighter. In fact, he's such a real-deal Spanish bull-fighter that two years ago he had his faced gored by one of his conquests. What would be more appropriate than watching him play ten hands around this, slightly less dangerous, ring?

MP - Abellan opens the pot for a standard raise of 1,800 and is three-bet to 4,800 by the hijack. The big blind comes along cold and Abellan calls. The flop is [9c] [8c] [5h] and action checks to the three-better, who fires 12,600. The big blind folds leaving the Spaniard to check-raise to 30,800. His opponent was not interested in giving him the stare down (good luck with that) and elects to fold. Not a bad start!

UTG+2 - Folds.

UTG+1 - sharing a word with a railing Jose Maria Gutierrez, Abellan makes it back in time to fold.

UTG - folds.

Bonus UTG - a breaking table means this one is ten handed now. The new player slides in and takes the big blind, giving Abellan another opportunity to fold.

BB, SB, BTN, CO, HJ - you guessed it, a lot of folding went down. In fact, that's all Abellan did in this stretch. But he looked strong and virile while doing it. There is no rush, no enraged nose-ringed farm animals about, after the pot that started this orbit Abellan is closing in on the 100,000 club. -- GC

9.55pm: We have reached level nine - the penultimate level of the day.

The blinds are big and the battles to steal them will only intensify from here on out. Expect a few wars to break out at the felt. -- RS

PokerStars Blog reporting team at PokerStars Marbella Festival brought to you by UKIPT and ESPT: Rod Stirzaker and Gareth Chantler. Photos by Eric Vogel.

4.28pm: End of level 14
The fourth level of the day has ended - the players are well drilled in the routine of streaming out into the sunshine every two hours and have just done so.

We'll be back in 15 minutes.

4.31pm: Animosity on table 3
Day 1a chip leader, Andrey Shubin has not made friends with new tablemate Renzo Cambianica. Renzo, hailing from Italy, check-called the whole way on a [Qd] [9d] [9c], [7c] board that completed with the [8c]. After that card was dealt, Cambianica lead out for about half his remaining stack, 25,400.

This puzzled Shubin greatly and he took his time, his fellow players fleeing to the nooks and crannies that a break inspires them to populate. When Shubin called Renzo was confident his straight - on a paired and flushing board - with [Ts] [6s], was best. He was right.

Shubin curiously flashed the [5h] and, pointing to the [7c], asked the dealer "What kind of river is that?"

In the aftermath Renzo was insistent his play was justified on account of the Russian's previous bullying.

"He played five-eight! He was bluffing! He was bluffing!" he said, taking your correspondent by the arm. -- GC

4.15pm: Larraga remains enigmatic
Spain's Tomas Guiu Larraga has Australia's Stuart McDonald in a fog. After raising preflop, McDonald checked and [Ac] [5c] [5s], [Js], [8c] board to the river, holding [Qs] [Qc]. At this point Larraga elected to bet half the pot, around 7,000 on account of it being a small one.

"Call"

McDonald didn't hesitate with his lovely ladies. But Larraga had found his way to the river with two red eights.

"Be bluffing one time!" McDonald ordered in good spirits.

This was not the first time Larraga had been best against him on the river. -- GC

4.11pm: Cano polished off
Daniel David Cano received a mortal wound to his stack earlier in that eights versus aces coup and Frenchman Elie Abougoche just administered the death blow - his big slick out-racing Cano's pocket jacks.

Cano gave the table a little thump in disappointment but once the mild histrionics had played out - he was rail side- whilst Abougouce has a plentiful 150k+ stack at his disposal which pushes him into the top 15 or so chip stacks. -- RS

3.46pm: Shove and reshove
On the button, Ondrej Vinklarek flat called a 29,600 shove from Jose Miguel Martinez Garnéswith, over which Victor Gonzalez promptly re-shoved from the small blind, for a total of 87,000.

Vinklarek didn't give up on the pot with [As] [Qd]. Garnéswith revealed [Jc] [9c] and Gonzalez was ahead with [Ad] [Ks]. The dealer left the stacks where they lay, hoping for a scoop.

The deck was in the mood to sweat, flopping [7s] [5s] [7h]. The [6s] added some high drama. Jose could more than triple up on non-spade eight, nine, or jack. Vinklarek could make away with all the cookies and a double elimination on any spade or one of the three offsuit queens. Mr Gonzalez was just hoping to hold. And hold he did, the [2d] a definitive brick. Gonzalez exchanged pleasantries with Garnéswith and Vinklarek was left with a short stack. -- GC

3.46pm: Variance claims more victims

As we move through level 14, the player roster has been further abridged - just 144 players still in contention as we speak. -- RS

3.31pm: Andrzej the giant crushes namesake
There may just be a few consonants between the first names of Andrei Vlassenki and Andrzej Kozikowski but there is now a monster gulf in their chip stacks - a key coin flip separating the pair.

The hand in question saw Spaniard Vlassenki raise to 6k, only for the Pole Kozikowski to now move all-in for approximately 40k and change.

Vlassenki had a good long think about it, his table generously indulging his lengthy consideration, before finally he announced call and pushed his stack over the line.

[Ad][Qs] for Vlassenki, pocket tens for Kozikowski.

A standard race was won by the Pole on an eight-high board and once the damage had been accounted for, Kozikowsku had doubled through to 90k whilst Vlassenki was skirting the brink of elimination with 10k. -- RS

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 1,500-3,000, ante 300

3.11pm: Shubin handles a squeeze
When we saw day 1a chip leaders Pawel Keller and Andrey Shubin drew each other on table 3 we expected a big clash. But Shubin's been placated, surely on account of the two immaculately dressed Russian beauties doting on him in today's early stages.

Well Pawel tried to put a halt to his lazy river of a day when he squeezed to 14,000 on the button versus the Russian's early position open raise. Shubin came along and check-called a small 11,000 chip continuation bet on a [Kd] [Jh] [Td] flop. The turn and river ran out [2s] [6s] and they checked it down. Keller had tried to force the action with [Ac] [5h] and Shubin raked the pot with [As] [Js]. After starting the day with a respectable 152,700 Keller's been heading in the wrong direction all day.

2.53pm: Cano's Moneymaker impression falls flat
En route to winning the 2003 WSOP Main Event, at one point Chris Moneymaker found himself all-in with pocket eights versus aces - an eight spiking to keep his hopes alive and indelibly change the course of poker history.

Daniel David Cano just found himself trying to emulate this trick as he warred preflop with Flaviud Iones Gherca. the latter calling Cano's shove before showing him a dominating pair of bullets versus Cano's snowmen.

Cano however proved less felicitous than Mr. Moneymaker - a board of [Ks][4c][Qh][3h][5d] being dealt out to shut down his claims at the pot.

The good news is he had his opponent covered by 45k so he remains in contention whilst a grinning Gherca has moved up to 65k. -- RS

2.34pm: Stacks on stacks on stacks
Nick Boehler's now sits with close to 350,000 chips, the player to his direct left, Germany's Fabio Sperling, conspicuous by his absence.

"He had been three-betting me a lot. I opened jack-nine suited and he three-bet me in position again, I called." Boehler related.

The flop came [Qh] [Th] [6d] and the chip leader check-called a continuation bet of one third the pot, spiking the [8h] on the turn. Nick led out 17,000 at this point, which Sperling called.

"The river was a complete blank and I tanked and bombed it for 45,000."

Sperling ended up calling, his naked aces cracked by the table's biggest stack.

"I've played some live cash, mostly home games around London," Nick said of his comfort level at the table. -- GC

2.25pm: Back to stack
That's quite enough fresh air and light gentlemen...back to the tables to continue the battle for supremacy.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 1,200-2,400, ante 300

2.08pm: End of level 12
Wow! Two fast, explosive levels have just played out - a host of big pots and fatal eliminations trimming this field to around 175 players.

The players now get their first breather of the day - a 15 minute pause. We'll be back shortly. -- RS

2.03pm: Wild, crazy stuff
Renata Jack, one of a handful of women returning today, just made a bold move in a four-way pot. The shenanigans started with Ruben Benitez putting 8,000 of his remaining 10,400 chips in the middle preflop, which was flat called by Per Jonatan Soderstrom, Jack, and big stack Pawel Keller.

On a [Kd] [6c] [2s] flop Benitez closed his eyes and tossed his remaining chips across the line, a bet that was raised to 9,000 by Soderstrom. This prompted a re-raise from Jack, to 30,000. Keller and Soderstrom got out of the way, only to find her [8c] [7c] up against [Ah] [7h] from an overjoyed Benitez.

Her play was beginning to look prophetic when the [Tc] spiked on the turn, a real sweat had emerged. Benitez more than quadrupled up on the [7s] river.

"I had the best hand on the flop," a puzzled Pawel told me. "I had a six." -- GC

1.58pm: Chip porn
Pablo Rojas, the Carlos Mortensen apprentice, is back at it today. He's just won an all-in, which put a temporary end to this shapely creature. You're welcome. -- GC

1.56pm: Boehler maintains Canadian stranglehold
He may be inexperienced when it comes to tournament poker, but you wouldn't guess it from Boehler's demeanour or current chip standing.

He has increased his overnight count to 260k and while we await official confirmation he remains the chip leader, he will be there or thereabouts when the stacks are tallied. -- RS

1.45pm: Torrid start
With twenty minutes still remaining in today's second level we have lost a whopping 65 players. "Seat open!" and "Asiento libre!" has been ringing out left, right, and centre. -- GC

1.30pm: Mitchell on a tear
Hopefully we can find out just how James Mitchell has managed to chip up so effectively during the break but for now, we can report great news to his fans as he has reached the impressive 150k mark after starting the day relatively short. -- RS

1.22pm: Hall monitor reports bustout
We've been keeping a close eye on popular UKIPT stalwart Tom Hall's stack. It has lain there unattended for much of the first level but he arrived a few moments ago, breathless and a touch disheveled.

With a mere 4.5k, he was forced into a quick move and looking down at [7c][5c] he gambled and slid his chips into the middle.

He can't have expected his raise to get through, given his micro-stack so it was no surprise when Tomasz Spodenkiewicz pushed all-in for approximately 30k, but Hall couldn't help but let out a laugh when a third player, Roman Igorevich Dolgorukov, also moved all-in!

At least he was in with a hope of a better-than-triple-through.

Spodenkiewicz showed down [Kh][Ts] and Igorevich the real monster in [Qd][Qh] meaning Hall would need a touch of fortune from the poker gods.

They ignored his silent pleas, his faint chances extinguished by the turn as the board peeled out [8s][8d][4h][8c][Ts] to bust him.

Spodekiwicz meanwhile moves to a very respectable 80k. -- RS

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 1000-2000, ante 300

1:05pm: Showing off
Nick Boehler has a lot of chips to work with and he just put them to use against Swedish short stack Ninib Messo. On a [9s] [4c] [6c] [7d] board Nick plopped a big stack of blue 5k chips across the betting line, enough to put Messo all-in. Messo folded grumpily and was shown the most unorthodox double inside straight draw we can recall seeing, the [Tc] [3d]. -- GC

12:52pm: Out but not down
Martins Adeniye got his last fifteen big blinds in on king, queen, ten board with king jack, but ran into his opponent's pocket tens to bust out of the main event.

"I might play the high roller at 8," he told us.

"It depends how much I've had to drink by then." -- GC

12.44pm: Barrera flounders following promising start

Luis Manuel Caballero Barrera must have been loving life, chipping up from his 70k opening stack to 120k in quick-smart fashion.

He must've felt invincible but a crushing confrontation with big stack Xavier Riera Taydea brought him crashing back down to earth.

The hand in question saw the pair reach the river of a [Qs][5c][5d][8s][3c] board - Taydea leading out with a huge 37k bet around 1/3 of Barrera's stack.

Barrera had a tough decision - he chewed on his scarf he rubbed his forehead he picked his chips up and down - he was the epitome of the uncomfortable poker player - and once he emerged for air and quietly announced call - Taydea showed him pocket kings - leading Barrera to muck his hand and shake his head.

Taydea pushes up to an even bigger 200k whilst Taydea has abandoned his table for now to cool down - though with 75k left he is still a contender if he can recover his composure. -- RS

12.36pm: Final numbers
First place money, a hefty 158,200 Euro, was announced over the PA system, as if the players didn't have enough pressure on them. The last 88 players will be paid -- it will be interesting to see if the bubble bursts tonight. -- GC

12.24pm: Quick correction
Every so often a gremlin can slip into the system and one of the little green critters seems to have assaulted the chip counts.

Spaniard Juan Jesus Alcaide Hermoso is listed as still in with 39,600. This should be the UK's Daniel Willis - apologies Daniel.

We've just stuck the offender in the blender so the green cocktails are on us. -- RS

12:18pm: Crozer busts with jacks
Nicholas Crozer's tournament has come to an abrupt end. He contested a flop preflop holding jacks - Kamil Hrabia the sole opponent taking him on.

The last of his chips went in on a king-high board, only to get the bad news Hrabia held ace-king. The board brought no further succour and he becomes an early casualty.

"I'm a little frustrated!" he said before heading off we assume to grab his towel and hit the pool. -- RS

12:10pm: Boehler's stellar debut
Chip leader Nick Boehler is a student at London, Ontario's Western University (that's in Canada). Western has a reputation as a party school, but one suspects that doesn't extend to the bio-medical field, where Boehler is studying.

"I've working two jobs and playing poker on the side. But I've always been interested in making poker work."

Get this, Marbella is Nick's first live tournament, having won a package on PokerStars. You wouldn't know it, however, from the poise he's shown thus far. -- GC

12:00pm: Cards are in the air!

11:50pm: Welcome back to Marbella - Boehler leads pack on Day 2

After ten arduous levels on each day 1 flight the field is combining today. Nearly 500 names have been banished to the pool to sip cocktails, poor lambs, but the remaining 240 players are poised and ready to lock horns, clash swords and butt heads as they pursue their goal of tournament glory.

The sign of a well structured event, six players are coming back with over 100 big blinds, including Spanish hopefuls Xavier Tayeda and Asier Crespo, returning with 168000 and 171,900 respectively. The other four are the Uk's Robert Wybrew with 181,000, Lorenzo Dedaj with 172,400, Andrey Shubin with 202,500, and chip leader Canadian Nick Boehler with 231,700.

For full chip counts, click here...

Day 2s tend to have a fast start - the short stacks all keen to draw their line in the sand early doors in a bid to spin up or bust out and free a full day up for one of the many attractions offered by this attractive coastal resort. It's going to be fast, it's going to be furious - an intriguing day beckons.

We're moments away from the kick-off so good luck one and all!

9.54pm: Derrick snatches Day 2 chip lead at the PokerStars Marbella Festival

Day 2 of the PokerStars Marbella Festival saw the dual Day 1 flights combine to wage war at the felt in the sunny Casino Marbella - Canadian Nick Boehler returning as the chipleader and man to beat although ultimately it was Chris Derrick who bested the field with a seven-figure stack once the smoke had cleared on an incendiary day.

With a host of shortstacks returning, it was always likely that we'd see a fast start and so it proved - a flurry of eliminations in the early few levels leaving the field shorn of a vast swathe of its previous bulk.

Throughout the carnage, Boehler cut a calm and placid figure, steadily increasing his stack in the eye of the hurricane and it looked for all the world as if he would effortlessly maintain his chip lead throughout the day.

Variance is a cruel mistress however and though Boehler made the cash spots, he crashed out just short of the end of the day, ending hopes of a Canadian champion.

Meanwhile, British hopes appeared to be taking a nosedive, Martins Adeniya and Thomas Hall failing to negotiate a tricky field, though the rise of 2010 Irish Open winner James Mitchell, who showed skill and good fortune to build a big stack, and the impressive shift Chris Derrick put in to accumulate a gargantuan one million chip stack redressed this balance.

Derrick will return with the chip lead, though he has a host of talented Spaniards, led by the swashbuckling bull-fighter Miguel Abellan Hernando, to contend with on day 3. Ireland's experienced campaigner Dara O'Kearney also lurks menacingly inside the top ten and there will be challenges and obstacles aplenty for anyone with designs on the title.

Ultimately just 48 players made it through from the 240 who started the day and these hardy souls will return at 12:00pm tomorrow to play down to a final table.

For the final chip counts at the end of day 2 click here.

We'll be back to follow their progress and we hope you can join us as the path to championship glory continues.

9.15pm: Level 18 is complete- day 2 is over!
It looks as though the one million plus chips that Chris Derrick has accumulated will see him announced as the chip leader, although we are are awaiting the results of the bagging and tagging before we confirm that,

A full wrap will follow this post shortly, confirming details of the day, the men who look to be favourites to win the tournament and later on the full chip counts, but for now thanks for following! -- RS

9:13pm: Its not over... until its over
Spanish National Matias Dominguez waited for the last hand of the night to put his paltry final 20,000 across the betting line. He would have to win at showdown once Mohamed Haddu flat called in middle position. The players then folded to Richard Black Milne Senior, who had malevolent intentions.

"This is the last hand of the night right?" he quizzed the dealer multiple times. It was.

After a long horse and pony show Milne moved all-in for 97,000 total, sixteen big blinds. Mohammed couldn't make the call as it was an appreciable portion of his stack.

Dominguez was now in a great position to double up, flipping [Ac] [Td] to the nefarious Milne's [Kc] [6h].

On the [Ah] [Qs] [Th] flop it was smiles and fist pumps for the player at risk. But he was far from free of danger.

Sure enough the [2h] turned. Could this really happen? The entire table was seemingly thinking that thought simultaneously.

Boom. The [7h] cued Dominguez's swan song while Milne couldn't hold back a Cheshire grin. Just another reminder that unless you have a portly woman on hand whose willing to hit the right notes, you shouldn't consider two pair invincible. -- GC

9.10pm: Popular Masters in contention
Irishman David Masters, seen singing at the table, has reason to be jolly. With thirty minutes left in the day he was spotted returning to the table with a Heineken in either hand. A round of applause from his Spanish table mates greeted him.

"I went on the beer because I got a penalty," Masters told us.

"That was when I had 10k, now I have over 250,000."

To what does the gregarious chap attribute his change of fortune?

"I'm not going to pretend I'm a good player. I got lucky, really lucky. I got the luck of the Irish."

We suspect David is being a wee bit humble, deceptive perhaps - a string of previous results suggest he's no slouch. -- GC

9.10pm: McDonald - the verbal force of nature
Stuart Burton McDonald is buzzing right now - having come into the day with a lowly stack of 50k, he now boasts a fine 300k with the end of day 2 fast approaching and he is a hard man to keep quiet!

Chatting almost constantly through every hand the Australian is a chirpy presence at his table, though his tablemates seem happy to listen to Mcdonald's incessant stream of consciousness observations - his banter keeping the right side of genial. -- RS

8.53pm: Mitchell moving up
James Mitchell's [Ad] [Qh] just busted a short-stacked Jairo Garcia Serrano's [As] [Kc] in a rather standard preflop encounter. Mitchell is putting himself in a position to do some damage, having come into the day with basically starting chips at 26,800. Mitchell's resume speaks for himself, he'll likely be the most intimidating force when play starts up tomorrow. The pace of eliminations is dizzying right now, and hasn't slowed down since the bubble burst.

About his moving day Mitchell told us he came in quite easy going, "because we're in Marbella, I didn't really care if I busted." That attitude led to solid decisions from Mitchell, including one pivotal one where he moved all-in "with no fold equity" on the turn holding thte nut flush draw. His opponent folded and Mitchell doubled up without showdown. -- GC

8.46pm: Disputes, disputes, disputes
The floor staff here is having a heck of a time as the stakes go up. It seems like everyone has suddenly become a stickler for procedure at the table, while dealers are reticent to make an egregious error. There has been nothing impactful since the Daniel Willis debacle (below), but plenty of false alarms. -- GC

8.35pm: The big dogs
Here are the players who have started pulling away from the pack with 64 remaining...

Chris Derrick United Kingdom 790000
Fernando Curto Gonzalez Spain 495000
Ludovic Alexander Geilich Germany 450000
Alejandro Alonso Sanchez Spain 440000
Michael Graydon Ireland 435000
Miguel Abellan Hernando 415000
Lucas Blanco Oliver Spain 410000
Kamil Hrabia Poland 365000
Moris Yalcin 315000

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 4,000-8,000, ante 500

8.18pm: Hero call halves Shubin's stack
The man who finished atop the chip counts at the end of day 1a, Andrey Vladimirovich Shubin, just made a call he may later come to regret.

The hand in question saw Shubin open to 12k from middle position, only for Per Jonatan Soderstrom to put the pressure on the Russian, moving his 20 big blind stack (120k) into the middle.

Shubin looked pretty unhappy at this turn of events , running his hands through his slicked back hair before finally making the call with the surprising holding of [Qc][Tc].

A few eyebrows were raised at the table when he showed his hand, though he held live cards at least versus the [Kd][Jd] tabled by Soderstrom.

A flop of [Ah][9h][Kc] sent Soderstrom blazing into the lead, a pair of kings looking in good shape for the pot. Needing to spike a jack to complete a gutshot, Shubin instead saw the [9d] and [Th] peel off on turn and river.

Unable to repress a slight roar and a fist strike into his spare hand, Shubin relinquished the pot before reassuming a calm facade, whilst Soderstrom simply smiled and stacked his bounty - up to 250k with Shubin knocked back to 90k. - RS

7.51pm: Ambitious plays with Francisco García
For two days, one man has separated himself from the rest of the field; one man is not like the others. That happy man, or infant as it were, is Francisco García, and he has been sucking on the same adult-sized pacifier since the first shuffle up and deal.

We've seen some strange plays from Garcia, including a recent tangle with new chip leader Chris Derrick. Garcia opened to 13,000 under the gun and Derrick three-bet to 28,000 next to act. It folded around and Garcia quickly called, which resulted in a [9h] [7c] [2d] flop. Garcia threw his cards out with the bathwater, mucking to no action from the in position Derrick. Better lines may have been available, but Garcia appeared to know something the adults didn't, since Derrick flashed the [9c]. -- GC

7.38pm: Four ways for Ionescu
Nick Boehler has come through the bubble with an average stack. As predicted he did battle with Fernando Gonzalez, but didn't get the best of it.

In the money he opened UTG to receive calls from the button, the small blind, and the (reluctant) big blind. The flop was a juicy one, [Td] [Jc] [Qh], and when Boehler continuation bet 24,000 we were expecting fireworks. Only the button, Romanian Petre Ionescu, called. The turn was the [Ts], complicating the board. But Nick check-folded with a touch of frustration when Ionescu slid 27,000 across the betting line. -- GC

7.26pm: Derrick leads the charge for the title
Chris Derrick has established himself as the out and out chip leader of the tournament with 790k. With all the close focus on the bubble boy, we missed the hand in question that saw Derrick ascend to the top of the pack, but he happily recounted the tale for us.

"There was a standard raise from him {Thomas Hemming}, and seat 7 (we think Ville Joakim Stromberg is the man in question) now three-bet. I felt like he would be doing this really light with it being around the bubble so I four-bet with [6h][8h].

He made the call with around 300k and we went heads-up to a flop which came heart heart heart! I led out 45k...he called. The turn was a brick and I now bet 85k...and he moved all-in!

I made the call with the flush and he tabled ace-four offsuit - no draw. I was kind of surprised he turned up with a hand that weak in that spot!"

That monster pot leaves Derrick placed in prime position for a strong run at the title. -- RS

Derrick spoke to PokerStars in more depth on Day 1A :

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 3,000-6,000-1,000

7.25pm: Back for level 17
The players are once more back in action. We have news of a giant pot that occurred just before the break to follow... -- RS

7.12pm: Level 16 ends: Break time!
After that breathless period, the players can once more take a quick rest for 15 minutes before taking up arms once more. We'll be back shortly. -- RS

6.55pm: One for the rulebook
OK. This one is going to require some attention, so follow along. Many were saying they "had never seen this," at a poker table. It all started with an innocuous open raise by Daniel Willis in early position. Alexis Abreu Abrante responded in kind by moving all-in for eight big blinds. Action passed back to Willis who made the call. Or did it? The action that is, which apparently was still on Tomas Lagarra, who, as we already detailed below, is quite slippery. Lagarra not only went unnoticed, but also had his hands over his cards, an unhappy truth for Willis.

It wasn't all sorted out in time, because Abrante exposed his black sevens, which prompted Willis to show his queen jack offsuit, all while Lagarra sat in silence.

Once the fog was dispersed, tournament officials explained the following:

"The usual rule here is that {Willis} is allowed to take his bet back, should the action in front of him change. Unfortunately, because cards have been exposed, I can't do that. That wouldn't be fair."

Hence action remained on Lagarra, the world his oyster. If he moved all-in Willis would be forced to fold his queen jack surely, sacrificing his nearly 40,000 chips in the pot, and Lagarra was a likely flip, for three-stacks, with two sevens.

Instead, perhaps misunderstanding the opportunity afforded to him, Lagarra just called.
The flop removed all worries about Willis being shortchanged - it was [7h] [6d] [Kd] - Abrante had spikes his set. It got checked down quickly, Lagarra's ace-ten offsuit, in addition to the turn and the river, all got scooped up quite quickly, the dealer surely hoping to put this nightmare behind her. -- GC

6.42pm: When shortstacks go wild
The passing of the bubble is a licence for those players who've been folding for 15 orbits to suddenly spring into action with a new lease of life, liberated from the notion that cashing may evade them.

No less than 15 minutes after the bubble burst and a huge cheer rang out throughout the casino, 11 shortstacks have managed to bust in a bid to double up.

Here are those plucky eleven:-

78 Dominic Mahoney € 2,015
79 Leo Armino Netherlands PokerStars Qualifier € 2,015
80 Gavin O'Rourke Ireland PokerStars Qualifier € 2,015
81 Alfonso Jesus Fernandez Martinez Spain € 2,015
82 Emilio Domínguez Muñoz Spain PokerStars Player € 2,015
83 Flavius Iones Gherca Romania € 2,015
84 Carmelo Vazquez De Paz Spain PokerStars Qualifier € 2,015
85 Julio Castell Perez Spain PokerStars Qualifier € 2,015
86 Georgy Gukasyan Russian Federation € 2,015
87 Kevin Santner Germany PokerStars Qualifier € 2,015
88 Tanel Tääker Estonia PokerStars Qualifier € 2,015 -- RS

6.29pm: Its official, we are in the money
The all-ins were fast and furious. So fast, in fact, that the tournament never paused for hand for hand. The final bubble victim was France's Robert Andre Cazali, whose [As] [Kd] could not hold facing the [Qd] [Td] of Ludovic Geilich. The board was [Jd] [Jh] [2c] [3h] [Th], one measly pair of tens good enough to bring Cazali's hopes of glory to an ignominious end. Fare well, bubble boy! -- GC

6.22pm: Pawel Keller bubbles
On an [Ac] [Qc] [9s], [2d] board, one time big stack Pawel Keller moved all-in against the excitable Renzo Cambianica. Cambianica looked him up with [As] [Jc]. Keller had many outs, 13 to be precise, with [9c] [7c], good for a pair and a flush draw.

"Viva Italia! Viva Espana!" cried out Cambianica euphorically.

"I didn't expect him to call on the bubble," Keller said. He had a good bit of back-up, but it was not to be.

Keller was elimination number 90, in other words, the runner-up bubble boy. -- GC

6.16pm: Linnemann holds to triple-through on bubble
Kasper Linnemann looked very likely to slip out of contention prior to the payout slots - with a mere 12k - there was no way he would be able to get a shove through uncontested.

"No fold equity huh!" he joked to his table as he juggled his patry collection of tokens.

He did find a hand he deemed worthy of a shove, pushing his minute stack into the middle and picking up 2 callers.

The pair of active players checked down the [7c][6s][3s][9h][Jc] board, turning over [Qd][Th] and [Qs][7s] respectively but Linneman broke out a toothy grin as he showed down pocket kings to claim the pot, triple through and temporarily at least avoid the unwanted moniker of bubble boy. -- RS

6.02pm: Hand for hand!
We've fair ripped through the 240-strong field and with just 90 remaining the tournament is about to be played out hand-for-hand as we prepare the crown the unlucky bubble boy or girl.

Sweaty palms and dry mouths abound....who will it be? -- RS

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 2,500-5,000, ante 500

5.54pm: Lalor sunk by judicious river
Joseph Lalor went searching for a double-through, shoving preflop with A-Q, only to run into the imposing presence of Swede Peter Kvisthammar - who took him on with pocket kings.

An ace-high flop looked like it was going to see Lalor home to a swift double-through, though with Dave Masters calling for a king in seat 8, a king duly arrived on the river to leave Kristhammer collecting the pot and sending a shell-shocked Lalor to the rail.

"I could just feel it coming," Masters commented.

"The luck of the Irish, eh," Kvisthammer noted as he re-stacked his newly-won 110,000 in chips. -- RS

5:45pm: Check it down? Think again
Pablo Rojas hasn't just been building sand castles today. He's been playing some tricky poker and maintaining an above-average stack. Gerard Walsh found himself in a 26,000 chip pot with the artist, which got checked to the river. Then Walsh decided the [Ks] [Jd] [9h], [2d], [5d] board was worth a bet of 10,000. Not a traditional bluffing line, that's for certain. The previous subdued Pablo took the opportunity to raise it up to 34,000, much to the delight of the growing Spanish rail. A bubble play, or did he backdoor a flush? Walsh found the price to find out too steep and folded after a stew. Less than ten eliminations now until the money.

5.37pm: Hot in here
The speed of play has remained brisk, no major outbreaks of hollywooding or stalling yet, but showdowns are hard to come by. The three-bet shove is king right now, with some fearless re-shove stacks taking advantage of the big stacks would-be bubble abuse.

Nick Boehler and Fernando Curto Gonzalez seem primed for an explosion. The two have been the most active at their table and have frequently skirmished postflop. Gonzalez has enough chips to do serious damage, but one gets the feeling that, at least in a poker context, these two just plain don't like each other. We'll be keeping an eye out.

5.22pm: Bitter Pihl - two swallowed
Swede Axel Pihl has been smacking his table around in recent times, seemingly busting tablemates for fun.

The first opponent to see his stack devoured was Jose Vicente Robles Diaz - committing his stack with queens up ([Qd][Jh]) on the turn of a [Ac][Qs][9c][Js] board, only to get the bad news that Pihl had him in a coffin with [As][9d] for a superior two pair.

A brick river left him virtually out with just one and a half big blinds.

Pihl up to 125k but he wasn't done yet, the very next hand calling a shove from shortstack Francisco Arce Bueno, whose ace-king it turned out was racing Pihl's sixes.

The pair saw a [5c][2h][5d][9s][Jc] board roll off to leave sixes-up the best hand and consign Bueno's hopes of claiming the title to the trash can.

Pihl breaks through the 160k mark and if he continues to deliver knockout haymakers at this rate, it could be a short day... -- RS

5.10pm: The bubble man cometh
The 25,000 chips are now in play, simplifying many people's stacks, including still chip leader Nick Boehler, who controls 355,000. More pressingly, we are less than twenty away from the money as only 105 players remain in contention. Who will freeze up?

4.55pm: Level 15 in effect
A bruising four levels have played out, just 117 players making it through the day so far.
Another incremental and inevitable increase in the forced blinds can only serve to raise the temperature at the felt as we move into level 15. -- RS

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 2,000-4,000, ante 500

PokerStars Blog reporting team at PokerStars Marbella Festival brought to you by UKIPT and ESPT: Rod Stirzaker and Gareth Chantler. Photos by Eric Vogel.

4.40pm: Level 22 complete; break
Another two levels have passed and so a fifteen minute hiatus is due.

See you shortly. -- RS

4.35pm: Abellan spikes McDonald
With two minutes left on the tournament clock, Stuart McDonald four-bet all-in against Miguel Abellan, who called. It was [Ad] [Qs] for McDonald and [Ks] [Qh] for the covering bull-fighter. Over a million chips hung in the balance.

The flop? [5d] [9d] [7h]

The dealers here, once players are all-in, don't wait for the cameras, and the next two cards rolled off the deck quickly...

[9h]

[Kd]

"Oh my god. Oh my god!" Abellan could be heard saying, while Dave Masters (who else?) consoled McDonald that he "got it in good."

"Terrible call there," Masters continued, "terrible luck too."

McDonald has come all the way from Australia. He cashed for 4,395 Euros to cover his travel costs and then some. But he's not happy, and who could blame him?

Abellan came and shook the disparaged man's hand before giving his girlfriend, whose been railing him from day 1, a kiss and hug. He is genuinely pumped up -- high stakes will do that to you, whether you face charging bulls for a living or not. -- GC

4.30pm: Masters back on the sauce
Dave Masters is not going to let a mere poker tournament get in the way of the day of drinking he had planned.

Moments ago, a bottle of beer slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor. He was apologetic but unfazed.

"My fault," said Masters. "Get us another two!" -- RS

4.18pm: Another Spaniard tumbles - Gonzalez down

Victor Patiño Gonzalez has just become the latest Spanish face to suck on the bitter dummy of elimination - though at least he had a throng of countrymen railing to console him as he walked off to the cash desk.

His exit was a standard race - pocket jacks failing to hold up versus the ace-king of Kamil Hrabia, whose stack is looking more and more threatening all the time - now over the million chip mark. -- RS

4.00pm: Slowroll with caution
David Masters told us a story that I don't think we can repeat here, even if we cleaned up the language. What's worth telling you was that he was reminiscing with TD Toby Stone, and it concerned fisticuffs with another, here unnamed, tournament director. Masters has given Stone trouble before, but the two are on jovial terms today.

The same cannot be said of Francisco García and Richard Black Milne Senior. Soother, dummy, pacifier -- call it what you will -- it was in Garcia's mouth when we arrived on the scene. TD Toby asked the table "Who insulted who?"

"I insulted him!" Milne copped to the deed straight away, pointing at Garcia.

A stern warning was issued, but no penalty. The cause of the outburst? Garcia had slowrolled Milne's river shove with pocket kings on a king, deuce, deuce, ten, three board.

Garcia is not exactly an experienced player and in the Spanish speaking world, where slowrolling isn't punishable by death, it may have been all fun and egos for him.

"I'll have a couple of these and be over it," Milne raised his alcoholic beverage as he spoke to his rail. -- GC

3.55pm: Roll-call of the damned
Well perhaps that's overstating things a little.

All these recently busted players can at least console themselves with a four figure cash, even if this time, tournament glory eludes them.

27th Chris Derrick United Kingdom  PokerStars Qualifier 3,850.00 €
28th Andrew Abernethy United Kingdom  PokerStars Qualifier 3,850.00 €
29th Juan Antonio Garcia Barba Spain  PokerStars Qualifier 3,850.00 €
30th James Mitchell United Kingdom  PokerStars Player 3,850.00 €
31st Petre Bogdan Ionescu Romania 3,850.00 €
32nd Alejandro Alonso Sanchez Spain  PokerStars Qualifier 3,850.00 €
33rd Ondrej Vinklarek Czech Republic  3,480.00 €
34th Michael Gloning Germany  PokerStars Qualifier 3,480.00 €
35th Joaquin Alcazar Lopez Spain  PokerStars Qualifier 3,480.00 €
36th Elie Abougoche France PokerStars Qualifier 3,480.00 €

3.42pm: Tip from the Masters: don't want the money
Irish permanent mid-stack Dave Masters is not under 400k because he's afraid to get it in when he thinks the timing is right. Just now he faced a three-bet preflop from Andrei Vlassenko in the big blind (up to 70,000) and swiftly applied maximum pressure with a shove for around 450,000. An unblinking staredown of laser-like intensity from Vlassenko did not provoke a reaction from Masters, who got a fold in the end.

"Don't try and play back at me!" he advised as he raked in the pot. "No good. You want the money too bad. I saw you looking around before."

He showed the [2c] revealing how his observational skills alone had led to this sub-premium hand being a calm four-bet shover. For his next feat, Masters assembles the High Roller Day 1 survivors in the billiard room and reveals who was guilty of throwing the empty beer bottles into the pool last (thanks to guest blogger Jen Mason for providing that hand) -- RS

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 10,000-20,000 ante 3,000

3.40pm: Down to three
We are down to 24 players which means three tables remain. They've paused the clock and are rearranging the runners. -- GC

3.31pm: Geilich on a tear, eliminates Shubin
Ludovic Geilich was back at it, raising to 40,000 under the gun. Andrey Shubin three-bet shoved from the button for twenty big blinds, or 400,000. After getting a count Ludovic called with [Th] [Tc], besting Shubin's [7c] [7h].

The board ran out uneventfully, [Jd] [3d] [8s], followed by [2c] [Ad].

Surprising there was no hard feelings for Shubin, who finally cracked a smile and shook hands with both McDonald and Geilich. All is fair in love and war and all that. -- GC

3.18pm: Geilich takes on McDonald
Ludovic Geilich was strangely quiet in the midst of a four-bet pot with Stuart McDonald. He had three-bet on the button to 81,000, McDonald entering the fray with a cold four-bet to 140,000 from the big blind, which Geilich flat-called. There was over 300,000 in the pot when the flop came [8d] [2s] [7c]. It went check-check.

On a [9d] turn McDonald made a delayed continuation bet of 85,000. This elicited a quick call and the river fell the [6s], putting out an obvious four-straight. But who, if either, had hit it?

McDonald checked and after a think Geilich moved all-in, covering, for around 350,000 chips effectively.

"If that's some crazy bluff, good for you," said McDonald after folding. The players declining their usual back and forth.

We inquired with McDonald what he held. Forthcoming, he obliged .

"Oh, I had ace-jack."

Two hands later McDonald three-bet on the button and Geilich was having none of it, coming over the top with an all-in four bet. McDonald gave it up. -- GC

3.06pm: Derrick rues making a flush as he busts
Three levels is a long time in poker and Chris Derrick just proved that - coming into the day as chip leader, he now finds himself on the rail following a big pot versus Fernando Curto Gonzalez.

The critical hand saw Derrick call a raise from the big blind with [8s][6s] only to see a flop peel off with two spades and an eight. Given all that equity, Derrick was never going to lay a pair and flush draw down and when he led out and Gonzalez raised, he moved his stack into the middle, only for Gonzalez to make the call.

Before the cards were on their backs, Derrick might have been hoping for a spade but when Gonzalez turned over [Qs][9s] for a higher flush draw, Derrick was hoping to fade the remaining spades in the deck.

No such luck, both players made a flush on the turn but Gonzalez' superior hand consigned Derrick to the sidelines. -- RS

3.02pm: Rodriguez flipping his way back into contention
Jesus Arroyo Rodriguez had nursed his shortstack long enough so when he found ace-jack in the cut-off, there was no messing about, he instantly wagered all his betting discs - around 80k.

Compatriot Sergio Sanchez Lopez took him on in the big blind with pocket eights but a board of [3c][Jh][Qh][5s][2s] secured Rodriguez a double-through to 180k. -- RS

2.53pm: Geilich reads Shubin at chirpy table
The final board was [Ac] [Jh] [Js] [Ts] [2s] and new chip leader Ludovic Geilich checked to the man on the button, Andrey Shubin, who decided to wager a hefty 82,000.

"Jack-ten diamonds?" inquired Geilich, not exactly politely.

"Jack-ten diamonds? You have jack-ten diamonds?" Shubin smirked slightly at the excess of kinetic energy.

Geilich folded and Shubin showed [As] [Jc].

"I thought you had a house. Ace-Jack, same thing," concluded Geilich, in case his tablemates doubted his read.

Shortly thereafter Geilich's re-raise got shoved on by Shubin for a sum of 530,000. No small change at this point, that's an average sized stack.

"You got AK?" the interrogation began. Which is odd, since Geilich always knows everyone's holdings.

"You were going to flat, then you change your mind and raise. You have ace-king." Geilich confirmed for everyone.

"I have a pair of nines. I know you have ace-king."

That summation seemed a bit incongruent with Geilich's decision to ultimately fold his hand. To add fuel to the chatterbox's fire, Shubin showed the [Ac]. -- GC

2.42pm: Mitchell's ship is sunk
It's been quite a day for James Mitchell, his stack fluctuating wildly as he was tossed from pillar to post at the whims of the poker gods.

Finally though one tidal wave of variance too many crashed across his deck and he went under.

His exit saw him contest a flop with Kamil Hrabia, the Polish qualifier holding ten-jack and calling Mitchell's shove with [7d][7c] on a [Td][8d][8s] board.

Mitchell was in big trouble and though the [6d] turned to give him some extra outs a [Qh] on the river spelt an end to his participation, the 2010 Irish Open champion bowing out after a deep run. -- RS

2.35pm: Barba at risk versus Derrick
Snakebitten Chris Derrick once again called an all-in from a short stack. Once again a short stack, Juan Barba this time, had Q9 -- [Qh] [9s] specifically. Derrick tabled [Ah] [6d].

"Queen-nine? Remember what happened last time?" sighed Derrick.

"You don't race well this way," concurred Dave Masters.

The board started out well for Chris, [5d] [5c] [4d]. The turn and river produced no drama, [Ts] and [2s] the cards that fell. Barba was eliminated, but in good spirits.

"Finally won a race," Derrick shook his head. -- GC

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 8,000-16,000

2.25pm: Back for Level 21
The break is over, and the players are back in their seats. Let battle commence once more. --RS

2.05pm: End of level 20
That's the first two levels of the day in the can and we've lost around 12 of our remaining players. There'll be the customary 15 minute break before we return for level 21. We'll have some up to date chip counts to follow shortly.

To check the players who haven't made it through, along with their prizes, click here for the payout lists-- RS

2.00: Derrick octuples Vlassenko
That headline might be a bit misleading, but maybe not. Three times last level Vlassenko moved all-in preflop nearing the button and three times Derrick called him on his direct left. They were all 60-40 situations, two of the three in our former chip leader's favour. All involved flops that put Vlassenko well ahead. On the third one the [Jc] [Tc] passing Derrick's [As] [6d] on a [Td] [8h] [4s] board that ran out [7d] [Qh].

We're not sure if Vlassenko has precisely gone two times two times two for eight, but he has escaped the danger zone to comfortable. Derrick has joined the middle of the pack. -- GC

1.55pm: Ondrej Vinklarek eliminated
EPT season 8 Player of the Year Ondrej Vinklarek has been eliminated. We are playing 8 handed today until the final 9 and that means eliminations bring short-handed play before tables combine. Players were seven-handed when Vinklarek decided to go with his [As] [Qd] in the cut-off versus Fernando Gonzalez's early position [Ac] [Kd].

"He put at least 450,000 in preflop with ace queen," table mate Dave Masters informed us. That figure was more or less accurate, a sum of forty big-blinds.

The flop came king high and by the turn Vinklarek was shut out, the river a foregone conclusion.

"If I do that, shoot me." he editorialized.

Gonzalez has now joined the million chip club. He had so many of the circular contraptions that, being in seat ten, the dealer mucked his cards before he could look at them the next hand. Gonzalez was informed by TD Toby Stone that he was responsible for protecting his own hand in this circumstance, but didn't hesitate to moan about it.

"Plenty of chips mate! Plenty of chips!" Masters consoled. -- GC

1:51pm: Starting Early
David Masters is on, at least, his third drink of the day.

"I'm going to have to start drinking non-alcoholic beer to keep this image up!" He told us.

In fact, it appears all the cold bottles of Heineken on site have been imbibed, since after two Masters has been reduced to drinking beer from a glass. Imagine. -- GC

1.41pm: Derrick frozen out after cold four bet
A recent preflop war erupted at Chris Derrick's table, Fernando Curto Gonzalez firing the first bet with a 20k open. Ondrej Vinklarek now 3-bet to 62k and Derrick decided this was one party he wanted to gate-crash, pulling out a cold four-bet to 150k from the blinds.

When Gonzalez made the call and Vinklarek went away commenting "what's going on?!", the pair went heads-up to a [9d][5s][2c] board. Derrick checked to Gonzalez before insta-folding to his 175k bet with a smile.

Derrick left with 900k following this hand... -- RS

1.22: Mitchell doubling shorties
Per Jonatan Soderstrom moved all-in for ten big blinds in middle position, and after a count, James Mitchell called with [Kd] [Kc]. He was far ahead of the [As] [2h] from Soderstrom. The flop came [Qs] [4h] [2c], giving the Swede a conventional five-outer, and some hope. The turn was a static [8h] , but the river the opposite, the [2d]. Mitchell didn't flinch. Soderstrom slammed the table, happy to live another day.

The subsequent hand Mitchell was dealt another monster, [Ah] [Kd], in late position. Micro-stack Sergio Sanchez Lopez's [Ac] [5c] caught up with him in brutal fashion, after flopping [2c] [Td] [9d], the two shared a run-out of [Tc] [Kc]. Again Mitchell showed little sign of irritation, but he's now reduced to a twenty big blind stack with around 250,000. - GC

1.12pm: Crashed and burned
Whoever wins this event will look back and see a trail of broken dreams in his wake. Here are some of the vanquished who will form that miserable vista. -- RS

42nd Tomas Guiu Larraga Spain 
43rd Dennis Wilke Germany 
44th Alberto Blasi Llado Spain 
45th Jose Antonio Palomares Spain 
46th Daniel Rodriguez Rivero Spain 
47th Alvaro Aspas Tarrazón Spain 

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 6,000-12,000, ante 2,000

12.52pm: Pablo doubles through Abellan
"Whammo!" Pablo Rojas slammed the table in delight. He had just made something out of nothing in an all-in preflop match with Miguel Abellan.

Abellan and Rojas have been seated side by side since the middle of yesterday's action, convivial normally, if not in this particular moment.

It all started on Abellan's button with Rojas in the small blind. A raising war ensued and a shade over 300,000 ended in the middle with Rojas making the last move with [Kh] [Qs]. Abellan had one by the horns, naturally, with [Qc] [Qh]. The board however, bucked the odds, starting out innocuously, [Tc] [7s] [2c]. The [Jc] turned some serious outs for Rojas, and sure enough, the [9h] completed them.

"Cuanto?" asked Abellan, grudgingly paying up what he owed. -- GC

12.52pm: Mitchell stops the rot with timely double
It's been a first level to forget for James Mitchell, who has seen his stack take a hammering - down to 160k

He managed to turn thing round in the last hand though, simply three-bet shoving over a 21k open from Asier Crespo.

Crespo shrugged and made the call - but he tabled [Ah][Jd] to Mitchell's [Ac][Kd] and the Englishman duly doubled through as the board ran out [7h][5h][3c][4s][7c].

Back to 350k, Mitchell has recovered some of the ground he lost earlier on. -- RS

12.40pm: Ludovic Geilich making moves
The preflop action was heavy, Dennis Wilke in the cutoff raised to 21,000, and was greeted by a re-raise to 55,000 by Geilich. Things only escalated from there, the four-bet came out to 120,000 and the five-bet from Geilich responded, the total around 350,000. A quick call produced cards.

For Geilich, [Kc] [6s].
For Wilke, a more respectable, [Ah] [Ks].

Poker is not a game of fair and the bad news rolled out [Jd] [2d] [6h]. There would be no redistribution of favour when the board completed [Tc] [4h].

We tried to get a quote from the devastated Wilke, but he appeared to be lost in this world.

Meanwhile for those remaining at the table, things got a little testy.

"Did you say nice move?! Is that what you said?" questioned a snippy Geilich of his tablemate.

"Are you being sarcastic?"

Who is to say -- the man now has close to a million chips though. -- GC

12.37pm: Stuart McDonald is in the building
The Aussie only missed a few hands to start the day.

"I couldn't sleep really," he told us, apparently no late disco trips to blame.

"I set my alarm for 10 to 12," he explained, "I'd just rather get the extra sleep than breakfast." -- GC

12.32pm: Oliver wants some more
Lucas Blanco Oliver has been a sprightly fellow in the opening few hands. We caught him raising to 20k from middle position - picking up a caller in big blind Moris Yalcin.

Oliver barreled the flop and turn of a [Ac][Qd][6h][2d][Kd] board with bets of 26k and 46k, but gave up on the river, mucking as Yalcin showed down [As][3s] to claim the pot.

Unperturbed, Oliver also raised the next hand to 20k - only to see Marcos Paton Bao re-pop him to 54k. He was clearly sick of all this resistance and thought for a few moments before announcing all-in and moving his 540k stack into the middle.

Bao eyed him suspiciously before calling his 300k stack off as well.

High drama looked as if it would dissipate rapidly - Oliver and Bao showing down [As][Qh] and [Ad][Qd] respectively but the tension ratcheted up as the board was dealt [Qc][7h][6d][5d] to give Bao a one in five freeroll shot at scooping the lot with a backdoor flush.

A brick river however meant the pair chopped it up, Oliver letting out a sigh of relief at dodging that particular bullet. -- RS

12.14: Working on Aussie time
Stuart Burton McDonald is a talkative chap-- he didn't need inviting at any point yesterday to put a word or twelve in our ear. Well that gregariousness may have led to some ill-advised hi-jinx last night, as he was absent for the recommencement of play this morning. He has a pile of chips though, haphazardly arranged, at his seat. The full story? We're on it. -- GC

12.05: Early carnage
We are playing eight handed to start the day and the button has started on seat four. This led to the bust-out of button Marcus Van Opzeeland, at the hands of chip leader Chris Derrick in the big blind. Opzeeland shoved [Js] [9c] and was called by [Kd] [6h]. The board ran out [Qc] [9h] [6c], [Jd], [Kh] and Marcus was in great spirits leaving early to enjoy an absolutely spectacular day here on the coast of Spain. -- GC

Play begins!
Level 19 in effect, 48 players left. Let's get ready to rumble.

11.52pm: Derrick leads Day 3 survivors at PokerStars Marbella Festival

Yesterday our field dissipated rapidly, from 240 runners to a mere 48, in just eight levels of play. The action was unrelenting, and as we approached the bubble everyone braced for hand for hand. But with 91 left the next three players busted in rapid succession and the pace of play continued unabated. The structure here allows for some patience, we'll see if the pay jumps begin to inspire some caution as we play all the way down to the final table tonight.

Your chip leader is Chris Derrick, who surged past 800,000 on the bubble, in a four-bet pot, with 100% equity in the hand, having flopped a flush versus a stone cold bluff-raise-shove. Must be nice. He didn't sit on his good fortune, but continued to build past the million chip mark before play concluded. The Brit is chased by German Ludovic Geilich jwith bull-fighting Miguel Abellan close behind. Abellan can usually be found in a flamboyant, and tight traje de luces, which translates to 'suit of lights,' when performing under pressure. In this arena however, he's dressed casually, wields 669, 000, and has been trying to keep a low profile. It's not easy though, because he's a fan favourite.

The UKIPT's season 3's "Qualifier of the Year" Dara O'Kearney and the 2010 Irish Open winner James Mitchell are some of the heavyweights lying a little further back in the pack, ready to make their move should the opportunity arise.

For full chip counts, click here

Day 3 starts with everyone guaranteed 2,745 Euros, but they'll all be vying for the final table spots, and with it a guarantee of a €9,890 minimum payment. Of course top spot far exceeds that - a lucrative six-figure payday of €158,200 the enticing prize on offer..

The players have congregated outside the tournament area, pining for the doors to be open. We will be right there when they do, bringing you all the latest. -- GC

PokerStars Blog reporting team at PokerStars Marbella Festival brought to you by UKIPT and ESPT: Rod Stirzaker and Gareth Chantler. Photos by Eric Vogel.

9.05pm: Geilich leads PokerStars Marbella Festival final table field
Day 3 of the PokerStars Marbella Festival was always guaranteed to be a cracker and after a tough day's poker, it was Ludovic Geilich who beat off all and sundry to claim the chip lead.

A busy day's poker saw an aggressive field of 48 players return to vie for the final table spots, the UK's Chris Derrick the man leading the pack.

Derrick was the sole player to cap one milion chips yesterday and must have slept like a baby last night but there are no guarantees in poker and a series of lost showdowns crippled his stack - Fernando Curto Gonzalez applying the finishing touches to send the unlucky Derrick glumly to the cashout desk with his dreams in tatters.

James Mitchell was another UK player looking to claim glory on Spanish soil, but his fortunes took a nose-dive when he ran into the brick wall that was Kamil Hrabia, the Pole seeing off Mitchell on his way to a deep run that took him all the way to the final table.

The two remaining Irishmen - Season 3's UKIPT online Qualifier of the Year Dara O'Kearny and the experienced Dave Masters both made it deep, the latter seemingly fuelled by a sole diet of beer, though the pair came up just short of the final table.

Popular bullfighter Miguel Abellan Hernando looked set to add a marquee name to the final table roster, but in this arena he was unable to swish his cape and evade the horns of variance, gored with the final in sight.

Whilst others were stalling, the man who entered the day in second spot, Ludovic Geilich - the German with a glaswegian accent - was on an inexorable rise. He proved a thorn in the side of everyone he faced off against, creating a number of adversaries throughout the day, but in the final reckoning he bested them all to top the chip counts.

Here are the men who will return for the final tomorrow along with their chip stacks.

Ludovic Geilich Germany 4100000
Kamil Hrabia Poland PokerStars Qualifier 2815000
Pablo Rojas Spain PokerStars Qualifier 2155000
Jorge Eguaras Paniagua Spain 2095000
Asier Crespo Spain PokerStars Qualifier 1410000
Fernando Curto Spain 1190000
Jonatan Soderstrom Sweden 660000
Lucas Blanco Spain PokerStars Qualifier 440000

...and here are the prizes those players will be gunning for - a whopping €158,200 awaiting the winner.

1st € 158,200
2nd € 102,550
3rd € 62,250
4th € 48,520
5th € 35,710
6th € 23,800
7th € 17,580
8th € 12,820

We'll return at 12:00pm tomorrow as the bid to crown the latest joint UKIPT and ESPT champion continues but for now thanks for following!. -- RS

8.15pm: When the levee breaks, Lopez eliminated in 9th (€ 9,890)
Players combined on one table of nine, looking to make a final elimination to end play for the day. Nearing the end of level 25, with 20,000-40,000 blinds, it folded all the way to Sergio Lopez in the small blind. He had been playing with a decent amount of trepidation since two tables left. So when he open shoved for twenty-one big blinds, 850,000, he probably had something worthy of a wager. Kamil Hrabia, however, could never possibly fold [Qc] [Qs] in the big blind.

"I didn't expect ace-king in that spot, not trying to induce or anything," Hrabia later opined.

But that was exactly the hand he confronted, [Ac] [Kd], one of the few in the deck he didn't dominate.

Play of the final nine had been cautious since the table started, and few hands had actually been played before this hell broke loose. Everyone stood as the dealer peeled fate off the deck.

[Tc] [Td] [2c] flopped. Lopez stood silently.

[8s]

[3d]

The board completed sans drama but the players didn't need an injection to break out in cheers. Lopez shook Hrabia's hand and exited.

"What does relieved mean?" Hrabia answered a question with another question.

"Yes, I am happy," he replied. "It's always nice to hold."

And there you have it. In short order this bloodbath of Saturday poker has taken our field from 48 pretenders to 8 contenders. -- GC

8.22pm: Hrabia mounts a recovery
Devastated by their earlier hand versus Ludovic, some players would have lost their composure and blown their stack away.

Kamil Hrabia is made of sterner stuff though, and shrugged off defeat to turn his fortunes round within a few hands.

When the busy Gonzalez opened to 105k, Hrabia took little time to cut out a couple of chunky stacks and re-pop the Spaniard to 255k.

Gonzalez called out of position and the pair saw a flop of [Kh][Kd][7s] peel off.
A check from Gonzalez was met with a 255k c-bet from Hrabia. Gonzalez called.

The turn was the [2h] and both players made cautious checks.

Come the apparently meaningless [4d] on the river, Gonzalez now led for a meaty 450k. Hrabia squirmed in his seat but couldn't lay down his pocket tens and the relief on his face when Gonzalez tabled ace-jack high was there for all to see.

He's back to 1.7 million. -- RS

8.15pm: Hernando bows out 10th - € 9,890
It's official - bull fighting is easier than winning poker tournaments.

If you need the proof, witness the demise of Miguel Abellan Hernando, who is used to getting the best of his bovine opposition but the collection of humans standing in his way proved a tougher nut to crack.

His exit hand was simple. He moved in from the button and his compatriot Jorge Eguaras Paniagua shoved to isolate.

Cards on their backs:

Miguel Abellan Hernando: [As] [9d]
Jorge Eguaras Paniagua: [Ac][Kc]

A [Ks][5h][7c][Ad][Jc] board meant aces and kings for Paniagua was just the ticket to send Hernando through the exit doors.He received generous congratulations from the remaining players, who will now coalesce onto one table - one more elimination signalling the "official" final table has been reached. -- RS

7.48pm: Geilich duels Hrabia
Play is five handed on each table and Fernando Gonzalez folded his button, which led to a no holds barred confrontation between Kamil Hrabia and Ludovic Geilich in blind versus blind. This hand had an air of savagery from the start, and savagery is what we got.

Hrabia, who has kept a low profile while navigating this often boisterous field, opened the pot to 90,000 and Ludovic, sitting on a huge stack and involved in most hands, probably would have played anything. He called.

The flop was dealt, [Tc] [3d] [2s] and the dry board elicited a 85,000 chip continuation bet. Ludovic raised without too much hesitation, to 195,000. Something smelled premeditated. Hrabia cut out a call.

The turn was the [9d], Hrabia checked to the raiser and Ludovic did not slow down, firing 315,000. Surely he was representing a small range of value hands -- top pair or better. In the tension it appeared as if Hrabia knew Ludovic was bluffing. Actually given Ludovic's reputation, just about everyone though he was bluffing.

The river? The harmless [7h]. Hrabia checked one last time and Ludovic sat. He counted his many stacks, he shuffled some chips, and he made a tiny balk at the pot. Eventually the tension was relieved when he checked, and had to be prompted to show his hand, [7d] [5h].

Hrabia was devastated. He slunk back in his chair and held onto his cards, performing that slow motion muck that signifies a player who considers himself on the wrong side of this chaotic universe's cruelty. Ludovic remains in the driver seat. -- GC

7.39pm: Gonzalez dances with Geilich again
Fernando Gonzalez and Ludovic Geilich played a massive four-bet pot just one level ago that featured an all-in on the flop. This time, Gonzalez opened on the button to 105,000, quite a large size. This didn't deter Geilich, who bumped it up to 270,000 from the big blind. Gonzalez called and both players checked the [Qh] [Jc] [9d] flop.

The turn was a quiet [4s], Ludovic bet 265,000 and Gonzalez moved all-in. A count was requested and the total was 770,000 for 505,000 more. As has been Ludovic's habit on the river, the questioning began. He was perturbed, tilting his head to the side, giving looks of uncertainty. It seemed reasonable to assume he had a hand like AJ.

"Pocket fours?" Ludovic inquired as he laid it down.

"Show me pocket fours."

Gonzalez, ever the gentleman, let him pick one, and it was the [Qd].

"I had you crushed preflop... crushed." -- GC

7.30pm: Back for level 25!
The players are so close they can smell the final table.
Here's how they stand as they home in on the final eight - Ludovic Geilich leading the way...

Ludovic Geilich Germany 3635000
Pablo Rojas Martínez Del Mármol Spain PokerStars Qualifier 2025000
Sergio Sanchez Lopez Spain 1860000
Asier Crespo Spain PokerStars Qualifier 1665000
Kamil Hrabia Poland PokerStars Qualifier 1660000
Fernando Curto Gonzalez Spain 1115000
Per Jonatan Soderstrom Sweden 835000
Jorge Eguaras Paniagua Spain 750000
Miguel Abellan Hernando Spain 725000
Lucas Blanco Oliver Spain PokerStars Qualifier 565000

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 20,000-40,000, ante 5,000

7.18pm: Colour up!
Players are on their way back to the final two tables and there are now only two colours in play, 5,000 chip blues and 25,000 chip greens. -- GC

7.08pm: End of level 24
Another two levels, another 15 minute break. Just 10 remain now - the intention of course to reach that magical number of eight runners for our final table.

We'll have official chip counts when we return.

7.02pm: For once the ladies love Rojas
Earlier on, Pablo Rojas suffered in an all-in coup with queens, but he has battled on well, building his stack up and moments ago - it all paid off.

Once again queens were in Rojas' hands, a preflop war with Lucas Oliver seeing him move all-in and once again he held a major equity advantage.

Oliver had pocket jacks this time but a [9d][2h][5s][4h][3d] board did nothing to alter the direction of the pot and once the chips were tallied - an 800k dent had been put in Oliver's stack - the Spaniard down to 580k, whilst Rojas has recovered with aplomb - up to 1.6 million -- RS

6.41: Ludovic cannot be stopped; Yalcin busts in 11th (€ 8,060)
What can be said of this hand? Ludovic Geilich is conductor of the pain train and he is on track to smash this final table bubble to smithereens.

The hand prior he had open raised, once again, to fold to a three-bet from Soderstrom.

Under the gun, he was undeterred, and this time his resistance came in the form of a call from Moris Yalcin's button.

The flop, [8d] [4d] [3d] held plenty possibilities, and Geilich continued for 78,000.

Yalcin called quickly, smoothly even.

The turn? The [4h].

An all-in on the order of 280,000 produced a quick call -- Yalcin, in Phil Hellmuth style, had trapped the big bully with [As] [Ac]. But his trickery had left him vulnerable, for the [Ad] [3c] on the other side of the table had plenty of river cards on which it could improve.

And improve that hand did, in an awfully painful way, on the [3s] river.

Ludovic was sure to keep two fingers on his cards until the dealer pushed him the remnants of Yalcin's tournament life. Ludovic now holds 3,630,000 chips. -- GC

6.32pm: Ludovic continues his rise
Ludovic is well over 2 million now, raising pre-flop and bareling three streets of a [Td][7h][3s][8h][2s] board, picking up the pot on the river as his opponent folded with a sigh.

This is becoming commonplace, Ludovic is really distressing his tablemates with his consistent aggression and will be a tough man to stop if this pattern continues... -- RS

6.25pm: David Arrenas Delagdo busts in 12th (€8,060)
Another crucial race has gone the way of Ludovic Geilich. Crucial, that is, for David Arrenas Delgado. He needed to hit when his [Ac] [Jh] found itself representing the last of his short stack, all-in preflop against Geilich's [4d] [4s]. The board did not oblige, running out [3s] [5s] [Kc] [Td] [6s]. He can go home happy at least to have made the final dozen out of a field of 763.

6.13pm: Jesus Rodriguez out in 13th (€ 6,600)
The alacrity of eliminations is unabated. Tonight we will form a final table of nine and then knock out one more before ending the day. There is a players party tonight here tonight and it is Saturday, a plausible explanation for the rapid decimation of the field? Perhaps it is in the cards, the latest knockout one Jesus Rodriguez, at the hands of Lucas Oliver. The match-up?

[As] [Kc] for Oliver
[Qd] [Td] for Rodriguez

The flop was queen high, [Qc] [4c] [8c] but Oliver still had as good a chance of scooping as his opponent. The turn was a brick, the [3s], but the river notched it -- the [9c]. -- GC

5.59pm: Ludovic is cold-blooded
The biggest pot of the tournament without a showdown was just played and as you might expect, it involved sizable bets.

Asier Crespo started things off with an open to 50,000 in early position. Play was seven handed and Fernando Gonzalez three-bet to an oversized 142,000, on the button. Ludovic Geilich was an interested observer turned participant, cold four-betting to 291,000. Crespo ducked out quickly, and Gonzalez, who started the hand with close to two million, called.

Ludovic hadn't been covered for a while, his stack a healthy 1,700,000. The flop came [7h] [8h] [6d] and Geilich shuffled chips in his right hand at a feverish pace. Gonzalez intently tracked his every move. Eventually, he checked.

Gonzalez didn't take nearly as long to lay out a huge number of wagering units, 350,000 of them. Once the dealer spread them into a countable arrangement, Geilich said two magic, hyphenated, words.

"All-in."

The all-in triangle plunked before him -- he had just check-shoved to a shade over 1,300,000.

Gonzalez looked at Ludovic, looked at the ceiling, and looked at his cards. None provided comfort and he folded with displeasure. -- GC

5.52pm: Kamil Hrabia leads PokerStars Marbella Festival
With the final table in sight, it's Kamil Hrabia who is the favourite for the title right now, his stack a highly impressive 1.8 million. -- RS

5.45pm: Ladies not so hot - Lopez doubles
When Sergio Lopez three-bet all-in for 500k with pocket tens, it was a shock when the initial raiser Rojas made the call and showed up with pocket queens.

WIth Lopez' tournament on the line, his body visibly shook as he spiked a set on the ten-high board to stay in contention.

A remarkably placid Rojas took the beat well, shook hands with his compatriot and continued with 450k of his own. -- RS

5.38pm: Rudi Buntinx doubles Sergio Lopez, busts
Rudi Buntinx and Sergio Lopez were very close in stacks. So close that it was in question who was going to bust who when all the money went in preflop, Lopez's [3c] [3h] against Buntinx's [Ad] [Kc]. As usual a player celebrated prematurely, when the flop came [3d] [2c] [5s] Lopez acted as if his lead was unassailable.

"Vamooo!" he cried as the [Jh] peeled off on the turn.

The [2h] meant the end of Buntinx, who was gracious in his exit, good for 14th place, and €6,600. -- GC

5.28pm: Cambianica goes for broke...and succeeds
Renzo Cambianica had around 270k and folded to him on the button, he moved all-in with [8d][6d] - only for Rudi Buntinx to tank-call from the small blind with [Kc][Qd].

When Cambianica revealed his relatively weak holding, Buntinx victory-slammed his hand down although he had some work to do before he could lay claim to the pot.

A board of [Ah][Td][4s][5s][9h] did the trick, Cambianica slipping out of contention in 15th spot. Once Buntinx had padded his stack with the Italian's chips, he was up to 800k. -- RS

5.11pm: A slew of bustouts
The pace here is unbelievable. We just lost four players in the space of four minutes.

First, Sergio Lopez buoyed his short stack when his [7d] [7c] held up against the similarly short Joan Suasi's [5s] [5h].

Next, a crippled Francisco García moved all-in preflop from the button with [Kd] [2c] and was called by Per Soderstromin's pocket eights in the big blind. The window card was the [8c] and that was that. The rest of the board running out [Js] [Ah] [6c] [Kc]. All smiles here, Garcia was pleased with his finish.

"I have to say, I'm happy with the day, full stop," Dave Masters, rather prophetically, told us impromptu.

He would not long after three-bet all-in from the big blind with [Qs] [Jd], for eleven big blinds, over the button raise of Jorge Paniagua, who called with [Ah] [Td]. The first face up card was the [Qc] by virtue of the dealer's unorthodox style, it took a moment before the flop's [Ad] and [6h] joined. The turn was the [As] and Masters shook everyone's hand in good spirits. The reporting team likely the most devastated at the loss of this eloquent quote machine.

Finally, one of the last UK players alive, Richard Milne Senior, was facing a river bet of 115,000 on [As] [2c] [Jd] [Kc] [Kd] and decided to move all-in over the top for 330,000 total. When he was called after a long tank, his [Js] [7c] could not match the [Kh] [6c] of his currently unidentified opponent. We'll get the mystery man's name soon, as it appears he's been misnamed on today's list of runners. -- GC

5.08pm: Hrabia critiques Mitchell's line
Kamil Hrabia was the man who put paid to James Mitchell's chances earlier and he was less than complimentary about Mitchell's line. (moving all-in with pocket sevens on a Td-8d-8s board.)

"He never gets called by worse and doesn't fold out anything better. I thought he had a diamond draw and was surprised when he turned over sevens."

Asked about why the Poles seem to have been doing well recently, Hrabia said, "we have a good community, we all know each other and discuss strategy a lot."

Hrabia is looking for his best live result here and is in with a realistic shout of advancing further, up to 800k with the last two tables in sight. -- RS

5.02pm: Level 23 in effect
The break's over and 20 players remain. The final table is just in sight and there will be a few sweaty palms out there (and not just from clutching icy bottles of beer - not looking at anyone in particular Mr Masters.)

PokerStars Blog reporting team at PokerStars Marbella Festival brought to you by UKIPT and ESPT: Rod Stirzaker and Gareth Chantler. Photos by Eric Vogel.

End of level 29 - Time for a pause
We've scarcely been able to snatch a breath of fresh air, so blistering has been the start but the end of level 29 means the clock has been paused and the players, rail and media have all been given time to rest, refresh and recuperate.

Back in 45 minutes as we play for a finish.

4.52pm: Geilich pressure silences Rojas
The story of this final table has been the pressure Geilich has been able to inflict on his competitors. Up till now Rojas has cut an amiable chatty figure, seemingly unaffected by all this and happy to engage in regular verbal exchanges with the glaswegian, but he is done talking for now.

The stakes are high and the earphones have been put in but so far, this has done the Spaniard no good - Geilich making hay in the early stages and building a large chip lead.

A big hand of note that has given Geilich the advantage saw Geilich raise the button to 200k and Rojas call.

come the [8h][4s][7d] flop, Rojas led for 200k - smooth-called by his opponent in position.

The turned [Th] caused some carnage.
Check from Rojas, 475,000 from Geilich and a sneaky check-raise to 1,150,000 from Rojas. This apparent show of strength didn't deter Geilich however and he made the call.

River: [Td]
A bet of 1,150,000 was delivered from Rojas, and Geilich wasted little time announcing all-in.

Shake of the head and wince from Rojas and he mucked his cards.

"Ludoooo, Ludoooo," echoed round the hall, as Geilich's ever-growin Scottish rail found their voice, their man flying into a 3-1 chip lead. -- RS

4.31pm: Kamil combusts in 3rd for €95,000 - Rojas and Geilich heads-up for glory!
If Kamil Hrabia was permanently scarred by that monumental bluff from Geilich, he wore those scars internally, his face re-adopting the inscrutable mask we have grown accustomed to over the last few days.

His stack though showed visible damage, hovering around the 15BB danger zone - postflop play not really an option for the Pole anymore.

He briefly threatened a comeback, picking up a blind or two with preflop shove steals, but when Rojas raised the button to 200k and Hrabia shoved for his one and a half million stack a snap-call from Rojas was never likely to be good news.

Indeed, so it proved - what preflop was a pretty-looking [Kc][Qc] for Hrabia looked like Cindarella's ugly sister when compared with the perfectly-formed [As][Ad] that Rojas held.

A king-high board with one club brought faint hope - a turned club more still - though a brick river shut the door on Hrabia's chances.

Hugs from his fellow players, applause from the crowd and a lucrative trip to the cash desk awaited though all eyes now swiveled on the pair remaining.

Pablo Rojas and Ludovic Geilich will contend the right to call themselves the PokerStars Marbella Festival champion. They're close to even in chips so this should be a riveting battle. -- RS

4.12pm: The hand of the tournament
What's that acronym, AINEC? That's short for 'and its not even close' last we checked our interweb dictionary.

In short this hand will look down at any other played today. Everyone is talking about it -- jaded veterans and jejune railers alike.

It all began with Kamil Hrabia opening the button to 200,000 and Geilich three-betting to 485,000. Nothing new here. Hrabia has been surrendering to a lot of Geilich three-bets throughout the tournament, but especially the final table. When there were many, Hrabia was out of position, but that had changed. He called.

The flop came [Qd] [6c] [3s] and Geilich continuation bet 595,000.

Hrabia called without much pause.

The turn was the [8d]. Funny how a dry board can get wet in a hurry.

Geilich checked and Hrabia bet 800,000. If we had to guess, he was looking to look strong.

"All-in," said Geilich, he covered Hrabia but not by that much. His bet was about 3,600,000 total and represented Hrabia's tournament life.

Kamil Hrabia was agonized. If you read yesterday's coverage you'll be aware that this was not the first time Geilich threw Hrabia into the meat grinder. His left hand went to his face, then to rub the bridge of his nose. Three minutes passed. He was gutted. But it was about to get so much worse.

Hrabia folded and Geilich slickly held aloft the [7d] [2s]. His rail exploded.

Whoa. The space was absolutely electrified. No one could believe Geilich's commitment to his read with absolutely zilch in the way of equity.

"I had a six," Hrabia answered Rojas later.

Geilich has a habit of telling his opponents why he made a good play and you can bet this was no exception.

"You should have checked," he told his punching bag.

Hrabia simply looked at the ceiling in disbelief. -- GC

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 50,000-100,000 ante 10,000

3.58pm: Geilich doubles Rojas
It began with a button raise from Geilich to 160,000 and a small-blind three-bet from Rojas. Geilich simply moved all-in for around 2,500,000 effectively. Rojas called.

Rojas: [Ac] [Jc]
Geilich: [As] [5s]

The Spanish rail was calling "Jota! Jota!" -- in other words, for a jack.

It came right on the flop [Jh] [6s] [9d] and the crowd went wild. Too quickly.

[3s] was the turn and those jumping for Rojas' joy were suddenly squeamish.

False alarm though, the [Qd] completed the board, and the rail stutter stepped back to jubilation. -- GC

3.41pm: Kamil delivered three barrels of value
Geilich has come off best over their various exchanges so far, but Kamil Hrabia finally turned the tables and made a dent of his own in the Scot's stack.

It took a big hand to do the damage, the Pole raising preflop from the button and flopping a set with a pair of sixes on a [Qd][Ts][6d][5c][8h] board.

His bets of 175k, 395k and 960k over the streets were called all the way by Geilich - the latter causing him some consternation before finally he put out the requisite stack of chips, only to muck on seeing Hrabia's stellar holding.

That hand leaves Geilich down to 6.2 million and Kamil rising on 5 million. -- RS

3.32pm: Swift pace leads deep-stacked tigers circling
The fast start and subsequent eliminations have resulted in the players sitting relatively deep at this stage with the shortest stack a healthy 40 big blinds.

This has provided ample room for Rojas, Geilich and Hrabia to dance post-flop and they have been doing just that - regular raises from the buttons peeled and played down the streets.

"This is how I like to play poker," said Rojas who is a man who doesn't just let his cards do the talking at the table.

So far the status quo has been maintained - we await a big hand v big hand confrontation that will cause a shift in the chip standings. -- RS

3.15pm: A turn four bet
With deal in hand Pablo Rojas raised on the button and Geilich defended his big blind.

The flop came [8c] [5s] [4s] and both players checked quickly.

The turn was a [Jh] and fireworks went off.

First Geilich led for 195,000. Rojas raise to 500,000. Geilich did not take too long to three-bet to 1,100,000 chips.

"All-in," was the instant reply from Rojas.

Geilich folded.

Nothing like a deal to get the action back on track! -- GC

2.55pm: Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate... settle!
All three players were tardy coming back from the break, but before play started talk of a deal broke out.

"I want to play a little bit more," said Rojas casually, of the proposition.

But Geilich made the case that Rojas couldn't know if he would be out in second or in third.

"I'm going to win. I can feel it," countered Rojas.

Perhaps contradicting that, he had the ICM (that's independent chip model) numbers on hand, just in case.

"I don't do ICM," stated Geilich bluntly.

"I'll do a chip-chop."

A chip-chop for the chip leader, quelle surprise!

What followed was extensive quibbling over each player's chances of winning the tournament. The TD was on hand to provide everyone with the parameters for making a deal in this situation, at least 14,000 Euros would have to be put aside to play for.

Geilich got his chip-chop numbers: 122,000, for him, 95,000 for Rojas, and 92,000 for Hrabia.

"That's perfect!" he concluded.

"No, that's perfect for you," Rojas corrected him.

It was a real lovers quarrel; the two had been growing so close today.

"Let's play, for the glory!" Rojas added as cards got in the air.

Everyone was dealt their holdings, but the talking didn't stop. In fact, no action was taken as the conversation ran on. It was pretty clear that everyone wanted to make a deal here, the stakes too high to not warrant a reduction in variance.

"I would like to deal," confided Hrabia, who has no rail today, while the other two took their respective councils.

"You can put under my pictures 'Forever Alone," he joked. Kamil has been the most calm and collected of the players for some time and this tense period was no different. There are Poles here, should he win, maybe he'll collect some countrymen. In fairness Hrabia has a rail of one, an alluring maiden in a dress of ankle-length.

The dialogue wore on, believe me, we are truncating this report.

"Let's play. If you get 60,000 out in third its a pity," Rojas told Geilich.

Finally cooperative action began to emerge.

"One hundred is my number," was Rojas' resolute position earlier, but it softened as they crept somewhere between the ICM numbers and the chip-chop.

It looked like they had settled on a proposal, 116,000 for Geilich, 98,000 for Rojas, and 95,000 Euros for Hrabia, with 14,000 left to play for. Certainly with money that substantial on the line, one could appreciate their back and forth. After going back to their rails Geilich and Rojas shook on it and Hrabia followed suit. A deal was struck! Only ten total minutes was lost from the tournament clock on account of two separate pauses. -- GC

2.35pm:End of level 27 - Current chip stacks
Whilst the players take a break at the end of that level, here's the lay of the land - Geilich still holding dominion over his fellow competitors. --RS

Ludovic Geilich - 7,420,000
Pablo Rojas - 3,800,000
Kamil Hrabia - 3,635,000

2.28pm: Crespo's ship grounded in 4th spot - €48,520
Asier Crespo has survived a few all-in moves today but Kamil Hrabia eventually got the better of him.

Whilst the big stacks Rojas and Geilich can have fun playing post-flop poker, the smaller nature of Crespo's stack has meant pre-flop moves have been the way forward for him and once again we witnessed him moving all-in from the button.

A quick reshove from the quiet Hrabia left the pair heads-up and once the cards were exposed it was Hrabia's pocket queens that had a palpable edge over Crespo's [Ah][Qs].

"Ass, ass, ass" yelled Crespo's vociferous supporters, not yelling obscenities but calling for the ace that would see his tournament continue.

It failed to arrive however over a [Jc][8s][5d][Ts][7d] board that opened up a host of possibilities on the turn, none of which came to fruition on the river.

Crespo smiled, evidently happy with his €48k payday and we were left three-handed after a blistering opening two levels. -- RS

2.05pm: Lights out for Blanco - 5th for €35,710
The wrecking ball that is Geilich continues to pummel the stacks at the table - Lucas Blanco the latest casualty of the feisty young glaswegian.

Blanco kicked off proceedings with a now customary 120k open - Geilich peeling on the button.

A [Qh][Td][4c] board was met with a 130k c-bet from Blanco - Geilich peeling in position.

The [5c] turn looked innocuous but was the catalyst for dramatic activity, Blanco leading for 250k, Geilich "clicking it back" to 500k before a final ship all-in for Blanco's entire 1.4 million stack.

Snappity-snap from Geilich who quickly flipped over pocket fives for a fortunately-spiked turned set, and Blanco could only table the drawless, drawing dead [Ac][Qd] as he prepared to make his exit, barely registering the salt-in-the-wound [Ad] on the river that gave him aces-up.

Loud and fulsome applause from the Spanish rail but Blanco bows out and Geilich consolidates his chip lead - up to 7.3 million.

"Man, stop winning chips!" yelled Rojas genially in Geilich's face. -- RS

1.56pm: Geilich baits Rojas
Pablo Rojas and Ludovic Geilich have been a chatty little pair since play began. They have talked continuous, often showing their other hole cards once a heads-up confrontation is over. Rojas might show more cards than he keeps to himself.

"You got to go to Vegas man, its the best place to spend your money." Rojas advised Geilich on how to manage his winnings.

It was under that backdrop that Geilich opened to 120,000 and Rojas three-bet on the button to around 355,000. The two were quite deep. Geilich dwelled and called, the flop came [Kh] [4d] [3s]. A check produced a bet from Pablo, 180,000, and shortly thereafter, another call from the chip leader.

The turn was the [Tc]. If you aren't excited yet, just you wait. Geilich checked and Rojas rolled out 185,000 effortlessly. The running conversation had dropped to whispers, inaudible over the clamour of the rail. Geilich called again.

"Queen" Rojas requested.

Not this time, the river was the [8c]. With no possible flush, Ludovic decided to lead out 570,000. But three bets preflop and three bets postflop were not enough for his opponent.

Rojas cut out 1,300,000 and slid them across the betting line. Geilich snapped with one pair. That's top pair, top kicker: [Ah] [Kd].

"Why didn't you three-bet preflop?" asked Rojas.

"I knew you had ace-jack when you called for a queen," divulged Geilich. "I didn't three-bet because you fold ace-jack." -- GC

1.44pm: Soderstrom out in 6th -- € 23,800
The hand following Eguaras' elimination Jonatan Soderstrom moved all-in under the gun for 555,000. Kamil Hrabia called next to act and it folded around. The matchup?

Soderstrom: [Kh] [8s]
Hrabia: [Ah] [9h]

Hrabia had judged well, with the recent elimination of Eguaras and the blinds approaching, Soderstrom had a wide range in this spot.

The flop was a seemingly decisive [As] [Js] [Jc], but the turn delivered the [3s] for a good old sweat.

The river peeled off the [Tc] and the affable Soderstrom shook everyone's hand with a smile, making a gracious exit. He has been working a short stack for many an orbit here and 6th must count as a fantastic result. -- GC

1.36pm: Huge move sinks Eguaras in 7th -- € 17,580
The flop went three-way after Geilich opened, Rojas called on the button, and Eguaras completed the action in the big blind. The flop came [6c] [5h] [2s], Geilich continued for 160,000 and got action in both spots.

The turn was a sweet one, the [4h]. Geilich gave up on the pot and Pablo Rojas bet 200,000 when checked to. This prompted an instantaneous all-in raise from Eguaras. Rojas sat up in his chair, didn't ask for a count (it was 1.05M), and called as if he had no choice.

He didn't. He had turned a straight with [Ad] [3d].

In his boldness Eguaras was not drawing dead, he needed a seven, any seven, to make a higher straight with [9c] [8s]. The river [9d] bestowed a useless pair and like that Eguaras was out in 7th. Pablo was happy to announce he had more chips to no one in particular. -- GC

1.28pm: Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun
It may have been cold outside for the crew of Red Dwarf (apologies to those for whom that reference is too obscure) but here the combination of warm sunshine and golden, sandy beaches has enticed poker players to attend the Marbella Festival in their droves.

The Main Event here had a field far in excess of what was expected and the simultaneously-running €300 PokerStars Marbella Cup has proved to be a big hit also - 642 hopefuls flicking in a buy-in for a shot at the title.

If you didn't make it this year, clear a space in your diary next year and you won't regret it. Vegas can wait for one more week, surely? -- RS

1.15pm: Crespo rides the fortune train to double up
WIth his fearless attitude, giant stack and accomplished poker skills, Ludovic Geilich will be tough to outplay today. The others have to make some inroads into his stack however or they will be all be shooting for 2nd place.

Well if you can't outplay someone in poker, you either lose or you get lucky.

Crespo just did the latter.

Witnessing a Geillich open to 100k from the button and a Rojas small blind call, he pulled the trigger and shipped his 20 big blind stack into the middle. Geilich requested a count before also moving all-in to isolate the hand heads-up.

It worked, Rojas folded and the players showed their holdings.

Geilich: [As][9s][
Crespo: [Kc][Js]

With a two million pot waiting for a new owner,. the board came [Qh][6c][3d][9h].....[Jc].

The previously subdued rail exploded into life as Crespo hit one of the cards he needed. Loud roars and high fives were the order of the day.

Geilich looked unfazed as his stack took a relatively minor hit - down to 5 million but still comfortably covering the table. Crespo up to 2 million... -- RS

12.55pm: Fernando Curto Gonzalez eliminated 8th --€ 12,820
Gonzalez opened the cutoff to 110,000 and Ludovic Geilich (naturally) made a small three-bet to 225,000. There was a quick rejoinder for 950,000 more from Gonzalez. Have you heard the term "insta-call" dear reader?

The cards were on their back and Geilich is firing on all cylinders now -- big stack, big hands, and big pressure. He had the black death -- [As] [Ac].

Geilich was still going to survive one time in five with [6d] [6h].

The flop produced no sweat, [8c] [8s] [Qs]. The turn was the [Th] as the Spanish contingent began to increase the volume on "seize!"

But it was not to be. The river was 'close' (but oh so far), the [5s]. What else is new? Ludovic Geilich has surpassed 5,500,000 chippies. -- GC

12.45pm: The ten minute hand
It appeared that a leveling war had broke out after our chip leader Geilich opened under the gun and Crespo three-bet in middle position to 250,000. After a long think, Ludovic was all-in. Crespo took an even longer think and we watched five minutes tick off the tournament clock. Had he made that fatal mistake of re-raising without a plan? Surely this was too long to ponder with a weak holding. The longer it took, the more relaxed and confident Geilich became. Crespo finally mucked. -- GC

12.40pm: Blanco squeezes
Lucas Blanco three-bet shoved from the small blind for 550,000, eleven big blinds, over a Geilich open and a Pablo Rojas flat call. Both bigger stacks instantly let it go. That's respect! -- GC

12.35pm: Blanco looks to boost his chances
With just 440k at the start of the day, Lucas Blanco will need to win a few showdowns before he becomes a realistic threat for the title.

For now though, he has got a couple of blind-stealing shoves through - his stack rising to over 600k. -- RS

12.24pm: Rojas aims to derail Geilich steamroller
If anyone was in any doubt of Ludovic Geilich's intentions prior to the tournament, those doubts have been firmly shelved. The opening hand served as a poignant reminder that this man has come to play and will fearlessly commit his stack if he feels the time is right.

The same can't be said for the rest of the table so far as Geilich has started to raise regularly, meeting no resistance to his 100k opens, picking up a chunky 115k each time he pulls the trigger and gets away with it.

Only one man has given Geilich any trouble, that man Pablo Rojas. When Kamil Hrabia opened for 100k and Geilich called, Rojas now executed the first squeeze play of the day - making it 285k to go.

Hrabia pulled out, but Geilich wasn't as easily dismissed and made the call.

The flop came [Ks][Js][7s] - Geilich checking to Rojas who now cut out a chunky 375k bet. A short period of contemplation ended with a fold from Geilich.

"Nice hand," he offered as Rojas showed down the [Ac] - Geilich tabling [Ad][Qd]. -- RS

12.15pm: First hand produces curiosity, all-in
Jorge Eguaras open the pot for 110,000 and its chip-leader Ludovic Geilich's big blind. He defends and the players see a [Js] [2d] [8d] flop. Ludovic check-calls an 180,000 chip bet from Eguaras. The turn was the [Jd] and Ludovic pondering the development, the board getting soggy, began cutting out chips. It looked as if he had between 325,000 and 340,000 ready, but Eguaras beat him into the pot with 275,000. The out of turn bet stood should Geilich elect to check, which he did, after he scrunched his face.

Not too much time passed before Geilich moved all-in, putting Eguarias' stack at risk. The unhappy Spaniard folded [Qd] [Qc] face up, a hand with massive potential down the muck. -- GC

12.05pm: Introductions and pleasantries
Players are taking photos around the table in front of the twenty-something spectators who have showed up early, braving hangovers and sunlight. Introductions are made and there is plenty of applause. Smiles galore. -- GC

11.55am: Final table ready to go - Geilich leads the way

We've had four full days of poker here already, but for eight there is still a long way to go before they climb that mountaintop. We have a final table full of personalty and contrast. Four players, Pablo Rojas, Ludovic Geilich, Jonatan Soderstrom, and Lucas Blanco consider themselves professionals, but the way Kamil Hrabia plays, this 'student' could easily be thrown into that mix. Two are true amateurs, Fernando Curto, a forty-year old corporate manager from Salmanca, and Jorge Eguaras, a programmer from a little place near romantic Pamplona. The lineup is rounded up by Asier Crespo, another suspiciously card-savvy university student who manages to keep a non-poker part-time job.

Here is the cartography of those eight, on this, your final table:

Seat 1: Asier Crespo, Spain (PokerStars Qualifier) - 1,410,000
Seat 2: Pablo Rojas, Spain (PokerStars Qualifier) - 2,155,000
Seat 3: Lucas Blanco, Spain (PokerStars Qualifier) - 440,000
Seat 4: Fernando Curto, Spain - 1,190,000
Seat 5: Jonatan Soderstrom, Sweden - 660,000
Seat 6: Kamil Hrabia, Poland (PokerStars Qualifier) - 2,815,000
Seat 7: Ludovic Geilich, Germany/United Kingdom - 4,100,000
Seat 8: Jorge Eguaras, Spain - 2,095,000

Geilich, who vacillates between German and Scottish ancestry, fended off all comers on his way to the final table. Hrabia and Curto came out on the wrong end of those confrontations, but weathered the tempest. Moris Yalcin (11th), David Delgado (12th), and Day 1a chip leader Andrey Shubin (26th) were not so lucky. Stuart McDonald, who departed 21st, dubbed him "the best player I played with."

Handsome and rugged Pablo Rojas, winner of the Estrellas Poker Tour's Season 3 stop in Ibiza, is the most dynamic of our personalities. Apparently once a firefigher, now a professional gambler, with a little soap opera stint in between, Rojas caught our eye early with his chip stacking artistry. By day 3 however, Tournament Director Toby Stone made a Wittgensteinian threat to colour Rojas up to the point where no creativity would be expressible. -- GC

PokerStars Blog reporting team at PokerStars Marbella Festival brought to you by UKIPT and ESPT: Rod Stirzaker and Gareth Chantler. Photos by Eric Vogel.

8.35pm: Ludovic Geilich (€130,000) wins the PokerStars Marbella Festival!
It was four aggressive days of poker from our champion, who bested 763 runners, fueled by guts and favoured by fortune. The gregarious Pablo Rojas, who already had an Estrellas title - the 2012 Ibiza leg - on his C.V. finishes runner-up, cashing for a sizable 98,000 Euros.

Today's final table started quickly, with Fernando Curto Gonzalez (€12,820) eliminated 8th having four-bet shoved pocket sixes into the aces of Geilich. That domination would be a sign of things to come. Next disposed was Jorge Eguaras (€17,580), who made an ambitious bluff-shove with a gutshot and two overcards on a four-straight board. Unfortunately Pablo Rojas had the fifth piece of that puzzle. The genial Jonatan Soderstrom (€23,800) had been plying his short stack into pay jumps for a long spell, his patience well-rewarded, his spots well picked. But all good things come to an end and he was busted by Kamil Hrabia's ace-nine suited when he shoved king-eight offsuit under the gun.

Lucas Blanco (€35,710) began the day with the largest rail but his run only lasted two hours as he was brutalized by the turned set of Geilich holding top pair, top kicker. The pay jumps were now substantial and Asier Crespo took home €48,520 after his ace-queen was bested by Hrabia's pocket queens in a preflop confrontation.

That left three, which lead to deal-making. It was struck after much conferencing, Hrabia guaranteed 95k, Rojas 98k, and Geilich 116k, with 14k left to play for. It was shortly thereafter that Geilich absolutely eviscerated Hrabia in Ivey-esque fashion, check-raising all-in on the turn with two napkins and forcing a dejected Hrabia off third pair. Hrabia was all-in with king queen not soon after and it was Pablo Rojas who woke up with the aces to curtail the Pole's run.

The final table had played out in brisk fashion - the fierce action eliciting frequent eliminations. That pace meant the heads up pair of Rojas and Geilich began their duel with stacks like Good King Wenceslas' snow - deep and crisp and even.

A protracted battle was on the cards.

It was Geilich who had the run of the early action, building up a 3-1 chip lead prior to the dinner break. As it turned out, he would never relinquish this advantage, though the pair tussled back and forth for close to four hours and Rojas put up stiff resistance to Geilich's unbridled aggression and fearless style.

It wasn't to be enough though - Geilich ground the Spaniard down, a coin flip with pocket nines delivering the death blow to Rojas and ensuring a maiden UKIPT/Estrellas victory for the young Scotsman with a German passport. Moments later a blinking Geilich was lifted to the rafters by his enthusiastic group of friends - cries of "Ludooo, Ludooo" echoing throughout the poker room.

We caught up with Geilich following his victory and asked him how he was feeling:

"I don't know really," he told us. "I'm happy of course, but I'm dead mellow, I don't go nuts like these guys [indicates his cheering rail with a smile.] When I get knocked out I don't get emotional. I'm out, I just leave. It feels good though!"

Geilich formed quite a friendship with his heads-up rival Pablo Rojas during the final table and was keen to praise him.

"What a gentleman, I really like the guy. I didn't want to beat him heads-up, I wanted us both to win but that's the deal. I'd have been devastated if I beat him with a bag of spanners. I didn't want it to end like that."

As for his later plans, he said, "They[his railing friends] are all going to get smashed. I don't know what we'll do. I've only had 10 hours sleep since I got here. It doesn't affect my play though." We could tell.

Congratulations to Ludovic Geilich for his sterling performance, his win fully merited. We're sad to wish lovely, sunny Marbella goodbye but the UKIPT will be back in action in Galway, Ireland - the festival running from the 27th July to the 12th August with the UKIPT beginning on the 8th August and finishing the 12th.

We'll be back to cover all the action from the emerald isle then but for now thanks for following our coverage. We've had a blast. - GC & RS

8.15pm: Eruption! Ludovic Geilich is your PokerStars Marbella Festival champion! It began as they had been beginning. The pot that is. Ludovic Geilich opened for 400,000 and Pablo Rojas moved all-in. Geilich checked his cards and made the quick call. Each players' contingent rushed past the rail and crowded the table.

"Out," Tournament Director Toby Stone ordered. The staff moved everyone back, but they were busting at the seams.

Geilich tabled [9s] [9d], a hand he was quick to point out was Phil Hellmuth's to win the Main Event way back in 1989.

Rojas flipped [Qs] [Jc], his life now resting on a coinflip.

With the situation under control, the dealer took three cards off the top of the deck:

[Kc] [Td] [Tc]

To say it was loud would hardly capture the atmosphere. This was a sweat. Everyone was calling out, some bellowing, the card their hero of the moment would desire.

Rojas had flopped very well and it was still anyone's game.

The fourth card arrived:

[3s]

Now the Spanish cheers reached a fever pitch, desperate for their man to continue in this event. One card to go, Geilich's contingent hoped.

[8h]

Boom goes the dynamite. The fans could not be contained and the rail dispersed as if it had never been there in the first place. Geilich encircled by his friends, jumped up and down to "LUDO! LUDO! LUDO!"

Breaking away from the pack, Geilich found Rojas in the chaos, the two competitors turned friends embraced and exchanged hearty congratulations. Rojas takes home a treasure -- €98,000. But it is Geilich who is the envy of all, awarded €130,000.

That is what has been witnessed. Ludovic Geilich had conquered Marbella in a virtuoso display of no-limit holdem prowess. -- GC

7.58pm: Grinding, grinding, ground
The trend continued -- Geilich winning more than his share of small pots. Rojas was down to a re-shove stack, dipping dangerously below twenty big blinds. Two hands were representative of this stretch:

Geilich opens for 400,000 and Rojas moved all-in. Geilich folds.

Rojas folds his button.

Rojas was down to somewhere in the 2,500,000 neighbhourhood. Thirteen big blinds can not last long without an all-in confrontation. -- GC

7.43pm: Ten hands in a row
There was a lot of folding in the first ten hands to start this level, with Rojas continuing to vary his open size. Here is the break down of how it began:

1) Rojas makes it 500k on the button, Geilich folds.

2) Ludovic Geilich opens to 400k, Geilich folds.

3) Pablo Rojas open folds his button.

4) Geilich makes it 400k and Rojas calls. The flop is [Qs] [6c] [2d] and Rojas leads for a suspicious 225,000, which Geilich calls. The turn was the [Qh] and Rojas lead again, but for 475,000. Geilich releases his hand quickly.

5) Rojas folds another button.

6) Geilich raises his button the minimum and Rojas folds.

7) Rojas raises to 450,000, Geilich says "all-in," and Rojas folds.

8) Geilich raises to 400,000 and Rojas folds.

9) Rojas shows [Tc] [4s] and folds his third button of the last four.

10) Geilich makes it 400,000 and gets one caller. Guess who? The community cards start [Kh] [7h] [5c] and check matches check.

The [Kd] turns and Geilich wins the pot for one quarter of the pot, betting 200,000 when checked to.

That's an eight to two tally in Geilich's favour. Rojas is going to have to start scrapping over the small pots if he is going to swing the match. This much is certain: Geilich will never take his foot off that gas pedal. -- GC

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 100,000-200,000

7.30pm: Level 31 is over
Wow next level is 100k/200k.

The chip stacks are like this currently, Geilich getting the better of the duel.

Geilich - 10,500,000
Rojas - 4,500,000 -- RS

7.15pm: Geilich pushes for dominance in the four-bet realm
With the blinds getting to semi-ridiculous levels and every single button opened, the number of three-bet re-steals is rising and naturally this has led to this aggressive pair increasing the regularity of a big four-bet re-re-steal.

RIght now Geilich is the one getting away with these lucrative manoeuvres most effectively. Two recent hands saw him pop the button to 320k, Rojas dig out a 700k move and Geilich pick up the Spaniard's chips with one final definitive act of aggression - betting 1.5 million and getting a pair of mucks for his efforts. -- RS

7.09pm: Value betting like a champion
These two love to play pots. You might think the fact the stacks are slow to change is down to nittery but the truth is the chips are ebbing and flowing back and forth almost every pot. The result is a very fluid dynamic between these two that is probably just favouring Geilich.

Recently the pair played out a very interesting pot - Geilich peeling a Rojas raise preflop, before the pair checked the [Jd][6d][6h] board.

A [4d] on the turn saw Geilich lead for 395k, called by Rojas with the comment, "let's see if your jack is better than mine then,"

The [Js] on the river saw Geilich consider his options before popping out a 975k bet.

Rojas called, only to muck when Geilich showed him [As][7s] for ace-high.

Rojas was visibly annoyed at this, having made a hero-call with what we think was king-high.

"You make the same bet with any two cards," he grumbled. Geilich disagreed.

"No, no I don't!"

Is there trouble in paradise? -- RS

6.56pm: The mucking metagame
Here are the rules, if you want to see, you have to show. Last aggressor (ie who made the last bet) has to show first if called. If they don't show and muck their hand, the other player can take the pot without showing themselves. Got it? Good.

Geilich min-raised the button and Rojas called. Three cards were dealt face up (strange game this), and they were [Qc] [7s] [3h].

Rojas made an action we are told is referred to as a "check." Then Geilich cut out a 345,000 chip bet. Rojas called.

Another card was added to the board, the [6h]. Both players dabbled in the art of checking on this street.

Then, yet another card, the [5c]. Rojas fired out 425,000 and Geilich called. Rojas mucked and so did Geilich, in that order.

"I call so you need to show," reminded Geilich.

Rojas had a deep laugh about that, leaned across the felt, and the two exchanged fist bumps. A mutual respect has been mutually earned and the pre-chop bromance is back in full bloom. -- GC

6.43pm: Five easy pots
Rojas and Geilich have entered into a protracted poker match. Who would have thought? Five recent hands went like this:

1) Ludovic Geilich raises to 320,000 and Pablo Rojas folds.

2) Pablo Rojas raised to 390,000 on the button and Geilich folds.

3) Geilich raises to 320,000 and Rojas folds.

4) Pablo Rojas raised to 380,000 and Geilich three-bet to 840,000. After a quick think Rojas made it 1,835,000. Geilich looked to have bad intentions, but folded.

5) Geilich raised to 320,000 and Rojas called. The flop came [Jd] [2s] [8c].

Rojas checked, Geilich bet 315,000, and Rojas raised to 650,000.

"If I fold, will you show me?" Geilich asked. Rojas now has ear buds in and likely didn't hear.

When Geilich folded those ear buds came out.

"Show me?"

"The cards? You know that's not possible." Rojas grinned.

"I wish we had hole card cameras here," he continued, "so you could see everything tomorrow." -- GC

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 80,000-160,000, ante 20,000

6.34pm: Rojas fights back
Prior to the dinner break Rojas was beginning to show a few signs of frustration and dejection. Since the resumption though he has cut a different figure.

Little talking, sunglasses on, earphones in - Rojas looks the model of focus - a hermetic seal wrapped round his visage to protect him from leaking any useful information to the alert Geilich, who soaks it up like a sponge.

And you know what? His new strategy's working...he has won a series of small pots to reduce Geilich's lead ratio from 3:1 to 3:2 and the rail cries of "Vamoooo" that signal Spanish success are increasing in frequency.

Could the tide be turning?

9 million for Geilich, 6 million to Rojas... -- RS

6.23pm: Preflop war breaks out
Both players are active on their buttons and a few moments ago the pair engaged in a game of preflop chicken. It started with a standard Ludovic Geilich preflop button open to 240,000 - Rojas looking to end the positional aggression with a three-bet from the big blind to 575,000.

Geilich pondered things in his usual way clicking chips and thinking it over before cutting out 2 big stacks of 25k chips totalling 1 million and scattering a number of 25k and 5ks on top as icing - 1,200,000 the giant 4-bet - before pushing the chips over the line.

Rojas looked briefly interested but something changed and he blinked first, mucking his hand leaving Ludovic to sweep up a tasty pot with no showdown. -- RS

6.05pm: Calm before the storm?
Rojas limped his button and Geilich checked. The flop?

Can't take the suspense?

It was [8c] [3s] [5d] and both players checked.

[2h] turn and both players... checked.

The [9d] smashed down on the table with a thunder usually reserved for Thor's hammer or Zeus' bolts of lightening. No, not really -- it arrived without even a soft whimper. Geilich quickly check-folded to a nearly minimum bet from Rojas. -- GC

5.55pm: Small pot procession
The final table may have began with a flurry but the melee has turned to a war of attrition between two heroes.

Geilich raised the button and Rojas called. The flop came [Ah] [Ac] [Kc] and both players checked. On the [2h] turn Rojas check-called a 245k bet from Geilich, who checked the [4d] river back in position.

Rojas: [Kh] [Ts]
Geilich: [4h] [Th]

On Rojas' button he raised to 325,000 which, after a handful of previous folds, elicited a call from Geilich. The flop was [Kd] [Jd] [4c] and it went check, bet 375,000, call. Both players checked the [5h] turn and the [7h] river.

Geilich mucked when he saw Rojas hadn't deemed the [Js] [8c] worthy of a river value bet. -- GC

5.45pm: Rojas is a chameleon
His words, not ours. But well said. Rojas was opening the button to 325k at 60k-120k, which was unusual enough. But in addition to that he's also been limping buttons, three at the least. Geilich doesn't quite know what to make of it at this point, but remains a confident bruiser. -- GC

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 60,000-120,000, ante 10,000

5.30pm: Two left gunning for the title
Folllowing the break, we're back heads-up with hand-reader extraordinaire Ludovic Geilich holding a roughly 3-1 chip lead over his sparring partner, Spaniard Pablo Rojas. --RS

PokerStars Blog reporting team at PokerStars Marbella Festival brought to you by UKIPT and ESPT: Rod Stirzaker and Gareth Chantler. Photos by Eric Vogel.

I apologise if this is a bit hastily written, but you have to understand the more time I spend indoors writing this for you, the less time I'm out in the 29 degree sun drinking Pina Coladas. (Although you can see exactly what went on at the event by clicking here)

The UKIPT got its bucket and spades out and teamed up with the ESPT for the first ever Marbella Poker Festival. Players voted with their feet and declared the event a big hit exceeding expectations with a 763 runner field and a first prize well north of €150,000. That's was more than enough for several buckets and spades, not to mention an eight-person banana boat inflatable to celebrate your win with your closest, drunkest friends on the open ocean.

I played the event... for a bit. My most exciting conflict of the day was - somewhat unfortunately - with the casino floor staff. I didn't need to speak Spanish to understand they weren't delighted with my choice of shorts and sandals for Day 1. Apparently there was a dress code... at a poker tournament. I laughed, they frowned, I stopped laughing. They let me get away with it for one day, just so long as I smartened my act up 'tomorrow'. I sneakily didn't last until Day 2 so the joke was on them.

On my first table, I played with a good humoured Spanish lady who was chain-drinking back-to-back Bellinis. Sometimes when people drink it loosens up their play, however she was playing every hand and it was midday, so either a) she always plays every hand and drinks Bellinis, or b) she started at breakfast. Either way she was a joy to play with as were most of the players in the tournament. UKIPTs are always played in good spirits, but this event was particularly fun. Kudos to the Spanish players for playing the game in the right way.

My tournament was really unremarkable. I built my stack up early with a couple of nice bluffs and half-decent hands to around 30,000 (from a 20,000 starting stack), but then I was dealt some real hands and the wheels came off. I had Aces cracked and top pair run down twice. They were all really standard spots that I don't feel I lost any more in than I should have, but it was all enough to put me well below the average. I battled on with a dwindling stack for most of the evening but eventually hit the rail when my 11 big blind shove with pocket eights ran into tens. I bust with about 30 minutes of the day left to play.

Busting out is never fun but if you had to pick a place to get knocked out a tournament this would be on the list. I wasn't the only one to have their UKIPT dream crushed but their love of life restored by the sun, pool and good times with other players.

For most players, the weekend was a chance to play some fun poker and have an early summer holiday with the (slightly messy) PokerStars party finale on the Saturday night at the super fashionable Ocean Club. It's very generous of Stars to provide an open bar but perhaps they could also provide some means for the players to retain their personal dignity. Maybe we could set something up a system of using FPPs to pay for the deletion of photographs the morning after?

Right, I'm off to pitch other venues we could add to the UKIPT. I mean one holiday a year is hardly enough, is it? What about Cancun? That's pretty near Devon...as the crow flies... I bet they have some badass Pinas down there.

Nick Wealthall is a poker commentator for PokerStars. Check out the full Season 4 UKIPT schedule here.

The streets of London town are paved with gold, you know. Maybe we can't promise gold, but we can deliver some great poker action in a top class card room in the heart of the capital (and the chance to win £20,000 or so). Qualifiers to the £275 tournament are running online right now, and will run until Thursday.

The UKIPT Series, which runs 28-30 June at PokerStars LIVE at The Hippodrome Casino, is expected to hit its 400 capacity across its two starting days of play so don't miss out on guaranteeing yourself a seat. Either qualify online - from £2.20 up - or buy in direct through the client to make sure that you get a seat. Don't forget that the World Series of Poker is on and will have sucked out some of those grinders that would make your life more difficult. Such as? Such as Team PokerStars Pro Jake Cody who won the first edition of the UKIPT Series back in April. Don't miss your chance for glory.

PokerStars Blog will be on the ground covering the event so you'll be able to keep backers, supporters and associated cheerleaders in the loop as you push towards that Day 2 final table.

Find out more about the UKIPT by clicking here.

Rick Dacey is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.

5.25pm:Half a dozen down
That's the end of level six, you'll find level seven updates in a new post.

5.15pm:Exits
Some of the players who've exited in the opening six levels of play include: Edvinas Gruzdas, Simon Lynas, Chaminda Tennakoon, Alexander Zeugman, Dhanak Vishal, Vitaliy Baklikov and Vasile Scutaru.

BLINDS UP: 200 -400 ante 50

4.55pm:Registration is closed
Registration was open until the start of level five and floor staff have just confirmed to me that the total number of runners today is 216. Around 21 players have been eliminated thus far, tournament staff have been manually putting together a seat draw for me so I'll be able to put names to the numbered ID cards I have in front of me.

4.40pm:Poulengeris busts
Tony Poulengeris was one of the more interesting characters in the field, having won £1,000,000 on roulette back in 2007. That piqued his interest in poker and he final tabled UKIPT Edinburgh in Season 2.

I say was because I got to his table just in time to see him bust out of this tournament. A full board of [7d][10s][4d][4c][Qs], Poulengeris showed [Qd][10h] for two pair, but Edward Thompson had pocket aces for a better two pair. "I hated that four on the turn," said Poulengeris before wishing everyone at the table good luck.

I had a talk to Thompson after the hand and he told me 1,500 went in pre-flop, 4,000 on the flop and then the rest - about 14,000 - on the turn.

BLINDS UP: 150 -300 ante 25

4.06pm:Break
The players are now on a 20 minute break.

4pm: Chip counts
As the fourth level comes to an end here's a look at a few chip counts from around the room: James Tomlin (24,800), Mark McCluskey (29,700), Tim Slater (25,000) and Willie Tann (16,000).

3.45pm: Twitterverse
Quite a few of the players are tweeting updates, anyone playing can do so using the #UKIPTSeries...here's a selection to give you a flavour of what's happening here at The Hippodrome.

@pokerstars i lost 4k chips vs a guy that wasnt sitting at the table when cards were dealt... Refunds to Cinarockey please #ukiptseries

— Cina (@CinaRocket) June 28, 2013

Table is not soft just very very bad, huge pots, 6x opens .. Re raises 5 x in a 2 day comp lol #UKIPTSeries

— Ali Zihni (@AliZihni) June 28, 2013

2nd level played 2 hands flopped str8 n trips up to 25,800 #UKIPTseries

— Ricardo Campanario (@Rikkadu) June 28, 2013

BLINDS UP: 100 -200 ante 25

3.30pm: Value check
One of the more familiar faces in the field today is Dom Kay. Way back in September 2007 he final tabled the first ever WSOPE, finishing sixth as Annette Obrestad swept all before her.

Since then he's had a few five figure scores and had a couple of semi-deep runs in the UKIPT, I reached his table to see him tanking over a river decision in an 8,000 chip pot. Eventually he elected to check, his opponent turned over [8h][7h] for just eight high, whilst Kay showed [5h][4h] for fourth pair. "I was thinking about bluffing," said Kay. "Turns out it would've been with the best hand."

3.15pm: Alternates
During the first three levels 10 players have been eliminated, their seats being swiftly filled by an alternate.

One player who's still in is UKIPT host Nick Wealthall, I overheard him chatting to the two players to his right, catching snippets of the conversation. "800 big blinds...1000 euros...within the first hour..." further investigation revealed Wealthall was telling a story about a hand he witnessed at UKIPT Marbella, an event he recently played in. "The best bit was the confidence with which he shoved 800 big blinds thinking top pair was good," continued Wealthall.

The player to his right is Sam Goodman and he's an early contender for chip leader as he's doubled his stack to 40,000 already. He told me he flopped a set of aces against an opponent holding ace-king and managed to stack him. However, Wealthall has dropped to 15,000. "They've upped the stacks to 20,000 from 15,000, this is my way of protesting," he said tongue firmly in cheek.

They increased the starting stack in @UKIPTs from 15k to 20k this year. I'm against it so I've shedded the 5k extra chips ON PURPOSE

— Nick Wealthall (@nickwealthall) June 28, 2013

BLINDS UP: 75 -150

2.45pm: Faces
A perusal of the player list that I've been sent combined with a gentle stroll round the card room has unearthed the following names and notables in today's field: UKIPT2 Newcastle fifth place finisher Tim Slater, UKIPT host Nick Wealthall, Dom Kay, Willie Tann, UKIPT3 Bristol runner-up James Greenwood, Dan Edler, Luke Bird and Mark McCluskey.

I'll be keeping an eye on their progress throughout the day.

BLINDS UP: 50 -100

2.30pm: Cards in the air
Apologies for the lack of updates, a few technical difficulties made accessing the blog difficult.

Now that I can though I can tell you that cards are in the air and it's a near sell out here at The Hippodrome. A total of 190 players are currently registered there's 14 tables in use in the theater area and an additional seven upstairs in the permanent poker room. No cries of seat open just yet and if you fancy a go yourself late registration is open to the start of level five.

2pm: Welcome to the UKIPT Series 2
It's a little like Glastonbury here at the UKIPT Series 2: there's a big crowd of people gathered together in a small space, but the good news is there's significantly less mud and the only pyramid people will be looking for is in terms of structurally sounds stack of chips. Yes, hello and welcome to the second UKIPT Series event. I'll be supplying you with live coverage from the PokerStars LIVE poker room at the Hippodrome Casino in London's West End. Back in April, the first £275 UKIPT Series event attracted 343 runners and some 'unknown' by the name of Jake Cody topped the field. The Team PokerStars Pro collected £19,400 for the win after defeating Lydia Cudduga heads-up.

The Triple Crown winner is clearly a fan of the event: "The UKIPT is a great platform for anyone looking to jump into live poker and the UKIPT Series is a great taster for a lower buy-in. You get to play against pros in a great atmosphere and you can qualify online for a fraction of the buy-in," said Cody after winning last time out.

But, he won't be here to defend his title as he's bracelet hunting at the WSOP in Las Vegas. That's even more reason to get involved. That's if you can, with a cap of 400 it's very possible that this event will sell out and it's not hard to see why. For your money you'll receive a 20,000 starting stack with an identical structure to the UKIPT Main Events. The only difference is levels are 30 minutes instead of 60; the plan today will be to play 12 of them. With a break of 15 minutes every two hours that should take us to around 9.30pm. Stay right here for all the action and back up our coverage with the usual social media channels. Get involved on Twitter by ending your tweet with #UKIPTSeries or head to the UKIPT Facebook page and let us know who you want us to follow. Cards will be in the air shortly.

Photos copyright of Neil Stoddart.

9pm:Day 1A is done
Play has come to an end here at The Hippodrome, players are bagging and tagging. A full wrap of the days play is on the way.

8.45pm:Floor!
A little bit of controversy in a hand involving UKIPT3 Bristol runner-up James Greenwood. Five players took a [10c][3s][Qh] flop, it checked to an in-position Greenwood and he bet 5,200 and Attila Csáka was the only caller. On the [7d] turn Csáka was playing with chips, Greenwood thought that he'd checked so slid out enough to set Csáka all-in.

The floor was called, a couple of players at the table thought Greenwood had bet out of turn deliberately, either way once Csáka had checked the action stood and Csáka folded pocket nines face-up. Greenwood was quite upset that a couple of players believed he had did it deliberately and showed [Ks][Qd] to show that it wasn't an angle shoot on his part.

8.35pm:More exits
I told you a lot of players have busted out over the last hour or so, falling just one level short of Day 2 were (amongst many): James Reid, James Roberts, Samuel Goodman, Jay Yerby, Nahum Valverde, Des Wilson, Pratik Patel and Daniel Wicks.

8.25pm:Last level of the night
Level 12 will be the last level of the night, spirits (literally) have risen in the last couple of levels. Indeed many of the players at table five were involved in a drinking game involving jagerbombs, however one of those players busted and the game has, for now stopped.

All the players are now playing here in the theatre and they've just got a few more hands to negotiate to make Day 2.

BLINDS UP: 800 -1,600 ante 300

8.10pm:Exits
So many exits to tell you about that I can't list everyone. Just 100 players remain, these players have hit the rail: Kim Bain, Marios Photiou, Adrian Olivera, John Law, Simon Fuller, Jon Hayes, Kirit Patel, Victor N. Ilyukhin, Edmund Catt, Matyas Milos, Hector Giner, Anthony Rassat, Darren Pearce, Carmel Reynolds, Yoni Sirani, Christopher Lines, Fouad Haghighat, Jonathan Martin, Rahim Tadj-Saadat, Joseph Howlett, William George, Eric Croner and Abdul Karim Biria.

BLINDS UP: 800 -1,600 ante 200

7.50pm:Some chip counts
A few chip counts as we approach the last hour of play: Marc McCluskey (76,000), James Greenwood (55,000), Des Wilson (36,000), Sam Goodman (80,000), Ellie Biessek (75,000).

7.35pm:Tann gets very unlucky to bust
"Make sure you put it in the blog," said Willie Tann to me as he wandered away from the table having been busted in spectacular fashion.

From under-the-gun Joshua Jones raised to 3,000, Tann made it 8,000 from the small blind, Jones set Tann in and Tann called all-in for right around 30,000.

Jones: [8h][6h]
Tann: [Kd][Kh]

The [2c][2s][Js] flop was about as safe as they come for Tann, indeed he was now a 99% favourite to win the pot.

Turn: [6c] - Tann was still a 95% favourite
River: [6s] - wow Tann was runner-runnered out of the tournament by running sixes, there were no histrionics though just the look of a man who had seen this before and will see it again. With that Tann calmly walked off into the bowels of the Hippodrome.

BLINDS UP: 600 -1,200 ante 200

7.25pm:Premiums not at a premium
I don't think the dealer won table four would get a job as a brick layer, but he'd be up for employee of the month in an ice factory as he just served up a total cooler.

There was a 3x open from Glyn Stout, with pocket aces, an all-in bet from a player with pocket jacks for 25,000 and a reshove from Victor Ilyukhinwith [Ad][Kc]. The board blanked out and the aces held for a double knockout and Stout is now up to around 77,000.

7.10pm:Double elimination for Dunmall
I arrived at the table to see a bet of 2,700 in front of James Dunmall, an all-in bet of 8,800 in front of Hector Gascon and an all-in bet of 6,600 in front of the player in the six seat, who may or may not have been Anthony Rassat as the player had no ID card. Action was back on Dumnall and he committed the necessary calling chips to put both players at risk.

Dumnall: [Ac][Qc]
Gascon: [Ks][Jc]
Rassat(?): [Kd][Kc]

The board ran [8s][6c][7c][5c][4h] and Dumnall made a flush to eliminate both players.

6.50pm:Chip counts
The players are now back from the break and level nine is underway. During the break I whipped round the theatre area and got eyes on the biggest stacks in the room. They belong to:

Ignasio Harris - 116,000
Wai Kwan Yuen - 81,000
Samuel Goodman - 76,400
Stephen Bridges - 70,000
Kee Tak Cheung - 66,000

BLINDS UP: 500 -1,000 ante 100

6.30pm:Break time
The players are now on a 20 minute break.

6.20pm:Wealthall Wamboozled
Ok so the sample size isn't massive but I think it's fair to say that UKIPT Host Nick Wealthall has not had the rub of the green when he's played UKIPT events and he just busted out of this event in exactly the same way he did at UKIPT3 Edinburgh.

After a 2x open, Wealthall moved all-in for around 20 big blinds with pocket nines from the cut-off, only for the small blind - David Lloyd - to wake up with pocket tens and that was that.

Still at least Wealthall solved one dilemma that he had...

I hate those 'how to get a decent dinner' and 'how to get home quickly late at night' poker dilemmas. Resolved them by busting super early

— Nick Wealthall (@nickwealthall) June 28, 2013

6.10pm:Swimming with the walking sticks
Des Wilson has achieved much in his life, but, in poker terms at least, he's best known for penning the excellent poker book 'Swimming with the Devilfish," he's playing today and just doubled up Chi Cheng, although the latter was short stacked. Wilson held pocket sevens, Cheng pocket tens and a ten on the flop only improved Cheng's lock on the hand.

After that knock Wilson is down to 22,000.

6pm:More exits
The average stack (25,400) is hovering around the 30 big blind mark at the moment, these players though all have 25,400 less than the average stack though as they've been eliminated. Edward Roger, Gediminas Guzelis, Fernando Bento, George Alexander, Nicholas Goff, James Kazal and Daniel Bland those who're free to spend a Friday night doing something other than poker should they wish to.

BLINDS UP: 400 -800 ante 100

5.45pm:Always a sweat
From under-the-gun Mohammad Hossein Sharifkazemi opened to the minimum, action folded to Darren Pearce and he announced he was all-in for around 16,700. When it folded back to Sharifkazemi he said: "Why so much?", "It's Friday night, if I bust I'll go play blackjack, have a few drinks," replied Pearce.

Whether Sharifkazemi bought this I'm not sure, but eventually he announced call, on their backs:

Sharifkazemi: [Td][Th]
Pearce: [As][Ks]

Flop: [6h][5h][Kh] - "Sweet, oh no hearts, don't do it" pleaded Pearce.
Turn: [9s] - "Black, black, black," requested Pearce.
River: [Js]

With that pot Pearce is up to around 36,000 whilst Sharifkazemi slips to a still playable 16,000.

5.30pm:Halfway home
We've just passed the halfway point of play today as six of the 12 scheduled levels are in the books. As it stand 180 of the 216 runners remain. Sadly for Luke Bird, Louis Smith, Alan Mooney, Tina Bandyle, Ben Cundall and Martin Comitti they're a half dozen who couldn't negotiate the first half dozen levels.

One man who is still grinding though is UKIPT host Nick Wealthall, he's slipped to around 12,000 though.

Photos copyright of Neil Stoddart.

After Team PokerStars Pro Jake Cody won the first ever UKIPT Series event back in April it looked like, as a Series, it might have peaked two soon and the other two planned for 2013 would pale into insignificance.

But the middle child has proved anything but difficult as it's been a hit and is sold out, if your names not on the list you can come in but it's cash games only I'm afraid. One man who is most certainly in is James Thomson, he bagged up 200,800 to lead the 213 players who entered today, approximately one third of those made it through.

The 31-year-old business owner is a proud Scotsman despite moving down sarf to London aged 11. Twenty years in London might have mellowed his accent, but not his patriotism as he quite vehemently wrote 'Scottish' on his chip bag at the end of play. And he's been on quite the heater this year, this is only his fourth tournament but in the others he's finished 13th in one and second in another. Few would bet against him increasing his in the money percentage to 75% come Sunday.

Whilst Thomson was the only player to break the 200,000 chip mark many others enjoyed a profitable day at the tables. Among those who struggled to fit all their chips in one bag were: William Ullauri (195,400), Anthony Flynn (181,800 and UKIPT3 Bristol runner-up James Greenwood (126,300).

Whilst the Red Spade wasn't represented today UKIPT host Nick Wealthall was in attendance, he ran pocket nines into tens though and didn't make it through the day. Fellow poker commentators Joe Stapleton and James Hartigan are playing tomorrow as is Friend of PokerStars Charlotte Van Brabander.

Of the notables in the field today some like Mark McCluskey (52,900) and Tim Slater (34,400) prospered whilst Dom Kay, Des Wilson and WIllie Tann were a talented triumvirate who failed to make it through. Tann's exit in particular was spectacular, holding pocket kings against [8h][6h] he was a 99% favourite after a [Js][2c][2s] flop only to fall foul of running sixes. He took it better than 99% of players mind. Luck may fluctuate, class is permanent.

Overnight chip counts can be found here and you can catch up on all today's action here and here. Join me tomorrow for Day 1B and another sold out day on the UKIPT, play starts at 2pm sharp.

All pictures are copyright of Neil Stoddart.

5.25pm: Six down, six to go
The players are now halfway through the day and like the first six levels this post is done. You'll find level seven updates in a new post

5.15pm: Hartigan's got heart if not chips
Unfortunately for James Hartigan his stack has only gone in one direction during the opening six levels and it's downwards.

Managing to lose every single hand I play (it's a talent, I'm telling you). Down to 30bbs. #UKIPTSeries

— James Hartigan (@J_Hartigan) June 29, 2013

BLINDS UP: 200-400 ante 50

4.55pm: Blake's sevens
Dan Blake is one of the early chip leaders as he's got more than 45,000. He flopped set of sevens and got paid by ace high.

up to over 45k through level 3.. flopped set 7 vs AK..Q high flop... not sure how that happened #ukiptseries

— Dan Blake (@DanBlake29) June 29, 2013

4.45pm: Good Job
I went to check on the progress of UKIPT3 Newcastle runner-up Alex Jobling and it proved good timing as he was involved in a big pot.

He raised it up to 700 from under-the-gun and picked up three callers. On the [5c][2c][Qs] flop he c-bet 3,000, Wesley Oudshoorn moved all-in for around 20,000 and when it got back to Jobling he checked his cards then called all-in for around 15,000 total.

Jobling: [2s][2h]
Oudshoorn: [Ks][Qd]

Jobling was well in front and stayed there on the [4h] turn and [8s] river to double to around 33,000.

4.27pm: Cards back in the air
Level five is now underway, the tournament clock is showing that 210 of 215 players remain.

BLINDS UP: 150-300 ante 25

4.05pm: Break
The players are now on their first 20 minute break of the day.

4pm: Exits
Not as many players have exited in the opening four levels as yesterday but I can tell you that Harijs Broij, Luan Beciri, Lars Torngren, Chris Mccall and Jason Symonds are all out.

3.50pm: Stapleton, Van Brabander and Hartigan all take small hits
It's not been the best of starts for those representing the Red Spade today. Joe Stapleton is down to 19,600, which is more than fellow EPT Live commentator James Hartigan who has slipped to 17,200. The latter is sharing a table with Paul Zimbler who is up to 28,000.

Meanwhile Charlotte Van Brabander has slipped to 17,700, whilst Gaelle Garcia Diaz is up to 24,200.

3.40pm: The ups and downs of Asif Warris
Asif Warris is a familiar face on the PokerStars regional tours circuit, his latest 'flag' coming at Eureka Croatia in Dubrovnik at the end of May.

He'd ran his stack up to 42,000 after flopping two pair and rivering a full house and getting paid by the nut flush and a queen high flush. However, he's now back down to 27,000 after losing a big pot to Marco Vallortigara. In a limped pot pre-flop Warris called from the cut off with pocket threes and Vallortigara did likewise from the button with [7d][6d]. So the [3d][5d][8c] flop connected quite nicely with both their hands.

The original limper bet 300, Warris flat called, Vallortigara raised to 1,000, it folded back to Warris who made it 2,500 and Vallortigara flat called. The turn was an off-suit queen, Warris bet 2,500 and Vallortigara again made the call. The [Ad] completed the board, Warris check-called a bet of 7,500 and saw the bad news.

BLINDS UP: 100-200 ante 25

3.30pm: Kimber climbing quickly
One of the contenders for early chip leader is none other than Jeff Kimber. The experienced pro is in good form having finished second at GUKPT Reading last week. He's more than doubled his stack already and is up to 43,000.

3.20pm: Everybody loves a montage!
It's really the pictures that make this written blog come alive, yet I don't feel we get to showcase enough of PokerStars Blog's ace photographer Neil Stoddart's work. With that in mind here's a montage of his best shots from Day 1A.

3pm: Triple Dutch
I had a quick chat with Joeri Zandvliet, the Dutchman who won UKIPT1 Manchester and UKIPT2 Dublin. He's currently studying in London and in the middle of his dissertation. But he's taking a break for a few days as a couple of friends are in town to visit. Both of his friends are in the tournament and he told me: "Arnoud (Van Der Werf) is probably one of the best players in the field," he had no comment on his other friend Wesley Oudshoorn though.

BLINDS UP: 75-150

2.45pm: Floor! Controversy on Table 4
I heard raised voices on Table four and a shout of, 'floor table four," shortly afterwards from the dealer.

Once the floor was called the situation was explained, on the river of a [5d][Kh][3d][8s][8c] board John McGrane had bet 3,600 and Sam Gana had called. At this point McGrane pushed his cards over the betting line face down, but they did not hit the muck. At this point he asked if he could see Gana's hand if he turned his cards over. Gana protested that McGrane's cards had already been mucked, but McGrane opined that they were still clearly visible and had not touched the muck.

The floor ruled that if McGrane turned his hand over he could see Gana's cards, so McGrane turned over [9h][3s] but then said, "they weren't my cards," the farce was resolved by Gana showing his hand - [10h][5h] - "you had the best hand, nice call," said McGrane, who finished 18th in the WSOP Main Event in 2005.

2.40pm: Big hands colliding already
Only 30 minutes in there's already been a few big confrontations such as these:

#UKIPTSeries day 1b... 10mins in. AA on ace hi flop. KK on ace hi flop. Flopped nuts on 478. Got less than starting stack now. Gonna be fun

— Dale Garrad (@DaleGarrad) June 29, 2013

Playing day1B of #UKIPTSeries defo got a tricky looking table. AA vs KK first hand and the kings got away with only losing 5k.

— GTC (@GuyyTC) June 29, 2013

BLINDS UP: 50-100

2.30pm: Also spotted
A walk around the rooms - play is split between the Matcham Room and the Poker Deck - has unveiled a few notables dotted around the tables: two-time UKIPT main event winner Joeri Zandvliet, a Dutchman who calls London home is playing, poker journalist Adam Goulding is a couple of tables away from me, UKIPT3 Newcastle runner-up Alex Jobling has shown up to play as have Alfie Baldwin, Paul Zimbler, Adebayo Odetoyinbo, Dean Clay and Alex Martin.

2.15pm: Hey it's you off the telly
If you've ever watched an EPT Live Webcast then a couple of voices in today's tournament will be very familiar to even if the faces aren't. For the co-commentary team of Joe Stapleton and James Hartigan are both in the field today, as is Hartigan's father Brian.

They aren't the only tellybox heroes in the field today though as Gaelle Garcia Diaz, who hails from Belgium, is an EPT presenter when she isn't playing poker. She's joined in the field by fellow Belgian and Friend of PokerStars Charlotte Van Brabander.

2pm: Sold out Day 1B about to start
Hello and welcome to Day 1B of the UKIPT Series2 here at The Hippodrome in central London. There is not an empty seat in the house, well there are some because poker players like to show up late, but what I mean is there's not an empty seat that doesn't beling to someone.

Sometime yesterday afternoon this event sold out, some alternates will get in but that list is already pretty long. The 200 or so players will all start with 20,000 and play a dozen 30 minute levels. Their target, other than to make it through the day, is 200,800 as that's what James Thomson finished on to lead the 62 players who advanced from Day 1A.

The tournament director is just going through the rules and regulations play will be underway shortly.

Photos copyright of Neil Stoddart.

9.05pm: Play is over
Day 1B of the UKIPT Series2 is over, roughly 75 players have made it through. They and the 62 players who advanced from Day 1A will be back tomorrow at noon as we play to a winner. A full wrap of today's play is on the way.

8.45pm: Six more hands
The clock has been paused and players will play six more hands before bagging and tagging for the night.

8.35pm: Van Brabander busts
With just 20 minutes to go in the day Friend of PokerStars Charlotte Van Brabander has been knocked out. She told me: "I shoved for 12 big blinds from middle position with pocket fours and the lady (Raygon Egan) called with pocket kings."

8.35pm: Goubert gets going
If you look below you'll see Erwin Goubert's name among the recent bust outs and I happened to catch it live. He shoved for around 28,000 with [Ks][9s] and Will Kassouf re-shoved for 40,000 with [Ad][Qc]. The [2d][Jd][Ac] flop all but killed it, the [Kd] flop resurrected the hand but only briefly as the [8d] filled Kassouf's flush.

8.25pm: Last level of the day
Just 95 players remain as we enter the last level of the day, recent exits include: Aaron Armstrong, Erwin Goubert, Arnoud Van Der Werf, Jonathan Huckle, Ferhad Seyadi, Max Johnson, Rafael Henderson, Raymond Caabay, Terence Simpson, Brian Hartigan, Nikolajs Saveljevs, Peter Mccann, Simon Hemsworth, Jonathan Barusta, Andrew Newson, Paul Brennan and Francis Hepburn.

BLINDS UP: 800-1,600 ante 300

8.15pm: Chip counts
I did a lap of the room and here are some chip counts of the names and notables still in the field: Paul Zimbler (53,000), Alfie Baldwin (62,000), Alex Martin (48,000), Charlotte Van Brabander (48,000) and Callum Palfrey (97,000).

8pm: Hartigan busts
"It was one of those boring hands I'm afraid," said James Hartigan to me as he wandered over to me following his exit. "I shoved ten big blinds with pocket sixes, ran into ace-jack and he flopped an ace."

7.50pm: Snoopy shoves peanuts, gets unlucky
Adam 'Snoopy' Goulding was eliminated right at the end of level 10 but at least he can say he got it in good.

He shoved for 15,500 (around 13 big blinds) with [As][2c] and the runaway train that is Gana Sam damn near snapped him off from the big blind with [10s][8s]. The [2d][8d][9d][Kc][Qd] board gave Sam the best hand and Goulding wished everyone at the table good luck as he left.

BLINDS UP: 600-1,200 ante 200

7.35pm: Exits
There are just two tables in use in the upstairs Poker Deck as the remaining players are being moved downstairs as players are eliminated. Among the many to exit recently are: Philip Butt, Delyan Ruskov, Paul Upfold, Siegfried Hodgson, Sean Farrar, Timotheos Timotheou, Nikki Cole, Matt Rickard, Pedro Luis Uzcategui Felipe, William Whicher, Stuart Noyce, Eleftherios Sergidis, Stephen Elias, Lewis Barber, Jose Tarouca, Alaistair Hill, Robert Malvasi, Ashley Lippitt, Meenakshi Subramaniam, Alan Mansbridge, Gerald Ringe, Miho Aishima, Asif Warris, Andrew Berkecz, Jason Symonds, Alisdair Macrae, Steve Hall, Harijs Broza and Karun Dewan.

7.15pm: Chip counts
Two-time UKIPT winner Joeri Zandvliet is still in, "Forty," he said to me when he saw me eyeing up his chip stack. UKIPT3 Newcastle runner-up Alex Jobling is up to 55,000, Friend of PokerStars Charlotte Van Brabander is chugging along on 44,000 she's at the same table as Peter Ki Yuen Mok (95,000).

BLINDS UP: 600-1,200 ante 200

7.15pm: Clay baked
It's been a slow steady decline today for Dean Clay, not helped by having Gana Sam on his direct left all day. So, it was not a surprise that it was Sam who eliminated Clay. On his exit hand Clay moved all-in for around 8,000 with [Ac][Kh] and Sam made the call with pocket eights. The [Jd][3c][Ts][6s][6c] board kept the pocket pair on top. Clay, who satellites into a lot of PokerStars events, will be heading for Bulgaria and the Eureka Poker Tour in July.

7pm: Lam leads
Coming back from the break Jason Lam was in the top five chip stacks (see below) he's now the chip leader after eliminating two players in the same hand.

Chawdhury Shumon was all-in for around 20,000 with pocket kings, Lam had called with pocket jacks and Jacob Brocklehurst was all-in for his last 7,000 with [As][7s]. "He's live, he's very live," said Brocklehurst when the hands were turned over.

The [jh][6s][9h][7c][6c] board gave Lam the whole pot and he now has over 100,000.

6.50pm: Chip counts
Here's some of the chip leaders as level nine gets underway:

Simon Griffin: - 94,000
Nicholas Berry - 87,000
Callum Palfrey - 79,000
Jason Lam - 77,000
Craig O'Neill - 73,000

BLINDS UP: 500-1,000 ante 100

6.30pm: End of the level
The remaining players are now on a 20 minute break.

6.25pm: Stapleton shipped out
PokerStars Live commentator Joe Stapleton has been eliminated from the tournament but he was kind enough to tell me about his demise.

"I lost two flips, sixes against king-jack and sevens against king-queen. That took me down to 3,000 and I got it in with A-7 against A-K, flopped a seven but he rivered a king. To win poker tournament you have to learn to flip like a 15-year-old Romanian girl."

6.15pm: Kimber still crushing
Every time I've wandered past Jeff Kimber's table, which given he's still at one of seven tables in use in the Poker Deck, isn't that often he is stacking chips. He's up to around 68,000 and is definitely one of the chip leaders.

Friend of PokerStars Charlotte Van Brabander is also still playing in The Poker Deck and is on 19,000.

6pm: Exits
There's no easy way to say this so I'll get straight to the point, the following players have all been eliminated from the tournament: Alan Gibney, Mark Baker, Tony Isaac, Wesley Oudshoorn, Steven Cheeke, Wayne Hemmings, Carl Poulman, John Stokes, Platen Ilias Tserliagkos, Paul Allen, Henry Wride, Samuel Basalian, Manuel Bardon Oshea, Christopher Richards, Andrew Waldron, Jamal Gormati, Andrew Francis, Ben Homer, Stephen Williams, Tarek Allam Jr, Luke Diaper, Lee Barrett, Anthony Wong, David Fletcher and Gregory Tytens.

BLINDS UP: 400-800 ante 100

5.45pm: Hartigan gets one through
"I'm requesting the red triangle," said James Hartigan and he duly moved his stack of 10,875 over the betting line from the big blind.

But this is only half the story of the hand, there had been a raise to 1,200 from under-the-gun, Paul Zimbler (who is one of the chip leaders with around 54,000) then put two red 1k chips over the line, his intention was clearly to raise but the dealer and then floor ruled it as a call. Zimbler wasn't happy about the rule, but after a bit of back and forth between him and the tournament director he accepted the ruling and play proceeded.

There was then another call from the player on the button before Hartigan moved his stack in, one by one his opponents folded and he took the pot.

5.35pm: Hand of the day
Despite only being halfway through proceedings I'm calling it now, this is the hand of the day.

The action was started by Gana Sam, he min-raised to 1,200, two seats along Richard Ball made it 2,000 total, this bet was then flat called by Dan Blake. Next to act John McGrane moved in for 4,100 total from the button. When it folded back to Gana he re-raised making it 10,000 total and Ball then moved all-in for 10,125. This sent Blake into a tailspin, he tanked then eventually folded pocket queens face-up, Sam put in the extra 125 and it was reveal time.

Sam: [8c][6c]
Ball: [Ac][Ah]
McGrane: [9c][9d]

Flop: [7s][5h][9s] - ok aces get cracked but to get cracked by both opponents hands on the same flop was unfortunate, Sam meanwhile had gone from way behind to way in front. The [Kh] turn and [4s] river bricked out and Sam scooped a huge pot to eliminate two players and climb to 55,000.

5.25pm: Keep em coming
The numbers just keep on rising here at the sold out UKIPT Series2. The tournament board is showing that 225 players have been seated, but just 210 of those seats still have bums on them.

Expect the spate of exits to vastly increase in the second half of the day as stacks get swallowed up by the increasing blinds and antes.

Photos copyright of Neil Stoddart.

Another Day one, another sell out here at The Hippodrome Casino in London. A massive 262 players took part today, for some context consider that only 343 players played in the first UKIPT Series back in April. Those 262 combined with the 216 from yesterday mean that the total number of runners for the UKIPT Series2 is 478.

The man leading the way at the end of Day 1B was 21-year-old Callum Palfrey from Bournemouth who qualified online for £55. After 12 levels of play he bagged up 253,500, "I played pretty well and ran hot. That's a good combination," he told me at the end of play. Palfrey used to play for a living but fell out of love of the game but is now getting back into it.

A couple of friends of his from Bournemouth also played today and one of them - Phil Baker - accumulated the third highest chip stack today as he finished on 194,800, Ben Miller (205,500) and Aaron Armstrong (165,600) also enjoyed good days at the felt. Whilst Paul Zimbler (110,600) and Jeff Kimber (100,500) ran up six figure stacks.

Whilst there were no Team PokerStars Pros in the field today the Red Spade was represented by four players, two male and two female. EPT Live commentary comedy act Joe Stapleton and James Hartigan took to the felt. It'll be Hartigan who'll claim the bragging rights as he outlasted Stapleton, but both couldn't hold in coin flips when it really mattered and neither advanced to Day 2.

And it was much the same story for Friend of PokerStars Charlotte Van Brabander and EPT presenter Gaelle Garcia Diaz. The former ran pocket fours into pocket kings in the last level of the day to bust.

Just 69 players advanced from the second flight, you can catch up with all today's action here and here. They'll join the 62 who made it through Day 1A from noon as we play down to a winner. You can see combined chip counts from both days here. Tune back in from noon tomorrow to see who can claim that they are as good as Jake Cody. You can see the Day 2 seat draw here and the prizepool information here.

All photos are copyright of Neil Stoddart

3.40pm: End of the level
That's the end of level 18, you'll find level 19 updates in a new post.

3.35pm: Pang pings the river
Another double up now for a player at risk...

It was Callan Pang at risk, all-in for 98,000 with [Kd][Qs] and behind to Aaron Armstrong's [Ac][9c]. The board came [Jd][5d][5h][6s][Ks] and Pang hit his pair on the river to survive, although he seemed more concerned with his phone than with his newly acquired chip stack.

3.20pm: Kimber and Zimbler keep it chatty
Two of the more experienced players left in the field are Jeff Kimber and Paul Zimbler and they're sharing the same table, in fact they're sat across from one another. It's Zimbler who's faring better as he's on around 300,000, whilst Kimber is hovering around the 100,000 mark.

The two of them are merrily chatting away, Barny Boatman's bracelet win at the WSOP has been a topic of conversation as has tournament variance, with Kimber saying how Chris Brammer didn't make a Day 2 at the WSOP in his first 20 tournaments in 2012 and then on his 21st he cashed for $200,000.

3.10pm: Bryan at the double
At least eight players have already been eliminated in the money since the bubble but Matt Bryan is not yet part of that statistic. He was all-in for around 55,000 with pocket tens and up against James Greenwood's [Ks][9h]. A [Qd][9d][6h][6d][4h] board kept him in the tournament and he let out a huge sigh of relief once the river had been dealt.

I'll be updating the payouts page throughout the day so keep an eye on it to see who has cashed.

Blinds Up: 4,000 - 8,000 ante 1,000

3pm: The bubble has burst
There was no hand for hand play on the bubble as four players were eliminated before hand for hand play could come into effect. I caught one of them in which Peter Mok holding [Kd][Qs] eliminated Adrian Ko spiking a king to bettter Ko's pocket sevens.

The other players to bust on the bubble were Gary Penn, Christopher Stock and Adrian Lambe.

This all meant that Ignacio Harris made the money with a single ante chip having been reduced to that when he lost with [As][4s] to David Lu's [Ac][8s] on the bubble. He exited on the very next hand, but crucially he was in the money.

2.50pm: Big stacks
The current top five as the bubble approaches are:

Benjamin Miller, United Kingdom,  PokerStars Player, 420,000
Peter Mok, United Kingdom, 365,000
Paul Zimbler, United Kingdom, PokerStars qualifier, 300,000
Eoin Starr, Ireland, 293,000
Paul Dando, United Kingdom ,PokerStars Player, 242,000

2.45pm: Bubble trouble
The bubble is looming here at The Hippodrome Casino in London as just 65 players remain, Kelly Saxby, Keith Sanderson, Yigit Isilsoy and Robert Cooling all recently busted.

2.30pm: Back from the break
I was handed another bunch of exit cards during the break so I can tell you that: Nicholas Cox, Kay Anne Wookey, Kenneth Hill, Majid Ejlal Noubarian, Ivor Sampson, Ali Zihni, Dale Garrad, Aleksei Serbin, Ellie Biessek, Ruslanas Rudycevas, Nicholas Holbrook, Wai Kwan Yuen and Alex Spencer have all been eliminated.

72 players remain and during the break tournament staff did counts of the biggest stack at each table, when I have that information I'll get it up on the blog.

Blinds Up: 3,000 - 6,000 ante 1,000

2.05pm: Exits
We're down to 74 players now as the end of level 16 approaches, recent exits include: Fei Jiang,Michael Doverklint, Lotfi Boughanmi, Simon Brooks, Adam Pogonowski, Glenn Watson, Kevin Maslen, Ganapathy Samiappan, Alexander Martin, Mark Shepherd, Quoc Nong, Kashif Shirazi and Kenji Kimura

The players are now on a 20 minute break.

1.55pm: Bradpiece loses flip to bust
From under-the-gun Jerome Bradpiece opened to 11,000 and was three-bet smallish by Peter Mok and when it got back to Bradpiece he shrugged and said: "I'm going all-in anyway," and moved all-in for around 85,000 and was snap called by Mok. It was a classic race with Bradpiece holding queens, to Mok's ace-king. All was rosy for the overpair until a king spiked on the river to eliminate Bradpiece.

1.35pm: Going eight hand
Just 80 players remain in the tournament so play will now be eight handed for the duration.

Blinds Up: 2,500 - 5000 ante 500

1.35pm: Five alive
I decided to take a look at how the top five stacks coming into today had fared in the opening two and a half levels. Our survey said...(starting stack in brackets)

Callum Palfrey, United Kingdom, PokerStars Qualifier, 305,000 (253,500)
Benjamin Miller , United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, 270,000 (205,500)
James Thomson, United Kingdom, 255,000 (200,800)
William Ullauri, Ecuador, PokerStars Player, 150,000 (195,400)
Philip Baker, United Kingdom, 145,000 (194,800)

1.25pm: Huge double for McCluskey
Mark McCluskey just got a big double up at the hands of Alfie Baldwin.

The latter opened to 8,000 with pocket jacks, next to act McCluskey jammed for 71,800 and when it folded back to Baldwin he made the call. A low [2d][6d][2c][9d][5d] board kept McCluskey in front and left Baldwin with around 30,000.

1.15pm: 100, 99, 98
Less than 100 players remain now here at the UKIPT Series2 at The Hippodrome Casino in London's West End.

Imoh Deme Poi, Jason Lam, Christopher French, Arvydas Merfeldas, Liudas Slikas, James Dunmall and Mohammed Himedan the latest to exit.

Blinds Up: 2,000 - 4,000 ante 500

1.05pm: Short stacks fight back
It's not all doom and gloom for the short stacks here as some of them are doubling up. First Michael Doverklint doubled with [Ac][Kd] against James Fielden's [Ad][9c] on a [Js][Jd][8c][Tc][5h] board, Doverklint's all-in call was 29,700 so he's up to around 65,000 whilst Fielden drops to 18,500.

And Sergey Chernykh was all-in for 35,400 with [Ks][Qs] and up against big stacked Philip Baker who held [As][7h]. The board came [Js][Kh][Td][2c][Kc] and Chernykh hit trips to stay alive.

12.55pm: Blind man's bluff
Dale Garrad came back today with an above average 80,800 but didn't get off to the best of starts when he lost a flip.

UKIPTSeries - crippled AK v 66... Opponent celebrated like he'd won a bracelet... I'm happy he's happy. 10bb spinnnnnnnn

— Dale Garrad (@DaleGarrad) June 30, 2013

But he's just got some chips back shoving, I think blind, for 15,900 with what turned out to be [As][9s] and getting a call from Jerome Bradpiece with [Qs][Js] from the big blind. A [4h][4s][8h][7c][5c] board kept him in front and he doubled up to around 10 big blinds.

12.45pm: More exits
"Two seats on four.,"
"Seat open table nine."
"Seat on five." etc

Yep there has been a flurry of exits early on here at The Hippodrome Casino, finding themselves with a day free to enjoy the sunshine are: Andrew Huelin, Richard Dawson, Richard Ellis, Maziar Seirafi, Peter Drakeford, Richard Wooldridge, Daniel Brown, Renata Jack, Adam Refoufi, Attila Csáka, David Dean, Philip Lee, John R. Hayes, Kelvin Richard Mullis,Andres Campero Nunez and Dale Jordan.

Renata Jack was knocked out by Alfie Baldwin, the latter had a pair of fives and they held against her A-9, Baldwin is now up to 52,000.

Blinds Up: 1,500 - 3,000 ante 400

12.35pm: Stacked
A quick glance through the Day 2 seat draw was all it took for Table 9 to jump out at me as one to keep an eye on. It's absolutely stacked. There were no fewer then four 100,000 plus stacks at the table when play got underway today and James Thomson the Day 1A chip leader who has over 200,000. If one of more of them clash that could lead to an even bigger stack being created.

Table 9
9 1 Michael Tucknott United Kingdom PokerStars Player 75,000
9 2 Ellie Biessek United Kingdom 102,900
9 3 Simon Griffin United Kingdom PokerStars Qualifier 130,300
9 4 Jason Lam United Kingdom 32,500
9 5 James Thomson United Kingdom 200,800
9 6 David Dean United Kingdom PokerStars Player 80,000
9 7 Madhavan Kasthuri India 152,900
9 8 Ruslanas Rudycevas Lithuania PokerStars Player 40,200
9 9 Aaron Armstrong United Kingdom PokerStars Player 165,600

12.25pm: Slater gambles - loses
Another player who knows what it's like to make a UKIPT Main Event final table has been unceremoniously bounced from this tournament in the opening level of Day 2.

The action was opened to 5,500 by Nimisha Rattan, next to act Tim Slater moved all-in for around 40,000 and when it folded back to Rattan she made the call.

"Got to have a gamble," said Slater showing [Ad][Ts], he was racing against Rattan's pocket eights. The pair held as the board ran [5h][2d][0c][6s][Kc]. Table six is one to watch as it contains not only Rattan but Adebayo Odetoyinbo and overnight chip leader Callum Palfrey.

12.10pm: Seat open
It didn't take long for the first exit to occur, just a couple of minutes in fact and I've already heard the cry of seat open two times today, Christian Derie, Connor Budden
and UKIPT3 Newcastle runner-up Alexander Jobling those to have exited. Usual start of Day 2 carnage then.

But I've also witnessed a double up and it was that classic race of ace-king against queens. The at risk player - Daniel Brown - had [Ac][Kd] all-in for 17,200 and was up against Daniel Blake's pocket queens. The [2h][3c][As][6c][9s] board ruled in Brown's favour and reduced Blake's stack to around 40,000.

12pm: Day 2 set to start
Welcome to the second and final day of the UKIPT Series2. A total of 478 players entered over the two starting flights and just 131 remain. Leading the way is Callum Palfrey, a PokerStars qualifier from Bournemouth. He's got a massive 253,300 but as we know the Day 1 chip leader never wins the tournament right?

Well despite that poker myth, Palfrey is in pole position to take the lions share of the prize pool, the details of which were announced late last night. In total 56 players will make the money with the winner taking a massive £26,140, whilst a min-cash is worth £490. This is what the players are playing for today.

1st.£26,140
2nd. £17,390
3rd. £10,720
4th.£8,260
5th. £6,230
6th. £4,345
7th. £3,190
8th. £2,320
9th -10th. £1,885
11th-12th. £1,595
13th-14th. £1,305
15th-16th, £1,015
17th-24th £815
25th-32nd. £725
33rd-40th.£635
41st-48th.£550
49th-56th. £490

There are 15 tables in action, all playing nine handed, with two tables still in use in the Poker Deck and the other 13 down here in the Matcham Room. The start of day seat draw can be found here. As soon as the field is reduced to 80 players play will go eight handed. Players are now in their seats, the button will start on seat three, action is about to get underway.

All photos are copyright of Neil Stoddart.

7.10pm: Break time
The players are now on a 15 minute break. You'll find level 25 updates in a new post.

7pm: Dragomir and Mok both collect £1,305
Down to just a dozen now as Catalin Dragomir and Peter Mok were eliminated at different tables in quick succession. No details on the former - apart from it was Anthony Flynn who eliminated him - but I caught Mok's exit live.

Holding [Jh][7h] he jammed from middle position for around 380,000 and Paul Zimbler made the call from the big blind with [Ac][Kh], an [8c][jh][Ks][6d][Qs] board saw Zimbler's hand hold up.

6.55pm: Philip Baker eliminated in 15th place (£1,015)
Down to just 239,000 Philip Baker moved all-in from the small blind with [Ac][5d], from the big blind Anthony Flynn, who was playing around 500,000 got a count, then made the call and showed [Qc][Js].

The [Kd][Qd][4c] flop gave Flynn the lead and a standing Baker let out a sigh of disgust, the [3d][Tc] turn and river kept Flynn in front and he's now up to around 750,000.

6.45pm: Table Two
All the big stacks appear to be on Table One as this is how Table Two stacks up...

Catalin Dragomir, Romania, 260,000
Phil Baker, United Kingdom, 270,000
Anthony Flynn, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, 480,000
Mark McCluskey, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, 300,000
Patrik Meca, Czech Republic, 305,000
Madhavan Kasthuri, India, 550,000
David Radnor, United Kingdom, PokerStars Qualifier, 640,000
Ben Miller, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, 720,000

Blinds up: 15,000 - 30,000 ante 4,000

6.40pm: Table One
Here's how table one stacks up:

Gabriel Dragomir, Romania, 1,800,000
Callum Palfrey, United Kingdom, PokerStars Qualifier, 600,000
Craig O'Neill, United Kingdom, PokerStars Qualifier, 830,000
Paul Zimbler, United Kingdom, PokerStars Qualifier, 1,100,000
Michal Jaron, Poland, 505,000
Simon Griffin, United Kingdom, PokerStars Qualifier, 620,000
Peter Mok, United Kingdom, 500,000

6.30pm: Nicolas Berry eliminated in 16th place (£1,015)
The heartbeat that was Nicholas Berry has been stopped in this tournament. He moved all-in for 105,000 with [Qc][Ts] and Michal Jaron re-raised all-in for 400,000, everyone else folded.

Berry: [Qc][Ts]
Jaron: [As][Jh]

The board ran [2s][7s][7h][Ac][Qs] to eliminate Berry.

6.20pm: Double elimination takes us down to two tables
From under-the-gun Callan Pang moved all-in for 162,000, next to act Gabriel Dragomir made the call, only for Colin Brown to then move all-in from the big blind for just 12,000 more with what he said was his favourite hand, Dragomir put in the extra and it was showdown time.

Dragomir: [Ac][Ts]
Pang: [8h][8c]
Brown: [6d][4d]

The [Qs][5s][Kc][5d][As] board saw the covering stack of Dragomir river an ace to take us down to 16 players and they'll now be a redraw for the final two tables.

6.10pm: Down to 18
More exits as the following players have finished in the money...

19th. David Phelan, Ireland, PokerStars Player, £815
20th. Phillip Walker, United Kingdom, PokerStars Qualifier, £815
21st. Alessio Aita, Italy, PokerStars Player, £815
22nd. Ganesh Bathmanathan, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, £815
23rd. Sum Yip, China, £815

With two more exits they'll be a redraw for the final two tables.

Blinds up: 12,000 - 24,000 ante 3,000

6pm: McCluskey doubles through Miller
From the button a big stacked Ben Miller raised to 45,000 and in the big blind Mark McCluskey - who only had around 130,000 - mulled it over and then made the call. On the [5s][Kh][7s] flop McCluskey moved all-in for 88,000 and Miller made the call.

McCluskey: [4s][3s]
Miller: [Kc][Jd]

The [Qs] turn gave McCluskey a flush and a lock on the hand, before the meaningless [4d] hit the river. Despite that knock Miller is still one of the chip leaders with around 800,000.

5.50pm: Double for Meca
Down to just five big blinds Patrik Meca moved all-in from early position with [Jc][Th] and Colin Brown responded by moving all-in over the top for around 700,000 to isolate. Everyone else folded, Brown showed pocket nines and it was off to the races. The [3c][8c][3s][Jd][5h] board kept Meca alive and he doubled, but is still short.

5.40pm: Exits
Some recent exits...

24th. Kee Tak Cheung, United Kingdom, £815 
25th. Mohammad Hossein Sharifkazemi, United Kingdom, £725
26th. James Thomson, United Kingdom, £725
27th. Aaron Armstrong, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, £725
 28th. Stephen Bridges, United Kingdom, £725

Blinds up: 10,000 - 20,000 ante 3,000

5.30pm: Walker gets a double
Phillip Walker qualified for this tournament for just $10, "I won two satellites on the bounce," he told me. "The first of which was a $0.50c re-buy. "It was carnage," he said.

He was down to 81,000 and as a hand played out he said: "I've been getting nothing, 5-2, 5-3, all low cards." The hand over he got dealt two fresh cards under-the-gun and moved all-in, Madhavan Kasthuri gave gave him a spin from the big blind and the cards were revealed.

Walker: [Ah][Th]
Kasthuri: [9d][9h]

Before the flop was dealt Walker, in the time honoured tradition of the short stack got to his feet to sweat his fate, [4d][7d][Td] hit the felt and Walker, despite taking the lead, stayed standing as he knew he had to fade the flush draw. The turn and river fell [2s][6h] and he got his much needed double up.

5.20pm: Redraw
Four players were eliminated in the opening 15 minutes of the level and there's been a quick pause whilst they redraw to the final three tables, I'll get you information on the exits as soon as possible.

5.15pm: Chip counts from the break
We did a full chip count during the break and it's Craig O'Neill who ledas with 1,113,000

Craig O'Neill United Kingdom PokerStars Qualifier 1130000
Benjamin Miller United Kingdom PokerStars Player 859000
Gabriel Dragomir Romania 850000
Paul Zimbler United Kingdom PokerStars Qualifier 770000
Callum Palfrey United Kingdom PokerStars Qualifier 635000
Simon Griffin United Kingdom PokerStars Qualifier 540000
Madhavan Kasthuri India 380000
Anthony Flynn United Kingdom PokerStars Player 320000
Peter Mok United Kingdom 315000
Callan Pang United Kingdom PokerStars Player 310000
Philip Baker United Kingdom 295000
Colin Brown United Kingdom PokerStars Player 280000
Aaron Armstrong United Kingdom PokerStars Player 260000
Kee Tak Cheung United Kingdom 250000
Mark McCluskey United Kingdom PokerStars Player 240000
Patrik Meca Czech Republic 235000
Catalin Dragomir Romania 210000
Michal Jaron Poland 195000
James Thomson United Kingdom 178000
David Radnor United Kingdom PokerStars Qualifier 165000
Alessio Aita Italy PokerStars Player 147000
Phillip Walker United Kingdom PokerStars Qualifier 142000
Mohammad Hossein Sharifkazemi United Kingdom 140000
Ganesh Bathmanathan United Kingdom PokerStars Player 110000
Stephen Bridges United Kingdom 100000
David Phelan Ireland PokerStars Player 98000
Sum Yip China 90000
Nicolas Berry United Kingdom PokerStars Player 86000

5pm: Back from the break
The 28 remaining players are now back in their seats, when 24 remain they'll be a complete re-draw for the final three tables.

Blinds up: 8,000 - 16,000 ante 2,000

4,40pm: Break time
That's the end of level 20 and the remaining players are now on a 20 minute break.

4,30pm: Exits
The players continue to drop at a rate of knots, the latest in the money finishers are:

29th. Paul Dando, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, £725
30th. David Lu, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, £725
31st. Michael Dun, United Kingdom, £725
32nd. Joe Stoyles, United Kingdom, £725
33rd. Michael Tucknott, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, £635
34th. Nick Malvasi, Italian, PokerStars Player, £635
35th. Samuel Goodman, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, £635
36th. Jeff Kimber, United Kingdom, £635
37th. Mark Hunter, United Kingdom, £635
38th. Glen Davage United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, £635
39th.Matt Bryan, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, £635

4,15pm: McCluskey gets a double
All-in and call was the cry from Table five and I wandered over to see Mark McCluskey all-in for around 165,000, up against Nick Malvasi. He was in good shape as he held pocket aces to Malvasi's pocket sevens. However, the window card of the flop was the [7c], but Malvasi only held the lead briefly as the flop was filled out by the [Kd] and [Ac]. The turn and river came [Td][4h] and McCluskey doubled to around 350,000 whilst Malvasi, who was reduced to less than 70,000 was out soon afterwards.

Blinds up: 6,000 - 12,000 ante 2,000

4pm: In the money
Two full tables of players have busted in the money since the bubble burst an hour ago, here's who's finished in the money so far:

39th. Matt Bryan, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, £635
40th. Ernestas Lisauskas,Lithuania, £635
41st. Raygon Egan, United Kingdom, PokerStars Qualifier, £550
42nd. John Harnett, Ireland , £550
43rd. Martin Cheung, United Kingdom, £550
44th.Eoin Starr, Ireland, £550
45th. Craig Morgan, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, £550
46th. Nimisha Rattan, United Kingdom, £550
47th. James Greenwood, United Kingdom, £550
48th. Alfie Baldwin, United Kingdom, PokerStars Qualifier, £550
49th. Danny Blair, United Kingdom, £490
50th. Sergey Chernykh, Russian Federation, PokerStars Player, £490
51st. John Marsh, United Kingdom, £490
52nd. Latoya Van Der Meer, New Zealand, PokerStars Player, £490
53rd. Niraj Shah, United Kingdom , PokerStars Player, £490
54th. Daniel Blake, United Kingdom, £490
55th. James Koumis, United Kingdom, PokerStars Qualifier, £490
56th. Ignacio Harris, Argentina, £490

3.50pm: Raygon gone
I just saw Raygon Egan get eliminated in 41st place, busting with [Ac][Kd] against Aaron Armstrong's pocket queens, the pair holding up on a [Jd][5d][Jh][6s][Ks] board.

Nothing special about that you may think, but Egan's tournament has been anything but ordinary. She and her Aunt drove down from Manchester from this tournament and the latter has been railing Egan throughout the tournament. Last night they couldn't find any hotels so slept in their car outside of the casino. And for Egan this tournament was a big deal as she usually plays small stakes online. She's got £550 to pad her bankroll, although you hope she buys her Aunt something special with some of the proceeds.

3.40pm: Greenwood out, Miller massive
Chip leader Ben Miller has around 600,000 now after eliminating James Greenwood. The latter was all-in for his last 16 big blinds with [Jh][Th] and Miller called with pocket queens. The [Js][6s][9h][5d][As] board kept the pair in front and eliminated Greenwood.

Still it's the hottest day of the year so far, so every cloud.

All photos are copyright of Neil Stoddart