7.45pm: End of the level
That's the end of level 28, you'll find level 29 updates in a new post shortly. -- NW
7.35pm: Greenwood makes good call down
James Greenwood just made a great call on the river to once more close the gap on Wojtek Barzantny.
From the button Greenwood made it 130,000 to go and Barzantny made the call. Both players checked the [3d][Jc][8c] flop and Barzantny then fired out a bet of 125,000 on the [5s] turn, call from Greenwood. The [8d] completed the board and Barzantny bet 280,000. Greenwood mulled it over for a couple of minutes before sliding out a call. "Queen high," announced Barzantny, Greenwood showed [Kh][7h] for just king high, but it was good. -- NW
7.25pm: Barzantny fights back
He's not about to just let this opportunity to make history and become a double UKIPT winner slip away from him, and Wojtek Barzantny just fired a few salvos of his own to ensure the flow of chips to Greenwood would end.
The hand saw Greenwood limp the button and the pair see a flop of [Jc][5c][2d].
Check, 85,000 from Greenwood and a check-raise to 200,000 from Barzantny. Greenwood looked less than happy but made the call.
The turn saw Barzantny lead out 215,000, Greenwood again making what looked like a painful call.
The [8c] on the river was met with a third barrel from Barzantny and this one did the trick, Greenwood pulling a face before pushing his hand over the line and conceding the pot to the German.
That leaves the chip standings as you were at the start of heads-up.
James Greenwood 3,300,000
Wojtek Barzantny 4,600,000
7.15pm: Greenwood edging back
He began this heads up with a deficit, but in the early stages, James Greenwood has closed the gap a little, winning two early pots.
The first saw him call a 125,000 open from Barzantny's button in the big blind, check raising the German's 140,000 continuation bet to 340,000 and picking up a fold.
Next up he again peeled a raise from the big blind, again Barzantny making it 125,000 on the button.
This time the pair checked back the [Qc][Th][8d] board, though the [4h] turn card elicited a 145,000 probe from Greenwood.
Barzantny called and the pair checked down the [7c] river, leaving Greenwood to expose [Ac][Td] for second pair - good for the pot.
7.05pm: Heads-up begins
Just two players from a field of 550 remain, first prize is £90,400, whilst the loser of the final hand will bank £54,500.
In the blue corner we have James Greenwood who has 3,300,000.
And in the red corner sits Wojtek Barzantny, going for two UKIPT titles in a week. He's got 4,600,000.
6.50pm: Robert Bull eliminated in third place (£33,300)
No matter what poker skills you work on and improve, you can't teach winning flips and Robert Bull has just been knocked out of this tournament in a 4,500,000 chip coin-flip.
From the button Wojtek Barzantny opened to 120,000, Bull made it 290,000 from the small blind, Barazntny moved all-in for 2,310,000 and Bull, who had 2,230,000 made the call.
Barzantny: [Ah][Kh]
Bull: [10h][10c]
This was effectively a £20,000 coin-flip (the difference between second and third) and the [6d][9d][Kc] flop tilted it in the German's favour. And Barzantny stayed in front on the [8c] turn and [3d] river.
From being one card away from elimination Barzantny is now the chip leader with 4,600,000 versus James Greenwood's 3,300,000.
The players are taking a quick 10 minute break before heads-up commences. -- NW
6.41pm: Barzantny slips Greenwood's clutches
The shortstack with a million chips, Wojtek Barzantny made a move for the blinds on the button with [8d][7d] pushing his stack all-in, and after a little thought James Greenwood made a good call with [Ac][5d].
Ahead but only just, the pair saw a dangerous flop of [Qc][6d][3d] peel off, Barzantny picking up a flush draw as well as his two live cards being active.
The [Tc] on the turn was a safe card, though it did give Barzantny extra outs in the form of a gutshot and these proved crucial as the [9s] arrived to complete Barzantny's straight draw.
In the nick of time, he survives to double through to around 2,000,000 chips whilst Greenwood takes a hit down to 3,600,000. -- RS
6.32pm: Bull pulls out the cold four
We've seen plenty of pre-flop tussles today but rarely have these involved a cold four bet.
That just happened moments with James Greenwood opening to 100,000, Wojtek Barzantny re-popping him to 240,000 and suddenly Robbie Bull sprung out of nowhere to throw a cold four-bet to 385,000 into the mix.
This show of strength was enough to take down the pot... -- RS
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 30,000-60,000 ante 10,000
6.25pm: Greenwood takes big pot from Barzantny
James Greenwood now has over half the chips in play and is the clear chip leader here in Bristol after winning a big pot against Wojtech Barzantny, which given play is three-handed can be described as a bit of a cooler.
Pref-flop Greenwood made it 100,000 to go on the button and both Barzantny and Robert Bull made the call.
The board came [2d][2h][5c][6h][8d] and Greenwood fired bets of 140,000, 330,000 and 620,000 respectively and whilst Bull got out the way on flop, Barzantny called him down. Greenwood showed pocket jacks and Barzantny sighed and showed pocket nines.
After that hand Greenwood has 4,700,000, Barzantny has 1,800,000 and Bull has 1,450,000. -- NW
6.15pm: One for Barzantny, one for Bull and one for Greenwood
The stacks are still somewhat deep for this stage of the tournament and the final three are seeing plenty of flops. And, the players are seemingly taking it in turn to win post-flop pots here.
First it was Barzantny's turn, he defended his big blind to a 100,000 button raise from Robert Bull. On the [As][7c][Ah] flop Bull c-bet 65,000, call from Barzantny. The [Kh] hit the turn, check again to Bull who fired out a bet of 120,000. Back on Barzantny he bumped it to 400,000 and Bull folded.
Next Bull took a pot, he defended his big blind to a 100,000 button raise from James Greenwood. The two of them saw a [Ah][Ks][5c] flop, c-bet of 115,000 from Greenwood, call from the Bull.
The [5d] turn was checked through, and a bet of 140,000 on the [Qd] river was enough for Bull to take the pot.
The pattern of lose one, win one, was repeated again on the next hand as Barzantny made it 100,000 to go on the button and Greenwood called from the big blind. The [6h][As][7s] flop elicited a 105,000 chip c-bet from Barzantny and a call from Greenwood. The [2c] turn checked through and the [9s] completed the board. Both players checked again and Greenwood showed [8s][7h] to win the pot. -- NW
6.05pm: Forrest chopped down - out 4th (£24,400).
The blinds are so big now that every pre-flop some sort of war erupts over their ownership.
The latest battle saw Wojtek Barzantny raise it up to 100,000 from the button, only for Anthony Forsyth-Forrest move all-in for close to a million chips.
Barzantny made minimum fuss before calling, though his [As][9s] was behind to Forsyth-Forrest's pocket nines and it looked like his tournament might be close to its conclusion.
Instead a board of [8d][2h][3s][Ah][Td] saw a crucial ace spike on the turn and instead it was Forsyth-Forrest who was heading to the rail in 4th spot.
He took his elimination in good grace, telling Byzantny he had played well and shaking the tables hand, so he bows out graciously in 4th spot for £24,400 and now we are three-handed for the title!
Rough chip counts are:
Bull 1,800,000
Greenwood 3,400,000
Wojtek 2,600,000
5.50pm: Greenwood sticks it in the Bull's eye
James Greenwood just peeled a raise from Robbie Bull, calling 125,000 on the [9c][6s][2d] board before peeling a further 165,000 on the [8c] turn card.
Come the [2c] on the river, Bull slowed down checking it, only for Greenwood to measure out a 380,000 bet.
Bull had to think long and hard about this but eventually called, only to get an instant flip from Greenwood, who showed him the [Ac][Tc] for a flush.
It was good and Greenwood moves even further into the lead...
5.40pm: Amanda Sidark eliminated in fifth place (£19,000)
Down to just 11 big blinds Amanda Sidark moved all-in for 550,000 from the small blind with [Kc][Qh] and quick as a flash Robert Bull called from the big blind with pocket nines.
A [Qd][9h][10s] saw Sidark hoping for a jack to appear on the turn or river, but the [Ac] and [3h] completed the board. The wait for a female UKIPT winner goes on and won't be happening in 2012 as the next leg is Edinburgh in January 2013. Still, a great effort by Sidark and £19,000 will go a long way to helping with her studies at Hull University. -- NW
5.25pm: Chip counts
Tournament staff did a full chip count at the break, here's what their survey said:
1 - Amanda Sidark, Sweden, 620,000
2 - Robert Bull, United Kingdom, PokerStars Qualifier, 1,800,000
3 - James Greenwood, United Kingdom, 2,755,000
5 - Wojtek Barzantny, Germany, PokerStars Player, 1,155,000
8 - Anthony Forsyth-Forrest, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, 1,605,000
Level Up: Blinds 25,000-50,000 ante 5,000
5.05pm: Them's the breaks
The players are just taking a 20 minute break to relax. We'll be back in a moment.
5.02pm: Ain't goin' out like that
The German may have been struggling but he looks unruffled, refusing to go quietly into the night.
Firstly he made an inventive play blind on blind versus James Greenwood, where he floated the turn of a board with three clubs, only to raise the fourth club on the river, gaining a fold from his opponent and showing down 4-6 offsuit.
Next up, he made a more standard blind steal which worked out for him and he picked up the 84,000 in chips preflop...
4.52pm: Giant coinflip cripples Barzantny
It seems the only enemy capable of stopping Barzantny is variance. He's played well but run terribly at showdown today and once again he failed to win a crucial hand.
When Forsyth-Forrest made it 80,000 and Barzantny three-bet to 220,000, Forrest now shrugged and moved all-in for his 847,000, and a snap-call followed.
Pocket fives for Forsyth-Forrest and ace-jack for Barzantny, a huge coinflip was in the offing for 1,600,000 chips.
Barzantny however continued his lean run of showdown wins by missing the flop, turn and river of a [Kh][Qc][8s][7c][2d] board and a smiling Forsyth-Forrest leapfrogs him in the chip counts whilst Barzantny now sits under one million chips, a startling fall from grace given his lofty chip position throughout this final.
4.55pm: Craig Goddard eliminated in sixth place (£15,100)
And just like that James Greenwood has gone from short stack to chip leader in less than a level.
From under-the-gun Craig Goddard opened to 80,000, Greenwood three-bet to 215,000 and before his chips hit the felt Goddard moved all-in for 1,250,000, Greenwood's cards left scorch makes on the felt as he made an insta-call.
Goddard: [Ah][Qh]
Greenwood: [As][Ac]
A [Jc][9s][4c][Qc][Ks] board saw Goodard sent to the rail, whilst Greenwood is up to 3,000,000 and the new chip leader. -- NW
4.45pm: Chip counts
Here's how it stands right now
1 - Amanda Sidark, Sweden, 750,000
2 - Robert Bull, United Kingdom, PokerStars Qualifier, 1,575,000
3 - James Greenwood, United Kingdom, 1,675,000
4 - Craig Goddard, United Kingdom, 1,250,000
5 - Wojtek Barzantny, Germany, PokerStars Player, 1,750,000
8 - Anthony Forsyth-Forrest, United Kingdom, PokerStars Player, 860,000
It's still Wojtek Barzantny who leads, but only just. -- NW
4.35pm: Greenwood wins big pot from Barzantny
It's not been a good level for the runaway chip leader Wojtek Barzantny, so much so that his chip lead is now very slender.
That's mostly down to James Greenwood, he doubled up through Barzantny (see 4.12pm) and just took a huge chunk of change from the German.
The action was started by Robert Bull who made it 80,000 to go from under-the-gun, he was called by both Greenwood and Barzantny. The dealer fanned a [9s][4s][9h] flop, it was checked to Greenwood and he bet 117,000, Barzantny was the only caller.
The [8d] fell on the turn, bet of 235,000 from Greenwood, call from Barzantny. There was almost a million chips in the pot before the dealer put the [Ah] river card on the felt. After about 10 seconds thought Greenwood moved all-in for 621,000.
After getting a count Barzantny started riffling his chips, interestingly he started off by riffling his large denomination chips - the turquoise 25,000 denomination ones - before then switching to the blue ones that are worth 5,000 each. It was clear he had a genuinely tough borderline decision, he had around 1,675,000 back so the call was for around a third of his chips.
Eventually after a good five minute think he released his hand. The German has been dragged back into the pack and is only just ahead of Greenwood and Bull. -- NW
4.22pm: Bull and Forsyth-Forrest at it again
These two are starting to form their very own rivalry outside of the universe that gravitates around Wojtek Barzantny.
Their most recent tete-a-tete saw Forsyth-Forrest call a raise from Bull to 60,000 in the big blind, check-calling the [Kc][Jc][5s] flop.
The [2h] on the turn saw Forsyth-Forrest check once again, this time seeing Bull cut out 136,000. After a small pause, he called this as well.
The potentially dangerous [5c] on the river was checked once more by Forsyth-Forrest and this time Bull dragged a huge stack of 25,000 chips into play, his bet now a frighteningly large 387,000.
It was good enough, as Forsyth-Forrest laid his hand down to leave Bull smiling with close to 1,700,000 again.
4.12pm: Barzantny loses a pot! Greenwood double
He is human after all. James Greenwood proved that Wojtek Barzantny is not infallible moments ago, moving in for 549,000, leaving the German mulling over his decision in the big blind.
"It's close," he told everyone before making the call with [Ks][Qc], leaving Greenwood to showdown [Ad][Jd] for the better hand.
Only a small favourite, Greenwood's hand nonetheless held over the [9c][7d][3c][Js][9s] flop, turn and river and a loud cheer from his contingent of fans on the rail saw Greenwood's stack rise over the million mark for the first time today, whilst Barzantny takes a non-fatal hit - down to just under 2,600,000.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 20,000-40,000 ante 5,000
4.05pm: Craig Goddard doubles through Wojtek Barzantny
If rails won poker tournaments then Craig Goddard is a dead cert to win UKIPT Bristol going by what happened when he just doubled up.
He moved all-in for 435,000 with pocket threes but found Wojtek Barzantny waiting with pocket kings.
"Come on the three," shouted the local boys fans as the dealer prepared to reveal the flop. It came [4d][3c][8h], "Get in Craigy," and "Yes," were just two of the more audible reactions to the flop.
There was no re-suck on the turn or river and Goddard doubled to around 900,000 whilst Barzantny slipped to 2,850,000, so just a bit of a flesh wound really. -- NW
3.55pm: The Brunson is good for Bull
Robert Bull just won a tidy pot with the hand made famous by Doyle Brunson. Pre-flop Amanda Sidark completed from the small blind and Bull checked his option. On the [10c][4c][7h] flop Bull bet 35,000 and Sidark made the call. Both players checked the [Kc] turn to see the [2h] fall on the river.
It was checked to Bull and he overbet the pot, firing out 182,000, after tanking for a couple of minutes, Sidark made the call but mucked when Bull rolled over [10d][2d]. -- NW
3.45pm: All-ins but no calls
Both Craig Goddard and James Greenwood have moved all-in over the last two hands but neither has found a caller, you sense that might soon change if they keep doing it. -- NW
3.34pm: Forrest makes small inroads into Barzantny
Forsyth-Forrest has struggled against Barzantny today (as have all the final tablists) - the German's stack getting so big it is starting to invade the central part of the table.
He did manage to put the breaks on the UKIPT Online winner temporarily though, raising from the cut-off with [Kc][Ts] - Barzantny defending his big blind.
The pair checked down the [8c][3d][3s][5c][2d] board and Forsyth-Forrest's hand was good at showdown.
He then managed to get a three-bet through, raising Barzantny's 60,000 open to 135,000 and eliciting a rare fold from the German.
Riding a wave of fresh confidence, Forsyth-Forrest made another raise to 60,000, although this time Robert Bull was in the mood to slow him down, re-raising to 157,000.
Forsyth-Forrest wasn't strong enough to engage in combat this time and he folded, leaving Bull to collect the pot.
As it stands, Craig Goddard and James Greenwood are the men most in danger of elimination - it's likely one or other will make a move fairly soon... -- RS
3.25pm: Barzantny continues to bulldoze Bristol final table
Yet more chips have gravitated towards Wojtek Barzantny's stack as he continues to run over this final table.
This time Robert Bull was the victim, he defended his big blind after Barzantny min-raised from middle position and the two of them saw a [9d][3s][2s] flop. It checked to Barzantny and he bet 64,000, call from Bull.
The [Jh] fell on the turn, check from Bull, barrel of 116,000 from Barzantny, call from Bull. The [6c] completed the board and Bull checked for a third time, Barzantny emptied the clip, firing out a bet of 190,000 and Bull mucked his cards. -- NW
3.15pm: Barzantny pressure too great for Forest
Wojtek Barzantny certainly doesn't pull his punches when he gets in a pot, and once again his aggression has won him the day.
The hand in question saw Anthony Forsyth-Forrest raise it up to 60,000 from the cut-off - Barzantny making the call from the big blind.
The flop fell [Ks][8h][3h] and Barzantny check-called 65,000 before leading for 132,000 on the potentially flush-completing [Qh] turn, Forsyth-Forrest made the call dubiously eyeing his opponent.
The river was the [7c] and now Barzantny cut out a huge 361,000, which threw his opponent into the tank.
A long dwell followed for which he apologised, but ultimately Forsyth-Forrest could not make the call and the bulldozing German consolidates his already mighty lead. -- RS
3.05pm: Half-a-dozen remain in UKIPT Bristol main event
With the elimination of Jonathan Prince and Niall Murray in the opening two levels, just six players remain in the UKIPT Bristol main event.
It's still Wojtek Barzantny who leads the way with 2,961,000 but behind him there's two very distinct groups taking shape. There's a triumvirate of players clustered between 1,000,000 and 1,600,000, Robert Bull (1,571,000), Anthony Forsyth-Forrest (1,306,000) and Amanda Sidark (1,032,000) are just one double up through Barzantny from taking the chip lead.
Whilst James Greenwood (607,000) and Craig Goddard (400,000) have slipped into that awkward 20 big blind area and short stack territory respectively.
PokerStars Blog reporting team in Bristol: Rod Stirzaker and Nick Wright. Photos by Mickey May.