All about eights

Forget Aces, 88 is the new power hand at the PPT Madrid after three quick fire eliminations - including two monster pots.

The first went the way of chip magnet Robert Haigh, the German doubling one of the biggest stacks in the room in dramatic fashion.

Robert (pictured) had defended his big blind with the snowmen vs an utg raise and caller in the small blind, and was only too happy to see the flop fall Q8x despite the flush draw on board.

He smooth-called a check-raise from the small blind and the pair went to the turn two-handed. A heart on fourth street prompted the villain to lead out and Haigh shoved, earning a call from his fellow big stack - who held AQ plus a nut flush draw.

The river was blank and the PPT regular was left wielding the chip lead.

The 8s' next victim came at the hands of Nacho Guerra, 'Krusty' flopping a set vs his rival's TPTK and ending another tournament life, before Jari Hurri exited with AQ vs 88.

Also out as we enter another short break are Ignacio Menendez De Andres, Fidel Delgado and Miguel Fernandez Menendez.

PPT stalwarts hits the rail

Toni Merivuori and Marek Viscak have been part of PPT history since the very start, but neither will play any further part in the Madrid 2011 leg after losing out in their battle for the money.

Both men were on the final table back in PPT London 2009; Viscak went on to finish second and Merivuori would win the inaugural Tour League despite his Czech rival's impressive victory in Bulgaria later that season.

They looked in good shape to make more history overnight, having brought top 15 stacks to Day 2 at the Gran Casino, but their night ended a short time ago.

Toni was eliminated after his 99 was trumped by AQ in a classic race to hand him a 43rd-place finish, with Viscak and overnight chip leader Fernando Del Corral Escribano out in 44th and 45th respectively.

The final 50

Fantasy Poker points are now up for grabs as we enter the final 50 players at the Gran Casino Madrid - and six players have fallen short of the money.

Christian Schulz finished 50th after working with a short stack most of the day, his JJ running into Aces, and he was followed by another Fantasy Poker pick - Martin Christensen.

Schulz' exit hurt three teams, eliminating two and leaving KingHeiko with just big stack Robert Haigh in his corner.

Only one team had picked Christensen but his departure was the final blow to Mivko.

Also out are Gregorio Hernandez, J. A. Erkamaps and Francisco Quintana.

Chips for dinner

We've reached dinner on Day 2 and 60 players are still vying for a cash prize at the Gran Casino Madrid.

The average stack stands at 62,500, with the blinds set to rise to 1,000/2,000 when play resumes in an hour's time.

Robert Haigh has maintained his huge stack as we enter the interval, while also in the continued ascendency is Caspar Engelien courtesy of his aggressive streak.

UK player Tom Lane (pictured) was on the receiving end of Engelien's single-minded play when he folded his 99 to the German's raise on a JJ5 flop, but is still in contention a little shy of the average.

Here's an updated chip count of selected players:

Robert Haigh - 160,000
Caspar Engelien - 135,000
Didier Doering - 100,000
Bastian Bleum - 65,000
Toni Merivuori - 50,000
Tom Lane - 50,000
Marek Viscak - 40,000

Comedy hand keeps Krusty in play

ParadisePoker pro Nacho Guerra is famous in these parts for a broad grin that compliments the cluster of curls that earned him his nickname - Krusty.

His table banter and light-hearted approach naturally draws attention - as well as chips - and it seems even Lady Luck has a smile for the Spaniard this evening.

Caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Guerra was all-in with J2 facing AK and the prospect of a Day 2 exit.

But having flopped a gut shot on the 10-9-7 flop, he turned a deuce to stay alive at his opponent's expense - and that trademark smile was evident for all to see!

Perhaps the one man who found the hand less amusing was his victim, who shrugged off the bad beat and headed for the rail.

Here's the hand in pics...

Points and pics

We're fast approaching the Tour League/Fantasy Poker points here in Madrid and while some familiar faces have left us, there are still a number of online qualifers in strong positions.

Less fortunate is David Pishvafar, who endured two days grinding a short stack before he finally succumbed with 88 vs QQ.

"I had a bad beat within the first two hours yesterday, losing with KK vs QQ when he rivered a set, and it's been a grind since. Poker isn't so fun when it's like that!"

Fortunately there a number of players still enjoying themselves, so cast an eye over the latest photos.

Haigh drags in a big pot

Robert Haigh played his way into a commanding position in the last hand before the break, winning a pot that leaves his tower 160,000 chips high.

The German's thoughful style seemingly hypnotised his opponent on a 2♥Q♣K♥-Q♥-4♣ board, as the villain made a huge call on the end and mucked when Haigh flipped 7♥8♥.

It left him with one of the biggest stacks in the room, eclipsing even fellow PPT regulars Srinivasu Thavarajah (123,000) and Bastian Bleum (90,000).

We're down to an 81-man field as the players return to the baize but those missing include Antonio Lemos and Thomas Merved.

Merved had been reduced to a short stack and despite picking up AQ to open shove with in late position, his executioner found KK in the small blind.

The Dane even had some hope on the flop when an Ace arrived, but a King on the turn ended his hopes if a cash in Madrid.

Here's a selected chip count:

Robert Haigh - 160,000
Srinivasu Thavarajah - 123,000
Bastian Bleum - 90,000
Dietmar Doering - 80,000
Caspar Engelien - 78,000
Toni Merivuori - 59,000
Marek Viscak - 58,000
Tom Lane - 34,000
Christian Schulz - 22,000
David Pishvafar - 16,000

Fantasy Poker - Go Joe!

Two blog readers stand apart in the Fantasy Poker standings after seeing all three of their players negotiate Day 1 successfully.

JoeSakic tops the standings courtesy of 20,000 more chips at his players' disposal, as António Lemos, Toni Merivuori and Marek Viščak combined for close to 150,000 as Day 2 started.

Mr. Monday will be hopeful his men can overturn that deficit today, though he shares the hopes for 2010 Tour League champion Merivuori, with Jose Luis Ruiz Cruz and Kamil Jamroz both starting the day ahead of the average stack and adding up to around 130,000 chips between them.

Meanwhile there are a host of teams with two players still in the game, so as we close in on 100 players, Fantasy Poker is wide open.

Here are the teams with two or more players still in the PPT Main Event in here in Madrid:

JoeSakic
António Lemos
Toni Merivuori
Marek Viščak

Mr.Monday
Jose Luis Ruiz Cruz
Kamil Jamroz
Toni Merivuori

frogjensen
Jacob Irsberg
Thomas Merved

albert10x
Toni Merivuori
Aleksandar Asenov

Oben_Unten
Robert Haigh
David Pishvafar

dakra
Daniel Kraus
David Pishvafar

kiiivii
Wolfram Henke
Martin Nielsen

johanchung
Ismael Arribas Muñoz
Joao Brito

justmenow
Thomas Merved
Angel Gomez Palmero

+EV!!!
Robert Haigh
Bastian Bluem

El Toreros
Thomas Merved
Jacob Irsberg

Henkker
Toni Merivuori
Jari Hurri

Wokmot12
Jacob Irsberg
Thomas Merved

KingHeiko1
Christian Schulz
Robert Haigh

Shabrus87
António Lemos
Joao Brito

MallerMaller
António Lemos
Martin Nielsen

suunnshine
Thomas Merved
Marek Viščak

tom-the-nuts
Robert Haigh
David Pishvafar

lboy82
David Pishvafar
Bastian Bluem

bandras1
Joao Brito
Thomas Merved

yelloo
Marek Viscak
Toni Merivuori

Brauny
Steve Warner
Robert Haigh

Day 2 - shuffle up and deal

The cards are in the air here at the Gran Casino Madrid and our 124 players are ready to race for the money.

Only 27 will leave a little richer by end of play Sunday, but the winner can look forward to more than €30,000.

A Fantasy poker update is set to follow shortly.

Day 2 Chip Count

The official Day 2 chip count is in and after two more players dropped out at the death, 124 will return for to the baize today at 17.00 CEST.

Fernando Del Corral Escribano leads the way but no player has broken the six-figure mark and a host of PPT regulars lurk behind the local chipleader.

German Bastian Bleum avenged his London bubble exit at the hands of Filipa Lemos by taking some big pots off the Portuguese musician, and he is 6th in chips now.

Meanwhile, 2010 Tour League winner Toni Merivuori is also in the top 10, closely followed by PPT Bulgaria winner Marek Viscak (pictured) and Vienna's fourth-place finisher Robert Haigh.

Among the shorter stacks, David Pishvafar, Tom Lane and last year's runner-up Ricardo Calleja will all be hoping for an early double up!

CHIP COUNT

1 - FERNANDO DEL CORRAL ESCRIBANO - 99,625
2 - CASPAR ENGELEIEN - 95,650
3 - DAVID CAMARA ESPEJO - 80,000
4 - JOSE MARIA SOMOLINOS - 71,125
5 - PABLO FERNANDEZ BALDOR - 68,800
6 - BASTIAN BLEUM - 68,500
7 - JUAN CARLOS PLACER RUEDA - 66,225
8 - ADAM ZIARKIEWIQ - 65,700
9 - TONI MERIVUORI - 63,050
10 - SANTIAGO HOLGUIN - 62,200
11 - MIGUEL FERNANDEZ MENENDEZ - 61,475
12 - MAREK VISCAK - 59,575
13 - JAVIER SANCHEZ MIGUEL - 57,000
14 - IMANOL AYERZA OCHOTORENA - 54,775
15 - ROBERT HAIGH - 54,350
16 - VALDIR CORDEIRO - 50,975
17 - FIDEL DELGADO - 50,400
18 - JOSE LUIS RODRIGUEZ - 50,275
19 - MARCOS MIGUEL GOMEZ MONTEIRO - 49,150
20 - ERNESTO ROSENDO GONZALEZ - 48,600
21 - VALERIANO RUIZ RUBIO - 46,950
22 - MISCHA DANKERT - 45,725
23 - OMAR RODRIGUEZ - 44,850
24 - SRINIVASAN THAVARAJAH - 44,400
25 - JUKUB SRCZOTKA - 43,350
26 - DAVID RODRIGUEZ - 42,775
27 - CAMILLE BLANC - 42,700
28 - MARA GOUDAKIS ANDREAS - 40,075
29 - JAVIER VEIGA - 39,950
30 - ALVARO MARINO - 38,350
31 - FEDERICO BLAZQUEZ - 38,000
32 - MARTIN CHRISTENSEN - 37,800
33 - DAVID GOMEZ MORENTE - 37,275
34 - DAVID ALGARRA - 37,125
35 - IGNACIO GUERRA - 36,600
36 - ALEJANDRO LUCIA MARTIN - 36,025
37 - RAUL MAGDALENO SANCHEZ - 35,650
38 - GREGORIO HERNANDEZ - 35,300
39 - FRANCISCO J. QUINTANA - 35,175
40 - DIETMAR DOERING - 35,100
41 - CANDIDO FRANCO - 34,025
42 - JOSE BELINCHON - 33,600
43 - JOSE LUIS RUIZ CRUZ - 33,325
44 - GORDON CROSS - 33,275
45 - SUTHARJUIN THAVARAJAN - 33,225
46 - KAMIL JAMROZ - 32,675
47 - LUIS FERNANDO SANTILLAN - 32,300
48 - WOLFRAM HENKE - 32,200
49 - IGNACIO MENENDEZ DE ANDRES - 31,850
50 - GABRIEL COSTAS PERAL - 31,700
51 - PALIOUDAKIS PANTELIS - 31,200
52 - CHRISTIAN SCHYULZ - 31,200
53 - VITAL VILLARUBIA - 30,800
54 - CESAR GARCIA DEL BARRIO - 30,550
55 - STEVEN WARNER - 30,500
56 - JAIME ORTIZ DE LEJARAZU - 29,325
57 - JAVIER GARCIA BERMERJO - 28,900
58 - ALFONSO SAIZ LOPEZ - 28,700
59 - RICARDO CALLEJA FERNANDEZ - 28,600
60 - JOSE L. LOPEZ ROCHA - 28,200
61 - J.A. ERKAMAPS - 27,700
62 - IVAN ARNAU ROY - 27,625
63 - WASINGTONG PRADO - 27,450
64 - ANTONIO LEMOS - 26,625
65 - MORTEN VYAIR - 26,600
66 - JOAO BRITO - 26,325
67 - TIBOR NAGIGYORGY - 26,300
68 - JOSE PIRE - 25,525
69 - CARLOS COVARRUBIAS - 25,475
70 - KOCK UWE - 25,100
71 - KEYETAN MOSTEWICZ - 24,400
72 - TOM LANE - 24,250
73 - DANIEL KRAUS - 24,100
74 - JOAQUIN POVEDA GANGA - 23,600
75 - ANTONIO GONZALEZ MIRANDA - 22,650
76 - MARCUS WESTHOFF - 22,575
77 - ALEXANDAR ASENOV - 22,125
78 - JORGE SIMONET - 22,100
79 - MARTIN NIELESEN - 20,600
80 - RAFAEL CANOIRA - 19,975
81 - MIGALA ANDRE - 19,900
82 - NAT DARMONTHAVAT - 19,600
83 - LUIS MACHADO - 19,450
84 - EMILIO BEBLARAIN - 19,375
85 - RAFAEL APARICIO - 19,125
86 - MARCOS LOPEZ GONZALEZ - 18,850
87 - HELGE WARKOW - 18,750
88 - JOSE MANUEL CERQUEIRA - 18,500
89 - MANUEL BELINCHON GARCIA - 17,100
90 - WEIDER GUTIERREZ - 16,925
91 - MARISOL MARTINEZ - 16,350
92 - ENRIQUE LEON PEÑATE - 16,050
93 - LUIS DE LA OLIVA AGUILERA - 16,025
94 - MIGUEL BENITEZ - 16,025
95 - JUAN JOSE MARTIN - 16,025
96 - THOMAS MERVED - 15,850
97 - FRANCISCO TORRES - 15,750
98 - KAMIL JEDRZEJCZYK - 15,450
99 - JAVIER PALACIOS LOPEZ - 15,350
100 - JARI HURRI - 15,325
101 - DESIRE BOUWMAN - 15,025
102 - FERNANDO GARCIA MARTINEZ - 14,950
103 - ARMANDO MUÑOZ CALERO - 14,800
104 - XAVIER MARTINEZ - 14,450
105 - DAVID PISHVAFAR - 14,425
106 - AINHIZE MARCOS CAYERO - 12,750
107 - JAVIER MONTA - 12,350
108 - CONSUELO NAVARRO - 12,150
109 - MARK HOLT - 11,950
110 - LIRONG HU YU - 11,825
111 - SERGIO LAZARO ALARCON - 11,400
112 - BARTOLOMEY SWIEGODA - 11,000
113 - JACOB IRSBERG - 10,500
114 - KENNING HEIKO JOSEF - 9,850
115 - JABLONKAI BALAZS - 9,550
116 - DAVID GUTIERREZ GOMEZ - 9,200
117 - ANGEL GOMEZ PALMERO - 8,900
118 - JOSE RAMON GARCIA RODRIGUEZ - 8,125
119 - GERDEMAN BERNHARD - 8,100
120 - ISMAEL ARRIBAS - 8,000
121 - JEREMIAS GERARDO - 6,725
122 - ROBERTO CLERIGO - 6,700
123 - JOSE L. CESTAO LOPEZ - 6,550
124 - ALEJANDRO HERRANDO MEDRANO - 6,375

Day 1 at the close

The curtain is about to fall on Day 1 of the ParadisePoker Tour Madrid, 2011, and around 126 players will return to chase the money tomorrow.

Play starts at 17.00 CEST (16.00 blog time) but we'll have a full chip count plus Fantasy Poker update before then.

In the meantime, we bid all our late night readers good night!

Ronnie's day ends early

Just 40 minutes to play on Day 1 at the Gran Casino Madrid but Tour League leader Ronnie Espensen will not be among those returning to the Main Event tables tomorrow.

The Dane had struggled to build any momentum all day, with his luck typified by a split pot a short while before his demise.

Espensen had got it all-in pre-flop with AA vs AK and was finally looking at surpassing his starting stack, only for the board to deliver four cards to the broadway straight.

The final hand came just moments ago, as having called a pre-flop raise in position with 6♥7♥, Espensen made the decision to commit his stack to the pot when the 3♥3♠5♥ board was checked round to him.

He was checked-raised all-in by 8♥9♥ and it was the nine-high that held up to eliminate the PPT League leader.

Fortunately for him, many of his key rivals for the €10,000 plus entry into all Season Three events did not make the trip, though he wasn't taking anything for granted.

"I'll be in Barcelona for sure - I have to play now don't I!" he said, "It didn't happen today but I'll keep an eye on how things pan out.

"Hopefully I'll still be in the lead at the final Season Two event."

No cowboys for Srini

Srinivasu Thavarajah is a man hooked on the ParadisePoker Tour and after making a strong start to the Madrid leg - who can blame him?

Those who saw Srini (pictured) on the PPT Prague video will have heard the Sri Lankan born player claim he couldn't sleep for excitement before the €125k Main Event.

And after meeting him face-to-face, the PPT blog can confirm his enthusiasm is as real as it appeared on camera, despite a vendetta against one of poker's most powerful starting hands.

"I've played the Vienna, Prague and now Madrid events and I absolutely love this structure," he grinned at the last break.

"I haven't been that lucky in the previous legs though, as I lost decisive hands with KK in both.

"So I don't want to see cowboys this weekend - and that way I might yet make the final table!"

Thavarajah, who now lives in Germany, had around 28,000 chips at the last check and was looking in good shape as Day 1 entered its final straight.

"I haven't had many big hands to be honest," he added, "But I've been stealing enough pots to make it a good day so far. Let's hope it continues into Day 2."

Selected chip count

We'll play a total of seven levels tonight so with a little over two hours of play remaining, here's a rough chip count for some Fantasy Poker favourites and PPT regulars.

Among them is Tour League 2010 champion Toni Merivuori (pictured) and 2011 leader Ronnie Espensen, both of whom doubled through shortly before we counted their chips.

Just as the PPT blog thought it was a lucky charm, we came across Christian Schulz, who despite still sitting ahead of the 22k average, was rueing the cracked AA that would have seen him boasting the biggest stack in the room.

That honour could now be owned by PPT Bulgaria champion Marek Viscak, as the Czech has over double the average.

Marek Viscak - 52,000
Toni Merivuori - 45,000
Nacho "Krusty" Guerra - 35,000
Robert Haigh - 30,000
Tom Lane - 26,000
Thomas Merved - 24,000
Christian Shulz - 24,000
David Pishvafar - 17,000
Antonio Lemos - 17,000
Ronnie Espensen - 14,000

Merved bullets find their target on Day 1

Thomas Merved is one of the more popular Fantasy Poker picks here in Madrid and it's little wonder when you consider his key role in our last winning team.

Prague's FP victor suunnshine owed much of her victory to the 19th-place finish of the Dane (as well as Tomáš Straka's deep run) and if his hot start is anything to go by in Spain, he could be in the thick of the action again.

Merved has twice seen Aces and has committed his stack on both occasions, losing the first when the villain spiked a river King to make a set.

It seems Lady Luck had been in apologetic mood for that last gasp King, however, delivering quads on the flop on the second occasion - before runner runner flush cards for his opponent - to ensure all the chips were shipped in his direction.

That left Merved on around 23k at the last break, with the average stack standing at 19,500. Anyone fancy Thomas to go all the way this time?

Prize structure announced

Our latest PPT winner will walk away €31,300 richer after the 250-strong field matched the €125,000 guarantee to the euro.

Second-place will have to settle for a mere €19,400 and the top 27 players will all receive a cash prize, with the lowest payment still more than doubling the buy-in.

Prize Structure
1st - 31,300
2nd - 19,400
3rd - 12,500
4th - 8,000
5th - 6,300
6th - 4,900
7th - 4,300
8th - 3,700
9th - 3,000
10th - 2,500
11th - 2,200
12th - 2,000
13th - 1,850
14th - 1,850
15th - 1,600
16th - 1,600
17th - 1,500
18th - 1,500
19th -27th - 1,250

Boros back for another bite at PPT

When last sighted by the PPT blog, Tibor Boros was a broken man facing a final table nightmare.

With all due respect to PPT Prague champion Radoslav Průcha, the Hungarian (pictured)) was in many ways the story of the Czech leg, as his incredible chip lead slipped through his fingers in dramatic fashion.

Needless to say, it remains a less than fond memory for Tibor, but he was in high spirits as he returned to the ParadisePoker Tour determined to condemn that tale to history.

"I still can't really think about the Prague event without getting angry," confessed Boros, "I was so upset that day and I felt angry for a few days afterwards.

"In the end I had to just accept that it happened and move on. After all, I got unlucky on the last hand but it was a bad decision that cost me 60% of my chips in an earlier hand.

"I'm feeling a lot more positive now, although I'm yet to pick up any big hands so far tonight. I've got about 10k left."

Update - Tibor's unlucky streak continued shortly after the PPT blog first caught up with him, but he still found a smile despite the harsh beat that sent him to the rail.

"I got it all-in with Aces against A♦Q♦ on a Q45 board, only for runner-runner diamonds to hit and make him a flush.

"I'm ok though, it happens. I saw the Bernabeu today and will visit the rest of the city tomorrow before flying home Sunday... Or maybe I'll have more luck in the side event!"

Madrid pics

We're down to 205 players on Day 1 of the PPT Madrid as the blinds creep up to 100/200.

We'll be catching up with one or two regulars, plus bringing you a selected chip count shortly, but for now here are the latest pics from Gran Casino.

22.00 deadline

The 22.00 deadline has now passed for Fantasy Poker so new entries will no longer be accepted into this weekend's competition.

Good luck to all those who got their team in on time - and be sure to keep an eye on the blog to see how your players perform!

Fantasy Poker - the final list

Over 240 players to choose from in our final Fantasy Poker list of the evening, so if you've been waiting for the complete picture, here it is.

Apologies for the capital letters, but we just love shouting about Fantasy Poker!

Final deadline for Fantasy Poker entries will be 22.00 (blog time), so make sure you get your team in within the next hour.

DAVID AZA AGUADO
JOSE MARIA SALAMANCA AGUARON
JOSE LUIS ANDRES AJENJO
ALBERTO MANSO DE ZUÑIGA AJURIA
EMILIYAN ALEKSANDROV
DAVID ALGARRA
SALIM ALIBAS
OSCAR CAGIGAL ALONSO
PANTAZIDIS ANESTIS
DAVID MARTINEZ ANTON
RAFAEL PICO APARICIO
JOSE MIGUEL SERRANO ARELLANO
FRANCISCO ARQUES
ISMAEL MUNOZ ARRIBAS
ALEKSANDAR ASENOV
ALVARO BALLESTEROS
EMILIO JOSE OLEAGA BELDARRAIN
JOSE CRESPO BELINCHON
MANUEL GARCIA BELINCHON
MIGUEL OJEDA BENITEZ
ANTONIO MARTINEZ BERRUEZO
RICARDO FERNANDEZ BERZAL
VICENT BIGEON
CAMILLE BLANC
HECTOR BLANCO
FEDERICO PERAL BLAZQUEZ
BASTIAN BLUEM
DESIRE LEONTINE MARC BOUWMAN
JAY BOYCE
JOAO BRITO
CHRISTIAN EUGEN BROX
RICARDO FERNANDEZ CALLEJA
DAVID ESPEJO CAMARA
RAFAEL AMADOR CANOIRA
ENRIQUE JOSE GARCIA CARNEROS
JUAN CARLOS COSTAL CARREIRO
SANTIAGO FORTET CASTELLO
JOSE MANUEL GUIJARRO CENAMOR
JOSE LUIS LOPEZ CESTAO
RAFAEL GARCIA CHACON
MARTIN CHRISTENSEN
DANIEL FAERNA CLEMARES
ROBERTO GARCIA-ANTON CLERIGO
VALDIR SANTOS CORDEIRO
GABRIEL JOSE PERAL COSTAS
GORDON JOSEF CROSS
MISCHA RUDOLF DANKERT
ANTONIO DASCENZO
MIGUEL ANGEL LOPEZ DE LAS HUERTAS DE LA CAL
LUIS AGUILERA DE LA OLIVA
SERGIO DEL CORRAL
FERNANDO ESCRIBANO DELCORRAL
YANIRA GARCIA DELGADO
FIDEL MOMO DELGADO
JULIO CLAUDIO DIAZ
DIMITAR DIMITROV
DIETMAR DOERING
JUAN CARLOS SANTOS DOMINGUEZ
CASPAR GABRIEL ENGELIEN
THEOPHILUS ANTONIUS ERKAMPS
FRANCISCO MANUEL MORALES ESTEBAN
RONNIE EXPENSEN
AUREA BLANCO FERNANDEZ
GUILLERMO RODRIGUEZ FERNANDEZ
FRANCISCO JOSE ARENAS FERNANDEZ
MIGUEL MENENDEZ FERNANDEZ
FERNANDO MANUEL ALVARO FERNANDEZ
JOSE PIRE FERNANDEZ
PABLO FERNANDEZ-BALDOR
MIGUEL PEDRO FERREIRA RATO
CARLOS CARDAS FIAT
CANDIDO ROSALES FRANCO
DANIEL JARO FRESNEDA
DANIEL PIÑA FRESNEDA
JOSEP MARIA LOPEZ GALINDO
LUIS FERNANDO MARTINEZ GARCIA
JAVIER BERMEJO GARCIA
ROBERTO SANTIAGO GARCIA
CESAR DEL BARRIO GARCIA
JOSE RAMON RODRIGUEZ GARCIA
JUAN PEDRO ARIÑO GARCIA
CESAR DOMINGUEZ GARCIA
JERRY GERARDO
BERNHARD HERBERT GERDEMANN
MARCOS MIGUEL MONTEIRO GOMES
INOCENTE BORDONADO GOMEZ
ANGEL PALMERO GOMEZ
JOSE MANUEL REBENAQUE GOMEZ
DAVID GOMEZ
ANGEL RAMON RINCON GOMEZ
HECTOR MARTINEZ GONZALEZ
ANTONIO GONZALEZ
JAVIER ESCRIÑA GORGOLAS
IGNACIO ESTEBAN CARBAJO GUERRA
JAIME CORTAZAR GUINEA
DAVID GOMEZ GUTIERREZ
WEIDER JOSE GUTIERREZ
RUBEN PEREJA GUZMAN
ROBERT HAIGH
HATEM HAMMAMI
MARCUS HEIN
WOLFRAM HENKE
GREGORIO ALONSO HERNANDEZ
ALEJANDRO MEDRANO HERRANDO
JUAN PEDRO PALOMO HERRANZ
VICTOR VILLALBA HERREZUELO
SANTIAGO ROMERO HOLGUIN
MARK HOLT
LIRONG YU HU
JARI PEKKA HURRI
JACOB IRSBERG
BALAZS JABLONKAI
KAMIL JAMROZ
NAT JARMONTHAVAT
RADEK JASANSKY
KAMIL ADRIAN JEDRZEJCZYK
HEIKO JOSEF KENNING
UWE KOCK
LOTHAR KOCK
DANIEL KORCZAK
TEODOR KRASTEV
DANIEL KRAUS
THOMAS LANE
SERGIO ALARCON LAZARO
FILIPA LEMOS
ANTONIO LEMOS
NIKOLAOS LIAKOS
GERT LOFGREN
ALBERTO CHAOS LOPEZ
JOSE LUIS ROCHA LOPEZ
ENRIQUE ONETO LOPEZ
MARCOS GONZALEZ LOPEZ
FRANCISCO JAVIER CORDON LOPEZ
ALEJANDRO MARTIN LUCIA
SUMARA WOJCIECH MACIEJ
RAUL SANCHEZ MAGDALENO
ANDREAS MARAGKOUDAKIS
AINHIZE CAYERO MARCOS
ALVARO NADAL MARINO
IVAN VALENTIN MARTIN
JUAN JOSE MIRANDA MARTIN
JAVIER SAINZ MARTIN
FERNANDO BLANCO MARTIN
ISAIAS VALVERDE MARTINEZ
MARIA DE LA SOLEDAD DEL BARRIO MARTINEZ
KAJETAN MASIWEICZ
THOMAS MELLINGER
KAMLESH NANAKRAN NANAKRAN MELLWANI
FRANCISCO LUIS MENDEZ
IGNACIO MENENDEZ
TONI MERIVUORI
THOMAS MERVED
ANDRZEJ MIGALA
JAVIER SANCHEZ MIGUEL
RAFAEL GARCIA PATRON MINGUEZ
ANGELOV MIROSLAV
JAVIER PEÑA MONJA
JESUS MONTESINOS MONTES
DAVID SANCHEZ MONTORO
MIGUEL JESUS VICO MORENO
KJER MORTEN
FELIX CASTRO MOTA
ENMMANUEL COBOS MOYA
ARMANDO MUÐOZ-CALERO
TIBOR JANOS NAGYGYORGY
CONSUELO MARCOS NAVARRO
LARS KARL NEUJEFFSKI
MARTIN NIELSEN
MARIUSZ KAMIL NISKI
JUAN MANUEL AGUDO ORTEGA
JAIME DE LEJARAZU ORTIZ
JAVIER LOPEZ PALACIOS
PANTELIS PALIOUDAKIS
KAMIL ADAM PALUSZKIEWICZ
RAFAEL LAVIANA PARRA
JOSE MANUEL ROMAN PEREZ
FRANCISCO DIAZ PEREZ CARBALLO
JOAQUIN LECHUGA PINAR
ATTILA PINTER
DAVID PISHVAFAR
JAGODA PIWOWARCZYK
JUAN CARLOS RUEDA PLACER
PINO POPOLO
SUSANNE POSNY
JOAQUIN GANGA POVEDA
FRANCISCO JAVIER RUBIO QUINTANA
JYRI TOIVO ILMARI RASANEN
ALEJANDRO GUTIERREZ RODRIGO
WASHINGTON LUIZ DO PRADO RODRIGUES
DAVID LAMAS RODRIGUEZ
JOSE LUIS ESPADAS RODRIGUEZ
MIGUEL ANGEL BERMUDEZ RODRIGUEZ
OMAR OCAMPO RODRIGUEZ
ERNESTO GONZALEZ ROSENDO
JESUS CALZADA RUILOBA
VALERIANO RUBIO RUIZ
JOSE LUIS CRUZ RUIZ
JOSE LUIS GIL RUJAS
ALFONSO LOPEZ SAIZ
JAIME SANCHEZ
JOSE MARIA GARCIA SANCHEZ
ALVARO VELASCO SANTAMARIA
LUIS FERNANDO MARTIN SANTILLAN
CHRISTIAN SCHULZ
ABRAHAM GIL SERRANO
MARCOS SERRANO
JORGE GOMEZ SIMONET
ARKADIUSZ SINKIEWICZ
JOSE MARIA GARCIA SOMOLINOS
HENRIK WILHEM SUTTINGER
BARTLOMIEJ SWIEBODA
JAKUB FRANCISZEK SZCZOTKA
LUIS TAVARES MACHADO
JOSE MANUEL DE CARVALHO TELES
SRINIVASAN THAVARAJAH
SUTHARJAN THAVARAJAH
FRANCISCO JOSE HERMOSO TORRES
DIMITRIOS TYCHALAS
PABLO JAVIER MARTINEZ UBIERNA
LUIS MARTINEZ UBIERNA
JORGE PARDO UFANO
SCHRODER UWE
JAVIER ALFONSO LOPEZ VAZQUEZ
FRANCISCO JAVIER RUBIROSA VEIGA
DANIEL MARTIN VENTURA
JORGE PRIETO VILA
RICARDO ALONSO VILLACORTA
VITAL VILLARRUBIA
MAREK VISKAK
HELGE WARKOW
STEPHEN CHARLES WARNER
JEANS WEIGEL
MARCUS WESTHOFF
KALIN IVANOV YAKIMOV
RICARDO VIDARTE ZABALETA
JOSE NAVARRO ZABALLOS
HUIBING ZHENG
ADAM ZIARKIEWCS

Deja vu for you?

Funny how poker finds a way to renew old rivalries, bring friends together and bring back fond memories... well, some of them fond, at least.

Here at PPT Madrid we've been reminiscing about events past thanks to a few familiar faces sitting close by.

Bastian Bleum is one player hoping lightning doesn't strike twice, as he is sat one seat apart from PPT London nemesis Filipa Lemos (both pictured).

The sister of ParadisePoker pro Antonio 'Tony L' Lemos - who final tabled here last year - knocked Bastian out of the second leg of Season Two with the help of position she enjoys again tonight.

Meanwhile, Tour League leader Ronnie Espensen (pictured below right) has been randomly placed next to one of his travelling partners for the second straight Main Event.

Whether that gives the Danes an edge or blunts their aggressive streaks is yet to be seen, but after playing so well throughout Season Two, Ronnie may not need the help of his friends!

One man praying for that deja vu moment is 2010 runner-up Ricardo Calleja (pictured below left).

The Spaniard is back for another shot at the PPT and although he split the top prize with winner Miguel 'Miki' Rodriguez a year ago, he'll be after the trophy too this time around.

Morpheo keen to be 'the one'

Respected Spanish poker pro Pablo Ubierna did his piece for the ParadisePoker cameras just before the cards were in the air in Madrid, and he was looking forward to taking on the PPT field.

We can only assume the man known as 'Morpheo' online is a big Matrix fan, and he will be hoping to be the one holding the big cheque and PPT trophy by Sunday night.

"I think ParadisePoker is doing a great job with this tournament because it's a good structure and attracts players from all over Europe," he said.

"It's good to have such a good mix in Spain, with some pros out there but also plenty of fish!

"I'm planning on winning, of course, but I won't be going out spending if I win the top prize, that money would be reinvested in my bankroll and probably a trip to the World Series of Poker this summer."

Late registrations permitted

The relaxed atmosphere in the Spanish capital extends to the poker table, it seems, as the locals continue to filter in despite the play starting a short time ago.

The cardroom is slowly filling up (and we should mention there have been some severe traffic delays this evening), but we won't have our final field total until the first break in three hours time.

That interval in play (at approx 22.15 blog time) will be the Fantasy Poker deadline too, so there's still plenty of time register your team!

As always, simply post your three selections (real names please!) as a comment along with your ParadisePoker username.

The PPT blog understands there have been a few technical problems with the comments today, so you can always tweet your team to @ParadisePoker instead. You can find us at http://twitter.com/#!/paradisepoker

Good luck!

Calm before the storm

We're closing in on the first deal back in the Gran Casino Madrid and while the heavens open outside, the dealers are awaiting the rush of players due any minute.

It's far brighter indoors courtesy of the black cloud, thunder and lightning outside, but once the clock starts our players will be in a poker Paradise.

Right now the growing field are registering upstairs and will soon join the casino staff and gathered media in the cardroom.

We'll pick out the familiar faces regular PPT blog readers will have come to know once play gets under way, but for now, here's at a peek at the calm before the storm!

More fantasy pickings...

A few more names to add to the online qualifier list below, including PPT regulars António Lemos, Joao Brito and Thomas Merved.

Also among them is ParadisePoker Tour League leader Ronnie Espensen, who naturally has proved a popular Fantasy Poker pick in Season Two!

Players

António Lemos
Filipa Lemos
José Cerqueira
Joao Brito
Daniel Fresneda Piña
Bastian Bluem
Jens Weigel
Ronnie Espensen
Thomas Merved
Jesus Montes
Pablo Ubierna
Luis Ubierna Martinez
Ismael Arribas Muñoz
Jose Maria Somolinos Garcia
Jacob Irsberg
Jyri Räsänen
Kajetan Masiewicz
Andrzej Migala
Bartłomiej Świeboda

Fantasy Poker - online qualifiers

The list will be updated closer to the start of the Main Event on Friday, but in the meantime, here are 98 online qualifiers from which to start picking your Fantasy Poker team!

In case you've forgotten, here's how it works:

1. Sign up for a ParadisePoker account (if you haven’t already got one!)
2. Pick three players from the list of entrants and post their full real names as a comment, along with your ParadisePoker username, here on the PPT blog
3. Make sure you do so before Friday's deadline, which is expected to be around 23.00 CEST
4. The top 50 finishers in the Main Event score Tour League points
5. And the highest scoring fantasy team wins the PPT prize package!

Players list

Manuel Belinchon Garcia
Heiko Kenning
Hector Gonzalez Martinez
Miguel Rato
Alejandro Rodrigo Gutierrez
Daniel Korczak
Guillermo Fernandez
Marek Viščak
Martin Nielsen
Jakub Szczotka
Nat Jarmonthavat
Isaias Martinez Valverde
Daniel Fresneda Jaro
Marcos Miguel Gomes Monteiro
Robert Král
Attila Pintér
Tom Lane
Martin Soukup
Ruben Guzman Pareja
Kamil Paluszkiewicz
Joaquin Poveda Ganga
Maciej Sumara
Jose Fernandez Pire
Dimitrios Tychalas
Juan Herranz
Sol Martines
Gert Løfgren
Sergio Lazaro Alarcon
Caspar Engelien
Jose Luis Ruiz Cruz
Jay Boyce
Nikolaos Liakos
Lukáš Hájek
David Pishvafar
Javier Monja Peña
Adam Ziarkiewicz
Kamil Jędrzejczyk
Miguel Benitez Ojeda
Mariusz Niski
David Montoro
Andreas Maragoudakis
Arthur Sinkiewicz
Angel Gomez Palmero
Pantazidis Anestis
Thomas Bandias
Bo Erichsen
Tibor Boros
Kamil Jamroż
Miguel Castro Lago
Fernando Martin Blanco
Pantelis Palioudakis
Javier Garcia Bermejo
Jose Maria Sanchez Garcia
Christian Schulz
Jürgen Bachmann
Suse Posny
Marcus Westhoff
Steve Warner
Christian Brox
Lothar Kock
Bernhard Gerdemann
Lars Neujeffski
Doering Dietmar
Schröder Uwe
Tom Mellinger
Uwe Kock
Srinivasan Tavarajah
Hatem Hammami
Salim Alibas
Pino Popolo
Wolfram Henke
Sutharjan Tavarajah
Marcus Hein
Robert Haigh
Mischa Dankert
Fedja Kapetanovic
Mark Holt
Martin Christensen
Claus Uhrskov
Miroslav Angelov
Teodor Krastev
Aleksandar Asenov
Ina Damyanova
Petar Simeonov
Dimitar Dimitrov
Sven Karlson
Henrik Suttinger
Luís Machado
Jose Belinchon Crespo
Georges Tohme
Hanno Siegel
Toni Merivuori
Balázs Jablonkai
Jagoda Piwowarczyk
Branislav Baňas
Emilian Dimitrov Aleksandrov
Jari Hurri
Morten Kjær

Gran Casino Madrid looms

The ParadisePoker Tour hits Spain from tomorrow evening with the bumper €125,000 Guaranteed Main Event set to light up the Gran Casino Madrid.

The 2010 event will be remembered for the unstoppable charge of Miguel 'Miki' Rodriguez, as the local pro cleaned up at the final table to claim the big cheque and the PPT trophy.

This year promises even more action, with the increased prize pool in the Main Event coupled with Thursday night's Super Satellite (which starts at 20:00) and three further side events over the weekend.

You can follow all the action right here on the PPT blog and play Fantasy Poker - the free game where you could win a €1,100 prize package to Barcelona! Click for details.

A list of online qualifiers will be published here soon but if you already know three players set to pull up a chair in the Main Event, we're accepting Fantasy Poker entries now. Simply write your ParadisePoker username plus the players' real names as a comment below.

Good luck all!

PPT Madrid Schedule

Venue: Gran Casino Madrid, Spain
Date: April 28th – May 1st 2011

Super Satellite
Event date: Thursday April 28th, @ 20:00
Buy-in: €50 + €10
Starting chips: 2,000
Add ons: 4,000
Blind intervals: 20 min
Guaranteed seats: 15

€125,000 Guaranteed Main Event
Date: Friday April 29th – Sunday May 1st, 2011
Starting times:
•Day 1 - 20:00
•Day 2 - 17:00
•Day 3 - 17:00
Buy-in: €500 + €50
Starting chips: 15,000
Blind intervals: 60 min
Guaranteed Prize Pool: €125,000

Side Event 1
Event date: Saturday April 30th, 2011 @ 18:00
Game: NL Holdem Freezeout
Buy-in: €200+20
Starting chips: 8,000
Blind intervals: 30 min

Side Event 2
Event date: Sunday May 1st, 2011 @ 18:00
Game: Pot Limit Omaha
Buy-in: €150+€15
Starting chips: 8,000
Blind intervals: 30 min

Side Event 3 (Deep Turbo)
Event date: Sunday May 1st, 2011 @ 20:00
Game: NL Hold´em Freezeout
Buy-in: €100+€10
Starting chips: 20,000

ParadisePoker - a safe bet!

In light of recent developments in the poker world, ParadisePoker have made the following announcement:

ParadisePoker is one of the world's largest and safest online poker sites. The company is owned by Sportingbet, a UK FTSE 250 public listed company, and has been operating for over 11 years.

You can be certain that your money is safe with ParadisePoker. We currently have several great promotions, including the final satellites to the ParadisePoker Tour in Madrid and satellites to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Good luck at the tables and if you want to talk to us please email, start a live chat or call us, all contact details are on our website.

PPT Prague's tale

Whether you missed the ParadisePoker Tour Prague event altogether or just want to re-live our trip to the Czech Republic, the latest PPT video is now on YouTube.

I'm sure Tibor Boros would rather not watch as the topsy turvy final table is retold, while Luboš Galuška will also rue his missed opportunity watching Radoslav Průcha take down the €30k top prize.

Alongside interviews with regulars like Carlos Oliveira and Tommy Ahmedof, we like to think it's a decent watch.

Click to watch the PPT video now.

Enjoy!