Records broken in Vienna

The ParadisePoker Tour Vienna made waves earlier this month, breaking multiple records en route to paying €233,100 in prize money in the Austrian capital.

The Main Event field smashed its previous best of 272 entrants in London last November by dragging in 338 players - 38 more than the cardroom capacity!

The total prize pool was €169,000 and while a deal was struck at the final table, the big cheque started out Day 3 worth another record sum - €41,640.

Sincerest thanks from the PPT blog to all the players that helped make the third leg of Season Two such a success; just make sure you're in Prague from March 2nd-6th!

PPT Vienna - the facts
- 338 entered the Main Event, a new ParadisePoker Tour record
- That made it the largest €550 tournament (with one starting day) ever held in Austria
- 162 entered the €115 NL Hold'em side event
- 138 entered the €220 Bounty side event
- 59 entered the €115 Omaha Hi side event
- 72 entered the €220 NL Hold'em freezeout

Espensen hangs on to Tour League summit

Ronnie Espensen can breathe a sigh of relief after his ParadisePoker Tour League rivals failed to take advantage of his early exit in Vienna.

The Danish player, who made the final two tables in both Vilamoura and London, admitted he was concerned about close rival Paulo Calado (pictured) after losing his tournament life on Day 1 of the Austrian leg.

Entering Day 2 he looked right to be worried, as the Portuguese sat tenth in chips, with London winner Christos Xanthopoulos, Vilamoura runner-up Hugo Almeida and well-placed Joao Brito all in with a chance of overthrowing his advantage.

Three of the four hit the rail before the points, with Almeida in particular frustrated to lose the momentum just when it seemed he was in the ascendency, leaving only his compatriot Calado to make the points.

The luck was with Espensen, however, as Paulo's KK ran into pocket Aces to send him crashing out in 43rd place for a mere eight-point haul. So while the gap is closed to just seven points, Ronnie remains the man to beat as we turn our attentions to Prague.

1. Ronnie Espensen (Denmark) - 71
2. Paulo Calado (Portugal) - 64
3. Sérgio Almeida (Portugal) - 50
3. Christos Xanthopoulous (Greece) - 50
3. Gabor Skrinyar - 50 (Hungary)
6. Hugo Almeida (Portugal) - 49
6. Luis Rodrigues (Portugal) - 49
6. Alexander Freund - 49 (Austria)
9. Rene Knapp (Germany) - 48
9. Peter Csecsetka (Hungary) - 48
9. Sandor Levente (Hungary) - 48
12. Jim Reid (UK) - 47
12. Robert Haigh (Germany) - 47

Keeping up with the Jensens!

Fantasy poker returned to the PPT blog in Vienna and incredibly it was Johnny Jensen who kept the FP title in the family.

It was a close run competition for the €1,100 prize package to Prague, with multiple teams featuring players that hit the points - and three entrants picking players that made the final table!

Dvinyard - aka Jensen - poker$gyk and Janusthor 23 braced themselves for a nail-biting finish as Gøkmen Cetin and Robert Haigh duelled for PPT glory.

And with no team managing to pick two or more point-scoring players, the result rested solely on who would finish higher.

In the end it was German Haigh (pictured) who won the day for Johnny, going out in 4th after making a deal for €19,130, with Cetin relinquishing his stack in 8th.

ParadisePoker pro Jensen will now be freerolling all the way to the Card Casino in the Czech Republic, where he will have fond memories after his third-place finish in 2010. Congratulations Johnny!

PPT Vienna Fantasy Poker Results
1. Dvinyard - 47 points
2. Janusthor 23/poker$gyk - 43 points
3. TERRORFISH - 28 points

Skrinyar rides hot deck to victory

How does it feel to win the ParadisePokerTour Vienna Main Event?
It feels great, I'm very happy to have won it. I was really lucky along the way, I ran incredibly good - including five lots of pocket Aces on the final table that were paid off every time. I also won virtually every time I was all-in!

How does this rate in terms of your poker achievements?
I mainly play live cash games for a living so I play on a daily basis back in Hungary. I like to enter the big poker tour events though so I travel around Europe to play in various tournaments, but this is my biggest win. I have had some great nights playing cash however, where I've won a similar amount to the prize here.

You were chip leader coming into the final table, what was your strategy at that stage?
I knew there were at least two very strong tournament players at the table so I waited for a few of the short stacks to bust. I wanted to avoid getting into too many pots with the professional tournament players, as well as big multi-way pots, and it paid off in the end.

Later on Alexander Freund was playing extremely aggressively; was the strategy to get heads-up before taking him on?
I was waiting for big hands to play against Alexander and I think he respected me, because he wasn't three-betting or even calling when I raised.

You said at one point you were running so hot you could almost play any two cards and still win, so did it feel like you were always going to win the tournament?
I had a tough patch during Day 2 when several poor players doubled up against me, but I survived that period and then the cards turned in my favour.

So did you enjoy the PPT experience?
It was a great event with good organisation and structure, so I've really enjoyed the time here in Austria.

Victory pics - Vienna

Gabor puts the brakes on Freund to win PPT Vienna

Just as we thought Alexander Freund was on an inevitable march to victory in Vienna, the PPT Main Event threw up one last surprise as Gabor Skrinyar turned his chip disadvantage around.

The Hungarian high stakes pro had been chip leader as we entered the final table, and though he had maintained a respectable stack throughout, it seemed a distant memory as Freund ran the rest of the table ragged.

With the deal done, the chips flew in quickly and Skrinyar picked up A♦K♣ at just the right moment, dominating Freund's A6o and seizing the advantage.

It was enough to finish the job when they pair chose to ship again, as Gabor's K♠8♦ toppled his opponent's J9.

And so ends the ParadisePoker Tour Vienna! Thanks for all those following the PPT blog. An interview with our winner plus photos will follow soon, along with official fantasy poker results by Friday.

Done deal, two more depart

With the blinds still escalating and the fortunes of our players increasingly in the hands of Lady Luck, a deal was struck here in Vienna and our short stacks duly shipped their chips into the centre.

First to go was Robert Haigh (pictured); his pockets 4s losing out to Alexander Freund's J10 as his unstoppable rise in the Concord Card Casino continued.

In 3rd place was Sandor Levente, who was happy to go with any two with his stack making a tilt at the PPT trophy unlikely, and his J5 was bested by Freund's K3.

That sends us heads-up and only Gabor Skrinyar can now stop the home player from claiming the victory.

PPT VIENNA - DEAL
Alexander Freund, Austria - €34,190
Gabor Skrinyar, Hungary - €23,600
Robert Haigh, Germany - €19,130
Sandor Levente, Hungary - €17,980

Freund and Skrinyar leave rivals trailing

The latest chip count is in and unsurprisingly, Alexander Freund is the dominant chip leader, though Gabor Skrinyar is not too far behind.

The stacks most at risk are Robert Haigh and Sandor Levente, who have just 15 big blinds each.

CHIP COUNT
Alexander Freund, Austria - 1,210,00
Gabor Skrinyar, Hungary - 1,100,000
Sandor Levente, Hungary - 900,000
Robert Haigh, Germany - 400,000

Goliath strikes back; Czatkowski out in 5th

Dawid Czatkowski was once again the man to take on Alexander Freund and this time it cost him his tournament life, as the Austrian's luck proved as powerful as his aggressive streak.

Freund had been relentlessly raising his Polish rival and when he shoved pre-flop from the button, Czatkowski (pictured) looked down at QQ blind in the small bland insta-called.

The flop immediately dampened his enthusiam however, as the first card out was A♦ followed by 6♣6♥ on the flop, A♣ on the turn and river K♠.

It ended his PPT Main Event in 5th for a prize of €10,660, and the online qualifier even had room for a smile as he left the spotlight.

Prize money reminder - 1st €41,640 - 2nd €23,770 - 3rd €16,390 - 4th €13,110 - 5th €10,660

Freund gets aggressive to rebuild stack

Alexander Freund is the man driving the action on his home soil, raising the majority of pots and rapidly rebuilding his chip tower.

The last remaining native has been an accomplished blind and ante thief since being shown a bluff by Dawid Czatkowski some 45 minutes ago, and with 80,000 chips in the pot before a card is even dealt, the strategy looks to be paying off.

Czatkowski was the last man to stand firm against him, flipping J♣9♣ unimproved after a second barrel on the turn convinced Freund to make a significant fold, but the Pole has since lost a similar pot when the board came with four cards to the broadway straight.

Freund will not be slowed down regardless, as he continues to hold the momentum over his rivals.

Anton Ilsanker out in 6th, winning €8,200

Having already lost a chunk of his short stack to Gabor Skrinyar, Anton Ilsanker was always likely to be putting the rest of his chips into action, and it was a fellow German who put an end to his evening.

Robert Haigh faced a big decision in a pre-flop raised pot when the flop came a soaking wet 8♣9♣8♠ and Ilsanker shoved, but he came up with the call holding AA.

Anton (pictured) bowed his head when he saw his compatriot's hand, flipping his 2s and sighing as the 4♠ and 10♠ brought no help.

Prize money reminder - 1st €41,640 - 2nd €23,770 - 3rd €16,390 - 4th €13,110 - 5th €10,660

Dawid doubles through vs Goliath

Fresh from the break, Dawid Czatkowski is the man on the move, doubling up at the expense of now former chip leader Alexander Freund.

The Austrian had already seen his stack overtaken by Gabor Skrinyar as the Hungarian flopped trips, filled up on the turn and eventually got some value out of Anton Ilsanker when an Ace hit the river.

But Czatkowsi turned his small stack into a contender when the pair collided in a blind battle, his 88 crushing Freund's 44 pre-flop and holding up to even up their chip counts.

Latest chip count

The final table is on a quick break, giving the PPT blog the chance to get a more accurate assessment of the chips stacks, and Alexander Freund again leads the way.

Chip leader heading Day 3, the Austrian had been surpassed by several players before fighting his way back to the summit.

He edges Hungarian Gabor Skrinyar a for the chip lead, while Anton Ilsanker, Robert Haigh and Dawid Czatkowski are all hovering around the ten bbs mark.

Alexander Freund, Austria - 1,210,00
Gabor Skrinyar, Hungary - 1,100,000
Sandor Levente, Hungary - 900,000
Anton Ilsanker, Germany - 485,000
Robert Haigh, Germany - 400,000
Dawid Czatkowski, Poland - 396,000

Double blow for Haigh

Robert Haigh lost two pots in quick succession as two opponents took a significant bites out of his stack.

First the German pro raised from the button, got a call from big stack Alexander Freund and saw a draw-heavy 8♥9♥Q♣ flop dealt.

Freund check-called the CB and after the 9♣ earned checks from both players, the Austrian turned aggressor as J♣ hit the river. His 80,000 chip bet was enough to force Robert into folding.

The very next hand Haigh was on the wrong end of a pre-flopped raised pot again, as this time online qualifier Dawid Czatkowski check-raised all-in on a 4♦7♣K♦ flop having defended his big blind.

Haigh's cool exterior has shown no sign of cracking in the ensuing hands, but the double blow has edged him into dangerous territory nonetheless.

Sasa Budak finishes 7th, winning €6,560

After a lull in the action, Sasa Budak was the man to exit in 7th as his short stack could stand the 15,000/30,000 blinds plus 3,000 ante no more.

Alexander Freund had raised from the button with A8o and made a cheap call when Badak (pictured) shoved from the big blind with K♠6♠.

The flop looked harmless enough, bringing 4♥Q♣7♣, and the A♥ on the turn ended the shorter stack's hopes of survival.

Freund had earlier been chasing another scalp in ParadisePoker qualifier Dawid Czatkowski, but the young Pole came up trumps after shoving in the blind battle with J♦10♦.

Committed to the pot following a pre-flop raise, his Austrian rival got no help as the dealer flipped a 9♦7♦10♥-2♠-3♠ board to double Czatkowski through.

The final few

Play has slowed to a more typical pace as the final seven players try to outwit one another to hit their €40,000 target.

Robert Haigh continues to display his well-renowned talent, outmanouevring opponents with his calm, thoughtful approach.

The German has rarely showndown a hand of late, forcing a fold from Anton Ilsanker when the board ran 10♦Q♣J♣-7♦ and picking his spots to three-bet pre-flop.

Chip leader Gabor Skrinyar meanwhile has build a fearsome reputation on the back of a string of great hands.

"I've seen a lot of AK," he said, "But I'm going to start playing 72 because if I do, I'm pretty sure the flop will be 722 the way my luck is at the moment!"

Gøkmen out in 8th, winning €4,920

Gøkmen Cetin finally met his match on the final table of the PPT Vienna, as having nursed his short stack for some time, the Dane exited in 8th position.

The time move was when he looked down at KJo, but yet another A♥K♥ in the hand of red hot Gabor Skrinyar had him dominated with his chips in the centre.

The 10♦Q♥J♠ flop may not have completely ended the contest, but the roard from Skrinyar was enough to make it feel done and dusted. So it proved.

"I'm happy with the way I played so it's ok," Gøkmen (pictured) told the PPT blog, "I was a short stack for a long time so I had to go all-in eventually.

"I've really enjoyed the event though, especially when I doubled up in back-to-back hands on Day 2 with KK and then AK - that was amazing!"

With Robert Haigh still pressing his claim to PPT glory here in the Concord Card Casino, early indications suggest Dvinyard has won the second fantasy poker game.

Final confirmation of fantasy poker results will be published on the blog later in the week.

Prize money reminder - 1st €41,640 - 2nd €23,770 - 3rd €16,390 - 4th €13,110 - 5th €10,660 - 6th €8,200 - 7th €6,560

Relentless pace continues; down to eight

Barely out of the starting blocks and we're two players down at the final table - you might call it Rapid Vienna!

Anthony Ghamrawi was out within a few hands, shoving pre-flop with his A♠K♥ only to see his confidence shattered as Robert Haigh picked up KK and added to his stack, as well as his momentum.

Ghamrawi looked despondent as he walked away, but will be comforted by the €2,130 he receives for the 10th-place finish.

Milan Zaric was hot on his heels as two more big hands collided. The Austrian pushed over the top of Hungarian chip leader Gabor Skrinyar's pre-flop raise with JJ and got a call from AKo.

The flop quickly put him out of his misery, coming out AK9, and there was no miracle on the turn and river to save him. Zaric earns €3,280 for his efforts.

Final table chip count

Gabor Skrinyar is our chip leader after winning a series of huge hands throughout Day 3, but can he make it count?

Gabor Skrinyar, Hungary - 990,000
Anton Ilsanker, Germany - 763,000
Alexander Freund, Austria - 713,000
Sandor Levente, Hungary - 660,000
Robert Haigh, Germany - 600,000
Sasa Budak, Austria - 308,000
Milan Zaric, Austria - 285,000
Dawid Czatkowski, Poland - 227,000
Anthony Ghamrawi, Austria - 218,00
Gökmen Cetin, Denmark - 157,000

Prize money reminder - 1st €41,640 - 2nd €23,770 - 3rd €16,390 - 4th €13,110 - 5th €10,660 - 6th €8,200 - 7th €6,560 - 8th €4,920 - 9th €3,280 - 10th-12th €2,130

Klein and Eske exits take us to final

German duo David Klein and Christoph Eske busted out in 12th and 11th respectively to send the PPT Vienna to final table.

It was perennial Day 3 short stack Klein who went just seconds before his compatriot, finally succumbing to a bad beat after making quite the comeback.

Down to 2.5bbs on Day 2, the German started the final day with the shortest stack of 59,000 chips, but lasted until 12th-place and a €2,130 payday.

Eske followed within seconds, having been a short stack himself for quite some time. He got it all-in with J♦9♦ vs the A♠Q♠ of Milan Zaric.

The flop brought hope for both men as the dealer rolled 7♠9♠8♦ but the K♠ on the turn settled matters.

Final table chip count to follow.

Prize money reminder - 1st €41,640 - 2nd €23,770 - 3rd €16,390 - 4th €13,110 - 5th €10,660 - 6th €8,200 - 7th €6,560 - 8th €4,920 - 9th €3,280 - 10th-12th €2,130

Csaba Racz out in 13th, winning €1,800

Csaba Racz is our 13th place finisher after being knocked out by compatriot Gabor Skrinyar.

Gabor has been going from strength to strength on Day 3, having taken Vladislav Suravin's stack early on, and he took another tournament life as he clashed with Csaba.

The pot had been three-bet by the time the dealer flipped a K♦J♦6♠ flop and after Skrinyar shoved, his fellow Hungarian made the call and showed K♥Q&hearts. It was second best to A♦A♠ however and Racz crashed out.

Elsewhere Robert Haigh put Milan Zaric on the brink with an expertly played hand.

The German pro called Zaric pre-flop from the small blind and check-raised when it came Q♦3♣5♥. His opponent gave it some deep thought before calling off 60,000 chips in total.

The turn 4♦ was checked and the river 4♦ brought another bet from Zaric, who mucked as Haigh picked off the bluff and showed Q♣J♦.


Prize money reminder - 1st €41,640 - 2nd €23,770 - 3rd €16,390 - 4th €13,110 - 5th €10,660 - 6th €8,200 - 7th €6,560 - 8th €4,920 - 9th €3,280 - 10th-12th €2,130

Robert makes hay in fantasy challenge

The battle for fantasy poker honours looks to have swung in Dvinyard's favour as Robert Haigh builds a big stack at the Concord Card Casino.

The German has been in impressive form so far, so much so that even a bad beat could only put him back on the near 400,000 average stack.

Haigh had Sandor Levente trapped for all his chips pre-flop with K♥K♣ vs 7♦8♦, but after the Hungarian paired on a J♥10♦7♥ flop, a turned 7♣ ensured he stayed alive at Robert's expense.

Fantasy rival Gøkmen Cetin meanwhile is now below the average with 225,000 chips, giving cause to concern for both Janusthor 23 and his own (poker$gyk) teams.

With around 18 big blinds to work with, he will be looking to make his move soon, but after riding the roller coaster through Day 2, there's no predicting Gøkmen!

Hats off to PPT

Fancy winning a ParadisePoker branded hat? We’re conducting a little market research here on Day 3 of the PPT Vienna and we’d like you to give us your views.

All you have to do is pick your favourite hat from the four pictured, post your answer as a comment on the blog and you’ll automatically enter a draw to win one.

Let’s call them hats 1-4 for ease, with hat 1 the blue style on the left-hand side of the picture.

Five lucky winners will be picked at random from the entries given here before 23.59 GMT on Monday, January 17th and announced later in the week.

So do prefer a flat peak or curved? Baby blue or midnight black? Just give us your answer now and you could soon be sporting the Paradise logo in style.

Suravin accepts blame as four more fall

There's been no hanging around here at the Concord Card Casino, as four more players have exited the Main Event in quick succession.

First to go was Vladislav Suravin (pictured) and he was swiftly followed by Hungarian pair Andras Stumpf and Adam Szalai, as the cards showed no mercy to shorter stacks.

Stumpf had lost a coin flip against Milan Zaric to leave him in all-in or fold mode and the end came quickly.

Players have been dropping so quickly it's been tough for the PPT blog to keep up! However, we can tell you Martin Aigner also headed to the rail a short time ago, leaving us with 13 players and closing in on the final table.

The man who sparked the exodus accepted he only had one person to blame for his rapid decline from second in chips to 17th-place finisher.

"It's not a good day for me because I only have myself to blame," Suravin told the PPT blog, "I played that KJ (see earlier post for full hand details) poorly so it's my fault.

"I bet so much on the flop that I had his range at being AK, AQ or maybe a pair smaller than my Jacks, but against that player, I should have folded pre-flop.

"I'm really frustrated myself because I made a big mistake and missed the chance to win this event."

Prize money reminder - 1st €41,640 - 2nd €23,770 - 3rd €16,390 - 4th €13,110 - 5th €10,660 - 6th €8,200 - 7th €6,560 - 8th €4,920 - 9th €3,280 - 10th-12th €2,130 - 13th-15th €1,800

Early fireworks at the Concord

We have lost our first player on Day 3 of the PPT Vienna Main Event, as Erwin Hammer ran his short stack into pocket Kings.

Anton Ilsanker was the baby-faced assassin, shooting down Hammer's 88 with his cowboys. The board brought little drama for the dominant pair, falling 5♦A♦10♠-3♠-K♠.

Elsewhere, Vladislav Suravin just can't keep out of the action hands and while many of them have gone his way this weekend, the Russian doubled up his opponent this time.

Hungarian Gabor Skrinyar was the beneficiary as all the money went in on a 10♥4♣J♦-2♦ board.

Suravin exposed his K♣J♠ after Skrinyar snap-called his turn raise all-in and the latter let out a cry of victory as the river 7♦ ensured his Q&heartsQ♠ held up.


Prize money reminder - 1st €41,640 - 2nd €23,770 - 3rd €16,390 - 4th €13,110 - 5th €10,660 - 6th €8,200 - 7th €6,560 - 8th €4,920 - 9th €3,280 - 10th-12th €2,130 - 13th-15th €1,800 - 16th-18th €1,480

Final day all set

This is the trophy our final 18 players will be vying for today - as well as that oversized cheque worth a cool €41,640.

Blinds will start at 4,000-8,000 with an 800 ante and the average stack is a little over 280,000.

The native Austrians lead the way with six players remaining, nearby Hungary has five representatives and Germany has four players still in the mix.

Poland, Denmark and Russia cling to a last hope of snatching the prize however, and eyes will be fixed on the Concord Card Casino until the chips are won.

Any readers got a hunch on which player will lift the PPT Vienna trophy tonight?



Prize money reminder - 1st €41,640 - 2nd €23,770 - 3rd €16,390 - 4th €13,110 - 5th €10,660 - 6th €8,200 - 7th €6,560 - 8th €4,920 - 9th €3,280 - 10th-12th €2,130 - 13th-15th €1,800 - 16th-18th €1,480

Fantasy poker: The shootout

Just two fantasy poker selections remain in the Main Event and with TERRORFISH exiting the competition along with Toni Merivuori, three teams are vying for the €1,100 prize package to Prague.

Two entrants invested in the talents of Gøkmen Cetin and it is the Dane who leads the way with 393,000 chips, largely accumulated in a huge hand in the final levels of Day 2.

Janusthor 23 and Cetin himself, under the guise of nickname poker$gyk, will be hoping he can earn a winning score.

In keeping with fantasy poker rules, the entrants would then be forced to play heads-up for the prize on ParadisePoker.com, with the winner earning his buy-in plus €550 to spend on the next Season Two leg.

Dvinyard – aka Johnny Jensen – could yet follow in his mother’s footsteps after Susanne won the inaugural fantasy poker game at the London event.

The ParadisePoker pro backed PPT regular Robert Haigh (pictured) to bring home the points, and while the German player battled to keep his head above water for much of the competition, the momentum finally swung his was on Day 2.

Haigh could yet be dangerous now he has some 247,000 chips to work with, so the shootout is on for Vienna’s fantasy poker crown. Cetin or Haigh – who are you backing?

Freund tops the chip count ahead of Day 3

Native player Alexander Freund leads from the front as we prepare for Day 3 of the ParadisePoker Tour Main Event here in Vienna.

The Austrian-born has over 10% of the total chips in play, compared to just 1% owned by the shortest stack in the room, David Klein, but is the only player from the host nation in the top six.

Having entered Day 2 second in chips, Vladislav Suravin repeats the trick after repeatedly getting involved at the heart of the action, while Pole Dawid Czatkowski and Germans Christoph Eske and Anton Ilsanker complete the top five.

There has been a strong Hungarian presence throughout the tournament, so seeing five players from across the nearby border is no great surprise, while Gøkmen Cetin is the only remaining Dane in the field.

CHIP COUNT
Alexander Freund, Austria - 581300
Vladislav Suravin, Russia - 434200
Christoph Eske, Germany - 416700
Anton Ilsanker, Germany - 416200
Dawid Czatkowski, Poland - 394900
Gøkmen Cetin, Denmark - 393000
Anthony Ghamrawi, Austria - 339400
Csaba Racz, Hungary - 268300
Sandor Levente, Hungary - 267600
Andras Stumpf, Hungary - 258200
Robert Haigh, Germany - 247100
Gabor Skrinyar, Hungary - 243000
Milan Zaric, Austria - 196100
Sasa Budak, Austria - 159600
Adam Szalai, Hungary - 146000
Martin Aigner, Austria - 143500
Erwin Hammer, Austria - 108600
David Klein, Germany – 59600

Prize money reminder - 1st €41,640 - 2nd €23,770 - 3rd €16,390 - 4th €13,110 - 5th €10,660 - 6th €8,200 - 7th €6,560 - 8th €4,920 - 9th €3,280 - 10th-12th €2,130 - 13th-15th €1,800 - 16th-18th €1,480

Day 2 ends with 18 still in play

Our eventual winner will have to negotiate two tables on Day 3 of the ParadisePoker Tour Vienna, as play came to a close with the departure of the 19th-placed finisher.

Markus Stöger, Ales Zahradnitz, Ferenc Horvath and finally Claus Uhrskov followed Toni Merivuori out the Concord Card Casino door and so brought the night to a close.

A full chip count will follow before the start of Sunday's play, which shuffles up and deals at 3pm CET, along with the fantasy poker implications.

But for now, it's goodnight from the PPT blog.

Toni out in 23rd

TERRORFISH lament; your star player has been eliminated from the PPT Vienna, leaving you trailing in fantasy poker.

Toni Merivuori's survival grind finally came to an end with a 23rd place finish, which earned him a €1,150 cheque to go with the €864 and 6th-place finish he secured in Side Event 1 on Thursday.

The Finn (pictured) had looked capable of repeating that final table appearance in the Main Event on Day 1, quickly rising to big stack status, but Day 2 proved more difficult as he flirted with the exit for some time.

Eventually he was forced to shove with A9 utg to dodge the Level 18 4000/8,000 blinds plus 800 ante and was called by a gleeful A10.

Other players to join Toni in departing the €550 buy-in event are Gabor Nagy, Daniel Dankelmann, Zoltan Szabo and Vural Öcalan.

Prize money reminder - 1st €41,640 - 2nd €23,770 - 3rd €16,390 - 4th €13,110 - 5th €10,660 - 6th €8,200 - 7th €6,560 - 8th €4,920 - 9th €3,280 - 10th-12th €2,130 - 13th-15th €1,800 - 16th-18th €1,480 - 19th-27th €1,150

A cash prize reminder

The PPT blog has just realised we haven't printed the prize structure since Day 1, so here's a little reminder for those of you with eyes for the prize money.

With 24 players now remaining, each is guaranteed at least €1,150, but even the shortest stacks will be dreaming about that €41,640 payday.

Prize Structure
1st €41,640
2nd €23,770
3rd €16,390
4th €13,110
5th €10,660
6th €8,200
7th €6,560
8th €4,920
9th €3,280
10th-12th €2,130
13th-15th €1,800
16th-18th €1,480
19th-27th €1,150
28th-36th €980

Haigh, Cetin and Merivuori battle for fantasy glory

There may yet be a twist in the fantasy poker tale, but one thing is certain, PPT regulars Robert Haigh, Toni Merivuori and Gøkmen Cetin will all have a crucial part to play.

The trio are leading their teams deep into the ParadisePoker Tour points here in Vienna, putting Dvinyard, TERRORFISH, Janusthor 23 and poker$gyk firmly in contention for the €1,100 prize package to Vienna.

After grinding for hours, German Haigh doubled through to around 220,000 chips with AQ vs 88. Meanwhile, PPT League 1 winner Merivuori has been surviving in his typical style, sitting short of the average on 110,000, but cannot be written off after proving a model of consistency in Season One.

Dane Cetin (pictured before his rush) was the biggest stack overnight and has twice the equity in the Main Event, having backed himself in his own fantasy team! He looked to have faded late in the day, but a sudden burst of action has propelled him back among the big stacks.

First his AK doubled through against 88 when his life was on the line, before a second big pot - this time with the biggest stack at the table - saw him surpass 340,000 chips.

An aggressive exchange had Gøkmen on his feet, high-fiving his supporters as his K♦K♠ held up against A♠Q♥ after all the money went in pre-flop.

Almost a PPT miracle; almost

The usual rush of blood to the head and chips to the middle has followed our burst bubble, and several more players have quickly joined Attila Tarko on the rail.

Among them is 28th-place fnisher Zoltan Beni, who very nearly completed our very own chip and a chair miracle after going on an incredible sequence.

The PPT looked over for Beni when his KQ ran into AQ to leave him with less than the 500 ante, but it only served to spark his amazing run back up to 50,000 chips.

"It was just a joke," he laughed, "I had about 45,000 chips when I went all-in and lost. The blinds were 2,500/5,000 plus a 500 ante but I got it back to more than my 45,000!

"I won with a 6-2, an 8-6 and I think the best hand I had during that time was something like Q7. Eventually my luck ran out though as my pocket fours lost to AQ.

"I thought I was going to come back and win it until then," grinned the Hungarian qualifier, "But I've had a lot of fun, it's been great."

The other players to make their exit since the bubble burst are Georg Rogakis, Balazs Csermely, Dezso Schmidt, Joszef Döbrei, Balazs Csermely, Peter Karall and Florian Schleps.

Congratulations/commiserations

Our bubble has burst quick time here in Vienna and the unfortunate player to finish in 37th place is Hungarian player Attila Polner, much to the delight of the remaining field.

It took just three hands to determine the bubble boy's identity and it was action magnet Vladislav Suravin who dealt the killer blow on the table of death. The Russian had raised pre-flop, Polner called and both men liked the 9♠5♥3♥ flop.

There was little delay in the fireworks, as Suravin shoved to protect his overpair and Polner (pictured) gave it only a few moments before calling with the nut flush draw plus overcards.

His A♥Q♥ could find none of its out however, as the 4♣ and 4♦ fell to end his evening one place short of a payday.

Congratulations to the 36 who remain, who are now guaranteed at least €980 to make it a profitable trip to the Concord Card Casino this weekend.

Facing the bubble

Short stacks feel the collective shudder as we enter the dreaded bubble, with just three more eliminations before it bursts.

We all know the pain of narrowly missing the money, so expect some tense looks in the pictures below...

Quick fantasy update

We're into the points now with just 40 players remaining in the PPT Main Event at the Concord Card Casino, so here's a quick chip count for some key players.

Robert Haigh - 100,000
Toni Merivuori - 120,000
Gøkmen Cetin - 150,000

Out
Paulo Calado (8 points)
Hugo Almedia
David Pishvafar
Filipa Lemos

Calado swiftly follows as luck deserts Portuguese

Having seen his good friend Hugo Almeida miss out on the money, Paulo Calado joined him in lamenting what might have been as the table of death struck again.

Calado suffered the classic Aces vs Kings scenario, getting it all in pre-flop with cowboys, only to find an opponent with the bullets to end his tournament life.

It also ends the fantasy poker chances of RugbyWolf, who had looked a strong favourite to win the game at the start of Day 2.

Having seen Almeida miss the points by a hair's breadth, his team was left in tatters at Caldao's 43rd place finish, which means he scores just eight points towards his total.

The sudden exit also has an impact on the PPT League, where no man will be celebrating the demise of Calado than Ronnie Espensen.

The Dane is guaranteed to remain ahead of his Portuguese foe at least, but will have to wait and see if any other players can surpass his current 71-point total.

Bizarre hand costs Hugo - and fantasy duo

Hugo Almeida put a big dent in some high-flying fantasy poker teams as he dramatically missed out on the Tour League points in Vienna.

The talented Portuguese (pictured) had been at the centre of our three leading teams and only a short time before his demise, had 90,000 chips to play with.

Much revolved around a strange hand which prompted much discussion and left Almeida puzzled. Hugo had called a pre-flop raise from the button with A♥5♥ and saw the dealer flip J-5-3.

The action was checked around and the turn brought a 4, as well as a miscued bet from the pre-flop aggressor. Having picked up his chips with the attention of betting 6,000, the villain in Hugo’s tale realised his mistake, tried to put chips back, then followed through with the near pot size bet anyway.

It was enough of a tell for Almeida to put him on a range containing plenty of air, convincing him sufficiently to call another when a seemingly unimportant Queen hit the river. However, Lady Luck was smiling on his rival, who rolled Q6 for a busted straight draw turned top pair.

It signalled the beginning of the end for RugbyWolf and jacek2121’s man, as a few hands later he ran into AK to ensure his PPT Vienna bid ran aground within a few places of the top 50.

“I’m frustrated for sure,” Hugo told the PPT blog, “Because when you’re playing well and the luck isn’t with you, it’s really hard to take. I made the right decision but it wasn’t to be."

Suravin delights in cracked Aces

Vladislav Suravin rose above the mortal chip stacks in the room following a dramatic couple of hours, cracking Aces to fire him back among the leaders.

The Russian (pictured) has certainly seen some action today, but none more so than the hand which caused his to cry out in jubilation, turning heads throughout the Concord Card Casino.

Three limpers had made the pot attractive to Suravin's 56o, and even with a raise behind, two further calls made it too enticing not to continue.

The move certainly paid off, as having flopped two pair on a 5♥6&spadesQ♦ board, he got it all-in against a slow-played pair of Aces and cheered his hand on to victory.

"I started the day second in chips and have been up as high as 270,000, but I lost two big hands to put me back at the average," he told the PPT blog only a short time before his big hand.

"I won with QQ vs 99 when we ended up all in on a 6-7-8 flop. It didn't last long though, as I lost with both AQ and AK in quick succession.

"I hit top pair top kicker on the turn with my AQ, but managed to lay it down on the river and my opponent showed two pair, while the big slick ran into Aces.

"Obviously I'm going to try and build my stack up again by keeping to my tight-aggressive game," added the Russian player at the last break, "There are at least three really big stacks on my table so I can't play too loose, especially as some of them call with a wide range."

Sikova sent to the rail

The table of death has claimed a high profile victim, as overnight chip leader Jaroslaw Sikova let his aggressive streak get him into trouble.

The Pole (pictured) had been whittled down to around half the stack he brought to the table at 3pm CET, through a combination of mistimed bluffs and misfortune, but his luck ran out entirely as he went down in a huge pot.

It was the player in seat 1 who raised and called Jaroslaw's 3-bet OOP before the flop fell A-K-x. He then check-called all three streets as a Q and 10 followed, luring the free-firing Sikova into putting all his chips in the centre.

Flipping the nut straight, he forced the one-time monster stack to muck his hand and walk away from his chance to win a share of the €169,000.

Table of Death

The seat draw has been particularly unkind to PPT League 1 winner Toni Merivuori as the Finn seeks to return to form, as three of the biggest stacks in the room have created what we're labelling - the table of death!

Sitting directly to Toni's right is Istvan Hitter, whose pyramid of chips as only grown as the day progressed, while overnight leader Jaroslaw Sikova occupies Seat 4.

Either side of the dealer was Vladislav Suravin, whose own momentum shows little sign of abating after claiming another scalp with QQ just moments ago, and Hungarian Skrinyak Gabor, who has some 130,000 at his disposal.

With position on his side, Merivuori has stabilised at around 52,000 chips, but it is only a matter of time before he tangles with a monster stack.

Could the Sunday's winner emerge from such a strong line-up?

Update - Paulo Calado has now been moved to the table. Wow.

Gøkmen up and down in PPT bid

Gøkmen Cetin just refuses to relinquish his sizeable PPT stack here in Vienna, as having had his Aces cracked by a rivered two pair, the Dane set about rebuilding to close to the 100,000 mark.

Cetin (pictured) is the shining hope for two remaining fantasy poker teams and if his efforts today are anything to go by, poker$gyk and Janusthor 23 can trust their man to give it his all.

He would only go as far as revealing he had "bluffed his way" back to the hefty chip stack with which he started the day, but it seemed to be working.

Toni Merivuori has also put in a decent day's work so far, having doubled up with 10s vs 9s early on, but is now contending with one of the tournament monster stacks to his right.

Paulo Calado seems to be in cautious mood as we edge closer to the points, merely taking down sporadic pots unchallenged thanks to his tight image.

Day 2 has not been so kind to Susanne Jensen, however, who is among our victims, as is Christos Xanthopoulos, whose brave fight came to an end just moments ago.

Level 12, which includes 1000-2000 blinds and a 200 ante, is currently eating away at the stacks of our 73 remaining players.

London champion clinging to tournament life

Despite earlier reports that our most recent ParadisePoker Tour winner was out, Christos Xanthopoulos is still in the Vienna Main Event… just.

The Greek player came into Day 2 with just over 20,000 chips, just half the average, so he always had a tough assignment in keeping hopes of a first back-to-back PPT win alive.

And with a flurry of hands that have gone against him, Christos is almost down to a chip and chair.

First up was a mistimed bet that saw his opponent check-raise all in on a J♣A♣Q♠ flop and force him to fold with just 17,500 chips behind.

Things rapidly got worse as a three-bet shove out the majority of his stack at risk against an early postion raiser with A&diamsJ♦, and even his AK couldn’t hold up as a J cruelly hit the river.

A quick double up with Q♣7♣ ensured he survived to the first break at least, but surely only an incredible comeback can change his destiny now.

Early casualties take PPT below 100 players

A new day, a new dawn it may be, but for over 25 players it didn’t even last until the first break at the Concord Card Casino.

Already some 30 players have hit the rail with an assortment of tales to tell, but the Tour League points are now within 40 places for the likes of Paulo Calado, Hugo Almeida and Toni Merivuori.

The day’s starting chip leader, Jaroslaw Sikova, also seems to be enjoying himself as he wields that six-figure stack to good effect.

Sikova was asked to ‘show the bluff’ after betting his way to one pot after calling a small raise and going to the flop three-way. It came Q♠-5♣-2♠ -4♠ before anyone dare bet, and of course it was the big stack.

Jaroslaw released a little over 4,000 chips into the 9,500 pot and got a call from the big blind, but even with an innocuous 8♦ on the turn, his rival couldn’t find the courage to put the rest of his short stack at risk.

Shuffle up and deal...

We're underway on Day 2 so here are some photos of the chip leaders, plus a few familiar faces.

From left to right, top to bottom: Hugo Almeida, Paulo Calado, Istvan Hitter, Robert Haigh, Vladislav Suravin, Markus Stoger, Milan Zaric, Jaroslaw Sikova.

The latest from fantasy land

RugbyWolf is the fantasy poker leader with the points in sight, but four other entrants have seen two of their selections reach Day 2.

The all-Portuguese team picked by RugbyWolf looks like delivering again, with both Paulo Calado (pictured) and Hugo Almeida well stacked and in cofident mood.

Having both made the final table on home soil in Vilamoura, they have added motivation in chasing Tour League points as they could move ahead of current top dog Ronnie Espensen. The league winner will receive a €10,000 cash prize, along with entry into all Season Three events.

Jacek2121 and Sr_motim are also relying on Almeida so will be hoping Leszek Matonog and Gerald Sochor respectively can finish above Calado, though the latter will need a miracle given his 4,300 stack.

Johnny Jensen may be out of the Main Event, but the ParadisePoker pro - under his nickname Dvinyard - still has hope of success thanks to Matonóg and Robert Haigh, while the biggest stack still on a fantasy team is that of another Dane, Gøkmen Cetin.

Here is a breakdown of the teams still in with a chance of winning the €1,100 prize package to Prague:

RugbyWolf
Paulo Calado
Hugo Almeida

jacek2121
Hugo Almeida
Leszek Matonog

Sr_motim
Hugo Almeida
Gerald Sochor

dawid1978
Christos Xanthopoulos
Paweł Czartoryski

Dvinyard
Leszek Matonóg
Robert Haigh

Janusthor 23
Gøkmen Cetin

frogjensen
Paulo Calado

TERRORFISH
Toni Merivuori

BurnzB
David Pishvafar

1_BadMoFo
Hugo Almeida

tokkas
Filipa Lemos

poker$gyk
Gøkmen Cetin

morgan89
Artur Zmarzły

Sikova leads the way as we enter Day 2

Polish player Jaroslaw Sikova leads the way after Day 1, just as compatriot Pawel Chmiel did in London, but he is closely followed by a host of four rivals who also broke the 100,000 mark.

Vladislav Suravin, Istvan Hitter, Milan Zaric and Turgo-Uittong all hit six figures in a successful day's work at the Concord Card Casino.

Close behind them is Danish player Gükmen Cetin, who is the fantasy poker pick with the most chips going into Day 2, while Portuguese duo Paulo Calado and Hugo Almeida are also comfortably ahead of the average stack.

121 players remain in total and with 36 places to be paid, we can expect a fierce battle to reach the money once play resumes at 3pm CET.

CHIP COUNT
Jaroslaw Sikova, Poland 127,000
Vladislav Suravin, Russia 112,100
Istvan Hitter, Romania 110,700
Milan Zaric, Austria 106,700
Turgo-Uittong, Austria 104,800
Gükmen Cetin, Denmark 96,100
Dumitru Laurentiu, Romania 93,200
Markus Stöger, Austria 89,000
Tamas Losonczi, Hungary 87,800
Paulo Calado, Portugal 87,100
Toni Ilsanker, Germany 87,100
Artur Wasek, Poland 80,800
Martin Aigner Austria 79,000
Benjamin Petek Germany 77,000
Hugo Almeida, Portugal 75,400
Dan Semenescu, Romania 75,000
Sasa Budak, Austria 73,900
Georg Gaith, Syria 73,800
Anthony Ghamrawi, Austria 72,200
Michael Förster, Germany 71,000
Michal Kusak, Poland 69,300
Artur Zmarzy, Poland 67,500
Csaba Racz, Hungary 65,100
Grzegorz Wyraz, Poland 60,100
Andras Stumpf, Hungary 59,600
Christoph Eske, Germany 59,500
Henning Dethlefsen, Denmark 58,500
Gheorghe Alin Banceu, Romania 57,100
Joszef Döbrei, Hungary 56,900
Andre Weber, Germany 56,300
Timea Tompo, Hungary 55,900
Alexander Stänle, Germany 55,800
Susanne Jensen, Denmark 52,700
Daniel Dankelmann, Germany 51,400
Arpad Kövecses, Hungary 51,400
Peter Hajszan, Austria 49,900
Judith Larsen, Denmark 49,300
Zsolt Szeredi, Hungary 48,900
Ferenc Horvath, Hungary 48,700
Florian Schleps, Austria 47,100
Schmidt, Hungary 47,000
Sandor Levente, Hungary 46,300
Mark Pinter, Hungary 45,700
Marcus Stammberger, Germany 45,500
Zoltan Szabo, Hungary 45,100
Tomasz Walkowiak, Poland 44,600
Gabor Skrinyak, Hungary 44,400
Martin Bobak, Slovakia 43,800
Pal Nemeth, Hungary 43,700
Alexander Freund, Austria 43,500
Pawel Fiedor, Poland 42,700
Robert Dobai, Hungary 41,100
Adam Szalai, Hungary 40,600
Erwin Hammer, Austria 40,500
Gabor Nagy, Hungary 40,200
Joao Brito, Portugal 40,100
Zsolt Hollo, Hungary 39,700
Sebe Razvan, Romania 38,600
Krzysztof Uroda, Poland 38,400
Dieter Wagenknecht, Austria 37,200
Attila Polner, Hungary 34,600
Sorin Chiru, Romania 34,200
Robert Wnek, Poland 34,100
Jose Manuel Cerqueira, Portugal 33,900
Vural Öcalan, Turkey 33,300
Ales Zahradnitz, Czech Rep 33,000
Jason Spooner, Canada 32,400
Leszek Matonög, Poland 31,900
Ivica Krizanac, Austria 31,600
Bela Toth, Hungary 31,200
Pawel Czartoryski, Poland 31,100
Thomas Weis, Germany 31,100
Toni Merivuori, Finland 31,000
Juis Filipe Pato, Portugal 30,800
Isaev Rustam, Russia 30,700
Davide Pes, Italy 30,600
Heinz Richter, Austria 29,300
David Pichvafar, Germany 28,600
Roman Kadziela, Poland 28,300
David Roitner, Austria 28,200
Tibor Ocztas, Hungary 28,000
Peter Karall, Austria 27,000
Georg Rogakis, Greece 26,900
Tim Kohlmann, Germany 26,300
Alex Mühlbauer, Germany 26,300
Fernando Martiw, Spain 25,200
Pavel Berka, Czech Rep 23,200
Claus Uhrskov, Denmark 23,200
Hannes Gassner, Austria 22,500
Filipa Lemos, Portugal 22,500
Michael Huber, Austria 22,300
Peter Nagy, Hungary 21,900
Marius Beranda, Romania 21,900
David Klein, Germany 21,600
Gwarek Przemyszaw, Poland 21,400
Christos Xanthopoulos, Greece 21,200
Joachim Grasel, Austria 21,000
Heiko Wendt, Germany 20,400
Rasmus Schmidt, Denmark 20,100
Zoltan Baracskai, Hungary 20,100
Ludovit Fischer, Slovakia 19,900
Zsolt Feher, Hungary 19,500
Robert Haigh, Germany 19,400
Michal Safar, Czech Rep 18,300
Dawid Czatkowski, Poland 17,900
Thomas Heerdegen, Germany 17,600
Janos Dudas, Hungary 17,300
Ramin Ahmadbeigi, Germany 17,000
Krystof Dziadczyic, Poland 16,700
Zoltan Beni, Hungary 16,400
Attila Tarko, Hungary 15,900
Daniel Fresneda, Spain 15,500
Nicole Müller, Austria 14,700
Raphael Osseforth, Germany 13,800
Balazs Csermely, Hungary 12,900
Maciej Walichnowski, Poland 12,800
Roland Pemsl, Germany 12,100
Istvan Szabo, Hungary 11,800
Viktor Csakanyi, Hungary 10,900
Krystian Baumgart, Germany 6,200
Gerald Sochor, Austria 4,300

Day 1; over and out

The record 338 field has been whittled down to just over 120 players as Day 1 ends, with the race for the money set to commence at 3pm on Saturday.

The average stack stands at 42,000 in the Concord Card Casino and there are number of fantasy poker players still in the mix, so check back on the PPT blog tomorrow afternoon for an update on the teams that could win that €1,100 package to Prague for one lucky reader.

A full chip count will also be posted here before play restarts, along with all the action from Day 2 as it unfolds. But for now, it's goodnight from the PPT blog!

Day 1: The final straight

Our final break of the evening is over and we're into the last hour of play, so the PPT blog thought it about time for a quick rundown on some key fantasy poker players.

The biggest blow to entrant hopes across Denmark was the exit of Johnny Jensen, though his mum and reigning fantasy poker Susanne Jensen is above average on 43,000 chips.

Toni Merivuori is sitting at the same table and confessed to being outplayed by Susanne, as she slow-played QQ effectively to edge ahead of his 38,000 stack.

Gukmen Cetin, who features in poker$gyk and Janusthor 23's teams, is among the bigger stacks in the room on 80,000 despite insisting he had won only small pots along the way, and Portuguese player Hugo Almeida (pictured) has around 70,000 chips to work with.

Compatriot Paulo Calado is still going strong on 57,000 and Filipa Lemos has 29,000 after doubling up with KK vs AK, though her brother Antonio Lemos earlier headed for the exit.

Robert Haigh and David Pishvafar are battling on, though Robert admitted he could go either way in the last level of the night courtesy of his precarious 20,000 stack. David meanwhile is operating just shy of the average and confessed to bluffing too often!

A number of fantasy players have hit the rail throughout the evening, so here is a list of the fallen ones:

Bjarne Jensen
Thomas Dinesen
Kasper Espersen
Tommy Dender
Daniel Ferreira
Luis Rodrigues
Ronnie Espensen
Johnny Jensen
Antonio Lemos

Update - Gukmen Cetin goes from strength-to-strength, winning another sizeable pot with AA to hit 99,000 chips.

Level 8 ticks away, 154 remain

Just to keep you up to date with the blind structure, we're closing in on the end of Level 8, with blinds of 300-600 plus a 75 ante.

154 players, less than half the PPT record starting field, are left in play and the average stack now stands at little over 39,000 chips.

Day 1 will conclude at the end of Level 9 and a complete chip count will be published on the PPT blog before the players return to action on Saturday.

Pishvafar picks up pace on PPT roller coaster

A familiar face on the PPT circuit, David Pishvafar is making good progress on Day 1 and was comfortably ahead of the average at the last interval.

The German player (pictured) was part of the original 'Team Germany' that took on the Portuguese in Vilamoura and spawned fantasy poker.

Success wasn't forthcoming in the Algarve, as the native players outshone their rivals, and the deep run he managed in Madrid last May also failed to materialise in London.

Pishvafar referred to his Day 1 as a roller coaster after being involved in the heart of the action throughout, but stacked his chips at the 35,000 mark when he caught up with the PPT blog.

"It's been up and down a lot, mainly because I made a big call and then bluffed some chips off," he explained, "But I'm happy to be ahead of the average.

"The big call was with a set of tens on a drawy board and the other guy overbet the pot on the river. I decided to call and he mucked, so I guess he was bluffing in the end.

"I made that mistake on the river of another pre-flop raised pot. I'd been checking the turn with the nuts and overbetting the river, so decided to use that image when I missed the board in a blind battle.

"Unfortunately the player came up with a call holding just bottom pair on an Ace high board, which surprised me, but I'm disappointed I bluffed off those chips."

Toni running hot

Season One PPT League winner Toni Merivuori looks to be putting recent struggles behind him in Vienna, where he is looking to build on a side event cash with a stronger show in the Main Event.

Having been the model of consistency across four events in 2009/10, the Finn (pictured right) struggled to negotiate the fields in Vilamoura and London and admitted his confidence had been hit as a result.

“I was here for a few days and decided to play in the €100 NL Hold’em side event last night and I ended up finishing 6th for around €860,” he explained.

“I was delighted with that, even though some friends had a percentage of my action, because it gave me a lot of confidence ahead of today’s tournament.

“I’m now sitting on 50,000 chips and it’s the first time I’ve had a big stack in Season Two, so I’m feeling good.

"Twice I've had Aces and both times I've managed to get my opponent all-in, once pre-flop and once on a Queen high board, so I'm running good. Let's hope it continues!"

Side Event 1 Results

1st - SCHLEPS, Florian €4,409
2nd - REGNER, Felix €2,576
3rd - Mr. Q €1,728
4th - DENDEA, Tomi €1,413
5th - PATTZAI, Tamas €1,099
6th - MERIVUOR, Toni €864
7th - MEHRER, Andreas €706
8th - ORTH, Roland €549
9th - FAHIMIRAD, Mario €392
10th - MAGO, Marcel €251

London suffering

The top three players from the London event made a swift return to PPT action here in Vienna, but a pair of them have already lost their tournament lives in the Concord Card Casino.

Christos Xanthopoulos was victorious at the Fox Poker Club in November, beating Luis Rodrigues (pictured) and Hungarian Peter Csecsetka to the top prize over £30,000, and the trend is continuing in Austria.

While the Greek player is enjoying his return to Paradise, his one-time rivals have both made early exits from the tournament and joined Ronnie Espensen in missing out on Tour League – and fantasy poker – points.

Rodrigues lost a classic coin flip, shipping his stack over the top of two limpers pre-flop holding A10, only for the big blind to make the call with 88 and see the pocket pair hold up.

Csecsetka could only blame a bad read, as his instincts let him down in an aggressive exchange. The heads-up pro had called a pre-flop raise with Q10 and the dealer delivered K-9-2.

Sensing weakness Peter smooth-called a continuation bet and got it all-in when an apparently harmless 5 arrived, hoping to see his rival fold. However, the turn had completed a set for his opponent and the insta-call sent the Hungarian to the rail.

Xanthopoulos meanwhile had made a strong start when he spoke to the PPT blog earlier, nearly doubling his starting stack at the first break.

“I’ve got around 27,000 in chips and I’m enjoying being back at the ParadisePoker Tour,” smiled the London champion, “The PPT is my favourite event after winning in the UK.

“I’ve got a great table with plenty of overly aggressive players around to pay me off, so I feel really confident that I can make another deep run here in Vienna.”

Ronnie sweats PPT lead after early exit

One man who won’t be in the money for the first time this season is Ronnie Espensen, whose exit comes as a double blow given he included himself in his own fantasy poker team.

The Danish player (pictured right), who currently leads the Tour league ahead of Paolo Calado, was dealt a harsh beat to send him to the rail and will now have to wait and see whether his Portuguese rival or any other player can surpass his score.

Things had already started badly for Espensen to leave him just over 8,000 chips when he picked up A♥K♣ and went heads-up to the flop with the small blind.

It fell K-10-4 with two hearts and after his OOP opponent led out, Ronnie shoved his remaining stack confident his man would call with less than TPTK. He duly obliged, showing KQ, but poker's sadistic side would have the last laugh, as the J♥ and 9♠ hit the turn and river to make him a straight.

"That was so sick," Espensen told the PPT blog, "Especially as I picked up a flush draw on the turn that limited his outs.

"I might play a few side events over the rest of the weekend. I’ve got to come back tomorrow, even it’s just to rail Paolo Calado and try and put him off!” he laughed.

News of Paolo’s rise to 45,000 chips only added to his dismay. The Portuguese tripled up in the first hour of play as a huge hand played out early on.

Four players went to a raised J-9-7 flop and when the player in first position shoved, Calado snap-called out of turn. His opponent then took his chance to act, surprisingly still called and another behind tanked; eventually folding QQ.

The cards were turned face-up with a nut flush draw, flopped straight and Calado’s set of nines on show, only for a Jack to fill him up on the turn.

Show me the money... early!

Now we’re not ones to crack jokes about efficiency in these parts, but we have our prize structure considerably earlier than usual here in Vienna.

Our eventual winner will have to overcome a PPT record 338 strong field, but along with the honour of winning a Season Two winner’s trophy, that big cheque will be worth over €40,000; another first.

Thirty-six players in all will be paid, with the smallest prize falling just shy of doubling the buy-in, and making the pain all the greater for our bubble boy (or girl).

Check out the full details of the prize money below.

Prize Structure
1st €41,640
2nd €23,770
3rd €16,390
4th €13,110
5th €10,660
6th €8,200
7th €6,560
8th €4,920
9th €3,280
10th-12th €2,130
13th-15th €1,800
16th-18th €1,480
19th-27th €1,150
28th-36th €980

Fantasy teams

Thanks to everyone who entered our second game of fantasy poker, the race is now on for that €1,100 prize package to the Prague event.

Johnny Jensen (pictured) is our overwhelming favourite pick and the Dane is playing alongside his mum today thanks to fantasy poker.

Susanne Jensen won the inaugual game back in London and was among those to pick her ParadisePoker pro son this time around, with no less than 11 teams featuring one of the stars of PPT Season 1.

Johnny reached the final table at the first two events back in 2009-10, finishing 7th in London and 3rd in Prague and was pipped at the last event in Bulgaria to the Tour League 1 top prize.

Other popular picks are Vilamoura runner-up Hugo Almeida and current Tour League 2 leader Ronnie Espensen, while London event top two Christos Xanthopoulos and Luis Rodrigues also featuring amongst the selections.

Dvinyard
Johnny Jensen
Leszek Matonóg
Robert Haigh

KongRon9
Ronnie Espensen
Bjarne Jensen
Thomas Dinesen

snizzle
Johnny Jensen
Jens Eisner
Kasper Espersen

Janusthor 23
Tommy Dender
Johnny Jensen
Gøkmen Cetin

frogjensen
Ronnie Espensen
Bjarne Jensen
Paulo Calado

hansen2
Tommy Dender
Rasmus Vejbaek
Tomáš Straka

justmenow
Grzegorz Cieszyński
Johnny Jensen
Ronnie Espensen

Longibro
Thomas 'Kalle' Pedersen
Ronnie Espensen
Johnny Jensen

licasAA11
António Lemos
Johnny Jensen
Mia Dac Liu

RugbyWolf
Paulo Calado
Hugo Almeida
António Lemos

TERRORFISH
Toni Merivuori
Johnny Jensen
Daniel Ferreira

jacek2121
Tomasz Horecki
Hugo Almeida
Leszek Matonog

dawid1978
Christos Xanthopoulos
Bjarne Jensen
Paweł Czartoryski

BurnzB
Claus Weihrauch
David Pishvafar
Johnny Jensen

JunkDeluxe
Freddy Kristensen
Peter Månsson
Mario König

Winsousall
Johnny Jensen
António Lemos
Kamil Paś

1_BadMoFo
Ronnie Espensen
Johnny Jensen
Hugo Almeida

tokkas
Daniel Ferreira
Luis Rodrigues
Filipa Lemos

Pavonix
Antonio Lemos
Tomasz Horecki
Ronnie Espensen

Sr_motim
Hugo Almeida
Fernando Martin Blanco
Gerald Sochor

poker$gyk
Gøkmen Cetin
Johnny Jensen
Thomas Pedersen

morgan89
Tomasz Horecki
Grzegorz Cieszyński
Artur Zmarzły

Fantasy poker deadline has passed

Entries for Fantasy Poker are now closed.

Thanks to everyone who entered, a full list of entrants and their teams will be posted here on the PPT blog soon.

Welcome to Vienna!

Internet troubles behind us, we can reflect a little more on our venue - and our ever expanding field.

The Concord Card Casino may have dragged players to the outskirts of the historical city, but it's something of an uber venue, if you're a smoker at least. The cardroom stretches into the distance, with live sport keeping the tight players entertained and no blackjack tables to distract our loose ones!

More popular than any of its predecessors, the Vienna event boasted 300-strong starting stacks but they have been joined by 15 more as some over-eager players ship their 15,000 chips into oblivion.

We're approaching two hours of play and the sell-out tournament is packed with both familiar faces and new additions to the €500+50 buy-in, slow structure and great side events.

Take a look at some of our Day 1 photos...