Jose Maria Felices eliminated in 2nd place (€28,000)

The final hand of PPT Barcelona and PPT Season 2 ended in comedy fashion. Since a deal was already struck for all the money Jose Maria Felices was in the mood to gamble and end the heads-up battle as soon as possible.

He was on the button and raised to 1,000,000 (blinds 30,000/60,000) before Aleksandar Abutovic moved all-in. Felices had committed nearly half his stack so called off the rest. He was in very bad shape though.

Felices: 3s4d
Abutovic: JcJd

The board ran 8s7hks 5c 2s. Felices actually picked up a straight draw on the turn but it failed to come in. He offered his hand to his opponent before taking a step back and allowing him to take the plaudits.

Abutovic gets there to double

Aleksandar Abutovic got his chips in on a draw on the flop and got instant service on the turn to double-up to around three million chips.

The flop was 9-7-6 and Abutovic held king-eight. Jose Maria Felices called the all-in push with ace-nine for top pair, top kicker. The turn came a T to make the German a straight.

A few minutes later the level came to an end and the players are taking a short break.

Another deal struck

Another deal has been struck for the €10,000 left over for the winner.

Jose Maria Felices had ground out a 3,180,000 to 1,480,00 chip lead before he offered Aleksandar Abutovic €2,000 out of the €10,000 with him taking €8,000. His German opponent accepted the deal so the two players are playing for the title and trophy now.

Pawel Jaskolski eliminated in 3rd place (€20,000)

Moments after the deal was struck, Pawel Jaskolski (pictured) and Jose Maria Felices both committed their stacks preflop.

Jaskolski was in great shape with pocket jacks versus Felices' king-ten. The Pole started doing a merry dance when the flop fell A-J-2 to make him a set.

The turn came a safe 3 before the river fell a Q to see Felices hit his gutshot for a Broadway straight.

This crippled the Pole and he was out the very next hand.

Let's make a deal

The three remaining players have, after a lot of discussion, agreed to do a deal. Here's what they agreed on:

Aleksandar Abutovic is guaranteed €25,000.
Jose Maria Felices is guaranteed €20,000.
Pawel Jaskolski is guaranteed €20,000.

That leaves €10,000 that the winner will take home.

Queen is certainly good for Jaskolski

Pawel Jaskolski is back in the hunt for the PPT Barcelona title after doubling through Jose Maria Felices.

He open shoved for 660,00 from the button with QdTh and was called by the last remaining Spaniard from the big blind with Ah5s.

"Queen is good," said Jaskolski just before the flop came QcTs9h to give him a queen, and a ten for good measure.

He needed that second pair too as the turn came As before the board was completed with the 4c.

David Motoro eliminated in 4th place (€12,000)

We were unsure whether or not we would ever reach three handed play but now that worry is behind us with the elimination of Davis Motoro.

He three-bet all-in for around 500,000 from the big blind after a button open to 165,000 from Aleksandr Abutovic. The German took a moment and then called to create a showdown.

Motoro: 3c3s
Abutovic: AhKd

The board ran Ac5cQh 4h 8d to pair Abutovic's ace.

Here's how the chip counts look (roughly) heading into three handed play:

Aleksandr Abutovic -- 2,000,000
Jose Maria Felices -- 1,900,000
Pawel Jaskolski -- 700,000

Side event stats

The PPT is about more than just the main event. If you're lucky enough to attend one of our stops there's poker action of various sorts all weekend. Here's a few figures on the side events this weekend:

Saturday €200 + €20

135 entrants - €27,000 prize pool

Saturday Omaha €100 + €15

31 entrants - €3,100

Sunday €100 + €50 + €20 Scalp

117 entrants - €17,750

Total prize money this weekend: €203,150

All the results will follow on the blog soon.

Another level down

Level 24 came and went with no eliminations, just like level 23. The players are on a break and will come back to blinds of 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante.

The average stack will be around 24 big blinds when they return so that should ruffle a few of their tightly packed feathers.

Fantasy Poker

We haven't forgotten about all the Fantasy Poker teams that our readers have entered. The standings have been difficult to work out due to a lot of entries via the new automated system and a lot via the old method.

It would be against our principals to provide you with misinformation, so after the event has finished, we'll sit down and figure out who is the lucky winner.

Check back with the PPT blog during the week to see if you'll be joining us at a stop on the PPT Season Three.

Snail's pace

Play has tighten up considerably since that big hand. None of the four pictured players seem to want to bust in fourth spot and raises are being treated with the up-most of respect.

An example of this is Jose Maria Felices who folded his big blind three times in-a-row and showing an ace when he was raised buy Pawel Jaskolskion on the button.

Jaskolski on a roll

Pawel Jaskolski is on a roll after winning a large pot versus David Motoro to move up to around 1.5 million chips.

He min raised from under-the-gun and Motoro defended to see the 7d9s3d flop. The Pole continued with a 60,000 bet but was check-raised up to 125,000. Call.

The turn came Qd and Motoro led for 150,000. "You have a set or a flush? Maybe just the ace of diamonds?" asked Jaskolski before calling.

The river came 6s and the Spaniard, always silent, checked to see his opponent aggressively plant a 250,000 bet in the middle of the table. Motoro called but had to wait a few moments before Jaskolski revealed Ad8d for the nuts. Motoro is down to 670,000 chips now.

Abutovic forced to fold

Aleksandr Abutovic is down to 500,000 after he tank folded to a second barrel from David Motoro.

Abutovic was the aggressor preflop as he raised from the button. Motoro was in the big blind and peeled to see a 6c3h9s flop where he led for 150,000. Call.

The turn came 3s and Motoro fired again, for 190,000. It did the job as his German opponent let his card be taken into the muck.

All-in and call!

The first all-in showdown was coming sooner or later and it resulted in Pawel Jaskolski doubling through chip leader David Motoro.

The Pole raised to 70,000 from under-the-gun and called when Motoro three-bet all-in from the big blind.

Motoro: Ah9c
Jaskolski: AcQc

The board ran QhJs3s Kh Jh to give Jaskolski two-pair. He's up to 1.05 million chips now, whereas the Spaniard drops to 1.15 million.

Momentum building

The players' food must be digesting as the banter has slowly started to come back and and so are the three bets.

In two orbits Jose Maria Felices raised only to face a big three bet by David Motoro. He folded.

A few hand later Felices was applying similar pressure to Aleksandr Abutovic. The German raised to 110,000 from the small blind but folded to a 300,000 three-bet.

Play restarts

The four remaining players have recharged and filled their bellies. The action and speech has been quiet, so far, in the first 20 minutes of the new level. Blinds are nor 15,000/30,000, with a 3,000 ante.

Most of the pots have been taken down by preflop raises. there have been no three-bets so far and only two flops. The action is sure to pick up soon as the blinds are catching up with out two shorter stacks.

Chip counts at dinner break

The players are on a one hour dinner break. Here's how the chip stacks look:

Seat 1. Dimitar Dimitrov – Busted
Seat 2. Piotr Gajdecki -- Busted
Seat 3 Jose Maria Felices -- 1,480,000
Seat 4. Javier Cruz -- Busted
Seat 5. David Motoro – 1,850,000
Seat 6. Olof Haglund -- Busted
Seat 7. Pawel Jaskolski -- 550,000
Seat 8. Juan Sabitas -- Busted
Seat 9. Aleksandar Abutovic -- 780,000

The Felices/Jaskolski show

Since four-handed play begun the mood has considerably lifted. Especially so if we're talking about the mood of Jose Maria Felices and Pawel Jaskoski. The two have been playing many hands together and bantering in broken English as well.

The vocal banter would probably be scored a score-draw but the Spaniard has had the better of it when their jovial battle came down to the poker.

The two played four heads-up hands in the last thirty minutes before dinner break and Felices won them all.

Three of those hands saw Felices take down a pot preflop with raises or three-bets but one hand saw a flop. Felices raised to 54,000 from the button and Jaskoski defended from the big blind to see a 6c2h3d flop. The Pole donk-led for 50,000 only for his opponent to raise to 200,000.

Jaskoski was thinking about his decision when Felices piped up with, "You go all-in or fold."

"Maybe all-in then," responded Jaskoski.

"You cap-put if you go all-in," fired back Felices whilst he pretended to slice his throat.

A few more words were exchanged before Jaskoski folded and was shown Kh Jc by his bluffing opponent.

Piotr Gajdecki elimiated in 5th place (€9,500)

The dream is over for Piotr Gajdecki and in a way it's a shame he didn't win, purely due to his back story.

The Paradise Poker qualifier won his package but didn't have the money to get to Barcelona as he's a poor student studying in his homeland. Not to be defeated, he hitchhiked his way here in an epic journey that took 36 hours.

He lost the last of his chips over the course of two hands.

All but 75,000 went to his countryman Pawel Jaskolski after he pushed with ace-eight and hit an ace. Gajdecki called with king-queen but failed to catch up.

The very next hand he moved all-in from the small blind with king-nine and Jose Maria Felices called blind from the big blind with queen-five. A five fell on the flop and that was enough to seal the Pole's fate.

Groundhog day for Gajdecki

Piotr Gajdecki had a turbulent day yesterday as his chip stack went up and down like a yo-yo and today is following a similar pattern.

He's down to 300,000 after he doubled-up David Motoro in a pot worth around two million chips. All the chips went in preflop with the Spaniard holding pocket kings to Gajdecki's pocket eights. Neither player improved and Motoro is leading PPT Barcelona for the first time.

Dimitar Dimitrov eliminated in 6th place (€7,500)

Six players soon became five after the elimination of Dimitar Dimitov.

He was sat in the big blind and had around 200,000 chips in front of him. The action folded to Aleksandr Abutovic in the small blind and he raised enough to put the Bulgarian all-in. Call.

Abutovic: 9h3d
Dimitov: QdTh

The flop came a very interesting 7c5c6c as it offered the German a double gutshot draw.

The straight came in on the 8d before the Ad fell on the river.

Olof Haglund eliminated in 7th place (€5,700)

Olaf Haglund came into today as the chip leader but it wasn't meant to be his day. He was just eliminated in a pot worth 1.3 million chips.

Piotr Gajdecki raised to 50,000 from second position before Haglund three-bet to 132,000 from the button. The action was back on the the Pole and he moved all-in. The Swede made a reluctant looking call-in.

Gajdecki: AsAh
Haglund: 9h9d

The board ran Kh2hKd 8s 2d to safely see the aces hold up. Gajdeckiis now a clear chip leader with about 1.5 million chips in front of him.

Easy come, easy go

Olaf Hagland kept hold of his newly acquired chips for about five minutes as he just doubled-up the dangerous Jose Maria Felices.

Olaf raised to 44,000 from early position and called when the Spaniard moved all-in for 420,000 from the button with Ks9s. Olaf tabled a leading AcTd but Felices found a nine on the flop to scoop the big pot.

Javier Cruz eliminated in 8th place (€4,500)

The play is in to level 21 now where the blinds are 10,000/20,000, with a 2,000 ante.

It didn't take too long in this level to lose our second player of the day.

Javier Cruz (pictured) raised to 85,000 before Olaf Hedlund moved all-in for less than 600,000. Aleksandar Abutovic folded (ace-queen, he later said) from the big blind but Cruz called all-in for around 450,000.

Cruz: ThTd
Hedlund: AdKd

The board ran Jd8sAh 7h Ks to make the Swede two-pair. The two players shook hands and Cruz headed off to the payout desk. Hedlund leapt back into the chip lead after winning that pot.

Chip counts and the first break

Seat 1. Dimitar Dimitrov – 390,000
Seat 2. Piotr Gajdecki -- 880,000
Seat 3. Jose Maria Felices -- 415,000
Seat 4. Javier Cruz -- 460,000
Seat 5. David Motoro – 640,000
Seat 6. Olof Haglund -- 600,000
Seat 7. Pawel Jaskolski -- 525,000
Seat 8. Juan Sabitas -- Busted
Seat 9. Aleksandar Abutovic -- 650,000

Juan Sabatas eliminated in 9th place (€3,500)

Juan Sabatas is the first player to be eliminated today. Eventually an all-in had to result in a bust-out and Sabatas was the unfortunate player to oblige.

Pawel Jaskolski raised with pocket aces before Sabatas three-bet all-in with queen-ten from the next seat along. The Pole made an easy call and the board ran nine-high to see his hand easily hold up

Getting in on the act

Aleksandar Abutovic must’ve been jealous at watching all the other short stacks doubling up so he thought he would get in on the act.

He moved all-in for 336,000 after Juan Sabatas raised to 53,000 from the button. Sabatas got a count and took a surprisingly long time to call with QcQh. Abutovic tabled Ad9h and got there through the 6s7d5s Ah 8c board.

Sabastas is now the short stack with 170,000 chips remaining.

Swedish ATM

An eventful level 19 has come to an end with another double-up and it was through the generous Olof Hagland again.

The Swede raised from mid position and called when Dimitar Dimitov moved his 100,000-chip stack into the middle from the cut-off. Dimitov held pocket aces and found a third on the flop to best Haglund’s pocket sevens.

Play has moved into level 20 now where the blinds are 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 ante.

Spreading the chips about

Play resumed with 25 minutes remaining of Level 19, with blinds at 6,000/12,000 and a 1,000 ante.

Already, two short stacks have doubled-up. The first being Javier Cruz who moved all-in on river and was called by Olof Haglund. Cruz tabled the winning hand and the Swede mucked.

Moments later, Jose Maria Felices raised and then moved all-in when Juan Sabitas three-bet from the button. Sabitas called all-in for less than 300,000.

Felices: QcQd
Sabitas: KhKc

The board ran KsJc9s 6d Qh. Both players made sets but Sabitas's kings helped him to a dream start.

Final Table day

Welcome back to Day 3 of the PPT from the Gran Casino, Barcelona. It's the crunch end of the tournament as just our final table of nine players remain. The players are being introduced to the crowd so let us introduce our final nine to you:

Seat 1. Dimitar Dimitrov. 32, from Dupnista, Bulgaria -- 127,500 chips.
Dimitrov comes into today’s final as the short stack. He is a professional poker and has been playing the game for four years. He makes his living from playing PLO cash games. Away from the table Dimitrov likes to relax by playing football and going to the movies.

Seat 2. Piotr Gajdecki. 21, from Wroceaw, Poland -- 619,000 chips.
Gajdecki made the final table after a very stressful and swingy Day 2 where he went from chip leader to short stack before doubling up twice late on to finish above average. He is a student back in home land and has aspirations to be the best poker player there is. Away from poker he notes his interests as music and basketball.

Seat 3. Jose Maria Felices 43, from Zaragoza, Spain. -- 950,000 chips.
Felices sits second in the chip counts thanks to his aggressive style and a large pot he won with two tables remaining where he knocked out two players. He is a professional player and has been playing Texas hold’em for seven years but has been playing other forms of poker his whole life. He likes to play 5-10 NLHE cash games and tournaments with buy-ins ranging from €500 to €3,000. He has won $77,327 from tournaments in his homeland. Away from the table he likes to sports bet and spend time with his partner and children

Seat 4. Javier Cruz. 42, from Spain -- 272,000 chips.
Cruz is one of four Spanish players coming into today’s final. He is the second shortest stack so will be looking to make moves early on. Poker is a hobby of Cruz’s as he makes his living as a businessman. He has been playing the game for four years and likes to play tournaments and cash games. Away from the baize he likes to participate and watch sports.

Seat 5. David Motoro. 35, from Guadalasra, Spain -- 571,500 chips.
Montoro is another player representing the home nation today and he starts with a stack a little bit more than the average. He’s plays poker for fun when he is not working in the electronics industry. He learnt to play the game four years ago and just plays tournaments.

Seat 6. Olof Haglund. 24, from Karlstad, Sweden -- 1,152,000 chips.
Haglund starts today as chip leader and the only player over one million chips. He is a professional poker player who has been playing for six years. His specialty is heads-up cash games on line. His goal within the game is to earn a lot of money. If he’s not playing poker he can be found on the golf course.

Seat 7. Pawel Jaskolski. 34, from Warsaw, Poland -- 363,000 chips.
Jaskolski is the second representative from Poland at the final table. He owns a company that sells clothes and shoes to children. He has been playing poker for five years and just plays for fun. He likes to play MTTs, sit and goes and cash games online and he will occasionally play live. He will probably play more live MTTs if he wins here today. Jaskolski’s other hobbies include sports and fishing for carp and pike.

Seat 8. Juan Sabitas. 42, from Barcelona, Spain -- 305,500 chips.
Sabitas is Spain’s fourth and final representative but the only player from Barcelona. He works as a technician and has only been playing poker for one year. He has too many poker goals right now to name just one. When he’s not working or playing poker he likes to play and watch many sports.

Seat 9. Aleksandar Abutovic. 45, from Nuremberg, Germany -- 309,000 chips.
Abutovic is Germany’s sole representative at the final table. He makes his living as a football trainer back in his homeland. He has been playing poker for 10 years and likes to play tournaments and 3-6 to 5-10 cash games. His only goal in poker is to keep on playing. Football is a big passion for him but he also likes to travel the world with his son, Joshua.


Cards are in the air!

Final Table seat draw and chip counts

Seat 1. Dimitar Dimitrov -- 127,500
Seat 2. Piotr Gajdecki -- 619,000
Seat 3. Jose Maria Felices -- 950,000
Seat 4. Javier Cruz -- 272,000
Seat 5. David Motoro -- 571,500
Seat 6. Olof Haglund -- 1,152,000
Seat 7. Pawel Jaskolski -- 363,000
Seat 8. Juan Sabitas -- 305,500
Seat 9. Aleksandar Abutovic -- 309,000

Costa bubbles

Jose Costa (pictured with hand on his chin) is the unfortunate player who will miss out on tomorrow's Final Table festivities after Olof Hagland eliminated him.

Ten handed play hadn't been going on long before Costa, from Spain, moved all-in for around 140,000 from late position.

The Swede was sat in the small blind and made the call after a moment's thought.

Costa: 7s7d
Hagland: TcTd

The board ran Ac5hAd 5c 3d to conclude play for today.

The chip counts are being carried out and we will post those along with the Final Table seat draw, shortly.

Final Table bubble time

Piotr Gajdecki had taken most of Miguel Moreno's stack so thought he would take the rest and he did.

Miguel moved the last of his chips in with Jh5h and and Piotr called from the big blind with AsJc before the board ran 8hThQdQcJc.

All the players are now on one table where they will play until we lose one more, for our official Final Table of nine. Then they will bag up and return for the final tomorrow.

Double double for Piotr

Piotr Gajdecki is up to around 530,000 after doubling, twice, through his neighbour Miguel Moreno.

In the first hand Moreno moved all-in with 5h6h after the action folded to him in the small blind. Piotr called all-in with QcJd and went on to make a full house.

The very next hand Moreno raised from the button and quickly called when Piotr moved all-in from the small blind.

Piotr: AhQs
Miguel: KsJh

The board ran 6cKcAd6c 3s 5c handing the pot to the swingy Pole. Miguel was left with just 65,000 after the hand.

99 points but Ronnie has won

We're talking about the Tour League and what a dramatic end to a long race it has been.

Tibor Boros just came into the press room with a glum face after exiting in 13th place. He was too gutted to talk about his exit hand and wanted to double check the amount of points he was awarded from his previous two cashes. The leaderboard was right, meaning the Hungarian finished Season 2 with 99 points; one shy of Ronnie Espensen's 100.

That means that Ronnie (pictured earlier) tops the leaderboard and is the PPT Season 2 player of the year. He gets a cheque for €10,000 and entry into all Season 3 tour events.

Congratulations from everyone at Paradise Poker and we look forward to seeing you at all the events next season.

The consolation for Tibor is that he wins a package to an event of his choice in Season 3. Positions third to fifth will also win a package and these names will be released later after official verification.

Not Gonzalez's destiny

Victor Gonzalez's (pictured) little run had come to an abrupt end after two losses saw him eliminated in 14th place for 2,000.

He dropped down to 75,000 after his ace-queen couldn't stay ahead of an opponent's king-ten and then he was involved in a four-way pot that finished him off.

Joaquin Cabrera had a very short stack and moved all-in before Gonzalez moved in from the hijack. Dimitar Dimitrov was sat on the button and flat called, as did Miguel Moreno from the big blind.

The latter two players checked all the way down and the final board read KhAs2d 4c 9d.

Cabrera quadrupled up to 64,000 with AdTd.
Gonzalez busted with JcTs.
Dimitrov tabled a losing 8d8h.
Moreno scooped the side pot with KdQd.

Sick spin up

A short while ago Victor Gonzalez had less than 25,000 chips in front of him but now he has around 200,000. How did he do that you may ask.

Well, he cracked pocket jacks with four-deuce, hitting running diamonds to make a flush. Then hit a jack on the river with king-jack to better pocket fours, before ten-jack made another flush for him to beat pocket nines. That's how!

Is it his destiny to make the final table?

He couldn't Niski this one

Mariusz Niski (pictured having his chips taken away) has ended the long drought without an elimination after falling in a battle of the blinds against Jose Maria Felices.

The action folded to the Pole in the small blind and he moved all-in for around 190,000. Felices took one look at his cards and made an instant call.

Niski: QdTs
Felices: AhQh

It was bad timing for Niski and he failed to improve enough through the Jh5s7s9sAd board. He takes home €1,400 for less than two days work.

Felices is up to just under 700,000 chips now.

Still sweet sixteen

There have no more eliminations since the double elimination we reported before. In fact there have been no double-ups either. All the all-in moves we've witnessed have managed to get through.

The players are now on a 15 minute break. When they come back the blinds will be 5,000/10,000, 100 ante. The average stack will be just under 30 big blinds but that figure is distorted as there are one or two very big stacks, like Olof Hagland who still as close to 850,000. There are a lot of small stacks that will be under a lot of pressure in the upcoming level.

He can't call

Tibor Boros is still in the tournament and only has to last five more places to win the Tour League and all the delicious prizes that go with that honour. He was just bluffed off a hand though by Jose Maria Felices and the question is: Did Felices know about Boros' situation?

The pot was opened to 21,500 by Josep Costa and Boros called from the button before Felices moved all-in for over 500,000 from the big blind. Both his opponents had just over 200,000 so this was effectively the raise.

Costa folded and so did Boros after saying he thought it was a bluff. He was right too as Felices opened [jh][7c] after he folded. What hand could Boros call off with though that he wouldn't three-bet with?

Double elimination

I was just think to myself, "This tournament has slowed a little" after the rapid rate at which we got down to 18 players.

All of a sudden Jose Maria Felices (pictured) busted two players in one hand.

Former chip leader Carlos Sanchez Diaz opened shoved for 83,000 from the cut-off and Felices called from the button before Jose Mosquera called all-in for about 70,000 from the big blind.

Diaz: Qs7d
Felices : Ah9d
Mosquera: AdKh

The board ran Qh9h2c Jh As to make Felices two-pair scooping him the whole pot along with two scalps.

Gajdecki stops the rot

Piotr Gajdecki has had a bad couple of hours, going from chip leader to one of the short stacks. His slide has recently stopped with a double-up though neighbour, Miguel Angel Moreno.

Moreno raised to 13,000 from the button and called when Gajdecki three-bet all-in for 77,400 from the small blind.

Moreno: KcJc
Gajdecki : Ah6s

Gajdecki seemly extremely tense as the board ran 9h3d2s 8c 3c. The Pole said, "Thanks" and one could see his shoulders drop as he relaxed again.

Vamos for Cabrera

The tournament was just balanced onto two tables as just 18 players remain. Joaquin Cabrera (pictured) almost joined the rail in 18th spot but two things happened to save him.

The first thing being the big blind folding AcJc. Cabrera had moved all-in for his last 64,800 and former chip leader Piotr Gajdecki three-bet all-in from the small blind to get it heads-up.

The Spaniard tabled [Ad][qc] and was racing against the Pole's 8s8h.

The second thing that helped Cabrera was one of the two remaining aces falling on the board of Js3s6c As 3h.

He shouted, "VAMOS" at still being alive.

Gajdecki meanwhile is on a big slide and is down to 85,000 chips.

Biggest pot of the tournament so far

A 700,000-plus chip pot just played out between Olof Hagland and Dietmar Doering that saw the Swede soar into the chip lead with 900,000 chips.

Hagland held pocket tens to Doering's ace-ten and the flop came down T-8-4. Lots of chips went in before the rest went in on the deuce turn when the German was drawing dead.

The half million-chip men

Two players have made great strides in the last thirty minutes to leapfrog Piotr Gajdecki and pass the 500,000-chip mark.

Current chip leader is Miguel Angel Moreno with 548,500. He had less than 200,000 an hour ago, so must've continued his run good.

Olof Hagland (pictured) is a close second with 515,000 chips. He won and nice sized pot just before the players headed off for a break and eliminated Abdelhamid Benserghine in the process.

The two were heads-up to a Kh7h5h flop where Hagland called Benserghine's all-in push. Benserghine tabled KdJs but was in a world of pain to Hagland's flopped flush with Jh
8h. It was all over after the turn fell as the Qd.

PPT Barcelona is a three table tournament

We're down to 27 players spread over three tables. Piotr Gajdecki is still the chip leader with over 400,000 but the pack is starting to catchup and congest behind him.

Thanks to no hand-for-hand play over the bubble period we are ahead of schedule and hopes are high that we will make the final table of nine tonight.

Nunes' days are numbered.

Paolo Nunes has been eliminated in 32nd spot taking home €1,000 for his efforts. His exit hand was a bit nasty as he was two-outed to bust.

He moved all-in for around 45,000 from under-the-gun and was called by Miguel Angel Moreno on the button to create a pre-flop showdown.

Nunes: JhJd
Moreno: TcTd

The board ran QdTh6c4hAc to make Moreno a set of tens. He's up to 190,000 chips now.

300k man

Piotr Gajdecki (pictured recounting the hand to a Polish blogger) has become the first player to break through the 300,000-chip barrier. He took a huge pot off Jorge Pardo after the latter made an interesting river bet.

There was over 150,000 chips in the middle and the board read 2sKd4d9dJd. Pardo was first to act from early position and smiled, shrugged and threw in 25,000. Gajdecki looked at him and made the call.

Pardo tabled QcQs for a pair of queens, losing out to the Pole's flush with 7d7s. Pardo sat and shook his head, leading us to believe he didn't see the four diamonds on the board.

The bubble bursts before it forms

Three players were just eliminated at the same time, on separate tables, taking us from 39 players to 36 players and bursting the bubble. All remaining players are now guaranteed at least €1,000.

Ronnie Espensen (pictured, left centre) was one of those eliminated and as he had the shortest stack of the three he was given 39th place. The other two unlucky bubble boys were Roberto Rivela (38th) and Albert Benet (37th).

Ronnie's 39th place earned him 12 points taking his Tour League total to 100. The only player who can catch him now is Tibor Boros (pictured, stood up). Tibor came into this event on 61 points meaning he will need to finish 11th or higher to snatch the title away from the Dane. He's currently sat on a healthy 155,000 chips.

Haigh beaten for POY

Robert Haigh came into this event leading the Tour League and therefore favourite to be crowned Player of the Year. His elimination yesterday left him vulnerable to being overtaken and that's just happened.

Ronny Espensen was just three points behind in the league and needed to finish no lower than 47th to move ahead. At the time of writing 43 players remained meaning the Dane has moved into top spot.

His game tactic has now changed from folding (all but two hands, he said) to shoving his micro stack. He moved all-in for his last 6,800 with ace-queen and doubled versus a player holfing four-five. He's going to need a few more double-ups before he can feel secure though.

With every place he moves up, he's piling the pressure on Peter Csecsetka and Tibor Boros as it means they will have to finish another spot up the ladder to have a chance of beating him. For example - Peter had to finish a minimum of 7th but, as things stands right now, he has to finish 3rd. If Ronnie can secure a top 40 finish, then only Tibor can catch him.

Dinner Break

The remaining players are now on a one hour dinner break.

There are 52 players left in and the average stack is 89,711. The blinds will be 2,000/4,000, ante 200 when they return.

The top three stacks are as follows:

1. Carlos Sanchez Diaz -- 270,000
2. Dietmar Doering -- 250,000
3. Peter Csecsetka -- 230,000

We'll be back in one hour.

Diaz "schools" Chang

Carlos Sanchez Diaz is up to 265,000 chips and well clear at the top of the chip counts. He just maneuvered Carlos Chang off a hand which helped him to this total.

Chang raised from the cut-off and called when the Spaniard three-bet from the next seat along.

The flop came Th3cTc and Chang led for 23,000, leaving himself 45,000 behind. Diaz thought for a minute before seeting his Chinese opponent all-in.

Chang snap-folded and was shown AhJh by his opponent.

Another player at the table commented, "Someone just got schooled like a little boy".

Nearly in the Fastasy Poker/Tour League points

There are 55 players remaining in the Main Event, so we have to lose five more before the exits count towards the Tour League and Fantasy Poker.

Pictured is the stack of Ronnie Espensen. It's worth a lowly 23,300 but the Dane only has to come 47th or higher to overtake Robert Haigh in the Tour League standings.

He explained to us that he lost a pot with pocket kings to ace-king and after that he had to really tighten up. He folded pocket eights in one spot where, in normal circumstances, he would've shoved, made a full-house and tripled-up to a big stack.

When there are 47 players left he will have to start building a stack again in an attempt to fend of the charge from the Hungarian duo of Peter Csecsetka and Tibor Boros.

Generic shots from PPT Barcelona

There's no tripping up Peter right now

Peter Csecsetka is a happy and lucky man after he eliminated Pawel Czartoryski despite being dominated.

The action folded around to Czartoryski on the button who open shoved for 37,600. Csecsetka was in the small blind and made the call.

Czartoryski: AsQh
Csecsetka: Ah6s

Czartoryski was in great shape but the flop fell a nightmare (for him) 6h7d6c. The turn and river ran out 9cQd.

Csecsetka offered his apologies as the two players shook hands. Csecsetka was soon smiling when his defeated opponent was out of eye shot. He's up to 145,000 chips now.

There can only be one winner

Piotr Gajdecki and Carlos Chang both came into today with big stacks and the two just clashed in a big pot that saw the former claim the chip lead.

We reached the at the river where the board read 8s8hkh 4d 6h. Gajdecki was first to act from the big blind and moved all-in for his last 43,000. After getting a count Chang made the call to swell the total pot size to 185,000.

Gajdecki tabled 7h 5s for a rivered inside straight and got up out of his chair to celebrate. Chang didn't see the straight and slammed down 9s9h thinking he had made a correct call. It was soon pointed out to him that he lost. He sat down and licked his wounds and assessed the damage. It was severe but not fatal as he still had 26,000 chips left.

Can I win it?

Overnight chip leader Peter Csecsetka just asked me, "Can I win it?"

He was referring to the Tour League and the answer was yes. He needs to finish 7th or higher to overtake Robert Haigh but with the fact that the German busted yesterday and Csecsetka was chip leader coming into today, he is now daring to dream.

Of course he has to worry about the other players above him who are still in and have the potential to score points. One such players is fellow Hungarian Tibor Boros who has 13 more points than him. It's easy, for now, for him to keep an eye on Boros as they are both at the same table. Csecsetka currently has 125,000 to Boros' 77,000. Both have big stacks with big hopes.

A day for tight play?

With the exit of Rob Haigh yesterday, Ronnie Espensen (pictured, on the right) has a clear goal in front of him; to finish 47th or higher. This will give him the four points he requires to win the Tour League and the €10,000 and entry into Season Three tour events.

The Dane currently has 33,000 chips and will be thinking long and hard about every decision he makes today. He has the dangerous Piotr Gajdecki, who came into today 5th in chips, to his right. The Pole currently has 88,000 chips in front of him.

Poles apart

Krzysztof Zapolski (pictured) just got fortunate to eliminate fellow Pole Leszek Matonog in a pot worth over 125,000 and in doing do he claimed the chip lead with just under 150,000 chips.

The two were heads-up to a Ac8c2x flop. Matonog led for 4,800 and then moved in for 59,000 when Zapolski raised to 11,000. Zapolski thought for a while and made the call with AJ.

His countryman tabled two-pair with A2 but his hand was counterfeited when the turn came an 8. The 3 river didn't come to Matonog's rescue and he was eliminated.

Fantasy Poker Update

Only one team has all three picks still in the tournament but a number of teams still have two players still in the hunt for points.

Remember a player has to finish in the top 50 to score points. Below you can see a few teams we've selected that are in a strong position coming into today:

Team Name	Entries	Chipstack
Jebaći	IVAN BARJASIC	Out
	RENE KNAPP	86,275
	ANTE BARJASIC	55,725
podaj nazwę	ISTVAN SZABO	35,000
	JOLANTA LIPOWSKA	Out
	DAVID MONTORO	35,750
roadrunner	LESLIE GRECH	Out
	JOSE LUIS CESTAO LOPEZ	47,475
	PAWEL CZARTORYSKI	39,675
joaombrito	FERNANDO MARTIN BLANCO	35,500
	KATARINA JARIASOVA	Out
	RONNIE ESPENSEN	48,350
sparta swidnica	PAWEL ZAWADOWICZ	23,650
	MARCIN GINALSKI	Out
	ISTVAN SZABO	35,000
robTeam	PAULO NUNES	75,750
	JOSE LUIS CESTAO LOPEZ	47,475
	BASTIAN BLUEM	21,900

Chang quartered

Carlos Chang came into today in second place, boasting a stack over 100,000. It has taken him long to lose a quarter of that though.

He was sat on the button and was the only player to call Aselmo Jordan's cut-off raise.

The flop fell 6dJh5c and Chang set Jordan all-in when he continued with a bet. Jordan called with KdKs, in great shape versus the China man's KhJc.

The 9d 3s turn and river came and went before Chang had to pay out 22,500.

Shuffle up and deal

Gerrard, the TD for this event, has got play underway. He said he expects us to play to or near 4am again as we try to reach the goal of a final table. If we get through ten levels then play will be paused and we'll come tomorrow where we will play down to a winner.

It didn't take long for players to start busting. Within three minutes of play starting Pawel Zawadowicz (23,650) and Pedro Martinez (30,875) found themselves all-in and all-out.

Welcome back for Day 2

We are eagerly awaiting the start of Day 2 here at the Gran Casino Barcelona. A total of 102 players battled their way through ten grueling levels of poker yesterday.

The man in pole position at the top of the chip counts is Peter Csecsetka (pictured). He is over 20,000 chips clear of Carlos Chang, the only other player to boast of six-figure stack.

The aim for today is to get as close to a final table as possible. Play is due to get underway very shortly.

Start of Day 2 chip counts and seat draw

	CHIPS	TABLE	SEAT
CSECSETKA , PETER	130,150	24	6
CHANG , CARLOS	107,475	25	4
BERMEJO DELGADO, DIEGO	97,800	9	4
DELGADO PEREZ, BRUNO	95,350	2	2
CRUZ MOLAS, FRANCISCO JAVIER	94,675	6	1
GAJDECKI , PIOTR	92,850	5	5
HAGLUND , OLOF	91,650	7	8
ZAPOLSKI , KRZYSZTOF	89,100	3	2
SANCHEZ DIAZ, CARLOS	86,500	25	6
KNAPP , RENE	86,275	6	7
DOERING , DIETMAR	85,100	4	4
BRINGUIER , MICHEL HENRI	81,125	4	9
ALTIMIRA ARMAN, JORGE	77,025	4	5
GAMELAS NUNES, PAULO CESAR	75,750	8	4
GUSTAVSSON , ERIC JAN	75,400	2	3
LORENZO MORENO, MIGUEL ANGEL	72,450	5	4
AHLM , BO ANDREAS	68,950	7	3
KOZIKOWSKI , ANDRZEJ	68,850	10	4
PEREZ ESTEVEZ, JAVIER	68,700	5	7
CUBEROS LOPEZ COZAR, MANUEL	66,925	4	2
PIECHA , KAREK PAWEL	66,275	3	8
DE LA MALLA GONZALEZ, VICTOR	63,675	10	1
KARLSSON , STEFAN DANIEL	61,350	6	4
CALLE FERNANDEZ, RICARDO	59,350	10	6
MCLAUCHLAN , ROBERT WILLIAM	56,700	25	8
HEDLEY , ANDREW JOHN	56,450	1	2
SABATES LOPEZ, JUAN	55,850	10	5
BARJASIC , ANTE	55,725	1	9
ODOR , BARTOSZ	55,500	2	5
BOROS , TIBOR	55,275	25	1
SITJA SANS, JOAQUIM	55,175	9	2
FELICES DOMINGO, JOSE MARIA	54,675	6	9
OLIVER CARRIAZO, ISRAEL	51,300	24	3
RASULO , ANDREA	50,225	7	7
BENSERGHINE , ABDELHAMID	49,500	8	5
ESPENSEN , RONNIE	48,350	5	6
ANTEQUERA RAMOS, JOSE ANTONIO	48,200	6	8
CESTAO LOPEZ, JOSE LUIS	47,475	24	7
NISKI , MARIUSZ KAMIL	47,000	24	1
MATONOG , LESZEK	46,800	3	1
LOPEZ RIVELA, ROBERTO	46,250	4	1
ARROYO MARTINEZ, LUIS ANGEL	46,150	3	7
RODRIGUES CORREIA, GRACIANO SERGIO	45,500	8	3
SZOLOSI , ISTVAN	45,000	1	8
DIMITROV , DIMITAR	44,000	2	8
GRIVE MARTIN, DAVID	42,500	6	6
FERNANDEZ MARTINEZ, JORGE	41,600	6	5
PAPP , GABOR	40,725	2	6
JAMROZ , KAMIL	40,675	10	8
CZARTORYSKI , PAWEL	39,675	2	1
ADAMSKI , ROBERT	39,325	8	6
BOBAK , MARTIN	38,875	25	2
FLORES MATA, DANIEL	38,575	9	5
FERNANDEZ BELENGUER, JORGE JUAN	38,000	9	8
FRESEMANN , ARNO	37,900	5	9
JASKOLSKI , PAWEL MAREK	37,775	24	5
SUTTINGER , HENRIK	36,150	3	4
MONTORO , DAVID	35,750	2	4
MARTIN BLANCO, FERNANDO	35,500	4	3
GONZALEZ GOMEZ, DAVID	35,125	4	6
SZABO , ISTVAN	35,000	3	9
RODRI GUTIERREZ, ALEJANDRO	34,375	4	7
NAVAS FERNANDEZ, JORDI ANASTASI	34,275	7	2
BUKOWIEC , JAKUB	33,300	9	6
VERES , ZSOLT	33,175	24	8
RUIZ BLAVIA, JOSE LUIS	32,150	7	6
PALENIUS , TOPI JOHANNES	31,800	7	5
COSTANZIA DI COSTIGL, CARLO JUNIOR	31,475	10	2
PRADO MOSQUERA, JOSE MANUEL	31,225	1	5
ARRIBAS MARTINEZ, PEDRO JOSE	30,875	25	7
SANCHEZ CEBOLLADA, RUBEN	29,800	5	3
GARCIA RUE, PABLO	29,750	9	3
VAN NETTEN , FRANKE	28,500	1	7
OMESTINIS , NIKOLAOS ELEFTHERIOS	28,375	2	7
FOCHS MACULE, ALEXIS	26,675	8	1
SANCHEZ GUILLOT, RAFAEL	26,650	1	1
BERTRAN MAINOU, JAIME	26,450	4	8
LACASA JORDAN, ANSELMO	26,350	25	3
GARCIA BENET, ALBERT	25,550	7	1
MARTI COSTA, JOSEP	25,000	3	5
AYALA BARTES, JOSE MIGUEL	23,875	25	5
ZAWADOWICZ , PAWEL	23,650	5	2
THURIN MELIN, ERIK LARS	23,425	9	7
XHOMAKAS , PAVLLOS	23,400	24	4
FERNANDEZ BALDOR AÑIBARRO, PABLO	22,950	1	3
ABUTOVIC , ALEKSANDAR	22,450	9	1
UFANO PARDO, JORGE	22,175	8	7
BLUEM , BASTIAN	21,900	10	3
CABALEIRO GONZALEZ, MARIA ANGELES	21,750	7	4
MARSIK , LUKAS	21,150	1	6
REAL GARRIDO, JUAN MANUEL	20,875	5	8
CALLEJAS RUANO, CARLOS	20,700	6	2
RILLO GALLEGO, JORDI	20,550	5	1
ZMARZLY , ARTUR	20,250	8	8
EXPOSITO CABRERA, JOAQUIN	20,100	1	4
SAMEK , CANDICE	19,850	6	3
VILLANUEVA MOLERA, DANIEL	19,750	3	6
KHIARI , REIDA	19,225	3	3
HERRANZ GIMENEZ, GREGORIA	17,200	24	2
GRAU JOVE, IGOR RICHARD	15,450	10	7
DE SANTIS , GIOVANNI	15,150	8	2
ROLANDO DELLARIVA, MARTIN	8,200	2	9