There's a word we use when reporting on poker tournaments to describe the period we've just crossed through in the France Poker Series Monaco Main Event.

It's a metaphor. Think soap. Economic crises. Gum. Boiling water. Champagne and soda.

You know what it is. It rhymes with trouble and double, which is convenient as both are relevant words we might employ here.

Especially if we are purposely avoiding using that other one this time, if only to see if we can.

There were 144 left, with only 143 getting paid. Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari had stolen over quickly just moments before, dashing away from his appearance on the currently-shooting Shark Cage in order to play a few hands, win one to increase his stack twofold, and scurry back.

The double took him out of trouble. Helped him avoid finishing one spot shy of the cash -- exactly what happened last month to him at LAPT Chile Main Event, in fact.

Meanwhile with just a couple of minutes left before the end of Level 16 hand-for-hand commenced. Announcements were made explaining the procedure, and soon enough two different players were all in and at risk on adjacent tables.

One was Patrick Nakache, sadly holding [Ah][Qd] versus Michael Brinkenhoff's [Ad][Ac]. With most other tables finished and the break imminent, a deep circle of others formed about the table.

A [Kc][Ts][6h] flop earned an audible response. Then after a [6c] on the turn, the [Jd] popped out on the river, earning a much louder roar. Brinkenhoff (on the left) seemed as glad about the development as Nakache (on the right). Take a look:

It hadn't burst. The thing that shall not be named, that is.

Next door another player made it through as well -- he had aces versus another's pocket sixes -- and the break came and went with all 144 still involved.

Twenty minutes later they were back, gathered eight apiece around 18 tables. Three hands went by with no action. On the next Ugnius Simelionis doubled up with pocket kings, then Alexander Kuzmin faded a straight draw to survive with jacks.

A couple of hands later two more players made it through -- one with kings, the other with queens. Then came another hand with two simultaneous all-ins.

One involved the animated Jacques Guenni who during the long wait to reveal the hands sang, danced, and cried to the field "Everybody give me 10 euros if I bust!" The performance was so pleasing, someone actually did give him a 10€ note even before the hands were shown and board dealt.

Guenni had kings versus John Andress's [Ah][Kd]. "I'm waiting for my king!" cried Guenni. While no king came, no ace did, either, and with a loud "YEA, PAPA!" Guenni kept his seat.

On the next table less drama surrounded Cedric Demore's all-in with [Ac][As] versus Paul Delavache's [Kc][Kd], and a seven-high flop kept things even-keeled. But the king Guenni was shouting for suddenly appeared on the turn in the form of the [Kh] -- disheartening for Demore, who one card later had busted.

Out one spot shy of the money was Demore, turning from a player into the word we're not using.

Those who made the cash are earning a minimum of €1,790. All are still eyeing the €177,000 up top. Players can play more freely now, no longer worried of missing the cash.

In a similar spirit, we'll lift all restrictions on our vocabulary hereafter as well.

Key FPS Monaco Main Event Facts:
- Halfway through Level 18, 143 players remain from the starting field of 993 -- all have made the cash
- Gilles Silbernagel (650,000), Dean-Henry Taibi (500,000), Saneh Hanibael (485,000), Cedric Louard (430,000), and Michael Brinkenhoff (420,000) are chip leaders at present.
- Among others busting just shy of the money were Mikka Anttonen, Rocco Palumbo, Lucien Cohen, Mathieu Brun, Jeremy Palvini, and Clement Genon-Catalot
- The tournament is scheduled to play 8 one-hour levels today, with 15-minute breaks every two levels (there is no dinner break)

To get all the latest news, chip counts and payouts, don't forget to download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

Following the slow, lengthy -- though exciting -- period during which the France Poker Series Monaco Main Event field when from 145 to 144, it has swiftly shrunk to less than 90 players now as the march to the cashier has begun in earnest.

Jack Salter was among the first to go following the bubble bursting, earning a min-cash for his 143rd-place finish

Not long after Salter was being eliminated, one of the chip leaders from Day 1B, Abduffatif Attia went out at another table in 140th. A little after that Kevin MacPhee went out in 128th in a hand versus Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari.

After entertaining us considerably on the bubble a little while ago, Jacques Guenni saw his tournament run conclude in 113th. 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure winner Dimitar Danchev followed in 105th, with Ben Warrington (101st) and Timo Pfutzenreuter (94th) on the rail soon after that.

Meanwhile Dean-Henri Taibi has ascended in the counts to grab the top spot, now sitting with more than 800,000. Sonny Franco looks to be his nearest challenger at present with just about a half a million.

With just a level to go the field has swiftly shrunk under 100 players. Stay tuned to see who makes it through to tomorrow's Day 3.

Key FPS Monaco Main Event Facts:
- At the end of Level 19, 79 players remain from the starting field of 993 -- all have made the cash
- Jean Taleb (133rd), Matias Ruzzi (130th), Simon Petit (120th), Amos Ben (117th), and Ben Warrington (101st) have also recently busted. Click here for a full list of payouts for those eliminated in the money
- The tournament is scheduled to play one more one-hour level today (Level 20)

To get all the latest news, chip counts and payouts, don't forget to download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

Much like the night's penultimate level, the last hour of Day 2 of the France Poker Series Main Event at the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final festival was fast-paced. Many more cashed, others held steady, and a few built their stacks upwards and upwards like the mountains reaching up into the Monte Carlo sky at night.

At the close of play, the most mountainous pile of chips belonged to Dean-Henri Taibi, who after grabbing the chip lead following the bursting of the bubble continued to climb steadily to end with 1,325,000.

Jose Besalduch also did well for himself today, ending with 1,218,000.

Romain Bier won a big three-way all in during the last level to earn a couple of knockouts and a huge pot, helping him end with 1,198,000.

And Sergio Braga likewise managed to join the seven-figure club, ending with 1,183,000.

The day began with 314 players, with Frederik Treusch returning as the chip leader to start the day. Soon others began to challenge him, however, as the action moved quickly early on, with Simon Deadman winning a big one to jump up near the top of the counts.

Andre Akkari was one of a handful of Team PokerStars Pros returning on Day 2, and in fact he would be one of two to last into the money despite spending much of the afternoon well away from his stack participating in a shoot of a new Shark Cage episode. Akkari would ultimately finish 69th.

Soon the bubble drew near, and as Akkari was being blinded down the field was carved to 144. Then following a protracted hand-for-hand period the bubble finally burst, even though we didn't quite describe it in those terms at the time.

Once Cedric Demore unfortunately fell a spot shy of the cash, the knockouts came rapidly with the final 143 working all of the way down to just 57 by night's end. The cashers included Simon Deadman (59th), Valeriu Coca (73rd), Alexander Kuzmin (74th), Timo Pfutzenreuter (94th), Ben Warrington (101st), Dimitar Danchev (105th), Amos Ben (117th), Kevin MacPhee (128th), Team PokerStars Pro Julien Brecard (131st), Heinz Kamutzki (132nd), Abdullatif Attia (140th), and Jack Salter (142nd). Click here for an up-to-date list of payouts.

Meanwhile EPT4 Prague winner Arnaud Mattern (270,000) and La Maison Du Bluff star Abou Sy (213,000) were among those surviving the night. Click here for a look at the chip counts for all of those who survived Day 2.

They'll reconvene tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. for Day 3, with the plan being to play down to the eight-handed final table. Let's plan to get back together then as well to see who emerges from those remaining to scale to the tournament's mountaintop and claim the €177,000 first prize on Sunday.

Meanwhile, continue to enjoy coverage of other events including the €100,000 Super High Roller via those links on the right. Bon soir!

To get all the latest news, chip counts and payouts, don't forget to download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

We're in luxurious Monaco, a place where more than a few millionaires dwell. Speaking of, there's an exclusive group in the millionaire-club -- chip-wise, that is -- to start Day 3 of the France Poker Series Monaco Main Event here at the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final.

There are 57 players left from a massive starting field of 993, and just four of them have reached seven figures with their stacks thus far: Dean-Henri Taibi (1.325 million), Jose Besalduch (1.218 million), Romain Bier (1.198 million), and Sergio Braga (1.183 million).

But just as is true in among the packed populace here in Monte Carlo, more millionaires will soon be coming in the FPS Monaco Main Event.

Indeed, many are already lurking in the high six-figure range just a hairpin turn away, including Umid Aghazada (960,000), Gilles Silbernagel (913,000), Muhamet Perati (899,000), and Pablo Gordillo (831,000). Meanwhile, further down in the counts sit EPT4 Prague champion Arnaud Mattern (270,000) and Le Maison Du Bluff star Abou Sy (213,000).

Today's plan here at the Monte Carlo Bay Resort and Hotel calls for those 57 to race down to just eight to set up tomorrow's final table, due to be streamed on EPT Live with cards-up coverage on a one-hour delay. Meanwhile stick close as we'll be giving detailed updates throughout the day as more players cross the one-million chip mark, with all eyeing the €177,000 prize up top for the winner.

Key FPS Monaco Main Event Facts:
- Play restarts with Level 21 (6,000/12,000/2,000)
- The tournament is scheduled to play down to the eight-handed final table
- Click here for a full list of chip counts among the 57 players starting Day 3
- The top 143 finishers are cashing; click here for an updated list of payouts

To get all the latest news, chip counts and payouts, don't forget to download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

4:59pm: Break time

Level 24 having concluded, the remaining players are now taking their second break of the day. For continuing updates from Day 3 picking up with Level 25, click here.

4:46pm: Floretin felted; Nakache knocked out

Shortly after the redraw to three tables, Enrico Florentin was eliminated in 24th. Just a moment later Patrick Nakache was all in with [As][3c] versus the [Kd][5d] of Florian Decamps.

Nakache was ahead before the flop, but the cards ran out [Jh][5h][2s][7s][Ks] to give Decamps two pair and knock Nakache out in 23rd.

4:28pm: Redraw to final three tables

They are now down to 24, and are pausing for a short while in order to redraw for new seats around the final three tables.

4:35pm: Gordillo gets more

The Pablo Gordillo train keeps rolling, as he's earned yet another knockout after flopping a set of treys and sending Muhamet Perati railward in 25th place. He's up around 2.5 million now, putting him ahead of Sebastien Supper and Manuel Martinez who have also built considerable stacks during this level. Jose Besalduch is also within close range of the leaders at present.

4:29pm: Treusch out

The start-of-day-2 chip leader Frederik Treusch has been eliminated in 26th.

4:25pm: Down to 26

Charbel Salloum (31st), Paul Delavache (30th), and Luca Dal Cerro (29th) have each hit the rail, followed shortly thereafter by Marius Cazacu (28th) and the last woman in the event, Daniela Parotti (27th).

3:56pm: Level 24 begins (12,000/24,000/3,000)

With 32 players left a new level has begun.

3:54pm: 32 remain

A spate of eliminations has cut the field down to 32, following the knockouts of Sylvain Berthelot (35th), Francis Alfred Klar (34th), and Joao Brito (33rd).

3:43pm: Detournel done; Solosna surges

Xavier Detournel has met his end here during Level 23 following a big hand against Manuel Martinez.

A preflop raising war between the pair ended with a five-bet shove from Martinez and a call from Detournel, the latter putting in nearly 800,000 by the time they were done.

Detournel had [Ad][Qc] and needed to improve against Solosna's [Jd][Js]. But the board came [9d][2c][Ks][4h][2h] and Detournel is out. Meanwhile Martinez jumps to about 1.9 million and the apparent chip lead at present.

3:21pm: Parotti perservering

With 35 players remaining, Italy's Daniela Parotti is the last woman among those left. She's survived a couple of situations today after putting her short stack at risk and winning her all-ins. Parotti has a number of cashes in low buy-in events over the last several years, including one in an IPT Main Event at Campione.

3:09pm: Suppa sent off; Monin mowed down

Two more eliminations begin the level, those of Raffaele Suppa (37th) and David Monin (36th).

2:56pm: Level 23 begins (10,000/20,000/3,000)

2:55pm: Updated chip counts (37 remain)

Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 1,800,000
Jose Besalduch (Spain) -- 1,600,000
Dean-Henri Taibi (France) -- 1,600,000
Romain Bier (France) -- 1,500,000
Sergio Braga (Brazil) -- 1,300,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 1,150,000
Manuel Martinez (UK) -- 1,105,000
Xavier Detournel (France) -- 1,080,000
Muhamet Perati (Italy) -- 900,000
Luca Moschitta (Italy) -- 770,000

Sylvain Berthelot (France) -- 700,000
Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 700,000
Guillaume Branellec (France) -- 650,000
Frederik Treusch (Germany) -- 550,000
Michael Ferrari (USA) -- 545,000
Alessandro Bardaro (Italy) -- 540,000
Enrico Fiorentin (Italy) -- 530,000
Charles Vidal (France) -- 520,000
Alexandre Rivero (Brazil) -- 500,000
Florian Decamps (France) -- 490,000

Joao Brito (Portugal) -- 475,000
Julien Valentin (France) -- 470,000
Evangelos Kokkalis (Greece) -- 460,000
Luca Dal Cerro (Italy) -- 400,000
Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- 400,000
Charbel Salloum (Lebanon) -- 380,000
Marius Cazacu (Romania) -- 380,000
Lionel Lacolas (Italy) -- 330,000
Daniela Parotti (Italy) -- 315,000
Amerigo Santoro (Italy) -- 280,000

Sergio Castelluccio (Italy) -- 270,000
Pierre Malfay (France) -- 245,000
Patrick Nakache (France) -- 230,000
David Monin (France) -- 225,000
Francis Alfred Klar (Germany) -- 200,000
Paul Delavache (France) -- 200,000
Raffaele Suppa (Italy) -- 115,000

2:32pm: Break time

They've reached the first break of the day with 37 players now remaining. Back soon with updated chip counts on those who are left.

2:28pm: Hung-Tu Wang out

Hung-Tu Wang has been knocked out in 38th.

2:23pm: Schaeffer sunk, Aghazada gone

Wilfried Schaeffer has gone out in 40th, followed thereafter by Umid Aghazada in 39th.

After a fast start early, Aghazada's fortunes swiftly turned. His day is now done after having bluffed big on a six-high flop with [Jd][8h] only to run into Xavier Detournel's pocket sixes for a set. Aghazada is out while Detournel is up to 1.4 million.

2:04pm: Nanev knocked out

Rumen Nanev has been eliminated after putting the last of his chips at risk with [Qd][7d] versus Marius Cazacu's [Kc][Qs]. A [5h][Js][3h][3d][Jd] board ended Nanev's day in 41st place, while Cazacu is still below the average with about 425,000.

1:54pm: Sigh for Sy -- Abou runs ace-queen into ace-king, is eliminated

La Maison Du Bluff star Abou Sy's impressive run has come to an end early in today's second level after losing the last of his chips to Pablo Gordillo.

Sy's fall came shortly after Quentin Pasdelou went out in 43rd. Following a Gordillo open, Sy shoved all in from the cutoff for his last 180,000 and when it folded back around Gordillo called. Sy had [Ad][Qd], but had run into Gordillo's [Ah][Ks]. The flop came [2s][7d][Kc] to pair Gordillo, and by the [9h] turn Sy was already drawing dead to finish in 42nd.

1:44pm: Franco falls, Besalduch bounds up to 2 million

Sonny Franco just lost a huge hand versus Jose Besalduch that began as a three-way affair, then saw Franco all in on the flop with top pair of queens versus the two pair (queens and jacks) of Besalduch.

The latter's hand held, and as Franco goes out in 44th place Besalduch is now up around 2 million to grab the current chip lead.

1:32pm: Level 22 begins (8,000/16,000/2,000)

There are 44 players remaining. Start-of-day leader Dean-Henri Taibi now sits with about 1.45 million, although it looks like Umid Aghazada has moved past him into first position at present with about 1.5 million.

1:27pm: Kurdin cut down, Brinkenhoff busts

Vasily Kurdin has been ousted in 46th.

Shortly after Kurdin's bust, Michael Brinkenhoff fell in 45th in a hand versus Dean-Henri Taibi.

After opening from late position, Brinkenhoff watched Taibi reraise from the blinds, then after thinking a short while pushed all in over the top for his last 270,000 or so.

Taibi thought about a half-minute then called, turning over [9s][9c]. Brinkenhoff had two overs with [Kh][Tc], but a [Jc][6c][8d][3h][5d] board brought no help for him and the Californian departs in 45th.

1:21pm: Mattern moves on

EPT4 Prague champion Arnaud Mattern has been eliminated after falling in a hand versus Hung-Tu Wang. Mattern started the day with a short stack, then finally found a hand worthy of risking it with ace-king. He needed to improve against Wang's pocket queens, but the board brought no help and Mattern is out in 47th place near the end of the day's first level.

Wang moves up to about 900,000 after that hand.

1:20pm: More eliminations

Several more have fallen in rapid order: Cedric Louard (54th), Sergey Kudryavtsev (53rd), Jean-Michel Ploch (52nd), Emmanuel Murgia (51st), Anthony Mathieu (50th), Faustus Korn (49th), and Aleksandr Denisov (48th).

1:07pm: Short stacks surviving

The last few all-ins have produced several double-ups.

Alexasandr Denisov has doubled through Umid Aghazada after his pocket sevens held versus the latter's [As][Ks].

Sylvain Berthelot managed to survive with [Kh][Tc] against Vasily Kurdin's [Ad][Qs] when a king came among the community cards, pushing Berthelot back up close to 300,000 and knocking Kurdin down under 100,000.

And Wilfried Schaeffer has doubled through Frederik Treusch. Schaeffer's [Ad][Jd] proved best against Treusch's two black kings when an ace flopped and the hand held.

12:53pm: Early knockouts

Three short stacks have already been eliminated during the first couple of orbits today -- Reynald Trunsard (57th), Fadi El Hany (56th), and Chrisophe Malaurie (55th).

Malaurie fell in a hand versus Sonny Franco after shoving his last 200,000 or so with pocket nines and running into Franco's pocket tens. Now 54 players remain.

12:32pm: Level 21 begins (6,000/12,000/2,000)

Cards are in the air!

12.29pm: Shuffle up and deal

The 57 remaining players have taken their seats around eight tables in the far corner of the main tournament room, with Dean-Henri Taibi the chip leader (1.325 million). Jose Besalduch (1.218 million), Romain Bier (1.198 million), and Sergio Braga (1.183 million) are Taibi's nearest challengers to start the day.

Key FPS Monaco Main Event Facts:
- The tournament is scheduled to play down to the eight-handed final table
- Click here for a full list of chip counts among the 57 players starting Day 3
- The top 143 finishers are cashing; click here for an updated list of payouts

To get all the latest news, chip counts and payouts, don't forget to download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

For Level 21-24 updates, please click here.

11:08pm: Gordillo grabs night's last pot

In the last hand of the level -- and of Day 3 -- a hand arose in which it folded to the often-active Pablo Gordillo who opened with a raise to 150,000 and only Joseph Mouawad called from the big blind.

The flop came [4d][Jh][Kd]. Mouawad led with a bet of 225,000 and Gordillo called right away. The turn brought the [5h], and this time both players checked. The river was the [10c], bringing two quick checks again.

Mouawad tossed his [As][2c] forward face up, and Gordillo tabled [Js][9d] to claim the last hand of the night.

Back in a short while with a recap of Day 3, during which 57 players played down to just seven.

11:01pm: Gordillo moves back in front

Since the final table began, Pablo Gordillo has been the most active player and after suffering that setback versus Gilles Silbernagel a short while ago has now reclaimed the chip lead, having built his stack back up over 6 million.

10:54pm: Solosna takes from Gordillo

Pablo Gordillo raised to 150,000 from under the gun and got one caller in Manuel Martinez from a couple of seats over.

The flop came [9s][4s][Ts], and Gordillo continued for 155,000, and Solosna called. The turn brought the [2h] and a check from Gordillo, and Solosna pushed a bet of 375,000 out into that opening. Gordillo looked Solosna over for a minute, then let his hand go.

10:38pm: Gordillo gets away after Silbernagel shove

Gilles Silbernagel opened with a raise from middle position, then Pablo Gordillo three-bet from a couple of seats over. It folded back to Silbernagel who called, and the pair saw the flop come [As][Ts][Ah].

Silbernagel checked, and Gordillo continued with a bet of 480,000. Silbernagel called. The turn then brought the [2h] and another check from Silbernagel. This time Gordillo fired 815,000, and without much hesitation Silbernagel said he was pushing all in.

Gordillo thought just a beat before letting his hand go. He still has about 4.2 million, but Silbernagel has edged ahead of him for the lead and is now up around 5 million after taking that big pot.

10:24pm: Ferrari run down in eighth

After Joseph Mouawad opened for 150,000 from the hijack seat, it folded to Michael Ferrari in the big blind who shoved all in for about 700,000 and Mouawad called.

Ferrari: [Qd][Qh]
Mouawad: [Ad][Qc]

The flop came [Tc][Kc][Ac], pairing Moawoud's ace and giving him a flush draw as well, then when the [9c] fell on the turn Ferrari was drawing dead to finish in eighth. Mouawad now has about 3.8 million.

10:15pm: Level 28 begins (30,000/60,000/10,000)

They've finished with the picture-taking and after finishing the last minute of Level 27 have moved on with an increase in blinds and antes.

They'll play one more hour before stopping for the night.

10:01pm: Updated chip counts to start the official final table

Seat 1: Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- 3,080,000
Seat 2: Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 3,985,000
Seat 3: Sergio Braga (Brazil) -- 1,380,000
Seat 4: Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 5,915,000
Seat 5: Michael Ferrari (USA) -- 1,005,000
Seat 6: Luca Moschitta (Italy) -- 1,300,000
Seat 7: Manuel Martinez (UK) -- 3,515,000
Seat 8: Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 4,445,000

9:49pm: Taibi taken out in ninth; official final table set

Dean-Henri Taibi opened the action with a raise to 110,000 from UTG, and it folded around to Pablo Gordillo in the cutoff who reraised to 380,000.

The others in between stepped aside, and after confirming the amount of the raise Taibi sat quietly for two minutes before sliding out a tall stack of chips as a reraise. Gordillo instantly announced he was all in, and without much hesitation Taibi called to put the rest of his chips at risk.

Gordillo: [Ac][Kh]
Taibi: [Tc][Td]

The [2d][5d][9h] flop was fine for Taibi, but the [Ks] spiked on the turn to put him way behind. The river brought the [Ad] and a second pair for Gordillo, and start-of-day-2 leader Taibi goes out in ninth.

They are almost at the end of Level 27. Play will be continuing tonight, but a short break is being taken to shoot official final table photos.

9:28pm: Updated chip counts (9 remain)

The final nine players have redrawn and been reseated, with Pablo Gordillo the current chip leader.

Here's where they are sitting, in terms of both chairs and chips:

Seat 1: Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- 3,070,000
Seat 2: Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 4,135,000
Seat 3: Sergio Braga (Brazil) -- 1,495,000
Seat 4: Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 4,680,000
Seat 5: Michael Ferrari (USA) -- 1,195,000
Seat 6: Luca Moschitta (Italy) -- 1,465,000
Seat 7: Manuel Martinez (UK) -- 2,960,000
Seat 8: Dean-Henri Taibi (France) -- 1,730,000
Seat 9: Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 3,935,000

9:11pm: Decamps done in 10th

After an open-shove by Dean-Henri Taibi from the small blind, Florian Decamps squeezed his cards in the big blind and made the call for his last 650,000 or so.

Decamps had [6c][6d] and was hoping the small pair would hold against Taibi's [Ah][8c]. But the flop came [Ac][Qd][2h] to put Taibi in front, and after the [Jc] turn and [8d] river Decamps was done.

There will be a short pause as the final nine players redraw to seat around a single table. Word is they may not actually stop at eight tonight, but rather play this level and the next before concluding play.

9:02pm: Supper pushes Braga off hand

Following an opening raise by Luca Moschitta from UTG, Sergio Braga three-bet to 275,000, then it folded to Sebastian Supper in the big blind who four-bet to 600,000. Moschitta folded, but Braga called the reraise.

The flop came [4d][4h][Qs], prompting a leading bet of 500,000 from Supper. Braga thought just a moment, then while continuing to hold his jacket up over his mouth called the bet.

The turn was the [5h], and without hesitating Supper pushed all in. That sent Braga deep into the tank, as the bet well covered the 1.2 million he had left behind.

Finally after several minutes Braga rapped the table and released his hand. Supper collected the pot, pushing his stack up over 4 million.

8:48pm: Valentin falls in 11th

Julien Valentin has exited in 11th after having picked up [Ks][Kc] and run into the [As][Ad] of Gilles Silbernagel.

The board came [Qh][8h][2d][4h][5c], sending Valentin to the rail and Silbernagel to the top of the leaderboard with a hefty stack of 4.5 million.

8:39pm: Level 27 begins (25,000/50,000/5,000)

Players are back from dinner and cards are back in the air.

7:20pm: Dinner break; updated counts (11 remain)

The remaining 11 players are on a 75-minute break.

That last knockout helped put Pablo Gordillo in first position currently. Here's a look at the updated counts:

Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 3,820,000
Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 3,430,000
Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- 3,350,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 3,005,000
Manuel Martinez (UK) -- 2,415,000
Luca Moschitta (Italy) -- 2,045,000
Michael Ferrari (USA) -- 2,045,000
Sergio Braga (Brazil) -- 1,815,000
Julien Valentin (France) -- 1,180,000
Dean-Henri Taibi (France) -- 1,035,000
Florian Decamps (France) -- 485,000

7:11pm: Vidal vanquished in 12th

All in for his last 522,000 with [Tc][Th], Charles Vidal was unfortunately up against the [Kd][Kc] of Pablo Gordillo. The board came [2h][3s][Ah][3c][Ks], and Vidal is out in 12th.

6:55pm: Barbaro busts in 13th

Alessandro Bardaro is the latest to fall as the dinner break approaches.

Catching up with the action on the river with the board showing [6h][Ah][Ts][Kd][4c], Bardero called all in following a Gilles Silbernagel bet to show [As][Qc], but his top pair was no good versus Silbernagel's [Kc][Tc].

6:45pm: Branellec loses to Supper before dinner

Sebastian Supper has just sent out Guillaume Branellec in 14th as the move into the latter part of Level 26. Branellec was all in with [As][Qd] versus Supper's [6c][6h].

A queen came on the turn, but not until after a six had flopped to give Supper a set. Thirteen remain.

6:42pm: Decamps doubles through Taibi

Following an opening raise by Dean-Henri Taibi from the button, Florian Decamps reraise-shoved for about 380,000 from the small blind, and Taibi made the call.

Taibi had [5d][5c] while Decamps had [As][Qs]. Things looked bleak for Decamps after the [9s][Jc][4c] flop and [Kh] turn, but the [Ac] came on the end to save him, and he's back up around 775,000. Taibi still has about 1.6 million.

6:35pm: Kings fail Kokkalis; 14 remain

Evangelos Kokkalis just met his end in 15th following a hard-luck situation versus Luca Moschitta.

As though drawing the cards from the middle of his name, Kokkalis was all in with [Kh][Ks], but he'd run smack into Moschitta's [Ac][Ad]. The community cards came [Jd][6d][4d][7h][3c], and just like that they're down to 14 players.

6:32pm: Mouawad knocks out Rivero in 16th

Players will be taking a 75-minute dinner break once they reach the end of Level 26 today. That is unless Joseph Mouawad keeps knocking out players and they reach an eight-handed final table first.

Just now Mouawad opened from middle position, and it folded to Alexandre Rivero on the button who pushed all in for about half a million. When it got back to Mouawad he called.

Mouawad: [Jd][Jc]
Rivero: [As][Ks]

The board ran out [5c][5d][3d][4d][Qs], and Rivero was out while Mouawad now appears up around 3 million and in the lead.

6:26pm: Level 26 begins (20,000/40,000/5,000)

6:25pm: Two more fall; 16 remain

Sergio Castelluccio has been eliminated in 18th, with Jose Besalduch -- one of the day's big stacks early on -- following him to the rail in 17th.

6:16pm: Mouawad mows over Santoro

Following the elimination of Pierre Malfay (21st), Roman Bier's run finally reached the finish line as he went out in 20th. Then came a big three-way all in involving EPT4 London champion Joseph Mouawad, Sergio Braga, and Amerigo Santoro.

Braga had the other two covered and tabled [Jc][Js]. Mouawad was standing as he turned over his [Ah][Qh]. And Santoro -- all in just a while ago with aces -- had picked up rockets again with [As][Ac].

The flop came a benign [Kd][6c][2h], but the [4h] caused Mouawad to start calling for a third heart to appear. The dealer burned a card and turned over the river -- the [Th]!

"Yes!" said Mouawad, with enthusiasm. "No," said Santoro, with none.

Santoro has no chips now, too, and thus walked to the cashier to collect 19th-place prize money. Meanwhile Mouawad is up to about 2.4 million, while Braga is at a still very healthy 1.9 million.

5:55pm: Timely rockets for Santoro

Following an opening raise by Florian Decamps, Amerigo Santoro reraised all in for 187,000 from the button, and after it folded back to Decamps he called.

Decamps tabled [Ac][6h], and the table then shared a collective chuckle at the sight of Santoro's [Ad][As]. The board ran clean for Santoro, and with that double both he and Decamps have roughly similar stacks of about 375,000.

5:51pm: Lacolas loses chips, out in 22nd

In what has been a slow-moving level, Lionel Lacolas is the only elimination thus far in 22nd.

5:41pm: Bier hanging on

A short-stacked Romain Bier -- 22nd of 22 to start the level -- has survived all-ins a couple of times thus far, thereby keeping his seat. The 20-year-old Bier actually won his way into this event via a club tournament and so is on a freeroll of sorts, and clearly is enjoying making the trip last even longer into Day 3.

5:28pm: Updated chip counts (22 remain)

France's Gilles Silbernagel rose to the top of the leaderboard near the end of the last level. Here are updated counts for all 22 of the remaining players:

Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 2,750,000
Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 2,400,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 2,200,000
Manuel Martinez (UK) -- 2,065,000
Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- 2,000,000
Michael Ferrari (USA) -- 1,700,000
Sergio Braga (Brazil) -- 1,570,000
Guillaume Branellec -- 1,015,000
Dean-Henri Taibi (France) -- 980,000
Jose Besalduch (Spain) -- 900,000

Alessandro Bardaro (Italy) -- 850,000
Charles Vidal (France) -- 800,000
Evangelos Kokkalis (Greece) -- 760,000
Luca Moschitta (Italy) -- 700,000
Florian Decamps (France) -- 520,000
Sergio Castellucio (Italy) -- 415,000
Alexandre Rivero (Brazil) -- 415,000
Amerigo Santoro (Italy) -- 395,000
Julien Valentin (France) -- 380,000
Piere Malfay (France) -- 350,000

Lionel Lacolas (Italy) -- 340,000
Romain Bier (France) -- 220,000

5:25pm: Level 25 begins (15,000/30,000/4,000)

The 22 remaining players are back in their seats and play has resumed once more. For updates from the day's first four levels during which they raced down from 57 to 22, click here.

Key FPS Monaco Main Event Facts:
- The tournament is scheduled to play down to the eight-handed final table
- The top 143 finishers are cashing; click here for an updated list of payouts

To get all the latest news, chip counts and payouts, don't forget to download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

Another long day in the France Poker Series Monaco Main Event PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final has come to a close, and after eight full one-hour levels the 57 players who had survived from the 993-player starting field have now played all of the way down to a final table and then some.

Pablo Gordillo began the official final table with the chip lead -- a point hit with about an hour left to play -- and he had it again at night's end. In fact, the Spaniard's stack of 7,005,000 will put him a little over 3 million clear of anyone else when cards go back in the air for Sunday's final day.

Those 57 returned with the Frenchman Dean-Henri Taibi leading, and within a couple of hours they were already less 20 players. EPT4 Prague champion Arnaud Mattern (47th) and La Maison Du Bluff star Abou Sy (42nd) among those hitting the rail.

Gordillo had already pushed into the chip lead by then, and would remain at or near the top of the counts for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Meanwhile the pace slowed somewhat, the field shrinking from 37 to 22 over the next two one-hour levels. That stretch saw both the tournament's last woman, Daniela Parotti, and start-of-day-2 chip leader Frederik Treusch being eliminated in 27th and 26th, respectively.

Gilles Silbernagel of France had risen to challenge Gordillo by that point, taking over the chip lead briefly as the field was whittled down further. Freeroll winner Romain Bier went out in 20th, and a little later Amerigo Santoro had his aces cracked by EPT4 London champion Joseph Mouawad to go out in 19th.

Mouawad earned another knockout soon thereafter, taking out Alexandre Rivero in 16th, and enjoyed the chip lead for part of the pre-dinner period. Evangelos Kokkalis (15th) and Guillaume Branellec (14th) next fell, with Alessandro Bardaro (13th) and Charles Vidal (12th) following before those remaining took time out for dinner.

After their return, Julien Valentin unfortunately ran kings into Silbernagel's aces to finish 11th. Florian Decamps finally lost the last of his short stack to Taibi to finish 10th. Then start-of-day-3 leader Taibi fell in ninth in a hand against Gordillo.

That one put Gordillo back in front, and other than a brief period when Silbernagel jumped ahead of him again Gordillo would continue to stay active and accumulate until play concluded. Michael Ferrari would be the only one to fall during that final hour, finishing eighth after his pocket queens failed to hold against Mouawad's ace-queen.

Here's how the stacks look and where they'll be seated to start play tomorrow:

Seat 1: Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- 3,220,000
Seat 2: Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 3,890,000
Seat 3: Sergio Braga (Brazil) -- 840,000
Seat 4: Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 7,005,000
Seat 5: empty
Seat 6: Luca Moschitta (Italy) -- 1,655,000
Seat 7: Manuel Martinez (UK) -- 3,950,000
Seat 8: Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 3,520,000

The next player out will earn €23,500 while a big prize of €177,000 awaits the winner.

Play resumes at 12:30 p.m. local time tomorrow, with cards-up coverage starting on a one-hour delay at 1:30 p.m. over at EPT Live. Come back then to find out with us who will succeed Yury Nesterenko to become the next France Poker Series Monaco Main Event champion.

Level 21-24 updates (from 57 to 22)
Level 25-28 updates (from 22 to 7)
Prize pool and payouts

To get all the latest news, chip counts and payouts, don't forget to download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

From a whopping field of 993, they reached the final eight-handed table with about an hour left to play last night in the France Poker Series Monaco Main Event that has helped kick off the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final festival.

Before play concluded we lost one -- Michael Ferrari -- in eighth, meaning seven will return to decide who will become the next FPS Monaco Main Event champion. Here's a little more about each of the final tablists:

Seat 1: Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- 3,220,000

Married with three children, Joseph Mouawad is a real estate developer originally from Beirut who first began playing poker nearly 15 years ago.

He currently plays about three EPT festivals per year, and brings to the final table the most impressive résumé of tour success highlighted by his win in the EPT London Main Event back in Season 4, earning him a handsome £611,520 first prize. His most recent cash on the tour saw him final table a €2,200 NLHE event at EPT10 Barcelona where he finished eighth.

Seat 2: Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 3,890,000

The lone Frenchman making the final table, 43-year-old Gilles Silbernagel is also a father a three and a businessman who has enjoyed success playing tournament poker.

Considering himself an amateur, he nonetheless has collected several cashes in various events in Europe over the last several years, the biggest coming from winning a €330 NLHE Estrellas event at EPT10 Barcelona where he topped a field of 469 to earn a €30,780 first prize. After two levels he was down to just 2,000 from the starting stack of 25,000, and now Silbernagel sits in third position among the final seven.

Seat 3: Sergio Braga (Brazil) -- 840,000

A live cash game specialist, the 49-year-old Sergio Braga's prefered games are pot-limit Omaha and seven-card stud. In fact, he's already tasted success this week in Monaco by winning Event #15, the €500 limit seven-card stud event.

The Brazilian has earned numerous cashes and made many final tables on both the LAPT and BSOP, with a runner-up finish in a BSOP event in 2013 earning him his biggest career score equivalent to just over $60,000. He has hopes of spinning what is currently the short stack up today, perhaps to win as a birthday present to himself as he turns 50 in two days.

Seat 4: Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 7,005,000

At age 20 and sitting with just over 7 million chips, Pablo Gordillo is both the youngest of the remaining players and the one with the most chips to start the final day of play. A finance student from León, Spain, Gordillo has put his studies on hold for now as he pursues what is fast becoming a successful career in poker.

Gordillo won his way into this event via a $215 satellite on PokerStars, where he can often be found playing NLHE tournaments and PLO cash games. Despite his young age, he's already notched some significant tournament cashes, including a fourth-place finish in the EPT10 Vienna Main Event earning him €262,150. He made another EPT Main Event final table in London earlier this season as well, ultimately finishing eighth.

Seat 5: Michael Ferrari (USA) -- finished 8th

Michael Ferrari entered the official final table as the short stack with eight left, and ultimately was knocked out for a €16,750 cash. A commercial real estate developer from San Francisco, California, Ferrari was here playing his first overseas tournament.

Ferrari had notched just a couple of tournament cashes previously, the best coming for winning a $400 Deep Stack Extravaganza event at the Venetian in 2012 where he topped 661 to earn $50,268. It was a tournament he hadn't even necessarily planned to play, but had been in Las Vegas for a wedding and not being able to play a WSOP event decided to take a shot. Besides poker, Ferrari's hobbies include motorcycles.

Seat 6: Luca Moschitta (Italy) -- 1,655,000

The 25-year-old Luca Moschitta has the distinction of having back in 2009 become the youngest SuperNova Elite at age 19. He continues to play a high volume of high-stakes sit-n-gos on PokerStars.it as a member of Team PokerStars Online, and following the path of his fellow countryman Dario Minieri has bought a couple of Porsches with his FPPs.

Moschitta has become a regular on the live circuit as well where he plays along with his girlfriend, Sofia Lovgren. His largest previous live result was for winning the IPT Main Event in Saint Vincent in 2013, a €180,000 score.

Seat 7: Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 3,950,000

Manuel Martinez is a 27-year-old Spanish poker pro currently residing in London. A cash game specialist for the last five years, he enjoys tournaments as well occasionally.

Martinez final tabled the Estrellas Main Event in Madrid in 2012, finishing fifth for his largest live score of €24,300. He'll exceed that amount should he manage to outlast one other player and make it into the top six today.

Seat 8: Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 3,520,000

A 29-year-old student from Munich, Sebastian Supper is an amateur who has been playing poker for six years. He qualified online for just €30 to play this event.

Supper has collected a few cashes in Europe previously, the largest coming after finishing third in a 188-player event in Pardubice in the Czech Republic, good for the equivalent of almost $8,500. Supper studies chemistry and geography, with plans eventually to become a professor.

When the final seven return today, here is what they'll be playing for:

1st: €177,000
2nd: €107,500
3rd: €75,400
4th: €56,600
5th: €43,800
6th: €32,700
7th: €23,500

Play begins at 12:30 p.m. Central European Time -- that's six hours ahead of Eastern time, and three hours ahead of GMT. They'll be on the feature table in the main tournament room here at the Monte Carlo Bay Resort and Hotel, with cards-up coverage starting on a one hour delay at 1:30 p.m. locally. That's when we'll pick up our start-to-finish coverage here as well. Join us then to see who beomes the next FPS Monaco Main Event champion.

To get all the latest news, chip counts and payouts, don't forget to download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

Watch cards-up coverage of the FPS Monaco Main Event final table on EPT Live by clicking here. Time stamps of the updates below reflect the one-hour delay.

6:06pm: Break time; updated chip counts

The last three are taking another 20-minute break. Click here for continuing updates starting with Level 33. Here are the counts at the break:

Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 14,645,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 7,875,000
Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 2,105,000

6:02pm: Martinez collects after Silbernagel mucks

With just a couple of minutes left in the level, Gilles Silbernagel opened with a raise to 375,000 from the small blind with one of his two cards showing -- the [Td]. Manuel Martinez called from the big blind, and neither of his cards were picked up.

Both checked the [2h][Qh][Jc] flop, then Silbernagel bet 375,000 on the [7d] turn. The river was the [Kc]. Silbernagel stacked plaques and pushed out a bet of 700,000, and Martinez called. Silbernagel tapped the table and said "good call," and in fact mucked his hand, meaning no one got to see Martinez's hand.

5:51pm: Pablo Gordillo eliminated in 4th (€56,600)

After Gilles Silbernagel opened with a raise from the small blind with [Jh][Js], Pablo Gordillo pushed all in for 2.15 million from the big blind with [Kd][Qd] and Silbernagel called.

The flop came [6s][Ad][8h], then the [Ts] turn provided a couple more outs to Gordillo in the form of the two remaining jacks. But the turn was the [Tc], and after Silbernagel shook his hand and gave him a hug, Gordillo hit the rail in fourth.

5:42pm: Updated chip counts

Manuel Martinez is back on top, while Pablo Gordillo is now the short stack.

Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 11,040,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 8,305,000
Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 3,410,000
Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 1,870,000

5:41pm: Martinez retakes lead from Supper

On next hand after being bluffed by Gilles Silbernagel, Sebastian Supper opened for 325,000 with [Ac][8s] from UTG and Manuel Martinez called from the big blind with [6d][3c]. The [3h][5c][9h] hit Martinez's hand, and he led with a bet which Supper called. Both checked the [6c] turn that gave Martinez a second pair.

The river was the [Ts] and Martinez bet 575,000. Supper thought a while then called with his ace-high, and Martinez collected the pot. Martinez pushes ahead of Supper on that hand to retake the lead.

5:37pm: Silbernagel bluffs Supper

Sebastian Supper raised to 325,000 from the button with the [Td] and an unseen second card, and Gilles Silbernagel called from the small blind with [Jh][8h]. The flop came [Qh][Qc][Ah], Silbernagel checked, Supper bet 350,000, and Silbernagel called. The turn was the [4c] and both checked.

The river was the [Ks]. Silbernagel carved out 600,000, and after Supper let his hand go, Silbernagel showed his bluff as he was shipped the chips.

5:28pm: Updated chip counts

Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 10,450,000
Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 9,450,000
Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 2,555,000
Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 2,170,000

5:19pm: Joseph Mouawad eliminated in 5th (€43,800)

It folded around to Sebastian Supper in the small blind who raised to 400,000 with [9c][9d], then Joseph Mouawad reraised all in for 3,755,000 total with [Ah][Qd]. Supper hemmed and hawed a little, then made the call to create a 7.6 million pot and put Mouawad at risk.

The flop came [2s][4c][Qc], giving Mouwad a pair and the lead, but the [Jc] brought a club flush draw for Supper. Then came the river... the [9h]! A set for Supper, and Mouwad is out in fifth. Meanwhile, that pot appears to have carried Supper ahead of Martinez into the chip lead.

5:07pm: Some for Silbernagel

In the first hand of the new level, Gilles Silbernagel raised the minimum to 320,000 from UTG with [Qc][Js] and it folded to Joseph Mouawad in the big blind who called (his hand not being shown). Both checked the [Td][5c][9d] flop, then after the [Jc] turn Mouawad check-folded to a bet of 300,000 from Silbernagel.

5:06pm: Level 32 begins (80,000/160,000/20,000)

5:05pm: Mouawad wins last hand of level

In the last hand of Level 31, Joseph Mouawad raised to 275,000 from UTG with [Ad][4s], and it folded to Manuel Martinez in the small blind with [9c][8c]. He thought a moment, then slid out a three-bet to 900,000. It folded back to Mouawad who immediately shoved all in, and Martinez folded.

4:57pm: Silbernagel flops flush, shoves turn

Pablo Gordillo raised to 250,000 from UTG with [Ad][2h] and Gilles Silbernagel defended his big blind by calling with [Qs][6s]. The flop came [3s][As][Ts] -- a flush for Silbernagel, and a pair of aces for Gordillo -- and Silbernagel led for 375,000. Gordillo called.

The turn then brought the [Th] to pair the board, and Silbernagel shoved all in for 2,955,000 or about twice what was in the pot.

Gordillo thought for over a minute, then finally let his hand go to. Silbernagel is up close to 4.4 million after that one.

4:52pm: Updated chip counts

Manuel Martinez is currently enjoying a huge lead with more than twice the chips of his nearest challenger, Sebastian Supper.

Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 10,205,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 4,430,00
Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 3,675,000
Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 3,360,000
Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- 2,955,000

4:50pm: Silbernagel makes straight, survives

It folded around to Gilles Silbernagel on the button who looked at his hand -- [Qc][Tc] -- then raised all in for 1.6 million. The action reached Manuel Martinez in the big blind with [Kd][Jc], and he called to put .

The flop came [Kh][3h][Jd] to give Martinez two pair and Silbernagel an open-ender, then the [9c] fell on the turn to fill Silbernagel's straight. The river was the [9s], and Silbernagel survives.

4:46pm: Jacks work for Mouawad

Joseph Mouawad raised to 265,000 from the button with [Jc][Td], then Gilles Silbernagel three-bet from the small blind to 385,000 with [8c][8h]. It got back to Mouawad who called, then the flop came [Jh][Qh][Js] to give Mouawad trip jacks. Both checked. The turn was the [9d]. Silbernagel checked, Mouawad bet, and Silbernagel called. The [Qc] river bought two checks, and Mouawad won the pot with jacks full of queens.

4:38pm: Fives provide a feast for Supper

Joseph Mouawad raised to 275,000 from under the gun with [Ah][Qd] and it folded around to Sebastian Supper in the big blind who shoved all in for 2,205,000 with [5d][5h]. Taking his time deciding, Mouawad at last made the call.

The flop came [9d][9s][5s], giving Supper a full house and causing Mouawad to grimace. A jack on the turn sealed it, and Supper now has about 4.6 million while Mouawad slips to 2.3 million.

4:34pm: More for Martinez

Pablo Gordillo completed from the small blind with [Qs][7d] and Manuel Martinez checked the BB with [6s][3c]. The flop came an interesting [5c][6d][3h] -- a gutshot for Gordillo and two pair for Martinez -- and both players checked. The [9d] fell on the turn, giving Gordillo a double belly-buster draw, and he led for 385,000. Martinez called.

The river was the [9c], pairing the board. Gordillo thought a bit then checked, and Martinez checked behind, collecting the pot.

4:29pm: Martinez over Mouawad

Contrasting somewhat with the first two hours of Day 4, we're seeing a lot of raise-and-takes and relatively small pots so far during Level 31. We just had an exception to that, however, in a hand between Manuel Martinez and Joseph Mouawad.

Martinez raised to 250,000 from the button with [Ac][3s] and Mouawad decided to defend his big blind by reraising to 380,000 with [7c][5s]. Martinez then four-bet to 750,000, and after a brief pause Mouawad called.

The flop came [4c][5c][As]. Mouawad led for 600,000 with his pair of fives, and Martinez called with top pair of aces. The turn brought the [4d], and this time both checked. The river was the [8c]. Mouawad fired 800,000 this time, and after thinking a while Martinez called to win the pot.

Leader Martinez is up to 10.2 million now while Mouawad is just under 4.6 million.

4:19pm: Mouawad grabs a few

Manuel Martinez raised to 250,000 from under the gun with [Ad][Qd] and got one caller in Joseph Mouawad with [Kd][Qc] on the button. The flop came [8s][Ks][6h] and Martinez led wiht a bet of 225,000. Mouawad raised to 500,000, and Martinez pitched his cards away.

4:10pm: Stacks of plaques

With the increase in stakes, they've now brought out the 100,000-chip plaques.

Pablo Gordillo raised to 250,000 from under the gun with [Ks][9d], and Manuel Martinez pushed out some of those plaques, reraising to 650,000 from the cutoff with [Qd][Td]. It folded back to Gordillo, and he let his hand go.

4:04pm: Level 31 begins (60,000/120,000/20,000)

Players are back in their seats and Level 31 is underway. Both the blinds and the antes have now increased as play resumes.

3:39pm: Break time

The remaining five players are now on a 20-minute break.

3:38pm: Level 30 ends; updated chip counts

Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 8,010,000
Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- 5,915,000
Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 4,680,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 3,355,000
Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 2,665,000

3:29pm: Martinez doubles through Gordillo

Pablo Gordillo raised to 200,000 with [Kd][Qs] from the cutoff, then Manuel Martinez reraised to 450,000 from the button holding [Qh][Qc]. The blinds stepped aside, and Gordillo called.

The flop came [Th][Jh][8d], giving Gordillo an open-ended straight draw while Martinez's queens were still ahead. Gordillo checked, and Martinez bet 550,000 -- about half the pot. The usually fast-acting Gordillo took his time responding, eyeing Martinez a few times while riffling his chips slowly. Then after two minutes Gordillo announced he was all in, and Martinez called right away.

The turn brought the [7h] and the river the [3s], and Martinez earned the big double-up. With the day's first break approaching, Martinez is the chip leader with almost 7.3 million while Gordillo falls down around 4 million.

3:20pm: Some for Martinez

Martinez raised from under the gun with one of his hole cards showing -- the [Qd] -- and Pablo Gordillo defended his big blind by calling with [4d][3d]. The flop came [7h][8d][4h], and Gordillo check-called a bet from Martinez, making the pot 960,000. The turn was the [2s] and Gordillo checked again. Martinez bet 415,000 this time, and Gordillo folded.

3:08pm: Mouawad shoves flop, collects

Sebastian Supper raised to 200,000 from UTG with the [Ac] among his two hole cards, Joseph Mouawad called from the cutoff with [4c][4s], then Pablo Gordillo three-bet to 805,000 from the small blind after picking up [As][Kh]. Supper folded, but Mouawad called and the pair saw a flop come [2c][6d][7h].

After Gordillo checked, Mouawad shoved all in for 3.745 million and Gordillo didn't take too long to fold.

3:02pm: Aggro Gordillo

Joseph Mouawad raised to 225,000 from the button with [Kd][Js], Gilles Silbernagel called from the small blind with [As][7d], and Pablo Gordillo called as well from the big blind with [Th][2h].

The flop came [2c][8s][7s], and all three checked. The turn was the [Jh], and upon being checked to Mouawad bet 300,000 with his top pair. Silbernagel called with his pair of sevens, then Gordillo -- with a pair of deuces and a gutshot draw -- check-raised to 1.1 million.

Mouawad took a sip from his bottle of water as he studied the situation, then pushed his cards away. Silbernagel folded as well, and Gordillo picked up the pot.

Gordillo is up over 8.2 million now, comfortably in the lead.

2:56pm: A morsel for Supper

Pablo Gordillo raised to 200,000 from the button with [Qc][4s], Sebastian Supper three-bet to 550,000 from the big blind with [Ah][Kh], and Gordillo let his hand go. Supper has about 4.2 million now, Gordillo 7.1 million.

2:52pm: Martinez plays one

Manuel Martinez -- currently fifth of five -- raised from under the gun with [Ac][Qs] and only Pablo Gordillo called from the big blind with [9s][5s]. Both checked down the [4h][Td][4d][Kh][9h] board, and that river nine gave Gordillo the small pot.

Gordillo is up to about 7.3 million now while Martinez has 3.5 million.

2:41pm: Mouawad moves Silbernagel off hand

Joseph Mouawad raised holding [5h][5d] in the cutoff, Gilles Silbernagel three-bet with [Ac][2c] from the button, and when it folded back to Mouawad he called, making the pot 1.1 million. The flop came [6s][7s][3s] and Mouawad bet 350,000. Silbernagel made it 850,000 to go, then Mouawad reraised all in. Silbernagel pretended to think a short while, then folded.

2:36pm: Level 30 begins (50,000/100,000/10,000)

2:32pm: Gordillo living right

Gordillo just now managed to flop yet another flush in a three-way hand, but unfortuantely for him couldn't get any action from his two opponents.

2:26pm: Kings for Silbernagel; updated chip counts

Following a hand in which Gilles Silbernagel four-bet with pocket kings to push Pablo Gordillo off his ace-seven, Silbernagel is the new chip leader.

Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 6,915,000
Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 6,355,000
Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- 4,615,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 3,515,000
Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 3,180,000

2:24pm: Gordillo flops flush, loses

From the small blind, Gilles Silbernagel raised the minimum to 160,000 with [Kd][Jh] and Pablo Gordillo called in the BB with [9h][3h]. The flop came all hearts -- [2h][Qh][7h] -- to give Gordillo a flush, and Silbernagel led with a bet of 305,000. Gordillo called.

The turn was the [7c], and Silbernagel again bet -- 500,000 this time -- and Gordillo just called once more.

The river then brought the [4h] to give Silbernagel the better flush. He checked, and Gordillo checked back. Silbernagel showed his winning hand and Gordillo mucked.

2:19pm: Gordillo flops straight, wins

Pablo Gordillo raised to 200,000 from under the gun and got callers in Joseph Mouawad (SB) with [Kc][Jd] and Gilles Silbernagel (BB) with [Ts][8s]. The flop came [5h][9h][8d], giving Gordillo a straight, and when checked to he bet 375,000. Only Silbernagel called. Both remaining players then checked the [6c] turn.

The river brought the [Qh]. Silbernagel checked, Gordillo bet 1.015 million, and Silbernagel folded, giving Gordillo the pot.

2:13pm: Gordillo back over 7 million

Pablo Gordillo raised to 160,000 from the cutoff with [Qs][8h] and Sebastian Supper called from the small blind with [Jh][Th]. Both checked the [7h][Qd][Jc] flop, then the [Qh] fell on the turn to give Gordillo trips. Supper led with a bet of 200,000, and Gordillo just called.

The river was the [3d] and when Supper bet 500,000, Gordillo called immediately to win the pot.

Gordillo is back up to 7.15 million after that one.

2:05pm: Luca Moschitta eliminated in 6th (€32,700)

Luca Moschitta open-pushed from under the gun for 1,635,000 with [8h][8d] and got one caller in Joseph Mouawad from the button with [9s][9d].

Moschitta needed help to survive, but the flop came [Js][4c][9h] to give Mouawad a set, and after the [2c] turn Moschitta was drawing dead to finish in sixth.

1:59pm: Silbernagel shoves, collects; updated chip counts

Gilles Silbernagel just earned a big pot versus Manuel Martinez with [Ah][7h] versus Martinez's [Ad][Qd] after turning trip sevens and pushing all in on fourth street to get a fold from Martinez.

Halfway through the day's first level, here are the updated counts:

Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 6,330,000
Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 6,205,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 4,535,000
Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- 3,030,000
Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 2,825,000
Luca Moschitta (Italy) -- 1,655,000

1:52pm: Supper pushes Gordillo off hand with river check-raise

Pablo Gordillo raised to 160,000 from the cutoff with [9s][9d], Sebastian Supper three-bet to 460,000 from the big blind with [Ah][Qh], and Gordillo called. Both checked the [Kc][Ts][4s] flop and [As] turn, then the [Ks] fell on the river to make a flush for Gordillo.

When checked to Gordillo made a small bet of 375,000 into the pot of just over 1 million, then Supper made a bold check-raise to 1 million total -- and Gordillo folded right away.

Gordillo - 6.34 million
Supper - 4.5 million

1:48pm: Sergio Braga eliminated in 7th (€23,500)

Sergio Braga shoved all in again, this time from the cutoff with [Ad][9s], and got a caller in Martinez in the big blind with [As][Jd].

The board came [7h][8d][Qs][Qh][4d], and Braga exited in seventh.

1:46pm: Playing pocket pairs

Team PokerStars Online member Luca Moschitta picked up [8c][8d] sitting UTG, and after raising to 175,000 everyone else folded.

Then it was Manuel Martinez's turn to be dealt a pocket pair UTG with [5d][5c], and after he raised to 160,000 he watched Sebastian Supper three-bet to 400,000 from a seat over with [Qs][Js]. That was enough to push Martinez off his hand.

1:40pm: Gordillo gets one

On the day's second hand, Pablo Gordillo opened for 160,000 from under the gun with [Ks][Qh] and gets one caller in Sebastian Supper playing from the cutoff with [5d][5s]. Everyone else folded, and the pair watched the flop come [8s][Ad][Tc]. With his gutshot to Broadway, Gordillo led for 180,000 and won the pot.

1:37pm: Braga pushes right away

With only one of his hole cards -- the [Ks] -- being picked up by sensor, the short stack Sergio Braga shoved all in on the day's first hand and received no action.

1:36pm: Level 29 begins (40,000/80,000/10,000)

N.B. -- Gilles Silbernagel in fact begins Day 4 with a little more than what had been reported at the end of play last night. He begins today with 4,390,000.

1:34pm: Cards in the air

They're off! The first hand of the final day of the FPS Monaco Main Event is being dealt.

1:20pm: Coverage about to begin

We're close to the beginning of our coverage, which begins with seven players left. Read profiles of the final tablists here. Spain's Pablo Gordillo leads the way to start today, his stack of just over 7 million putting him more than 3 million clear of the chase pack at present.

Here's a reminder of where they are seated and what the stacks are to start play today:

Seat 1: Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- 3,220,000
Seat 2: Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 3,890,000
Seat 3: Sergio Braga (Brazil) -- 840,000
Seat 4: Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 7,005,000
Seat 5: empty
Seat 6: Luca Moschitta (Italy) -- 1,655,000
Seat 7: Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 3,950,000
Seat 8: Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 3,520,000

And another reminder... what they are playing for:

1st: €177,000
2nd: €107,500
3rd: €75,400
4th: €56,600
5th: €43,800
6th: €32,700
7th: €23,500

To get all the latest news, chip counts and payouts, don't forget to download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

Watch cards-up coverage of the FPS Monaco Main Event final table on EPT Live by clicking here. Time stamps of the updates below reflect the one-hour delay.

Click here for live updates from Levels 29-32, during which they played down from seven players to three.

9:58pm: Sebastian Supper wins (€177,000); Manuel Martinez runner-up (€107,500)

The third hand of heads-up play saw Manuel Martinez toss away [8s][4h] from the button. Then on the next one Supper once more announced he was pushing all in, with only the [4s] tantalizing showing on the card graphics.

Again Martinez looked at his cards, and without much hesitation called the shove.

Martinez: [Ac][9h]
Supper: [4s][4d]

Supper had a made hand this time, but after the [7d][9c][2d] came on the flop Martinez had made a better one for the moment with a pair of nines.

The [Qd] then came on the turn, causing both players to grin -- for different reasons -- as Supper had picked up the diamond flush draw and many more outs.

Then came the river... the [Jd]!

Just like that it was over! Martinez finished second for a nice prize of €107,500, while Supper wins the €177,000 first prize and FPS Monaco Main Event trophy.

Back shortly to recap today's exciting final day.

9:52pm: Martinez earns a quick double-up

Manuel Martinez folded the first heads-up hand from the button after picking up [8h][7d]. On the next Sebastian Supper announced he was raising all in, and Martinez called.

Supper: [6s][4s]
Martinez: [Kd][Qs]

The flop came [3s][3h][9s], giving Supper a flush draw, then the turn brought the [Jd]. With a ton of outs still available for Supper, the [Kc] wasn't one of them and Martinez doubled up to 5.89 million. Supper still has 18.335 million.

9:48pm: Play resumes

The winner's trophy has been brought out and placed between Sebastian Supper and Manuel Martinez, and their heads-up battle has commenced.

9:42 pm: Updated chip counts to start heads-up play

Players are taking a short break before heads-up play will begin. Sebastian Supper will have about a 7-to-1 chip advantage when play resumes.

Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 21,090,000
Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 3,135,000

9:40 pm: Gilles Silbernagel eliminated in 3rd place (€75,400)

Gilles Silbernagel had the button, and after checking his cards -- [As][Kc] -- paused a couple of beats before moving all in for 1,895,000. It folded to Sebastian Supper in the big blind who had [Qc][9c], and after thinking a moment he made the call.

The flop came [2c][2s][Qd] to hit Supper's hand, and Silbernagel immediately stood from his chair. The turn was the [5s] and Silbernagel hung his head for a moment before looking up to see the river -- the [9s].

Silbernagel shook the other two players' hands and departed with a third-place finish.

9:33pm: Supper draws better straight, takes lead

Sebastian Supper raised to 750,000 from the small blind holding [9d][5h], and Gilles Silbernagel -- his hole cards unknown -- called from the big blind.

The flop came [3c][6h][4s], and Supper fired a continuation bet of 1 million. Silbernagel thought a moment, then called the bet. The turn then brought the [7c], making a straight for Supper. Supper again acted quickly, betting 2 million. Silbernagel suddenly announced he was all in, and Supper called immediately.

Silbernagel: [Ks][5s]
Supper: [9d][5h]

Both players had turned straights, as it turned out. The dealer then produced the river...

The [8h]!

"I didn't even know...!" said Supper with a big smile, noting he hadn't even realized he was freerolling to the better straight. Meanwhile Silbernagel looked somewhat shaken, having suddenly gone from the leader to the short stack.

Supper is now the overwhelming chip leader.

Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 18,260,000
Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 4,240,000
Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 2,125,000

9:27pm: A few small ones

After Sebastian Supper won another couple of small pots, a hand arose that saw Manuel Martinez limp in from the small blind with [Kc][7d] and Supper check from the big blind with a [3s] and an obscured second card.

The flop came [Qd][Kh][7h] and both checked, then after the [3c] turn Supper checked, Martinez bet 400,000, and Supper folded.

9:21pm: Supper shoves, collects

In the first hand back, Gilles Silbernagel raised to 625,000 from the button with a [Ks] and one unknown hole card, and it folded to Sebastian Supper who shoved all in from the big blind with [6h][6c], earning a fold from Silbernagel and the first post-dinner pot.

9:20pm: Level 35 begins (150,000/300,000/40,000)

Players are back in their seats and play has resumed with yet another hefty increase of both the blinds and the antes. Leader Gilles Silbernagel begins this level with almost 42 big blinds, Sebastian Supper has just under 23 big blinds, and Manuel Martinez has just under 15 big blinds.

8:29pm: Dinner break

They've reached the end of Level 34, and the three remaining players are now taking a 45-minute dinner break. Or Supper break, if you prefer.

Here are the current counts, with Silbernagel having gone from being down to a half-dozen big blinds to the leader after that sequence of big hands:

Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 12,470,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 6,865,000
Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 4,470,000

8:16pm: Silbernagel increases lead

Following a Manuel Martinez raise from the button with a [6h] and an unknown second card, Silbernagel called from the big blind with [5h][4d].

The flop came [4h][4s][Ad] and Silbernagel checked. Martinez fired 400,000, and Silbernagel quickly check-raised to 1 million. Martinez called. The turn was the [3c] and within an instant Silbernagel said he was all in.

Martinez -- his stack of about 5.4 million about half what Silbernagel had -- thought a beat then let his hand go.

8:10pm: Updated chip counts

Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 12,200,000
Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 7,225,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 5,200,000

8:08pm: Silbernagel doubles through Martinez

Gilles Silbernagel raised to 620,000 from the small blind with [Jh][Jd], and Manuel Martinez looked down to see [4h][4s] in the big blind. He thought a moment, then announced he was reraising all in, and Silbernagel called instantly.

Silbernagel was the one at risk for 6,055,000 total, but after the [2d][Td][5h][Qd][Ts] board he was the new leader with about 12.2 million while Martinez slipped back to about 7.2 million.

8:02pm: Limp-shove from Silbernagel

Gilles Silbernagel limped in from the small blind with [7h][7d], and Manuel Martinez raised to 600,000 with [Ad][6d] from the big blind. Silbernagel then instantly shoved all in for 5,095,000 total, and Martinez thought about a half-minute before folding.

7:46pm: Supper triples up with pocket tens

Manuel Martinez limped in from the button with [Ah][5h], and Sebastian Supper raised all in for his last 1.12 million from the small blind with [Th][Tc]. Gilles Silbernagel then just called the reraise from the big blind with [6d][6c].

Martinez and Silbernagel checked down the [4c][Ks][7d][5s][Jd] board, and that meant a triple-up for Supper.

Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 14,715,000
Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 6,460,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 3,450,000

7:32pm: Level 34 begins (120,000/240,000/30,000)

7:28pm: Another straight sends Silbernagel near lead

Manuel Martinez raised to 400,000 from the button with [9c][5c] and Gilles Silbernagel called with [8h][7h] from the big blind.

The flop came [9d][Tc][5d], giving Silbernagel a straight draw and Martinez two pair, and after checking Silbernagel quickly called a bet of 500,000 from Martinez.

The turn was the [Jh], giving Silbernagel his straight, and he checked once more. Martinez bet 1.3 million this time, and Silbernagel check-raised all in for 4.475 million total. Martinez got a count, and thought for a while as Silbernagel held his scarf up over his mouth.

Finally Martinez called, and wasn't pleased when the cards were revealed. The river was the [Kc], and Silbernagel won the hand.

Gilbernagel is nearly even with Martinez for the chip lead:

Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 11,785,000
Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 10,940,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 1,900,000

7:14pm: Straight for Silbernagel pays off versus Supper

Sebastian Supper limped in from the small blind with [Ts][6s] and Gilles Silbernagel checked from the big blind with [4c][3h], then the [6d][7d][5c] flop hit the latter's hand hard, giving Silbernagel a straght. When checked to Silbernagel chose to bet 400,000, and Supper called. The turn was the [Jc] and Supper checked again. Silbernagel bet all in this time -- for 2.36 million -- and Supper called immediately.

The river [Kd] was no matter as Silbernagel already had the hand locked up, and he's suddenly up to 6 million while Supper is down to about 2.7 million.

7:00pm: Silbernagel doubles

Gilles Silbernagel open-raised all in for 1,265,000 -- just over six big blinds -- from the small blind with [Ks][9h] and Manuel Martinez called from the big blind with [Jh][5h].

The board came okay for Silbernagel -- [7d][Qd][Ts][Kh][3d] -- and he doubled through.

Martinez still leads comfortably with 15.6 million, while Silbernagel is up to 2.6 million and Supper is in between with about 6.4 million.

6:57pm: Updated chip counts

Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 16,680,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 6,390,000
Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 1,555,000

6:56pm: Martinez three-bets, collects

Sebastian Supper raised to 400,000 from the button with [Kc][8c], Gilles Silbernagel called from the small blind with [Jc][9d], then Manuel Martinez three-bet to 1.5 million with [Ah][6h]. Both of the others folded.

6:54pm: Silbernagel treads softly with treys

Manuel Martinez raised to 400,000 with [Qd][6s] from the button and Gilles Silbernagel just called with [3c][3d] in the big blind, leaving himself just 2 million behind. The pair then checked down the [Jh][Ac][Qs] flop and [9h] turn. The river was the [7d], Silbernagel checked, Martinez tossed out 300,000, and Silbernagel folded his pair.

6:49pm: Silbernagel stops and goes

From the big blind Gilles Silbernagel just called a preflop open by Sebastian Supper from the small blind, with Supper's cards unknown and Silbernagel holding [8s][6s]. The flop came [Tc][Jh][9d], and when checked to Silbernagel shoved and Supper stepped aside.

6:45pm: Kings versus kings

Sebastian Supper picked up [Kd][Kc] on the button and raised to 400,000, then it folded to Manuel Martinez in the big blind who looked down to see... [Kh][Ks]! He three-bet to 1.1 million, then Supper pushed all in for just over 7 million and Martinez called.

The short-stacked Gilles Silbernagel had to like the situation a lot before the cards were tabled, and he was surely still hoping for something unusual to happen after they were. But the board came [9h][9s][Ac][Ts][Td], and the pot was split.

6:35pm: Silbernagel in shove-mode

Not long after play resumed, Gilles Silbernagel open-raised all in for 2,075,000 from the button with [Ac][Jd], and after thinking a short while Sebastian Supper folded from the big blind with [Ad][5h].

Just a few hands later, Silbernagel picked up [8s][8c] in the small blind and pushed in again, and got no action.

6:29pm: Level 33 begins (100,000/200,000/30,000)

Players are back and Level 33 is underway, with both the blinds and antes increasing once again. Here are the stacks to begin the level:

Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 14,645,000
Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 7,875,000
Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 2,105,000

And here's what's left up top for these three:

1st: €177,000
2nd: €107,500
3rd: €75,400

To get all the latest news, chip counts and payouts, don't forget to download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

From the 993 who entered this year's France Poker Series Monaco Main Event PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final, just seven were left for today's final day of play. Its ups and downs seemed fitting amid all of the mountainous terrain here in Monte Carlo. So, too, did all of the rapid twists and hairpin turns of Day 4 remind us of the roads surrounding the Monte Carlo Bay Resort and Hotel. In the end it was a student -- one for whom geography is a favorite subject -- who negotiated the path to victory, 29-year-old German Sebastian Supper.

The American Michael Ferrari had made the official final table late last night before falling in eighth, which left seven to start today.

The young Spaniard, Pablo Gordillo, brought the biggest stack by far to the start of play today, chips earned via an aggressive style he continued to employ early on while pressuring the other six.

Meanwhile two short stacks met their ends in short order. First to go was the Brazilian Sergio Braga, who couldn't last through the day's initial orbit to fall in seventh.

And soon after the Italian, Luca Moschitta, followed Braga to the rail in sixth.

Eventually the others closed the gap with Gordillo, with the Frenchman Gilles Silbernagel claiming the lead for a short while, then Gordillo's fellow countryman Manuel Martinez grabbing the lead away as Gordillo's fortunes began to slide.

Martinez would build his lead further, then Supper would finally kickstart his day by knocking out EPT4 London champion Joseph Mouawad in fifth when Supper's pocket nines held against Mouawad's ace-queen.

Relegated to short-stacked status thereafter, Gordillo would ultimately fall in fourth when his king-queen couldn't outrun Silbernagel's pocket jacks.

Like a driver taking one of those Monte Carlo turns just a little too quickly for comfort, it was then the tournament started to veer somewhat wildly.

Down to just a half-dozen big blinds at one point, Silbernagel doubled up once, then doubled again after making a straight versus Supper. He soon made another straight versus Martinez's two pair to double again, then after falling back would double through Martinez yet again to grab the chip lead.

Meanwhile Supper fell down to even fewer BBs -- less than five -- before managing to triple up versus both of his opponents with pocket tens, then chip up further into second position.

Dinner then seemed to suit Supper. Everything went his way from that point forward, starting with the hand of the tournament that took place just after play resumed.

With the board showing [3c][6h][4s][7c], betting between Silbernagel and Supper resulted in the latter being all in. As it happened both had straights, as Silbernagel had [Ks][5s] and Supper [9d][5h]. But the [8h] landed on the river to give Supper a better straight, giving him the pot and -- suddenly -- the chip lead.

No one was more surprised than Supper.

"I didn't even know!" he said, not having realized the freerolling opportunity. Now he was in the driver's seat, and he would run Silbernagel down in third shortly thereafter.

After being nearly down to the felt, Supper was taking a 7-to-1 chip lead versus Martinez to the starting line of heads-up play. Supper withstood one double by Martinez, but on the next all-in was able to draw a winning flush to claim top honors.

What a turnaround it had been!

"I don't play many tournaments," explained Supper afterwards, noting how he'd won his way here via a 10-euro rebuy tournament on PokerStars in which he'd invested a grand total of just €30.

"It's pretty incredible," he grinned, saying how he will be continuing his studies (of both geography and chemistry), but that "it's always nice to have some money to fall back on."

He will, however, perhaps indulge a little to buy something nice for himself. And again, there seemed something especially appropriate about the item he's considering purchasing.

"I'm looking for a car at the moment," he said. "So maybe it will be a little bit of a nicer one."

Congratulations to Sebastian Supper for making his way through a huge FPS Monaco Main Event field to the finish line and the victory.

Final table profiles
Final table; Level 29-32 updates
Final table; Level 33-35 updates

FPS Monaco Main Event final table results
Entrants: 993
Prize pool: €963,210
Places paid: 143

1. Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- €177,000
2. Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- €107,500
3. Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- €75,400
4. Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- €56,600
5. Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- €43,800
6. Luca Moschitta (Italy) -- €32,700
7. Sergio Braga (Brazil) -- €23,500
8. Michael Ferrari (USA) -- €16,750

There's tons more to come from Monaco this week, with the Main Event already underway plus a panoply of side action filling every corner. Stick close to the PokerStars Blog for reports on everything from the EPT11 Grand Final.

To get all the latest news, chip counts and payouts, don't forget to download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

With a win in the UKIPT Bristol this week, the Belgian poker community was celebrating a second win in the space of about a week. Pierrick Tallon was merely carrying on where Bart Lybaert had started in Lille a few days earlier.

Belgian pro Lybaert won the France Poker Series Main Event at the Hotel Casino Barriere in Lille last week, collecting a first prize of €122,000 against a field that was 745 players strong. It came heads-up against French player Jamal Hassani, who was unable to win on home soil. Hassani settled for €85,300.

It was the highlight of a 14 event series which beat the €500,000 guarantee by some way, totalling €715,200 when registration closed for the €1,100, 3 day event. Some 103 players would finish in the money, including Team PokerStars Pro Christophe de Meulder, who earned €6,150 in 17th place.

It was the biggest win to date for Lybaert whose previous biggest win came when he won the Eureka Main Event in the Czech Republic back in 2013, collecting €115,000.

Here's the full result.

FPS Main Event, Lille
Entrants: 745
Places paid: 103
Prize pool: €715,200

1. Bart Lybaert (Belgium) € 122,000
2. Jamel Hassani (France) € 85,300
3. Sonny Franco (France) € 60,100
4. Arthur Conan (France) € 45,600
5. Julien Bottollier (France) € 36,100
6. Romain Peacock (France) € 27,400
7. Romain Morin (France) € 20,100
8. Matti Konttinen (France) € 15,100
9. Eemil Tuominen (France) € 12,100

After events in Monte Carlo and Online, the FPS, now in it's fifth season, now has a break until the final event of the year at Enghien, near Paris, in December. For details of that and all aspects of the Series, go to the FPS homepage.

Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.

As a usual kick-off to the the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final, the France Poker Series Monaco Main Event is traditionally a popular starting point for poker players coming to beautiful Monaco to take part in the lengthy festival. With 80 events on this year's schedule, this €1,100 buy-in event provides a perfect opportunity for a person to get his or her poker feet wet after literally doing so in the surrounding beach and/or a hotel pool.

We wondered at the start of the day what sort of turnout we'd see, eyeing the 993 who played this event a year ago when 265 took part on the first of two Day 1 flights. That standard was met and then some this time around, with a remarkable 349 Day 1A entrants. If tomorrow follows form, then, we may see well over 1,000 playing this event.

After a dozen 45-minute levels today that big field was whittled down to just 91 players advancing to Friday's Day 2. We followed numerous big stacks throughout the day, but it was the Russian Andrey Andreev who emerged during the late afternoon as a leader, then later in the night retook first position to claim the chip leader status for the time being in this event.

Andreev finished the night bagging a cool 281,300 to put him ahead of the chase pack. His achievement also earned him the reward of a pair of tickets to Saturday's football match between French Ligue 1 sides AS Monaco and EA Guingamp, a bonus going to the Day 1A, Day 1B, and Day 2 chip leaders.

Others who thrived today to end the night with bigger-than-average stacks included the following:

Kasra Pour Khomamy - 263,000
Mario Melis - 219,000
Ivan Freitez - 190,200
Niste Mihai - 184,200
Bertrand Guenoun - 182,000
Tudor Purice - 153,000
Yury Gulyy - 134,600
Ariel Mantel - 129,400
Patricio Rojas - 128,300

Also making it to Day 2 from today's starting flight were:

Govert Metaal - 101,100
Miguel Silva - 89,400
Jean Brecard - 65,500
Mario Lopez - 57,900
Rasmus Agerskov - 34,400

Meanwhile included among the many less fortunate failing to make it through today were Dinesh Alt, Lee Markholt, Mohsin Charania, Nacho Barbero, Fabian Chauriye, David Yan, Amos Ben, Natasha Barbour, and Pierre Neuville.

Tomorrow we go back to the start for Day 1B for another 12 levels. Late registration will be open until the start of Level 5 tomorrow, at which point we'll find out just how big the FPS Monaco Main turns out to be.

Play starts at 12 noon tomorrow. Be sure to return here then as we find out together who the next France Poker Series Main Event champion will be. Until then bon soir.

FULL DAY 1A COVERAGE:

11:25pm: Day 1A has ended
Level 12 - Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)

Play is over and just under 100 players have made it through from the 349 who entered. Stay right here for a recap of the day's action. --NW

11:15pm: Last three hands
Level 12 - Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)

The tournament clock has been paused and they'll be three more hands before play is done for the day. --NW

11:05pm: Andreev still the man to catch
Level 12 - Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)

With about 20 minutes left of Day 1A there are 108 players remaining and the average stack is 80,800. One man who has more than that is Andrey Andreev, he's lost a few big blinds but still has a commanding stack of 285,000. --NW

10:55pm: Nasty turn of events for Purice
Level 12 - Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)

Tudor Purice's stack is still well above the average, but he would've been challenging for the chip lead had he held in a pot against Patricio Rojas. The LAPT6 Peru champion bet 7,000 on the [Ac][5d][4s] flop, Purice raised to 19,500, Rojas shoved for 61,800 and Purice snap called.

Purice: [5h][4h]
Rojas: [Ad][Js]

The [Ah] turn gave Rojas trips and left Purice drawing dead, Purice drops to 135,000 whilst Rojas is up to 141,000. --NW

10:35pm: Selected chip counts
Level 11 - Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)

As the final seconds tick down on level 11 it looks like Andrey Andreev has broken away from the pack and opened up a large chip lead. His stack of 307,500 is over four times the average stack. If anyone beats him to the end of day chip lead it'll be because he's lost chips, not because someone else has eclipsed his high point.

10:31pm: Confirmed busto
Level 11 - Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)

Another round of eliminations to share. Among those leaving us post-dinner were Stanislas Volle, Pavel Veksler, Vidak Banicevic, Dinesh Alt, Robert Spano, Fernando Cimaglia, , Alexander Timokhin, Yvan Kabalane, Tomas Jozonis, Jason Kiselis, Frank Delval, Thomas Aicardi, Gregory Hassan, John Field, and Lee Markholt.

Also out are David Sellam, Philippe Lamigeon, Pedro Chaves, Serge Ekert, Antony Darmani, Florian-Dimitrie Duta, Ricardo Alain Manquant, Nicolas Martin, Christine Menusier, Jan-Eric Schwippert, Atanas Malinov, Thierry Lelouche, Gerard Cohen, Egidio Aragno, Alexandre Viard, Tony Cousin, and Jean Louis Natale. --MH

10:22pm: The uninterrupted march to the rail
Level 11 - Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)

The carnage continues with players continuing to be eliminated at a rapid pace.

Just now we saw several go out in short order at nearby tables. First Andrei Streltsou fell when his ace-seven failed to hold against an opponent's king-queen.

Soon after that came a three-way all-in between Francisco Acevedo with [Ks][Kc], Nunzio Vacirca [As][Qs], and Steponas Venckus with [5s][5h]. A king on the flop would mean both Vacirca and Venckus were drawing dead by the turn, with Acevedo left to stack about 150,000.

The board shows 117 players currently remaining. --MH

10:15pm: Win with the ace-high!
Level 11 - Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)

I joined the action to see Marine Menager all-in for 21,000 on a [Td][Th][9d] flop with [8h][7h] and up against Noris Barcimanto who held [Ah][Ks]. Although behind there were worse spots for Menager as she had a 48.18% chance to win the hand. The [3d] turn and [3s] river saw Barcimanto hold, though, and Menager banged her fist on the table as the board completed.

Barcimanto is up to 87,000 after that hand. --NW

10pm: Domination nation
Level 11 - Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)

Action folded to Felix Lambertz in the hijack and he opened to 3,600. Next to act was Kasra Khomamy, the German had plenty of chips and looked like he was tempted to raise, before settling on a call.

That would have a knock-on effect as Alfio Rotella shoved all-in for 24,600 and when it got back to Lambertz he moved all-in for 44,100. This made Khomamy jolt upright and take off his mirrored sunglasses. He paused a few beats and then mucked his hand.

Lambertz: [Ad][Qc]
Rotella: [Ac][Js]

The [6h][8d][As][2d][8c] board kept Lambertz in front and Rotella was sent to the rail. --NW

9:49pm: Boost for Brecard
Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200 (200 ante)

With Level 10 nearly done, there are 135 players left in the Day 1A field. Among them is Julien Brecard of France's PokerStars TV Stars team, who just enjoyed a big boost to his stack to push up close to 75,000. --MH

9:39pm: Gone but not forgotten
Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200 (200 ante)

Around 200 of the 349 players who started today with dreams of winning the FPS Main Event have been knocked out. Recent eliminations include: Malek Grabsi, Mohsin Charania, Kamran Aliyev, Michal Mrakes, Laurent Marc, Sharman Olshan, David Giorsetti, Peter Johnston, Gaetan Cauchy, Peter Horkay, Felix Lambertz, Eric Abbas, and Aurelien Angenieux. --NW

9:37pm: Guenoun goes to the top
Level 10 - Blinds: 600/1,200 (200 ante)

Bertrand Guenoun just survived a huge all-in at his table on the far side of the room, and when the stacking was done he now appears to have around 208,000, which means he's now contending for the chip lead as Day 1A moves into its final levels.

As we mentioned earlier, whoever finishes the night atop the leaderboard will be picking up a pair of free tickets to Saturday's football match between French Ligue 1 sides AS Monaco and EA Guingamp. --MH

9:25pm: Double knockout!
Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200 (200 ante)

"Much better," said Alexander Timokhin as he racked in the chips of two vanquished opponents. He'd opened to 3,000, Maxime Zimmermann shoved for 9,100, Jorge Dominguez then moved all-in over the top for 22,600 and when it got back to Timokhin he made the call.

Timokhin: [7s][7h]
Zimmermann: [Ah][Qs]
Dominguez: [As][Qh]

It was bad news for the all-in players as they had each others outs. The [2d][Jh][6s][Ts][8d] board meant the pair held up and Timokhin climbed to around 65,000.

150 of the 349 players remain and the average stack is 58,200. --NW

9:14pm: Pariente knocks out Aliyev
Level 10 - Blinds: 600/1,200 (200 ante)

More than half of the table were still in the hand for the [Qh][9d][Qs] flop, but when Kamran Aliyev pushed his short stack all-in everyone skedaddled save Guy Pariente.

Aliyev had [Jh][Th] for a straight draw and needed help versus Pariente's [As][Qd], giving the latter trip queens. The turn was the [6d] and river the [6h], improving Pariente to a full house and ending Aliyev's night.

Pariente is now up around 95,000. --MH

9:12pm: Boyard doubles through Bleiker
Level 10 - Blinds: 600/1,200 (200 ante)

With the board showing [8s][Kd][5c][2s][7c] and about 20,000 in the middle, Felix Bleiker checked over to Sebastien Boyard who shoved his last 25,000 or so in the middle. After some time in the tank Bleiker called, then mucked after Boyard tabled [8c][7s] for two pair.

Boyard bumps up to 75,000 now, while Bleiker slips to 65,000. --MH

9:10pm: Starter for 10
Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200 (200 ante)

As level 10 gets underway these are the top 10 stacks in the room:

9:05pm: Play resumes
Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200 (200 ante)

Players are back from dinner and have settled in for Level 10. They'll be playing three more 45-minute levels tonight (without a break), then bag up for the night. --MH

7:50pm: Dinner break
Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)

The players have been released out into the wild on a 75-minute dinner break. Play will resume at roughly 9:05pm local time. --NW

7:40pm: Three-way all-in
Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)

Miguel Silva -- who currently looks to be our chip leader -- opened to 2,200, Ricardo Manquant then three-bet to 5,300 total. Next to act was Benoit Martin. He moved all-in but had less than Manquant's bet, 4,900 to be exact. Then Patrick Schuhl moved all-in! He had just 400, though.

Back on Silva, he took a look at Manquant's stack and elected to fold an it was time for a three-way showdown!

Manquant: [6d][6h]
Martin: [Qc][Td]
Schuhl: [Js][7d]

The [8d][5h][7h][7c][Jc] board meant Schuhl octupled up (!), Martin was eliminated and Manquant made a profit too! --NW

7:31pm: More eliminations
Level 9 - Blinds: 500/1,000 (100 ante)

More players have hit the rail as the dinner break approached. Tallying up the latest eliminations, Stephane Malderez, Yassine Azouaou, Najib Kamand, Niculina Grasu, Charles Laczny, Thi Xoa Nguyen, Laurent Herisse, Vlad Stefan Lache, Kevin Pennaneac'H, Pascal Jean Pierre Boyer, Stephan Ouzilou, Florent Bruno, Stephane Debeil, Maxence Debar, Jean Pucci, Feras Abid, Favia Francesco, Yevhen Lazorkin, Damien Naguy, Tahar Said, Kevin Gougis, Clemente Malheiro Carreira, Moshe De Leon, Nasrodin Pirmamod, Remano Giulio, Nikolay Panchenko, Anthony Matray, Christophe Girard, Decy Dublin, and Pierre Neuville have all met their FPS Monaco Main Event ends. --MH

7:15pm: Marozas down to zero
Level 9 - Blinds: 500/1,000 (100 ante)

After opening from early position, Danius Marozas saw Jorge Dominguez reraise all-in from a couple of seats over, and it when it folded back to Marozas he decided to call and commit the rest of his short stack.

Marozas had [Tc][7c] and a couple of live cards versus the [Ad][Qc] of Dominguez, but the [8c][2h][5s][Kd][Ah] board didn't hit either of them and Marozas hit the rail.

The eliminations continue at a healthy clip, with the overall Day 1A field now down to 167 -- less than half the number of players who started the day. --MH

7:10pm: Rung laddering up
Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)

There was a bet of 3,700 in front of Romano Giulio and by the time the action got back to him he was facing not one, but two all-ins! First to shove was Laurent Herisse, his shove was for 8,500 and Philip Rung had then re-shoved for 15,300 total. You could tell Giulio wasn't exactly loving life, but nonetheless he called off the extra.

Giulio: [Ad][Jh]
Herisse: [Kh][Qs]
Rung: [Ah][As]

Rung got the sort of board you love to see when you've got aces and are up against two players. It ran [9c][6h][4d][3c][8h] and he was home and dry after the turn. He's up to around 40,000 whilst Giulio drops to 35,000. --NW

6:57pm: "How could you play that hand?"
Level 8 - Blinds: 400/800 (100 ante)

That post title is a fiction. No one said anything like that following a three-way hand involving Marine Menager, Ivan Arbatskii, and Guido Pezzotta. Someone might have thought it, but we're bound at PokerStars Blog to report only what can be seen and heard, and not what people are thinking. Or what we think they are thinking.

The board showed [9s][Th][Jh][5s][2d], and one by one the players showed their hands. Menager had [Ac][5c]. Arbatskii turned over [Ad][5d]. And Pezzotta revealed [Ah][5h]. The dealer set to work on the three-way split.

The three players' might have been even on that one, but not overall. Both Menager and Arbatskii are hovering around the 50,000-chip mark at present, but Pezzotta is one of the bigger stacks in the room at present with about 135,000. --MH

6:55pm: C'est fini
Level 8 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)

They think it's all over, it is now... for the following players: Sergey Malyavko, Sergio Galliano, Kohei Nakai, Laurent Azoulay, Alban Marques, Gilbert Diaz, Vladas Tamasauskas, Alfredo Pagliaro, Matas Cimbolas, Quentin Dellis, Giorgio Calligaris, and Turgut Guner. --NW

6:48pm: One in, one out
Level 8 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)

From under-the-gun Nicolas Martin moved all-in for 11,000 with [As][Th] and he got looked up by Damien Naguy who held [Qs][Qd]. A [Ah][Js][9d][8s][6h] board doubled Martin to around 24,000 whilst Naguy dropped to 6,200.

Meanwhile Jason Wheeler was involved in a big hand. There was a bet of 4,000 in front of Bertrand Guenoun and Wheeler had moved all his big chips over the line - it looked to be somewhere between 20,000-25,000, Guenoun made the call.

It was unclear if Guenoun thought Wheeler was all-in or not but the American had 1,400 back and committed them on the [8h][5s][Td] flop, Guenoun called the extra and it was time for showdown. Wheeler showed [As][Qs] and needed help against Guenoun's [Ah][Kd]. He didn't get any on the [7d] turn or [7c] river and was swiftly on his way. --NW

6:38pm: Silva surges to the lead
Level 8 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)

Miguel Silva is up to 147,000 after eliminating Danilo Colomba in a huge pot. I joined the action on the turn with a [9s][4d][Qd][3c] board on the felt. There was a bet of 16,500 in front of Colomba and Silva then shoved for what looked like 75,300 total.

Ricardo Manquant was still in the hand and he tanked before folding, Colomba snap-called. "Do you have nines?" asked Silva to Colomba. Neither player showed their hand for about ten seconds and then Silva got the ball rolling by opening [4h][4c]. Colomba rolled his eyes and showed [Ah][Qh]. He was drawing dead and the [2h] completed the board. --NW

6:34pm: Kings serve Vacirca
Level 8 - Blinds: 400/800 (100 ante)

We saw Nunzio Vacirca jump out to an early chip lead today, but the last few levels had been less exciting for the Frenchmen. But just now he hit a big hand again, making a set with [Kh][Kc] to claim most of Tahar Said's stack. Vacirca is back up around 90,000 after that one. --MH

6:30pm: No good for Giedraitis
Level 8 - Blinds: 400/800 (100 ante)

Andrius Giedraitis was standing and checking his phone, all of his chips already committed on a [4s][Qs][7d] flop. At last the action reached Armand Lopez who called, turning over [Ad][Qh]. With a free hand Giedraitis tabled his [Kh][Jh] and began calling for kings, but the [Ts] turn and [5s] river didn't answer his request and he's out. --MH

6:28pm: Nacho no more
Level 8 - Blinds: 400/800 (100 ante)

Players are back in action to begin Level 8, minus one of those who just now returned from the break. Nacho Barbero lost the last of his short stack to begin the level, leaving 210 players to continue battling on Day 1A. --MH

6:02pm: Smoke 'em if you got 'em

With about 220 left from the Day 1A field, players are taking another 20-minute break. --MH

6:01pm: Two big flushes, one winner
Level 7 - Blinds: 300/600 (75 ante)

In the last hand of the level, Andres Federico Jeckeln had made a big river bet on a [Kd][9c][3h][4c][5c] board, then with some reluctance made a call of Yvan Kabalane's all-in raise in response. Kabalane showed [Ac][Jc] for the nuts, while Jeckeln turned over the next-best [Kc][8c].

Jeckeln slips to about 44,000 while Kabalane is now up around 110,000 going to the break. --MH

6pm: Tough fold, right fold?
Level 7 - Blinds 300/600 (75 ante)

Johan Guilbert had bet 16,125 on the river of a [8s][Qc][Qs][7d][5s] board and was faced with an all-in shove of 39,900 from Ikam Benyeffou.

After getting a count Guilbert began squeezing his cards and kept on looking back at them. He then folded [Js][Ts] face up. As Beneyeffou took the pot he showed one card, the [As]. --NW

5:45pm: 100 out
Level 7 - Blinds 300/600 (75 ante)

Exactly 100 of the 349 players who showed up today have seen their stack reduced to dust. Some of those to feel the hangman's noose around their tournament life are: Gregory Luttke, Sebastien Bailet, Simone Petrini, Said Mouthadi, Benjamin Sibuet, Vincent Garat, Cyril Ramey, Thierry Martinez, Carlo Dito, Jose Pellegrini, Jean Montury, Raynor Smeets, Nicolas Proust, Ludovic Sultan, Neil Van Der Merwe, Mangano Fabio (and breathe) Paul Tedeschi, Julian Thomas, Monica Nezosi, Henri Kasper, Alexandr Komarov, Eddi Makhoul, Anthony Borde, Fabian Chauriye, Jeremy Nock, Oleh Okhotskyi, Andrey Pateychuk, Kully Sidhu and David Yan. -- NW

5:33pm: A Said finish
Level 7 - Blinds: 300/600 (75 ante)

Said Mouhtadi is out. He made a move with his short stack versus two opponents holding [9s][8s] on a [6h][2c][6c][As] board, but unfortunately for the Moroccan player one of them had [Ah][Kc], meaning Mouhtadi was already drawing dead. --MH

5:25pm: Chip leaders!
Level 7 - Blinds 300/600 (75 ante)

Stack'em high!

5:30pm: The names keep coming
Level 7 - Blinds 300/600 (75 ante)

A few players who've busted the €10,000 high roller event have made a hop, skip and a jump into the FPS Main Event. We mentioned a moment ago Mohsin Charania had made the trip over, as has Jason Wheeler.

The latter isn't the only EPT champion to have late registered this event as Jean Montury is having a bash at this, as are Tudor Purice and Josh Prager. --NW

5:17pm: Deal another!
Level 7 - Blinds: 300/600 (75 ante)

They're crashing straight through to Level 7 without a break, with the next respite coming at the end of this level. After that will come two more 45-minute levels, then the 75-minute dinner break. --MH

5:16pm: Smeets meets end
Level 6 - Blinds: 250/500 (50 ante)

With the board showing [9d][7s][2c], Raynor Smeets put the last of his chips at risk versus Mohsin Charania. Smeets had [8c][7h] for sevens, but was outkicked by Charania who'd made the same pair with [Td][7d].

The turn was the [Ts] and river the [8s], giving both players two-pair hands but Charania's remained bets, and Smeets was eliminated. Charania has 35,000 now. --MH

5:13pm: À la recherche du chips perdu
Level 6 - Blinds: 250/500 (50 ante)

Down to his last 7,000 or so, Nicolas Proust was just all-in versus two opponents and hoping queen-jack would outrun both king-queen and king-nine.

Alas the board brought no help to the Frenchman, and Proust is out, left only to remember chips past. --MH

5:05pm: Chip leaders!
Level 6 - Blinds 250/500 (50 ante)

Stack'em high!

4:55pm: Bolimowski can't believe it
Level 6 - Blinds 250/500 (50 ante)

They say there's a fine line between genius and madness and Julien Bolimowski can't quite believe he's out of the tournament, but credit to Vladimir Lesik for making a tough call.

I picked up the action on the river with a complete board of [Ks][9s][5d][4c][Qd] on the felt. Bolimowski had shoved for 13,850 into a pot of roughly 16,000.

At this point Lesik was in the tank, he asked for a count and then after seeing what he'd be left with should he call and lose, he made the call. Bolimowski didn't look happy at this and no wonder as he had [7c][6c] for a bluff, Lesik meanwhile had made the call with [Kd][Js]. He's up to 51,00 as a result. --NW

4:44pm: Some poker for Picard
Level 6 - Blinds 250/500 (50 ante)

There's a celebrity in today's field to tell you about, French singer William Picard, best known as part of the music group Début de soirée who scored their biggest hit, "Nuit de folie," in 1988.

The Début de soirée member isn't making his poker debut here, as he's already notched a cashed in tournament in Cannes last fall. --MH

4:34pm: Chauriye cut down
Level 6 - Blinds 250/500 (50 ante)

Fabian Chauriye has joined those on the rail as Level 6 begins, having just lost the last of his stack to Miguel Silva. --MH

4:20pm: Gone
Level 5 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)

The number of seat opens are, unsurprisingly, increasing in pace with the blinds. Unfortunately for: Sofiane Belkilani, RudyHadjedj, Mike Adamo, Georges Chow, Amos Ben Haim, Declan S. Connolly, Guillaume Marechal, Rong Xia, Darius Narmontas, Ludwig Boulogne, Maris Paeglis, Cedric Demore, Osvaldo Venegas, David Gouyer, Christos Xanthopoulos, Bahram Chobineh, Natasha Barbour, Armano Di Giorgio, Dror Amiram, Ramiro Araujo, Julien Brahimi, Sandro Pitzanti, Jeremy Palvini, Sophiane Merabti, Michel Bouskila, Cyrille Lacogne, Vladimir Lesik, Patrick Clarke and Fabien Matthieu they've all busted before the halfway point of Day 1A. --NW

4:13pm: Iapadre bowls over Boulle
Level 5 - Blinds: 200/400 (50 ante)

Following an under-the-gun raise and call, it folded to Jean Boulle in middle position who reraise-shoved his last 9,550. Action revolved around to Rosato Iapadre in the big blind who tanked for a while, then called Boulle's push, after which the remaining players released their hands.

Iapadre: [Ts][Tc]
Boulle: [As][Kh]

The board ran out an uneventful [6h][9h][9d][5s][3h], and Boulle bid the table adieu. Iapadre is now at about 45,000. --MH

4pm: Like Belgian buses
Level 5 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)

Pierre Neuville has always been fairly easy to pick out in a crowded poker room. The septuagenarian has been mixing it with the kids for years now and his attire of choice is starkly different. A button down shirt and v-neck pullover a staple of the Belgian's wardrobe.

He played the €10,000 high roller yesterday but despite dropping down in buy-in level he's still finding it hard to build a stack. He's down to 14,600 at the moment.

Elsewhere fellow Belgian, Quentin Dellis, is fairing far better. He's only been in the tournament a short time but has increased his stack...just. He's up to 25,050. It all counts! --NW

3:56pm: Further incentive to put your best foot forward
Level 5 - Blinds: 200/400 (50 ante)

It's still early, relatively speaking, with only a little over four levels down and nearly eight more to go today. Later on, though, we'll be eyeing closely that leaderboard, in part because an extra prize awaits the player finishing the night on top.

Besides positioning themselves well going forward, players finishing Day 1A, Day 1B, and Day 2 with the chip lead will be winning a pair of tickets to Saturday's football match between French Ligue 1 sides AS Monaco and EA Guingamp. That'll present one more goal to shoot at for the players. --MH

3:49pm: Darcourt done
Level 5 - Blinds: 200/400 (50 ante)

Players are back in action, minus one Frenchmen -- Guillaume Darcourt who busted before the last break. Late registration is now closed, so we'll soon bring you the official total of Day 1A entrants. --MH

3:27pm: Let's take a break

With four levels down, players are taking another 20-minute break. This marks the last opportunity for those late registers to get in the game today. --MH

3:23pm: Menager managing quite well
Level 4 - Blinds: 150/300 (25 ante)

Following a middle-position raise and button call by Vidak Banicevic, Marine Menager made it 2,000 to go from the big blind and both of her opponents called. She fired 2,500 on the [7c][3c][3h] flop, losing the MP player while Banicevic stuck around. He'd call again a bet of 5,000 from Menager after the [7s] came on the turn.

The river brought the [5s] and one more 5,000 bet from Menager, and Banicevic called one last time. Menager tabled her [Kc][Kd] for kings and sevens, and Banicevic mucked. He's down around 16,000 now while Menager climbs close to 60,000 with a few minutes to go in Level 4. --MH

3:20pm: Big names and big stacks
Level 4 - Blinds: 150/300 (25 ante)

Below are a selection of big names and big stacks. There is almost certainly some crossover.

3:09pm: Down to the felt
Level 4 - Blinds: 150/300 (25 ante)

The field keeps growing, but a few more have fallen here by the day's fourth level. The recently felted include William Batista Arruda, Yan Li, Artur Karamuca, Valeriy Skudar, Natan Chauskin, Alessio Bassanelli, Kyosti Isberg, Fernando Erize, and Francisco Gottardo.

3:05pm: Sick river
Level 4 - Blinds 150/300 (25 ante)

This was one of those car crash hands where neither player wanted to put the brakes on and it ended in a massive collision. After a raise to 500 from middle position, Cyrille Lacogne raised it up to 1,500 on the button only for Peter Johnston to three-bet to 4,200 from the big blind. Fold, then a call from Lacogne.

On the [2s][6s][Ts] flop Johnston bet 5,400 and Lacogne was going nowhere. On the [Ks] turn Johnston check-called a bet of 5,000 and the [2c] paired the board on the river.

After another check from Johnston there followed an all-in bet of around 18,000 from Lacogne and a snap call from Johnston. He rolled over [Kc][Kd] for a full house and Lacogne looked pained as he showed [As][Kh] for the nut flush. He's down to 3,200 whilst Johnston is up to about 58,000. --NW

2:55pm: More for Moro
Level 4 - Blinds: 150/300 (25 ante)

"Oh, wow... wow."

So said Francesco Moro, giving voice to his reaction to a showdown just now. There was already more than 25,000 in the middle when his opponent Sandro Pitzanti shoved the river with the board showing [9c][6s][Ts][7h][Qd]. After a bit of a tank Moro had finally come up with a call, putting his last 10,000 or so at risk.

Moro showed his hand -- [8s][8c] for a straight -- then made his comment after seeing Pitzanti had but [Th][9h] for two pair. Moro is now up around 50,000 while Pitzanti slips to 14,000. --MH

2:45pm: Barbero deals knockout blow to Denisov
Level 4 - Blinds 150/300 (25 ante)

After a raise to 600 and three calls, Nacho Barbero moved all-in for 10,100 and found a call from Aleksandr Denisov, who himself was down to 6,100.

Barbero opened [Ac][Kd] and was in a dominating spot as Denisov had [Kc][4h]. The [Jc][7d][6c][Ts][3h] board gave no help to Densiov and the high roller, who has over $1,600,000 in lifetime earnings, was on his way. --NW

2:40pm: Last level for late entry
Level 4 - Blinds: 150/300 (25 ante)

They've leveled up again, with this fourth level representing the last one during which players can register. Technically they'll have until the start of Level 5, actually, so we'll see then how far this year's FPS Monaco Main Event Day 1A field has exceeded the 265 who played Day 1A last year. (Last year a total of 993 ultimately took part.) --MH

2:21pm: Passport stamps for LAPTers
Level 3 - Blinds: 100/200 (25 ante)

Earlier we mentioned two-time LAPT Main Event champions Mario Lopez and Nacho Barbero (both of Argentina) and frequent LAPT Main Event final-tablist Fabian Chauriye of Chile were part of today's field. There are more represenatives of the Latin American Poker Tour here today as well.

The Chilean Patricio Rojas, winner of LAPT6 Peru, is here, as is his fellow countryman and former LAPT Player of the Year, Amos Ben. Brazil's Fernando "Grow" Garcia is now part of today's field as well. --MH

2:12pm: Fast start for Freitez
Level 3 - Blinds: 100/200 (25 ante)

EPT7 Madrid Main Event champion Ivan Freitez has joined the proceedings over here in the FPS Monaco Main Event after having busted the Single Re-Entry High Roller, and he's quickly begun building a stack.

Just now Freitez picked up a pair of black aces in a hand versus a short-stacked George Bogdan Ana, and by the time they were through Ana was on the rail while Freitez was stacking up chips totaling around 70,000. --MH

2:11pm: 300!
Level 3 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)

"Tonight we dine... somewhere where we can get in and out during the 75-minute dinner break so we don't miss a hand."

Yes, the FPS Main Event is up to 300 runners on Day 1A and that means we've already eclipsed the Day 1A total from Season 5, which attracted 265 runners. So it's already a good 10% up on last year and late registration is open until the start of level five.

Helping to take that total skywards are Nacho Barbero, who has now shown up, and Govert Metaal. The latter is one of the best known Dutch players and indeed sits seventh on their all-time money list. He's racked up $2,118,513 in lifetime cashes so far and his two biggest scores came in back-to-back PCA $25,000 High Rollers in 2013-14. --NW

1:57pm: Back in action
Level 3 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)

They're up to 291 entrants here at the start of Level 3. Late registration remains open for two more 45-minute levels plus the break that follows. --MH

1:41pm: Break time

Players are now taking their first 20-minute break of the day. --MH

1:27pm: Vaulting Vacirca
Level 2 - Blinds: 75/150

We noted Nunzio Vacirca earning an early knockout -- the earliest of the tournament, in fact -- back at the start of the day. He's just added another elimination to his credits here in the second level, pushing his stack up over 80,000 already to earn him a high spot on the Day 1A leaderboard.

This latter one saw Anthony Apicella-Albertini check to Vacirca on the turn with the board showing [Td][2d][Ac][8c], then call when Vacirca bet to push the pot up over 15,000. The river was the [Qh], prompting an all-in shove of 7,600 from Apicella-Albertini, and Vacirca quickly called.

Apicella-Albertini turned over [Ah][Qd], having flopped top pair and rivered a second pair. But Vacirca turned a set with his [8s][8d], and a dismayed Apicella-Albertini headed railward. --MH

1:25pm: Proust takes a pot
Level 2 - Blinds 75/150

There have been plenty of big pots so far today and another seemed to be brewing at table 25 as I wandered by. There were five players still with cards as the [2h][9s][6s] flop came down and Apostolos Chantzis was first to stick his head above the parapet, firing out a bet of 1,075. Nicolas Proust raised it up to 2,500, the three other players folded but Chantzis made the call.

There would be no further betting on the [4c] turn or [6h] river, Proust's [Qh][9h] proved the winner at showdown as Chantzis had called the flop raise with [Ac][Qc]. --NW

1:21pm: Lopez loses a few
Level 2 - Blinds: 75/150

Two-time LAPT Main Event champion Mario Lopez is here, and just now the Argentinian faced a challenge after three-betting before the flop and getting a couple of callers in the two Frenchmen, Laurent Herisse and Kamel Djemai.

Lopez had position, but after watching the [Qs][9h][8s] flop and his two opponents check, he checked behind. The [7c] turn then saw Herisse check, Djemai bet, Lopez call, and Herisse step aside.

The board-pairing [7h] river followed, and Djemai quickly checked. Lopez gathered a bet of 3,800 together and pushed it forward, but when Djemai called, Lopez mucked his hand without showing, conceding the pot. Lopez is down to about 19,000 now while Djemai chips up to 35,000. --MH

1:15pm: Loads in, three out
Level 2 - Blinds 75/150

Having lost a bit pot earlier (see 1:01 pm post) Alexander Kopylkov is now out and he's been joined on the rail by Alexils Thobellem and Salvatore Crapanzano.

But there are plenty of players still picking up fresh stacks of 25,000 with Matas Cimbolas and UKIPT5 Dublin champion Vladas Tamasauskas both now in and both at Table 25 alongside Dinesh Alt. At least 264 players have entered today. --NW

1:01pm: More chips on the Mantel
Level 2 - Blinds: 75/150

Here's another eyebrow-raiser, coming early in Level 2.

Preflop action had already built a decent-sized pot between Alexander Kopylkov and Ariel Mantel when Kopylkov check-called a bet of 2,500 from Mantel following a [4d][9d][4s] flop. Mantel check-called once more following the [Kh] turn, the bet being 6,000 this time, then the [5s] completed the board.

Kopylkov checked again, and after Mantel shoved his last 10,600 in the middle Kopylkov hemmed and hawed a bit before coming up with a call. Mantel turned over [6d][5d] for a busted flush draw turned two pair on the river, then Kopylkov disappointedly showed his [Ad][Jd], also a busted flush draw that evolved into fifth-street hero call. --MH

12:52pm: They keep coming
Level 2 - Blinds: 75/150

More than 240 players are now registered as they move into the day's second level. --MH

12:45pm: A few more familiar faces
Level 1 - Blinds 50/100

The field continues to swell with more than 225 players now part of the action.

Dotted around the field you'll find the likes of Patrick Clarke, the Irish Open winner and fourth place finisher in the recent EPT12 Dublin Main Event. He's at the same table as Nacho Barbero, although the latter has yet to show. He played the €10,000 high roller yesterday and it may well be that he doesn't play this event to Day 1B.

If he does wait until tomorrow he'll avoid the likes of Dinesh Alt, Vlad Lache, Rasmus Agerskov and Jeremy Nock, who've all started their campaign today.

12:45pm: Go big or go home
Level 1 - Blinds 50/100

The players aren't shy about playing big pots early on that's for sure and the all-in triangle is seeing more use in the opening level that we expected.

The triangle was called up for another job when Jacques Napiot shoved on the river for 10,250 into a pot of 14,000. Philippe Lamigeon was his lone opponent and he eyed up the [5h][Ad][6d][Ts][9d] board as he weighed up his decision.

He took his time, so much so in fact that Napiot called the clock. Before half of his allotted minute was up Lamigeon - who'd have 7,500 left should he call and lose - made up his mind to fold. So Napiot is back to starting stack whilst Lamigeon drops to 17,750. --NW

12:37pm: Bienvenue! More arrivals
Level 1 - Blinds: 50/100

More than 200 are now taking hands as today's first level continues. Among the many French players we've spotted thus far is Guillaume Darcourt, perhaps best known for his relatively deep WSOP Main Event run in 2011 (where he finished 35th) and his WPT Bucharest victory the year before.

Fabian Chauriye of Chile is also part of the Day 1A field, hoping to better some of his recent deep runs such as his 16th-place finish in this year's PCA Main Event and his runner-up showing in the most recent LAPT Main Event in Viña del Mar, Chile.

Natasha Barbour is also here, fresh off a couple of cashes in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in Florida. She finished runner-up in a $1,500 no-limit hold'em event at last summer's WSOP for a $284,911 score. --MH

12:21pm: Hello goodbye
Level 1 - Blinds: 50/100

Talk about early action. Just over 10 minutes in and we've already seen an elimination.

Catching up with the board showing [6c][2d][9c][6d][6h] and a lot already in the middle, Halimi Rachid pushed in his last chips -- just over 10,000 from the 25K starting stack -- and got a call from Nunzio Vacirca.

Rachid showed [Kc][Jh] for air, something Vacirca must've thought to be likely as he had [4h][4d] for a winning full house. --MH

12:15pm: Introductions over, let's play poker
Level 1 - Blinds 50/100

Before play began Cedric Biilot - the President of the EPT - made a brief introduction to the players. "Thank you and welcome to EPT Moncao, we hope you have a good time at the tables," he said. He then passed the microphone to Thomas Lamatsch and the tournament director gave a few instructions about the format of the tournament.

Roughly 183 players witnessed this, with Yury Gulyy one of those looking on. The Russian player had a successful time of it last year in Monaco, finishing second in the FPS High Roller for €109,345. --NW

12:06pm: Shuffle up and deal
Level 1 - Blinds: 50/100

The first 45-minute level of the day is underway. There are about 180 seated for the day's first hands, with the field sure to grow significantly as late registration lasts to the start of Level 5.

Back in a few with an update on who is taking part today. --MH

11:55am: Season 6 of the FPS about to begin

Whilst the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final series marks the end of Season 12 of the European Poker Tour, the FPS Monaco event is the start of Season 6 of the French Poker Series.

So, what can we expect over the next five days? Well if history has taught us anything the answer is players and lots of them. Given the queue of players snaking out the door to buy into yesterday's satellite to this €1,100 event it shouldn't come as a shock if this event breaks some records.

Last year Sebastian Supper topped a field of 993 to claim the trophy and €177,000. He defeated a final table that included the like of Pablo Gordillo, Joseph Mouawad and Luca Moschitta to seal the deal.

On that occasion 265 came out for the first of two Day 1 flights so today's final total of players will be a good barometer of the likelihood of this event reaching the 1,000 player mark.

As we did last season we'll see the champion crowned under the bright lights of EPT Live, with the final taking place on Sunday. There's a lot of poker to be played before then though. Cards are in the air at noon. --NW

Key FPS Monaco Facts:

- 25,000 starting stack
- Blinds starting at 50/100 for 250 big blinds
- Levels are 45 minutes on Day 1 and they'll be 12 of them. From Day 2 onwards levels increase to 60 minutes. 
- Late registration remains open until the start of Level 5
- Day 1A is today, Day 1B takes place tomorrow, the field will then combine for the first time on Friday. We'll reach the money during the 10 levels of play on Day 2 (approximately 15% of the field will be paid) and then play down to a final table on Saturday. On Sunday the final table will play out on the TV table on EPTLive with cards-up coverage. Cue mad celebrations and swigging of champagne from the trophy (possibly). 
- Full FPS Monaco schedule here.
- There's a boat load of other events today including a €100+€20 satellite to this event. That tournament starts at 16.00 CET.
- It's not all about the poker here in Moncao. There are plenty of #StarsFun activities including the player party at Jimmy'z Nightclub on April 29 a Sports Simulator Challenge and Live Spin and Gos. Full details on that available here.

PokerStars Blog Reporting Team at FPS Monaco: Martin Harris and Nick Wright. Photos by Jules Pochy. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog

Seat 1: Stefano Terziani, 32, Italy, PokerStars qualifier, 7,565,000

Stefano Terziani hails from Florence's suburb Scandicci and has experienced the live event final table atmosphere several times before. The 32-year-old's best result dates back to August 2012 when Terziani finished second in the IPT4 Campione Main Event, banking $131,646. He also has a WSOP final table appearance under his belt and couple more top ten finishes in EPT side events. The Italian has amassed nearly $300k in live tournament winnings so far. 

Seat 2: Stephane Dossetto, 28, Paris, France, Live satellite winner, 9,525,000

A regular in Parisian poker circles, Stéphane mainly play live poker tournaments. He won the FPS3 High Roller at Cadet for a prize of €65,000 back in November 2013, the young entrepreneur's best performance to date. Stéphane qualified for FPS Monaco in a live satellite at the Monte Carlo Bay Casino. He's great friends with fellow finalists Romain Matteoli and Julian Fernandez and hopes to share the podium with his pals . "My last name means Two Seven and it was a pair of 7s that got me into this tournament", says Stéphane, who feels very optimistic about the final.

Seat 3: Niall "firaldo87" Farrell, 28, Glasgow, UK, PokerStars player, 9,165,000

Arguably the biggest star on the final table is 28-year-old Niall Farrell. He became a poker pro after graduating with a law degree from Dumfries University. The Glaswegian belongs to the group of EPT champions, winning his title back in October after taking down the EPT12 Malta Main Event for €534,330. He's closing on a $2m mark in live tournament winnings and is second to David Vamplew on Scotland's all-time money list. Farrell is also well-known online, playing as "firaldo87" on PokerStars. His online accolades include a FTOPS Main Event title worth $236,232.

Seat 4: Julian Fernandez, 25, Toulon, France, 3,200,000

Seasonal fruit and vegetable trader Julian Fernandez discovered poker with his father and his friends while still a teenager but the 25-year-old from Toulon doesn't have much time for his hobby, and has never played online. "I don't play very often   but this is a week of fun and a chance to see friends, play poker and enjoy myself," he said, before explaining that his mates are fellow finalists Romain Matteoli "I've known him for five or years" and Stéphane Dossetto, "a childhood friend I've known for 15 years." Julian had played the FPS Monaco Main Event last year but failed to cash. This time he is aiming for a top five finish.

Seat 5: Jean-Baptiste Bertrand, 29, Montpellier, France, 1,105,000

A DJ by profession, Jean-Baptiste Bertrand has been playing poker for five years, mainly online where he plays tournaments between €10 and € 100 on PokerStars.fr. His results there include winning a Night on Stars and a Daily Fifty, Bertrand bought in direct for the FPS Monaco Main Event, his second France Poker Series appearance after competing at FPS Cannes last year. However he's doing way better this time; he didn't manage to get past the fourth level in Cannes. 

Down to just 26k at the end of Day 1, Bertrand had a dream Day 2 - and a little bit of luck - when he went all in with AJ against 87 on a J87 flop and found two runner-runner kings to win the hand and end the day among the chip leaders. A huge fan already of PokerStars Live, Bertrand has identified his main rival on the final table - Niall Farrell -  who he watched during the live stream from EPT Malta. With the motto "Do not jump," Bertrand hopes to pull off a good performance tomorrow as well as enjoy life and have fun. "That's what will make me happy", he said.

Seat 6: Miguel Silva, 27, Portugal, PokerStars player, 1,260,000

Portuguese player Miguel Silva is set to earn the biggest cash of his live poker career today. His best result before reaching the final of teh FPS Monaco Main Event was third in the EPT12 Prague €1k Turbo Bounty for €20,380. That contributed to the $133k he's racked up to date in live tournament winnings; he currently sits in 48th place on Portugal's all-time money list. Silva also made two final tables at EPT12 Dublin back in March, earning over €18k combined. However, thiis is the 27-year-old's first major final table.

PokerStars Blog photographer Joe Giron was on hand to capture all of the best moments from the Chase Your Dream invitational.

WATCH THE CHASE YOUR DREAM STREAM / QUALIFIERS ANNOUNCED / TOP 5 HANDS

PLATINUM PASS INTERVIEWS: CLEMENT ELOY / ADRIAN VINUELA / CHRISTOPH WALKENHORST / DARYL INGLIS / DANIELLE SUMMER

By now you’ve heard there are Platinum Passes to be won to the PSPC2020 in Barcelona next year. Now you can turn your attention to winning one.

And you won’t have long to wait.

PokerStars will be on the banks of the river Meuse, at the Grand Casino de Namur, Belgium, from Monday 23 September to Sunday 29 September.

It’s the first live opportunity to pocket your own Platinum Pass since the big announcement in Barcelona this week.

And you don’t have to win the €175 Main Event to claim the pass either.

A special draw at the start of Day 2 will decide the winner. What’s more you can increase your chances of winning by having multiple tickets in that draw.

Here’s how the Platinum Pass draw works

Any player who plays the Namur Main Event gets one ticket in the draw.

You can also earn an extra ticket for each online qualifier you play on PokerStars. And they start from as little as €0.50.

You can also claim an extra ticket for the draw if you play Day 1 of the Namur Main Event online (more on that below).

So that’s multiple tickets in a potentially life changing draw. All you need to do is make sure you’re in Namur at the start of Day 2 to claim your prize. That’s when eight players will be drawn at random to play a single hand of Crazy Pineapple on the live stream table.

The winner gets a Platinum Pass, and a hell of a story.

An affordable Main Event perfect for recreational players

The Namur Main Event is deliberately affordable and designed for players like you.

It has a €175 buy-in so it’s within reach of recreational bankrolls. You get a starting stack of 50,000, so you have chance to play a bit. And with levels 30 minutes long, switching to 45 minutes from Day 2, you have time to play as well. Those are conditions that make it easier to play at your best.

You might even find yourself sitting opposite someone like Team Pro Kalidou Sow along the way. He’ll be there, and hosting various activities throughout the festival.

What to expect in Namur

Once you get to Namur you’ll notice a few of the things you expect from larger PokerStars events.

As well as the great structure and organisation, they’ll be a webcast on Saturday 28 to Sunday 29 September, broadcasting action from the closing stages. They’ll also be on hand on Day 2 to reveal the winner of the Platinum Pass.

Online or live? You decide

For dot EU players, there’s another twist. You can opt to play Day 1 either live on one of multiple opening flights, or online (where you’ll earn another ticket for the Platinum Pass draw).

Then, if you reach Day 2, you can make your way to Namur. Check the PokerStars lobby for details.

It may look like the streets of Namur are paved with gold. But it’s actually Platinum (Prise de vue par le photographe Philippe BERGER de nuit pour la Commission Namur Capitale)

Online satellites for Namur, which offer Main Event seats for a fraction of the price, have already started on PokerStars. They run all the way through to Sunday 22 September.

Buy-ins start at as little as €0.55 (€0.50 on PokerStars.fr and PokerStars.be) to win a seat in the Sunday €27 qualifier. That has a Main Event seat worth €175, with expenses of €150, guaranteed.

For more details check out the Road to the PSPC Namur homepage. And to recap just what’s in store at the PSPC2020.

Here’s a look back at the stories we brought you this week on PokerStars Blog… 

• PokerStars announces PSPC 2020
• Chase Your Dream finalists receive first Platinum Passes
• All Things EPT Barcelona
• How the Sunday Million was won (August 25)
• Road to PSPC starts in Namur

POKERSTARS ANNOUNCES PSPC 2020

EPT Barcelona was the site this week of PokerStars’s biggest announcement since December 2017: the PokerStars NL Players Championship will return next August.

It’s baaaaaaaack…

The Catalonian capital will serve as the home of PSPC from August 20-24, 2020. The tournament will feature a €22,500 buy-in.

“The PSPC demonstrates our commitment to cultivating and growing the game, not only by creating opportunities for poker fans of all levels to win life-changing sums of money, but by showcasing poker and its many inspirational stories well beyond the poker realm,” said Severin Rasset, Managing Director & Commercial Officer at PokerStars.

Click through for everything you want to know about PSPC 2020. And then unlock your PSPC Mystery Chest and win your own Platinum Pass!

CHASE YOUR DREAM WINNERS FINALISTS RECEIVE FIRST PLATINUM PASSES

Five players from Europe and North America converged on Barcelona this week for the Chase Your Dream final. They thought they were just going to be competing against a lineup of pros and celebrities for a $10,000 top prize — but there was something special waiting for all of them.

All the Chase Your Dream qualifiers won a Platinum Pass

At the event’s conclusion, James Hartigan was on hand to announce that all five of our finalists will be returning to Barcelona next year to play in PSPC 2020.

You can watch an archived feed of the live stream, or just relive the five biggest hands from the event. And once you’ve done that, spend a little time getting to know our first five Platinum Pass winners: Clement Eloy, Adrian Viñuela, Daryl Inglis, Christoph Walkenhorst, and Danielle Summer.

ALL THINGS EPT BARCELONA

The European Poker Tour (EPT) has been camped in Barcelona this week and it’s been a pretty good one for the locals.

Super High Roller champion Sergi Reixach

Sergi Reixach overcame Sam Grafton to take the €1.8m Super High Roller title. Juan Pardo won two high roller titles and narrowly missed out on another in the €25,000 Single-Day High Roller, which Laszlo Bujtas won for €712,810.

The rest of Europe has also fared well at the festival. First, Estonia’s Markku Koplimaa won the record-breaking €1,100 EPT National for €585,500. Alexander Ivarsson topped the €2,200 EPT National High Roller for €498,520, and Russia’s Mikhail Rudoy won the first-ever EPT €25,000 6+ Hold’em High Roller for €213,210.

It’s been a hot summer for Ben “Fabaz” Farrell, one of the hottest players in the game at the moment. Our own Jack Stanton got the skinny on how Farrell does it.

Have a look at our EPT Barcelona photo gallery and results, and don’t forget the live stream continues this weekend.

HOW THE SUNDAY MILLION WAS WON (AUGUST 25)

Franklin “FKAXM” Magalhães

How did an accountant from the UK and a former advertising publicist from Brazil end up battling for more than $100K in the small hours of Monday morning? And what did Joe Stapleton have to do with it?

Here’s the story of how Geoffrey “ŠQ3-Paper” Thai finished fourth and Franklin “FKAXM” Magalhães captured his second major title of 2019.

ROAD TO PSPC BEGINS IN NAMUR

The road to the PSPC begins in Belgium

PokerStars will be on the banks of the river Meuse, at the Grand Casino de Namur, Belgium, from Monday 23 September to Sunday 29 September.

It’s the first live opportunity to pocket your own Platinum Pass since the big announcement in Barcelona this week. And you don’t have to win the €175 Main Event to claim the pass either. A special draw at the start of Day 2 will decide the winner.

Click through to learn how you can win your Platinum Pass in Namur this September.

Opening a PokerStars account is easy. Click here to get an account in minutes.

Results from the entire EPT Barcelona 2019 festival will appear here. Note: Events 1, 3, 4, 8, 11, 13, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 33, 34, 37, 39 and 40 were qualifier events.

Event #51: Super Hyper Turbo Freezeout
Date: September 1, 2019
Buy-in: €1,100
Entries: 81
Prize pool: €78,570

Event #49: NLHE
Date: August 31, 2019
Buy-in: €10,200
Entries: 60 (inc. 8 reentries)
Prize pool: €582,000

Event #46: NLHE Unlimited Re-entry
Date: August 31-September 1
Buy-in: €25,000
Entries: 60 (inc. 19 re-entries)
Prize pool: €1,440,600

Event #44: NLH Hyper Turbo
Date: August 30, 2019
Buy-in: €2,150
Entries: 102
Prize pool: €197,880

Event #42: PLO single re-entry
Date: August 30, 2019
Buy-in: €1,100
Entries: 254 (inc. 54 re-entries)
Prize pool: €246,380

Event #38: 6+ Hold’em (short deck)
Date: August 29, 2019
Buy-in: €1,100
Entries: 102 (inc. 22 re-entries)
Prize pool: €98,940

Event #36: NLHE Freezeout
Date: August 28-29, 2019
Buy-in: €1,100
Entries: 602
Prize pool: €583,940

Event #35: HORSE
Date: August 29, 2019
Buy-in: €550
Entries: 72 (inc. 2 re-entries)
Prize pool: €69,840

Event #34: Single Day High Roller
Date: August 29, 2019
Buy-in: €25,000
Entries: 118 (inc. 35 re-entries)
Prize pool: €2,833,180

Event #32: NL Hold’em freezeout
Date: August 28, 2019
Buy-in: €550
Entries: 520
Prize pool: €252,200

Event #31: NLHE Single Re-entry
Dates: August 27-28, 2019
Buy-in: €2,200
Entries: 559 (inc. 133 re-entries)
Prize pool: €1,162,060

Event #30: Pot Limit Omaha
Dates: August 28, 2019
Buy-in: €10,300
Entries: 130 (inc. 36 re-entries)
Prize pool: €1,261,000

Event #29 – NLHE Single Re-entry
Date: August 27, 2019
Buy-in: €2,150
Entries: 185 (inc. 32 re-entries)
Prize pool: €358,900

Event #28 – Single Day High Roller
Date: August 27, 2019
Buy-in: €50,000
Entries: 76 (inc. 24 re-entries)
Prize pool: €3,686,760

Event #24: Single-Day High Roller
Dates: August 6, 2019
Buy-in: €25,500
Entries: 70 (inc. 26 re-entries)
Prize pool: €1,680,700

EPT Barcelona Main Event
Dates: August 26-September 1, 2019
Buy-in: €5,300
Entries: 1,988 (inc. 499 re-entries)
Prize pool: €9,641,800

*denotes heads up deal

CLICK FOR FULL RESULTS

Event #20: 6+ (short deck)
Dates: August 25-26, 2019
Buy-in: €25,000
Entries: 24 (inc. 9 re-entries)
Prize pool: €576,240

Event #19: EPT National High Roller
Dates: August 23-24, 2019
Buy-in: €2,200
Entries: 1,491
Prize pool: €2,892,540

224 PLACES PAID. CLICK FOR FULL RESULTS

Event #17: Hyper Turbo
Date: August 24, 2019
Buy-in: €1,100
Entries: 357
Prize pool: €346,290

Event #15: Super High Roller
Dates: August 24-26, 2019
Buy-in: €100,000
Entries: 64 (inc. 15 re-entries)
Prize pool: €6,209,280

Event #14: NL Hold’em Hyper Turbo
Date: August 23, 2019
Buy-in: €2,150
Entries: 189 (inc. 30 re-entries)
Prize pool: €366,660

Event #12: EPT Cup
Dates: August 23, 2019
Buy-in: €550
Entries: 3,260
Prize pool: €1,581,100

484 PLACES PAID – CLICK FOR FULL RESULTS

Event #10: Seniors Event
Date: August 23, 2019
Buy-in: €1,100
Entries: 375 (inc. 89 re-entries)
Prize pool: €363,750

Event #7: NL Hold’em Single re-entry
Date: August 21, 2019
Buy-in: €10,300
Entries: 142 (inc. 35 re-entries)
Prize pool: €1,377,400