I met Roland De Wolfe as I waited for a taxi yesterday. He wanted to talk poker. "Did you see that hand?" "Did you see it when I hit a ten on the river?" "Not sure I should have called that one..." He reminded me of a schoolboy who'd scored a hat trick and put his school team in the final of the cup. He wanted to relive every kick of the game. Only this was a poker game, so it didn't involve any kicking. I've been to some home games where it is a possibility, but of course the EPT is a respectable kind of poker tournament.

Roland must be the favourite to win today, he has a lot of chips, he's a great player, and he just scored a hat trick for his school team. Ok, the hat trick bit didn't actually happen...

I only met this one final table player, as I waited for my taxi last night, but I'm sure they all must be as focused on their poker as he was. Thinking, breathing, poker, poker, poker, just like Roland. It's the final today, and there's a cup to win too. Am I supposed to pick a team? I must admit I have a soft spot for French doctor, David Tavernier. I've been following him throughout the event. This PokerStars qualifier arrived late when he missed his plane, and thought that could be somehow lucky, as it was for Patrick Antonius. He won in Baden after being blinded away a few levels.

I've also seen a lot of William Thorson, and I liked what I saw. I've seen him dominate his table. With a lot of chips I know he can be a poker bully. However bullies sometimes get their comeuppance, when their victim's decide to fight back...

I guess there's little point in further speculation about who'll win or lose today... Cards and chips will decide it all soon enough. And I'll be watching, and cheering, and maybe even swearing, at each and every kick of this game. Or I would be if there was any kicking. As I said, this is a respectable kind of poker tournament.

Might look better if it were filled with Guinness?

Final table chips:
Roland De Wolfe (UK) - 1,352,500
William Thorson (Sweden) 773,500
Gavin Simms (UK) 442,000
Rob Yong (Ireland) 365,000
David Tavernier (France) 360,500
Nick Slade (UK) 269,000
George McKeever (Ireland) 194,000
Patrick Bueno (France) 140,000


The money shot...
Prizes today:
1st €554,300
2nd €314,120
3rd €184,780
4th €138,580
5th €112,710
6th €88,690
7th €70,210
8th €51,740

Play begins at 3pm. More news from EPT Dublin soon...