And there we have it, day two is over.

We started with a field of 156 still afloat in the tournament and now we're down to 40. Some of the biggest names are still around; many others have gone. There's very little mercy shown during the course of one of these days, and this one has been particularly brutal.

It all started, I suppose, when Sander Lyloff, the overnight chip leader, lost two massive pots and was out: leader to loser in a matter of three levels. Then the deluge started: trotting up the stairs from press to poker rooms inevitaby meant passing someone on the way down announcing another big-name departure.

They fell like flies. Barny Boatman lost with a set of nines. Then the Team PokerStars Pros started taking the hits: Noah Boeken couldn't double his overnight short-stack; Dario Minieri's fours lost to queens; Luca Pagano departed; Barry Greenstein signed his book and left; Andre Akkari was on his way back to Brazil; Katja Thater, who'd clung on for hours, eventually also took the fall just before dinner.

By the end, only RaiNKhan of the Team PokerStars pros was still in the field, but he has a micro-stack, after Julian Thew rivered a straight in the final orbit of the day. We also lost both PokerStars qualifiers who had previously won EPTs: Mats Iremark and John Shipley were both eliminated in the early evening.

So where did all the chips go? Well, PokerStars players Sebastian Ruthenberg, from Germany, and Roman Yitzhaki, from the United States, still have plenty. As do PokerStars qualifiers Michael Durrer, Thierry van den Berg, David Sonelin, Matt Tyler and Gunnar Rabe.

Also in the field are Surindar Sunar, Age Spets, Julian Thew, Alexander Kravchenko and Alan Smurfit, among others. The full chip counts for the remaining 40 players will be here as soon as we know them.

In the meantime, here's a review of today's action:

Durrer doubles up -- The travails of a chip leader

Gunnar gunning: the emergence of Gunnar Rabe

Slicing through the field

Dinner break update

Brutal departures

Greenstein exits -- Other PokerStars notables

Day two begins -- Qualifiers or champions? -- Thierry van den Berg and Michael Durrer

Picture (c) Neil Stoddart