Downtown Warsaw and the Foksal nightclub. It’s the premier venue for night time entertainment in the heart of the Polish capital and whilst there may be little to differentiate between the clubs that host EPT welcome parties, be it Warsaw, Copenhagen, Dortmund or Prague, there is always the anticipation of a tournament to come.

For some it marks the eve of the biggest moment of their poker careers. For others this is a chance to relax before business as usual and for the rest the meter starts the moment they hear someone speaking in Swedish – it’s the cue to get into ‘the zone’.

So, amidst the dancing girls, the canapés, the opulent bar and heavy dance music, Warsaw welcomed the EPT to town for the second time tonight, looking to repeat the success of last season when, in the basement casino of the Hyatt Hotel, Danish Iraq war veteran Peter Jepson won the inaugural WPT Warsaw crown and €423,323 ahead of Frenchman Farid Meraghni.

The main feature of that week was of course the final – an intimate close rail scrap that included Team PokerStars Pro Katja Thater who finished fifth in a standing room only poker dungeon.

So the intention will be to create the same bygone atmosphere this week. No TV cameras but an event worth winning just as much. As usual the PokerStars blog will bring you regular reports from Warsaw with play beginning at 2pm local time tomorrow – that’s 1pm GMT or 8am ET.

For now though a few more hours of local ale or a quick nip of the drink of choice in these parts – vodka.
Will Peter Jepson successfully retain his crown? Will Team PokerStars Pro Katja Thater go even further than last year and secure her first EPT win? Or will someone new, a lesser-known face soon to be recognised around the world, triumph in this historic city?

We’ll find out soon enough...