Monte Carlo - beautiful scenery, blue sky weather and luxury at every turn. Making it this far means coming a long way. You kicked off in Barcelona and London, then enjoyed a central European swing through Budapest, Prague and Warsaw. After seeing in the new year on the beaches of the Caribbean you endured the cold hard winter of Copenhagen, Deauville and then Dortmund. Finally, you saw the beaches of the Italian Riviera, and now this, your reward for a year of toil and slog - the EPT Grand Final a tribute to the very best in poker in the game's European spiritual home.
Whether you've made that journey as a player, as a spectator here or at home watching EPT Live, you're about to witness a tournament you're unlikely to forget.
If this is your first grand final then you're in for a treat. As a player you'll be playing the most magnificent tournament room in Europe, a mirrored, glittering arena seating hundreds, with a backdrop making best use of Monte Carlo's high rise skyline. Look up once in a while and you might catch glimpse of the clear blue sky through the retractable roof.
For the railbird, here or at home, you'll be witness to an all-star cast of Team PokerStars Pros, season five champions and the best the rest of the world has to offer. Monte Carlo draws in all the best players and has never failed to provide a thrilling end to the season. We expect nothing less here.
The first players are drifting in, signing release forms and meeting, for the first time today, their only friend at the table - a 30,000 starting stack. Nervous faces mix with old lags who have seen the EPT evolve into the mass popular poker movement it is today. Their fate is about to be decided. Whatever it is it should prove worth watching.
That means the PokerStars Blog, with reports, news, video blogs and pictures from start to finish, and that start is just minutes away. For a list of some of the selected players from today check out the chip count page.
Thomas Kremser is on the mike, the roof is opening, a swathe of Team PokerStars Pros are emerging from the feature table and some pretty dramatic intro music just belted out across the Riviera. We're ready to start.
